Pre-Christmas

Christmas is round the corner. But the festive mood has been around since last month? People start planning, start buying presents, start discussing about this long time ago. But me? Actually think of it, why do I celebrate Xmas? Celebrate for the sake of celebrating because it is a holiday? Anyway whatever the reason, all I know is that I have a break, a holiday that I can rest a little. And probably the thing I look forward the most in this period is the Boxing day sale where everything is on sale after Christmas. Kind of loser isn't it? But that's me I suppose.

Anyway some photos of hamper from maomao's office.. Looks kind of like our chinese new year hamper? But with all western food (some of which I don't even know how to eat or cook). Oh not forgetting there are so many bottles of wine?! All they know is drinking in this drunk city. Even lunch-time buffet serves beer, wine and liquor where the people get high and continue to work after lunch?? And dinner gathering starts with a drinking session at pub that gets everyone high, then dinner at a restaurant where the drinking continues with food, and ending the night with rounds of drinking at different clubs/pubs. I don't understand this at all... ...







Feeling kind of detached from everyone and everything suddenly =(

London (part 2)

Well, the main purpose of my London trip is for a conference. And I left out the most important part of this trip in my blog.

Conference is boring with papers and papers one after another, and I am really not good in socialising with these Big Professors =( Felt a little dominating and I feel small, tiny and stupid in front of them. Hai... hard to describe my actual feeling but it's definitely not a positive one. Then I start to wonder will I ever become one of them in the future.

Anyway after all the people have started settling down, I looked around and it seems like I am the very few ladies in the room. There are probably more than 50 people in the room, but the ladies are like less than 5?? At one point, there were only 2. How sad. Do the males have an advantage being a Professor?? What happen to the females out there?? Hai.........

One last thing that I want to mention is I met a remarkably brilliant, talented, young but a little proud Professor at the conference. He was just great.. too good to be true. I became a fan of him after the conference. A little arrogance can be forgiven because he is just GOOD. Somehow during the boring conference I thought to myself, how good will it be to marry someone like him. But then I thought it might be too stressful and very few will be good enough to be with him. Still, I am still very much a fan of him now... Ha.. I'm crazy I know.

Alright, enough of blabbering... This is just a boring account of my conference.

London

Went London last Fri for a conference and spent the weekend there. Enjoyed the little time off from Notts... and I realised I began to like London a lot. I used to hate London because I think it's messy, dirty and unsafe... But somehow after this trip, I began to love London and appreciate what others say about her. Hehee... of course not forgetting the shopping and 战利品 from London! Hahahaa.... Okie some photos...

I like this little shopping palace =)

New friend

Bond in town

I love Marc Jacobs!

Flying snowman??

CK Models: Live!

A street full of shoppers..

Updates

Decided that I should update my blog on what's going on for the past 2 months. I realised I haven't been blogging properly, except for complaining and nagging.

So where should I start? Randomly ba...

First, the first snow was brought to Midland England in November this year. An early winter? A very very cold winter this year. Although it's not the first time I am watching the snow falls, it always somehow feel special each time I watch them fall and secretly hoping that the snowing continues. Of course there were more snowing days in December and more to come! =( Too much isn't too good as well because it's freezing.

This semester passes miraculously fast. Teaching and meetings occupied most of my time. Started my first module this semester and it's been great so far. At least my students were pretty nice and friendly. And there were some cute-looking students too! Haahaa... (So unprofessional of me saying this!) But afterall I'm only a few years older than them...

Research hasn't been good this two weeks. Made progress but still slow. Can be more efficient and productive - once again I am repeating this!

Think I haven't really update on my new birdies... Adopted two canaries and two finches from maomao's colleague. And they are 大黄，小黄，小灰，小白... Silly names but easily recognised. They look the cutest when they are asleep because they hide their heads in their body when they are sleeping! So 大黄 and 小黄 will look like two tennis balls when they're sleeping....

As Christmas is coming, we have a Christmas fair in Notts... Haven't really take much pictures of the fair but took some photos of the Outdoor Ice Rink. It's outdoor! So it means that it must be really cold to be able to ice skate on the rink outdoor!

One of the stalls selling English Cottage Houses...

Lovely =)

Enough for this post... More on my London conference trip in the next.

Many prophets preach on bended knee
Many clerics wasted wine
Do the bloody sheets
On those cobbled streets mean
I have wasted time

Are there silver shores on paradise?
Can I come in from the cold?
I killed a man in a far away land
My enemy I'm told

Is a poor man rich in solitude?
Or will mother earth complain
Did the beggar pray for a sunny day but
Lady luck for rain

They say a million people bow and scrape
To an effigy of gold
I saw life begin
And the ship we're in
And history unfold

I know you want to know what's right
But I know it's so hard for you to do that
And time's running out as often it does
And often dictates that you can do that

Words just simply cannot describe what I'm feeling anymore.

I feel what I feel. I think what I want. But I only do what is right and practical. I hate this. And I hate myself for hating this too.