Trying Times: Time to Try!

I felt a little left out today when I looked at Sze Wai's photos because it looked like he was doing nothing but travelling the world; put it another way, it looked like he was doing everything else except studying! I guess that's how exchange programmes are - you just get to tour the place with no stress because everything is on S/U anyway, so there's nothing to risk on the line. I guess being on a formal post-graduate course is really different, because now you're directly accountable to your supervisor and your course cohort is so small.

But there's only so much work and responsibility that this boy can shoulder! Haha! So tonight I went out with Benjamin for dinner - yes, Chinese food again at Wok & Roll, which tasted somewhat like Tsz Char, although the price was kind of exorbitant when you do the currency conversion, heh:

Wok & Roll, Chinese Restaurant

So it's quite a cosy place, but surprisingly it was really cold inside tonight - I had to keep two layers on and Benjamin just kept his full artic gear on. Actually, the weather is getting colder now - people are already wearing scarfs and thicker coats on the streets already! I better bring my scarf out too when I go out nowadays, because I actually freeze in the morning and freeze in the night when walking out of and back home!

So Benjamin had the beef fried rice - it's like the rice dish they serve in Tibet, called Gai Fan (盖饭), which is essentially to stir fry a dish and pour it on top of white or fried rice:

Beef Fried Rice with Sweet & Sour Roasted Pork

Benjamin and I ordered a place of sweet & sour pork to go with our dinner - it's not the typical sweet & sour pork we have back home because save for the sauce and ingredients, the pork isn't deep fried to a crisp. Instead, they use Char Siew pork slices in place of the deep fried pork to toss in the sauce, but it wasn't too bad.

Fried Egg Noodles with Mixed Meat and Vegetables

I had the fried egg noodles with mixed meat (chicken, beef, roast pork and king prawns) and vegetables (bamboo shoots, cabbage, onion, green capsicum and bean sprouts) - it tasted like ee mian (a.k.a. hong kong noodles), and it wasn't too bad. 

Dinner cost us £7.60 after splitting the cost, which was a hefty sum, but I guess it's alright to splurge once in a while or so. :)

After parting ways with Benjamin, I walked down St. Giles and came across this pub called Eagle and Child. Do you guys know what Eagle and Child is? It's the famous pub where C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles William and Hugo Dyson used to meet up for their writers' club! Cool right? It's like legendary if you know of it, but otherwise I guess it's nothing much:

Eagle and Child, St. Giles

I reached home soon after and oh yes, Wok & Roll gave me a fortune cookie! It looks like this:

Fortune Cookie

Fortune Cookie Unwrapped

And guess what the fortune said? Well, it said something really apt:

My Fortune

Indeed, I'm the least academically inclined out of the three in the M.Sc. course, and yes, I'm like an underdog competing against the pros. But life is exciting when you've God on your side. :)

This morning I skipped breakfast at Jesus' College because I was sick of eggs and bacon, so I had my own breakfast instead; I popped by Tesco's yesterday to get this really awesome Maple Syrup & Pecan Nut Oat Cluster cereal, and it packed a punch! The flavour was strong enough to get my day starting:

Maple Syrup & Pecan Nut Oat Cluster

Today was my first lesson, so I trooped down to the lecture theatre earlier; I managed to get a look at this ancient artefact used in Photoelectron Spectroscopy I think:

Ancient PES Instrument

How It Works

I've no idea what it is or how it works, but oh well, you can see it for yourself here! :)

Lecture went alright, although I got a little sleepy and lost towards the end. Heh. Alright, I guess that's it for today, toodles!