We will have a farewell party for DEAS tomorrow. I was asked to help setting up a webcame page here for all the all the DEAS former students and teachers.

Time is 2pm ~ 6pm 30th June 2007 GMT. Do click to have a look at the live vision of our party.

If people mark their university graduation as a milestone of the life, I had my happy one today.

It was certainly exciting and I felt privileged to have my graduation in a world heritage cathedral. I enjoyed the attention when we walked down from the stage and people stood on the side were looking at us with a smile. I felt like I had done something very significant and they were the witnesses. But indeed, a two-one from Durham plus one year presidency of one union society, plus a level one certificate of Japanese Proficiency, plus a bunch of good friends, plus a nice caring and beautiful girlfriend and also millions of memorable moment, I think I can say I didn’t waste my university life. I had made most of it!

The biggest pity today was that my parents were not there. They didn’t come because of the complicated visa application and my mum also has to take care of my sister in her exam period. But it’s me who made the decision that they don’t have to come, although I wanted them. It was a difficult decision for me, but I know there will be another greater ceremony in future and by then, they will be there. After all, it’s my parents who have been supporting my study here and they are the people who I want to thank most. But I want to thank them with my further achievements in life. I know they are always there for me. Thanks for being so supportive all the way through (I will write that in my Chinese blog).

It has been a very grateful and memorable day of my life. And I also want to thank James for his professional photos (*still uploading), thank Jenn for being with me for the whole day, and lots of friends who came to the ceremony.

I was very happy today. Very!

Mengya: I don’t know what to pick next?
Tom: I will pick one for you!
Mike: …

We discovered this hot pot place in an attempt to try out a Mongolian restaurant in Newcastle a few weeks ago. It’s indeed a Mongolian restaurant but with a “secret” function on the second floor, which was advertised in Chinese outside the door - “Hot pot buffet, £13.5 per person for two hours”. I was wondering why it’s only written in Chinese, but then the manager at the entrance told us to take care of our friend James and teach him how to use hot pot, just for safety purpose. So I guess there must be some strict regulations for customers to cook food for themselves, ie. a hot pot dinner. That reminds me a sense in Lost in Translation, when the guy complained about the Japanese style BBQ restaurant “what kind of restaurant that you need to cook for yourself”.

Anyway, it’s still a good place to go if you 1) are living near Newcastle, 2) know what’s a hot pot and like it, or 3) don’t know what I was talking about it sounds fun and mysterious and want to try it out. The name is call…wait, I can’t remember. But just ask somebody on the street where is the Mongolian restaurant and they might point you out. It’s somewhere under a bridge, and near a bar called “Tokyo”.

Some more photos here.

Graduation later on, after a few hours sleep!

I’m filling an application online now and the question below looks a bit odd. Which one should I choose if I have a girlfriend but not living with her yet?

1) Married/In a civil partnership
2) Divorced/Separated/Dissolved
3) Widowed/Surviving Partner
4) Living with Partner
5) I prefer not to specify

It seems I can’t choose any of them.