An Inaugural Adieu

Pre-Departure Planning

It's 10:36 a.m. in Vancouver, Canada - a mere 1 hour and 53 minutes since I first logged onto Blogspot in an  attempt to launch this epic web log (Yes, I decided that if I wanted to become a true blogger, I first needed to know the origins of my new favourite four-letter word, and yes, it took me close to 2 hours to to figure it out).  As a newcomer to the blog scene, I will strive to keep this blog short, sweet, and laced with hilarious tales of misadventure.  As an important caveat, I will warn readers that my storytelling abilities have sometimes been likened to those of Grandpa Simpson and I have no qualms about subjecting family and friends to bad jokes, poor puns and grossly gratuitous alliteration, all of which will play an integral role in setting the tone of this blog.

Since this is, in essence, a travel blog, it only makes sense to start off by signing off.  I will be saying sayonara (alliteration) to Canada in approximately 15 hours or, to be more precise, in exactly 3 loads of laundry, 2 skim milk lattes, 6 Facebook Logins, 1 Toronto Star Crossword, 3 daily horoscopes (because I had to keep reading until I found the one that told me I should embark on a new adventure), 40 minutes on the treadmill, 300 crunches (to counteract last night's peach sundae and 2 bottles of wine and to stay on track with Ab-Challenge 2010),  1 trip to BMO, 1 campaign against York University and its administration, 1 (inevitable) freak-out about having too much to pack, 2 too many glasses of pinot noir in the Air Canada Lounge and A LOT of big goodbyes.

The purposes of my trip (in no particular order) are to:

1. Travel: Macau, Mainland China, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand are all on my list
2. Find a trendy Chinese alternative to my favourite summer beverage: the white-wine spritzer 
3. Have a suit tailored for less than the cost of a monthly TTC pass (adult fare, not student rate)
4. Put an end to horking
5. Watch Jersey Shore dubbed over in Cantonese
6. Brush up on my HK Celebrity gossip and Cantopop
7. Buy all of my Christmas gifts at the Pearl, Bird, Dried Food and Goldfish Markets
8. Snap at least one picture of a monkey

Oh, yah, and to study law at the University of Hong Kong, which is the actual purpose of my trip.  After 6 years of post-secondary education in Ontario, I have finally discovered that "fall semester" need not be synonymous with "Alpaca Wool Sweater", and so I will be trading in my salt-stained Uggs and Extra Large Steeped Teas for Sundresses, chunky sandals and iced coffees as I immerse myself in Chinese IP law and Regulation of Cyberspace.

And so concludes my inaugural post.  Hello, and Farewell... until China!