girls' timeout in HK

the sis: so do you think mummy and 阿姨 are very different or are we the same?
the niece: i think very different
the sis: what is the difference?
the niece: mummy you know how to take care of me very well and 阿姨 knows how to take care of herself

haha the niece 100% got it right!

notice the big Buddha on the top right hand corner? ha... in ngong ping 360 cable car ride up to big buddha

ALS challenge accepted!

it was interesting to know from our CEO himself that both his dad and uncle died of ALS - this made his ALS challenge at least a meaningful one and not just another viral video.

HK office accepted the challenge and i conveniently rode on this company event to respond to my personal challenges. i made sure i wore neon pink shorts and stood in the front row so that friends cannot say they did not see me!

off the beaten tracks

sometimes all it takes is a friend and a little motivation to explore off the beaten tracks. who needs that jacuzzi at home when you can have one for free in the wild? one small disclaimer though, it comes with fish bites!

i think i also found the perfect spot for a picnic in the park!! best view ever in HK.

the 3rd party

from "the two of us.. to a table for three and finally ending with you being the third party..."

原来每个人的 烦恼 都是一样的

NDP 2014

national colours, national dishes, room full of Singaporeans, NDP live telecast on CNA, speculations from the room on whether or not LKY will attend this year's parade and the sigh of relief when we saw LKY on TV is what makes me feel at home away from home..

another 365 days later...

all time favourite steamboat for dinner on the birthday night.

that is 32 'magic' candles on one very small piece of brownie cake.

simple things that make me happy #17

pays a minibus fare, am the only passenger like as if i was taking a taxi, the ride feels like sitting inside a Ferrari.

dragonboat festival 2014

same boat this year, but there was an 'additional' person on the boat this time..

16 years have gone by

1998 Perth is where it all started.
16 years ago, when i was 16 years old!!
all i can say is, 光拍脸而已， 我还是比较占便宜的 haha!!

18

好想, 也, 好像, 回到 18 岁.

love my new haircut. 一分钱,一分货!

simple things that make me happy #16

Cheezels now available in a store near you!
(after searching for FOUR FREAKING YRS in HK!!!)

他也是歌手!

one of my neighbours (i have not figured out from which unit!) has been singing at the top of his lungs almost every night, presumably singing in the shower. he is absolutely out of tune most of the time but for some reason i quite enjoy listening to him. because i can feel that he is really into the song and enjoying himself. i can feel his happiness and that makes me happy too. :)

of course, it helps that he is always singing the song which GEM sang in 我是歌手 after every episode. haha!

朋友。烦。

recently something REALLY boh liao bothered me a lot. it is about "friending each other".. haha at age 32 this can be seen as a super boh liao problem to be thinking about. "you don't friend me, i don't friend you" or "you friend someone else more than you friend me liao" types of situation LOL..

no idea why, but it bothered me so much that i HTHT-ed with the sister, LL and the swimmer friend. funnily the swimmer friend thinks she is 过来人 too and i was part of her 过来ness!

JY: i think this situation also happened between us right?
JY: me and her at first, then i got to know you
JY: so it was me and you, then i intro both of you
JY: and then it was you and her

same thing happening to me now baby! it was "two of us".. then become abit like "three of us"..  slowly became "two of them!"... sian. remember my DURIAN THEORY ON FRIENDS?? i wonder which category are we..

everything happens for a reason

sprained my right ankle while walking out for lunch today.. abit sia suay seriously. 走路都会 zek dio. two years ago i ZEK DIOed left ankle, today i zek dio right ankle hah. a colleague of mine said to me: your sprained ankle is 老天's way of asking you to 放慢脚步.

very 阿Q 精神 indeed.

i guess, when i LOST MY VOICE in January it was 老天's way of asking me to talk less and listen more. and when i suffered a bulk of serious food poisoning two weeks ago, that must be 老天's way of telling me: "PQ 不要再吃下去了，你已经很肥 liao!!" =_=|

simple things that make me happy #15

searched for "hotel bed" on google images, showed it to the helper and ta daaa!! "hotel bed" at home!!

bossini

"you are too bossy"
"i do not think i can hang out with you"

reality check.

the shop that sells everything

my favourite shop in ktown for the past 3.5 years is closing down!! today is their last day of business. absolutely devastating.. i call it "the shop that sells everything" because there is nothing you cannot find in there. i remember just wandering around in that shop when i am bored and it is almost guaranteed that i will end up buying some knick knacks.

in recent years, more and more local shops and smaller businesses (such as SILENT BROS NOODLES SHOP) are giving way to bigger establishments that moved from Central to the West due to the growing expat population. i am now making an even greater conscious effort to try and consume more at the local shops as a form of support for their business!!

tea + zakka = teakha

You - i miss going to teakha with you
You - i am glad i introduced teakha to you
You - i want to go to teakha with you

galloping ahead

seriously i think i am a super talented events planner haha! it was BB HK's annual "Spring Dinner".. kind of like your annual D&D in a typical corporate where you start making the highest management look silly by getting them to play games.

as you can tell from their jockey outfits, the theme was the horse races. i came out with the brilliant idea of getting the Management Committee participate in a horse race, giving them the most ridiculous looking horses! the result - IT WAS HILARIOUS! definitely the highlight of the night yay!!

actually can kelong twice

just when i thought CAN ONLY KELONG ONCE

หวังว่าสักวันพวกเราจะสมดั่งที่คาดฝันไว้นะ

to my magic hands Liz: i hope we can all achieve our dreams.

恭喜HUAT财!

so happy having the BV gang over to my place for dinner during CNY. everyone said "Yes" immediately to my invite. 好给面子! as usual it was a night filled with fun, laughters, good food (thanks to the mum!!) and bantering.

that night we accept cash, credit, IOUs and bank transfers.

it was a fun night for me the mum and the dad. i think they had fun being "bankers".. i hope it was as fun for the people who contributed to my winnings. thank you, come again. hahaha!

lucky numbers 2014

i wonder if my lucky numbers are 1 and 4 this year? first, my new apartment number is 14-04.. to come up to my house you must either take elevator #1 or elevator #4..  then, the big announcement i was waiting for at work was made on 14/01/14! i went back to check 4D results for that week and DAMN one of my usual numbers came out in the Starter group sia! sibeh ai wan never buy! nehmind.. 2014 HUAT AH!

爱屋及乌

free 爱心汤水 again today from the friendly uncle! this time he 爱屋及乌 and gave free soup not just to me me but LL too :)

老娘我.. 我.. 我..失声了!

lost my voice completely overnight! i think i really kena gek dio by that loser. the first thing that came out of my doctor's mouth when he "heard" me was "what the hell?"... i told him i needed to recover by Monday as i have a presentation to make. he asked if i wanted an injection in my throat and i was like: "wah 不用不用，我 Monday 不是开演唱会!!" =_=|||

went to have dinner alone at that little Cantonese restaurant down Stanley Street after my hair appointment. the uncle who took my order must have felt really bad for me (sick and eating dinner alone) so he gave me a bowl of free soup! he also reminded me to finish it because such "good stuff" will make me feel better.

人间 is 有情的!!!

i miraculously got SOME of my voice back right after dinner!! it is either the soup or the super powerful steroids the doctor gave me.. i tend to want to think it was the soup :)

a truly "马" 年.. huat ah!

one sip of milo and one bite of the bun at 730am.. 一眨眼, 430pm liao!! 我也有今天.. Ma Zong Cai said she can pass the horse head back to me. tmd.

it is all about timing

ok so HE is T.S. "almost"... Right! after many weeks of anticipation i finally gotten the answer i had wanted. i guess the good old saying of 是你的就是你的 is true. the 贵人 appears when you least expect it. 以前不是得不到, 只是时机未到. the challenge is ahead.

GAME ON!

i shall steal one of BR's quote: "i do not wish you luck, i wish you get what you deserve"..

i moved!

super stressful project! blinds, paint, clean, drill!! and i know i was a super Robert Head in this entire process but.. well you got to do what you got to do! after 3.5 years in a shoebox, i need SPACE!

i went from IKEA to Franc Franc.. double the price, but no regrets! best thing i bought for the house!

seems like this is the favourite corner for many..

thank god i had LL with me in HK to shop in countless Homeless, Franc and GODs! although to be honest i attribute how my overall furniture spend almost doubled because of her too!! most importantly, thanks to her i do not feel as bad about the ugly floor anymore. hah.

ai zai.. ai zai..

i have been really out of sorts recently. "mindfulness" index is currently ZERO. been walking around the same streets again and again with an agenda yet aimlessly. knowing what i want yet not knowing what i want at the same time. careless mistakes every single day.. everything seems fluid, everything seems unsure.. everything is NOT settled. INSECURITY! - yes, this must be it. i am feeling insecure about money.. work.. new house.. just too much going on at the same time. give it another week, maximum two - everything MUST have a conclusion.

meanwhile... PQ AI ZAI LAH!

等久也可能没有

me: "woah not bad leh, this act is very 有心. 不错不错有进步"
火腿: "yeah it happens once in a million years"
火腿: "没有了 haha"

such. a. wonderful. surprise. act of service + gift :)

tis the season to be joyous!

so what have i been up to during this Christmas holidays? i must say the string of public holidays + weekends + "off peak season at work" came in really handy. been busy settling all my personal admin, back and forth discussions with the agent and landlord about the new house and shopping for furnitures!

most importantly, i had time set aside for good friends during this festive season. so happy that LL was here to help me to take a look and "validate" the new place, assuring me that the ugly flooring is not that ugly afterall... zzz we took some measurements and looked at furnitures with Yellow on boxing day.

iMel (yes this is how she likes her name spelt.. just like iPhone, get it?!) was also in town. we have not seen each other for close to four years!! time really flies and i miss her alot. she wanted to come and take a look at my apartment, unfortunately all she could see was ugly carton boxes in the living room as i prepare to move out next week!

merry christmas!

classic moment captured on camera:

simple things that make me happy #14

knowing that my blur and funny friend is, still as blur and funny..

counting down to 29 dec when i get to see you in HK!!

tik tik, tiak tiak..

my windows are completely sealed with plastic sheets now. it feels as though i am separated from the outside world. on and off drizzles outside that window. i can only tell from the sounds those raindrops make when they hit against my old style boxed aircon.

tik tik, tiak tiak..

it is quiet in here. with my Cantonese oldies playing in the background and the typing sounds coming from me as i blog my Sunday away. Leslie Cheung's numbers are always a classic. refilling my Chinese tea with fresh boiling water every few hours keeps me going and keeps me warm.

tik tik, tiak tiak..

future ATP player in my arms

that was the "DID HE JUST POOP IN MY ARMS???" moment. happy 满月 Evan Tan! - descendent of KKong and RTan. apparently also a future ATP player according to his father!

大展鸿图

not just you, i hope it is for me too. is he Mr. T.S. Wong or Mr. T.S. Wrong?? we shall see. at least we are all one step closer.. but one step closer to what you may ask?? it does not matter.. just as long as the step is forward and not backward then it must be towards the right direction.. i.. guess.. ... ...

黄金年华

the mum and the dad is such a good looking couple even at 60!! so proud of them!! *wolf whistles*

they were back in HK again, second time this year. the plan was simple: 买东西，吃东西 :) i always like it when they visit HK especially when the weather is cool and nice. this time we bought lots of stuff at the SW dried seafood market, timely stock up for CNY 2014!

AN joined us for a sumptuous meal at one of my favourite Teochew restaurant - it was an enjoyable night with good food and good company. per LL's dad's comments, i made sure we "蒸条鱼". the dinner  "有鱼有肉" and not "好像家里吃饭一样" LOL!

the night went on with the talkative dad telling us his never ending stories! i wonder where i got my talkative genes from?! fortunately the stories were well received by the crowd. ^^

大脑

今天.
我对一个人发脾气了...
我发现当我在很累以及"失血过多"的情况下,
我很容易沉不住气.

今天.
我忘了带大脑出门了...
小脑它此时战胜了大脑,
造成了小小失控.              

unicef 10k run

while, i cannot say i am proud of my timing, i finally tried something new this year. first time completing a 10K run and first time in HK Disneyland. a Sunday morning well spent and i probably should run more.. ALTHOUGH I REALLY HATE RUNNING!!! argh.

clement

apparently there is some kind of silent protest going on to defend the fishes as the poor aquarium fishes kept dying. today it was "clement" the clown fish..

HK20

congratulations BB HK for a great 20 years. thank you for letting me be part of the 3.5 years out of the 20! many more to come?? (for me and for you!)

三缺一

unfortunately the BV gang 三缺一 this time with YF visiting only next week. the weather called for a hike in HK and we did the popular Dragon's Back. the last time i hiked at DB was in 2010!

being hopeless in direction, i must have led them to the wrong way in the hike. did not manage to get to the very nice Tai Tam reservoir i wanted to show them. well nonetheless it was as usual a very good catch up for all of us! but i really do hope that the BV gang will reunite again next year in a country we all want to visit!!

star struck week

it never fail to excite me when i see famous HK celebrities on the street! first i saw Sammi Cheng filming an MV for a mood disorder organization in HK while walking to IFC after work on Wednesday.

then on Saturday LL and i saw Tony Leung Kah Fai buying takeaway in Macdonalds at Cyberport! he is really good looking and appeared very friendly. too bad we did not bring our phones and even if i had a camera i was dressed too shabbily to be able to take a decent photo with him!

before i thought all these were over, Mel sent me a 烈火雄心 wannabe photo. hahaha.. what an interesting week in HK :)

movember

but what i really want is DECEMBER!!!

trick or treat

the kids are growing up really fast! the sis co-organized a trick or treat event at her condo and everyone took it very seriously. apparently the best dressed girl came as Cleopatra from top to bottom and best dressed boy came as the Hulk, he was completely covered in green body paint. wow! these days competition is stiff man! haha. anyways, Happy Halloween people!

the 'let's don't look at the camera" pose

cherish the last few hours of your precious weekend my friends! have a good week ahead :)

make(up) me an anchor!

i had to do a shoot for an internal marketing video today in the office. the videographer sent me to the newsroom make up artist for some touch up before he felt i was good enough for the camera. turns out, everyone said i looked like a news anchor. i guess it was some standard newscaster make up she put on me today. anyways, it was a fun experience and i really would not mind if i have someone helping me with my makeup everyday!!

tokyo-kyoto-osaka

and so i went to japan from Oct 11th to Oct 19th. for some reason Japan - 没有 feel. not sure if it was the company or the itinerary or the lack of interest in Japanese food and culture or simple TOO TIRED FROM WORK? haha. 就是没有 feel.