pez | Entries tagged with hk

We went to HK in May! Had a great time, ate and bought too much. The most important thing was that Storme enjoyed herself, so future (and hopefully more frequent) visits are on the cards.

I'm making several cosplays at the moment. I think there are six ongoing?! It's fun and all but I'm probably going slightly mad. At least the ones I'm working on right this moment - Legend of Galatic Heroes stage play - are all sewing-only, which means they can be finished pretty quickly. After these I need to go back and finish Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Luckily there are only the shoes left which should take just a day or two given I have all the right materials. And then after that, moving back to Shingeki no Kyojin. Lots to do, including the harness system and the 3D maneuvre gear.

Speaking of SnK, I'm still totally obsessed with it at the moment, and I think I will be for a long time. I seriously encourage everyone to go read the manga, so that I can fangirl it with you. It's a great story with sensible characters, ie they don't do the shounen cliche of "I know nothing but I'll rush into everything and not consider other people's feelings". Where can you go to find a series like that these days?

The best part though, I think, is THE FANDOM. It feels like the very best of the PoT fandom has moved onto SnK, by that I mean it's got the best, best crack ever. This sort of thing is just the tip of the iceberg. It's a very serious series that makes people really, really want to make fun of the characters (plus you can never go wrong with alpacas). And it's got some gorgeous, gorgeous fanart.

The anime's ongoing and there are 11 episodes so far. It's really well done. People die in practically every episode. "So that's why you like this show," I hear you say...

Should go make myself some icons...

Back to the real world, we've switched our rooms around, so now the larger room is Coscraft's work area, and we sleep in the smaller one. It works quite well and I don't feel like we've sacrificed too much sleep space... perhaps because I don't spend much time in the bedroom apart from sleeping anyway. The aftermath of the move is still everywhere though, because once that was done I resumed the cosplay making and haven't finished tidying up yet. We've also picked out a huge bag of things to give away/sell, but god knows when we'll get around to doing it. Other grown-up things we did includes buying a new mattress, which should get delivered early next month.

Oh yeah, that fic I've been writing since last August? 54 chapters and counting. orz

My sleeping pattern became out of whack just before the clock moved forward, so now it's even worse than before. For no reason I don't seem to be able to sleep before 5am recently.

Today

storme and I went to our monthly cake meet with a bunch of friends. It's just something we do to make sure we don't only see each other at conventions or other events where everyone's too busy to chat. Also, we've become so reliant on Facebook these days it's too easy to think we're up to date with what's happening in our friends' lives when all we've seen are vignetted pictures of their dinners and posts about how much they all supposedly like cocks. XD;

Anyway, before we left home I was deciding on what to wear, and out of curiosity tried on a pair of shorts I bought from the motherland, size L, that had always been too small for me. They now fit!

This brings me to the topic of my diet. I'm a UK size 8/10, a pretty good size and weight for my height. Apparently I'm still too large for Chinese size L but Chinese women are typically shorter than me so hey. But anyway, I've been on a diet that's teaching my body to burn fat instead of carbohydrates for energy. At first it might seem like there is no reason for me to diet/lose weight, but there are really two.

One, and this is the shallow one, is that there's a cosplay I want to do this year that requires me to become a skinny boy.

Two, I've had a bad back since 2001 and it's only been getting worse. There had been times when I strained it and I wasn't able to walk or stand properly for days. Most recently, I did it in bending down to pick up something. I hadn't even touched anything yet and I wasn't bending very far down, but my back just went. The doctor told me before that to pick up anything at all, I should always use my knees because when you bend from your waist, the back muscles are supporting the weight of all your upper body, not just the thing you're picking up. But of course I forget about that, especially when all I wanted to do was pick up an empty plastic bag. >_>

But if I lose some weight, even if it's just a kilo or two, that's less weight my back has to carry.

So my diet involves eating a lot of vegetables and a lot of meat. Fat is also fine, because my body's learned to burn that for energy now. Loads of meat for muscle-building protein. I discovered that protein powder + instant coffee granules + water/almond milk + ice in a blender = pretty damn tasty drink. But there's practically no sugar or carbohydrates in my diet at the moment, so while I'm (hopefully) gaining muscle, I'm also losing body fat. This is a good thing.

Since the start of my diet I'm now about 4kg lighter. That's far easier on my back and when I exercise I shouldn't be tired as quickly because I'm not having to carry as much. I think I can't get much lighter than this (and I wouldn't look good if I do), in fact exercising will build muscles so that my weight would go up again. But that'd be /quality/ weight. Muscles on my back will hopefully get stronger so I won't break so easily.

But yes, the cake meet tonight broke my diet because of the scones. Ah well, I can get back into it.

On the writing front, I'm 43 chapters (!) into the TLR/RoF crossover and the end is in sight. I'll be very sad when it's all over. :( There is currently a dilemma because I don't want to split up a couple, but Storme said I'm not allowed "another OT3" because "there's already an OT3 in this fic" which... is and isn't correct. But one of them really can't choose, the other, because of personality and past events, would not force anyone to choose, and the third person, well, he has many very correct reasons for doing nothing about it as well. MAYBE NONE OF YOU DESERVE EACH OTHER, MON DIEU.

Storme and I have booked flights to go to HK at the end of May, where there will be Glay concert and lots and lots of tasty food. It's quite hard for me to imagine what sorts of things a tourist would want to see/experience in HK, but we're slowly compiling a list. Still, it's going to be pretty freeform I'm sure. We just aren't the kind of travellers who must have a fixed route with a fixed list of things to do, it's too constricting.

I think I'll go back to trying to find a way out for the OT3 now...

There are many sons I know all the words to, although I do catch Cantonese lyrics a lot better than I do English ones.

So, I guess it's "post a few random songs" time. All rather old ones...

許志安 - 灰飛煙滅 which I probably should've included in the "song that makes you sad" post.

黃耀明 + 彭羚 - 漩渦 - Anthony Wong has the sort of voice that sends shivers down my spine. I don't mind Cass Pang's voice either.

黃耀明 - 這麼遠那麼近 - speaking of the guy, I must post this one because I approve of the gay although they avoided it with the MV.

張國榮 - 左右手 and 我 (dammit I want something with better sound quality than this) because his voice is so smoooooth and these are the most epic songs ever. And why not have 玻璃之情 too. Sadly this video was just a series of footage and other videos mashed together, because by the time this song was released he had already died.

謝霆鋒 - 玉蝴蝶... a friend from uni hated this song, but I think it has very beautiful lyrics.

In general, I think 林夕 is a genius when it comes to lyrics. 林振強 was another of my favourite, and he didn't only write great lyrics, he was also amazing at comedy and satire.

( 30 days of music meme question list )

Left Book Fair at midnight (yes, our annual Book Fair is open until midnight) and bumped into Dexter and Anselm. Gonna try to meet up with them tomorrow either for dinner or for drinks.

Talking with them made me realise I'm not so weird after all. You know, some people actually aren't seeing anyone and have no life plans as to when they're going to get married and have kids etc etc. People like me. And they know that where I live isn't actually as far as it sounds. Freddy and Y2, on the other hand, are Kowlooners who thought that one needs to take a BOAT to get to my place. Bloody Kowlooners.

Meeting up with

lina_lau on Sunday. Y2 on Monday. Plus a second appointment with the Chinese doctor and the dentist.

Aya registration approved!

This cat looks like Torgal when he is not impressed.

The concert lasted only two hours, but it was good. We were so close to the stage! He sang one new song, plus a mix of recent songs and classics.

It's T9 + red rainstorm warning right now. Which, to those who don't understand the HK weather warning system, means there is a huge ass typhoon blowing outside at this very moment and anybody with more than two braincells would stay home (and check that the windows and air conditioning units etc are not leaking and put tape on big windows etc). Ferries stopped, flight grounded, etc etc. Right now there's a news reporter on TV trying his best to report without being blow away. I think he's losing the battle... ah, there, they've kept the live report short. I hope the guy has gone to hold on to a lamp post or something. >>

It's anybody's guess if the wedding can go ahead or not tomorrow, because anything above T8 can mean bad things. But there's a chance it'll all be over by the morning... poor Brian is agonising over it. I'll be calling them tomorrow morning to find out.

I triumphed in bringing the wireless network back to life. Which means I can use my own comp. Which means I'm gonna go check emails and comments now.

I spent so much money today. >> But. So much wonderful stuff. Squirrel ring! And books. BOOKS. And clothes. Also saw a wonderful jacket, need to go back and get it...

OH. I saw this book today. I LAUGHED SO HARD.

AND, just remembered:

1. Conversation during dinner. Words in CAPS were said in English...
Pez: Are you going to see "Murderer"? (HK film) It's got Aaron Kwok!
Sheep: But the poster is really CRISPY!
*pause*
Pez: Do you mean CREEPY?
*pause*
Sheep & Pez: fdskfhsdkfhskfhs!
(Later, we saw crispy seaweed in a 7-11 and laughed ourselves to death.)

2. Freddy nearly got ran over by a wedding cake today. XD

He said he only made a few sketches and the animator did the rest, which I don't actually care about. It's the lyrics that's absolutely genius.

Also, my sister bought his third book and I read some of it today. Bugs & The City had me laughing my lungs out.

The genius of Siu Hak. (Chinese only, sorry.) I could not stop laughing. Too bad this doesn't translate well. I hate it when things don't translate. THE FUNNEH AND GENIUS NEED TO BE SHARED, DAMMIT. And I need to make icons.

I love it that Siu Hak himself frequents this blog and makes comments. *_*

Lately my dad's picked up some of the things I say, but those don't translate either so I can't say them when I'm talking in English. That's like hanging out with people who aren't familiar with Steven Chow's films. I CAN'T JUST SUDDENLY QUOTE THINGS. If I say "look how little the little children are!" - nobody gets it! Oh, the pain! The pain! That's like hanging out with someone who looks at you blankly when you say "look at the beautiful plumage!" or "or, to save on postage..."

I appear to be coercing two coworkers into bringing the Guitar Hero band set to my house to play. >> (XDDDDD) Apparently the drums are quite hard to transport once they've been put together.

Still haven't started IU. Yesterday felt like the first time I was at home in about a week. And I have a million things to do first. I WANT MY SPACE ELF, DAMMIT.

(I don't expect anybody to understand this.)

It began with this picture:

( Read more... )

Even the Telegraph has an article on it now.

The famous HK sex scandal, now dubbed the Edisongate by interneters. The best bit though, I think, is how they dubbed the secret source of the photos "Kira". No one know who he/she is, but this person keeps spreading rumours and making claims of when more photos will be released... and he/she has successfully avoided arrest so far...

I wonder if the videos are out yet. Should do a search when I get home.

btw, the doujinshi I posted last night? 180+ page views, 7 comments.

Shirota photobook. The Arena 37C Special with PureBoys (Yagami, please, TOO MUCH LIP GLOSS. TOO MUCH FOUNDATION. PLEASE REMOVE HALF OF YOUR MAKEUP, YOU LOOK LIKE A BAD TRANSVESTITE). And their CD+DVD, and oh the new Cool-Up that has Shirota on the cover.

Yes, I went to MongKok this afternoon. \(:D)/

(In the interview in Arena, Yagami said he dreamt of riding on a dinosaur the night before. XD)

Got the refund for the missing Yagami Ren DVD and stood around chatting with shop lady for an hour or so. Got her to order Genki's re-print photobook for me. Got the cutest little kitty!Lelouch mascot. Met a girl who buying everything Atobe related in the shop. XD We were going through the cards and I'd say "hey, here's an Atobe one" and she'd say "oh, I found a Yukimura/Sanada/Higa one here~"

(Yukimura/Sanada/Higa... that looked like some very scary yaoi combination >_>)

Tried to buy an ADSL modem that'll let me plug my wireless router into, but it turns out the shops don't sell those modems here anymore, because they're given out for free by all the broadband companies here when you sign up, and some comapanies even use some other more advanced modem things now. =_= HK moves on far too fast. They said I should try the shops at Shum Shui Po, but I don't have the time.

Finished the first volume of Taoka Kazuo's autobiography. (The books are really very small) He isn't going to win a literary prize, but the actual content is quite fascinating. Too bad it's from so long ago, a lot of things, including the whole motivation behind "yakuza", have changed since then. But I bet there are still things I can use...

The wedding went extremely well. My sister looked amazing, the food was amazing, the venue was amazing, the service was amazing, and everything was amazingly on schedule.

.....there was a theme there somewhere, hm? XD Photos later, when I get some and figure out how to upload them to this ancient computer.

Got my Kanesaki photobook. There was the preorder gift which is some sort of postcard book. One certain picture in there has killed me. I am now a happily dead Pez killed by a Kane-chan in speedos. Oh yeah.

I am also dead because I am exhausted from the wedding. Had about an hour's sleep before, went around to do my bridesmaid duty while tummy was hurty from being female. And jet lag. And my heels were almost 4 inches high! 8D

I think I'm going to GuangZhou tomorrow with my parents, but not sure yet because I'll hardly have any time to meet up with friends etc.

......it's hot here. Gonna go back to the air-conditioned room. >_>

Oh hai. I'm home. :D It's the first time in about 3 years that all 5 family members are together, and we also have 2 friends here helping out with stuff. Plus 2 cats. It's a bit crazy here atm.

Had haircut. My hair has been blown-dried dead straight, it's really weird. XD;

Flight was good, apart from some electrical problem which delayed the takeoff for an hour. I was wrong thinking that Oasis (budget airline to HK) only gives light snack. There were two hot meals, just like any other airline. And the service was good. I think I'll be using them again.

Hmmm, I think I'll be getting myself a big LCD monitor. The ones here are about half the price of UK's........

Good times were had with

vanillafire and

elyndys on Saturday (two-wang-oh-sore-us), and with

reposoir on Sunday (Sanada's New Groove).

I have comments to reply to and tag to write and all. But, I sat on my bed today wondering if I should go to the office or Ipswich (office, as it turns out). That's how together I am.

Still haven't decided about Squeefest. There is a lot of travelling to do this year already, though Squeefest isn't that far away... after America at the end of May, I should be going away with Liz and Sarah in September, then after that I must be back in HK for a few days. It almost seems like making a round trip of UK-Japan-HK-UK is the best option, if the dates work. I don't know how I'm going to pay for it. Should ask dad to pay for it, maybe. I am resigned to think that in the worst case scenario, I might have to drop out of the Japan trip, because family thing > everything else. (I have the vague suspicion that a UK-HK return ticket plus a HK-Japan return ticket is actually much cheaper, but the timings don't work because I need to be in HK at the end of September.)

Seeing the flist making locked posts and getting seriously angry over really lame things is making me go DOT DOT DOT, especially when you guys are all giving it the publicity it wants but doesn't deserve and you are actually helping to promote it when it should just wibble in the corner and die of lack of attention. Go and worry about other things, my friends. There is a lot of other injustice in this world you can spend your energy on. Go raise some money for charity. Send Pez food. Make someone smile. Send Pez food. Return that CD you've always said you were going to return. Send Pez food. Clean up your room and look for fivers left in old wallets and coat pockets. Send Pez food. Write more Rikkai or Higa fic. Send Pez food. Rent lots of DVDs and rip them on your computer. Send Pez food. You'll feel better afterwards than ranting in a locked post. (And look what you've done, you've made me write a paragraph on it too. Curse you all.)

Maybe I'm too old for the internet. *yawn* Here, say hi to agaricus "piyoshi" bisporus. He does a good impression of Raito, don't you think?

[edit] nabbed from Omi: I want chocolate in my junk mail, too. :( JUNK mail, hehe. *ducks*

[edit2] I have decided to stop ficcing and start playing FF12 tonight. Expect total lack of communication for the next few days.

Current Mood: hungry

And here are some pics of the Ten Thousand Buddashs Monastery in Shatin, Hong Kong. We went there after going up the hill to burn incense and stuff for my grandparents, nearby. Which meant going up the hill there, going half way down and then walking that hellish staircase to the monastery. I'm still surprise I hadn't died. Apart from loads of buddah statues, we also saw a lot of monkeys. XD

As for the pic with WTFFFF written on it, well, it's to do with the teaching on the sign, which translates to "Happiness may not mean happiness, misery shall always be misery"... which is not what it is word for word, but still...

I went to Cheung Chau (southwest Hong Kong) with my family before coming back to UK. The islanders were preparing for the Bun Festival, so I took some pictures. I'm not sure about the exact origin of the tradition, but it has something to do with appeasing the dead spirits, or so I've been told. (included pic of tree because it reminded me of Tezuka's "Marilyn" bonsai. And I pixellated Sheep away 8D)