2006 年 6 月 4 日 星期日 【綿綿細雨】

“Poseidon” (31st May, 2006)

I am keen on movie, especially a classic one. I first saw the film “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972) with my parents when I was a child. It was a rerun film on TVB Pearl. It was one of my most favorite movies after “The Great Escape” (1963) and “Abyss” (1989). For that reason, I had great expectation on the new “Poseidon”. I was looking forward to seeing the new Poseidon for quite a while. However, the new “Poseidon” fell short of my expectation. The new one is not as good as the old one.

On 31st May, 2006, I got up early and went to the UA Shatin by KCR. I arrived in Shatin at 8:45. I got a ticket from the box office by $30. The “Poseidon” was quite short. It only lasted for 99 minutes. The film started at 9:30 and ended around 11:00. The movie was not that good. I do not recommend my friends to watch this film, but I recommend my readers to see “The Poseidon Adventure” on TVB Pearl on 10th June, 2006. Trust me. That movie will not let you down.

“CRE (Common Recruitment Examination)” (3rd June, 2006)

Yesterday afternoon, I sat for the Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) in Fanling. The CRE is an examination for recruiting civil servants. The CRE was held at the Assembly Hall of the Buddhist Ma Kam Chan Memorial English Secondary School. The examination was from 14:10 to 18:30. I arrived at the examination centre at 13:30. I took three papers – Aptitude Test, Use of Chinese and Use of English. It is not easy to get a pass in all three papers. Four years ago, I attended the same examination with my classmates when I was fresh graduated from university. I could not pass the examination at that time. I hope I can make it this year. Anyway, I tried my best to finish the test. Owing to the CRE I could not attend the French class in Tsuen Wan at 19:00. After the examination, I had dinner with Sam Leung at the Spaghetti House of Mongkok. The meal was quite expensive. We spent $250 on the meal. We left the restaurant at 23:00.

“Riddle” (4th June, 2006)

“I am white, I am round, but I am not always around.”
“Sometimes I am half, sometimes whole, sometimes a slice is all you know”
“Sometimes I am light, sometimes dark, sometimes both.”
“Everyone wants to walk on me, but only a happy few ever have.”

Can you guess the answer to this riddle? (Hint: one word; four letters)

If anyone knows the answer, please write down your answer on my message board.

>>June 4, 2006 at 10:46:15 PM GMT+8

2006 年 5 月 21 日 星期日 【雨】

“My life in the Judiciary”

I have been too busy working to write my diary since I took the job in the Judiciary. As I mentioned in my previous diary, I have been a judicial clerk of the Judiciary in Admiralty for three weeks. This job that I have now is one of the worst jobs of my life. As far as I am concerned, the job in the Judiciary is not a good one. In the past three weeks, I tried hard to adapt myself to the new environment. But until now, I have not yet adapted to the new conditions. Although I get a higher salary compared with in the jobs that I worked in before, the work pressure is comparatively high. Firstly, it takes a long time for me to travel to work every day. Secondly, I have to handle a large pile of files and do proof-reading of many legal documents. Thirdly, I could not make out the legal jargons. All those legal terminology did not make any sense to me. But I think I will stay in my current position for a while, since it matches my study schedule. Keep studying is vital importance to me. Why? Just read the following.

"My life in the WSI"

I have been studying English in the Wall Street Institute (WSI) of Shatin for over six months. It is a good place for study. I go to the WSI straight after work. It seems that I have become very fond of the WSI. The WSI is a good shelter for me. It is a place which makes me comfort since I was completely weighed down by the stress of my current job. The WSI becomes my second home. In other words, I am “domiciled” in my own apartment, while I “live” in the WSI. The students of the WSI include people from all walks of life. I enjoy making friends with my classmates and the staff of the WSI. I learnt a lot from their experience. In a nutshell, the WSI is the only place that I am feeling myself.

P.S. Will Moon Sze become my first reader of this diary? Please let me know and leave your words in the message board.

>>May 21, 2006 at 11:22:49 PM GMT+8

2006 年 5 月 7 日 星期日 【酷熱】

“A New Job”

I was looking for a new job in the past two months. Since I have worked for the Immigration Department as a Temporary Clerk for half a year, I do think that it is about time to change a new environment. The office work in the Immigration Department was routine. Even though my colleagues are nice and easy to get along with, I could hardly put up with the government culture any longer.

The contract of my previous job was expected to expire by the end of April. Whatever, I have decided not to renew my contract even if my boss offered me one. As I mentioned before, I have been looking for a new job since February. My target was to get another contract from the government with better salary. It is because only the government could offer me a stable job with good pay. In addition, regular office hours matches my study schedule.

No good news was received until 11th April, 2006. The Judiciary offered me a job in the High Court of Admiralty. I took that job without hesitation. I am now a judicial clerk in the High Court. It is the second time that I served the government. I am not a civil servant, but a clerk based on non-civil servant contract. To be frank, I do not think the job suit me. I am not in the right line of business. I took this job so as to find an excuse to quit my previous one. People may think that I got a cushy job, but I don’t think so.

I do not think I could get this new job so easy without the help from my immediate supervisor, Pat Chan. She gave me a brilliant appraisal. Many thanks for her help. As a consequence, I could not have this job if I had not had the job in Lo Wu in the first place.

After a few days, two other government institutions (the Social Welfare Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department) offered me positions. I had no choice but to reject their offers since I had accepted the offer from the Judiciary in the first place. To be honest, the job in the Social and Welfare Department was my favorite. It was the job that I like. It can help the people who are unemployed. I wish I had not signed the contract with the Judiciary because I really like the job that the Social Welfare Department offered me.

I really want to make a short review in the past six months. Nevertheless, I don’t think I can make it in this diary. Maybe I could share my experience in Lo Wu control point in my next diary. My ex-colleagues helped me a lot. They are all good guys. They even arranged a farewell lunch for me and bought me two shirts as a gift. I must offer my heartfelt thanks to them. Their names that follow,

Pat Chan, Mr. S.T. Ma, Wannie Tsang, Mr. Chiu, Joyce Au Yeung, Winnie Chow, Yee Chan, Johnny Hui, Penny, Agnes, C.C Ho, Karen Tse, Chun Wong, Tse, Hin, Dik and all staff in Lo Wu control point.

“Easter Holiday” ——— ‘Keeping Pets’

When I was young, I used to breed different kinds of pets, such as fish, tortoises, squirrels and dogs. I had two squirrels when I was studying in primary school. I kept them for about a year. Ultimately those two squirrels were released to the nature. My father used to rear dogs in the past. But, most of the dogs which he raised were stolen by somebody. Until now, I rear one tortoise, three hamsters and eight fish. I have raised animals for 15 years. As an only child in the family, animals become my best friend. The tortoise which I have raised has become my companion for over a decade. It was caught by my father in the Penfold Park of Shatin. Normally speaking, most of the tortoises have longer life cycle than human being. I believe that my tortoise is older than me. Hamster is a kind of lovely animal. Generally speaking, hamster could only live for two years, three at most. My hamsters look cute and lovely. However, they would bite me with their sharp teeth once in a while. Both tortoise and hamster are comparatively easy to rear.

As far as I am concerned, fish is a pet which is the most difficult to rear compare with all other kinds of animals. The most difficult part is to maintain the water quality. Most people concern the water quality rather than the fish itself. Many fish breeders were frustrated by the poor water quality. In order to keep water clean, some fish breeders would change water frequently. Nevertheless, it might jeopardize the health of the fish. The pH value and the contents of chloride of the water change dramatically when some new water is added. Your fish may not be able to adapt themselves to the new water. Some fish may even die due to frequent change of water.

A decade ago, my father used to breed variegated carps in a big aquarium. However they died one by one for some reasons. Since then, my father has not reared any fish. During the last Easter holiday, I bought a dozen of tropical fish in Tung Choi Street, Mongkok. I spent over five hundred bucks for all those aqua-equipment, including a cubical fish tank, a filter pump, a lamp, an air pump, some fish food, a fishing net and so on. In the past three weeks, over ten fish died for no reason. After that I bought another five fish. So far, I have eight fish in the tank. As I mentioned before, it is not easy to rear fish.

“Friends”

Recently, I have arranged a few gatherings with my old friends. We shared our work experience and life each other. I learnt a lot from them. On 29th April, Sam Leung and I had dinner in a western restaurant in Tai Po Mega Mall. After the dinner, we went to the Waterfront Park of Tai Po. We talked nineteen to the dozen about our daily life, family and jobs. In the conversation, I learnt that Sam has become more mature. He was no longer a kid when I first met him in secondary school.

Yesterday, I had dinner with Jervis Tang, Lung Ho and Sum Kwong in a western restaurant in Tai Po Market. We shared our experience at work and our views of life. Jervis has been developing his career in the field of social work. He is the luckiest guy among the four. I envy him his good luck. Lung is still working for the Immigration Department and he is now searching for a new job in the field of accountancy. Sum is a clever man. He should get a good job in near future.

Tonight, I chatted with Ricky Yu on the phone. He gave me some advice about my job. Many thanks for his help. I hope I can treat him to dinner.

>>May 7, 2006 at 1:08:58 AM GMT+8

2006 年 4 月 21 日 星期五 【炎熱】

My new diary will be published soon.

>>April 21, 2006 at 10:40:07 PM GMT+8

2006 年 4 月 4 日 星期二 【炎熱】

“Coup d’etat —— KCRC Crisis” (9th – 17th March, 2006)

The KCRC management crisis was the news headline of the March. The incident was described as a “mutiny” or “coup d’etat” by the mass media. The crisis lasted for a week and became a hot issue in town. As a matter of fact, the crisis could be regarded as a political event. I think it was a good example of power struggle in modern politics. It was a battle between Michael Tien Puk-sun, the KCRC Chairman, and Samuel Lai Man-hay, the acting chief executive.

The crisis was started by the Samuel Lai when he had sent a complaint letter to the board of directors of the KCRC the other day. In the letter, Samuel Lai criticized Michael Tien’s management styles. Michael Tien was accused of putting too much pressure on the staff. Samuel Lai stated that he could hardly cooperate with Michael Tien any longer. His action triggered off a crisis. To make matters worse, marketing general manager Michael Lai Kai-hin and nineteen other senior executives held a press conference in support of Samuel Lai. The management of the KCRC was in a state of chaos.

At that crucial stage, government intervention was inevitable. The Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and the Transport chief Sarah Liao Sau-tung together with other relevant senior government officials got involved in the incident. The crisis was eventually ended by the resignation of Samuel Lai. Additionally, Michael Lai got the sack for being absent from his post. Nineteen other senior executives of the KCRC were received written warnings. The former top civil servant James Blake succeeded Samuel Lai as the new acting chief executive.

~ Does management matters?

Some commentators believed that the crisis was caused by the cultural gap between Michael Tien and the railway’s top executive managers. The KCRC is a public sector entity. It can be regarded as a “semi-governmental organization” in a sense. Samuel Lai as the head of the corporation was responsible to uphold the bureaucratic culture in the firm. However, Michael Tien was a businessman. He has introduced the business culture into the KCRC since he was appointed as the chairman. Thus, Michael Tien’s management style was not in line with the culture of the KCRC and it caused widespread discontent.

The KCRC is usually regarded as “the club of retired senior officials”. Many retired senior civil servants were appointed as the top executives of the KCRC. They were considered as a group of indolent workers and refuse to make any reforms. They had low productivity but got high salary. As a public-owned body, the KCRC is not directly controlled by the government. The senior officials of the KCRC were no need to responsible to the public. Therefore, the public impression of the KCRC is not very good.

Michael Tien is a leader with charisma. He is the image of sincerity. Everyone likes him. Michael Tien wanted to make some changes in the KCRC and launched a reform to improve the efficiency of the corporation. Michael Tien is the man that the public expected. Consequently, media and the members of the public were all in his side.

To a large extent, Samuel Lai was to blame for the coup. He was the one who sent the complaint letter and hinted that Michael Tien should step down. What he had done stirred up turmoil. To a limited extent, Michael Tien took the responsibility for the crisis. He failed to cooperate with his colleagues in harmony. His unpopular management style was one of the main causes of the coup.

Many politicians and senior government officials learnt a lesson from the KCRC saga. The public could hardly put up with the bureaucracy any longer. A more effective and efficient political body is needed. Leader like Michael Tien is the one that the public asked for.

“Movies of the month” (March 2006)

~“Pride and Prejudice” (19th March, 2006)

I have seen two movies at the UA Shatin this month. “Pride and Prejudice” was a film that I had longed for. The story originated from the novel “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen. Austen was one of the greatest British novelists in the 18th century. “Pride and Prejudice” was her first masterpiece. I adore all her works. I have read her novels since I was a secondary student. “Pride and Prejudice” is the best novel that I have ever read. The novel is about the love story between Darcy and Elizabeth. Darcy was a gentleman who prided himself on his wealth and social status; Elizabeth was a young lady who had a prejudice against all rich men. A true love was growing up gradually between the two when “pride” and “prejudice” were all gone from them. Misunderstandings were caused by human deep-rooted bad habits, such as pride and prejudice. True love could only happen if all those poor human qualities were removed. Darcy and Elizabeth both tried their best to understand the one they love. Finally, they removed the barrier between them and had a happy ending. I think it is the best realistic love story in modern British literature.

The novel “Pride and Prejudice” was rated a brilliant performance, but the romance movie did not come up to expectations. The film only lasted for two hours. It was just like a summary of the novel, but not the “whole story”. I think all faithful readers like me would not satisfy with that “short version story”. Keira Knightley is a good actress. Her performance in the movie was really impressive. In a nutshell, the movie is only fairly good. Anyway, I suggest all my friends to see that film.

~“Underworld --- Evolution” (24th March, 2006)

Another film that I would like to talk about is “Underworld —— Evolution”. It is a sequel to the movie “Underworld” of 2003. The play has a very simple plot. The story is about a war between the vampire and werewolf races. Once upon a time, the vampire and werewolf feuded with each other for generations. Selene (Beckinsale) was a very beautiful vampire warrior, but she was falling in love with a werewolf, Michael Corvin. Finally, Selene and Michael joined together to kill the king of vampire and the hostilities between vampires and werewolves ended eventually.

All in all, this adventure movie fell short of my expectations. There was no surprise for the audience. The film is not quite entertaining. Nevertheless, Kate Beckinsale is another outstanding actress. Her performance was as good as Keira Knightley did.

~“Batman Begins” (27th March, 2006)

The film explores the origins of the Batman legend. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) was an only son of a wealthy family. His parents were murdered when he was a child. Since then, Wayne has determined to become a man to fight crime. Bruce learnt fighting techniques as an apprentice to a ninja cult leader known as Ra's al Ghul. He returned to his hometown after finishing his intensive gong-fu training in Asia. Wayne became a crime-fighter of the Gotham City and resolved to combat with all organized crimes. Surprisingly, Ra’s al Ghul was the head of a criminal gang in Gotham. Wayne’s mentor became his very first enemy. The legend of the Batman begins following the death of Ra’s al Ghul. From then on, Batman has become an unsung hero to fight injustice.

The film is quite good. All Batman’s fans should see that movie.

“Birthday Dinner” (25th March, 2006)

Yesterday was Sarah Lo’s Birthday. Sarah was the president of our society when we were studying in the university. She invited several of her classmates and friends to join her for dinner at Gateway Tower in Tsim Sha Tsui at 18:30. There were eight fellows in the party, some of whom are Sarah’s classmates, including Connie Yeung, Eric Leung, Henry Ng, Tony Poon, and two friends of Sarah. We had some salad, filets and curry chicken. To be frank, the food was not my cup of tea. After the dinner, we all went to a bar at Knutsford Terrace. We ordered a bottle of red wine and three glasses of fruit punch. We had great time in the bar.

>>April 4, 2006 at 12:02:08 AM GMT+8

2006 年 3 月 29 日 星期三 【陰晴不定】

My new diary will be posted soon.

>>March 29, 2006 at 10:10:25 PM GMT+8

2006 年 3 月 12 日 星期日 【綿綿細雨】

I have been working for the Immigration Department as a Temporary Clerk for over four months. During this period, I learnt a lot from my department. I am conscientious about my work even though I am only a small potato in my section. I belong to the Operation Support of the Lo Wu boundary-crossing point. All my colleagues are nice and easy to get along with. They are willing to teach me things. Many thanks for their help. It is a good job in some sense. The salary is a bit high in the government as compared with that of the market. However, the fringe benefit of a non-civil servant may not be as good as that of the private company. I only have one day paid sick leave a month. No annual leave is given until I have served one year in the department. It is ironic that I only got a six-month contract! That means I have no annual leave at all, not to mention medical leave or dental leave. What is more, the government culture has driven me crazy. The working environment makes everyone feel idle. To be perfectly honest, most of the civil servants are indolent workers. Many of them are unproductive not to say lazy. Anyway, my contract is about to terminated. Until now I have no idea whether the department would renew my contract or not. I am now finding a new job in case the department refuses to renew my contract. Considering the career development, I might as well find a new job.

“Job Interviews” (8th – 7th February, 2006)

Recently, I have got several chances to attend job interviews. All those positions were offered from the government under contract base. Those interviews had something in common. Firstly, I had to introduce myself in English or in Mandarin. Secondly, the interviewers asked me some questions about their departments. Lastly, I was asked to express my opinions on some social current issues, such as Avian Flu, Disneyland and Education Reform. In addition, typing test was needed for some positions. Each interview only lasted for ten minutes.

Last week, I received a phone call from Miss Kong. Miss Kong is the centre manager of the Ying Kiu Education Centre in Tin Shui Wai. She was my immediate supervisor when I was working for that education centre. Surprisingly, she asked me to work for her again. Her company has been short of labour since one of the staff is pregnant. However, I declined her kindly offer because I do not want to be a tutor any more. I was sorry to let her down. Anyway it was great news to learn that Miss Yip is pregnant.

Apart from Miss Kong, two more tutorial centres offered me a part-time job as a tutor within a week. Once again, both offers were turned down. I have made up my mind to find a job which I have never done before.

“My Birthday” (18th February, 2006)

I was very happy that some of my friends remembered my birthday. No one remembered my birthday last year. This year, Alan Lo and Yuke Leung made me a phone call to me, while Josephine Chen, Connie Yeung and Cynthia Lau even sent me birthday cards via the Internet. Many thanks for their greetings on my birthday.

“Munich” (24th February, 2006)

Lung Ho, my ex-schoolmate, asked me to join him for the film “Munich” at the AMC Festival Walk on Friday night after work. Lung is also a Temporary Clerk in the Immigration Department. He belongs to the branch of the Immigration Department in Kowloon Bay.

The movie lasted for two and a half hours. The film was about the conflicts between Israel and Palestine. The message of the movie was simple and straightforward. It showed the everlasting conflict between two nations. Both of the nations knew that their hostilities could not be solved by terroristic means. However, they had no choice but kept killing each other. In my opinion, conflict could not be settled by continual retaliations but by mutual concessions. In the film, the assassin was frustrated by continual murders, especially when someone innocent was killed by mistake. I was disappointed that the movie was quite boring. I would not recommend my friends to see that film. If you are someone who is unfamiliar with the history of the Middle East, you may not realize what the story is talking about. And, if you know the relationship between Israel and Palestine very well, you have no need to see the film at all. It is only waste of time and money.

“Love”

In consideration of privacy, I would not mention the real names of my friends in the following paragraphs. The one who I would like to talk about is Mr. F. He is my buddy and we worked in the same organization for a year. We were good partners. We can do the best job if we do it together. I believed that I knew him very well. As a matter of fact, I know nothing whatever about him, particularly his private life.

Mr. F loves her girlfriend very much; nevertheless her girlfriend dumped him a month ago. He has been frustrated since her girlfriend broke up with him. He has been trying to rekindle the flame by all means, even by some stupid ideas. Anyway, I do not think her girlfriend really loved him. She only wanted someone who has a stable job with high income, but not the one who loves her. To her, boyfriend is just like a luxury goods, such as cars or jewellery. If she loved Mr. F, she would not dump him even if he does not have a good job. Even though I had tried my best to comfort Mr. F, but he did not seem to feel any better. I believed that there are other fish in the sea. Mr. F will meet someone who he loves in the future.

“Business” (8th March, 2006, Woman’s Day)

I met some friends that their birthdays are on some special occasions, such as Independent Day, National Day and Christmas Day. Today I would like to introduce someone who was born on Woman’s Day. I called him Mr. J. He was my schoolmate and my good friend as well. The last time I met him was a month before. I learnt that he had started a new business in Tai Po not long ago.

I called him up again on his birthday. I was sorry to hear that Mr. J’s business has been on the rocks for a couple of months. I did not know how I could help. I gave him some advice and tried to comfort him. I hope the following statement would give him some help,

“Success or failure is a matter of luck. Do not lose your heart and work hard with redoubled vigour. Success shall be yours.”
Anonymous

“K-19 The Widowmaker” (12th March, 2006)

Today morning, I watched a film “K-19 The Widowmaker”, heading by Harrison Ford. This movie was based on the truth story of Russia's first nuclear missile submarine, K-19. K-19 was the state of the art submarine in the USSR. The Soviet government treated that submarine as a counterbalance to the US Navy. Captain Alexei Vostrikov (Harrison Ford) was the commander of that submarine. He was a patriot. He refused to accept the help from the US when his submarine was in great danger since the cooling system of the nuclear device failed.

During the period of Cold War, the USA was the arch enemy of the USSR. If Captain Vostrikov had asked the American for help, the Soviet military secret would have disclosed. By the time, he would become a sinner of a thousand generations of the USSR. But, without the help from American, the submarine might blow up and caused heavy casualties. It was hard to make a decision. Some soldiers worried that they would be killed by radiation poisoning. They decided to trigger a mutiny and seized power from the captain. Finally, the traitors were arrested and the crisis was over. The crew obeyed the Captain’s commands whatever decision he had made. They were all good soldiers and the men of courage. Their obedience and patriotism were the things that I am most appreciated. The Russian soldiers prevented two superpowers from involving in a nuclear war. They were not only soldiers but also heroes.

>>March 13, 2006 at 9:13:35 PM GMT+8

2006 年 3 月 7 日 星期二 【晴】

New diary will be posted soon.

>>March 7, 2006 at 11:15:14 PM GMT+8

2006 年 2 月 6 日 星期一 【颳風】

I have not been writing a diary for over a month. I think I caught a cold from the office. I just feel completely out of it. I have a little bit headache and my nose is stuffy. I have no idea whether I can go to work tomorrow or not. I have to finish my diary anyhow.

“Chinese New Year and Kinship”

For every traditional Chinese, Lunar New Year is a time for gathering. It is a good time for people to express their love to friends and relatives. Most people seized this occasion to invite their friends and relatives home for dinner. Children received red packets from elders. Most families paid a visit to flower markets. Many people enjoyed themselves in the New Year holiday. To me, Chinese New Year is just another long vacation, nothing special. All those social activities during the New Year scared me. I would rather stay at home alone than visiting some friends or relatives that I have never met before. To be honest, I am not a good son. Family life is not important to me. I have had no family day since I was a child. I hardly ever see my parents on holidays. But I am not going to blame anyone. I want to be alone so that nobody can bother me. All those words are from the bottom of my heart. But it does not mean I do not like my family. I respect my parents and my family. I used the names of my grandfather and my father as the pen name when I submitted a piece of writing for publication. Whatever, I got 41 red packets during this Lunar New Year, four from my grandparents and other 37 from my co-workers.

Dinner with Josephine Chen (14th January, 2006)

Josephine Chen is my good friend. She was my classmate when we studied in university. I have known her for many years. She is a decent lady with positive life attitude. Josephine is now a secretary in a listed company. She is doing quite well in her career. She wanted to treat me to dinner for some reasons.

Before dinner, I bought two books from a book fair in Wan Chai. I joined Josephine at the MTR station of Causeway Bay around six in the evening. We had dinner in an Indian restaurant at Paterson Street in Causeway Bay, the Jo Jo’s Tandoori Bar. The Indian curry was not so spicy as I thought. We both had a solid meal. She talked much about her career plan. We left the restaurant at half past nine.

Reunion Dinner with Sam Leung (28th January, 2006)

On the New Year Eve, I did not have reunion dinner with my parents but my buddy, Sam Leung, in Pizza Hut of Tai Po Mega Mall. My father went back to Guangzhou with my grandparents while my mother had to on duty that night. Sam is a good friend of mine. We have known each other since we were twelve. Sam is now a top salesman in a large corporation of Hong Kong. He is good at building models and playing TV games. He has his life target – enjoy every moment of his life. Until now, he has had no regrets for his life. I admire him for his self-confidence.

Dinner with Connie Yeung and Jimmy Law (31st January, 2006)

According to the Lunar calendar, that day was my birthday. Connie Yeung, Jimmy Law and I had dinner at a restaurant of Mongkok at eight. After the meal, we went to a café and started a long talk about our jobs. We had a discussion on the education reform in Hong Kong. Jimmy and I focused on the excess supply of teachers. We had different viewpoints towards the solution of such excess supply. Connie and I believed that problem could be solved by market force but Jimmy begged to differ. Jimmy showed great wisdom in what he said. His sayings inspired me to reconsider the case again. I learnt a lot when I was discussing the matter with Jimmy.

“Relationship”

New Year Wedding (1st January, 2006) – Tracy Wong’s Wedding

Tracy Wong’s Wedding was the first joyous event in 2006. Tracy’s Wedding was held on the first day of 2006. Tracy is my good friend. She is a quite successful business woman. Tracy married a surveyor. Her wedding feast was held in the City Hall. There were totally twenty-nine tables in the hall. She is now Mrs. Poon. I hope that Tracy and his husband will have a fairytale ending.

Love is an expression that one is very affectionate with another person. Relationship is a kind of status that a man and a woman are in love. Marriage is a ceremony between a man and a woman as husband and wife when their relationship is mature enough. Divorce is a legal ending of marriage when a couple does not love each other any longer.

I heard a bad news from one of my best friends. He told me that his girlfriend of years has just broken up with him. There was a heartbreaking news about ending a long-lasting relationship. I felt really sorry for him. I don’t know whether they would get back together and start over again, but I hope my friend will get over it soon. As far as I am concerned, relationship is not as simple as many people think. As I know, the majority of relationships do not last. Before you start a relationship, you should figure out whether you want to love someone or you want to be loved by someone. It is not easy to maintain a relationship. Failure to maintain a relationship could hurt you deeply. My diary ends with the following statement.

“It’s all right letting yourself go, as long as you can get yourself back.”

Mick Jagger

>>March 12, 2006 at 11:20:06 PM GMT+8

2005 年 12 月 31 日 星期六 【微冷】

Today is the last day of the year 2005. I have sat before the television set all the afternoon. I would like to drop a few lines before the end of this year. I have no intention to make a review of the year, but I would like to talk about my Christmas holiday.

To me, Christmas is much more important than other festivals. Christmas is not only a time for relaxing, but also a good time for gathering. The past few Christmases were very quiet. This year is very different, I met a few friends during this long vacation. To sum up, I had an unforgettable Christmas this year.

“A Christmas Party before Christmas” (21st December, 2005)

Last year, I had a Christmas Party with my students and colleagues in an education centre in Tin Shui Wai. (For details, you may consult my online diary dated 24th December, 2004) This year I attended a Christmas Party with my classmates and teachers in an English learning school in Shatin. Last year I was a tutor and taught pupils English; this year I am a student and learn English from my teacher.

The Christmas Party was organized by the Wall Street Institute of Shatin. We played some games together and exchanged Christmas gifts. Unfortunately, I got three small useless pillows which bought from IKEA in exchange for my valuable Japanese bowls and chopsticks from Seiyu. My present cost me fifty dollars! I thought that goddamned pillows are not worth twenty dollars! If I had known that I would receive such trash, I would not have bought that costly gift.

Surprisingly, I came across an old schoolmate, Rebecca Shek, in the party. We studied in the same secondary school. I have not been seeing her for years. We ate some snacks and shot the breeze. We are now studying in the same tutorial school. Rebecca became my classmate again.

“Christmas Eve” (24th December, 2005) – Christmas Carol

Ten years ago, when I was still a secondary school student, I read a short extract from my English textbook. The extract was from the novel named “Christmas Carol”. The novel was written by Charles Dickens. Dickens was one of the most famous writers in Britain in the 19thcentury. It was the first time I read his works. Since then, I had been attracted by that novel. On that Christmas Eve, I determined to read through the whole book. The story was about an unexpected experience of Scrooge at Christmas. Scrooge was rich but greedy. He hated Christmas and never donated to charity although he was wealthy. Many people criticized that greedy man behind his back. Scrooge had neither friends nor relatives, except a nephew. He was alone at Christmas. After encountering three spirits on Christmas Eve, the old man realized that Christmas is the time for universal celebration. From then on, that old man became generous and enjoyed himself at Christmas.

On Christmas Eve this year, I got a chance to watch the movie “Christmas Carol” at home. This movie reminded me of the Christmas Eve ten years before when I was reading the novel “Christmas Carol” on my own. I felt like another Scrooge of the novel. No one cared about me. I had a lonely Christmas as same as ten years before. I was sitting home all by my lonesome.

Although I had an ordinary Christmas Eve, I got a wonderful Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

“Christmas Day” (25th December, 2005) – The day with Wendy Yip

As I mentioned before, Christmas Day is vital important to me. My Christmas should be special. I spent this special holiday with one of my best friends, Wendy Yip. Wendy is my good friend and schoolmate. On Christmas Day, I went out with Wendy all day long. After I had finished an excellent breakfast in the McDonald of Time Square, I joined Wendy at the entrance of that shopping mall at a quarter to eleven. We attended worship in a church where she used to go. The worship only lasted for an hour and a half. Then, Wendy and I together with other religious fellows had lunch at a Taiwan restaurant. I was not so hungry during the lunchtime since I had had a late breakfast. I had only got a piece of chocolate toast for lunch. After the lunch, Wendy and I saw the movie “King Kong” at Windsor Plaza of Causeway Bay. The film lasted for three hours, from two twenty to five fifty in the afternoon. The movie was not as good as I expected. The story was dull, but the special effects were quite good. In a word, the film was disappointed. Even though I did not like the film “King Kong”, I enjoyed watching movie with Wendy. After the movie, we visited Likka Tao in the Xinhua Bookstore of Causeway Bay. Likka is a mutual friend of us. He is a good painter and musician. During the Christmas and New Year vacation there is an exhibit of impressionist paintings in his bookstore. Some of his paintings were displayed at the gallery. I am not an expert in paintings. I have no interest in fine art, not to mention the oil paintings. We stayed at the bookstore for half an hour, from six to six thirty.

Wendy and I had a wonderful dinner at the Relaxing Tea House of the Island Beverley in Causeway Bay at seven. That restaurant was fully booked on Christmas Day. Luckily, I reserved a table in advance. I have longed for having a dinner in a good restaurant for a long while. I like that western stylish restaurant very much. The food was quite good and the service was excellent. We talked about religion, relationship, jobs, family and friends. We shared our feeling with each other. We finished our supper around nine. After that, we had a night snack at the Starbuck of the World Trade Centre in Causeway Bay. I ordered a cup of cappuccino and Wendy had a glass of iced mocha. We left the café at midnight. Unfortunately, the KCR station was closed. I had to take the bus no. N271 to go home. I was home at two in the morning. I felt exhausted and went to bed around half past two. I spent over three hundred bucks by the end of the day.

“Boxing Day” (26th December, 2005) – TDS Night

I got up at around ten in the morning. I received a phone call from my ex-colleague, Ricky Yu. Ricky was my coworker when I worked for the Hong Kong Central Library. He invited me to have tea in Café de Carol of Fu Shin Estate at two. We talked nineteen to the dozen about our jobs and family. I glad to hear that he got a rather good job in Tai Po. I hope he will have a brilliant future. We left the restaurant at a quarter to six.

At night, I had a supper with my co-workers in the Mr. Steak Café of Langham Place in Mongkok at seven. We worked in the Lok Ma Chou control point together. We were all TDSs (Tourism Development Supervisors). Let’s talk a bit about the restaurant before we move on. Mr. Steak Café is at the top floor of that shopping arcade. It is a marvelous western style restaurant. The environment is romantic. I do think that this café is a good place for having dinner with friends. However, we all agreed that the food was quite expensive. It charged us a hundred dollars for each set dinner. During the dinner, we reported our current situations one by one. Fai Lau is a merchandiser in Fo Tan; Sum Wong is working for the Judiciary Department. Lok Tang is a MLA (Mobile Library Assistant); Cherry Kong is still a research assistant in the University of Hong Kong.

Fai does not like his job and he has to work late every day. He does not think his job suit him. He is planning to find another job. Sum satisfies with his job and looks forward to having a permanent position within the government. Lok has just taken up his current post for only two months. He is now applying position in the Police Force and Fire Services Department. Cherry has been married to an engineer for a year. She is now Mrs. Chan.

We left the café at half past eight. After that, we decided to find a place to have a long talk. Finally, Fai, Sum, Cherry and I went to the Caribbean Café of Mongkok to have a night snack. We had a long chat and played some games in that café. A very good idea came across my mind when we were playing card games. I suggested playing an interesting card game. Anyone who drew the card with the highest point had the right to ask an awkward question to the one who got the card with the lowest point. Some questions were quite embarrassing, especially about sex. Everyone shared his or her feeling from the bottom of the heart. We knew more about our friends by this funny card game. I did believe that we would treasure our friendship more after that night. We went home at midnight. I really had a ball on that night.

I must offer my heartfelt thanks to all my friends. They gave me a merry Christmas. I wish them all has a happy new year. In conclusion, this was indeed a memorable Christmas of my life.

>>January 2, 2006 at 9:53:18 PM GMT+8