YJ came to town
YJ & Tim, originally uploaded by happyhardcoremix.
YJ came to visit over the weekend, and introduced me to Tim (her church friend who is studying here). We checked out the Asian Food Fest at the university. I asked one of the organizers if I could refund the remaining coupons, since there didn't seem much good food worth the remaining coupons. The girl - she sounded Singaporean - gave me a "no" rather bluntly. I attribute this to the American influence in me: that moment, I wanted to rip her apart and demand 100 reasons why I should not get a refund. Why? Why? Why?! Maybe she will break down into a bawl and start rolling on the ground. But, of course, being the nice-wolf-in-sheep-clothing (or sheep-in-wolf-clothing?) me, I decided to suppress the vocal part of me. No, I shouldn't expect a refund for everything. After all, it's a student organized event, and I should just cut them some slack. They looked as though they had already put in much effort in pulling the act together. But of course, they can use an experience designer to craft a more pleasant experience for the participants. See, HCI comes into the picture...
Speaking about HCI (Human-Computer Interaction), I need a more concise and consistent explanation of what it is. I am alternating between perspectives from Computer Science, Design, Psychology, Ethnography... Often, I ended up saying, I make things look pretty and useful. I need much better communication skills to sell myself.
We watched 七剑, and a couple of Wallace & Gromit shorts. Walked around the second day, and took some pictures. Not many, my "eyes" were not really open. I wonder how it is like to wear pompous robes and study here couple of hundred years ago.
Girl, originally uploaded by happyhardcoremix.
Lamp post, originally uploaded by happyhardcoremix.
Along the river, originally uploaded by happyhardcoremix.