Author Archives: anzyme

Movie movie movie

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It’s been another week (or more). Life continues to be repetitive. Even as spices are added to my life, they come in double. Well, I have a half-day off today, and I watched two movies I’ve longed for — Life of Pi and Cold War [寒戰]. Both are good movies, and both are worth watching.

I remember it’s not until recent years that I started to enjoy going to the cinema alone. It was approximately in the run up to the Year 4 Osca, at a time I was more than desolate, that I suddenly needed something to distract me from books. I went to IFC for quite a number of movies at that time. It was also during that period that I started enjoying going to random places to have dinner. I had been luxurious enough to take a taxi to IFC and buy takeaway from Sen-ryo/Jade and take a taxi back to hall, ordinary enough to eat at Fusion/Pesto, or down-to-earth enough to have Pizza Hut takeaway. Those were perhaps lonely days, but they surely were more variable than nowadays. Perhaps it’s time to move out and live alone?

iPhone 5

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Another month without a new entry. I’m starting to feel that this site will have an eventual fate as @eugene’s site. The thing is, I’m too tired to blog when I get home, and even when I’m free at the clinic and I wanted to write something, I couldn’t think of anything to write. Yes, life has become rather repetitive these days. And what’s more, while people like Newsome think it’s important to have a personal life outside dentistry, I’m thinking my work starts to be filled with compromises, and so I should focus more time on doing quality dentistry.

Anyway there’re a few things we should celebrate in the past month. For one, I got iPhone 5, finally! I almost got it from 3 HK and signed another two-year contract when suddenly Apple sent me an email telling me to get a SIM-free one from Apple Store. Getting the iPhone from an Apple Store is a way superior experience than getting it from other places: the staff were nicer and delivered better services (by “better services” I mean they don’t look stupid and they don’t look like they think you’re stupid). And, they helped me switch to a nano-sim directly inside the store (which got activated in one hour). I’m glad HK finally has an Apple Store, delivering the lowest yet most important level of the company’s tight vertical integration that Steve Jobs promised in this city.

Getting an iPhone 5 and unboxing it still makes one feel he’s the luckiest person in the world. The box and everything packed inside feels neat and solid. And, despite thinking that a 4-inch screen is a compromise Apple made, and being critical about the new phone’s aesthetics at first, I’ve fallen in love with the iPhone 5 after living with it for a few days. Thanks to its unibody design, the iPhone 5’s build quality has exceeded that of the iPhone 4, which is already the best-built phone on the market even after 2.5 year’s introduction. The aluminium back feels even silkier than Apple’s glass trackpads; the margin between the glass front and the metal housing is even better than that of the iPhone 4.

I said “still” because I’m a bit doubtful if I’d feel the same again when I get the iPhone 5S or iPhone 6. First of all, inside, the iPhone 5 is boring. iOS has gone through 5 years of development since the original iPhone in 2007, and become a very sophisticated system. What’s lacking though is breakthrough and innovation. Yes, iOS 6, I believe, is still the best mobile operating system. But there’s zero new function that I didn’t have on the iPhone 4. It’s pleasing to have much faster performance, but I’d love to see something new, something innovative. Fortunately, with the leaving of Scott-skeuomorphism-Fotstall (another big news in tech in October) and Jony and Bothelo Craig Federighi taking over iOS development, hopefully iOS will leap forward in 2013. Otherwise, I’d strongly consider switching to WP8.

Well well well I considered writing more on other stuff, but since I got enough words to make it an interesting entry now, let’s forget that and write later. Goodbye for now.

In retrospect (3)

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Well, you know, I’m too lazy to blog these days. But I’d love to blog today, so less review some old entries. Two points to note: 1) I said this before — I hate Christmas, I hate September, I hate summer, … Reading this past entry made me realize that I hated a day in the week too — Tuesday. Luckily I don’t anymore. 2) I was really upset at times. I’m grateful that I’m not now.

Tuesdays
November 30, 2010

Since the beginning of year 4, I’ve always hated Tuesdays. Full-day clinic means to test our patience to patients and tutors. The thing is, I’m seldom annoyed by DSAs. I’m more frequently annoyed by tutors though, because I expect more from them. And when I’m not backed up by my tutors, I’m upset. The problem is, this occurs very often in year 4.

My feeling was so bad today that I decided against going right back to hall after school (which I promised myself last night). Instead, I walked by myself purposelessly. I ended up going to the Central Piers, got a cup of Starbucks, got on the ferry and went to TST, where, again, I walked by myself purposelessly. At the end I went back to Central. Sadly, since I took the MTR on the way back, I was no way near to IFC and I could not get shanghai takeaway from Jade… I had KFC, which sucked and upset me again. Well, I know I shouldn’t feel so upset. But I am.

Cool lines, kooliner

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About a year ago, in the midst of my worst sufferings, I said a number of things that I would regret. But at that time I found those lines pretty cool, and I called them “cool lines”. @Johnson then gave me a nickname that I love — kooliner. If you’re not dental enough, you may not understand this. But, well, I really love the fact that I’m a kooliner.

Since those were not moments I’m proud of, let’s not review what cool lines I said at that time. Don’t worry. Given that this site has got 9 years of history, there’re no lack of cool lines. Let’s review some:

“The last place you can find in MK is a quiet one.” 19/11/2012

“In the eyes of the mediocre, only ordinary exists.” 18/11/2011

“Art is subjective, but experience and time make one’s artwork appeal to more people.” 1/9/2009

And of course there’re more. And I’m happy to announce that you can review them now, because our beloved old site is back online. Let’s have some fun!

*   *   *

When it comes to cool lines, there’s of course another person who is a better kooliner than I am — Steve Jobs. Let’s keep this nice commemorate video on this site forever.

Day off

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Well, days-off have become a rare time now. I used to waste the whole day at home doing nothing; now I wouldn’t waste a moment. I decided to “experience life” on my days-off. Fortunately for me, those days are not bad. Let’s review the typical things I do on days-off.

Shopping – The most frequent events are shopping. When one’s on a higher budget, one tends to spend more. But well, looking at my credit card bill I know I’ve spent way too much. It’s time to stop. But I didn’t stop today — I bought a new watch. Well, it’s not an expensive one, so I have an excuse for myself. And, it’s time to say goodbye to my old watch, which I have used since 2006.

Food – Food is also an important part. You know, after days of busy work, it’s really important to treat yourself. Here’re some highlights: (if you follow my life closely — I guess no one would — you should notice some is not food on holiday)

Relaxation – Technically this is still food, but the reason we’re there is different. We all need some holiday romance.

You may wonder: these events are for sure colourful; but what about the more important things? Like soul cleansing and self actualization? Trust me, when you’re so busy that you don’t even have time to enjoy life, it’s pretty hard to do the higher level things. I said this before: If there’s one month I should hate, it’s September. Yes, I hate September. It’s always a time for change. And in times of change we all lose something. Sure we also gain something, but when we’re not ready to replace old things with new ones, we get disappointed. And I’m experiencing exactly that right now.

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Speaking of my quote, I found my piece of blog with that quote, and immediately there’s one more thing I hate myself — I used to write A-Level-English-length articles; but now I write much less (camouflaged by the increased font size and line height). Anyway, let’s review a good piece I wrote last year, during the times of my greatest sufferings.

Angels and demons
September 29, 2011

First of all, this is not about the film “Angels and Demons (2009)”. It’s about my personal life, especially the many adversities I’m in. If there’s a festival I ought to hate, it’s Christmas, for I’ve never lived a happy Christmas. I know Christmas means the birth of Jesus; everything else is secondary. I agree that Christmas brings hope on earth. But to me, Christmas means loneliness and sufferings.

If there’s a season I ought to hate, it’s summer. I’ve never enjoyed summer, for it’s hot and humid, and everyone talks about outdoor “fun”, which I hate. Winter is more natural to one with a miserable personality.

And if there’s a month I ought to hate, it’s September. For years, September has signified big changes which suffocate me. Not only does the environment around me, and maybe school, change, people also change. When it comes to changes, more harm than good tends to occur. This is because we live in an imperfect world. Things tend to go unordered. Humans are all evil. So whenever changes occur, people try to escape from their orderly life and go wild. That’s when bad changes occur.

Yes, I hate Christmas, I hate summer, I hate September. What? So that leaves only very little time in a year you would truly enjoy? Correct. If you consider the K.Chan you know, you wouldn’t be too surprised about this. How often have you seen me truly happy? Well, perhaps after I’m drunk.

During those bad times, there could be angels out there to save us. I’ve seen some through the years, the most recent happening being today, when typhoon signal no. 8 was in effect. But the sad thing is, many bad things could also happen on a typhoon day. Yes, if there is a day I should hate, it’s typhoon-no.8 (or above) days. Every time I’m at hall when typhoon comes, I can do nothing, nor is there anything to eat. There is nowhere to go, nor is there anyone to spend time with. “There’re angels out there, but demons prevail”. That’s what I said today, and it’s very true.

What’s worse, those who were once angels could one day turn into demons. When that happens, and if we’re so attached to the good side of them, we will be disappointed. “You weren’t like that before,” we may say. But an answer is always prepared, “sooner or later things will change”. And remember what I said about changes? When it comes to changes, more harm than good tends to occur.

Job satisfaction

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Well, it’s been nearly a month since I’ve worked as a dentist. How are things? They’re all good, apart from the fact that sometimes I’m rather free. But every time when I can solve my patient’s problems, I feel good about myself. And it seems that (apart from surgical extraction), my clinical skills get better and better. Let’s hope that my surgical skills will improve with time as well.

But one problem with work is that my social activity is getting less. No, I’m never a social freak; but sometimes I do want to get social. I don’t know why, but even if I read facebook I don’t find anything interesting. Is it because my friends are too boring, or because I have too few interesting friends? That could really be true. If so, where do I get interesting friends? Definitely not through WeChat.

I’m not dissatisfied with my life. With a good job and a relaxing life I’m quite pleased with my life right now. But I still need some new excitement. Help me find some.

Work, iPhone 5

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So, work has officially begun. I work two days in Tai Wai and 3 days in Jordan. Well, come and have a cup of coffee with me some time, because I’m kinda bored here..

September has started really differently this year. School opening used to be quite dramatic, because with each school opening I must be very reluctant to go to school and would feel so frustrated that my relationship with people change. This year there’s no more school opening, and I hope work will be different.

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I want to talk a bit about iPhone 5. Well, once again Apple has broken our hearts. Apple is no stranger to heartbreaking, though. There’re a few occasions in history that Apple broke millions of heart (heart of fans who proudly told others that something would never happen):

  • 1997: Steve Jobs announced that IE became default browser in Mac OS
  • 2005: Apple switched to Intel processors
  • 2005: iPod 5th gen supported video playback
  • 2012: iPhone 5 switched to a 4″ screen, and is not called “the new iPhone”

Why is iPhone 5 a heartbreaking announcement? Engadget’s Dan Cooper puts it best:

 I’ve been proudly telling anyone who’d listen that Apple would never change the screen, produce a two-tone device or call it the iPhone 5 — and clearly I was talking out of my elbow… I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to having a sneaky eye on the Lumia 920 instead.

He’s also right in that he’s showing interest at Lumia 920, which is a phenomenal phone. Personally, after careful evaluation, switching to another ecosystem will cost me too much trouble (considering the deeply integrated iCloud, Mac, iPhone, iPad). But Lumia is not a bad phone. Luckily, iPhone 5 isn’t bad either; it’s just not as groundbreaking as iPhone 4 used to be two and a half years ago. So, I’ll still get an iPhone 5, although not with 100% confidence with Apple this time.

I like the new iPod touch though.

Last times

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It’s the end of August. This summer has meant a lot to me, with different things to treasure at different times. First it was the end of exams; then we got our results to find out we’ve finally graduated; then I began job hunting and finally succeeded. And between each milestone I was lucky to be able to enjoy this very last summer vacation with my loved ones. Yes, this summer has been a happy one, and so it’s natural that I feel some sadness when this summer is nearly over. In particular, I’m leaving Lee Shau Kee, a place I’ve called home for the past five years.

Indeed, a lot has happened throughout my five-year hall life. I’m never a sentimental person, but right now I’d really like to list my most treasured memories in this hall (in random order):

  • P&P Subcom
  • Play hard and work hard with dental friends
  • Living in single room
  • Sharing a double room with James
  • Love stories?
  • Quiet moments alone (with wine)
  • Dinners alone (Fusion / Pizza Hut + Mcwings takeaway)
  • Things I don’t remember right now but nevertheless still treasure

You may think that there aren’t too much memories. Sorry, I’m not the kind of person who would write a piece of shit facebook note and tag every one and say how much I treasure them. No, every bone in my body says that’s not the way I treasure things. The (fox in the) Little Prince says “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye”. I concur. How I describe memories in text is not important; it’s how I remember them that’s important.

But of course, the goal of this site is to describe my thoughts in plain text. That’s why I’ll briefly tell what I’ve done in the last two days prior to my leaving:

Packing, packing, packing
I spent quite a lot of time packing. I’ve finished just now: 8 boxes and 4 red-white-blue bags; these are five-year-worth of memories. And I also gave out quite a lot of stuff, and made a little contribution in promoting oral health.

 

Dinner at Fusion
One doesn’t usually graduate alone; Cathy is moving out too. That’s why we celebrated our last days at Memo’s. Originally we wanted to go to Safety Stop once more. Unfortunately for some reason it didn’t open on Sunday; the same was true for 糖痴豆. We ended up going to 甜品堂, which was still good, albeit meaning less to us. We also had a last late night walk in the campus, which we’ve always enjoyed.

 

Dinner at Fusion
Of course, a large part of my hall life is related to Fusion. That’s why it’s natural that I’d like to spend my last dinner at Fusion. It didn’t disappoint me — my favourite dish, seafood paella, was there. For one moment I thought I should say a proper goodbye to them; but I just couldn’t. That’s not me. I should always remember my gratitude to them, because their food has really cheered me up a lot during the darkest days in my life. I hope when I come back some day, it’ll still be there.

Good old days, something new

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Having too much free time these days, I start to randomly watch some videos. And I came across the old Get A Mac ads (2006-2009). I kinda watched them all already when they were on Apple’s web site, but revisiting them in no way diminished their amusement. My favourite? I guess it’s this one:

Yes, as one prepares to open a new page in life, he starts to look back and miss the good old days. The days in HKU really means a lot to me, and I guess I’ll be missing it. Whether it’s my constant staying up late, or my apparent freedom at hall (I kinda have that freedom at home too, but I just feel more freedom here), or the ease of transportation, or the many opportunities (girls or work) that I see. And yes, my days as an UE tutor. Having the chance to inspire others really means a lot to me, and I guess I treasured it enough and did a satisfactory job.

There’s a trick here: I said “as one prepares to open a new page in life”. Yes, I found a job. Hopefully I can start soon, but actually I know little about it. I haven’t even signed a contract. Well, I’ll keep you guys updated, so that at least you know where to find me for dental appointment. But wait, will I breach the code of conduct by promoting my practice here?

120226 Stockholm

The beginning of the end

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It’s Aug 1. Technically my life as a HKU student is officially over — my student ID has expired, I pay double hall fee for this month, … But there’s a saying that you’re not graduated until you get a job (no, there’s not), so let’s just think I’m a student enjoying my last days in university, and in hall (I’ll be leaving on 29/8).

In fact, I think I’ll really miss my days in this hall. Despite less participation in everything for the past two years, I still have strong emotional attachment to the values of this hall, the values I helped create and shape. When I tidy things up, I often look at the wide range of items I designed, and they did cover a lot of things — booklets, posters, web page, lanyard, booth, … I think when you meet a group of people who really share the same values as you do, you’ll be really motivated to do things and contribute to a community. That’s what I did before. That passion somehow vanished at some point in history, but at least I know that it existed.

Talking about what I treasure at this hall, apart from my amateur career in design, I must also mention the group of dental students. I love the way we supported each other. It was good to know that whenever you need help, help is there. I am most grateful for having senior mentors here, and so I extended this good tradition to the lower years, and met a group of great friends in that process. Sadly, with my leaving, as well as some fourth-years, this dental group may disintegrate soon. I hope that the remaining ones will not be too lonely.

Btw, one more album to share. Enjoy.

120717 West Kowloon Promenade