Just landed yesterday and suddenly felt overwhelmed and exhausted--it seemed that the aftermath of all the troubles and hassles over the past years have just begun.

what's worse, cutie, my oldest friend, a cat turning 22, got into some serious trouble. he accidentally got some industrial glue onto his fur when my home was undergoing interior decoration a couple of months ago and the glue stayed on his fur and turned into a bunch of firm fur balls. although he now looks like a rock star, the vet said that the only way to get him back into the fluffy and handsome don-juan is to shave him from neck down.

however, when he was taken to the vet’s cutie fought so hard that no doctor dared to touch him--cats are vain animals and cutie is no exception. the only way they would like to shave him, they said, was to inject some tranquilizer and to put him to a short sleep. for an old cat like cutie, it would be somewhat detrimental to his nerve system. therefore, the only way was to do it by myself.

cutie recognized me immediately yesterday and jumped onto my lap to greet me. he is a lot thinner now and somewhat slow responding to my words and moving around. he cannot jump around everywhere like before and sometimes got grumpy when the meals come in late. but he recognized me and ate everything i gave him, including a bunch of vegetable leaves.

since yesterday i've been trying to shave him with a small scissor and i managed to cut a ton of fur balls off his back but there are still a lot on his belly. he seemed to enjoy this a lot but soon after that i had to stop him from licking the remains of the fur balls because there are still a lot of dried glue residue on his remaining fur. my knees and back got sore for staying on the ground and following him for too long a time but watching him trying to untangle his fur fruitlessly felt worse.

poor guy, got to get you back!

I still cannot believe my eyes--after numerous delicious snacks, wonderful meals, a nice billiard game, and a hilarious night of reading a bunch of funny posts in A4S in Zhuhai I was still lucky enough to see my latest publication online: http://anm.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/4/2/169.

咩哈哈哈哈哈...

Been in Hong Kong for almost 6 days and spent most of the previous days on business & stuff. On Saturday we were told that a typhoon called Molave (Cat 8~10 tho it sound to me like some kind of Malaysian noodle) would land in Hong Kong on Sunday morning and that everyone should stay inside throughout the day. Therefore I stopped at Taste on my way back home that night to get a bunch of tropical fruit sets (forgive me for my poor memory but their English names e.v.a.d.e me--but all you need to know is that they are v.e.r.y. delicious and sweet and easy to thrown down the throat) plus a couple of yogurts and snack packs. Oh yes, also a big instant noodle bowl called Imperial Big Meal (满汉大餐)! The rain got really heavy that night and almost seemed to burst through the windows and the walls.

On Sunday morning the rain got much less and occasionally it turned into some drizzle. I decided to do some laundry but was told that there was no W/D in my hotel--come on, this place charges $600 per day and there is not a single W/D or W/D center around it! After calling for a laundry bag placed in my room, I was again shocked to discover that the hotel charges around $500 to wash several T-shirts and tank tops by sending them to a nearby W/D center that is not open to the public. I ended up washing everything by myself. Interestingly, the old feelings of cold water splashing around my elbow came back--that was in college years. Gosh I cannot believe how many years has passed since my last time washing a T-shirt--good old days. But the feeling was good in a sizzling steamy summer and I saved $500 bucks by doing some house work. Maybe a laundry company in HK would be a good way out when I lost my job someday.

Yet right after that I got extremely bored. The room was small and smelt damp. The cloth hangers were here and there with just washed clothes. The TV only has a couple of channels with the same old things. Where is HBO? CinaMax? NBC? Wasn't this called some International center?

A cleaning lady later came in to make my bed when I started to feel like a miserable prisoner. I asked her if it's a crazy idea to get out on such a day. She smiled and said definitely yes. "We HK people are used to such things. The Molave thing is already off-shore. You should go and take a look at the city." Her words sound like some parole order and I couldn't wait to hop out of the door and made a dash to the metro station. "I saved $500 bucks in the morning," I told myself, "and therefore I should pamper myself with something cute and chic."

But after a couple of hours, after touring hundreds of boutiques and stores at the Harbor City, Lane Crawford, and SOGO, I remained empty-handed and this lasted till the night. There were a lot of beautiful and girlish collections but none of them were my cup of tea. Almost all stores were on sale with at least 40% off. Still, it seems that those fluffy sleeves and hand embroideries permeate EVERYWHERE. Oh, never forget those leg tights and/or skinny jeans and Converse canvas sneakers too. No matter they were young or old, curvy or skinny, men or women--yep, I was disturbed by several skinny jean-ed guys--their legs are like chop sticks--so long and lean that for a while I mistook them to be walking light poles. I've never had the feeling that I'm like a little pig when standing by them *_* But soon after that everything became boring and everyone looks the same.

I started to deliberately looking for something unique and nice and that won't turn me into a freak or a hooker somewhere in the States. Still nothing. Most of them were too decorated with way too much detail everywhere that turned the original creative touch into a bunch of dull repetitions. For an instance or two, I started to feel that I'm a picky old lady. Or am I?

Among those stores, many are familiar places I knew since 12 but never got enough money to burn. Yet, when I've grown up and stood there, with enough money and filled with desires to make my debut purchase, I gave up on all of them. Well, forgive me for my pickiness, I h.a.t.e. logos and any stuff with an easily recognizable logo or logos. In fact, I used to be really into logo and brands a couple of years ago but it was that one sentence from my boss that had struck some string in me--"you p.a.i.d them to put that on you?" Unfortunately, most of the purses/wallets/etc. I saw from this season are loaded with such brand-bling shit that totally supressed my initial impulse.

But shopping was not everything for the trip--at least not 100%. I did discover a couple of good restaurants around there and ended up dining at a Thai restaurant. They served some terrific seafood salad with bean noodles mixed with peppers and fish sauce. All of a sudden the spice perked me up and the long stuffy afternoon just brightened up in front of me.

Gone are the days of stuffing shopping bags to get high. Should I celebrate it?

比北朝鲜护照好那么一丁点儿的就是中国护照了。走到哪都有无数的问题，填不完的申请表格，办不够的财力证明，超级短的可留日期。世界公民？洗洗睡吧。

晚上经过学院门口的Magnolia树时，照例听见Cardinals尖脆的叫声，不过地上一小从灰咚咚的小团团怎么那么像麻雀呢？走近一看才发现是一只小Cardinal。轻轻把它握在手里，脆弱的小家伙居然奋力挣脱了出来还扑楞了两下翅膀落在树丛下的草丛里。旁边的鸟妈似乎很愤怒，围着叫个不停。很想送它回窝里，可是黑黑的天怎么也看不见窝在哪，即使找到了也爬不上去。小家伙晃晃悠悠地居然在人行道上大踏步地往停车场溜达。赶快又把它抱回草地上树底下，没想到这家伙居然有连哭代喊地重蹈覆辙，鸟妈也在周围撕心裂肺。有点郁闷，要是有个手电能爬树就好了。不过，如果刚才其实是不小心打扰了鸟妈的飞行课呢？

但愿是我自作多情。

刚发现我去年那个动画片的publication居然被瑞典斯德哥尔摩大学东语系给列成一门课的required reading了，灭哈哈哈哈...