illust: thought puddles

Why is the weather so spastic right now? One minute it was awesomely sunny, the next it felt as though we were having a typhoon. I don't remember 852 weather ever behaving in such a manner.

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My intestinal issues from last week are pretty much gone, so it means I can eat solid foods again. Not sure whether I should go to the doctor to make sure it is nothing chronic, but I honestly feel horrible if I had to spend money again in such a short period of time. This guilt is thanks to my sister, who has been amazing passive-aggressive in her emails as of late. I wouldn't have cared (since I don't exactly like her anyways...people thought it was strange that I didn't cry when she left for college or got married, but honestly, we're not close) but I know some of the things she said are true.

Namely, going to an expensive college. Not like that was my fault, I had no idea what the tuition was before setting off four years ago. My parents told me not to worry about it. And now my parents are offering to pay for my grad tuition as well-- I didn't ask for it, they just offered. In contrast, my sister had to pay for her own grad programme, so understandably she's not exactly happy about it. She didn't say this out loud in the emails, but kept asking over and over if I was going to be "financially responsible" for myself, or whether I was going to "get a part-time job in England".

First off, whatever our parents do for her is none of my business. Adversely, whatever our parents do for me is not her concern. (Hell, I didn't even care that our parents paid for her car and part of her flat). And what is with her having me get a part-time job in the U.K.? The student visas have incredible limitations with it comes to employment, and I've done several years of work as an undergrad. I think some of that money would cover the costs. Plus, she didn't even get a job during her grad days....

...eurgh, I'm just annoyed at my sister and her attitude. I just hope this isn't one of those things that'll last a lifetime.

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In case anyone is interested, The Kooks are playing in 852 on Aug 21st; I didn't open my email for several days to read the livenation notice. Tickets are 380HKD to 580HKD each, so they're a little on the pricey side...

Scribbles II

Just another scribble, a break in between finishing my stash of WIPs from last year. Yes, last year. I'm so bad with time management and motivation when it comes to finishing off something related to art. It's a good thing I don't intend to become a professional artist since one of the key ingredients--patience-- is lacking in me. Don't know how I managed to draw a winter image when the aim was to draw a summer one; maybe I long for the cold days to return.
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Oh yes, the official 'hot days' [from the ancient agricultural calender, pronounced 'dai shu'] has settled into the 852. Temperatures are soaring to the 30s, and already this past weekend a dozen people fell ill from the heat. (Of course, some people were just asking for trouble when to decide to hike up a mountain in the middle of summer). Don't reckon the days will cool off anytime soon, but as long as we all stay indoors and hydrated, everything should be okay. Now if only it was considered fashionable to sweat bucketloads (there is such a stigma against sweating in Hong Kong. It's such a bother; afterall, sweating is a natural human process to cool down the body! If people continue idolizing the image of pale skinny girls prancing in the sun without a bead of sweat...hell, lost my point) life would be much more enjoyable.
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Random news: I fell ill again. Some sort of intestinal infection, nothing serious-- just means I'll be having a rendezvous with the toilet more often than I'll like to. The pain is not as bad as the time I got food poisoning (though pretty damn close); and I ended up with cold sweats, itchy skin, abdominal cramps, and general sense of fatigue. The cramps normally subside after I sleep for a while, and only reoccurs during the night. Maybe I should keep the lights on and fool my intestines into thinking that night doesn't exist....

Halloween+Lactose

Looks like the trick has been played on me this year. I drank Starbucks on the night of the Halloween party at the apartment, and then ended up "having the runs", as my roommate oh-so-delicately puts it. Lactose intake has rendered me verbally immobile, even up to now.

Countdown to the 27th

Hahhaha I am so amused by my roommates. Alright, after living alone for the past three months I was skeptical whether I would assimilate into the 'flatmate-lifestyle', but it worked out fine.

One girl brought a dog into the apartment, and that thing is a diva. I tried to walk the dog, but the thing just sat on the pavement like a rock and refused to budge. It only weighed 11lbs too, so I don't know how it managed to anchor itself to the ground like that. I swear, I'm definitely getting a cat in the future.

Also, the same roommate who brought in the dog has the most interesting conversation topics. It was only a day after we met and we began a discussion about the digestive system and other grisly details involved with that. Plus, we both share a love for the same music, and we both love to hate wet hair on tiled floors. And a fear of sorority girls that look like the Barbie version of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.

PS: Turns out that little episode on Thursday was caused by food poisoning. The nurse was super-nice and understood the pain of getting diarrhea so close together as my period, but the doctor was a major asshat. Just waltzed into the room, looked bored that another student is feeling ill right before the start of the new semester and plopped onto a stool looking as though he didn't have a spine.

The doctor said it was probably because of a viral infection from poorly cooked food, and then proceeded to prescribe antibiotics. No offense to the doctors in the U.S., but why is it that for every single illness, antibiotics are whipped out of the medicine cabinet?

Love you, Pepto-Bismol

Alright. I'm having a severe case of indigestion right now. My new roommates moved in yesterday, and one of the girls and I decided to eat out. Feeling super hungry and wanting to head to an outdoor venue, the 2-9 (aka 29th Street Cafe) seemed like the best place to be.

I have nothing against that restuarant. In fact, I liked the idea of having a cozy and clean restuarant in such close proximity to campus. Maybe we just went on a bad night, maybe there were too many people and it was hard for the serving staff to keep up. But it took over an hour for the food to come, and when it finally did the dish was half-cold. I would have sent it back to be reheated but who knew how long that would have taken? Another hour?

And I never thought I would taste zucchini that was bitter. And chicken so dry. And a pesto sauce so....strange. At first everything was alright, and my roommate and I went home with full stomachs. But then at around 2am, I suddenly woke up in cold sweat and went to the toilet for an hour just to get half my dinner out. And then I awoke again at 4am for another visit to the toilet. And another visit at 5am. I must have sweated half my moisture content during that time. It's normally 80 degrees F (approx 26 degrees Celsius, for the people living in countries using a logical measurement system) at night here, and I had to wear a bloody jacket and cover myself with a quilt just to retain warmth. It's one of those cases where you feel very hot but also have cold calmy skin.

Apparently the roommate who dined with me suffered digestion problems too, except she couldn't get anything out....which I must admit, sounds like a worst predicament than mine. So both of us rushed to the market this morning to buy medicine and microwavable food....because I'll be damned if I eat at another restaurant for the next week or so.

(Because of this entire episode regarding the food, I had to miss work this morning).

Intractable stomach

That's right, my stomach is giving me hell right now. Probably ate something that disagreed with me (highly unlikely considering I barely ate anything today), or drank too much milk. A completely masochistic move on my part, seeing how I am lactose intolerant.

But damn, milk has calcium (good for my bones!) and tastes so damn good. Soy milk cannot compare.

Not only do I feel horrible from milk, but also because I asked for a day off from both my library part-time job and internship. I'm exhausted from my GREs, I'm exhausted from feeling as though my stomach is having a rave party, I'm exhausted from being exposed to too much sun this weekend.

Things to look forward to from the mail: two t-shirts my friend bought for me, a Togainu no Chi book that took a month to arrive, and also the crimson bedsheets I ordered from Bed Bath & Beyond after I ripped my current set apart during one of my nervous outbreaks. Bloody bedsheets cost me at least 20USD, but stupid ikea didn't have anything to offer in their online shop.
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On a more personal note, I'm feeling slightly bitter that all my friends/fiends are returning to Hong Kong for the rest of the summer. And I'm stuck over here in California, alone as aways.

I know there really isn't a point in me being too querrulous about it since it was my choice to stay the entire 12 weeks just for my internship...but its hard knowing that you're exlcuded from a bunch of actitivies that everyone else would be able to participate in.

I thought this would be something along the lines of a "golden summer", but so far it has been pretty gloomy, dark and boring. Might be because my bachelor-style room does not have any sunlight, and that everyone in my building is antisocial...or that I don't really connect well with people at my internship. And this one guy that I actually have interesting conversations with at the library plans to leave asap.
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And then my mother tells me how I should be enjoying life right now because "undergraduate years are so easy to get by". A bit rich coming from her, considering she never really did attend a 4 year undergraduate institution. Look, undergraduate life is fun for those people who are super talented and could maintain a healthy social-life and a strong academic background at the same time. I'm not one of those people. I'm diffident and meek with it comes to socializing. I don't understand conversation structures (hence those huge awkward 30 sec pauses between talking) or what the norms are during any sort of social interaction. So awkward.