Run away

My second UNICEF 10km run - another mini proud moment of mine.

This year is different because:
1. J did not run with me, I was with the girls
2. I did not train prior to the run
3. I had a 13-course Chinese dinner the night before and had only 4 hours of sleep.

So under such circumstances, I think i deserve my mini proud moment given that I finished the run and within target of under 75mins, though clearly I am no longer as fit as the year before (68mins).

I didn't run continuously, even though my mind told me to keep on running. I experienced the classic scene where both the angel and devil of me debated with every step I took. The devil succeeded 4 times, but the angel won the last leg. :)

And all along the run, I like to observe people too. There was this pink lady wearing a Afro wig, an old uncle who is running at a slower pace just to accompany his wife, an Asian man with a whole bottle of sun block layered on his face so he looks really white, a Caucasian who is so tall that he looks like he's bouncing like a kangeroo when he runs, a man who has 'nice to meet u' printed on the back of his shirt, and hot girls with damn toned legs, and hot boys with hot buns....

So even with all the ache and lack of sleep, I think I may do it again next year!

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Back to school

It's a humbling experience to go back to school.

I woke up at 9am, despite having slept at 3am, to get ready to head to hkust for the MBA program introduction.

The hkust campus is 75min away from Kennedy town, near Sai Kung. Since I was early, I decided to take the mini bus to the campus instead of jumping into a cab after reaching the nearest mtr station.

The line was full of students. You can distinguish them from the jeans and sneakers attire, with laptop and notes in hand. I felt old.

The introduction to the program started with the question of why take an MBA, followed by a list of quantifiable reasons of why choose hkust, and a sharing session of personal experience from recent graduates. I am inspired.

It's a good feeling. :)

(Before I left home this morning, I sprayed some perfume as I always do. And j asks, why are you spraying that, you are just going to school.)

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Happy thanksgiving!

It's not a tradition of mine to celebrate Thanksgiving.

But since j had spent more than enough time in Toronto to consider himself somewhat Canadian / American, he suggested that we throw a Thanksgiving dinner at home - just so we can order the 12 lbs Turkey, and he gets to slice it.

I get to play host and bought some lilies to cheer up the place. Along. With these funky cups! Pick your nose.

And we practically sanitized our entire place, with dettol and bleach - clean up before the party.

We're having his friends over tonight - this group is the equivalent of my sweeties in sg - who identify themselves as in some kind of fellowship.

I wish I can have my sweeties all at my place sometime too.

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I had no trouble sleeping last night. I went to bed first while j was still studying; I didn't even know when he climbed in bed.

Perhaps I wasn't sleeping well the night before- when I browsed the websites of 2 uni in hk to check out their MBA program. I signed myself up for an admission seminar this sat, a sort of meet and find out more from the school and its alumni.

My brief discussion over dinner with j on this matter kinda concluded with this statement: I think its good, and I would like to do it myself, but I don't want to be your classmate. Plus, it only costs 11k a month (over a period of 2years).

He has a point there.

I've been paying the same amount for the past 2 years on rent. Mich says this the price for freedom. Now I think I'm ready to pay for wisdom and I want to get down to exploring it.

Lets see how this sat goes. :)

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Shock of my life

I had the shock of my life this morning.

You see, we don't have a power socket in the bathroom (for safety reasons) and whenever I need to blow dry my hair, I plug in the dryer from the room across the bathroom and do it since the wire is long enough.

I do this every morning.

This morning, I saw in the mirror a hand reaching from behind me. I FREAKING YELLED MY LUNGS OUT! And jumped out of the bathroom, still screaming AHHHHHH! and saw jason with this equally shocked look on his face - somewhat trembling.

I don't know if I should be relieved or angry or what! I broke into tears, trembling myself. We hugged, he explained that he had called out to me to tell me he needed to use the bathroom, but I obviously couldn't hear him with a blower next to my ears.

The image of the hand reaching out to me from the mirror is chilling. It's exactly how horror movies are. No body, just the hand that wants to reach you from behind and touch your head or strangle you.

I had thought j was still sleeping since he's going to take a SSL today.

Geez. The dangers of staying together. I told j this is not funny. But the look on his face (why is she so crazy?!?! + im really scared kinda look) is priceless indeed.

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I forgot the strawberries

J called: hey. Did you take the strawberries from the fridge?

Pc: omg. I forgot about it!
(Just getting on bus at 915, after waiting for 25mins)

J: I KNEW IT!

That's very helpful really. Reminding me after I've left the house. I have to take the strawberries because I washed the whole basket of it last night and j says I have to finish it else they go bad. :(

The last time I reminded him to take something from the fridge (in the morning before he left house), he took it out of the fridge, left it on table and went out.

Now whos the bigger scatterbrain?

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Early Xmas present for myself. Cos it's all pink and girly. :)

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My desire to travel is so strong now... it's an understatement

My horoscope always amazes me.

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Tastee of toast box in hk

Afternoon tea (or ha um cha) is not uncommon in hk. Hong kong people used to having toast for tea in the tea canteen (cha chan tank).

Its just a matter of time before the singapore toasts appear in Hong kong, and with a premium price tag too.

So this morning's yum cha session with j and parents wasn't exactly filling and my stomach started to sound at 3+ in the afternoon. I thought about getting MacDonald's fries, Starbucks or Pacific coffee, but I ended up at toast box.

The set cost me 32hkd (~5sgd now given the atrocious exchange rate). The toast portion is smaller, the half boiled eggs are cold. The ice Milo is the only thing that's somewhat kept to its original flavour, or the flavour I remember.

Its odd hearing the staff shout 'kopi c! Kopi kosong! Teh o! Milo dinosaur'. The half boiled eggs can be switched to fried eggs to cater to local tastes - which I think I should have ordered instead since they really don't know how to make half boiled eggs.

The pandan cake is 13hkd per slice! 20hkd if u buy 2. One whole cake has probably 8-10 slices.... so that makes 80-100hkd for a whole cake! And people still buy them. I wouldn't.

But I'd still visit toast box in hk to get my Milo fix. And hopefully for those who want the real taste, they would go to singapore and try it themselves.

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Home cooked

I've started cooking at home (finally! after 2 years in hk). These are not the instant noodles, Campbell soup type - they are actually proper dishes.

It makes more sense to cook now since there are the 2 of us. It's always more fun like that. And when the dish goes wrong, someone will have to finish it, not waste food.

Cooking is not easy k, especially when you have a Cantonese bf with a super fine taste for food.
He can tell if the soup is pork/chicken/beef based; if the veggies taste a wee bit green (and should be cooked for 10 seconds more), if fish is not fresh, or just something taste bad when they all taste fine to me.

I suppose my 2011 resolution is learn and master cooking then!

Pictures: Porridge, with pork floss from Taipei. veggies. Pasta (j made the tomato puree)

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Blogging revived

Now I can blog anytime. Any where. And this shall continue....

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P plate pohpoh

I forgot to mention in previous post that I can drive now too!!

Finally got my drivers license after much wait (or procrastination). So my 27th birthday gift to myself is to learn driving. And I passed the exam!

For 6 months I have been going for classes every other weekend. The school I registered with is known for its 'one take pass!' - high success rates. It's because the test route is around the school and much road conditions (if there are any) is very much controlled. You don't get the occasional pedestrian jay walking, and certainly no impatient drivers honking at you. Most vehicles around the driving area are driven by learners, so it's 40km/h Max.

Hence, even though I've got my license, I still freak out on the roads. I suppose I'm not very alert to begin with and driving is no easy feat. I'm the careless sort, and can't tell my left from right.

The last 2 times (and only 2 times) I drove Jason's car, he had a mild heart attack and I simply broke out in cold sweat and tears- almost ran over a granpa and spiralled out of the roundabout, scratching side of car with a Benz.

So I signed up for more driving lessons. And hopefully I'd be able to drive with confidence and start cruising and stop crying. :)

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6 months later...

It's been 6 months since I've updated anything. The pace of living in Hong kong remains as hectic as ever. I wonder if I can find more time if I were back in singapore.

And as always, my life has been full of changes - twists and turns at the most unpredictable moments. I embrace changes and most often am excited about them. The only complaint I have is that I lose the time to sit down and think, write. And I forget.

So to recap the moments in the past 6 months....

1. I went on my first holiday with the wong family to Malaysia (penang and kl):

Dennis is back from Toronto for holiday and the family decided to go away for a short trip. It was mostly eating and rooting at the hotel. I had a moment with Jason's mum - when she said she's very happy to have me on the same trip with them. I was very happy too.

2. I quit:
Well, it had all been in my brain plan all along - 2 years in Hong kong and move on. The time was up for me to try something else. Shanghai presented itself as an opportunity, but I made the decision to stay.

3. I moved! And we moved in together: Moving takes a lot of effort and, needless to say, time. Our new neighborhood is on the western tip of hong kong island and so we get some seaview, and there's also a park in front of our estate. Definitely beats traffic (automobile and human) in wanchai/causeway bay. I need to take a bus to work and give up those mornings when I can wake up at 9am, but I'm reading more.

Moving in is a big step - as most people told me. For me, I only feel that it is a natural progression.

4. I'm cooking!
Or at least attempting to. I made dinner one time - some pork omelette and j asked me what that was. He didn't even finish half the food. Practice makes perfect - I will continue to cook so long as there is someone to eat.

5. I travelled:
First month into my new job and I was sent to Shanghai for training. Been making trips to Guangzhou too (less exciting). Taipei is so much more exciting and I met up with huankun and spent a good evening together.

6. I find out we will be moving again. And that's a different story to tell another time. :)

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blogging revived

Now I can blog anytime. Any where. And this shall continue....

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