Chinese New Year buzz

I don't know when this winter thing is supposed to be over in Hong Kong, but it is freezing in the house.

Dave Wong, our Chinese-American friend whom we met in Urumqi came to stay for a night while passing thru on his way to Manila for a family reunion. It was the first time a guest had stayed over night in our home!

It was great to see him, talking nonstop and catching up basically over the past few months. We went out for scrumptious yum-cha yesterday and although i was never one for the loud clanky restaurants with loads of loud and obnoxious people, it was really fun. He'll be back in a few days before heading up to Urumqi.

Funny, he's made Urumqi, probably one of the most awkward cities to get to, his 'base' but it seems to work for him. Oh, and i'm proud to say i got him hooked on the LOST series. He's probably finished several episodes by now as i type.

I'm going to meet a friend of my sister's, Andrea, for lunch later today, and then visit the Art Gallery; she came over on an internship with The Standard, another English newspaper here.

So the plan is to pick her brain on what she thinks of this field in HK, etc etc. I start class tomorrow at HK Uni, very excited! Although i won't get credit for it (too late on the application this year), i'm happy to be back in the academic environment and revitalize my relatively mush-like brain.

The course i'm taking is called Literary Journalism, I have my readings for the lecture and yesterday I bought a book that is recommended for the class.

Life is good, have been running and keeping fit with frisbee and yoga and generally just feeling much more healthy. Chinese New Year buzz is in the air and everything is suddenly covered in bright red banners and lanterns, people are off on holiday, special foods can be found in stores made particularly for this festive time (loh-bak-gou, a sort of chewy taro cake with dried shrimp - delicious!) and it seems that the agreed mood of the people on the street is H-A-P-P-Y. Hey, i'm cool with that.

Matt returns from Shanghai tonight after a couple days there. Yay! I don't like when he's away. Hate it. But i know it's for the best for us in the future and for the other doors that will open because of it.

I can't stand it anymore, i'm off to find a VERY warm and EXTREMELY cozy coffee shop to do my readings.