HK trip 2009 - Day 16 (Thursday Dec31)

Day 16, December 31, 2009.
My father’s birthday is tomorrow.
I totally forgot it was my mother’s birthday 4 days ago...

Last night, I had another weird dream.
I was with some guy trying to rush to a doctor’s appointment.
We couldn’t find the clinic.
By the time we found it, we were an hour late.
When we arrived, we ordered food. (Somehow, the clinic became a restaurant...)
We were sitting at a table full of unknown people.
And then suddenly, I was somewhere else talking with another person about some important matter.
I didn’t remember why it was important, but I had a feeling it was important.

And then my alarm rang.

I had a really simple breakfast. An egg sunny-side-up and two sausages with a cup of milk tea.
And then I waited for my grandparents to get ready for work.
While waiting, I had a really big sneeze. I got a stomach cramp from that...

By the time I got to the office, it was already past 11am.

At around 1pm, I went to lunch with my grandfather.
My grandmother was preparing for the New Year’s party.

I already bought everything I needed, and bought as much “want” as I wanted, so I stayed in the office and researched on the phone I have in mind.
If the phone meets my needs, I should be able to get it for free after my current contract is up in June.

At around 4pm, I went out to walk around the two computer malls in the area.
J also came when I got to 298.
He found a store that sells laptop screen protectors and would also apply it for him. (most refused to apply it)
That lady in the shop did a really good job on his.
I am going to bring my laptop to her tomorrow.
I also bought a pair of in-ear headphones for my father as his birthday present.
The thing I like about this type of headphones is that it blocks out a good amount of outside noise without any active noise cancelation.
He likes to watch movies and pre-recorded TV shows on his laptop when he transits between HK and China every week, so he might put it to use.

As I was walking to the bus station, I saw my bus arrive at the station.
I started running toward the bus just as the entrance door closed.
The bus driver saw me running and waited for me.
Surprisingly, there were not a lot of people in the bus, so I even managed to get a seat.

I got home.
My grandparents were holding a countdown gathering with a bunch of their friends and coworkers.
Even my father took a day off work to come back to HK.
I continued packing everything into my luggage.

We had hot pot for dinner. The people were separated into 3 different tables. Two of the table were small and could only fit about 5 people each. Some people were without table and walked between all three tables.

I wasn’t feeling too hungry.
The really “fresh” shrimps in front of me didn’t help either.
When I eat food, I like the food to be prepared enough that I can’t tell it is still alive. I can’t stand seeing food still alive at the table.
So I didn’t eat too much.

After dinner, two tables were set up.
One to play mahjong and the other Chinese Dominos.
And then there were other games played at random locations around the apartment.
And then there were people “blowing water”.
And a bunch of people watching TV.

I was standing behind my father trying to figure out how Chinese Dominos work.
After a long while, I was still totally confused.
An old guy was explaining to me about the game and how it works.
One thing he forgot to tell me was that the number of dots on the tiles doesn’t always mean what they appear to mean. Because of that, I have no idea what he was trying to tell me until later.

I kept watching until it was time to do the countdown.
And then I took a lot of drunk photos.

A few aunts and uncles also forced a few cups of liquor at me.
At least the stuff they force at me tasted better than red wine.

As it was also my father’s birthday, I jokingly gave him an electrical cord that I have no use for.
Then I gave him a few seconds’ time to acknowledge his present, and then gave him his real present.

At around 12:30am, people started leaving.
At 1am, all guests finally left.

Tomorrow is the last day I will be in HK.
I will be attending a wedding ceremony.