Warning: Really, Really Looooooooong Post Ahead
I don't know what possessed me to go to Hong Kong for the summer - my plans were either a summer job, summer school, or using some connection and working abroad. Little did I know that God would let me do all three at once. Back in February, my mom found a letter from Woodsworth about the possibilities of having a summer study abroad program, with options going all over the world. I could have gone to Siena, Sussex, Berlin - but it was Hong Kong that intrigued me the most. Why not? It offered a chance for me to see for myself first-hand the economic potential of Southeast Asia that we keep hearing about, getaway from home in Toronto, and improve my Chinese cultural skills.

Funny thing is, I almost completely missed the opportunity. The summer abroad letter was sent in October. The deadline was March 1. My mom found the letter February 24. Back in October, I chucked it into a pile of lost mail, without giving it thought at all. Little did I realize that there was no way God would let me pass up this opportunity of a lifetime. How else could my mother have suddenly discovered this brochure, so close to the deadline, and I just so happened to be thinking about my summer plans? He gave me a great job, a great study program, and a great city to live in.

Whirlwind Summer, Special Summer
I thought I'd probably be crying homesick by a month - after all, I was going alone. I left Toronto on May 23rd. I didn't even have time to settle down as I started working at Sino on May 28, all the while trying to get my Immigration situation sorted out and having dinners with all sorts of relatives. I didn't quite know what to expect when I first started work but by the end of second week I knew I was in for something special - the second week already I had gone to Shenzhen/She Kou with a client from Texas.

I've been all over Southeast Asia the past 3 months. Hong Kong, Kowloon, New Territories, Shenzhen, She Kou, Macau, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Guilin, Kunming, Yangshao, Tokyo. I've spent a grand total of $35000 - spending everything I earned, and more - now I'm flat broke. (btw, that's in HK$...i wish i had that much to spend in CDN$!)

When I arrived in Hong Kong, I saw Carny and first thing she did was invite me to this fellowship that she was going to go to the next night. I figured, sure, why not, and it happened to be the very first university fellowship ever - there was no fellowship the previous summers, no fellowship even the previous weeks - I was there for the very first one. We had all of 8 people. Back at UTCCF we had an average of 50 - what a difference. But I had a feeling that God had led me to something special. He didn't let me down. The next week we had double that number, and the fellowship really started to take flight. But in spite of all that, I tried not to put in too much weight into it, since I was going to my Uncle's church at Hong Kong Baptist and didn't get to hang out with them too much yet. Besides, school was about to start.

A Freakin' Plus!
3 weeks after I arrived, I went to the real reason why I went to Hong Kong - to study. School started and I was meeting all sorts of new people - it felt like frosh week all over again. School life was good - I made some friends, went all over the city everyday after class, and I actually stayed awake in class and I actually was interested in what we were learning - albeit I was constantly late, much to Ondrack's displeasure - a far cry from his past year of skipping classes and sleeping during the ones I actually go to.

We went everywhere - in HK, to Stanley/Repulse Bay, Ladies' Market, The Peak, Jumbo, etc etc...and we went to the Macau Casino, the Shenzhen Tourists-only Shopping Mall, and the Guangzhou massage place inside the hotel on class trips. I blew a big chunk of my budget going clubbing around 10 times that month - Club Ing, Silk Road, Joe Bananas, Devil's Advocate, etc. I was having a fantastic time out there, but deep down I still realized what I needed to do about my grades.

When exam time came, I was ready. I had never been that ready for an exam ever before in my life. I had a clear mind and I knew my stuff. I wrote furiously for the 2 hours with confidence and with a mission. I was in the zone. I came out of the exam with a big smile on my face - I knew I had done really well.

My project though, was a different story. I constantly had writer's block. I couldn't even understand half of what the Nokia rep I interviewed told me - severely exposing my Cantonese shortcomings. But in spite of all of it, when it came time for me to hand it in, I was satisfied with my work. I had better be satisfied with it - I took 3 days off work the last week to work on it day and night. I was a little worried, but I had confidence even if I screwed up, my exam would pull it back up.

This month I got an email from my prof with some news about my mark. I was a little hesitant though, because he didn't actually say what my mark was. But with what he wrote, I figured, it can't possibly be bad. Besides, if your prof emails you out of the blue just to tell you about your marks, it must mean something's going on.

Something did go on. Something big. Something special.

My first A+ in university.

I had to do do a double take when I looked at ROSI. I couldn't believe my eyes. I let out a loud scream because I had actually accomplished what I had set out to do in the summer. I knew going into school that I could not afford to screw this one up, that I needed a 4.0, that I needed to bust my ass and that it was crunch time - this mark could very well define how I study for the rest of my university life.

And I made it. And more.

I missed the feeling of getting an A+. The last time I got one was in high school. I got an A in first year, but it didn't even help my overall grades because I ended up transferring from Engineering to Commerce so the mark didn't even count, just the credit. Most of my other marks have been tanked to hell - those that know me well know just how much this A+ means to me, both personally and academically.

Best Memories Weren't in School
I had a fantastic time in school, but the school memories aren't the ones that pop into my mind first when I look back on this summer - the NPAC crew is what I think of the most. I'll be perfectly honest - as I look back, I realize I was ready to get out of my fellowship in Toronto. Actually, not just the fellowship - I was ready to get out of life in Toronto. I needed to get out - things were pretty messy. Relationships, politics, my spiritual life - I was moving towards a dead level in what I had declared my life. I missed having a real group of friends, a really really tight crew instead of having a massive number of friends floating from place to place. I missed just going to fellowship and having a fellowship that was filled with sincere people who each cared genuinely about the fellowship. I missed getting support instead of being the one giving support. In no way or no means am I intentionally trying to slag everyone in Toronto or devalue the relationships I have; this is just a general point of view. God knew I needed something new, at least to recharge if not to lead me in a whole new direction.

All I can say is, wow. It was if it felt like a slow, painful process getting into a cannon, only to be shot high into the sky at the speed of a bullet. Not only did I go to the fellowship (that still is without a name), but I went to NPAC for service on Sundays. I started hanging out with the crew everyday. I started elevating to a level in life that I had never really experienced before - every single day I would look forward to tomorrow. Like Jo said in her memories, fellowship wasn't a superficial, "hi, sup" fellowship...it was a sincere, honest, worth-every-bit fellowship.

When I look at my memories from school and my memories from fellowship, it doesn't even begin to compare.

Unforgettable Times
At the risk of copying Jo and Jon's blog (cuz they posted up most of what we did already), I'm doing my own thing anyway...

• Photo Scavenger Hunt crawling over Hong Kong (freaking little schoolkids out, stalking people, acting all gay)
• bubbotea on friday nights (getting those "free snacks"...more like leftovers)
• Aztec CounterStrike (and me betraying the team by joining the other side killing Ricky and Jo)
• my first card pics (desperately trying to get a decent pic and voting for ourselves, cramming 10 ppl into the booth)
• Tricia's boat (jetskiing, getting a concussion from Tim's knee on the banana boat, tanning til I'm burnt, getting thrown off the boat and throwing ppl off, Angie finding her contacts in the sewage and then puts them back in her eyes, swimming in the only clear, clean water in HK)
• Ruby Tuesday and the big-ass burgers
• Sunday afternoon b-ball (kicking all the locals' asses...especially ODB and the she-male)
• crossed-up cameras with Tim
• all the cannon shots with little Jon
• Times Arcade (obsession with photo hunt high scores, drum machine, shoot-em-up and the funky big red piano outside)
• Ricky getting his face pinned to giant ass poster
• Wasabisabi and the $300 steak the size of a golf ball
• the Cafes at Times (PCC, and Vince, Dan and I having a flirting competition with that Ice Cream waitress...Vince not having his ring on that day!)
• Sausages/Sausage Egg McMuffin/Jo's Third Sausage
• Blue Steel/Cold Steel/Magnum/Tongues Wagging/Converting people into pouters
• Flipper matches with Vince
• sexy pool pics (and Ricky almost squaring me underwater)
• MTR chinups/flying buddhas/butt-beeping
• Lilo & Stitch (Ohanu means family!)
• Drinks with Connie (and not having money for the cab after, needing to be rescued)
• my still-moving lunch (and Fiona slapping me telling me to take it like a man)
• stealing little Jon's PS2 and playing SSX Tricky/Agent Under Fire til late with Ricky and Jo (and me kicking their asses)
• Jo whipping me with my own boxers
• Jo wearing shorts that looks like boxers
• hearing the Summer Camp stories (about how horrible Dan, Ricky, Jo, Esther and Anna were treating them...naming them BO, hippo, fat kid chicken)
• going to Club Ing with Karen and Jo (and they both "win" something but I don't)
• sleepover at Ricky's (and getting my ass kicked in bomberman)
• Sleepover at my place (and playing til we beat FIFA at World-Class Level)
• lighting up the table with hot pot flames (which I accidentally started)
• getting terrorized by Jon and Ben's little bro Philemon
• randomly meeting Ti's friends and convincing them to join "my cause" (they'll break up soon)
• finally meeting Ti's boyfriend Paul and having a "nice little chat" (I still think he's a perverted loser)
• winning that bet with Karen and getting that really bad Pina Colada (and Karen yelling at the waitress for it)
• walking right into Booby Traps (and getting sweaty from it)
• Ricky and Jo's butt sweat (and her saying, "look look! my butt sweats!")
• shopping at G2000, Bossini, Baleno, Giordano, U2, etc etc. (and looking around making sure we're in the right store)
• Tricia's ADD, Kristen's insults and Amy being pure evil (she almost took off my ear pulling it when I called her evil)
• my swallowing Dettol (thinking it was Listerine, losing my tastebuds for a week)
• eating at Pokka (with that awesome $50 Blue Mountain coffee)

There were plenty of others: Francine, the other Ricky, Amy, the other Amy, Ben, Connie, Carny, Sam, Esther, Anna, Kristen, Angie, and of course, Eric, Ti, little Jon, Tiff and Christine...you guys were all an important part of my summer as well. (If I've left anyone off...my sincerest apologies....I've spent all day writing this, my brain is fried)

You guys all helped me grow immensely as a person, let me learn things I wouldn't have seen anywhere else, and helped make this summer absolutely unforgettable.

Thanks for the laughs, thanks for the great times. Thanks for memories that will never be forgotten.

Thanks for an incredible journey.

Man, I still hasn't hit me that I've left Hong Kong yet, after 3 incredible months....maybe I'm ready to come home or something....then again, maybe cuz I'm still in travel mode since I just came back from China (in which I got stranded at the airport TWICE) and now I'm still not quite home yet since I'm in Tokyo. Jon, Tianne, Christine and Tiffany all woke up at 7am to take me to the airport....awww, so sweet....Chris and Tiff especially looked like they were gonna pass out, but yet they hugged me before I left - amazing considering most of the summer Tiff has played hard to get with me, completely ignoring me, taking my lollipops from me without saying thanks. I'm gonna miss those kids....=(

I'll update about Hong Kong memories when I get back in a few days. Can't wait for $8 all-you-can-eat conveyor belt SUSHI!!!! drool.......

Speaking of which, we got such a big group (there's 17 of us apparently) that we got our own little tour bus and tour guide, which is really nice - for the first time, I don't have to deal with an obnoxious tour guide who thinks he/she can tell us what to do 24/7....he does what we tell HIM to do =) Today we tried getting a tailor-made suit for my grandpa, but he didn't like the styles and the prices were exorbitant....so we ended up going to this Shanghai Garden or something where I saw freakin' Starbucks even in China...geez, they're everywhere...

Then we went, for absolutely no reason I thought, to this jade ornament selling place to look at jade and those lions and buddhas and stuff. When we got there the manager was telling us how to rub the giant jade lion for good luck and stuff, he was telling us to do it but then my grandpa told him, "sorry, we're not superstitious, we're Christians and we believe our 'luck' comes from God..." so the dumbass manager, trying desperately to make a buck, immediately says he's a Christian too (but he's obviously lying thru his teeth) and says all this crap, and for every thing that he said, my 81-year-old grandpa shot him down completely....Jon, Eric and I were cheering on the sidelines, going, "go grandpa!! oooh....he's absolutely destroying that dumbass manager...." The manager was obviously pissed, throughout the entire store he was talking to my grandpa, trying to win back some of his dignity, but he just couldn't.....we were laughing soooo hard....

We also saw this Chinese Cirque du Soleil thing tonight at the hotel theatre which was PACKED with people....awesome show, awesome acrobatics and awesome talent....I was very impressed that we Chinese could even do such things. It was funny though, we pissed off these people sitting beside us and behind us, they were one big French family....cuz we got there late and stuff, and left early, blocking their views....even though it was for a brief second or two. Damn snobby French, they were swearing and yelling at us. So as we left early, this hot french girl who was giving us cut-eye as we were leaving thru them, Eric accidentally stepped hard on her foot....and when I passed by I smiled and waved....haha.....we should've just turned to them and said, "WASSAAAAAAP!!!!" =)

Once we got back to the hotel for good tonight, we were checking out a news bulletin about how gay Tianne is....sigh, if only there was a islesbian.com or something, then it would fit girls like Tianne much better....well, at least we got to give Jon that atomic wedgie that we were waiting for....last time Jon's mom saved him while we were at his place, but tonight it was just me, Eric, Ti and Jon in our hotel room....Ti and I jumped him and pulled his boxers up so high they were halfway up his back, while Eric took pics on his digital camera....BLACKMAIL TIME!! muahahaha...

I hope I can find a good haircut place soon....maybe I'll just get a cut like our tour guide's, he's got the Beckham-style....he's also a total perv, he's got a girlfriend in HK and all he does is check out girls and talk to us kids about them. He took us to the Shanghai Lan Kwai Fong and he oogled at countless girls. Gotta admit tho, he's got impeccable taste....haha.....

Oliver and Justin, my deepest thoughts and prayers and sincerest condolences go out to you and your family during this time.

Psalm 46:1-2: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea."

Ah well, at least I went to the peak with Jon and Andy and got to take some really nice and "interesting" pics....haha....and I'll be back on the 23rd before I leave for Tokyo on the 26th...so I'll have a chance to have a real farewell thing...albeit only Vince, Kristen, Trisha and Linda will be around. S'all good, I still love spending time with these guys, and I'll probably see Dan and Tim during Christmas if Ricky and I go to Whistler to ski anyway. I won't do my official HK memories recap blog like Jo already has yet....I'll do it when I actually leave, don't want to miss out on any memories, and do it all in one shot....and I'll try to post up pics soon.

I had a scary lunch today...my lunch was still moving when it arrived! I had Fried Spaghetti with Chicken Fillet Japanese-style....the seaweed was moving!! I was so freaked out, I was like, EWWWW, I took my fork and kept smashing it over and over until it was dead....apparently that's the way it's supposed to be, it moves because of the heat, but still, gross....Fiona kept slapping me and telling me to take it like a man, I was like, you try being a man when your food arrives with tentacle-like thingys moving around in your dish! Even Trisha freaked out when she got her similar dish....but little Jon on the other hand just goes, "cool! look at it move!" Gross...

Saturday was a really interesting day....I'll leave the G2000 and taxi stand stories out for now, if you've heard them you already know....in a span of 5 minutes....I'm da man! Haha....but one thing I really need to say is....that taxicab driver story....that was just kinda freaky....last week, Jon, Andy and I went to the Convention Centre....coincidentally, this week when I was at Times Square catching a cab, I get in, and the cab driver says, "hey, you look familiar...I drove you and your cousins to the comic book fair last week!" I was like, holy cow, small world...so we end up talking all the way back to Jon's place...told him about how I'm leaving on Monday and stuff, and that I really like HK and I'll try to be back next year....when he drops me off he's like, "how about you give me your number and I'll give you a call, we can go hang out?" BIG WARNING SIGN GOES OFF IN MY HEAD....I think he's one of those "fate brought us together, we're meant to be friends for life" guys...I'm just simply said, "no, that's ok, if we're meant to meet again, we'll meet again next year." He looks down and he says, "oh....okay....." Poor guy....must be really lonely or something....but that was freaky man....getting some 40-something year old taxi driver wanting to chill with me....aiya!

Saturday was interesting too cuz I bought myself a Viper GTS....and gave Andy fifty wedgies for his fifty farts after eating stuffed crust pizza from pizza hut for dinner.

Songs of the Moment: Caught in the Sun by Course of Nature (I'm waking up to this song now), Love at First Sight by Kylie Minogue, and Stutter by Joe.

Anyway, I should start packing....I'm leaving in 9 hours and I haven't even packed a lick =) I'm kinda worried tho, Kristen was just in Kunming and she was telling me horror stories....squatty pottys....I'm thinking I need to bring like a 50-pack of Tempos and probably some cane or something that I can hold on to for support while I'm doing number 2...haha....

So anyway, today was my last day of work, which took me by surprise a little since I expected tomorrow would be my last day. But I get a paid last day off, which is really nice...so the plan is, I'm taking Jon and Andy to Repulse Bay, Stanley Market, and the Marine Museum for the day. Too bad Tianne isn't coming, wish I could spend more QT with her too...but she's too preoccupied with that loser boyfriend of hers, who's really sick. He called her today and I picked up the phone, he found out who I am and he said he loves me...I was like, sick, you pervert you're going out with my little cousin, you touch her again and I'll bitchslap you back to Mexico...hung up on him and forbade Tianne from ever talking to him ever again. Talk about making up for lost time in overprotecting helpless, vulnerable loved ones....I made Tiffany and Christine promise me that when they grow up, they won't turn into their sister. Tiff and Chris are currently 5 and 7, respectively.....=P

Just a quick little thought....why do I blog? Because I want to. And that's precisely the point. I'll blog whatever I want to blog, say whatever I want to say, because this is mine. No matter how public this may seem or how personal the thoughts I share, it's mine, and that's the bottom line.

Anyway, I picked up a few trinkets yesterday. Vince brought me to his uncle and aunt's place in Quarry Bay, a quaint little jewelry shop...which is really cool cuz they gave me a discount, and I'm getting my quality stuff from people I can trust instead of some schmuck in Ladies' Market who'll try to rip me off. So far getting mixed reactions...those that have seen it, like Fiona and Jon (who I had lunch with today, along with Vince), think they look good. On the other hand, Jo, who hasn't seen it, can't picture me with them. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, then wait til you see me, then you'll know...

The funniest memory popped into my mind an hour ago and it's been stuck in my head ever since...."Aren't alligators extinct?" "Yeah, and dinosaurs are endangered..." Hahahaha.....

Tim left me with planning the icebreakers for tomorrow night....to quote his email, "so the problem with delegating is that people always decline, or come up with some excuse that they're busy or something. so what i'm gonna do this time, is just assign people to do things, and then fly away to vancouver before people check their email and complain. (what a foolproof plan). so here goes. icebreakers, justin (that means you have to be on time)......so if things don't get done, you know who to blame." WHAT A PUNK! But a shrewd one...I'll have to get him back next year....or fly to Vancouver during the wintertime and snowjob him. Anyone got any ideas for icebreakers?

Songs of the Moment: Out of My Heart by BB Mak, Be Still My Heart by Silje Nergaard, It's Going Down by X-ecutioners featuring Linkin Park.

My project's almost done!! I see the light at the end of the tunnel!! (About time...considering it's due in 24 hours....)

Big mistake.

I ended up watching the whole finale, even though I swore to myself I wouldn't. Honestly, it is the cheesiest show I have ever seen - it can't go a full minute without some character starting to cry. The basic plot is these two girls get switched at birth by accident, get switched back when they're teenagers and have to deal with it. The main girl ends up falling in love with who was supposed to be her brother (but obviously really isn't cuz she's wasn't even with her right family then) but he's engaged to this hot chick, and his best friend goes after her so she settles for him, only to realize that her "brother" is in love with her too and he's broken off his engagement, but by that time she develops a terminal disease and she has limited time on Earth before she dies. In the finale, (stop here if you haven't seen it yet) the girl and her "brother" elope (I don't even bloody know their names...just that she keeps calling him big brother, which is kinda disturbing in an incest sort of way)....leaving his best friend heartbroken. They fight over him contemplating suicide when she dies. Well, big day comes, she passes away. All that hope built up for a happy ending was wasted. After the funeral, he goes to this school where she was hit by a car when they were kids. Instead of taking the pills that he had reserved for his suicide, he himself gets hit by a car and he dies.

So sad.

I couldn't understand why, especially all the girls, would be so hooked on it. After all, after every episode, every girl always says, "oh, it's so sad...." Why on earth would you want to watch something that would make you sad? I can't speak for them, but I really like happy endings, no matter how cheesy they are - at least when I finish watching I get a warm fuzzy feeling inside. So for me, watching the whole finale was because I was holding out for a happy ending, hoping that somehow she survives and they end up living happily ever after. That's my entertainment value right there. I was gripped to a show without cars, guns and action because I was holding out for this hope - the happy ending. But the girls watch it because it's just plain sad, tear-jerking....I think it's soaps like these that brainwash this generation's women. It makes it seem like the whole world cries, the world always comes to an end.

Anyway, the soap's over, done with. Now the only thing left to do is get the entire series on VCD to catch up on the episodes before the finale.... =)

I experienced my first HK typhoon today! I was kinda confused actually, cuz everyone's always complaining about the rain and the typhoons, but the whole summer that I've been here, I didn't experience a single day with a typhoon. Turns out it's been an unusually dry summer. Well, I had Typhoon #1 today (if it's #3, then there's no school...if it's #8 or higher on a scale of 10, then there's no work, and it's a fully-paid holiday!). Some typhoon. It was on and off rain, some winds, and occasionally fog. But there was also long stretches of sunshine. If this was a typhoon, then it's like saying that falling leaves in autumn in Toronto is the equivalent of a blizzard.

Lord, please send a #8 Typhoon this week....that way I can stay in and finish my project instead of going to work, and still get paid for it! =D

Speaking of which, time to get back to my project....

Sigh.

Now it's 1:30am, I just got home not too long ago, and I'm blogging, trying to figure out why my archives aren't working properly, and pissing on Ricky for buying the new Clie and not getting me one. Anything not to work.

Sigh.

I really need to keep more up to date with posts. Somehow even though we stay out every single day til late, Jo finds ways to post frequently, and I'll just tell ppl to go to her blog since pretty much whatever she says about what she did that day I did with her anyway.

Is this what working life is like? Work til 6, meet up with friends for dinner, go do something, get home at midnight, crash, wakeup, and do it all over again. If it is, then why is it that I'm so happy yet my co-workers seem so old fogie and faced with middle-age crisis? Maybe they don't have a crew the way I do here? I dunno. But I'm really loving my life here, and it's scaring me more and more when faced with the reality of going back home and back to school. I'm already starting to get a glimpse of it as more and more people are going back to where they came from - I'm the last to leave HK.

I'm constantly asked if I'm coming back next year...and my answer is, there's nothing more I'd like to do than to come back. But things may be different next year - I'm contemplating between working in either Connecticut or San Francisco for the summer, and it's a whole year away - just live in the moment, live for now, make the most out of what you have, and thank God for the blessings. Next year will be next year.

I posted a new batch of HK pics on my site....will post up more and more soon, but I'm working on a new redesign for jcool.com. I also got a new domain name...cheung247.com...something a little more serious that I can pass out without everyone doing a double-take on jcool@jcool.com.

Songs of the Moment: End of the Innocence by Don Henley, Here with Me by Michelle Branch, Hunter by Dido.