I’m not usually someone who misses things. I miss my cat when I’m away for a few days, and occasionally I get a bit wistful because I miss being in Hong Kong, but that’s about it.

I’d miss hanging out with my friends on a day-to-day basis if I hadn’t already accepted the fact that they have lives of their own. I’d miss living in the social, relaxed, jocular environment of residence if I didn’t already understand that university is a part of my life that’s over, and that I most likely won’t being going back (it certainly helps to know that living in residence is nowhere as nice as living in a comfortable apartment or house).

What I do miss though, is having a girlfriend who moisturizes my back in the winter, when parts of my skin get uncomfortably dry and irritating. There are spots I just can’t reach, like between the shoulder blades. It’s also nice to have someone with warm hands who can stop the winter morning shock of cold lotion.

Andrew and Alex are going on a backpacking trip to Europe until the end of this month. They’ve requested a list of people interested in receiving information and details about their trip, so naturally I let them know that I’d like to have some documentation during their journey.

And while I understand their motivations for trying to have such an inter-personal correspondence, I don’t understand why it has to be because of a trip.

Isn’t everyday life interesting enough to talk about? Can’t one learn as much on the bus ride to work as being some place completely foreign? I never decided to make an extra blog or something for my trip to Hong Kong/China/Macau, even though it was still a somewhat life-changing event. To me, the month was another part of my schedule, something I had planned to do. It was as significant as anything else going on in my life, or maybe I should say, anything else going on in my life was as significant as that. I hope I never have to rely on travel to consider my life important enough to discuss with someone.

Perhaps, I feel like I still have so much to learn about everything else that I would gain as much just thinking in the shower as I would being exposed to new things. Every day can be exciting. Every second, there’s a chance to learn and grow. There are still so many things to figure out.

And I probably consider myself to be one of the biggest.

I have a love/hate relationship with Hong Kong films. I’m glad that OMNI 2 has become an ethnically diverse channel, but every time a Hong Kong movie comes on, I’m not sure whether or not I should make some popcorn or put an axe through the TV.

I love the movies because they remind me of every single thing about Hong Kong that has so poignantly affected me (and I feel smart when I get the jokes).

I hate the movies because 90% of them end up being crap like Love Undercover 2: Love Mission. It’s all a reminder of the sad state of affairs that Hong Kong popular culture is in right now.

Coming back here has made me realize how insane the drivers are in Hong Kong. It takes as much guts to walk down the street as it does to drive, back there. The people with cars are amazing at maneuvers, and there’s a lot of forcing into lines since people will generally not let someone in (although it’s much, much worse in China). I think I understand the basis behind the entire bad Chinese driver stereotype; since the cost of owning a car is very high (gas prices are three times as expensive than they are here, parking is pricey and not even a guaranteed spot), people never learn how to drive until they leave Hong Kong. However, at this point, they’re too old to really become good at driving, and follow the more aggressive rules of the road they grew up with.

A look at the worlds largest bronze Buddha located in Hong Kong. It’s perched at the top of a mountain range, and can be seen from extremely far away. As one drives up to the mountain, the outline is visible against the sky from an hour away. It’s an amazing piece of construction; the inside is hollow, where people can set up longevity tablets, and there are three floors of Buddhist murals. Some of the best feng shui in Hong Kong is in that area.