The Eve of National Day (is that how you call it?)

My colleague runs a survey and research unit at the University and they recently put in a bid for a project commissioned by the Women's Commission (which is, bizzzzarely enough, under the jurisdiction of the Food, Environment and Hygiene Department). They want to do a study on what the core parental values in Hong Kong are. I've been drafted into this and tarted my CV up as an expert in this area. Anyhow, we had to do a presentation and that was yesterday afternoon.

I am not happy about how it went. Firstly, the research co-ordinator guy, he's the one who did the powerpoint slides etc, got ME to man the computer. Which is highly inappropriate, but never mind, I said to myself. His presentation was absolutely shit. Spent ages talking about projects they've done before, and spent too little time on what our audience really care about. I rambled, stuttered, and was nervous when I need not be.

Even so, I think we might have a chance in getting this. Depending on how much lousier our competition is than us, and you can never over-estimate how much more shit strangers can be compared to people you know, I would even say we have a 50-50 chance and that is a conservative guess.

After that I had dinner and drinks with the ladies in L16, which served the WORST dessert I have come across. T ordered chocolate brownies, and the other two ordered sweet potato thingymajit with a fancy name. The brownies were rock hard, cold, dry and crumbly, and was served with nothing but a pathetic drizzle of chocolate sauce. $48 for four slices of that shit. Which obviously was made at least two days ago and had been kept in the fridge, uncovered, ever since. And that sweet potato thingy, we were expecting a sweet soup type dessert, but instead were presented with pieces of boiled sweet potato, drowned in coconut cream. What kind of dessert you call that? The shit kind, that's what.

Later that evening I went to Club 71 and M said that her film about 64 is finally finished and she will put free copies of it over the bar for people to pick up. She's arranging for a showing at 71 sometime in the near future.

We were sitting with a bunch of people from Kids Gallery. I would like to describe them all in some detail to you, but I couldn't be bothered really. Basically there was a real queen, a mother of two, a horny married man whom you could tell doesn't get out much, two pretty young things, their boss, and a bunch of well behaved young HKers who are design students. And me. And M (well plastered as usual). I had red wine spilled over my legs TWICE and was forced to down three tequilla shots. It was fun whilst it lasted but it only take a single brief moment of clarity to see how this is all a complete waste of time. A waste to time where everyone is trying too hard to have a good time. Reality is, I miss B, I miss my kids, and I miss the comfort of my home. Having a "good time" in a bar with people you barely know, is really for younger folks. That's when I decided it's time to call it a night.