Day 12

Day 12 - How you found out about WordPress and why you made one

(ahem, I got stuck here on November 6 and now it is November 16... LOOOONG hiatus indeed huh!)

Since I'm on Blogger, let me talk about that.. I heard about blogging in 2004, and then I was in some emotional turmoil so I wanted a place to release all my tensions and troubles..

And then I came to Canada to study and began a brand new blog to keep my friends updated about my exciting life abroad! And it went on for a couple years, with new blogs for a new year, and in the recent 2 years or so, I decided my life was too boring for the public so I made this one and strove to make things more interesting, more typical-interesting/quirky posts and less about my mundane life..

I hope I'm doing a good job keeping y'all entertained, but I must admit, my blogging frequency is becoming more and more irregular... MUST. WORK. ON. THAT!

Day 11

Day 11 - Another picture of you and your friends

Okay, let's talk about my university friends.. Got to know them in first year when we were in the same dorm.. One introduction led to another and it was quite a group.. We had dinners together every now and then but things just got busier and I lived further away from them and I drifted away from them..

A picture of all of us, together for possibly the last time, at graduation:



3 of them have returned to Hong Kong to work, another one has gone to UK for Masters.. Wonder when I'll see them again.. But like I said, things have drifted for me.. I don't feel the same as I did in first/second year anymore..

Day 10

Day 10 - Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad

I don't listen to much songs anymore.. I listen more on different phases.. Like for a month or two I'll be listening to a certain genre of music... Sky.fm is great for that, internet radio with different genres..

I usually listen to country music radio, but I stopped listening for a month now.. Had been listening to operatic music, it's quite soothing sometimes.. And solo piano of course, when I need something to calm my nerves when people piss me off at work..

Other than that I go through phases when I like listening to Mandarin pop, Cantonese pop, English love songs.. Yea, not really based on my moods..

One exception: Folding laundry always calls for country music.. HAHA! It's a newfound tradition~~ Discovered it in spring.. HAHAHA!

Okay, I didn't answer the question but hey, isn't that what I haven't been doing for the past few entries? :D

Day 9

Day 09 - Something you’re proud of in the past few days

(the date says 15 October, but it's actually 6 November now.. Procrastination has gotten the better worse of me~~)

I am proud that my room is such a disaster that my mother halfway across the globe cannot imagine how messy it is right now, and she cannot do anything about it HA! And my boyfriend is probably speechless even though he hasn't seen my room for a month.. Oh wait I don't think this is something to be proud of.. Oops..

I am proud that I have been doing things at work without using my notes for a few weeks, but I still get nervous sometimes and refer to them if I need to.

I am proud that I finally acquired a microwave so I can be lazy and cook one meal a week and then eat it the entire week...

Sigh, not many milestone achievements in my boring life, isn't it?

Day 8

Day 08 - Short term goals for this month and why

This month is nearing an end. I don't really have much goals anymore, now that I'm not in school. If I'm in school I'll say I want to do well in my midterms and stuff.. But sadly no.. I should probably get to long term goals in terms of career and stuff, but it's too depressing especially when I don't know what I want.. It's that difficult transition period between school and working life..

Well, I aim to write more, just because I want to and feel like penning down my thoughts these days. But this is hard to do, inspiration comes and goes. Which goes to say that these posts you see are actually not dated when they were written ;) I write a whole bunch when I am inspired and nothing for a few weeks..

More goals? Get a proper job? Easy to say, hard to do. I don't want to think anymore about goals for now. Kthxbye :D

Day 7

Day 07 - A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you





University of British Columbia
Vancouver, Canada

My dad always says the best time of your life is when you're in university. I never knew what he meant. I didn't really know what university even meant, until very much later on.

Having spent 4 years at this beautiful campus, the only regret is that I didn't fully cherish my time there until after I have graduated. Of course, we all take things for granted and maybe I have done so too.

I don't really miss the crazy studying days and nights. The part of university I enjoyed most was the whole living experience. I have made some good friends, even though most of the people I interact with are acquaintances in classes whom I might never meet again. I have had the luxury and luck of living on campus residences for all the 4 years, and not having to commute.

I particularly enjoyed the last 2 years, where I got to cook for myself, and that has opened up my hidden passion for cooking. I may not be the best chef yet, but it has made me discover how much I love cooking. This has changed my life quite significantly.

Of course, not to forget, it was during the last year at this wonderful place when I've met the most wonderful guy, who treats me better than anyone can ask for. We have shared many beautiful memories in UBC as well, making it an especially sentimental place for both of us.

This has been the best 4 years of my life, and for once, I agree with my dad. I'm very glad that I have chosen this path and I am who I am today, because of the time spent at UBC.

I am a tree murderer, not by choice.

It was a strange feeling to step into the office once again.

I had received a call asking me to return to work for the week, since the employee was unable to resume her position as she thought she could. I had half-expected this; it would not have been 100% confirmed that she would return this week, due to her illness.. She claimed to be feeling better and intended to come back, but apparently not.

I felt a little strange, as people greeted me with a surprised-but-not-really-surprised tone of voice, some even saying "Welcome back!" But I knew that meant nothing more than just a passing remark.

As I returned to "my" desk, the "Welcome Back [name of employee]" sign had been removed. They had put it up last Friday before I had even left the office, when I was away from the desk to do some filing. I returned to my desk seeing that and just felt they were a little insensitive. So now it bites them back.

I settled into my chair, still feeling uneasy. Part of me wanted to quit there and then, just because I didn't feel like I belong. The other part of me told myself to stay, because leaving would only render me jobless. I wasn't sure of what I should do first.

A/R lady walks in and drops off some invoices without even saying a 'good morning' or any form of greeting. I then realize that in her eyes, if not most people in the office, only see me as a robot who is processing the work for them.

I understand that they are anticipating their permanent worker to come back, but hey people, treasure the present and cherish what you have now! I can't help but keep thinking how would they survive without me. Sure, they can go to the agency and find another replacement, but they would have to train him/her all over again. It makes me almost smug to think that I am rather essential, just that they won't admit it.

Never mind that. Aside from being a little miffed by A/R lady, I got to work soon enough, and I realize it was back to the world of paper, and PAPER CUTS! I promptly went back to killing trees and there is karma! I get paper cuts in return!

But there is nothing I can do about it. My boyfriend says, "You know what, you should find a 'greener' workplace next time, if you are so unhappy about wasting paper.." I totally agree! Now I know, if they ever ask me in an interview, what is important to me in a job.. I'll know what to say! I really want to play a part in saving this fragile environment of ours, that is only getting worse day by day as corporate offices terrorize the forests without blinking an eye.

I truly felt like a tree murderer, and I could almost hear the agonizing screams of little trees, coming from the humming of the printer which was spitting out sheets after sheets of clean, white paper. It didn't help that I was printing monthly reports, which require just about, hmm, 2000-3000 sheets of paper?

I know because 1 ream of paper has 500 sheets, and at the end of that week I had used about one a day (read: 5). This was precisely what I was trying to avoid; that's what I was thinking when they told me last week was my last day.. I don't have to do monthly reports and kill trees! I had done monthly reports last month and I was mortified at the amount of paper I was going through, so in my mind I was going, "Never again!"

Aside from that, things felt somewhat normal by lunch time, and I was glad. That feeling of uncertainty and abnormality left, and my mind was back at ease.

Still, I don't want to continue murdering more logs. I really want to find a more environmentally-friendly workplace in future. I still want to change the world, one piece of paper at a time! :)