It's back to BAU work and starting with the law books at last! I've got a mate from San Francisco spending a couple nights with me from tomorrow, but I think it should be all chillax ...

Anyways, I have seen a couple of friends doing the Gratitude challenge on Facebook. I've actually done this exercise way before this whole trend started, but just to show I'm not lagging behind those trends, here's my take on it:

Things I am grateful for:

• Coming home to a parcel hung outside my door. 

Honestly I got a little horrified when I saw it hung with a rubber band to my door handle....cos I certainly wasn't expecting anything! I spotted an address which I didn't identify as mine and honestly thought the postal guys made a huge mistake! (the address was actually of the sender) And was wondering if it was gonna b a pig's head cos the previous tenant owed some money....

Turns out it was Michael+Hanny who sent some Tim Tams my way all the way from Perth for my birthday! :D And the Adriano Zumbo limited editions to top the whole surprise off! Such a sweet friend! And all just b'cos of my comment that Tim Tams are expensive here in HK.

Really heartwarming gesture to feel I'm not forgotten...especially the couple of friendships that I had to *ahem*, according to Taylor Swift, "Shake it Off"!

• Tinder.

Yes, mindless swiping just based on first impressions. Epitome of swipe right, if you like what you see. Mrs Toes in the Sand will know what I'm talking about *wink wink*. Anyways, I got a proposition for a fling - while I admired the candidness (and of course the handsomeness), I had to pry myself away from things which just didn't go well with my values. 

The exact proposition was a great laugh for all those I shared it with me, as well as for myself haa. Guess you can't take some things (like Tinder) and some people too seriously....lol

• My ricecooker + Thermos soup pot

Electrical appliances are exorbitant in HK! Had to wait for my parents to come with the aforementioned appliances....and I'm glad to say I've been using the ricecooker almost every night, and have made Green Bean Sweet Soup and Carrot & Corn Soup with the pot!

And managed to impress my colleagues with my cooking skills along the way since that means packed lunches to work (without the nasty MSG)....

Meanwhile, my colleagues have been requesting me to set up a catering service for lunch (which by the way, also happened in SG...)

• TV

See first sentence of point above. But the parents were shopping at the computer centre at Sham Shui Po one day, and picked up a 24-inch Smart TV of a local brand for around 200 SG bucks. Nothing too fancy, but at least I can keep up with the news (more of the weather and the traffic diversions due to the protests). I recently realised there are options to change the audio language and subtitles! And the recording function! Back to some English TV for me hooray!

Alright, that sums up my exciting highlights recently! Laters peeps!

A whirlwind of meet ups!

While I am still recovering from the exhaustion from the trip to Korea (and braving the one hour security check at Inchein airport and another one hour plus trip from HK airport no thanks to Occupy Central... ), I'm preparing for the parents' visit on Thursday!  Yippeeee yay

Miffy meep from Toes in the Sand came for a weekend visit 2 weeks ago...and boy was I so thankful to be able to spend some girl bonding time together. ..even though it was for 2 days!! So nice to finally have a friend over! :) we ate and ate, and tried horse riding at the Hermes exhibition, shopped, and had a slight panic in trying to get to the airport (what's new after Taipei lol)

Anyways, in Seoul I was a few days later for another dear friend's wedding. I met Sunmi at Hallym University when I was there for summer exchange a grand 7 years ago...and I'm so happy for her. People often comment that I must be very nice to go to weddings overseas especially where it is self-funded...but I tend to look at it a little differently - I feel honoured to be invited to weddings who revel in me gracing  and sharing their happy occasion. Of course, I know (and have experienced) those who are just out doing it for some other motives. ..but I've since learn how to filter such peeps away. Also nice to meet up with Sangwoo who has grown into a fine guy! Can't say the sane about E - he might be one of those I won't be hanging out with next time I return.

Anyways, at the urge of J, my impromptu dinner partner in SG and life advisor (haahaa), I shall continue to try to make new friends here ...so I won't have to eat dinner alone lol!  And also with the renwed perspective from Korea, I believe there are always gems out there! So I have registered myself on meetup.com (no it's not an online dating site) and signed up on some of the activities (actually one so far haa).

So there you go! A little rough at the start, but I'm sure things will be going smooth from now on!