The name that escaped me

"We're fucking around too much man," said my blue-eyed friend, "Let's start getting some boji."

We were sitting there with three of the most random people you can find in the whole area. Tim, Tom and Ali were sitting around us. Ali was not a man of many words but he was looking to chill with us for a while longer even though we have different agendas from him. Tom was looking down on the floor with his eyes watery for his girlfriend is nowhere nearby, which can either mean two things, she's wasted and someone brought her home or she's wasted and someone BROUGHT HER HOME. Tim who came up with his "miserable" plan of drinking all the beer leftover bottles he could find in LKF was looking for more bottles for himself and his sorrowful friend again. I signaled my friend that we just had to get the fuck out of there.

Outside of 7-11 again, I looked around and saw some of the girls we met earlier that night. The ones that got away, I would say. After looking at them in better lighting, we really weren't the ones at loss there.

It was then when I saw her for the third time that night. She was with him again but they are just walking like friends. I became anxious for some reason and looked a different direction, but she deliberately walked pass me this time looking for cigarettes. I decided to approach 'him' instead and started up a conversation. He was friendlier than I expected. She walked back to him with one lit up cig and they shared for a while. I told my friend to keep the guy busy for me.

I pointed at her and asked an obvious question, "You just bumped that cig off from someone didn't you?"
She smiled and started talking, telling me about herself almost immediately. She's apparently German Canadian Chinese. What it meant was, her dad is a German in Canada who married her mom, a Hong Konger. I told her about how my night was, a good story teller I was. She studied in UK and won't be in Hong Kong when I go back since I was leaving HK in less than 24 hours.

"I can't handle long-distance..." I said, "friendship," as we were now all walking toward The China Bar where I recommended. Still unsure whether or not I had a chance against the other guy behind me, my blue-eyed friend and I ran into our friend, Alvis in front of TCB. The "couple" walked in and sat on the bar puzzled. I walked in right after and dragged them both to the dancefloor and we all started grooving. I grabbed her and she grabbed me back.

"It's on!!!" I thought to myself, but I was not sure enough so after a few minutes of grinding, I yelled against the loud music, "LET'S GO FIND YOUR FRIENDS AT BUDDHA LOUNGE!!!" It must have been 20 times I yelled "BUDDHA!" but they still didn't hear me and I was left waiting in front of the club a while before they eventually walked out and were surprised to find me there.

Whatever was on...was no more.

It was done after that. She started clinging on to the guy a lot and got a piggy back ride from him. Only talking to me still, but the vibe vanished. Then it came to me... what was her name? I had forgotten both of their names already. She was a petite looking white girl who told me everyone called her the Chinese girl back in the UK. Short-haired with blonde highlights at the tip, 175cm tall and wearing a one-piece dress with pink and green... these are all I remembered now. And these are what I can't fucking forget.

Trip that never happened part 3

"Hello, Sitt. This is George."

Then I thought to myself...Who the f**k is George? There was a Czech George here on exchange last semester and there are a few mainland Georges. But as I talked more to this guy on the phone, I realized I was talking to George, the UK guy I met in Shanghai.

"Oh George!! What the f**k are you doing in Hong Kong!?"

...This is going to be a fun night after all

Well Shanghai was fun. I clubbed 3 nights out of 5, but I realize there is no point talking about that since I can just keep doing that in Hong Kong. I did exactly just. When George and Luke came back to visit from South Korea before they catch their flight home.

I wasn't a very good host though. George needed my help finding a nice hostel for Luke to stay in for the night. My Korean friend, Wonjoo, and I went to meet up with them at Causeway bay and went to a hostel called Pandora after 80's. It was a nice place that took us almost an hour to find with Luke carrying huge luggage. We were headed for Wanchai afterwards and met up with some friends. I'm going out again... and that is just too much.

Trip that never happened part 2

'Well fuck!'

I thought to myself after finally reaching my hostel and securing a room there for the night. I could only get a bed for just that night however but I did not care much. It was time to do some exploring...

I got so lost. At one point, I was walking up north looking for a park located down south but Starbucks saved with its almighty free internet connection. Chilling inside for a while instead of walking  in the heat, I still could not believe I was in Shanghai. I made my way to Liu Haisu Art museum nearby from the park I was originally going to before I left to get back on Line 10 of the Shanghai Metro.

The famous Nanjing road was just so busy. I made my way through the crowd and stopped for a nice Chocolate Milk Shake with Egg tart on the sidewalk. They say Eggtarts are different everywhere in China. I've tasted the ones in Hong Kong, Guilin and now Shanghai and still has not found anything impressive like the one I had back on Cheung Chau island.

"Do you want sportshoes? How about Tshirts? We have many Tshirts, many colors you can choose from. Watches? Omega, Rolex... Ah ok, You want massage? Pretty girls massage? You like girls?"

Flooded with questions like this I decided to move through Nanjing very quickly. At the end, when I was approached by the tenth sale of that hour, I stopped her before she could even talk.

"No massage, no girls, no shoes, no tshirts, no watches, no girls and really really no massage," said I with a smile on my face. "Wo bu yao a'" 

She smiled with a grudge and walked away while I started taking some photos of the scenery. Got back on the train at the People's Square and I headed back to my hostel. Waiting to have dinner with Kelsey who later was too tired. The hostel was more lively now with people sitting around using the internet in the lobby. Someone was skyping behind me so I laid low trying to stay away from the camera. Two British guys say opposite of me, George and Luke. I mumbled to them, "George Lucas," without even thinking and they said they had heard that one before.

We talked. We dined at a Hong Kong restaurant with another Austrian guy named Marcus because the Japanese Bar they were telling me about was closed by the time we walked in around 9. We also clubbed a little.





The place was called DADA. It's a nice shady place with a few comfortable couches in the backroom. On the wall, are people's doodle and Old PC's motherboard. My geek side hit me a little bit as George told me that the last time he was here, he took a RAM out of one of the Motherboards and took it home as a souvenirs. After a few games of Jenga, Fusball and 3 shots each for George, Luke and Marcus, the dance floor was more crowded now so we moved in. It was a weird one since there was a drunk topless guy with a little less than sexy body dancing on stage. It might help if he was a happy fat man but he was not at all. He was holding his spot like he owned the place and pushing guys who tried to get up and show their moves. We were just fooling around and wooing the guy. How can you not when he's that big? 2 things I learned that night is that...Shanghainese girls cannot dance at all and I should not be too friendly to drunk douchebags. The girl I was checking out bumped into me after I was talking to her colleague Ian for a while. Spoiler Alert: Ian is a cockblock.

"Hey! ouch!!!"

"I'm sorry." 

"That's not a very nice way to say hi"

"haha... I'm sorry, hi nice to meet you."

We got to talking. I was interested and she was too. She's a Canadian Chinese named Debby who spoke Mandarin a lot more fluent than I do. Then the douchebag showed up. I called him, "Ben," when I randomly introduced him to two other girls I did not care about before and now he came back to almost hug me and push on the floor right when I'm having a nice conversation going on. I let Debby talk to "Ben" for a while before coming back to interrupt them this time. George and Luke offered to kick his ass for me but I told them to calm down. I went back in to get her number which she was much too eager to give.... her colleage's, Ian's, number because she didn't have one. I told her that I'll call them to let them show me nice places in Shanghai. Marcus disappeared so the three of us got back to Rock & Wood on our own. Texted Ian the next day with no reply. Thanks a lot Ian.

Trip that never happened Part 1

Let us assume for a minute that I am adventurous, or perhaps stupid. Let us assume that booking a flight with my friend's credit card the night before leaving with no accommodations was a possibility. Let us assume, that I took a trip alone in the midst of summer carrying nothing but one backpack. If this trip were to happen, then it happened in Shanghai.

Landing in Shanghai Pudong International Airport, I rushed out of the airplane only to be stopped at the long line at immigration. Next in line with me was an architect coming to Shanghai for the third time, but this time was no ordinary one. She told me that she will now be living in Shanghai for the next three years, working at Disneyland, Shanghai branch. I was intrigued, but the line was moving fast than expected. We parted ways before I could tell her the whole story of how stupid I was coming with nowhere to go. Luckily, I slightly had a clue of where I was going and who I would meet. After purchasing a 150RMB-worth China Unicom simcard, the first person I sent a text to was none other than my, "bao bao," Kelsey. She had just finished work for the day so we agreed to meet at Yanggao Middle Road Station. Shanghai Metro was interesting. I was texting Kelsey all the way through while listening to music on my phone. The one thing I can't help but noticing is that the number of people staring right at me.

"I feel like a star," I said to her.

Kelsey showed me the area which she lived with her uncle, aunt and cousin. At a nearby restaurant, we had dinner and talked for a very long time. She convinced me to stay at Hotel Ibis right behind that very mall, after I got rejected asking for an empty bed at my preferred hostel. That night I slept like a king in my very own room. When the rainy night ends, my adventure would finally begin.

"Hey. I'm not gonna make it by 9. Wanna meet up tonight or something? And there's 2 typhoons today, so be careful"

We agreed to meet at around 7 that night instead for dinner which turned out to be another raincheck. At 9 straight, I was at Starbucks having breakfast. Before I left, the cashier people who barely spoke English were kind enough to write down 'Shanghai Science and Technology Museum Station' in Chinese characters so I could show it to the taxi driver. On the Metro to Jing An Temple station, I carried my precious backpack with me that just got heavier as the temperature in Shanghai rose that day. I walked around the station looking for Le Tour Traveler's Rest Youth Hostel for a long time before I found it hidden in alley on Jiaozhou Road. Alas, when I got there, the beds available the night before had already been taken and I hopped back on the train to West Yan An Road station. By that time, the sun was staring down from on top of me and I was lost. It took quite some time before I arrived at Rock & Wood. Traveling without booking things in advance can be quite a bitch, but I was having too much fun with it.

Chocolate Milk

Well, the summer heat sure makes me a lot... active.

After talking to a friend over afternoon tea, he asked me if I wanted to go out for dinner with his friend, Roxanne. I met this girl thrice already, once at her house warming party when I remember dragging my drunk friend out from her bedroom. I did not think much and just said yes.

Last I met her I was in a club on top of LKF tower called, Azure. She was out with her colleagues and a guy I knew. A well behaved night for her, that night was. I thought it would be fun meeting her again because I remember her pretty colleagues that night. I went back to hall and tried to go swimming but the pool was close. Sad me, walking to my friend's dorm room ten doors down from mine to see if he wants to join for dinner. Sang, from Korea, had other plans. I tried convincing him but he just kept saying no because he did not want to ditch Ali for dinner in Sai Kung. I still ran into both of them later at the bus stop since we were leaving around the same time. Sang smiled when he saw who I ended up going out with instead of him. I did too.

We met Ellery after getting some money from the Hang Seng Bank ATM. He brought with him another friend who I met for the first time. Her name was Naomi, a local born Hong Konger with a Japanese name. She was an interesting one being really talkative to us right off the batch. I followed Ellery and Roxanne to go to this secret restaurant of his. It was rather low-key local style food which we all enjoyed, all the vegetarian(s) on that table too.

We were alone back on the MTR. I said good bye to Ellery who left with Roxanne to go to play cards at someone's house. Naomi took the opposite train as I got on the Red Line down to Admirality. Walking into a bar in Wan Chai called Carnegie's, the night really began. I walked through the crowd and one very creepy looking Filipino lady dancing on the bar wearing a 1970's style leopard dress. As eye-catching as that was, I was not much interested.

The taxi driver was leaning on the bumper of his car smoking.

"Fo ge dai ho!" I told him.

"What!?"

"Fodai!"

"Kowloon?"

"Yes yes, Kowloon...Fo Ge Dai Ho," I repeated it to him slowly. This time he understood and we both got on.

The Taxi driver's name was Samuel. He was a friendly guy whom I enjoyed talking to as my companion lied there not feeling well. As we arrived, he was giving me tips from his personal experience.

"You should go to 7-Eleven and get your friend some..."

"Water yeah, I'll go there in a minute."

"Yes, and maybe some Orange Juice."

"Orange Juice?"

Samuel told me that he used to be an alcoholic and his personal used to be fresh oranges in the morning. I thanked him a few times for a nice conversation and a few stops we had to make. I bid him good night and I really hope I run into him again. I walked in the dark toward Tai Po Tsai village and spoke a few words. I really can't help but smiling.

"Good night, Sitt," followed by a sound of head hitting the door.

...Then I walked to Tai Po Tsai 7-Eleven to get Chocolate Milk. It tasted good as I walked back laughing.

Guide to an Elevator Pitch

By Aekasitt Guruvanich
For TEMG4000A @ HKUST for the summer of 2012

One of the most important ways to represent yourself in a concise and memorable way is to prepare a short speech description of who you are. This short speech is often called an, “Elevator Pitch” due to its short length, approximately less than 1 minute, in situations you are sometimes forced to speak briefly in elevators, networking events, beginning of job interviews, or when you show up late for your first class and your professor is not happy.

The Content:
An Effective Elevator Pitch answers 4 Basic Questions:

1. Who are you? Simple introduction including your name and what you do
2. What do you want to do? This is what you are interested in doing in the future>
3. What makes you stand out in a crowd? This is the part where your skills and expertise come in handy. It is important to know your audience and tailor-make your pitch for the occasion. It is unlikely that a McKinsey HR director cares whether or not you have a Scuba Diving certificate.
4. What is next?

TIPS
Your pitch should take no longer than 60 seconds from start to finish, no more than a usual elevator ride. Each pitch should have its own targeted audience. Do not use a cookie-cutter pitch in all networking events. Avoid using complex words and jargons. Be simple and clear.


The How:
Many of times, how you say something is just as important as what you say. In making an unforgettable impression with your pitch, you need to be confident, conscious and specific.

Just like any public speaking occasion, confidence will take you a long way. Being able to speak naturally to your targeted audience can help you start a conversation and open doors for you. A good way to achieve this is to practice your pitch with a friend to make sure it does not sound awkward to him/her.

Being conscious is about knowing your audience and making sure that they are having a pleasant time talking to you. Remember to be mindful and observant about what kind of attention, if any, of your audience are you receiving. A mindful and respectful pitch will be more effective than a pitch that is all about you.

The goal of your pitch is to differentiate yourself from other people therefore you should try to make your elevator pitch specific. Make your intentions clear and plan your desired outcome ahead of time. Leaving hooks for people to ask questions make people want to know more about you and more willing to keep in touch.

The Don’ts: 
In an elevator pitch, to capture the audience’s attention and good intentions, do not:

• Be generic – In many networking events, there are always fresh graduates looking for job offers, referral, advices, lunch meetings and these people might have similar backgrounds with yours or perhaps more impressive ones. The key is to stand out and not offer what the same thing the person next to you does.

• Be weird – Being flexible and able to read between the lines are skills that come from work experience and often hard for undergraduates. Often times, we try too hard to impress people or talk about irrelevant things. Seek out help from professors or career centers to find out more about business and networking etiquette.
• Be boring – “People don’t buy what you do, people buy why you do it,” Simon Sinek. Communicating with energy and enthusiasm is vital in a powerful pitch.
• Be afraid – Unexpected things are bound to happen. Deal with them as they come. Here I attached a comic strip titled "Networking" from XKCD.com ->

Example:

Hi. My name is Aekasitt Guruvanich, a Computer Science student at HKUST. I am interested in career paths in the Consulting Industry, specifically IT consulting one which I can fully utilize my programming skills and expertise in Web Development. As I talked to John over there about networking last week, he recommended me expanding contacts with people in the industry as much as I can. Having worked in a global student organization like AIESEC, I am confident in my interpersonal skills with experience working across cultures and would make a good road trip passenger. In the audience today, I see many students sharing the same goal as well as Ms. Lin and John who have years of experience in the industry, therefore I look forward to setting up a meeting with each and everyone of you in order to share our resources and contacts.

Nothing Short of Amazing

I always tell people that MIT is the closest thing to being Hogwarts — Harry Potter’s wizarding school — in real life. " - Salman Khan, Taken from his 2012Commencement Speech at MIT

...After two years in my university, I still ask myself whether or not I would enjoy my life more if I were an MIT undergraduate.

But at the end of that question, a lot of excuses come up to why I'm not good enough to be one even though I believe in myself and my potential just as much as Mr.Khan, an inspiring person who gave this speech, believed in the graduates at MIT.

Right now, what I choose to believe...is different. I don't need MIT to be nothing short of amazing anymore since I know that I am pretty darn good. I still want to someday study at MIT 

Home is where the heart is

An old saying I heard somewhere a long time ago and it sticks. I like it when that happens, but now it's just killing me where I actually heard it from. I hate it when that happens.

Now I'm home, but I won't be here for long. In fact, with my past 2 years spent mostly in Hong Kong, I'm starting to lose track of where home actually is. Whatever the case, the establishment which my butt lies, is under renovation needed after the flood this year. Workers moving in and out every single day and my room being taken apart and put together. I do have to say, I'm looking forward to going back to Hong Kong and stay at Hall 7, aka. the Friggin Hotel.

Two things I'm working on right now:

• Java Programming for Android because that is what my research topic will need for my Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program. I will also get paid for that so hopefully, it will be fun.
• Less Profanity... just because. I will attempt my best to sound like a regular gentleman.

That is all.

2 years passed

Summer break is here!!!

It has finally been two years in Hong Kong and I finally have finished year 1. Grades also came out as well but let's not talk about that. In the past few days, it has been a lot of good byes and just partying it up. We went to have Indian food last night at Sai Kung and that was amazing food as always. Today is my first day of Android workshop where my professor for Undergraduate Research asked me to attend. Hopefully, it won't be a waste of time.

"Also remember to turn on your brains," the professor said before we begin our 8 effing hour long workshop.

Sleepless nights

So it has come to this.

As I stare at the ceiling which seems so close to me, I laid on my bed unable to fall asleep.

Final exams are coming up so it is understandable for me to be on edge a little bit, but this was more. I was unhappy because I know that something was going to change. My new friends which I made this semester were not going to be there anymore. Especially one.

"Getting to know exchange students is not worth it," my friends always tell me, but I never listened. It was of course an idea that is understandable for someone to not make a relationship that does not last. We expect someone to always be there for us knowing full-heartedly that it was not possible. Exchange students were like that too. They had to stay close to each other due to our lack of hospitality and did not bother trying to reach out to other local students or full time internationals.

I did not give a shit and made friends anyways, and now I am being sad for it. But this is the good kind of sad because I know it is human to be sad. It feels like a heartbreak since I knew it could have been prevented but I chose to be ignorant.

Sure as hell was worth it though :) That's something I won't let anyone take away from me.

ApRiL 28th Part 2

Graffiti was packed. Full of young energetic people which is not something I can say for all the clubs at LKF. I rushed in almost leaving my roommate behind but he caught up as we got inside. We took a look around first as neither of us have been in here before. One of the waitresses tried to stop me as she wanted me to get a drink at the bar first, but she did not mind that much so we went in anyways. Both of us started dancing and like usual, we attracted quite some attention. As I looked around, I caught some people looking but I did not pay that much attention. One really drunk guy was groping this tiny girl really hard as she tried to get away so I jumped in then and blocked him out. He ended up kissing me on the cheek instead and turned around somewhere else. I was worried whether or not I ruined his night but he still seemed pretty friendly to me later on. I kept dancing and I kept dancing hard. It was just so much fun as people around me were getting excited and there was this girl who wanted to join in. She was however, being hit on really hard by this other creepy brown guy so I did not bother. Lights were flashing and I was unstoppable. I sent my roommate a signal that I want to leave because I wanted to hit as many clubs as possible that night. That night alone...we ended up going to 4 different places.

We went to Likuid and FLY for a short while and I started some crowd again but it did not seem that much fun so we went back into Graffiti at the end. The bouncer was telling us again to get a drink first but we DGAF'd. To our surprise, we found 2 really really young looking boys inside so my roommate pulled aside and pointed them out. I shouted against the sound of music, "They're probably 'TB's. Tomboys I think." They were again blocking the girl I met before so I gave her a look but did not follow through. Throughout the night, the reason I was having the most fun in any single club was that I did not give a single fuck. I ended up not following through to any look/touch/brush I got and just blew them all away. I would make a good boyfriend like that since I ignored all the girls. That however got me another kiss by another drunk guy who was seriously aiming for my face but with careful maneuver, I avoided it and ended up being an awkward bro hug in the  middle of the dance floor.

After losing my roommate temporarily, I went out and met with some UST students at 7-11 randomly. After being lectured about how Tsingtao is actually a German beer and not Chinese, I went to China Bar before my roommate replied to my last text asking where he was. Apparently, he never left Graffiti but I could not find him anywhere inside. This time though, the bouncer remembered my face as the guy who has not bought a drink so he did not let me in. I texted my roommate again to meet me at Likuid.

Not to my surprise, a lot of HKUST exchange students were at Likuid. I greeted them and danced with some. After all that dancing, I knew my body was going to hurt the next day but that was nothing of concern...yet. I went low and came up high as people were getting tired and getting old. Sitting in the back of Likuid for a while, I got to resting, until this blonde girl came and sat next to me.

"Hi, I'm Lysa," she introduced herself as a local-born Hong Kong girl with Irish background so I got to talking about the Irish dance workshop I organized through ISA only a week back, but I got interupted by another brunette girl who said, "What the fuck!"

Lysa explained herself that she was a bisexual and started kissing her girlfriend, so I told the girlfriend, "Please take her away from me." They walked back to their crowd and not long after, my roommate came and sat down with me. He had no clue what just happened and I had to explain to him the next day.

Though I like to remain energetic, I had to admit the reason I was sitting down was that I was tired. I went back to the dance floor around 5 minutes later and found a couple more people to dance with, but no one that I would dance all night with. Half an hour later, it was time to leave Likuid and go home. We stopped for some drinks at 7-11 and it started raining before we could get a taxi back. It was a long and eventful night indeed. That is why I enjoy going out.

ApRiL 28th Part 1

Ok, so Saturday, this was one very interesting night outside that kinda got me thinking about what I can be and what I can do.

Let me recap the list of things that happened throughout...
I left my dorm to go meet some friends in Causeway Bay which is just casual get-together. They later left to eat at "Hungry Korean" at Tsim Sha Tsui which I then separated from them to meet up with a girl I asked to meet with from City University of Hong Kong. She is a fun character, really cute and good at heart. She was wearing a dark blue summer dress, as she came to see me after her tutoring job. We had a nice meal in a restaurant up in iSquare after checking the showtimes at the cinema. We were disappointed because, "The Avengers" showtimes did not match well with our plans so we left after dinner to go to a nice bar a friend of mine introduced me to around a year back. I taught her how to play 8-ball as we just kept on talking and playing for almost 2 hours. She ended up beating me at the end...*sigh*

I said my good bye to her as I dropped her off at the MTR station. We shared simple greetings but I felt something missing. She would make an amazing friend, but somehow, there is not a spark or anything like that during the night, so I left...

Looking for Paisano's Pizzeria on top of Lan Kwai Fong, I was disappointed to find the shop closed. I was just craving a Vegetarian slice so badly at that time. A nice Sikh doorman with a purple turban tried to introduce me to his restaurant, "Tandoor," but I told him that my hunger can only be satiated by a 12" slice of pizza at the moment so he showed me the way to the new location of Paisano's. I walked as fast as I could, ordered quickly since I knew exactly what I wanted and finished the pizza within 5 minutes. I was satisfied...it was time to lose control.

Walking back to the closed down Paisano's, I could not find the nice doorman again since it began to rain. It was only a short 2-minute-burst of rain, but it drove everyone away from the street. I wanted to say Thank you, but I never saw him again throughout the night. I tried to go to one of my friends' favorite club named, "Hyde," but like usual, it was being a b-word. The bouncer told me that DJ CUBA was playing that night, I had no idea who that was nor do I know now, but I was sure that he was not from Cuba. I did not want to pay 350HKD to get in so I went to China Bar instead. It was dead quiet on the dance floor. Only two guys stood awkwardly waiting for people to get dancing. They walked away disappointed a couple of minutes later, but that is not me. I texted my roommate to come and meet up with me there before a couple of girls came up and talked to me. They wanted to have fun so I started dancing. I pulled everyone standing around inside as I want to get the night starting. People were looking and dancing along. Some girls walked in and got on the dance floor immediately. Some guys started dancing once they saw more and more people dancing. I started a chain of people dancing and enjoying themselves so I was glad. I would have stayed in China Bar longer, but there was this drunk Indian guy who really wanted to talk to me in Punjabi. I told him where I was from and he was pissed. His friend held him back and I was playing around until he was no longer mad (But still drunk and annoying.) I left and met up with my roommate as we went to Graffiti, somewhere we've never been to before, then again...I had never been kissed by a random guy before either.

To be continued maybe.

Not enough time to waste

Midterms are finally over and Projects/Assignments and everything else can just screw it. This is Easter break and I am planning to go to Shanghai very soon right after AIESEC Spring Conference.

Break has begun for two days and it has been spent not doing much :) Went to the beach (Tai Long Wan) for the 3rd time in total ever since I came to Hong Kong and this time, it was just as nice as I remembered it to be. I really enjoy the quiet side of Hong Kong especially when I have a lot on my mind, which in turn means, I have someone on my mind.

Visited Hong Kong Baptist University for the first time yesterday. It really is a lot different from HKUST and it is almost impossible to find. My trip there ended up becoming an urban hiking day around Kowloon city which was fun and relaxing. Not hating the weather right now and I look forward to a lot more of doing nothing.

Guilin

After a whole day in Yangshuo, biking pretty much everywhere until our feet hurt and seeing the Silver cave tour (completely in Chinese) and the famous traditional performance of Yangshuo, we left for Shangrila and then Guilin.

Shangrila was really beautiful and we enjoyed the boat tour there before getting on another bus straight to Guilin. The weather was so bad with it being rainy and 4 degree Celsius, but we didn't care. We decided to head back to Hong kong after canceling our reservation at How hostel though which seemed like a nice place to stay in. It's definitely the place I'd go when I visit Guilin again.

I came home on an overnight bus where we met a funny Chinese guy who literally woke my friend up so he could "talk." He was a really nice fellow who tried really hard, but our communications ended awkwardly after an hour of the threenof us giggling and checking the Chinese dictionary on my friend's phone every 5 seconds. His English was the same level as our Mandarin so we got stuck. I ended up going to bed after lending him my friend's Mandarin teaching book that has both Mandarin and English. He found it very interesting reading through it for half an hour before waking me up again to give it back.

Now I'm home...in HKUST I mean and just realized yesterday that it's Valentine's day today.

Hmmm mm...... Happy Singles Appreciation Day everyone.

Yangshuo

Shit, It's cold.

Sitting here in Dico's, a KFC-like chain restaurant in China, having amazing hot milk tea with my two travel buddies, I am constantly rubbing my hands to keep them warm. It is 6 degree Celsius this morning after we just dropped off from our overnight bus from Shenzhen.

The bus was better than expected. My first time on a sleeping bus and we bargained from original price of 260 per pax to 190¥. It was fun bargaining because the lady at the shop wouldn't stop laughing, but our persistence prevailed. Others on the bus got their tickets for 230~240¥.

Everything is still closed since we arrived at 6AM. After walking down Pantuo road for 1.1Km we found Xi Jie road or better known as West street due to all the Westerners here where our hostel is located.

Much warmer in this Café, still cold though. Even my two friends from colder countries, Korea and Russia, think so. Waiting for our hostel to open for check-in. My buddies are very camera shy so no photos of them this time.

First All nighter of 2012

Well, I expected this coming but for it to come so soon is definitely out of expectation since the Spring semester has not even started yet. My first all nighter was spent doing an Overnight Karaoke in Kwun Tong with three other amazing friends whom shall not be named but their names rhyme with Conrad, Soo and Apple.

So far in the past couple of days have been something else. It has been very much energy draining of course but that is to be expected. NYR treating me well and I'm liking what it has done so far. Because of not saying no, I might have pissed off a couple of people though but I know that I will have a chance to make amends.

Had an interview last night for a position in the Organizing Committee of an upcoming AIESEC event during this semester. It went better than expect :) Going to be representing AIESEC to the new exchange students today in 2 hours or so and have another interview later on for a higher position. FUCK MY LIFE since it's so full of shit, but maybe I'm just addicted to it being like this now.

Never easy leaving home

It really is never easy leaving home but we all have to do it at some point. Once again I left the comfort of home and what I miss the most right now is the 28 Degree Celsius nights when I'm freezing my ass off in less than 10.

I'm back! It's weird saying that but this place is nothing but such a familiar place to myself. Hong Kong is colder than ever this time and I'm ready to take on another semester.

Not going so strong with the NYR (New Year's Resolution) because I have said No a few times already but I have been saying Yes a lot more as well. Just by having this NYR, I can now begin to notice every time I turn down what can be an exciting opportunity. And this is one of the results of not turning down one:

It's funny isn't it? I also went to meet and greet with the new exchange students of HKUST today as a student helper and it was loads of fun. Got to help them all a little and know many new people today. Hopefully, the Yes streak won't drain all of my energy.

You shouldn't worry about what they say...

Being back in Thailand....in fact before I even came back, I got to start one of my favorite hobbies again.

Walking!, OH shit I've walked so much lately, I remember walking all the way from Tsim Sha Tsui to Hung Hom through Whampoa in Hong Kong, walking from two ends of a road in Thailand (under the freakishly hot sun) and walking here and there everywhere!!!

I like walking a lot because I get lost in my own thoughts when I walk. I decided not to waste this free time I have over winter break and I did just as I said by never letting my mind stop wandering.

I also got to drive again finally :) All around Bangkok in a car, though I do not mind public transport at all since it includes a lot of walking as well, there is that special sense of power when you are driving. The power to go just about anywhere and that alone makes driving fun for me. I still don't have a license yet though and hopefully will get a chance to make them soon, but that's not going to happen during this winter break.

This blog post may seem a little bit empty compared to all of me whining about a bunch of stuff but that's only because I decide to whine a lot less about certain stuff. It is of course a little wasteful to whine about certain people who will not do the same for you therefore, I am done with that.

About my new year's resolutions, I don't know how long it can last but I'm going to try my best at it. In honor's for this guy's 50th Birthday:

Jim Carrey born on January 17th, 1962

I want to be this guy :) V 

Some might say that this is not his best movie, but I still enjoyed it very much. It reminds me a lot of Liar Liar as well and that was epic. I don't think I am a pathological liar though so this will do.

Winter conference with AIESEC

I have been an AIESECer for over a year already and last year, I have to admit that I was not one of the best members they have ever had. I could have done better then and this semester was when I actually tried to better myself with AIESEC.

And so I did, I have been working in the Project management team of HKUST local committee this year just like the last. However, unlike last year's project which was Cultural Project team, I am now in the Social Enterprise Project team which focuses more on the situation of social enterprises, companies that work for a social benefit, in Hong Kong.

And so I tried my best to be a more active member this time around. When it came to the end of the semester, I chose to participate in a 3-day long Winter National Conference held at Wu Kai Sha Youth Village (YMCA) campsite and it was very memorable. I got to meet with AIESECers from many other universities like HKU, HK PolyU, CityU and universities that I did not know existed like Hong Kong Baptist University and Lingnan university (in New Territories)

When I came back, I was so tired from all the AIESEC dances and other activities, not to mention having to start packing to come home the next day. One of the things I will mostly remember about though, is the bigger picture of AIESEC. Everyone kept saying that it's a platform for Youth empowerment around the world and I did not know what that meant until this conference. Having seen so many people representing their so many opportunities to step up and do something through AIESEC really redefined the picture of AIESEC I had in my mind.

Now that I'm back home and will not be doing much but help around the house, fixing this and that and cleaning up the mess caused by the recent flood in Bangkok, I want to DO MORE. I have known since a long time ago that I want to do something, anything meaningful and I think AIESEC really deserves a better look from me this time around. It's not going to be a cheap journey though so I'd better buckle up and start working on something to attain certain money as well. Shit, I'm broke.

2011 Wrap up

OH shit oh shit...I'm not sure how much I'll be able to remember everything that happened but let me try anyways....

 

Jamal-man to the Rescue!!!

I was home for new year's!!! Went back from first semester at HKUST. I know a lot of people doing the same thing this year around and I think I can relate to them about this. The feeling of missing home so much...but not knowing what to do there for only a month. It was one of the worst winter break I had too because my grandma passed away then. The whole month was spent mourning :( May she rest in peace.

I came back to Hong Kong and got my heart broken, still emo for a while...damn that bitch. Second semester at UST was a mess. First week I came back right on Chinese New Year's day, a friend broke his arm in an arm wrestling accident so I spent the most of that night at the hospital. I still remembered seeing fireworks broadcasting on the televisions inside the ward. I went hiking on Dragon's back when I came back here with my friends Jamal, Julius and Joel. Throughout the semester, we had a lot of what my friends and I called "Honesty Hours" When I finally came out of my down zone, I got to hang out with lots of cool people. I went to Macau for the first time, and the only time so far and had a lot of fun there. One of my friend did lose quite some money though, I tried gambling and thankfully am not addicted to it, but it did cost me more than I wanted it to.

A lot of fooling around before Summer break. That semester was when I think I could have focused more on studying. I felt really down with my grades afterwards but that really helped me improve in my Year 1 later on. I focused on more of the people but I was still taking things too seriously and ended up...emoing about girls again. Come on, it happens to everyone right?

Summer break went by quick. A lot of traveling there and showing friends around my city of Bangkok :) I went to Malaysia to visit Lau whose whole family was very welcoming. They are my favorite people in Ipoh and still the only people I know in Ipoh. Got to meet with Chee Siang and Shum as well. Chee Siang and I were walking around on the last day at the Petronas and some nice day it was. Came back to see Lau with Safe and Apinun the next day in Bangkok. Planned trips for all of us and we went to Pattaya. Got Lau to walk on the "Walking street" Too busy with his camera to care about all the girls though.

Finally, my Year 1 Fall semester was...BLAH!!! I really tried my best to do it all this semester as in Socialize and Academicwise. It was very time demanding to do so but I sure enjoyed the hell out of it. I got my grades improved finally and it has been quite a semester. A lot of bullshit happening with my close group of friends and that was partly caused by me as well therefore I have vowed to stop bullshitting and be more open about everything. Has not proven to be a bad decision, I can say. Been meeting cool people along the way as well and not so cool ones. Observing both of these give me a lesson or two about people in general though. Been clubbing this semester, not drunk a single drop of alcohol and I'm proud of that. I find it so much easier than drinking actually because as always, I am a control freak.


Went out to have some Vegetarian sashimi with a friend just this week :) It was awesome!!!