my goal is to feel at home everywhere. to focus on the human conditions that make everything familiar rather than the specific 'differences' that make things unfamiliar.

yummmz

yesterday k mentioned 'appetite for life'. what a great phrase! i suggest that negativity is to be avoided at all costs, as it ruins all your appetite for life. it's simple.

i just want to finish part 3 so i can be where i want to beeeeeeeeeeee.

argh!

when i was little i used to be very outspoken, but these days i only say a lot when i know someone really well.

i put down my shyness to the fact that i went to the same school for 12 years and grew up with the same people in the same class. it was a happy existence. i knew them inside-out and there was nothing to hide, so you would just as well say it. but perhaps it would have been better to have swapped lots of schools and got used to more people. after all, i hardly see my school mates now. the only one i ever see or talk to is the girl i sat next to throughout high school, who is now buried deep into her oxford PhD in ancient greek. (soon she'll be handing it in and teaching in cambridge. i guess she's the bomb in academics. and that makes me the bomb's best friend. hahaha.)

so yes, i grow up really slowly relatively to what my brain can do, because i can't always launch into every social situation: i can't drink if my life depended on it. i refuse to go clubbing when i know there will be grinding involved. and i ditch a pub session with my workmates to study for canto class. wah. maybe i grew up with my lovely geeky mates and never felt like changing. maybe it's never too late i love that saying.

at school we had a long time to make and break friendships. and i guess those friends that i kept, i really value their traits. they're clever, they're geeky at times, but they're also hilarious. clever, geeky and hilarious...heehee. i like a lot. i like most other things too, but preferably if they make me think or they make me smile.

i got tagged by christine: i am currently listening to anything on capitalfm, radio1 and anything that's on at the gym

edit: right now i am actually listening to capital confessions: everybody's sex/relationship problems answered the woman counsellor is very good!

tammy is leaving london for edinburgh this weekend.

if you want to meet up with her, come over to mine for food on friday night. 

you know the bbc world service/ world news that you get around the world. well you can't get it in the uk. haha.

i miss the bbc world news jingle that you get on tv in hong kong. it's really inspiring. i sing it every morning in the shower!

still changing...don't think i'll ever stop...we shouldn't stop changing, after all, improving is changing. anyway, i'm becoming much more laid back. trying not to be rude (a thin line between the two, esp in the uk) but definitely getting very comfortable with everyone including strangers and definitely speaking my mind in public more. i disciplined a kid on the bus as her mother could clearly not discipline her. the kid was screaming and after i reprimanded her she stopped instantly. her mother was furious at me but i think i did her a favour. however you don't do this in the uk if you know your manners, so i was quite proud of myself for doing it with grace.

i've been too formal with others, when i didn't need to be. (i don't mean hk-ers, they always relax me) i know where it comes from, but i've decided to kick that habit. p said once that 'if you don't trouble anyone, you'll never get close to anyone'. that recently hit me really hard and that's why i'm becoming more laid back with others.

still trying to find my place between east and west (a significant issue when you're from greece which is itself trying to find its place between east and west) but i think i'm clearly from the east. carl's dad said so hahaha!

still trying to find the ideal job, and the time to read everything that's of interest. i mean, if i wanted to study everything in depth, i would never leave uni, right? i've got to tweak my job so that i do what's vital for society and not what's merely interesting. and i've got to find the spare time to read about the things that i don't get to see or do.

today i had my first 'western' meal since i came back, i.e. tomato soup. it felt good for sure. (recently my sense of 'good' is becoming a little more specific.) i've had a whole week of takeaways from several parts of chinatown...lol. tomorrow i'll ask if i can have a copy of the menu from crispy duck so i can plan ahead of visiting hahaha! ok ok i'm kidding, i promise to cook at home soon.