Paying on the first date: is it just the guy’s role?

There are roles that, as far as I can remember, have always been assumed by, or assigned to, guys. Although the world has come a long way since saying that a particular role can only be taken up by a specific gender, the traditional perception that the guy should pay on a first date scenario, at least to me, has mostly stayed the same. A guy paying on the first date is often seen and depicted as a chivalrous gesture. It is, in my opinion, a gentleman’s act that is not simply aimed at

June 27, 2022 | BY Rui Pastorin

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When going out, go Dutch

“To go Dutch”, according to Webster’s Dictionary, means to go to a movie, restaurant or any activity that involves spending as a group with each person paying for his or her own ticket, food, or other expenditures. In Chinese, the same behaviour is referred to as “AA”, an acronym for “algebraic average”, which means dividing the bill according to how many people were involved in the event. Splitting the bill is getting more common these days as the idea of gender equality becomes

June 27, 2022 | BY Prisca Tang

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The importance of a good father

On a crowded bus ride home a few weeks ago, a man, seemingly excited that someone had answered his call as he remained unbothered by the crowd, sat beside me. Being so close, I could not help but overhear the conversation that unfolded.The man, under the guise of a tough exterior, was patiently and affectionately explaining to his teenage daughter living overseas the things that she should be looking out for when going to a concert. Each word had purpose, defining care and concern. From warning

June 20, 2022 | BY Rui Pastorin

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My dad

Despite his age, my dad still has black hair so full that it looks like he should be in a shampoo commercial. He is a retired engineer but he spends most of his time in the laboratory as he has recently found an atom that is faster than light, which could lead to the possibility of time travel. He is like any other father, and has high hopes for his son and daughter, hoping that one of us could finish his project of turning lightning into electricity.If you think my dad was disappointed that

June 20, 2022 | BY Prisca Tang

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Nightmares

In the early hours of the morning, a large, rabid dog began aggressively chasing me through a dark alleyway. Foam dripped from its mouth as it ran after me, driven by a blind rage that I could not understand. I tried my best to keep my distance, but there was no way I could outrun madness.I ran and I ran, my lungs burning as I felt myself desperately gasping for air, with fear and adrenaline being the only things that kept me going. The situation worsened, however, when my path for escape met

June 6, 2022 | BY Rui Pastorin

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Dreams

Recently I watched two movies: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Everything Everywhere All at Once. I am not going to review the movies here, but only discuss how the two movies use “dreams” as the theme. Still, spoiler alert.Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness sees dreams as a vision of a parallel universe. According to the movie, our dreams show our lives in other parallel universes. While we may not actually prove the existence of multiverses, the movie,

June 6, 2022 | BY William Chan

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Searching for home and identity

It was a warm Sunday afternoon when two of my closest friends and I sat in a busy café, with our conversation disappearing into the chatter and calls for orders, and the sounds of utensils as people dug into their plates of food. We were all fully engaged in our conversation, when I became silent as it veered towards the topic of childhood, a topic that was at least fruitful for my friends as they continued to share joy in talking about the various adventures and misadventures that they had as

May 23, 2022 | BY Rui Pastorin

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Home-fluid

My name is Prisca and I am from Vancouver, Hong Kong, Montreal, and Macau (chronological order). Actually, I am not from Montreal because I only studied there for four years and my French sounds like gibberish but it holds better memories than any other city. Actually, I am not from Macau either as I only lived here for two years, but have been receiving money from the government for 15 years. Actually, I am not from Hong Kong either because I have not been there for two years and I don’t

May 23, 2022 | BY Prisca Tang

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Learning to ‘like’ again on Mother’s Day

In human psychology, a healthy relationship between a mother and her children is vital for the latter to enjoy a positive environment when growing up. To signify how important this connection is, a lot of cultures around the world have created celebrations for this particular relationship. Nowadays, most of us under the influence of globalisation have decided to follow the tradition of the United States to celebrate it on the second Sunday in May. This year, we celebrated Mother’s Day on May

May 16, 2022 | BY William Chan

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To the greatest: a short collection of memories

A loud crash broke the silence in our living room a few nights ago. My cherished coffee cup, which had slipped out of my hand, lay in pieces. Efforts to find a worthy replacement proved to be difficult until one night after work, I came home to an unfamiliar dark blue mug on the drying rack. “It’s for you”, my mom, half asleep at the time, said. Upon hearing this, I realised that she had taken time out of her already busy and exhausting schedule to buy me a new mug despite not asking for

May 16, 2022 | BY Rui Pastorin

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Seeking your own place

Living in a place that is surrounded by millions of buildings, do you like that? For me, absolutely not, however, we have no authority to change the city. So, what can we do? For me, I choose to seek a place that belongs to me for a short time.Years ago, I found a place in Macau: Coloane, which is comfortable and allows me to put all the pressure and irritation away for a while, especially after days of work. When I stay in Coloane, I can say the time that I stay there is my own time, no work,

April 25, 2022 | BY Yuki Lei

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McTavish Bench

After the snow had concealed the ground for almost six months, on the first day of spring when the ice melted, most people rushed to the Lower Field to soak up the sun for a sense of warmth, yet my first instinct was to go to Rue McTavish and lie on my favourite bench.During my four-year degree course at McGill University, I spent most of the time on McLennan Library’s first floor writing essays or on Redpath’s second-floor catching up on my reading. The memories created in the libraries

April 25, 2022 | BY Prisca Tang

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What do the stars say about you and your week?

Last time I skimmed over my daily horoscope in a newspaper, it told me that I would have a romantic encounter at a gym. At that moment everything started to make sense – the reason why I have not been able to meet anyone in Macau is because I have never been to a gym!According to Co – Star, a popular astrology app, my sun sign is in Cancer, moon sign is in Capricorn, and my ascendant is in Sagittarius. Even though I don’t exactly know what the signs represent, I still enjoy reading what

April 4, 2022 | BY Prisca Tang

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Horoscopes: a sceptic’s point of view

When I was working as a student-librarian, one of my main responsibilities was to sort, staple and stamp newspapers before they went to their respective reading areas every morning. Aside from taking quick glances at the headlines, I could not help but take peaks at the horoscope sections of certain newspapers, attempting to see what fate supposedly had in store for me. Was it luck? Were any of my friendships in peril? Was fortune finally within my reach? At the end of the day however, all I

April 4, 2022 | BY Rui Pastorin

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