Retail therapy

Retail therapy

works.

I have never splurged so much on myself one weekend
when I'm back in Singapore.

A bunch of winter clothes, skin care, a new watch, hairdo, accessories.

Staying in causeway bay has much to contribute.

On top of that, I try to justify my irrational spending
by how hard I work during the week.

And according to Kain, our HK salary has just grown in value by 10%.

Great way to spend those HK dollars ... on sing dollars stuff... which I did:



These are just too pretty to resist! from www.ochacream.com

Although zhijin said I can probably find similar stuff at mongkok... at much cheaper price....

oh well. I need some pampering.

I find that I'm pampering myself a lot more here in HK.

Am I really that unhappy here?

hurting

Love is like my retainers - a life time, if not long term, commitment.

I am supposed to wear it all the time, but I don't.

I don't wear it when I have to eat and I need the space and I need to make sure I don't crack it.

I keep it snugly in my bag, and I'll wear it every now and then.

If I lose it, my teeth will go out of alignment.

So how can this love continue when you're not here with me?

I hope you understand that I tried - I really did.

I just got reminded of the pain again.

why?

the joy of giving

Yesterday, zhijin told me she received a bouquet of flowers

and it made her day.

That's when I start to think how happy I was when I received flowers

out of the blue, for no particular reason.

I get caught up with work these days that I've stopped doing those extra little something for people, the ones I care about.

I recalled those days in sec school when we'd pass the 'chocolates' - Person A writes a note to Person B, along with a bar of choc, and B will do so for C and C for D and it goes on until A receives something.

Full circle.

So I did something today

to let you know I care about you(s).

The giver of joy receives double the joy.

-for jason-
The giver of surprises feels fantastic.

-for michelle-

snapping out of it

I walked out of my office feeling the strangest of feelings this evening

It was as if the entire day had been a dream

my vision blurred as I stepped out of the elevator

strangers whizz past me

I am nobody to them

as they don't matter to me

this is not home

and I want to snap out of it.

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'. ;)

Rainy days like this

make me miss home much.

Pierced

I did the most amazing thing on myself this morning -

All dressed up and good to go to work,

I realised i forgot to wear the ear ring on my helix.

So, I poked around for 5-10 minutes,

trying to get the ear ring in

until I got fed up.

The piercing has miraculously decided to heal overnight.

So I gave it one hard jab to get it through

Next thing i saw

BLOOD.

Ok, breathe.

Got it through the front,

now gotta stab it right across to the back.

Poked around a bit more

a little bit harder

and the next second later

my vision blurred

I felt nauseous

and wanted to puke

checked my watch

damn. 9.05am

I'm late for work.

Then I collapsed,

and hugged the toilet bowl
and tried to throw up.

I broke into cold sweat,

trembling.

And I passed out,

for a good 15 min.

9.20am

Had to call in sick.

Please don't ever try this at home, alone.

Hurt like hell, and I thought i was going to die.

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world.

The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.

Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

-George Bernard Shaw-

I've been reading this book - Hongkongitis- which speaks of the stuff which makes people love and hate Hong Kong so much at the same time. It's a funny read so far, until this chapter that I read tonight.

It spoke about changes and non-conformity, and how Hong Kong is stifled culturally, that the people have no generation gap at all to speak of. Cantopop is popular across generations, with the same formulaic pop star idols. Fashion/arts wise, it's ripped off Japan / Korea. The old aren't afraid to follow what's trendy for the young. 'Hong Kong has no generation gap.' By and large, this is a generalisation.

I start to think about how true this chapter is. Does not having a generation gap means you're not progressing as a society? Is it an Asian thing to conform? Are we taught not to rebel against exisiting social norms? I guess to a certain extent, we tend to slip into our comfort zones. If something works well, why would you want to 'rock the boat'?

Maybe when the journey gets too smooth sailing, you'd rock it just for the heck of it.

Typhoon Hagupit

So the Hagupit is here.

I'm so bored at home

I spent my boredom online shopping

and hell, did i spend

on frivolous stuff.

But

I

LOVE

these!!

feather, polka dotted and orange monarch butterflies.

Lovely. :)

Kissing a fool

You are far
When I could have been your star
You listened to people
Who scared you to death
And from my heart
Strange that you were strong enough
To even make a start
You'll never find
Peace of mind
Till you listen to your heart

People
You can never change the way they feel
Better let them do just what they will
For they will
If you let them steal your heart from you

People
Will always make a lover feel a fool
But you knew I loved you
We could have shown them all
We should have seen love through

Question

Question:

How considerate should one be in a relationship?

or in a relationship that no longer exists?

mid week wed

It's mid week. i'm halfway there.

it's a wonder how the simplest things can make people happy.

i'm happy today because of my new pink tumbler.

i'm happy today because it's one day closer to the weekend. :)

and i had a good laugh at a frog's joke today.

Post mid Autumn blues

I had mean to get to the office and clear some work this morning. really.

it's 2.30pm and I'm still at home.

the INERTIA is simply too great - even though office is less than 10 min away.

I was up til 3am tidying up my place.

Finally got my hangers (100 of them, and still not enough!) and put up the clothes.

Neighbour says my place looked like a pig's sty, worse than his bunk in army. :(

TTT: Things take time.

I'll make sure i do a little something to spruce up the place every weekend.

Weekends in HK is always incredibly packed. We should have 4 working days in HK.

Fri night used to party; sat to recuperate; sunday to go out shopping/eating; monday to stay home and prepare for another intense work week.

Why is the pace in HK so fast?

'farewell' dinner for Ernest - before he flies off to SF and NY.

Ggoh in HK: bunking with me on Wed/Thurs night; totally sleep deprived and malfunctioning at work on friday. :) But it's all good.

Mid autumn BBQ with fion's family.

I think being around children makes me happy. These kids can just jump around and laugh a lot. Kids still want to play with lanterns and candles. :)

The big kids put up the lanterns, and helped the little ones light theirs.

The chat session with fion's mum & aunts turned out to be a male bashing one.

Marriage, husbands and kids - how do you manage the relationships and your own expectations? It's depressing to hear 5 women telling the same story of how romance will give way to security. I don't want to buy that. I want my heart to flutter, and my smile to make someone's day.

So there goes the mid autumn fest- it's almost like a second CNY. The only things that were missing that night?

Mooncakes and starfruits, and you.

There's a private sale of several beauty product brands for our office on Friday, on a first come first serve basis.

So, my colleague sent in her order - 1 xxx brightening cream.

And the reply was: 'Sorry, out of order'

I didn't find anything odd with that reply until now.

I guess i've slowly become assimilated into the HK english speaking culture.

my world is a battlefield

Every morning, I wake up, preparing to fight another battle.

I strut to the battlefield and find myself armed with literary ammunition.

Time is always against me and it doesn't help that you're in a foreign land.

I'm slowly being buried beneath piles of print outs.

There are times when I feel like throwing in the towel but something keeps me going

at the end of the day.

A friendly call, a few chuckles, the love you bring.

And I wake up to a better morning.

my moment of weakness

I thought I made up my mind
I don't like playing games
but sometimes the uncertainties
are more than I could name

You made two steps forward,
and I took three steps back
Love is our own tango
the rhythm shouldn't be wrecked

In my moment of weakness
I allowed you to take the lead
not knowing when you're spinning me
not knowing what I need

But still I'd love to tango
with different partners, different beat
Only secretly waiting for someone special
to sweep me off my feet

Such is my moment of weakness
such a dreamer, some call a fool
'the music's gonna stop one day
and, silly, you may not realise it's through'

oh, love is such a tease

Miserably sick

I can't remember when's the last time I felt so

ill and miserable.

I have always been familiar with the drill -

not enough sleep > fall sick > pop pills > sleep > get better.

Since sunday evening I know I'm coming down with a cold.

Been shuttling btn my new apt and CWB to get stuff/ideas for my new apt and also settled my mobile line and broadband. My mind REALLY didn't want to work on sunday. Most of the time, i'm spaced out. So glad mr neighbour and mr j offered their brains. The many measurements and fixtures drove me nuts.

Panadol cold & flu extra has ceased to be effective for me. Monday was spent rubbing my nose, and working under pressure. I didn't even know how i managed to survive the day. Was almost knocked down by the tram - that's how dizzy and faint I was.

Continued to drag my body to work on Tues but the world was just twirling around me. It helps that there are friends who care. :) Added warmth to a freezing body. Felt so miserable that I really wanted to cry. Thanks kain for accompanying me to the hospital. Your lecture about 五脏六腑 and 胃筋 made me laugh a lot.

And on wed I called in sick. I have never slept so much continuously. I was bedridden and my body ached so badly. And all I can remember is... falling into a deep abyss - not wanting to wake up.

I don't want to be so sick ever again. : (

Typhoon Nuri

Besides the Olympics and food, I think typhoons in HK excite every single person around you in Hong Kong. In the office, some religiously tune in to radio stations every 15 min; others surf the Observatory website for updates; or rely on email fwds. On the streets, people's footsteps are hurried, most are armed with a brolly. You hear people speaking of numbers 1, 3, 8 and even 9 and 10 (typhoon signals).

I must say the HK meteorologists are pretty accurate - before 8am they announced Typhoon signal 8 - meaning all schools, offices will be closed. People stock up on food, and stay home. I was already all dressed and ready for work and Typhoon Nuri is well on her way to HK (why do typhoons have female names?)

What the heck. I want to feel the wind. :)

And indeed I felt it. The scaffolding across the street shook slightly. Plastic bags and rubbish twirled like mini tornadoes and my hair was all over the place. Interestingly, the ladies were all in pants and there were hardly any cars on the streets (since insurance does not cover moving vehicles during typhoons).

Armed with my pink Giordano brolly bought last night, I made my way to the office. :D

Oh, last night too, I thought I had lost my super girly blue umbrella at TsuiWah after dinner. Only realised it when having GuiLingGao with kain, which must have been an hour or so later. My first thought was, it couldn't be there any more, someone must have taken my pretty umbrella. His thought was, no harm going back to take a look. And I'm SO happy we did.

失而复得的快乐 is velly wonderful.

Lost in HK

Lost in HK

I missed my bus stop on my way home

and before I knew it,

I was heading to the unfamiliar.

It was a good view of the Kowloon skyline, with the coast right next to the highway.

I thought of the highway in singapore with view of the esplanade, city skyline and I miss it more.

Nights like these make you miss home.