Xi Yan / Yin shi nan nu

Two of my favourite movies (ever) happened to be on sale at HMV when i walked in last night, so bought both dvd's. Xi Yan ('The Wedding Banquet) and Yin Shi Nan Nu (Eat Drink ManWoman) are both directed by Ang Lee before he went on to make films like Sense and Sensibility, Hulk and Brokeback Mountain.

Bloody ripoff

Now that I moved to Hong Kong, I have to register with the Consulate General of Belgium in Hong Kong and Macau. Great fun, filling out another form with data you have already provided to the London embassy before... Surely there is a central system that keeps track of where people go?

Anyway. After registration, I am supposed to apply for a new Belgian ID card. Because all Belgians need an ID card. Which they are never going to use if they live abroad. If I travel to Belgium I will be going around with my passport, which I have to take anyway. So what the hell do I have to fork out another HK$ 141.9 for? Apart from getting money off you, I see no point whatsoever in ID cards for Belgian citizens living abroad.

Thunderbolt and lightning...

Another amazing thunderstorm passed over Hong Kong last night. The sky was electric, the lightning was so strong and frequent that I could see perfectly well without having to put on the light in my room. Thunder was loud enough to make my windows shake.

Next: the sirens of the fire brigade all over town...

(Just discovered that the Hong Kong Observatory keeps track of lightning. There were 3059 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes last night, plus another 1332 cloud-to-cloud.)

To Croc or not to Croc???

Dilemma, dilemma, dilemma. It is raining a LOT in Hong Kong. It is also warm. You want to wear shorts. What footwear do you choose? Trainers get soaked. Flip flops? Either the sole slides over the slippery pavement, or the soles of your feet slip off the flip flops. Nike sandals would be great, but I haven't found them yet.

So... I must admit, after the so manieth time I almost broke my neck on the slippery pavement, I have been very tempted to get a pair of Crocs. They're lightweight, they're ok to get wet, they're open so the water flows out and your feel stay cool, and... they're BUTT UGLY!!

I can't honestly be seen wearing these monsters. But they're ideal footwear in this climate. Dilemma, dilemma, dilemma. I may buy a pair in a discreet colour (if that is possible) and hide whenever I see someone I know in the street. Or should I try to blag it and walk around with this ''it's so uncool it's cool'' attitude?

No excuses...

http://www.lifeclever.com/learn-35-languages-for-free-in-itunes/

Cantonese is in the list too... I guess i don't have an excuse anymore, now that I bought an iPod... Oh well, i can still blame it on the fact that i don't have an internet connection yet so nowhere to download the podcasts :)

*in stitches*

Yeah, I know, it's bad to make fun of people, but this one is too funny. Sent the wrong number to someone and she replied to my e-mail to say that the number is not correct. So far nothing wrong, but the way she put it just got me in stitches, it's so funny!!

I tried to call you by the phone number you advise me : #3356 1060 but seems this line is not working. I have the sound is beeeeeeeeeee!

I mean, really: I have the sound is beeeeeeeeeee! *lol*

Sales - part deux

Speaking of Jehova's W's (see previous post), a friend of mine reminded me of them earlier this week. He didn't encounther the Watchtower Crowd though, but the tactics were similar: he got caught by a Mormon. I'm sorry, my friend, the story is too funny to keep it for myself :)

So he sends me this e-mail saying this Mormon guy 'somehow managed to get his number off him and leave him with a pamphlet'. My reply to this was that he obviously had given the guy his phone number. A minute later his answer to this arrived in my inbox:

'Totally not my fault! He had blue eyes and he kept smiling at me!'


Slapper :)

Sales

One phenomenon that still baffles me here in Hong Kong is the door-to-door sales people who call at the office. There I am at my desk, minding my own business, when all of a sudden the doorbell rings and someone pushes a namecard in my face with the name of a hotel and her contact details. If it's not a hotel, it is a stationary company, someone selling magazine subscriptions or little perfumed bags 'to make the office smell nice'. Come to think of it, with the currect smell of pain and thinner we are getting from the renovation works on the floor below, that one could have come in handy.

Maybe i should request a free night in each of the hotels they advertise, so i can check whether it is good enough to house our precious visitors.

Somehow I'm still expecting the Jehova's Witness to show up at some point to sell me a bible and a Watchtower. Ah, memories... ('Quick, switch off the light and pretend no one's home!')

Most Advanced Police Force In The World

Chinese police on Segways... But is it the real Segway, or is it the Chinese fake? :)

Another holiday, another beach

The 1st of July is yet another public holiday in Hong Kong. This time it's all about the reattachment to China in 1997. Ever since a demonstration for democracy takes place on that day.

An expat myself, i obviously take democracy for granted and so I headed for the beach. Another public holiday, another beach, that's how it goes. This time I ended up going to South Bay beach with Josh and his friends. It's a nice beach. Fairly quiet, lively but not too busy, and nicely framed by lush greenery, rocks and a nice view towards Deep Water Bay. Every ow and then an announcement is made that the water is polluted and people should not go into the water. Then again, pollution is a given in Hong Kong, so not too many people actually care and neither did we. No visible effects so far, I think we'll survive.