Jotwein's World

PCCW Single Device Wi-Fi service is a piece of turd. I swear. From last night straight through to today I could not get an IP address for my laptop. It kept declaring self-assigned IP which doesn’t let you connect to the internet. Considering I’m paying a considerable amount for this service I consider myself utterly cheated. Good thing I’m leaving soon.

I really needed some internet (because apparently I can’t live without it) so I set off to Starbucks where I could’ve possibly gotten a connection. If there were any seats. It was so terribly warm out and I just wanted some air con. Is that too much to ask?

Thankfully, there is a public library near my place so I am now here, nestled in the far back corner of the students’ study room leeching off the Hongkong Government’s free Wi-Fi. The room is considerably packed, which is weird considering it’s now the summer holidays in Hongkong and I have no idea why all these students are here and presumably studying.

It’s even weirder that nobody’s on a laptop except me. Wouldn’t have this situation in the Ngee Ann library. Oh no. In the Ngee Ann library there’d be hoards of Engineering students on their Windows laptops playing DotA. I must say I haven’t seen this many highlighters in a central location in quite a while.

Yet another weird experience in my otherwise completely boring trip to Hongkong.

Following a proper thrashing by Mother Nature last night, I woke up this morning to find the sun was out and the rain had greatly slowed. It’s most unfortunate that the typhoon only lasted one day. I think I would’ve liked it to last much longer. I didn’t even get to finish all my three packets of instant noodles. Only got to eat one.

Anyway, the typhoon signal reached a new high last night after my last post. At around 2.30am the level was raised to number 9 and the red rainstorm warning was in effect as well. From what I saw on the news earlier it looks like the storm was pretty furious and I’m glad I was holed up at home watching Nana.

It isn’t raining right now so I can go get dinner. Guess I didn’t really have to worry so much, but the typhoon was cool while it lasted. Hell, at least I can now say I’ve experienced a typhoon.

Now I’ve gotta pack for my business trip. If you don’t know, I’ll be in Shenzhen from Monday to Wednesday to do a hotel check at the Mahayana OCT Hotel as well as meet some clients. Not sure if I can get internet there, but the hotel’s website says the rooms have internet so I’m optimistic.

After today there’ll be 19 days left (inc. weekends) before I’m done with attachment. Time’s passing so quickly. And on a random side note, the host of 1Cubed, this show in HK, is kinda annoying. Nothing personal dude, but you give me a headache.

Edit: I just stepped out to get dinner and the weather is simply beautiful. It hasn’t been this cooling in HK in a long time. Yay typhoon!

It’s Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts and eight years after the first Harry Potter movie in 2001. Before this latest film, which I will refer to as HBP in this review, each Harry Potter movie seemed to get worse and worse from first to fifth, especially the fifth film. Regardless, they’ve always made tons of money simply because of the HP franchise and the sheer number of its followers.

I myself have read all the Harry Potter books except the seventh one (though I did try, only to find that I’ve more or less outgrown the series) and I’m a firm believer that while print-to-screens make better movies, they’re always somewhat disappointing to those who read the books first before watching.

Of course, it’s extremely difficult to put into extreme detail whatever the author has put into a book, and it is only after watching HBP that I finally understood how to fully appreciate a Harry Potter movie. More details after the break.

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Right, so I finally got down to doing this review. I have to state up front that I am a fan of Michael Bay and the work he’s done with the first Transformers movie, and while I was quite upset that he isn’t going to be doing the third Transformers movie, I was really looking forward to Rise of the Fallen, hereafter referred to as ROTF.

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I just got back from stocking up for the typhoon that’s hitting Hong Kong full blast tomorrow. I still find it amazing that we can now predict these things with such stunning accuracy.

Basically we are now at typhoon signal number 3, and Typhoon Molave (who the hell comes up with these names?) is predicted to hit the city between tonight and tomorrow. So effectively I’m gonna wanna stay home. Perfect!

But before my perfect day relaxing at home, I had to stock up so around 6.30pm I left my apartment, umbrella in hand, to go get groceries and some dinner.

To say it was a nightmare would be an almost complete understatement. I stepped into Park N Shop (your friendly neighbourhood supermarket) to find a most amazing sight. There were no trolleys. Not. A. Single. One. And what’s more, there weren’t any baskets either. Guess I wasn’t the only one preparing for the storm.

Thankfully though, the supermarket was well stocked with the essentials of good typhoon survival (as if I’d know, but I’m definitely gonna live) – water and instant noodles, and I was in and out in no time. Except for one thing – I had to bring my own shopping bags.

See the history behind this is that on the 7th of July, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region implemented a minimum HK$0.50 levy on all plastic bags per bag with a handle. So regardless of this being just about the gayest form of environmental conservation I have ever seen (okay not really, but it’s really upsetting), I brought along two cloth bags of my own to ensure I wouldn’t pay unnecessary taxes.

It really seemed like a good idea, except the fact that while the bags are much stronger, they’re also several times heavier. And I really felt the pain this time (not to mention the fact that the typhoon had already begun by the time I left the supermarket).

It got worse after I bought dinner. Imagine carrying dinner, four bottles and three packets of instant noodles in one hand (and my weaker left hand at that) and a rather large umbrella in the other, and then braving the rain. Just the kind of thing I would have to blog about!

So right now I’m back home and about to have dinner. Being at home the whole of tomorrow means that I’ll have the time to write the two reviews I’ve been promising but not delivering – Transformers: Rise of the Fallen and Harry Potter: The Half-Blood Prince.

Right then. Time for dinner. Oh by the way, in latest news the typhoon signal number 8 might be put into effect tonight. I’m still glad we don’t have anything like this back home.

Edit 11:32pm: The typhoon signal number 8 has just been put into effect!

Technology’s so advanced these days so even if I’m overseas it’s so easy to contact home. Letters and stuff are cool, and I’ve tried to motivate myself to write letters, but I never quite found the time to write.

I’ve been Skype-ing Melly lately! Well, twice the last 2 days. Anyway, screenshots after the jump!

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Since the last post I’ve probably down at least one to two dozen lychees. Doesn’t help that they’re just there. In the fridge. Smiling at me sweetly. Going ‘eat me! eat me!’ from their Chinese-character-adorned cardboard boxes.

Importantly, it’s only been about 24 hours since I picked these lychees from the tree perches on which they hung, but I’ve already seen the effect of time and atmosphere on them. Plucked fresh from the trees the skin comes off without a fight. But after just 24 hours a bitter inner skin starts to stick to the fleshy fruit, much like the ones that oranges have.

Alas, I will have to leave my apartment later today because *cue dramatic music* I have run out of water. Oh and I probably ought to go figure out how I can cancel my internet as well seeing as I’ll be leaving in about 6 weeks’ time. Time does pass oh-so-quickly.

I shall be putting up a review of the new Transformers movie later tonight. It’s been 2 Saturdays since I’ve watched it and the itch to write is coming back.