Racist talk does add up – why casual racism by Hong Kongers against Mainland Chinese makes me so angry

If you’ve not lived amongst Cantonese-speaking Hong Kongers or interacted with them a lot, then this is something that you’ve probably not noticed. I spent ten months in Hong Kong in 2014 and, by the end of it, I’d had enough. Not just because of the climate or the food (none of which really suited

My home of homes

I’m feeling a little bit blue because today is the last day of my holidays and tomorrow I’m headed back to work. (As an aside, I love my job, but holidays are incomparable, amirite?) I originally wanted to talk about body clocks and how things are stacked against people who are more nocturnally inclined, but

2019

2018 was a year of firsts for me. I moved out of home properly for the first time, I visited North America for the first time, met some cousins for the first time. For 2019, I’ve just started rewriting a first draft for the umpteenth time. For thirteen years, I’ve been calling myself a writer

Learning to be happy

Long time no blog. I don’t know if anyone still reads this. However, looking over my previous posts, I find myself wondering, “Do I really whinge that much?” I’ve never been what I would call a ‘happy’ person and this is both due to external and internal forces. Externally, enjoyment and happiness weren’t a big

Tiger mother-style parenting

I am contemplating buying Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua. I would have borrowed the book but alas, the library’s not open due to the earthquake, so I have to make do with my Kindle for PC. (Am contemplating buying a Kindle too coz my brother would never speak to me again

Little Country Mouse and Darwinian Theory

  I’ve been in Hong Kong for almost seven weeks now, and I’m heading back home in less than twenty four hours. This city has pretty much overwhelmed me, mostly with noise and the juxtaposition of a really rapid working pace and a really slow walking pace. (For people who claim to be so quick

Unravelling an emotional low

I have two weeks or so left of my trip in Hong Kong. I haven’t been blogging. I haven’t been doing much writing at all, come to think of it. It’s the middle of the night —early morning, really— and I’m feeling depressed as I think about the day I have to leave. I don’t

My Ethnicity is Not My Identity

It is both a curse and a blessing to be of a cultural minority. Of course, it means ‘relative’ minority, since I have over a billion compatriots out there all over the world. Still, where I’m living, being Chinese means that you’re part of a minority. (Just typing ‘Chinese’ and ‘minority’ in the same sentence sounds

More of the Same Rant

I know I preach tolerance and this might come across as extremely hypocritical, but I feel it is something that needs to be said and acknowledged, and that is I hate it when people claim that the world or a country is in decline because of a lack of Christianity –or any other religion, for

Beyond Belief

I have just come back from work. It isn’t particularly rigorous work. I don’t stand on my feet all day. I don’t lift heavy things. I don’t have to smile at customers perpetually even when they’re being jerks. In fact, I’m allowed to lecture my clients, or rather, students, although I don’t like to. However, there

Judging Books by their Covers

Remember how your parents used to tell you that you can’t judge books by their covers or people by their appearances? (Well, I hope your parents did.) Unfortunately, although we know not to judge things by the way they look, we still do. I am one of the most unremarkable looking girls around. Everything about

First Week of University–A Summary

Yeah, I’ve had my first week, and it’s run me ragged, not because of the work load (even if I have to catch up with the reading because I’ve been too busy watching Gossip Girl today), but  because I was not fully enrolled until the second day. It just really annoyed me, because I hate

Tel Goes A-Camping

The account of my medieval camp experience.