May 2008 Archives

The Montreal food restaurant site Métro Boulot Resto that I am running with my friend Jen is now back up again. It was a long month of fumbling... In the meanwhile, MBR celebrated its first anniversary, just shy of a month ago.

Previously, I was mentioned in the Montreal Gazette, and La Presse, but the surge of visitors to Comme les Chinois caused by these occurrences was dwarfed on Monday and Tuesday when my article on Radio-Canada being blocked again in China was quoted by an article on Radio-Canada's Sur le Web blog.

I may have also had almost 100 hits from people searching the Dujiangyan (Sichuan) earthquake, which happened on the same day.

I am a fan of Penny Arcade, but do you think this ad for Penny Arcade Expo 2008 perpetuates the Asian chick / Caucasian dude stereotype?

I was going to say Caucasian dork, but the Asian girl is actually the one holding the DS.

Omg! But then again, the South Chinese average is lesser than world standards. Moreover, my brother is kinda tall, and so are uncles and my paternal grandfather (apparently, it jumped a generation or more with my father, and myself). (youtube video)

My first move was to take down the After This Our Exile poster from the wall on the left side behind my bed. Unwittingly, it might have had a negative effect on my mood for all these months living here...

On the other hand, I've now placed two new posters, including that of the "spankin'" rock show at 2 kolegas (because of that tag, that picture, which I linked to here, is by far my Flickr's account most popular, despite it being added less than a month ago - bunch of hypocrites :D).

The other poster is one of Cheer Chen on her scooter. <3

Taking pictures with a regular point-and-shoot, after about two months on a SLR (Pentax K10D), is a very big downer. Why is there no need to look in the viewfinder anymore? Where's my extraordinarily short depth of field?

Anyways, my next camera will be a SLR, that's for sure.

I feel like living somewhere else. Montreal is kind of like the woman who will always be there for you. Aren't we always attracted by that which is not here?

Taken at my parents' home.

I forgot to transfer my domain registration to the new webhost for metroboulotresto.com and so the site has been down for almost two weeks now!

Where did those six weeks go?

Arriving in Hong Kong remained a blur. I met my grandparents and stayed for three full days only before making my way to Taiwan.

In Kenting, I saw Cheer Chen live. I also went to Spring Scream, and biked like I never biked in my whole life (12km one-way to the music venue, sometimes in total darkness, on the side of the sea). In Taichung, I got lost, but eventually found my empty hostel. I was creeped out, because it was empty, in the middle of nowhere, and felt like some sort of spirit of a tormented assassinated backpacker was to pop out at any moment. Then, I was in Taipei for two days, visiting more night markets, and hung out at a student cafe, and took pictures with the giant sitting Chiang Kai-shek.

Back in Hong Kong, I hung out. I took a bus to Kowloon and got lost, walked for two hours and a half in a part of Kowloon that I did not know. I went on an artistic storytelling tour of Hong Kong, to Mount Davis, and then South Bay Beach.

Then, I went to Beijing... I did see Tian'anmen, and some of the Olympic venues. I went to a rock show at D-22. I met an architect who showed me a habitation complex being built. I went to party with a distant relative learning Chinese in town, and then watched live hockey on the internet. I met my friend's friends living in Beijing, drank with them. My friend surprised me by staying one in Beijing w/o telling me in advance. I bumped into young overseas Chinese entrepreneurs who opened a cafe/design shop on a new commercial street. I saw a Mongolian music performance. I played role-playing games. I visited universities, and took pictures with my Canadiens shirt in front of Peking University.

Then, back in Hong Kong, I saw marches... Bumped into a Labour Day march on Hennessy, and the day after, I was at the torch relay in Wan Chai. Then, the day after, some high school students in various uniforms appeared in Causeway Bay, as I was doing shopping, parading perhaps for their school end thing. Then, I went to Kaiping in China, by boat, to visit those diaolou, and ate fresh chicken. I came back by Shenzhen, where I visited relatives' factories. I met with one of my blogging world heroes in Hong Kong, and shopped at UniQlo.

And finally, after a 14-hour trip back to North America, a 6-hour wait in Newark, and 1.5-hour flight, I will be home!

Taken on the A11 bus to Chek Lap Kok HK International Airport. I will be back in Montreal this Saturday night!

Taken in Beijing, on the last night.