Final Entry of the Year

--2011--
This year marks 1/4 of my life.
Working my first job for 2 year plus.
I guessed I've accomplished quite a lot in my work. It has been a tough year, working with a brand new team, brand new boss, new initiatives, enlarged job scope, more troubles, more difficulties. I felt tired at different junctures throughout this year.
I wanted to find a new job, but has not found one. Thus, I was disappointed that I cld not learn new things and change a new working environment this year.
Luckily, on the happier note, I travelled thrice this year! I finally visited my grandparents' birthplace, and I went to the long anticipated Silk road, and ended the year with the unexpected India trip.
On personal level, nothing much was achieved this year, which was quite disappointing as well. Maybe I was really tired of work, so I did not want to stress myself with more learning....

--2012--
As usual, new year resolutions is never on my mind.
I shall continue to work hard, while hunting for a new job. To leave the current job wld still be my priority next yr. Hahaha!
Personal level, I really need to work on my Japanese studies. I have not decided if I should attend proper lessons, but I must at least try to do some self-study. I am thinking to study something else to add on to my lousy degree. Haha! However, that might come in later when I am more assured of my career path. Wanna study something that wld be useful and related to my job.
Family level. Tuan is graduating next June! Finally, my sis will be returning home for good next summer. Can't wait to attend her convocation in Shanghai~
And I must mention about my upcoming travel plans. Travelling is like part of my life now, especially when I worked hard everyday. Need motivations to work hard ya? So, China is on my travelling list again next summer, and I am bringing forward my Japan trip. Not sure if I can visit next Autumn, or else I need to change the destination. 
Oh ya, I need to stay healthy. Getting older and my body is getting weaker. My goodness~!
Last but not least, I wish that 2012 wld be a better year, even though many speculations or forecasts are not very good. Wld the world ends next yr? Pls don't even bother to think about it. The world is still spinning....lol!

--2011 Top 20 Must-watch Dramas--
This is based on my drama reviews from Jan to Dec 11. As usual, the drama itself may not be a 2011 production. Ranking is not in order.
1. Secret Garden (SBS KR)
2. The Mysteries of Love (TVB HK)
3. The Birth of the Rich (KBS KR)
4. Kha Khong Khon (CH7 TH)
5. Royal Family (SBS KR)
6. Nankyoku Tairiku (TBS JP)
7. 49 Days (SBS KR)
8. The Greatest Love (MBC KR)
9. Temptation of An Angel (SBS KR)
10. JIN 2 (TBS JP)
11. D.I.E Again (TVB HK)
12. I Need Romance (TVN KR)
13. Gun Metal Gray (TVB HK)
14. Love You (TTV/SETTV TW)
15. Myung Wol the Spy (KBS KR)
16. Queen of Reversals (MBC KR)
17. Scent of A Woman (SBS KR)
18. Protect the Boss (SBS KR)
19. The Princess' Man (KBS KR)
20. The Threshold of a Persona (TVB HK)

TV Drama Review #324 - Nankyoku Tairiku ~Kami no Ryouiki ni Idomunda Otoko to Inu no Monogatari~ 南极大陆

No.of Eps: 10
Year/TV Stn: 2011/TBS
Cast:
Kimura Takuya ~ Kuramochi Takeshi
Ayase Haruka ~ Takaoka Miyuki
Sakai Masato ~ Himuro Haruhiko
Yamamoto Yusuke ~ Inuzuka Natsuo
Synopsis: (from Jdrama weblog)
11 men were sent to the South Pole for the first time in February 1957 in a national project to explore Antartica. They were accompanied by a dogsled of 19 Sakhalin dogs. When they left for Japan a year later, they were forced to leave the dogs behind due to the bad weather. In January 1959, Kuramochi Takeshi and some others joined a third expedition to ascertain the fate of the dogs Taro and Jiro. Slacker's review:
"Nankyoku" is not your average Japanese drama. It's also not a drama about romance, so even if Kimura is leading, ratings wld be affected because of the nature of the plot. Nonetheless, this drama is really above the average. It's a touching, genuine story about a group of men and dogs who went to Antarctica for a expedition. It might be boring at first, but the storyline wld touch many hearts later on. I guessed the dogs made the drama alive. It's sad to see the dogs dying one by one as they tried to survive the harsh climate conditions. It's also touching to see Kuramochi trying all means to return to Antarctica to save his dogs.
Kimura obviously has aged quite a bit, but acting is still his usual quality. It's good that he challenged himself with characters like Kuramochi. While Kuramochi had a great relationship with his dogs, his romance with Ayase's Takaoka was less focused...very low profile. I wished that they cld give the couple more screen time together.
Sorry to say, Ayase hardly appeared in the drama, even though she's the female lead here. She's not leading the drama in fact. This is a guys' drama, so sorry la...even A lister also becomes flower vase.
The rest of the cast was great, especially actors like Sakai, Kagawa and Yamamoto. It's good to see younger actors acting in more serious productions rather than those exaggerating idol dramas.

Good bye Wilkie, back to Raffles

Today marked my last day working at Wilkie Edge.
Will return to SLT office tmr to unpack my stuff.
Did not like my new office.
The room is hot and stuffy after 6, and the tables are pathetically small.
Was disappointed to know that we're not in a enclosed room too.
Haiz...emo liao.
What a "good" piece of news to end my year.

Last day of work for the year

It will be a long friday, though I expect that we wld be able to knock off by 4pm later.
Gotta prepare to move my things to new office at 7pm.
Hopefully I won't be too busy.
Wanna go home and have a good rest.
What a way to send off 2011.

Travelling plans 2012

June-July 2012: Shanghai & Nanjing
Already done up with the 1st draft itinerary. Will need to look for hotels and re-look at my canal town day trip later next year. I realised I spent a lot of time looking for hotels. Haha! It's good to invest for a better experience ya?

Thinking about visiting Japan next autumn, and thought of going on a short trip to somewhere nearby.
Maybe I shld just focus on the Japan trip, since I am planning to do f&e.

It's time to pick up my Japanese again.

TV Drama Review #323 - Sengyoshufu Tantei ~ Watashi wa Shadow 全职主妇侦探

No.of Eps: 9
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/NTV
Cast:
Fukada Kyoko ~ Asagi Serina
Kiritani Kenta ~ Jinnai Haruki
Fujiki Naohito ~ Asagi Takefumi
Synopsis: (from Dramawiki)
Asagi Serina is a housewife who loves her husband, Takefumi, to the extent that she would not mind being his shadow. However, his response to her excessive devotion is to attempt to avoid her “burdensome”, “gross” expression of love. With a wife’s naivety, she refuses to suspect her husband of infidelity, and initially gets frustrated. One day, with the help of her good friend, Motoko, Serina goes out for a meal with the men at the publishing company where Motoko works. The moment a man in the group makes a move on her, it is captured on film by the sleuth, Jinnai Haruki. Not wanting her husband to see the photograph, Serina starts working at Jinnai’s detective agency as an assistant. This ordinary, bumbling housewife grows stronger and improves her self-confidence through the skills she hones. Serina wants to support and help her husband instead of flaunting her new self to him because he is having a hard time. Aware of the problem that happened to her husband because of her over positivity, she sets about trying to solve it.
Slacker's review:
Fukada+Fujiki combi is something new to me. "Sengyoshufu" has this interesting storyline that even a housewife can become a detective! I was kinda skeptical about the drama, but the plot turned out better than I expected. Actually the main focus of the plot was how Serina found out what her husband Takefumi really did at work. He got this big secret plot hidden away from Serina. Ending was not a surprise, but I was glad Takefumi really loved Serina and realised his silly mistake.
Fukada's acting is still her usual kawaii style, but I enjoyed her performance this time round. Many ppl wld find Serina to be too naive and pitiful. I agreed she was taken for granted, and that's why it felt so great when she became strong and even managed to help Takefumi out. The whole drama was like a growing lesson for Serina.
Chemistry with Fujiki was alright, but that's because Takefumi was such a reserved person. I felt that Fujiki's acting was restricted. He was stiff in his role. Sorry Fujiki, you shld stop picking such roles la.
Kiritani's Jinnai was funny, and I enjoyed his scenes with Serina more. Too bad Serina only loves Takefumi, or else I wld really support Jinnai-kun!!
Theme song is "Spice" by Perfume.

No more shopping...

I was supposed to accompany E.W to buy clothes today, but ended up I was the one who bought the most things. ANOTHER pair of shoes from Aldo, and two tops.
E.W is always luring me to buy shoes!!!
Ok...I must tell myself...no more shopping till Great Sg Sales comes....lolz!
Seems like a difficult promise to keep :p

UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Ver 3.0)

(as of 25/12/11)

1. Australian Convict Sites (2010): Fremantle Prison - Fremantle, Perth
2. Angkor (1992) - Siem Reap, Cambodia
3. The Great Wall (1987) - Beijing
4. Forbidden City (1987) - Beijing
5. Mountain Resort & outlaying temples (1994) - Chengde, Hebei
6. Old Town of Lijiang (1997) - Lijiang, Yunnan
7. Summer Palace (1998) - Beijing
8. Temple of Heaven (1998) - Beijing
9. Mount Wuyi (1999) - Nanping, Fujian
10. Ming Dynasty Tombs (2000) - Beijing
11. Historic Centre of Macau (2005) - Macau
12. South China Karst (2007): Shilin Karst - Kunming, Yunnan
13. Borobudur Temple Compounds (1991) - Magelang, Central Java
14. Prambanan Temple Compounds (1991) - Yogyakarta, Central Java
15. Jeju Volcanic Island & Lava Tubes (2007) - Jeju Island
16. Historic City of Ayutthaya (1991) - Ayutthaya
17. Complex of Hue Monuments (1993) - Hue, Thua Thien-Hue
18. Hoi An Ancient Town (1999) - Hoi An, Quang Nam
19. My Son Sanctuary (1999) - Duy Xuyen, Quang Nam
20. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park (2003) - Bo Trach, Quang Binh
21. Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (1987) - Xi'an, Shaanxi
22. Mogao Caves (1987) - Dunhuang, Gansu
23. Agra Fort (1983) - Agra, Uttar Pradesh
24. Qutub Minar (1993) - Delhi
25. Red Fort (2007) - Delhi
26. Taj Mahal (1983) - Agra, Uttar Pradesh

Final week of the year

6 more days to 2012.
It's going to be a busy week ahead.
Gotta pack and move office on Friday & Saturday.
January seems to be full of crappy stuff as well.
Totally not looking forward to it.
Haiz~~~

CC Gang Christmas Gathering

Had our gathering at HM's newly renovated house.
Ate nice food and we played "Guitar Hero" all day long. It's really difficult.
We had gift exchange as well, and I got my Baggu bag from SC.
Thanks gal.

TV Drama Review #322 - Vampire Prosecutor 吸血鬼检察官

No.of Eps: 12
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/OCN
Cast:
Yun Jung Hoon ~ Min Tae Yeon
Lee Young Ah ~ Yoo Jung In
Lee Won Jong ~ Hwang Soon Bum
Synopsis:
Prosecutor Min Tae Yeon is bitten by somebody and becomes a Vampire. Tae Yeon rejects the life of a vampire and he survives by drinking the blood of dead people and lives as a righteous prosecutor . Tae Yeon also uses his new found abilities as a Vampire to prosecute powerful people normally thought above the law. A mysterious case then occurs and the evidence points to a Vampire as the perpetrator. Tae Yeon now knows that he is not the only Vampire. He also ponders why he became a Vampire and what truths may lie behind their motives.
Slacker's review:
"VP" is an interesting drama of a vampire, who's got a proper job - prosecutor. The drama has 2 main plots, one is to crack mysterious cases, and the other is to find out what happened to Tae Yeon's missing sister, who was also bitten by a vampire. I liked how these 2 plots sort of linked together.
Yun Jung Hoon has not impressed me with his previous works, but he outshines in this drama. Good acting and full of charisma!
Lee Young Ah also looked somewhat different from the past. I liked the tinge of romance b/w Jung In and Tae Yeon. Actually there is no romance per se, but you can feel that their relationship as just being co-workers have moved on to another stage...being supportive and protecting each other.
I believe I might get to see Season 2 soon.

Sick

Took MC for the 1st time in 2 years.
Slept for half a day, and finally I've a bit of energy to surf the net.
I wondered how long wld I take to recover.
Haiz...

Back to reality

After 8 days of sunny and cold weather, I was welcomed by the rain just now as the plane touched down at Changi.
1 week without international news and wifi access.
Many things happened.
And I have to work tmr!
Super no mood :(

TV Drama Review #321 - The Threshold of a Persona ID 精英

No.of Eps: 30
Yr/TV Stn: 2009/TVB
Cast: 
Roger Kwok ~ Fang Jun Jie
Yoyo Mung ~ Ye An Qi
Raymond Cho ~ Zheng Bo Yu
Patrick Tang ~ Ou Shun Feng
John Chiang ~ Mai Qi Ming
Natalie Tong ~ Ye An Er
Toby Leung ~ Zhong Zhi Xin
Power Chan ~ Liang Zhi Lun
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
Fang Jun Jie becomes friends with two other candidates Zheng Bo Yu, Liang Zhi Lun and Ye An Qi while applying for a post in the Immigration Department. Yu is an aggressive person. He later moves to the Police Force and is promoted to Senior Inspector of Regional Crime Unit. While investigating a murder case, he realizes that the new gang leader, Chen has killed somebody because of Jie's wife. It totally turns Jie's life upside down. As a good friend, Qi helps Jie take care of his son after a failed relationship with Yu. Meanwhile, Ou Shun Feng appreciates Jie’s ability very much and recommends him to Mai Qi Ming, Head of Investigation Section. Jie gains approval and he is determined to start anew. While carrying out an investigation on a fraud syndicate, he comes upon his missing wife and she has become Chen's woman...
Slacker's review: 
"TTOAP" is the first drama about HK's immigration unit. Basically it's just a change of department. The investigation style and cases are similar to other detective cases. So overall, nothing surprising. However, there are a good mixture of family, romance and friendship issues. The pace of thee drama was not too bad, and the lead characters had enough developments.
Fang Jun Jie is Roger's typical role, and he's good. I still think his performance is better when he acts as a baddie. Relationship b/w Jie and Qi was kept subtle. Their friendship was more than friends, but not yet lovers. It's good that they kept their future open-ended. (I do believe they wld end up together).
Yoyo's performance was not bad too. I liked how she handled the scenes when Qi was dumped by Yu for the 2nd time. 
Raymond Cho and Patrick Tang's performances were impressive. I thought their scenes were more interesting than Roger! Raymond was really bad to core, and his acting was convincing. Patrick finally got a meatier role and he got the chance to showcase his emotional skills.
John Chiang's performance was equally outstanding, though woody at times.
As for Nat Tong and Toby, they did well with their supporting roles.
Theme song "Yan Shi" by Roger Kwok & Patrick Tang.

3rd long break of the year

Catching my flight later.
I hope it would be a good one.
Shall update again~

TV Drama #320 - Yes Sir, Sorry Sir 点解阿Sir系阿Sir

No.of Eps: 30
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/TVB
Cast:
Moses Chan ~ Luo Yao Hua
Tavia Yeung ~ He Miao Xue
Linda Chung ~ Gu Jia Lan
Ron Ng ~ Cheng Wen Li
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
Despite the fact that he comes from a long line of disciplined workers, Luo Yao Hua is a teacher of a Band 3 school. One day, he was urged to resign after being vilified by his students as a peeping Tom. At present, the triads have expanded their drug network at local schools. Hua, who has turned a cop, is told to go undercover at the school where he used to teach. At school, he is impressed by the enthusiasm of a new teacher He Miao Xue. He also realize that he was too strict with his students in the past. With a determination to boost students’ confidence, Xue invites bowling expert Gu Jia Lan to teach bowling at the school. When Hua learns about Lan's triad background, he decides to go after her hoping to get close to her brother-in-law. Hua also finds himself in a contest of wits with Inspector Cheng Wen Li, who has been assigned to work as a liaison officer at the school. On one hand, Li is attracted to Xue but on the other, she only loves Hua. All of a sudden, Hua, Xue, Lan and Li find themselves involved in a complicated love polygon.

Slacker's review:

"Yes Sir"  is a police-triad drama with the school as the background. Plot was standard, but the concept of putting a spy in school was out of the box. The drama's pace was not bad, though I felt that 30 episodes were pretty long.
Moses' performance in the drama was not bad, but I was only impressed when he handled the scenes whereby Hua revealed the truth to Lan. The guiltiness Hua felt was shown well via Moses' acting. Moses might seemed a little exaggerating in other scenes, but it was more to provide comic relief.
Tavia's acting is getting better, and she's good at handling emotional scenes. We did not have a straightforward happy ending for Hua & Xue, but I like it this way. It wld be unacceptable for Hua to date Xue immediately after hurting Lan.
As compared to Tavia, Linda's performance seemed to be weaker. I liked Linda's "Ms Cool", but being cool is not easy. Finally we saw her smiling and behaving normal when Lan dated Hua, but the girl was hurt badly when her sis and Hua betrayed her trust. The character had development, but Linda's performance did not seem to make it somehow. I just felt she cld do better.
Ron's Wen Li was the usual rash cops who was biased against the band 3 kiddos. I did not feel much for Li as this character is just a typical support role. I hope TVB gives Ron more chances to prove his acting. He's not well-known for being a good actor, but he can perform better than this.
Theme song is "Chun Feng Hua Yu" by Ron Ng & Moses Chan.

Retail Therapy

Something happened this morning and I was in bad mood.
Luckily, there was no impact for others and I forgot all the suay things after retail therapy. lolz!

Met up with E.W and we went shopping!
First stop was Rock Star @ Cineleisure.
I bought my 1st pair of TOMS! Really comfortable shoes.
Actually I eyed on another pair of Pointer shoes, but the shoes did not looked nice with my size.

Next up, I need to complete my 2nd mission, but before that, we saw the Timberland sales and both of us bought a pair of flats each. Err....I really bought too many shoes this year.
This is my 2nd pair of Timberland within 6 mths? Ooops!

We went to Robinsons to check out Basic House & Mind Bridge. Really loved these Korean clothing sia! Mind Bridge's designs were super nice & chic, but the price range was kinda steep.
Today I was in luck! I bought 2 pieces of clothing from Mind Bridge! Wahaha! Quite pleased with my purchase.

Finally, we walked to Plaza Sing and "hunted" for my 2nd mission. To my dismay, I cld not find what I wanted. Looks like I have to stick to Plan B now. Haiz....

We're working hard for this...

Core banking cut over this weekend.
These past 2 months were literally crazy with testings and mock runs.
Finally, this Sunday will be the grand "finale" of our hard work.
I really hope that everything goes well, coz' I only have 1 week to spare before I leave for India.

To make myself feel better this Sunday, I decided to drop by Orchard after work.
Need to complete my 2nd mission, and I'm in shopping mood!

TV Drama Review #319 - 倾世皇妃

No.of Eps: 44
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/Hunan TV
Cast:
Ruby Lin ~ Ma Fu Ya/Pan Yu
Yan Kuan ~ Meng Qi You
Wallace Huo ~ Liu Lian Cheng
Tony Yang ~ Liu Lian Xi
Hong Xiao Ling ~ Ma Xiang Yun
Kara Hui ~ Du Fei Hong
Synopsis: (from Sina)
在五代十国这个战祸连绵、杀戮成风的乱世，马馥雅身为楚国最受宠爱的公主，却是个妙手仁心，悬壶济世的医者。这个动荡的年代，所有人都在杀人，而馥雅一直在救人。因为仁德之心她得到了北汉皇帝连城的关注，更是在大殿上一支凤舞九天让连城惊为天人，当场便要求和亲，馥雅大胆拒婚，可事情远没有结束，就在当晚皇叔马义芳密谋造反，他亲手将匕首刺进了父皇的体内，父亲的鲜血迷溅了她的双眼，瞬间国破家亡的她立誓要复国，为父母报那血海深仇。 看一个手无缚鸡之力的女子要如何复国？看马馥雅如何在复国的历程中与蜀国、北汉两国储君孟祈佑、刘连城之间的情感纠葛、利益交换？看马馥雅如何遭受因嫉妒自己而费尽心机想要迫害自己的堂姐马湘云)的溃灭？看馥雅公主变身一代倾国倾城的倾世皇妃之峥嵘岁月......
Slacker's review:
Pardon me for the chinese synopsis. I don't have the time to translate. Hehe!
I haven't watched a Chinese drama for ages, and to get "hooked" by following the drama diligently is even harder. "Qing Shi" does not have a strong plot. In fact, the storyline is somewhat a "joke", even though it's fiction. Ma Fu Ya is too lucky. How cld someone "survived" so many times and became the important woman of the rulers in different states? I bet with her background, she shld have been "killed" long time ago...lolz!
I liked the drama's ending. It looks like an open ending, so you can decide who's alive or what. I chose the happy ending.
As much as I disliked the storyline, the main attraction of the drama is this Chinese actor, Yan Kuan. I did not know who is he prior to "Qing Shi". I like his eyes and facial expressions, and I liked his scenes with Ruby. Haha! Sorry Ruby, you're the lead but I can't take my eyes off him. Lolz!
Meng Qi You is actually a typical guy who seeked revenge by using people. However, he did not expect himself to fall for his "victim". I liked how he struggled to survive. At least it looked more real than Fu Ya's "always by chance survival". 
Ruby's acting is not bad, but Fu Ya is flawed. I rather she was killed by the scriptwriter.
The support cast is mainly the TW gang. 
Wallace and Xiao Ling are not new faces to me as they acted in TW idol dramas below. I thought both of them did so much better in this drama. Idol dramas did not gave them chances to act well.
Tony Yang's Lian Xi was mysterious, and Tony did pretty well to bring this character alive.
Kara Hui is very good with vicious empress roles. Stunning performance!
Many people criticised Ruby for her theme song. I agree that this song is not her best....ccld be better.

Ironies of Life

Chatted with a colleague, and I was reminded of my uneventful past. Lolz!

The first subject I ever failed was Geography. I disliked the subject, but I studied all the way till JC. In fact, I learnt to appreciate the landscapes we have on this planet now.

Reached my 1st crossroad at Sec 4.

I am not good to be in JC, but I did not know what to study in Poly. I disliked business courses and "swore" that I would never take that subject.

In the end, I "landed" at SIM, and only business courses were available.
Never mind, I took a general course, and I told myself I wld not work in a bank.

Look at me now....I am working in one, and it's my 1st job some more!
Haiz....

Lesson learnt from my ironies of life is, never say "I don't like or I don't want". Hahaha!

CC Gang Gathering: SC's advanced birthday

--MOF @ My Izakaya--
Had lunch with the gang at Suntec. Too many choices for me to pick!!! 

KH's mocha latte dessert.

CH's salmon belly set.

PY's ice cream dessert with yam and sweet potato.

SC's salmon bibimbap and soft shell crab.

KH & my white clam shell soup with soft shell crab.

GC's tofu set.

HM's bibimbap set.
We also chose the wishlists for our next Christmas gathering. However, there's no secrets to who picked whose list as we revealed altogether. Lolz! No surprise le!
--You're The Apple of My Eye @ Eng Wah Suntec--

After the raves about this Taiwanese movie, we went to the cinema to catch the show. I do not know what to expect from the movie, so I went in without much anticipation. The movie was filled with coarse language, and "erhem" scenes, but those were the funny parts in the movie. The story is fairly simple, but it's very real and probably brought back memories of many people. (Not mine though) Ending part was really funny as the guys went to kiss the bridegroom. Lolz! Overall, a touching story about a group of classmates who had fun during their school days.
Somehow, I wondered why my school days were rather boring...haha!
--Feb 29 @ Illuma--
This shop has become one of my favourite bag shops. I managed to buy something for office's xmas exchange! What's more? I found a nice leather bracelet too! Hooray~!!!

TV Drama Review #318 - The Rippling Blossom 鱼跃在花见

No.of Eps: 20
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/TVB
Cast:
Julian Cheung ~ Yu Zhi Ying
Michael Tse ~ Yu Zhi Xiao
Tavia Yeung ~ Sai Si Long
Myolie Wu ~ Jiang Jiang
Damian Lau ~ Murong Cheng
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
A Hong Kong dining mogul leaves behind a sushi restaurant to his second wife, their son, Zhi Xiao and the son from his third wife, Zhi Ying. Xiao and Ying are remarkable Japanese cuisine chefs whose main aim in life is to pursue excellence in chefhood. Although Xiao and Ying have different mothers, they get along very well. When their father's first wife creates trouble for the restaurant, Xiao declares to challenge her, claiming whoever wins will have the restaurant. The first wife sends her personal nurse, Si Long to get close to Xiao. On the other hand, their supply for fresh food has been shut out. Ying has to make a trip to Hokkaido to buy fish. He meets Jiang Jiang, a willful girl from a wealthy family on the plane. They also meet Murong Cheng, who is known as "The God of Fish" by chance in the fish market. As the relationship between Ying and Jiang grows, Jinag finds out that Cheng is actually her long lost father. Cheng becomes Ying's mentor and helps him through the competition to win the first overseas Japanese restaurant franchise in Hong Kong. As Ying's career grows, Xiao becomes more jealous of his brother and starts to scheme with Si Long to get his father's fortunes. As Xiao and Ying meet with setbacks in their careers, family and their loved ones after their attempt to save the restaurant, the two brothers decide to have a competition once and for all.  
Slacker's review:
Julian is back on the small screen!!! Actually he's the main reason why I watched this drama. The storyline is predictable, but some parts made no sense to me, especially the r/s b/w Xiao and Long. Well, the consolation is I get to see the delicious sushi!!!  Yummy!
Julian does not seem to age, and he has good chemistry with his co-cast. His character Zhi Ying is more realistic, whereas Michael's Zhi Xiao is too stiff & unnatural. Actually Michael's performance was good, but Xiao is not a character one wld feel close to.
Tavia seems to be the "hot" actress on par with Myolie now. I do believe she's a better actress as compared to Myolie, and she did not disappoints me. Though I think Si Long is a pretty flawed character, Tavia managed to express her emotions well from being scheming, feeling blissful to regretful tears.
Myolie's Jiang Jiang is the typical rich and stubborn girl. Quite irritating yet clever girl. I liked Myolie, but sometimes her acting was kind of forceful. I think I prefer her in more matured roles, but her looks did give her some constraints.
The surprise came from Damian Lau. The veteran's acting was so different as per his norm! Murong is such a whacky and odd person. Damian's previous roles were pretty serious, so Murong is totally a break-free of his previous images.
Theme song is "Jiu Jing Hai You Ji Shen" by Julian Cheung.

Something is not right

I am learning, yet I am feeling the stress.
There are datelines to meet, processes to amend, practices to change, and endless things to be accounted for.

Now I know how helpless I am in the current situation.
Nobody helped me build a wall and now I am left sitting on the fence with pricks.

This question is on my mind since start of the year, and it rings the bell again.

I need to get out of it before my brain cells are certified dead.

NParks Passport 5th Trip

--20th World Orchid Conference @ Sands Expo & Convention Centre--
Went to WOC yesterday with KH. It was a tiring trip, spent hours snapping pictures non-stop, suffered from shoulder and back ache. I snapped a total of 900+ photos and 200+ were no-good-takes. A little upset with my photography.
The exhibition was huge, and we got to see different countries displayed their orchids. It was an eye opener for orchid lovers like me.

--Gardens by the Bay--
In conjunction with WOC, the Flower Dome is opened to the public for a week. WOC ticket holders get complimentary ticket to the garden. It's a short walk from MBS Convention Centre to Flower Dome. Visitors also get to visit Heritage Gardens & Dragonfly Lake on the way to Flower Dome. The garden is still not completed, but I cld see the Supertree Grove, with its hanging walkway. Super stunning!
The plants at Flower Dome are pretty interesting and I like the concept. You can't find similar parks in SG.

Loved the view of Marina Bay area in the evening.
I will be back to check out the garden when it opens next year!