lisa ono

I'm currently listening to: Lisa Ono's Best Collection. Stumbled upon her CD at a HMV store when I was in Hong Kong a few months ago. It caught my attention the moment I place the headphone on my ear at the store. My favourite song from this album is "The girl from Ipanema". And Bossa Nova... oh my! I heart heart heart heart Bossa Nova!

"The girl from Ipanema" by Lisa Ono



The original version by Astrud Gilberto in 1960's - always love original music video footage from the 60s & 70s

december 8th

Okay. It was my birthday. Big deal *not*. Some of my friends forgot about it. Some of them were out of town on holidays. And this year, there's no special someone to celebrate with me, just like the previous year. So, it's just like any other ordinary day and I try not to even remember it's my birthday. After all, it's quite embarassing to celebrate birthday at my age. Birthday are for the younger generation or the old folks, like how kids have birthday parties at MacDonald's, the 20-something having booze party at clubs or older folks having birthday celebration on their 60th, 70th and 80th birthday at a restaurant. People my age, or rather for me, birthdays are to be kept low profile.

Until a friend offered to buy me dinner. The 3 of us went to Monte's at Bangsar Shopping Complex for a decent Western dinner. Escargots, grilled salmon fillet, pina colado, this is the menu for my birthday fix.

Afterwhich, a friend had to go to a birthday party, and asked us to join him. Guess where was the birthday party? CLUB DE VEGAS! For those that don't have a clue where that is, it's a ktv with hostess! Hahahaha... damn! It's men's heaven and women's hell! We went irregardless and I regretted the moment I stepped in.

It's actually a decent birthday party. My friend is a mutual trust agent. The agency manager was celebrating his girlfriend's birthday and invited everyone from his agency. They were drinking bottles and bottles of Cordon Bleu wishkey like nobody's business. And the service staff there, oh my... their service is fantabulous! The hostess, damn! they are young and pretty. No wonder men sees these places as their heaven... Now I know!

No birthday cake, no birthday wish, no birthday present. It's just like any other ordinary day.

bailey - the princess

This is my sister's dog - Bailey. She can be so adorable. She posed on my sister's bed like a fluffy toy after my sister changed her sheets. How cute is that?

love is in the air

Yes. Love is indeed in the air. A friend of mine, Agatha tied the knots recently and her wedding has incidentally fell on Mid-Autumn Festival. That has made the wedding even more romantic.

I have known her since my days in Beijing. Being the very few single Malaysian girls working in Beijing then, there is a special bonding between us and we both treasure our friendship dearly. Not only did she ask me to emcee for her wedding dinner reception, she has even given me the honour by asking me to be her bridemaid.

Due to my hectic schedule at work, I had no choice but turn down her offer, promising her that I will still attend her wedding nonetheless. However, she has insisted that it will mean a lot for her to have me as the emcee for her wedding dinner reception. I could not make it to be her bridemaid though.

My oh my. The last time I emcee for an event was during school days and that was many many years ago. For the sake of friendship, it was hardly a choice for me. So, here comes another adventure for me.

It all started after I returned from my trip to Beijing, I had to rush to a mall to hunt for a dress (the wedding has a Oriental theme and there was a dress code for all guest). Found the dress. Next, research needed to be done online for the special guests at the wedding, namely a famous caligraphy master - Mr. Zhong Zhen Chuan and a well-known singer in Malaysia - Ms. Yudi. Done with research and drafting of my emcee script, I was all set for the big day (her big day I mean!) and all these were done within a day!

The next day, I drove all the way to KL for rehearsal (Yes! there was a rehearsal!). Close friends of mine would know that I dread driving to KL as I dread driving to unfamilair places. After a committee meeting, rehearsal, getting ourselves beautiful and before I know it, it was show time! I took a deep breath....

The entire wedding reception went on well. The bride and groom and their families are pleased. Everyone including the organizing committee had so much fun. All these have made it worthwhile.

Sometimes, all you need is to make a small effort and you could brighten someone's day or life. I think I have made the right choice in agreeing to help my friend. 'Cause I know this small little favour I have done meant a lot to her and will remain forever in her heart.

Congratulations, Agatha anc CK!


The bride & groom - Agatha & CK


This is the caligraphy written at the wedding by the famous caligraphy master.


and...this is me in action! :)

it's round it's reddish yellow

I love peeling oranges with my hands. No particular reason to it but I just love the sight of a peeled orange without it's skin. I love peeling the orange slice by slice and enjoy the juice bursting from the sac in my mouth. I also love the smell of refreshing citrus lingering on my fingers even hours after peeling the orange.

Do you know oranges are at its best during winter times? Do you know that Mandarin oranges are not really orange? Do you know that after chocolate and vanilla, orange is the world's next favourite flavour?

Navel oranges are my favourite. It's the type with a belly-button formation opposite the stem end. The bigger the navel in an orange, the sweeter it will be.

This post was written during a conference call with client. Yes. That was how bored I was! hehe....but I love oranges nonetheless!

turn back the clock

Stumbled across a very interesting website. So, I spent my entire Sunday afternoon on that website. Check out the result of my hard work below! hehe....

It is a website whereby you can convert your picture into old-school yearbook pictures. Pretty funny! I couldn't help rolling on the floor laughing when I was doing this. Hahaha...

and this is how I look like if I were a guy in the 1950's! Muahahaha... omigosh! I'm getting a tummy ache for laughing excessively.....



Handsome anot?

picking up from where i left

Let's do some simple maths. Previous blog posting - June 18th. Today - August 25th. That would be approximately two months. That is how long I've abandoned my blog. Do I feel guilty about it? I really don't. Not at all. 

It seems like a lot has happened in the past few months. New project. New Country. End of new job. Back to Malaysia. Another new project. 

End is working life in Hong Kong which is also the beginning of a roadshow in Asia. This new job will bring me to places. First stop, Kuala Lumpur and then off to Hong Kong. Next, it will be Shanghai and Beijing. And there are more to come. By the time this project is completed, it will be end of October. 

So many things happening but ironically, I don't feel like I'm  making much progress in life. 

Maybe it's just another of my emo phase. Sianz.

celebrate! celebrate! celebrate!

There are two things that call for a celebration today.

Firstly, this is my 100th post on my blog. Woohooo.... 100 post!! Imagine that? I've been blabbering about anything, everything, whether or not it make sense or not, 100 is really some kind of achievement! I'm so damn proud of myself.

Subsequently, a pleasant surprise appeared today at work. *Drum roll* I was offered a job with the company I'm currently freelancing for!! Double-woohoooooo.... apparently the MD and senior management of the company are impressed with our performance and offered us a permanent job with them. Now, even hongkies think I am capable! Is that some kind of achievement or what?

Oh my gosh. I'm so full of myself today. I think my ego is so boosted I can't stand myself. *rotfl*.

dangerously beautiful

My friend from across the world posted some pictures of a very interesting plant on her blog. It's called the digitalis, also known as foxglove. Apparently this plant is very toxic.

I happen to have seen a similar plant at the rose garden in Perth. I wonder if they are the same.

Foxglove. It's so exotic. So beautiful. But yet so deadly. I wish I could be toxic like them. Hrmm....

my true love

I have. finally. found. the love. of. my. life.

And he is *drum roll*.........Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Therapy! Omigosh! It's so freaking good! It's so creamy. So smooth. So rich. So chewy! It totally took my breath away! So, whenever I see a Ben & Jerry scoop shop, I will without fail get myself a scoop of Chocolate Therapy. It sure bring a teeny weeny bit of excitement to my boring life here. Eventhough it's not one of the top ten flavour of Ben & Jerry's, I still love it whole-heartedly.

Dont' forget to check out their website. It's so C-U-T-E! And I learn so much about ice-cream making after taking a virtual tour. And the most interesting part of their website is the "Flavour Graveyard" for the dearly departed flavour. The animation in there is so coooooool. And this graveyard, it's not just virtual. Ben & Jerry actually has a graveyard built for this somewhere at their factory! How cool is that?

Okay. Enough blabbering about Ben & Jerry. And nope. I don't get paid for recommending their products. *bleah* I wonder where can I get a scoop of Chocolate Therapy at 11:30pm? Hrmm....damn! shouldn't have blog about ice-cream! I want a scoop of Chocolate Therapy!!!

i wanna go home

I wanna go home. I wanna go home. I wanna go home. And I mean my REAL home. Not this crappy place.

Why is this place crappy?

People here walk fast, extremely fast. Sometimes they will hit into you when they try to squeeze their way through. Whether or not it is accidental or intentional, none of them will stop and apologize. That's rude.

Unless you can afford to dine at really 'atas' restaurants all the time, dining can be hell-like at most Hong Kong style fast food chain and typical neighbourhood 'char chan teng'. Their service staff are impatient and always rush you through orders, and they make sure that the word I-M-P-T-I-E-N-T is written all over their face. Not friendly at all.

People drive recklessly here. They speed and refuse to slow down while negotiating corners. Perhaps they think that they are racing at a track! It is so goddamn dangerous especially roads are so narrow in Hong Kong.

And the weather. Yes. The WEATHER. It is totally absolutely definitely unbearable. Humidity kills! BIG TIME! I'm melting like a candle on sunny days. Otherwise, it can be raining like cats and dogs! Geez... everyday before stepping out of the house, I gotta contemplate on whether to bring or not to bring..... umbrealla!

Of course, there are still the bright side of Hong Kong. Afterall, it's a food haven, shopping paradise and home to all cantonese tv series we all grew up watching. Hey! you could easily bump into a celebrity walking on the street, or even dining at a restaurant.

Sadly, none of these appeal to me. 'Cause nothing beats home-cooked meals. Excessive shopping burns hole in my wallet. Celebrities? who cares about them.

That is why, I've been marking down on my calendar at work, crossing dates and hoping time can fly. I have no sense of belonging here. Neither have I got a life.

I wonder. Is it the changing weather? my age that is catching up? or purely the result of PMS?

I'm dead serious about wanting to go home though. sianz.

lwf @ hong kong

Last Saturday, my colleagues and I decided to hit the cinema for the latest release of Indiana Jones at IFC. After that, we went and ate to our heart's content at a famous restaurant at Central, the meal complete with roast duck, suckling pig, century eggs and winter melon soup. Forgive me please as I was too busy eating and forgot to take pictures!

We went to Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong's famous pub street where there was a street party going on. It was really crowded! Went to check out a gay bar called Volume too... really an eye opener. But not as dodgy as I thought. Overall, a pretty interesting night out.

Here's some pictures I took. And NO. I wasn't drunk. Just that my camera doesn't work very well under night mode. hahaha...



blow up dolls display! haha...


My colleagues cum housemates for the 4 mths I'm in HK.


a freaky guy in egyptian costume.


Bought a souvenier shot glass here. Only at hkd20 each.

fell in a shopping trap

Really. There's nothing much for me to do in Hong Kong except to go shopping. And let me tell you this is really not a cheap way of spending time. Sigh. Get me outta HK. Quick! Quick!

This is what I just bought today. Some plastic watch from Belgium. Come packed in a cute little lego-like box, which you can use as a piggy bank after that. Costs HKD399 each. Cheaper than a Swatch really. Not too bad for a fun fashion watch.

This is what I'm very tempted to buy ALSO! More 'icey' feel than the one I got. It's the classic collection.

Hrmm... now I wonder. How much is too much shopping? Shall I indulge and buy another one? Shall I? Shall I not??

Check it out if you are interested too.

he's just not so into you

I read a book lately. Title of the book: "he's just not so into you" by Greg Behrendt & Liz Tucillo.

The book says, he is just not that into you if he's NOT:
1) Asking you out
2) Calling you
3) Dating you
4) Having sex with you

or if he's:
5) Having sex with someone else
6) Only wants to see you when he is drunk
7) Doesn't want to marry you
8) Breaking up with you
9) Disappeared on you
10) Married
11) A selfish jerk/ bully or a really big freak

Interesting. But after reading the book, I'm still confused. What a waste of time. But then again, I have lots of time to kill. So, what's there to waste in the first place? Duh.

If only relationship can be as easy as 1, 2, 3 or a, b, c. Damn. Can't live with it, can't live without it! Somebody kill me please!

never confuse movement with action

That's right! Do not get confused! Think before you act or your action will be meaningless and regarded as plain movement....
What the hell am I talking about? Ignore me. I ran out of things to blog about!

stress with a capital s

I'm a foreigner in HK. I don't know my way around very well. Therefore, I can't write a detail instruction on ways to get from one place to another through various mode of public transportation. The MTR (Mass Transit Railway) alone has the Island line, Kwun Tong line, Tsuen Wan line, Tsueng Kwan O line, blah blah blah. It's f**king C-O-N-F-U-S-I-N-G!

It doesn't require much intelligence to understand that it's a ridiculous task for me, does it? So, why can't she see the point? Clients can be so unreasonable sometimes. Arghhh....what a stressful day at work!

Check out the network map and you'll know what I mean...

cheong-ster!

I noticed that the pace in HK is really fast, to a rather scary extend. So, in order to blend in, I walk as fast as the locals. I'll forever be trying to cut through crowd, rushing through traffic eventhough there's oncoming vehicles. For that, my colleagues cum housemates call me the 'cheong-ster'!(Remark: "cheong" is in Hokkien)

HK, ready or not, here I come! cheong ah! cheong ah! hehe....

More photos I took @ Mega Box, the mall near my office.

room with a view

Some random pictures I took of the view from my apartment.

Sunset. The cloud on the sky is really mesmerizing.

Night view. Can't resist to take this pictures as it was windy and the sky was incredibly clear. Simply breathtaking.

Was playing with my Sony T20 camera's night mode. Shaked the camera vigorously to achieve this effect. It was fun!

Another shot. Love the effect.

i own a boutique

My boutique. It has to be mine since it's named after me. Wishful thinking more like it! Spotted this at another mall near my office, Mega Box @ Kowloon Bay.

sanrio fever

One thing for sure HK is never short of.... the sight of Hello Kitty!! Took these during lunch at the shopping mall near my office....