Sad Bank Account, But Exciting News!

So over the year I've been able to save up some money. Well as of yesterday much of that has diapered for very good reasons. leaving me not broke, but my bank accounts look a little less flashy.

Purchase #1: A New Laptop.
I am now the proud owner of a Macbook once again. For those of you who have been following the blog regularly, you know that my laptop was stolen at the end of Christmas break in the Hong Kong airport. So now I have a new one, which is very exciting because my old laptop that was left over from university was about to explode at any moment.

Purchase #2: My Student Loan.
Ok, so it not really a purchase but more of a 'here have all your money back' thing. But I am now debt free, and will remain that way (hopefully) until i manage to accumulate enough money to buy a property and then sign my life away in the form of a mortgage.  Wahoo!

I'm Still Alive!

So I've been a little absent lately. My last post may have been a month ago. I want you to know that I'm not dead, but busy, then vacation, where I've accomplished very little. My days have been made productive by simply doing one hour of work, like sweeping the floors, or making a batch of muffins, -but never on the same day. Speaking of which today I made Raspberry White Chocolate muffins. Productivity complete. 

So let's rewind a bit and catch you up. School ended. There were final projects and exams and report card writing. Then there was the packing up of my class, and trying to figure out the best plan of action to ensure that mould didn't grow from ever surface of my house. And within that I was also required to attend prom, which was a little strange. So once the house was prepped for the rainy season, and the classroom was finally clean for once, the final reports handed in I peaced out to Hong Kong for a few days. 

Teachers at Prom

Pictures are limited because the one day I grabbed the camera without a memory card and the next day the battery died. But Hong Kong was fun, I enjoyed being in a city where there was order. Granted not all of HK is organized, but most of it has signs everywhere, with determined people on their way, with no real interested in what it is that you're doing or who you are. I missed that. Fillippino friendliness is great but sometimes you just don't want to deal with other people. 

So while there I went to Victoria peak, which was nice, but nothing overly special, I did enjoy the walking path at the top of the mountain which kinda gave you views around the whole city/island. I bought some very expensive ice cream because I'm horrible with exchange rates and then went to Cat Street, which as antiques and art galleries. The next day I went and saw more art and did some (ok, a lot) of shopping. Then that night I set out on a dumplings quest. 

I had asked the guy at the hotel of a good place for dumplings. He sent me o a basement restaurant two blocks over. Upon entering I was unsure if I was in the right place. It reminded me of the Hoito, which for those of you who are unfamiliar with Thunder Bay "fine dinning", means it looked like a soup kitchen with out the buffet line. The only difference between this whole in the ground and the Hoito, was there that it was practically empty. In the corner table sat three teenaged boys and another table kitty-coned to them sat an elderly couple. The rest of the space was empty. I sat down and the waitress didn't speak english. I was all ready with my pad of paper to draw out what I wanted when she went into the back and after a while final emerged hold a special menu which had been translated into english. I ordered veggie-pork dumplings and steamed spring roles. The food was greasy but good. The "owner/manager?" came over to means gave me a thumbs up and smiles. To which i did the same back. This was the most China experience of my HK trip. 

The best part of the whole trip was the fact that I stayed in a really nice hotel . Which I ten got bummed up to a superior deluxe room, which meant I then got to take the fancy exclusive elevator, eat at the nice resturant for breakfast and have an amazing view of the city. Plus there was giant fluffy robes. Always my favourite thing.

View of the Harbour from my hotel room.

The boardwalk just outside of my hotel. The women here use umbrella to shield themselves from the sun. 

Going up to Victoria Peak on an old trolly car

In the distance in the harbour you can see a yellow dot, that's actually a gaint rubber duck. Its an art instalation by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman that's traveling the world. I saw it up close, but that was the day with no memory card...

At Victoria Peak

Path around the peak

  

Dusk & night view from the hotel. 

  

Then I flew home. And sense then there's been a lot of relaxing. And wearing unseasonal clothing, because I now believe that when it below 25 degrees, summer clothing should stay in the closet. 

Packing

Things I rock at: Procrastination
Things I hate: Packing

This means that 12 hours before my flight I still have to put actual things inside my suitcase. I thought that giving me a full weekend to pack would have resulted in me being a little better this time. I should have known better.

Next stop Hong Kong, then Canada! See you there!