The 5th Day in MANCHESTER

I overslept this morning and it was a bit late when I arrived Manchester. I visited the Manchester Art Gallery, People's History Museum and the Museum of Science & Industry in Manchester. Those museum were ok and it didn't bother me much coz they were free entry.

The Wheel of Manchester looks like The London Eye but I like this wheel more than London eye. It made me want to have a ride on it but I didn't feel that way when I saw the London Eye.


Manchester is a big city and there were lots of people in the streets and shopping malls. I saw many people lying on the grass and enjoying the sunshine. And some people had picnic in the Park. I wanted to sit on the grass too but it was wet :P I'm not used to sit on the grass and enjoy sunshine like western people. I like sun but I don't like to get tanned!

The 4th Day LONDON+BURNLEY

Visit British Museum in the morning. It wasn't as good as I thought. I understand why it is free entry. It's ok to walk around for free but never expect too much. The most funny thing is I saw Chinese paper money, paper slaves and paper necessaries (for burning to the dead people) in the China exhibition hall. I don't understand what make British people feel so valuable to exhibit these stuffs.
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After lunch, I had to say GOODBYE to LONDON coz I was going to take the train to the North! When I arrived Burnley it was already evening. Then I had a nice dinner and watched football game for England and Hungary. Owen wasn't very sharp in this game and I felt asleep when he was taken out :P I'm a really football fans, it's just I was too tired after a long journery from South to North :P Don't doubt my passion for football, huh?

The 3rd Day in LONDON

Woke up Early again and went to St. Paul's Catherdral in the morning. It was so windy, cold and drizzly. I couldn't stand for the cold weather so I had a hot Latte in Starbucks and planned to go somewhere indoor.

I didn't plan to go to Tate Morden coz I'm not really interested in Morden Art but it was the only indoor tourist attraction that near by St. Paul Catherdral. I walked pass through this Millennium Bridge to Tate Morden. There were some kids playing skateboards outside the Tate Modern and they did many stuns! The Artwork didn't impressive me so I didn't stay long in Tate Morden.


I took the tube to Convent Garden to see what kinda market it is. There are some shops and a little market and they were quite a lot of people to see the street shows. Many street performers earn money in this way.

Then going to Oxford Circus to look for the shops of Fred Perry and Whittard of chelsea and Burton. I couldn't get something I wanted in Fred Perry coz it was too expensive. ₤65 for a polo shirt, are they kidding? I got some tea and a wristband only.


Walk from Oxford Circus to Tottenham Court Road, I wondered Tottenham football pitch was around there or not. After that, I went to the most famous department store - Harrods. Got a cute Teddy Bear and it's so huggable!! ;)

The 2nd Day in LONDON

I woke up in the early moring and started my 2nd day trip in London. Although the hostel was including breakfast, it was self severed and the breakfast didn't look attractive, so finally I ate pancake in McDonald.After breakfast, I visited the most popular tourist attractions in London like Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, London Eye, River Thames, Tower of London, Tower Bridge...

The Big Ben doesn't look as big as I thought. But it is really impressive!

I didn't get on The London Eye coz I don't think it's worth for ₤15. So I just took few pics for it.


I thought the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace started at 11am but when I was there, it was nearly noon. Fortunately it started at 12pm and I didn't miss seeing it!!

After eating something, I visited Tower of London and Tower Bridge. The weather wasn't really good so it looks a bit gloomy in the pic. I wonder how Americans confused with London Bridge and Tower Bridge. I didn't have time to see London Bridge but I heard it was only a normal Bridge but not as impressive as the Tower Bridge.

tRiP tO eNgLaNd

I have been packing my luggage for whole night and I didn't expect my luggage would be so heavy! It's only some clothes, coats and necessaries. I really wonder how can people manage to go travel with their backpack. They don't need to bring anything? Or because I bring too many things? When I arrived airport, it was only 5.30am!! The shops at the airport hadn't opened yet. Flight departed at 7.50am, surprisingly the seat of Qantas wasn't very narrow and the flight attendants were very friendly. I couldn't sleep in the flight, I watched a movie "Casanova". The movie is so entertaining because it is well acted, the costumes and the backgrounds are good, and the story itself is very romantic and humorous. I wondered why it wasn't released in Hong Kong.

After 12 hours flight, it was already 1.30pm when I arrived Heathrow Airport. I took few hours to get my luggage, pass the immigrant and take tube to the hostel. The hostel is in Kings Cross which is very convenient but the room was so tiny and the breakfast was bad. The hostel is run by Russians, they are quite friendly but I think they can't understand English very well. Anyway I don't think I will stay this hostel again.

After checking in to the hostel, it was nearly 4.30pm. I was planning to visit flea markets and Harrods but the flea markets close at around 5pm and also it was heavy rain. So I stayed in the hostel and got some rest.

X-MEN 3

I watched X-Men: The Last Stand tonight. It was good. The visual effect was great and the story was a little bit unexpected. I heard it was the end of Xmen series but I think there may be a potential part 4. Overall I like X-men 2 most because the story was better than this one. But remember don't leave your seat so soon!! There is still ending after the ending!! You will know what I mean when you watch it!!

I CAN BE A TEACHER?!

I've never thought I would be a Japanese teacher. I learn Japanese for interest, I didn't think I could be a teacher. Someone asked me to teach an elementary class, frankly I don't have confidence. I don't mean teaching kana is difficult for me, I think the most difficult thing is how to interest students in the class since I don't have any teaching experience. Also I have to prepare the teaching materical by myself but the class will start soon!! May be it's chance for me to use my Japanese but I'm still hesitating to take this job or not.

Count Down for WORLD CUP

I've checked the match schedule for England and luckily the 1st two matches are not too late and definately I can watch it. But for the game for England and Sweden, they play at HK time 3am and it's weekday!! How can I manage to watch it? Someone reminded me that I resigned the job for the World Cup 2002, but I couldn't remember I resigned because of this reason. May be it was one of the reason but I was still young and I thought I could look for another job easily. Now I won't be so hasty. But I am tempted to take few days off for watching World Cup. Is it kind of wasting my annual leave?

DA VINCI CODE

DA VINCI CODE is a hot topic now. I didn't have any expectation on this movie so I wasn't too disappointed after watching it. It's really not easy to simply put this complicated novel on the screen. I have read the novel and I think this film doesn't show the dramatic and mysterious way like the novel does. The growing affection between the two lead characters Langdon and Sophie was skipped. And it also skipped the mixed feelings of Sophie toward her grandfather. I don't think this film is a suspense coz it didn't make me feel eager to know what is going to happen (may be becoz I've read the book).

I don't understand why so many Christian groups strongly boycott this film and to have this film cut or banned. I heard this story has impacted many Christians but it's only a fiction. Just believe what you believe, how can your belief collapse easily?

My DrEaM

Have you ever had similar dreams with the same person on every few months? When you wake up, you may not remember your dreams but then suddenly during daytime, there is something flashing through your mind and you start to recall part of your dreams. Isn't it strange? I heard that People most often portrayed in dreams are actually reflections of your own personality traits. But I'm not dream analysist so I can't tell. But what make me dream like that?

CuRrEnCy CoNvErSiOn

What's the problem with US dollars? Continued dollar weakness? Who say it would bounce from its lows? Darn! I really don't want to convert my money to Pounds now! ₤1 = HK$ 14.6!!! I should have converted when the exchange rate wasn't high. But who knows? If I knew, I was a foreign currency buyer already!! Why Hong Kong dollar and US dollar are not unpedded?

MoThEr'S dAy

Mother's Day is kinda commercial nowadays. People treat their mothers well especially on this day like sending flowers, dining out with mothers, buying gifts... But we are not only treat our mothers well on this day. It's just like to do something to prove that you are a dutiful son/daughter. So meaningless! If you love your mother, everyday can be Mother's Day, right?

Scorpio Horoscopes / Blue Mood

== Scorpio Horoscopes for May 8th - May 14th ==

"A strong Seventh House offers the opportunity to enjoy your relationships and partnerships.

You are able to work together with others to achieve a common goal. This could mean working with a business partner to reach career goals or working with your love partner to bring your relationship to a new level. Be open about your feelings and share your concerns.

You feel the need to do things for your lover and show your affection through actions. There will be romantic opportunities in the work place and your charisma is now the strongest in this area.
This is a period of increased social activity and you will be getting more invitations than you can attend. This is also a period during which you will learn about compromise and about putting other people’s needs first."

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Read this weely Horoscopes by chance and what I can say is half accurate. I don't indugle in astrology or tarot but it's fun to read these stuffs sometimes. I believe people can determine their own destinies and not destines control us.

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== BLUE MOOD ==

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I feel so blue and dull today. Don't wanna go out but I do nothing at home. Want to watch a funny film but I don't have any new funny VCDs. I expected to watch Stephen's Diary but it wasn't on TV tonight. I thought Cup finals would be broadcast on Cable TV but it's broadcast on Now Broadband TV! I don't have Now TV and I can't watch it! Why nothing is smooth today?

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So TiReD!!

These days I feel so tired... I feel like I lost my energy and I don't want to do anything after work. I have headache and my back is stiff. I want to be in a luxury spa and relax. May be I'm under stress at work recently but I know I can cope in stressful situations. And who don't feel stress when they are working?

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA TICKET

Finally I reserved the tickets of The Phantom of the Opera Musical! Yay! I didn't want to reserve the most expensive tickets but the cheap tickets are fully booked. But at least it's cheaper to watch it in London. I hestitated to book Stage A final row of Stalls or 1st row of Circle but seems it Circle is better coz it's on the upper floor. Really can't wait to watch it!!

GET RID OF SOMETHING

When you get tired of something, it's not easy to interest you again. You may try to give yourself a good excuse to get rid of it. But when you think about how much time and money that you have spent on it, you may start to think whether it's worth to give up or not. But how to arouse your interest again? I don't want to give up but I don't have internet anymore.

HAIR STRAIGHTENED

I went to salon to straighten my hair today and I don't feel natural with it. I'm not used to see my long straight tidy hair :P I want to try to perm my hair but I know I will be too lazy to set my hairstyle everyday. Also I don't think curly hair suits me. Girls look older than their age when they have curly hair. My sister is a good example ;-) No one can tell she is 4 years younger than me!!

M:i:III / ID card Replacement

== M:i:III ==

Watched Mission Impossible III tonight. Comparing with the M:i:II, I think this one is more exciting. Great stuns, cool gadgets and good visual effects. The story line is ok but I think some plots don't make sense. Some ending scenes are so predictable but overall this movie is quite good.

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== Smart ID Card Replacement ==

I went to replace my smart ID card after work, I didn't make appointment but there were not many people and it was quite smooth. I wanted to add my English name but there is extra charge. Also If I make any changes on my name, all my passports and other things need to be changed also. Finally I keep everything unchanged.

BuSy WoRk

I had a very busy day and I feel like my work is piling up. Does it mean I'm becoming important now? It's quite annoying when people keep coming up to your desk and ask you something that you are not familiar either. Then you start to take over the job and work on it. And what would you do if your Japanese manager discusses something with the new supervisor next to you and then you know they hardly communicate? You would just pretend you were busy and not offereing any help? Or you would translate for them? Why I have to do this? Someone who can speak excellent Japanese but why she just sits there and do nothing? I think I can never finish my work if I keep helping them. But what are the solutions?

SICK

I'm so sick today! This afternoon I suddenly had stomachache and then started to vomit and have diarrhea. I didn't eat anything wrong, I only drank a cup of milk, ate an orange and a little bit smoke salmon. It's so strange that I was so sick but after taking pain killer and took a nap, I felt much better. Dad even asked me to see doctor and call in sick on the following day. Hahaha it reminds me of somone who usually called in sick.