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Ripped from Deutsche Presse:

Hong Kong was shaken and left moderately stirred Thursday evening as an earthquake measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale made skyscrapers sway in the high-rise city. Buildings shuddered and some residents ran out into the streets in panic [not around here] when the underground earthquake struck in waters near Hong Kong shortly before 8 p.m.

The Hong Kong Observatory later said the earthquake took place in the sea around Dangan Island, about 26 kilometres south-southeast of Hong Kong. There were no reports of casualties [or hints of damage].

It’s been a long day on my feet. It started with a false fire alarm at about 7 o’clock. I was planning to go to the US Consulate to add pages to my passport, but discovering an extra pair of pages hiding at the beginning let me postpone that one. I took the MTR to Wan Chai and went to the PRC pseudo-consulate, where I filled the visa form and let the Red Chinese (genuine article) play with my passport for the weekend. I should have a double-entry visa and 590 HKD less in my pocket if I can get there to pick it up in time Monday. The facility was very austere and… kind of PRC-looking. I got a little chill just looking at the seal over the door, and the carpet was a peculiar institutional green.

From there I headed to the nearby Consulate-General of Brazil, where I got my yearly military excuse stamp (and a fresh set of tape for the certificate). Only twelve stamps to go until I’ve collected them all! I guess I’ll need to head there after the elections to sort that mess out, too. Fortunately they are small and bored enough that I don’t need to worry about security or appointments.

Not content with running up and down Harbour Rd. a few times, I caught the Morning Star from Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui. There I placed a suit order. I got ripped off slightly… I bargained down a bit but thinking back I’m probably paying about 50 USD more than I need to be. It’s still a pretty good price, if they get everything right—a custom suit for about 30 USD more than a good off-the-peg suit (from G2000 or Marks and Spencer, say), which are themselves a good 100 USD cheaper than I’m used to seeing. I’ll go for my first fitting Monday after I pick up the PRC visa/my passport. Let’s hope this narrow-striped charcoal two-buttoned–jacket flat fronted–trouser masterpiece is worth it… I’d like to have a good place where my measurements are on file so I can bargain for a reasonable supply of law school camo when I get back.

Dodging the touts again, I fought my way back to TST MTR and swam through tunnels of people to East Tsim Sha Tsui where I took the East Rail to Sha Tin. By the time I arrived the weather had failed me, so I didn’t see the 10,000 Buddhas (except from a distance). However, I did make the Ikea pilgrimage. It’s as big as everyone had said, and diabolical… you think you’ve escaped, and then there’s a whole section of stuff (lamps, say) sucking you back in. I did escape buying anything permanent, but they did part a few HKD from me for the café food. Swedish meatballs and lingonberry in Sha Tin, mmmhm.

From there I headed back to Tuen Mun—all the way to Tuen Mun on the West Rail, which was a first for me. I walked from the Tuen Mun WR station to the Town Plaza, where I had something to pick up at the Jusco (big Japanese department store), and made it on the Light Rail in time for a free ride (interchange) back to Siu Hong and the university.

Once here, I discovered that the Park n Shop at Fu Tai is woefully understocked in cereal. I bought a few bricks of milk, but the best I could find in cereal-land was an undersized box of Honey Corn Flakes. I guess I need to factor in a weekly shopping trip to the TMTP branch to buy a couple boxes of cereal.

Oh yeah, and I survived an earthquake. Whee.

Chinese is still impossible, now that I’ve borrowed a copy of the text from a classmate.

Tomorrow I have a tutorial at 9:30 (eww) in Psycholinguistics, which I have not (and need not… it’s basic stuff and drawing straws to determine groups) prepared for, followed by a lot of nothing, followed by an hour of Mandarin at 16:30.

I seem to have completely forgotten to mention yesterday. It was wet—really wet. Red rainstorm and a brief T3 Strong Wind signal. After my 13:30 class it thinned out enough for me to sneak out and pick up my student Octopus, and caught dinner with a few people at Fu Tai that evening. Pork in lemon sauce is interestingly good. Any kind of slow- or long- cooked beef is still not. The tropical depression moved along—not even T1 was up by evening.

I’m going to start reading and hope my roommate thinks about turning down his lively RTS game some time soon. At least it’s not soccer. Lately he’s taken to accompanying matches with Frank Sinatra classics. It’s fun.