sigh... how hard IS it to put an image attachment from an email into a blog post?! blogger's gotta stop hiring lazy co-op students. there goes my master plan of giving y'all the frame by frame of my trip-to-be to thailand (trip not 'firmed yet tho).

bought my aunt some bird's nest for her birthday. when consumed daily, bird's nest is women's best bet for better skin, health and immune system. the ready-to-eat kind goes for CDN$30-$100 per 100g. the cost for the dried kind (whole nest) is usually astronomical.

the restaurant where i had dinner tonite gave every patron a free 620mL bottle of beer with meal purchase. i didn't finish mine... instead i went home to my one true love...

cheers. .e  13:14  4 comments [ leave comments ]

See it? .e  11:50  1 comments [ leave comments ]

Is this working?

.e  05:52  5 comments [ leave comments ]

i spent the entire day fooling around with C#. my laptop is really having trouble with visual studio 2005, a few web services and MS SQL server running at the same time (plus about 20 other memory resident applications). what can an on-a-budget programmer do, eh? (:

the night finishes with a fine danish beer.

.e  13:59  4 comments [ leave comments ]

made-on-the-spot snacks are everywhere on the streets of Hong Kong. it's impossible to try them all (or take pictures before i put them in my mouth). here are a few:

pig intestines skewlette (or so i was told) and fried eggplants with fish paste. when you order, they are reheated in a deep-frying pan for 30 seconds before being served, giving you just enough time to pay and put away your wallet. [HKD$12]

these squid balls take longer to make. the cook pours batter onto a hot iron with many hemispherical indents then adds squids and other trimmings. then the bottom half is rotated to the top and the ball shape is formed. seaweed and dried squid flakes are sprinkled on top before they're served. [HKD$10]

the "FAN-tastic" sandwich by Mcdonald's (click to see a better picture of the sandwich). instead of normal buns, two patties of rice are used instead. "FAN" means cooked rice in cantonese. [HKD$14.8]

we do treat ourselves to meals at nice restaurants sometimes. mag and i had lunch at a french resto called C'est bon! (as french as a Hong Kong restaurant could be. there are chinese restaurants in canada, too, so shut up (: ). [HKD$380 for two] .e  13:54  3 comments [ leave comments ]

interesting facts about Hong Kong:

1. tipping is not expected in most low-price restaurants. i use the "table-cloth" rule: tip when the table is "clothed", though it doesn't always apply. another good indication is if the bill is brought to you in a leather-covered clipboard, then tipping is likely. the rate is usually around 5% if no special service has been asked for. only at really chic restaurants in expensive downtown areas (where business people and tourists hang out) do people tip higher.
2. things don't dry. because of the high humidity, things take a very long time to dry. you cannot use thick face cloths as they can easily develop mould. sweating might seem more severe because the sweat does not evaporate as quickly. i take 2 to 3 showers a day.
3. elevators are called "lifts".
4. toilets flush with sea water.
5. energy cost is expensive. Hong Kong people have the habit of conserving energy whenever possible. i'm still getting used to turning lights and appliances off immediately after use. gasoline currently goes for HKD$14, or around CAD$2, per litre.

.e  11:08  0 comments [ leave comments ]

so far:
- i'm still alive
- nothing's been stolen
- no money's been scammed
- zero food poisoning
- expenses kept under control
- plenty of clean underwear

regrettably:
- laptop too slow for coding
- poor reception from neighbours' wireless internet routers
- missed Brasil vs France quarter-final
- no Dunn's here (: .e  04:04  2 comments [ leave comments ]