TOTT Asian Grill

My aunt was so nice to take her friends (Annie and Wings) and I out for dinner in Causeway Bay to a very nice restaurant called TOTT … Top of the Town Asian Grill (yet nothing on the menu was Asian except for some overly-priced sashimi) I was worried because Saturday I had to study for my ECON midterm which I bombed completely. This is NOT an exaggeration… the only thing that makes me feel better is the fact that ALL the other exchange students and a few local students were in the same boat… it was funny, I looked at one of the other exchange students and we just laughed and smiled at each other because we know fully that this exam was not good. Hopefully we don’t lower the curve by too much. Anyways more importantly, the dinner was quite interesting. The whole time my aunt and her friends were saying how salty the food was and that white people don’t know how to eat… they just like butter and salt. It was true but I’m not going to complain especially when I’m not paying! My aunt and Wings told the manager that the food was too salty and they were nice enough to remake it and while they were eating they got free orange sorbet… it made me think that I should have complained. After eating my aunt said that the place was too expensive for such crap food… the view was great though. We were on the 13th floor and it overlooked Hong Kong Island. The view on the other side of the restaurant was better and my aunt said they should clean the windows more often… she was complaining so much … made me laugh. She was joking around saying that if I’m not full we can go to Mcdonald’s… I have to admit that I went to the street corner and bought some egg waffles for dessert… the saltiness of the dinner had to be balanced with some sweet.

Procrastination

Today was so sucky... had only 4 hours of sleep and the cleaning ladies woke me up ... they talk so loud and i forgot to cover the windowms completely so light was shining on my eye... was very cranky today, didn't feel like studying or doing anything but forced it... Who would have thought that having too little sleep could affect u so much... i had no idea; my cough got worse too in the morning but it seemed to have died down. I should be reading econ or reviewing some business ethics but my eyes are tired and i want to type.

Just want to say thanks Steve (a.k.a. "em") the guy who always gives me perspective when i'm not thinking straight... love u
(this picture is old... it's from my b-day... but just wasting time)

Karen's Birthday (March 18)

Thanks to my mom, Aunty Nancy was able to give me some medicine for my cold and after 1 hour i felt better... almost immediate recovery; my sore throat was gone, no more nasal congestion and my cough wasn't as severe. If anyone is sick take Tylnol Cold Day/Night... do not trust the doctors at UST... that is something i'm putting in my report for exchange: Local students nickname the doctors "vets" --> labratory for animals! I still am in awe that the doctor gave me 3 different medicines and none of them worked... they actually made me feel worse. Anyways the day went off well with me feeling better and since it was a sunny, mildly humid day i went to the pier to read my textbook and my microsoft case on antitrust laws; perfect reading for the seaside. Anyways, as i was reading i frequently found myself stopping to just look around and i kept saying to myself, "There is no where else that i want to be right now." It was nice to just have some time to myself and see what others are doing... fishing, barbequing, reading (just like me), playing basketball... the environment here is different from the city despite that the city is only 5 minutes away. I even thought to myself, maybe i could retire in Sai Kung or Clear Water Bay... but these are just thoughts...

After Lynne and I surprised Karen with some white and peach coloured roses... and while Lynne and Renee picked up the b-day cake, karen and I went to the sundial to meet everyone for dinner of hot pot and KBBQ... but when we actually got to the restaurant there was MUCH more... they had bbq skewers of stuffed green peppers, fish, and sushi and nasty looking sashimi... i'm not an expert on Jap cusine but I know for a fact that sashimi is suppose to be bright red to reflect some type of fresh-ness but it was brown/beige... wasn't going to touch it but the poor kids in front of me took enough of that...

The night was very fun, took tons of pictures (felt photo deprived because we've been studying for the past week and still got 2 more weeks of studying to go...) and had cake, sung happy birthday but i think i missed it cause i was in the bathroom haha Lynne tried to stall them but i'm sure people wanted out after dinner... We ended off the night watching a movie, "Underworld Evolution" I won't give my comments on this movie because this would be a complete waste of time... i don't mean to insult Lynne's taste in movies but honestly just save your money... unless you really are intrigued by the mystery of why vampires and werewolves don't get along or if you want to get a good nap watch the movie... during the climax i was thinking if i had enough money for a taxi... that's how great the movie was! I will admit that the main character is beautiful in a very gothic and sinister looking way.
Tiff: I'd rather watch Anchorman or Zoolander anyday!

"The Human Torch was Denied a Bank Loan"
"You look good today... maybe don't wear a bra next time!"
"You think you're too cool for school... but you're not"

- Cy

Sven's Birthday (March 14th, 2006)

Wow haven't written in a while... i got 15 minutes before class starts....

Background information about Sven:

24 years old, Staff member at UST for one semester and going to the States for his PHD Studies...

This guy is in love with potatoes...

The original plan was to have a potatoe party: dinner of mash, baked (with all the fixings) potatoe salad, fried potatoe wedges... But since this month is all about midterms not many people wanted to spend so much time in the kitchen cooking. So Sven and Karen went to Welcome to get a bag of potatoes and we just barbequed them along with some other delicious meats that i couldn't eat. I hate being sick... you can't eat anything fried or sweet. The best thing about HKUST is that we are by the shore and there is a bbq pit by the beach with some picnic tables... the best spot for a bbq at night... even the security guards came to steal some baked potatoes. Sven is the best he bought butter and cheese... got him a "Hello Kitty" cake and a bottle of vodka for his birthday... by the time i left he drank 1/2 of it. Another observation that i have seen since being in HK... Europeans especially Germans have high tolerance... abnormally high!

Little Observations

What to expect of 90% of HK people:

1. Will not hold the door for you: especially Males... it's actually quite the opposite... I hold the door for the guys... little signs of gentlemen characteristics

2. At the club: Guys like to dance in a sort of Kung Fu - like manner... lots of punches in the air
Girls: like to jump up and down until they are tired... little jumps (almost like skipping rope with no rope)

3. Disgusting habit of the older generation: Picking noses and ears are very common... there is no use of giving them looks because they will proceed on doing this... males and FEMALES do this

That's it for now!

- Christina

SOHO and Lam Kwai Fong

I'm so happy because thanks to SIMON --> Gable's supercool cousin i know have internet once again and hopefully and i'm praying that there isn't any virus on my laptop, it can't be because i reformatted it. Anyways last night was fun, my buddy CHIN took 12 of us to SOHO where you just look at the nice antique shops and diverse restaurants everywhere. The prices are quite steep in SOHO but the atmosphere is very nice. We went to this greek restaurant, dont' know what it was called but the service was quite bad and the food was $$. At least the food was good though... it tasted like authentic greek food because it didn't taste like Mr. Greek. After we made our way to Club Mod which was recommeneded my friend at BR but when we got ther eit was booked for a private party and so off we went to LKF because it's only a 10 minute walk away... we went to C Lounge and had a fun time listening to music and just talking... Annie's friend was tipsy and it was fun taking pictures of her laughing. Now it's time to study!!

More B-day Celebrations

Haven't written in a while, but that's cause there hasn't been anything exciting... groups of exchange students have officially formed but we are still meeting new people... starting to hang out with the same people and it's nice because we have been to so many outings and just about everyday we hang out or do something either eating out or going out. Yesterday we at at LG7 (lower ground 7) just the name of the floor and we just ate and talked about our unofficial Shanghai and Beijing trip. I'm aiming towards going on a trip that is about 10 days and it hits Beijing and Shanghai.. the problem right now is that some people want to follow a local tour and others want to go to plan the trip by themselves... i honestly feel like going with 2 other people and that's it... i don't want to go with 15 other people because the groups will split up anyways.
2 night ago it was Damien's Birthday and we went to the BBQ pit just outside our rez. Lynne and I were late cause we were shopping but we made it in time for cake! Damien's old.. he's 26!! He's the one in the 2nd picture in the Blue jacket with the hat on backwards.