Salsa me away

When Becky said Salsa is a mix of everything put together
I had the strangest thought of 'Rojak'.

So the first Salsa class didn't end too badly :)New York style.

I've done other types of dance - Hip hop and cheerleading are not such contact sport/dance and you actually can count the beats. With Salsa, it brings a whole new world of beats - drums - music to the ears.

J said he's tone deaf, but he actually did pretty well - at least we weren't stepping on each other's feet.

Though I realise I have a problem doing partnering. The guy takes the lead in Salsa dancing, but I have a hard time following the cues.

Towards the end of the night, J thanked me for taking him along - saying he enjoyed the class and dancing, I thanked him for agreeing to come along, not everyone agrees to my whims. There were only 5 guys in a class of 20+!

Back home, when I closed my eyes, I feel the beat in my heart, hear it in my ears, and I want to dance it with my feet and I can't wait for more Salsa steps to learn next week :)

Getting active

Yesterday was Chung Yeung Festival - a public holiday in Hong Kong.

Being the pig that I am, it's time to get my big fat ass moving again. So I happily agreed to Kain's invitation to join him and his friends for a game of badminton at Kowloon sports complex early in the morning. It's been some time since I crossed the harbour and made it to the other side. I had forgotten how long it'd take and ended up being '18 minutes' late (yes, kain counted).

The morning air was chilly - perhaps a sign that autumn is soon to be over. We had macs for breakfast and the guys wouldn't stop making fun of me - how I had asked for 'Fan Kaey' (tomato) instead of 'Kaey zup' (ketchup/tomato sauce). Nb. Kain said he would only have Macs in the morning cos the oil they use is the freshest. Man... who thinks of such things???

We had a couple of matches - won some, lost some. I need to perfect my serve and not keep serving 'char siew' for the other team to 'eat'. :P

Two hours and a blink of an eye later, we packed up and left for more food!

Australia Diary Co. - supposedly serves the BEST scrambled eggs and toast. With the egg mcmuffin in the morning, i had a total of 3 eggs in a day. tsk tsk. So much for trying to be healthy.

Dinner was at Tsim Sa Tsui, indian food. Thank you for suggesting that - i know you saw my whining about missing prata. Although they didn't really have prata... it was good. The curry lamb and the chick peas were delicious. The elevator to the restaurant was kinda scary though - very old school.

And it was nice to meet up with your old time friend Steph -

it meant as much to me as it did to you. :)

In bed, I had difficulty sleeping.

I tried my best to nurse an aching body while my mind was still actively running with thoughts.

And it didn't help that I was walking like a crab / pregnant woman and saying 'ouch' under my breath with every step i take throughout the entire day today.

The first flames of October

The first week of October started with a blast - literally.

We were just out of the Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC) after watching the Spanish film El Bola. Was on our way to look for dinner food, when we heard loud blasts, and echoes of them. I had thought it was going to rain until I saw the reflections of the fireworks on the buildings and a mad rush of crowd charging in one direction.

We managed to catch it - a good 20 minutes of fireworks, with children around us going Wah Wah WAH each time the blasts went off. I love the red and gold and blue ones the most. The green ones somehow remind me of alien invasion - i don't know why.

You held me in your arms and we just watched the fireworks go off. Watching fireworks together is probably on the list of 'Top romantic things to do' for a lot of people. But somehow, that was not the first thing on my mind.

I thought of the previous fireworks I had watched with my significant others at different points in my life and I start to think that yes, everything beautiful will end - just a matter of when.

If you're lucky, you get the next burst of flames, an ongoing parade of fireworks one after another. If you're not so lucky, you just have to wait for the next parade, some time later. Time .. is relative.

I really shouldn't have thought so much and enjoyed the moment with you, and kiss you and let you know i'm happy to be with you right there and then.

Nonetheless, thanks for making such a lovely evening.

The spanish film was thought-provoking and rather unsettling. It speaks of domestic violence, repressed childhood, inner conflicts and a ray of hope. I was particularly appalled at how kids can taunt one another to play silly games like grabbing a bottle placed right in the middle of a track just seconds before the train whizzes past, with the two players on either side of the track. Winner is the one who picks up the bottle first. Or more accurately, the one who doesn't have his brains flattened by the oncoming train.

It was a very good film, very real. Go watch it if you have the chance.

Dinner was good too - we sat on swings and had too much salad, anti pasti, and pizza. You shared with me stories of your fraternity and we spoke about how our parents fell in love. The night could have gone on with endless conversation if not for the fact that it's a working day the next day and you have to start earning your 'brownie points'. ;)

LDR

I told Mr Goh this LDR is not working

when I'm awake, he's preparing to leave the office and sleep



when I'm sleepy, he's just woken up

=.=

Thankfully, it's only for 2 weeks.

I'm really impressed with those who made it.

Spoiler :(

I cannot believe i spoilt the surprise. I'm sorry, but I had to check tom's email to search for the address of a contact.

"Hi Tom, this is chingwei here. Poh Chin's boyfriend.We have not met but I have heard lots of fantastic things about you from her. (Not saying this because I need a favor from you)

To get straight to the point, Poh Chin's birthday is on 30/3. I believe she will still be in Hongkong at that time and so I won't be spending it with her.

So, I need your help to get her a dashing male escort to bring her out for dinner on her birthday. No, just kidding. Really, will require your kind assistance to make arrangements to deliver a bouquet of lilies to her apartment on the 30/3. Would deeply appreciate your help here. However do let me know if this will cause any inconvenience, I would then make other arrangements.Thanks,chingwei"

you made me recall why i fell head over heels in love with you.

Inverse relation

Random conversation with Mr. Goh

I: Are you the type who'd buy a bigger house, and get a smaller ring?
Mr. Goh: …. Confirm

I: Hmph. ok. Smaller ring, fewer kids.
Mr. Goh: nb.

And then I start to think further about this equation I came up with

and it doesn't really make sense...

Bigger house - smaller ring - fewer kids >> then why do I need a big house?

So mentally, I changed the equation to

Bigger house - bigger ring - more kids >> then I'd need to find a richer husband,

which leads to this equation

richer husband - bigger house - bigger ring - more kids

but does it equate to more love?

the search for a balanced question never ends.

I'm addicted...

To COFFEE PRINCE!

It's the only reason I leave my office at 645pm

take a leisurely stroll home

and catch it at 7pm

A good hour of entertainment before I start the second half of my day

contacting people in Toronto, Mexico, and Brazil. =.=

This show is fantastic.

Every character is so lovable

I'm also starting to wonder where my sexual inclination leans

haha

The joy of liking somebody and falling in love

everyone misses this feeling

Do we only get to re-live it vicariously?

In any case,

I love both the pretty 'uncles' in the show

and gorgeous 'En Chan'!

A more eventful weekend ; )

=Friday=

I cannot believe we didn't take a SINGLE picture at book cafe on fri night

mich! eileen! what happened?

it was a great meet up as usual

I really like the book cafe

:)

=Saturday=

Sharon's baby Caden is such a bundle of joy!

When I carried baby Caden, I could feel his heart beat!

I remembered the last time I carried a baby (my nephews)

- must have been 8 or 9 years ago-

I still go goo goo ga ga over babies

aye, my super motherly instincts

haha

And it's good seeing the hall peeps again.

=Sunday=

Was spent meeting Ashlyn for a drink at the Legends

my first time being driven in a Jaguar

the first time after a couple of years when I feel inspired again

but how long will this inspiration last?

=Random weekends=

waiting in line @ Boon Keng

Mariott High Tea

starts from 2.30 to 5.30

we only started at 4.30

And Mr Goh kenna scalded by the steam from one of the warmers

another lady kenna also

and Mr Goh told the waitress about it

and the waitress went to check

and kenna scalded herself too

hurr

We were treated a complimentary high tea though :)

well done mr goh

Food was not bad

Desserts were yummy

so much so that even fruit flies can't take their hands and legs off them

Before Mr Goh's sunday soccer

after helping me and mum with CNY grocery shopping

after we had to queue for half an hour to taste

the Hakka Yong Tau Foo at Clementi hawker centre

(thank goodness we're the first in line!)

Haven't been snapping pictures like crazy

I wonder why

random shout outs

It felt strange without the usual ring on my finger ... the entire day.

you know right away when something is missing.

going to meet the girls at book cafe! yay!

sharon's baby boy Caden's baby shower tomorrow. yay!

dreams of roaches and dare devil stunts on tight rope strung high up about the waters - are strangely keeping me sound asleep at night.

a late night out, finally. =)

Hi 5, Low 5, Baby 5

we are FIVE.

:)

and it does feel that long...

Re-read

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

last week

the story never fails to keep me intrigued

at the wonders of life

and how our lives are so entwined,

how sacrifices can and should be made.

Forgiveness.

Love does not have an end - it just takes a different form.

everyone has a purpose in life.

what is yours, what is mine?

I see you!

Been video calling mr goh for the past few days.

He told me he felt strange looking at me via the webcam.

Is it the hair? the ballooning face? or what?

I, on the other hand, felt ...

the warm fuzzy feeling,

knowing that he's still the same old mr goh

who loves to wear the white ah pek singlet at home,

loves to have a copy of 8Days at home to kill boredom,

loves to imitate emoticons

and loves me.

It's nice to have a facial expression

to the voice I hear before I go to bed every night

(well, almost every night).

good night world,

good night me love.

and good night mummy

who shared half the bed with me

in Hong Kong.

Can't wait to be home.

我不配

这感觉已经不对
我努力在挽回

一些些应该体贴的感觉 我没给
你嘟嘴许的愿望很卑微 在妥协

是我忽略你不过要人陪

Shouldn't there be something called 'compromise'?

爱久了。。。会不会只剩下感情?

而这份感情。。。 又能不能维持这段恋情呢?

没有任何一样 - 难道就非陷入谷底不可吗?

give me wings

I wish.. I can fly home with a pair of wings right now.

I wish I wouldn't feel so helpless ... and disappointed.

There should be someone to protect me.

All it takes is some effort.

It's in the little things you do, or not do.

The second time in two weeks you left without saying goodbye.

What is wrong with me.

Foodie weekend

Mr Goh had been rambling about this famous Bak Kut Teh (BKT) place at rangoon road ever since his colleagues brought him there. It's only open from 6am to 2pm (closed on Mondays), so we thought we'd better go there early in order not to disappoint ourselves.



What turned out to be a good intentioned, good-for-tummy trip, wasn't so fantastic after all. Don't get me wrong... the food was yummy and I'd love to go back there again...

See, we arranged for Mr Goh to come pick me up at 11am, so we could get there and have an early lunch. But I woke up late, so Goh had to come by around 12.

AND we took ONE hour to find the place, cos Mr Goh, with a street directory in the car, did not know how to get there. Throughout the journey, he was asking me for directions.

FIRST of all, I DON'T DRIVE, I can't tell the difference between the PIE and the CTE and the AYE.
SECOND of all, I HAVE NEVER been to that BKT place.
THIRD of all, I'm a history student; so I suck at reading maps.

So, for every wrong turn, he would huff and puff; for every driver who did not give way to him, he would scold them and honk at them. I know it probably isn't fun to be driving for ONE hour, so I just kept my mouth shut.

Finally, we found the place and had to wait for a table. Wait wait wait...

I was really quite hungry already since I didn't have anything that morning. Good that we managed to get a table after 10-15 min. Sat down, and Mr Goh asked me what I wanted to eat...I said i want ZHU JIAO. pig's legs. BUT he ordered BKT and ZHU GAN (pig's liver). Not that i mind zhu gan, cos i love to eat zhu gan too... but it's just one of the small things that irks me.

what followed was just a series of worse things which really ANNOYED me. We were seated for 5 min already... and nobody came to ask us for our orders, nor clear the table for us. So I suggested to Mr Goh that he asked the uncle to come over BUT he refused to budge! He said we've just gotta wait for our turn.

A HUNGRY WOMAN IS AN ANGRY AND MAD AND IMPATIENT WOMAN.

So obviously I wasn't very happy liao. Then after ordering, he realised he's got no cash, (I told him I've got about 20 bucks), and he just left in a hurry to find an ATM, in freaking ulu rangoon road!!! I was so MAD! Immediately after he left, the food came and I asked for the bill (which turned out to be 18 only and I've got 25). It's annoying and silly because we could have asked for the bill first, and if we don't have enough cash, THEN GO FIND AN ATM. Simple logic right or not.... all you do is open your mouth and ask, if you're not sure.

Anyway, one bad thing leads to another, I didn't have my hp with me to call him back. So I waited, and waited, and waited...

the smell of the BKT. the temptation just right there. ARGH.

the boss of the shop came by to ask me why I'm not eating yet. Another uncle came by and asked me why the person still haven't come. The table in front of me came at same time, but already finished their meal.

All in all, I waited for 20 min, until I buay tahan, took out a ten cent coin, left my seat and the food, and used those old-fashioned put-ten-cent-coin-in-dial-phone (thankfully) to call that Mr Goh (see right corner of pic, yellow phone). The phone is like DAMN dusty lor.


The BKT soup and teh had already stopped boiling, but my blood was BOILING TO THE MAX, which explains for the super unhappy I-want-to-kill-you-with-my-stares kinda photos.






I must commend the store's service though... cos the boss changed the BKT and pig's liver for ME, since they've already turned cold. (I later found out that this is the (in)famous BKT shop which refused to open beyond their usual operating hours to serve HK's CEO Donald Tsang and the local media created a big hoo ha over it...)

So all in all, it was just a very annoying lunch. Even give me eat birds nest, abalone, sharks fin, they also won't taste good.

But I want to go back there again.... I love making tea like that. ;D


So after the lunch hoo-ha, we went to One George as planned (stopover at HANS to have a drink and dessert first).


Then to FF. View from the pool...


can see the Singapore Flyer wor! 75% completed!

It would be the largest ferris wheel in the world! 165m in diameter! but hor... singapore flyer... can have nicer name or not?

Anyways, I freaking rode on the cyling machine for ONE HOUR! 20 km! 400 calories! I was pretty impressed with myself, cos originally I only wanted to do 30 min... then thought of going for 45, and then thought, what's another 15 more?

I'm glad I pushed myself....

cos that night we went and fed ourselves like PIGS at Chomp Chomp.

Mr Goh was in such a hurry to leave because we ordered chicken wings too, but the lady hasn't come... and we really can't eat any more!

Plus, it's so stressful to eat at Chomp Chomp's. There's perpetually the seats-problem. And when you finally get one, there are 'vultures' looking over you as you eat, standing as close to your shoulders as possible, it's annoying. I mean, I will also stand next to the table to 'pressure' people to leave their seats... BUT that is only when I see that they're finishing their drinks or sth...

This mother, along with her daughter, stood really close to me. Apparently, we looked like we were finising our dinner... but that's cos the rest of the orders hadn't come yet!! The daughter was kicking my bench lor! I wanted to scream at her already lor! but I wasn't so mean to spit the food onto her face.... :P Bleh.

and to end the night, Mr Goh's mother brought back Black Glutinuous rice soup, with gingko nuts. I SUPER LIKE. =D

I want another foodie weekend!

Great expectations

For the past week, I've listened to people's stories, about expectations; expectations of themselves, of others close to them, and their future together. I realised that circumstances shape people, how we're brought up molds us, the way we think, the way we expect to be treated, how the world looks through each of our eyes, how ,in the future we'd want our children to live the way we're living, if not better.

The final blueprint for living life, the big picture, will somewhat be similar for everybody, but how we get there differs.

Relationships are like that, i guess.

You constantly need to meet expectations of each and everyone in that circle, like the different layers of the onion, until you reach the core. You get frustrated by others (the other layers) so much so that sometimes, you forgot who you're really in love with.

I shared with Mr Goh my thoughts about the future, my own kind of expectations and secretly hopes that his are the same as mine. Where it's not, hopefully we'd compromise.

While browsing furniture at Harvey Norman today, we have a glimpse of what our future home will look like. I told him I want an oven in the kitchen, doesn't matter if I don't bake. I just want an oven. And he said, together with the oven, he will get me the ironing board, the washing machine, and the vacuum as well. His sense of humour really tickles me.

I'm not sure if talking about things like these is still too early??

Though he says he's frustrated that he's reached a stage where he's ready to move forward, yet he can't because of practical realities. I feel his frustrations too, and I don't mind moving forward but I guess good things, like good wine, needs to be cultured over time.

Patience rewards those who wait? Will there really be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

only time can tell, really.

as for now, just hold on dearly and savour every moment of it.

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. Charles Dickens, Great Expectations.

The Eternal Embrace

Archaeologists in Italy have discovered a pair of human skeletons (believed to be a couple) buried 5-6,000 years ago.



This is like how Romeo-and-Juliet.

Til death do us part.

And in this case, they probably proved the statement wrong. I wonder what their love story is like....

I think I'd like to live in the Shakespearean era.... lotsa romanticism, lotsa love in the air, lotsa trials to go through.... i want a hero in shining armour to sweep me off my feet, meet me at the secret meeting place every night, and bring me fresh flowers every day.

and finally, to die in each other's embrace.



A glooming peace this morning with it brings;
The sun for sorrow will not show his head.
Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things;
Some shall be pardon'd, and some punishèd;
For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.


great, Mr Peh just shed new light on this pile of skeletons. Perhaps they were having a struggle before they died, he says, cos he's an engineer and he needs to consider all kinds of possible scenarios.

I don't care, I still want to believe they are LOVERS!

Setting straight some ideas on gays

I came across this article in ST today.

"Setting straight some ideas on gays"

yea, such headlines catch my attention better than "Floods could cost XX country XX dollars"

So, naturally, I was thinking... okay.. homosexuality between people..what's up this time?

BUT NO.... Known as the "sexual partner preference testing", this is actually a research on the sexual orientation of SHEEP!!

Apparently, 5 sheep are placed in a 5m by 3m 'arena', of which there are two ewes (female sheep) in heat and two rams (these 4 are restrained in stanchions) while one young ram is free to choose which ewe or ram it wants to hit on.

The scientists then watches, and keep score. what the.... being a very visual person, I was trying to picture the experiment in my heavy head

The results: slightly more than half the rams tested are heterosexual, 20% 'swings' both ways, 15% is asexual and the remaining is gay.

Holy sheep.

This kind of experiment also have!! Can someone tell me if humans are genetically similar to sheep??? First, there's Dolly, now there's i-dunno-what-you-call-this...

The scientist of this research argues that such research shows that sexual preferences is biologically determined in animals, and could possibly be the case for humans too. =_= So, the case is, if we know/think/are certain that homosexuality is natural, we can (i) engineer it, (ii) find ways to prevent it (injecting hormones to foetuses was suggested), and/or (iii) change people's perception abt it (i.e. viewing it more as a disability, like infertility, rather than stigmatising it)

I don't know man... this reminds me of the times I write GP essays, there are so many ways you can argue. My 'feel' is that sexual orientation can't be genetically inherent in all of us.... There are so many other factors: the environment, the people you hang out with, media/social influences, blah blah. How can it purely be science?

We fall in love not because we see with our eyes, but we feel with our hearts. We feel the connection and the chemistry. We search for our soulmates, without a blueprint. Yes, along the way, we learn about the types of attributes/character we're looking for in the one, but there can be tens of thousands of people out there who is humourous/caring/loving/responsible/understanding/mature/make lotsa money/handsome/and-the-list-goes-on.

Yet, there would only be one who has the ability to tug your heart strings.

Is that something that science can prove?

I doubt.

GRRrrrrRRrrr........

I am feeling Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Is EQ and PR skills that difficult to acquire?

yes, they call the shots, so they can have it their way. but i'm sure there are better ways to arrange things so everyone will be happy?

and yes, i do agree that you can't please everybody. but at least please some of them?

so logically thinking, if i'm not one of those they want to make happy, then i'm probably not important.

and if i'm not important, then why include me in the first place?

so why include me in the first place when i'm not important? so will it matter if i make my presence felt or not? maybe i'm just there to make up the numbers, it's probably more of an obligation. a must do, instead of want to do.

which i truly hope it is not.

which i hope there realllllllllly is something irreconcilable such that the present arrangement is realllllllllly surellllllllly the ABSOLUTE necessary.

i want to be there with a truly happy heart, not one which carries blessings and yet bogged down by immense upset-ness.

but ultimately, I know i'd only be happy when that one decision is made.

Yes, i can be really difficult.

Cage me. Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Reunion of a different kind

It's been a ________ night. I can't describe it, can't find a suitable word to describe how exactly i felt tonight. too many feelings, too many thoughts running through my head. when i first heard the news, i was shocked, then images of lena start to appear in my head.. I remember her in her gymnast leotard, i remember her in her yellow house tee running the track, i remember how uncanny she and her sis look like... how she has that sunshine smile and the ever so pleasant disposition. Although we never really know each other, we do see each other around in school. It's probably the st nicks connection.

st nicks girls of different batches attended, teachers, friends. Her family was very strong, i felt ann was very strong too. i'm sure they are very proud of her, as we all are. she's really a remarkable girl, which makes this even more tragic. I cannot imagine how i'd cope with the loss of a loved one, i don't think i'm that strong. but leen said when the time comes, you'd just have to take up the role, go through all the necessary mechanics and be a strong pillar of support for everyone else around you.

then, we started to think morbid thoughts: how will our own ceremony be like when the time comes? the type of flowers we'd want, the bears to put beside us and the photo.... must be one which shows us having the best time of our lives, beaming with the most megawatt smile. will there be so many people who will care to attend?

what will i be remembered as?

I don't think i've done much in my life so far to mention anything spectacular. should i be achieving more?

who are the five people i'll meet in heaven?

it's ironic how funerals bring together a reunion, how friends, school mates you've not seen for years come together. although the feelings might have changed, the tie is still there, we all share the same memories at one point in time.

Tonight stirred some buried memories in me. I remember how I was there when marc's mum passed away. i remember the heartaches and the tears. i remember that she was a kind lady and i'd never forget that night. I had barely known her for a week or so but i could feel the pain, so sharp, piercing through my heart as i stood beside marc during the cremation. her family wept the hardest I've ever seen. life is cruel like that.

I think i learn very slowly, sometimes not learning at all, that i'd have to treasure all my loved ones before they are gone. But humans are a strange bunch, not everyone can openly express how they feel so deep inside, baring oneself right through the skin.

but i must learn, and tolerate and treasure, before it's all too late.