Pan Admun Republic of Western Blog

Bend your knee!

- Janus, on how to snowboard

The weather is so warm and sunny, the snow actually melting. It turns into slush, and I no doubt wear one too many layer and sweating.... and I have to worry about getting sun burn.

It is a short session with Anne, since Tamara is out of action this season. 8(

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X'mas day was spent relatively quiet. We went out to see my cousin Justin practice soccer, and have dimsum at Taiko. I saw a really big fish. Afterward, we went for some shopping at UNI before head home.

After a short stop at home, I head out to meet up my buddy Mike and his wife Lisa (Why most of my friends are now married?). We shop around Time Square and Causeway Bay, and have dessert together.

I was home at supper time to join the X'mas dinner at home. It was a great meal of mixing East and West. We have Turkey and sushi on the table, as well as salad, pasta, and soup.

I fell asleep on the couch after the meal, while my cousin watching Beauty and the Beast in Cantonese.... sounds weird.

Boxing day was spend on opening gifts first thing in the morning, of course. We have a light breakfast and head to Wan Chai Gap for a hike to Aberdeen Upper Reservoir.

There is a BBQ area near the reservoir, I meet up with M and L for a BBQ organized by their friends. I have not been to a Hong Kong Style BBQ for so long, which charcoals are light up in a pit, and each person BBQ the food with a log fork. There are a lot of people and tons of good food. It's not your ordinary Hong Kong style BBQ. There are fatty chinese eel, big meaty fish, mushroom, japanese rice cake, veal ribs and many many other stuff. The BBQ is a marathon, go from noon to past 7pm. I ate and ate until I have to stop. But we still went for dessert and chat afterward.

27th was spend mostly shopping around and seeing my secondary school buddy Patrick and his family, as well as a few friends.

It is X'mas eve, I called friends Eddy & his wife Judy out for supper.

Eddy works in Quarry Bay, so we first hooked up in Causeway Bay, and we shop a bit for my laptop bag. (found a messenger bag type from Targus... that was a really good one but is too expensive)

We left for TST just after sunset, people already off work and on the street. It's packed with people.... it's Causeway Bay, afterall. The atmosphere of Christmas is thick. I forgot how Christmas like in Hong Kong, I don't even think I feel so Christmas in Canada besides the weather (white and cold) and when in the shopping mall (all the people plus the Salvation army with bells). I guess I just never over here at the Hong Kong Island on X'mas eve and it's been many years since I was back in Hong Kong. The sounds and light, so vivid and saturated, flood into me. Again, that "so alive" feeling. This year, the police is putting the whole area in Paterson street and Lokart road as pedestrian zone. The street is packed with people. A multimedia advertisement of Moto A668 is by the street corner. With sound and sight, it creates a small world of its own in the middle of the crowd.

MTR is as usual very crowded, to say the least. We arrived TST without any further issue. The sight here is different than Causeway Bay, the whole Nathan road from TST to Jordon becomes pedestrian zone as well. But you can it feels like something is missing, when compared to Causeway Bay. There are a lot of people, still. Note, females in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon really have different style... you can tell right out. I guess it's also depends on where different crowds hangout.

We settled on Todai Japanese buffet, which is from US of A. I know they have a place in San Jose, but never been there before. We usually went for better Japanese food. Food is okey with a lot of variety. Price is a bit higher since it's x'mas, and they put a time cap to 9:00pm, so they can do a second round for the night. There is more time then we need anyway.

After the meal, we walk around to see the light decoration. We start heading toward TST east. We can see the crowd looming ahead of us (and here). We walked (and walked) to the walkway by the harbor, and follow the crowds heading toward Star Ferry.

Since there is crowd control from the police in effect, we can see a lot of police and crews using loud speakers to give direction to people. It feel a slight tension here, remembered the incident in LKF few years back.... The farther we walk, the more crowded it gets. it takes us sometimes to fight through (actually following the flow) the crowd arriving by the space museum. The walk of fame is closed for inflow traffic since there are too many people there already. Then we heard announcement that Star Ferry and Ocean Terminal is getting too crowded as well, so they stop the traffic. Damn, I thought I wil try to catch the ferry back home.

So we go on plan B, once again follow the crowd and turn north on Nathan road.



As we walked passed Panisulla hotel, we see a lot of people still trying to get to the Star Ferry and other "closed" area. Many are dressed in custom (x'mas hat and what you got there) and has small light and neo decoration/toys bought from the people selling on the street.

We get to the TST MTR enterce, but it's exit only... so no luck. Walk on to the Park Lane, there are x'mas carol. Finally, I arrived Jordon MTR, after a full circle from where we started. I bid fair well to my friends and hop on the tube to hit home.

So, been there, done that. One item checked off my list of things to do.

The guy creates Apple. Cool talks for geeks.

You learns first by doing it, then move up a level and re-visit it from another angle to understand and make sense of it. What a way to learn by yourselves.

IT Conversations: Steve Wozniak Part 1 - Gnomedex 4.0

These people have no moral, caused others problem and grief for their own fortune... yet it's not personal? I don't get it.

Interview with a link spammer | The Register

Who's know where Internet come from? Eh, the DoD reserach project in the 1970's?

Here's some answer.

The 'Complete' History of the Internet - www.WBGLinks.net