台灣小吃

最近愛上了盬酥雞檔的甜不辣.
鳴謝Kobe介紹的阿郎盬酥雞@通化.

下班後便不其然想起QQ的,脆而不膩的甜不辣,還有平均的灑在上面的椒盬...在通化夜市口下車,慢慢走到阿郎面前.因時間尚早,他在細心整理檔前的食物.我夾了四件甜不辣到小盤上,拜托阿郎加点九層塔下去炸.盛惠二十元.

看他把檔口弄得乾乾淨淨,每次都用吸油紙刷淨剩過炸物的小剷子才再用.對製作過程一絲不苟,讓我尊敬這位盬酥雞師父.

正因如此,他做的甜不辣才會脆而不膩.

實在甜不辣是超肥又沒有營養...

Laugh together

This is not something new. The clip has been viewed in Youtube for 11 million times. Watch again and destress from life.

Mii Family

The very first family photo that I post on the blog.

優皮士色彩的中產浪漫

集體回憶時間.
九十年代初, 大堆關於中產的電影出產. 小男人週記, 三人世界, 金枝玉葉, etc
這個年頭再沒有優皮士, 換來的是M型社會, 一係上流, 一係下流. 找個百萬富翁當男友要保持低調. 至少是十億男友才好張揚. 大量適婚女性未婚不一定因為男女比例只有49:51.
草根得很的"高朋滿坐"都穿起西裝, 圍在一起飲紅酒, 借故嘲笑草根扮中產. 聽起來有點像那個月入兩三萬, 猛話自已好鐘意聽胆機飲紅酒嗰個同學老公.
到底怎樣才算得上中產？香港最近有個官方定義, 月薪2萬到5萬港幣完全可以被示為中產. 除此以外, 教育背景, 專業, 生活模式也是定義因素之一.

講咁耐結論是... 下回再續.

連結 - 香港該如何應對“中產下流化”時代？

又買嘢...

又忍唔住買咗少少嘢.

Sunday blue

星期日黃昏過後總是悶悶不樂. 原因不用多講.
好不容易等到周末, 時間總是過得太快.
到了星期日黃昏, 是時候收拾心情上班. 之前一個礼拜的疲倦都還未恢復, 又要迎接下一個礼拜的來臨. 時間就是這樣過去, 到底我在等什麼?

As simple as that

I dropped my phone on the ground real hard. Everything was erased. Contacts and old SMS messages sent and received.
Sometimes, I wish my brain work that way as well.

米芝連三星主廚

噚日, 顧先生請食飯. 米芝連三星主廚@Sheraton Taipei.
到步才知這个是蠻exclusive的飯局. 在坐十位都是顧先生的友好, 我都略略見過.

侍應替我倒了香檳. 眼前一亮. 但是還是要等主人家舉杯, 才可呷第一口. 開始上菜, 第一道是不知名的前菜. 白酒來了. 然後是蠔湯, 上面用泡末蓋住, 保持溫度. 不錯. 接住是鵝肝松露餃子. 味道鮮甜, 但兩顆實在太少了. 再上的是魚, 一般而已. 然後是咖哩龍蝦. 好味, 如果可以配白飯更佳.

紅酒時間. 我有點醉意. 上牛肉之前, 來個sobert. 跟着就是甜品, 咖啡或茶. 盛惠每位9900, 不包酒水. 席間不時要你敬我我敬你, "酒是不可以自己飲的"...err...

Citysuper

Citysuper 是我的好朋友.
農曆年後都很忙, 這星期都八點才下班. 我知道我需要逛街解悶減壓.
不能再亂買, 我答應自己.

決定今晚去復興Sogo走走, 必要時到Citysuper花錢亦只是有限.
逛Citysuper跟逛一般百貨公司的分別是那份投入感. 推着購物車的一刻, 我便容入了店裡. 沒有售貨員喊"歡迎光臨", 我卻有賓至如歸的感覺. 富士的草毒賣399. 我把鼻子探過去嗅一嗅, 好幸福的香味呵... 這樣就夠了, 不用買. 霜降牛肉, 特價...79. 好肥美呀!明後天都不會在家吃飯, 還是買了一包, 留待礼拜六餸泡面吃. 走到賣水的兩排架子中間, 研究了好久, 結果嫌太貴沒買. 接下來是冰其淋. 選好便打開冰箱伸手去拿. 明治抹茶味, 50. 再拿了一包Wasabi青豆, 75元.
經過糖果架, 我停了下來仔細研究每一盒日本進口玩具糖果. 居然有"香港茶歺廳"玩具. 有本事的話, 仲有机会抽到奶茶壺連絲襪. 賣240, 太貴.

美中不足的就是走到收銀員面前, 他一定要你回答三个問題. 1. 有沒有Happy Go 集點咭; 2. 有沒有Citysuper 会員咭; 3. 要不要打統編. 沒有沒有不要. 好煩呀！

OK, 花了總共500有找. 開心晒!

自然定律

大自然的定律是永恆的.

理論1: 原來女人腰圍豐滿其中原因是壓カ太大.

理論2: 調查指出, 大多數男人的理想女性是擁有細小纖腰的.

結合以上的理論, 女士想最較受男士歡迎的話, 盡量讓自己遠離壓力. 即是不要讓自己工作太辛苦.

一個人的旅行

從新加坡到台北, 我都喜歡把自己打扮成隱形人 = Cap 帽+ iPod. 從前是害怕在街上碰到不該碰到的人, 但漸漸我愛上這樣的打扮. 好處是不用看人, 也不讓人看到; 不用聽, 也聽不到.

少了修飾外表的壓力, 亦避開別人為你一個人吃飯, 一個人睇电影給予的同情眼光. 一整天不用講超過八句話. 所有時間和空間都屬於我的. 可以非常集中, 去想自己的事情, 去看我喜歡的東西.

可能我已經不再需要同伴了.

選擇

今日去買咗塊手寫板, 以後可以用中文寫blog.

卅歲前後, 我有所領悟. 就係呢个世界有兩種人, 一. 有選擇既人; 二. 無選擇既人.
舉例: 聽日一定要早起番工, 無選擇, 好痛苦. 或者聽日放假, 可以選擇早点起身去嘆个早歺, 可以好享受. 只要一個人有得揀, 一切都變得暢快得多. 同樣道理可以apply落:-
返工 (如果老豆大把, 可以学Paris Hilton 咁敗家)
放假 (可以係上頭叫你交低槍同證件, 放下假)
結婚 (盲婚啞嫁!? 定係比外母迫?)
住埋 (要靠男人先有瓦遮頭?)
湊仔 (...)
上床 (...)
飲酒 (...)
陪笑 (主要指陪老細...)
玩bungy jump (有錢收另計)

tranquilizer

5pf always calmed my year-end/ new year frustrations by telling me "cos' your bday is approaching, therefore you find things around in chaos. Once you passed your bday, everything will be alright."

Starting all over again

Year of Pig is approaching.

While I was whining about receiving 5 wedding invitations for this year, I just got one cancellation.

I felt sorry for my good friend yet she admitted this might be a good move. It is better than becoming a divorcee two years later. Her case gave me another prospective of marriage, that is, marriage is not about the two people, but the two families. Yeah, marriage is a union, but the responsibility is just so big that I can't imagine at this point.

Having the 5 year relationship broken, everything is starting over again.

日出大地的乳酪蛋糕

the Holiday

Wise choice once again. I went to watch the movie solo so that I can be indulged into it.

Holiday, a romantic comedy. I cried over the comedy, as I couldn't agree more with the heroines. And that's why 5pf recommended the movie.

Couldn't help my tear over what the heroine, Iris said...

"Because you're hoping you're wrong. And every time she does something that tells you she's no good, you ignore it. And every time she comes through and suprises you, she wins you over, and you lose that argument with yourself, that she's not for you."

"It doesn't matter how many new haircuts you get, or gyms you join, or how many glasses of chardonnay you drink with your girlfriends... you still go to bed every night going over every detail and wonder what you did wrong or how you could have misunderstood. and how in the hell for that brief moment you could think that you were that happy. And sometimes you can even convince yourself that he'll see the light and show up at your door. And after all that, however long all that may be, you'll go somewhere new. and you'll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again. And little peices of your soul will finally come back. And all that fuzzy stuff, those years of your life that you wasted, that will eventually begin to fade."


P.S. Jude Law is so handsome that my heart is tweaking.

Is it a dream??

Everything still seems surreal to me.

Talking about Norah Jones again

I remember I talked about it before in the blog.

You may have forgotten, but my memory is still fresh.
Norah Jones' third album just released. The familiar Jones style ballad jazz. Intro comes with piano and then her deep sexy vocal. I felt heavy in my heart and goosebumps grew all over my arms.

It is an reaction to the memory of you and your "fairy tales", remembering your effort to impress me by picking the best looking shirt, pants and shoes for our dinner date. Looking at me with your watery eyes, you said you could count on me bringing you little gift almost everytime we met. You said, only until you got the courage, I broke the news of leaving for Taipei. Otherwise, we would be an item.

And I won't forget the awkwardness when I last met you.

Dictionary

There is dictionary for everything. Learning never stops.

Urban dictionary
found when i googled "McDreamy"
http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Coxford Singlish Dictionary
found when i googled "LoBang"
http://www.talkingcock.com/html/lexec.php?op=LexView&lexicon=lexicon

One good reason for why it's great to turn 30

Reason #1

Turning 30 means you're more mature, but still young enough to be HOTHOT HOT. No wrinkles until at least after 40!

Quoted from S.poon

I can't breath, I can't breath

I was in pain and I cried.
Crying until I was out of breathe.
A brown paper bag might help to get back my breathe.

The lost hurt me. And it still hurts.

I imagined. I was to catch you unexpected.
How would we act? I wondered.
You know what? I would just pretend that I had never known you.

Grey's Anatomy

It's a disease.
I am addicted to watching the drama Grey's Anatomy.

Whenever I am not occupied, I think of watching it. It is worse then LOST and Sex & the City... Now you see why my blog is not updated for long...

New Toy

It costs less than a discounted Sergio Rossi shoe (yes, one shoe) or a handle of a Tod's leather bag, but the joy is definitely more than double. It is a petite silver Giant (Taiwanese Brand) foldable bike.

I intend to ride it to work, to visit my friends (mainly steph & jessie), to eat brunch, to go shopping... It also helps me to befriend with the enviornment and to keep fit. Simply having the thought of it is fun!

Villa 32

A day with back to back schedule. Felina's yoga class, hair cut, facial and hotspring cum dinner at Villa 32.

See the shots taken at Villa 32:

Spoiled kid

Hello~ strawberry over Moet on a Thursday night?

Ugly girl

Chatting with a friend over lunch.

I suggested her to remove her glasses and put some make up on. That would make her look good, I thought. She shook her head and said her boyfriend gave very negative comments whenever she put on make up. He said she looks ugly with make up.

Whenever she wore a skirt, he complained about her walking too slow.

I wonder who on earth does not appreciate pretty lady. The boyfriend's comment is just about jealousy and insecurity. I sympathise the girl. Just as other sympathise me not having a partner for life yet.

Story of my Dom Perignon 98

I have bought my very first bottle and decided to pop it open at the next happy occassion.
Yeah, there wil be a next happy occassion.

Isn't it an optimistic act?

Holiday

我跟你講...

I am going to sit in front of my laptop for at least 2 hours non-stop (without any sort of interuption).

Purple

Taken from Grand Hyatt Taipei

眉來眼去

Without anybody noticed, the first time happened on the dancefloor while she was dancing with someone else.

The second time, she was holding hands with someone else.

And the third time, she was making out with another person.

He saw her as a challenge. He decided to seduce her and win her over.

1st sunrise

the very first sun rise of the island in 2007 taken at Hua Lian.

along with the witness of first sun rise, I have prepared a list of new year wishes/ resolutions to share. watch out for the next entry.

2007

Reborn.

p.s. Dear Vegetarian, there is no need for you to kill life unnecessarily!

Marsian and Venetian

Women love talking; Men love watching TV.

That's why we ended up watching Doha sailing game on TV that night with little conversation in between.

Merry Christmas

Beef steak, pesto for my pasta, some jamon. That's what I got for my christmas evening.
Everything turned out to be perfect, besides I only found out when I got home I ran out of spaghetti. So I made "pesto al instand noodles" instead.

Merry Christmas.

Turn left, turn right

Both of them were each carrying a heavy rock on their back, turned and walked the opposite directions. She turned her head one or two times to look for assistance, but not successful as he was walking further and further away without turning his head.

Right
Became deaf and dumb since carrying the rock. Fighting alone, finding justifications for the instance love and hate. Without any alternative, hypnotise oneself during weekdays nine to seven.

Left
Waking up, feeling human again after the instance love and hate. Isolated oneself from the outside world in confusion of the bitter sweet resulted from falling in love with a self-projection.

Both would carry their rock until they reach a desserted place, then leave it there when no one sees and move on.

Christmas 2006, Taipei

There would be only holiday mood, if there is a holiday. No holiday, no mood.
Still, I tried to kept my schedule occupied. Through out the day, I was busy thinking.

Self Hypnosis

That is it.

I fell into self hyponosis in the train. My eyes were set on the sunset outside the window. I felt like riding on a flying carpet all the way to Dan Shui.

我想要學會自我催眠　痛覺會少一些

自我催眠 by 羅志祥

P.S. Cafe

5pf and D brought me to P.S. Cafe at Harden Road. A hidden cafe in the middle of "quiet" Dempsey Road. I knew I am going to like the place when I stepped into the cafe. "Why can't I stay in this country for longer?" I asked in slience.

I ordered myself a "Coconut and Caraway Waffles" starked with saute bananas and crispy bacon dizzled with natural maple. Can anything be more sinful than this? Then I set my eyes with the decorated pine tree in the middle of the cafe, appreciating the fragrance of fresh pine. Yeah, we have sat there for as long as we want. That's simply luxurious!

The hell with love

the very first poem in the book "The Hell with Love - poems to mend a broken heart"

you fit into me

you fit into me
like a hook into an eye

a fish hook
an open eye

Margaret Atwood

is that me?

Looking into the mirror, I asked, is that me?
Could I be more calm?

I learnt. I grew.

Why I hate Singapore (as reminded this round)

I know, it is a bit too much of evaluation after the trip. Promise this is the last piece about my trip. I tend to remember the plus rather than the minus, be it for boys or for places. I was all excited about my Nth visit to Singapore. Not long after I have arrived, I was reminded to my face why I hate Singapore.

• Queuing at Cold Storage. The super slow cashier took 5 mins, counting the thousand cents paid by the one customer in front of me.
• Insecure Taxi driver who showed impatient about waiting on meter for 3 mins.
• Pouring in the midst of day and all cabs are "ON CALL".
• At 3:45pm, 8 people were in line for special customer service at DBS Orchard branch. At 4:45pm, still 8 people in the line.
• Smell old coconut oil cooking banana at the underpass connecting Tang's, Scott Rd and Orchard Rd.
• Bad traffic into Orchard combine with lay-back cab driver.
• Limited TV channels to flip. Chanel 5, Chanel 8 and Chanel News Asia.

I wish I could stay longer to find out more to add to the list above.

Tour of self discovery

Every visit to Singapore, I learnt something new. Here are things that I have learnt this round: -

• Sailing race live on TV could not be borer than Diving.
• Starhub sucks.
• Lychee martine at Wine Bar is still the best.
• I am different (or outright weird) and that is not my fault.
• Mistakes shouldn't be repeated.
• 5 days in Singapore is still too short to do everything I wanted.
• The feeling is super good having a hair do before wedding banquet.
• Get the hint early and stop pursuing (point well shared with S.H. who learnt from the same mistake)
• (this is nothing new but is quadruple confirmed) a GOOD friend is someone who is still willing to lend her listening ears and give constructive comments even if she knew it is the same story repeated for the seventh time.

LOST in the air

Taxi uncle confirmed that the SMS services provided by Starhub and Singtel are not reliable lately. Mostly because of the migration from 3G to 4G. Delay or message lost happened frequently. Not sure where the source of information came from, but who cares.

Be it true or be it a white lie from a kind hearted person, it makes little difference to me. Sometimes, some messages better kept unread. It could be good to everyone if it was just lost in the air.

7:30 am

I am impressed by myself for getting up as per scheduled. As Jasmine said, if you ought to do something, you will be able to do it. It's all depend on your will power within.

Wireless @ SG

can't wait to get connected today. So I left hotel earlier than scheduled and now I am sitting at Starbucks enjoying the "wireless @ SG" for free. It took me at least 20 mins to figure out how to get connect.

I have to admit, the feeling of getting "connect" is soooo.... warm. Opps, that's sick.

If I were living in the world of Harry Potter

Sitting in front of the familiar big white wall, I am in pain.

I am born to be a muggle and it is proven for dozon failures of running through the same white wall. Repeatedly, it resulted to be me sitting on the ground in helplessness, bleeding in pain. But I am a stubbornly persistant person and believe I could be the ultimate invisible man.

I kept practising the magic of walking through the wall and hope one day I can do it. I thought I have learnt it in the past 15 months and should be able to handle it.

Okay, I annouce another failure. The injury is not as bad as before. May be the skin is thinkened as I grow old.

My Little Darling, Kevin

Second episode

I would rate the show three and a half stars out of five. It was just like a movie with lots of promotion which made you excited and longing to get into the theatre and to enjoy the show. All the plots were publisized and no surprise left. As the show went on, each move was within calculation. Things ought to happen happened, only with a little delay. All the entertainment and joy was expected in the show and was confined during the show. It is not gonna be a trilogy. That’s the way it is.

After the show, everybody went home as usual. No take away, no afterthought nor further discussion on the plot is needed.

Oct 1999

I started working for the bank in October 1999. VW was my direct senior. He has been my mentor and my role model always. Today, He called and told me, he is going to resign tomorrow. My heart sinked.

Although he will no longer be working in the same organisation, we will still be good brother-sister.

Christmas Greetings from Daan Park

Get set, Go

I am going to spread my wings in 4 days time. A wedding, a reunion and a holiday to my second home.

Things may be a bit different this time, but there is still the same level of excitement. I am busy getting prepared over the weekend. Haircut, facial, manicure, christmas shopping etc. I even got myself a book to read for the trip. I am so excited to head on a holiday which I am going to spend every minute the way I want, with people that I love and at places that I like.

Yeah, remember to get my camera charged and it's time to bring my suitcase out for packing.

期待是最美麗的.

無風的秋季

The weather reminded me the last time I receive flowers.

陽光 滲著微塵 輕輕暖透 我的心
床邊 縱是無人 收到你這信 亦最吸引
像你的聲音 自遠而近 我是份外入神
逝去的光陰 又再重溫 故事段段動人
難忘是當天你 在無風的秋季
別去的一剎 留低的一切
但這一封信無聲的飄到
像往昔一切 回憶的洗禮
這感覺 是最珍貴
黃昏 看著途人
彷彿聽見你關心
如今縱沒同行
收到你這信 亦最吸引
像你的聲音自遠而近 我是份外入神
逝去的光陰又再重溫 故事段段動人

溫泉蛋

蛋白加熱至攝氏56 度開始黏稠, 58 度白濁化, 62 度果凍化, 80 度完全熱凝固。
另一方面，蛋黃自攝氏64 度開始黏稠, 70 度完全熱凝固. 所以若以這些溫度資訊來看，在攝氏70 至75 度水中煮蛋就可獲得溫泉蛋。

shake head

I shake head at myself.

Why am I so frustrated?
What I should do is, to take a deep breathe, think and then talk.

Dance like no one is watching

Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you'll never be hurt.
Dance like no one is watching.

Quote from Satchel Paige

Dinner tonight

looks good, huh!?

Therapy

Three therapies for my stressful work days this week (appology for those who works with me as I am a total bitch this week).

Tuesday : Moet, moet and shanghainese. Great ambience at MP, a champagn guy never leave our circle more than 10 meters, getting ready to refill our empty glasses. Running here and there checking out the secret VIP areas of the place was fun.

Wednesday : Back Acrh at yoga. My lower back was screaming while I worked to raise it. Once I straightened my arms and bended my upper body, I felt like an aeroplane just took off from the running, leaving the rough path and reveal to a bright blue sky.

Thursday : Laughing out loud. Watching "Whose line is it anyway" live at Carnegies, I was laughing so hard. After the show, I was walking home alone and realised that I have not laugh for a long time. What a destressed!

almost 4000 hits

i just checked the counter of my blog, almost reaches 4000 hits (despite about 2500 hitted by myself).

Busy week. Opening cocktail at MP tomorrow. Yoga or dinner with Carol on Wednesday. "Whose line is it anyway" live at Carnagies on Thursday. Champagn lunch (all-you-can-drink moet) on Friday (wonder if I can take afternoon off). On top of that, I have two major projects on hand - makeover and tidy my house and preparing my homemade Christmas gift for close friends.

One more, a special one might visit Taipei next week......

Meanwhile, I am listening to 張敬軒 over and over on my little white.

收納達人

I somehow felt sorry for myself living in such messy apartment. Whose fault is it? Me. So I spent TWD2500, shopped at Daisu and Ikea and bought a bunch of 收納 stuff, in order to give my apartment a makeover.

Kitchen - The cupboard is not big enough, so all my dishes (big and small) are stacked together without order. So, I bought a dish stand and 2 plastic decks. With these, I tidy up my kitchen cupboard. I replaced the oversized shelf with a right sized one for my utencils and instand noodles.

Living Room - got 4 new cushion covers. Winter theme.

Store Room - major made over. I am planning to turn my store room into a walk in closet. So I have bought 2 racks for hanging clothes. And shift the oversize shelf from kitchen to put my jeans and knits.

Bedroom - I bought a few plastic basket to sort my small items.

Bathroom - I have bought a little stick-on-the-wall dish for my little green sponge; two plastic containers for my one-day disposible contact lens, one for left and one for right :)

My place is now awefully messy. I will spend the next days to tidy it up. Once I am done, I will show you how it looks.

Foolish game

A song that I have repeated at least 100 times and cried over 50. It was his favourite and we had our time listening to it together. Probably, it was her favourite too. Whenever I heard the introduction of the song, there was a strong feeling of loneliness and hollowness. That was the past.

Today, the sad truth is set in front of me. Through out the phone conversation, I found him being illogical and inconsistence in all aspects. I pointed it out and he argued back. The way he talked convinced me he is a bit abnormal. You know. Just like the movie "Sixth Sense", being so scared of ghost through out the whole movie, Bruce Willis found that he himself is actually "the ghost" at the end. I always heard about his complaints of his other half being unreasonable. Has anybody ever thought of the problem is actually on him?

Afterall, I should be glad that I was not involved in this foolish game and never bet my future on an untruthful.

You took your coat off and stood in the rain, You were always crazy like that
I watched from my window,
Always felt I was outside looking in on you
You were always the mysterious one
With dark eyes and careless hair, You were fashionably sensitive, but too cool to care
You stood in my doorway, with nothing to say
Besides some comment on the weather
Well in case you failed to notice, In case you failed to see, This is my heart bleeding before you, This is me down on my knees, these foolish games are tearing me apart
Your thoughtless words are breaking my heart
You're breaking my heart
You were always brilliant in the morning. Smoking your cigarettes, and talking over coffee
You philosophies on art, baroque moved you,You loved mozart and youd speak of your loved ones
As I clumsily strummed my guitar
Excuse me, guess I've mistaken you for somebody else
Somebody who gave a damn, Somebody more like myself

You took your coat off and stood in the rainYou were always crazy like that

"Foolish games" ~ jewel

Desire

Definition: a longing or craving, as for something that brings satisfaction or enjoyment

Desire, to me, is a very powerful engine in life. Only if there is desire, that motivates one to work for satisfaction. Earn money to satisfy my materialist desire; Crame myself with GMAT to satisfy my desire in academic advancement; Please another person to satisfy my desire of love. In economics terms, theory bases on assumption of human having unlimited desire, yet there is limited resources. Therefore there is scarcity and one has to make choice.

In contrary, in Buddhsim, desire lies at the root of suffering. By desire, Buddhists refer to craving pleasure, material goods, and immortality, all of which are wants that can never be satisfied. "菩提本無樹，明鏡亦非臺；本來無一物，何處惹塵埃."

There is no right or wrong. It's all about one's choice and be responsible for his choice.

All day Brunch

Having brunch is a luxury, not in monetary term, rather in terms of time and company.

Without haste, my friend and I were sitting at the restaurant, enjoying the egg dishes, toast and coffee, chatting under the day light for hours. I had two brunches in a row on Sat and Sun, at Diner and 好樣餐桌.

Slow down, take your time and enjoy life.

extraordinary news

I got three of them in the same week.

A long lost teddy asks me out for dinner on the day I arrive Singapore. Even offer to pick me up from the airport *o*

boss gave me a pad on the shoulder and said the company recognised my effort. I will be rewarded properly *O*

I have just seen the picture of my best buddy's better half. *0*

I have had enough of it and hope this is it for the week.

It's photoshop time again

It is actually a "come back" of using photoshop. The long-lost artist is back. This is my first piece of work. My skill yet to be polished.

The apprentice

I know it's a bit outdated to watch "The apprentice" only by now. Seriously, I am addicted to it and just got it finished on DVD. 5pf always knows that I am a fan of Donald Trump. It's a little joke came up at our trip to New York in 2004.

Watching until 1 or 2am very night, I have some take aways definitely.

• one shouldn't get too emotional with his or her work and workmates. Head should dictate over heart.
• one should love his or her task and believe in what he or she is selling, otherwise one will not do well in his or her job.
• Negotiation is one of the most essential skill to be possessed
• Manage your boss, to the very minute.

Get real, go to bed now. Be at work on time tomorrow.

Life-long partner

Can't sleep on Sunday night, what a cliche.

Powered on my computer and surfed the web. In "Friendster", I came across three newly wedded who have published their steaming fresh photos from their banquet. In the same week, I was told about two divorces and met the divorced men (why "divorcee" only describes women?). In both cases, children are affected.

What about me? I felt suffocated when thinking of it. Is marriage a stage of life one must go through? Just like an undergrad degree? (must-have; without one, life is kinda tough) Or an MBA? (good to have, yet also needs to consider the ROI and oppportunity cost of pursuing).

On Saturday, I watched "the Banquet" on DVD at home. The movie presented another extreme of marriage, a tool for power, fame and wealth, nothing related to love.

At the end of the day, is it more important to find someone to marry to, or to find love? I think having ones wedding pictures shot in Italy is nothing to be proud of.

Blush on the cheeks *o*

Brunch @ Belair, Grand Hyatt

崇拜慳D

Woke up at noon, I fed myself with over ten movie trailers from Apple.com. 我快要營養不良喇!

Then, I went to the newly opened cafe outside my apartment. I had a cup of milk tea and beef noodle, along with the latest issue of "Milk". I rushed to load my brain with the words I scanned through my eyes. I am too hungry for spiritual food after five days of junk.

Saturday is the best day in a week.

Just like a 40-year-old would no longer be able to hear the high pitch ring tone (test if you are young enough to hear). Everyone has the hearing ability to such pitch since they were born. The ability is then gone as it has not been used. After reading about this, I am scared that I might no longer be creative if I keep suppressing my ideas as they pop up at my work cubicle.

One day, I would be satisfied with producing "can painting" (罐頭油畫).

Remark: about the topic, yes, it is irrelevant to my article.

Contradictions

Waiting at comestic counter in one of the highest traffic department stores, among the people mountain people sea, a familar feeling striked me. It reminded me of the uneasy yet aspiring feeling when I was waiting for him at Suntec last August.

Remote yet close; strange yet familar; distant yet intimate. The contradictions just amplify consciousness in life.

伊華水果棉花糖

One of my many additions. I saw them available at Jason's in Taipei. I happily bought one pack and almost finished it the same night.

Savasana

It is the final relaxation posture in a yoga session. That is my favourite and the whole point for the 90 mins long yoga practise. During savasana tonight, I passed out. It felt so good and I haven't had such relaxation for a long time.

Love Paris

It sounds lame to say "I love Paris". Well, I do.

I only made one comment "I think Paris is a nice city", the couple besided me bladded their way down the escalator, saying "oh, I have been to Paris for so many times but I never find it beautiful. I think New York is better."; "How come everybody love Paris? Everybody says Paris is nice but I never share that." Well... I kept quiet. I didn't want to let them know that I thought the comments they made just reflected how shallow they were. Too shallow to accept differences of others.

While the city appeared on the theatre screen, I had an idea. I want to make Paris as another familiar city as Taipei, Singapore, Hong Kong or Tokyo to me.

成功與失敗

Here I am talking about life.

Is it for others to judge if you live a successful life or not? What are the "criteria" for a successful life? Fame, money, love, health, knowledge? If a person got one of the above yet has forgone the rest, is this person leading a successful life? Is the result more important than the process?

Well, these are philosophical questions.

Life is not perfect

To me, knowing the fact that life could not be perfect is a bit disappointing. I can do nothing but to accept. Also, everyone has their issues in life. 從表面來看, 只是我看你好, 你看我好.

可以做的只有把自己的做好, 向目標前進.

random thoughts

Many weird dreams recently. They are so stranged that can't be explained.

A lot have happened around me. Yeah, they didn't happen to me, but around me. I was witnessing all these as a third person. Seemed like watching people riding on roller coaster. Wedding, new job, passing exam, vacation, receiving flowers...

Life is not the same for me. New hair style brings new life, new glasses, new shoes and new bag.

The weather is getting cooler. Autumn reminds me it is a new round of life in Taipei. It is my favourite time of the year.

Together with my sister, I would like to show my gratitude to our father. He is working very hard for the best of his two beloved daughters.

The desire to advance is still strong, yet the timetable is slightly adjusted. It is for the better.

Kimu Taku

He is the coolest.

click here to view
here as well
and here too

news: 由日本雜誌「anan」舉辦的「最受歡迎男星」選舉，木村拓哉已連續13年拿下第一寶座

Strategist

According to the result of the BBC 'What Am I Like?' personality test, I am a Strategist: Spontaneous (rather than Plan); Ideas (rather than Fact); Head (rather than Heart); Introvert (rather than Extrovert).

Summary of Strategists:

• Quiet, easy-going and intellectually curious
• Use logical, objective thinking to find original solutions to problems
• Think of themselves as bright, logical and individualistic
• May be impractical, forgetting practical issues, such as paying bills or doing the shopping

Do the test and tell me your personality.

換個角度看

新髮型......

沒有營養的雞勒

吃呀吃, 吃啊吃
沒有營養便不會胖,
放心吃吧.

吃兩個月雞勒, 換法國大餐, 多吃一點唷!!!

Today - a turning point

New haircut, new life.

Major shopping. Shoes, jackets, knit, shirt, pants, cosmetics, snacks, etc. Cost me a few grants.

New timetable. A jumble 9 weeks plan! If I have no faith in myself, who does?

Fear

My days are short. Each last for 12 hours with breaks in between.
This is an escape. An escape from finding the answer, from the fear.
What if letting everything status quo? Nothing is wrong.

I cannot look into my eyes in the mirror.

One failure decided my fate? Just one failure.
I do not owe anyone any answer. If I do, I owe it to myself.

By end of next week, I will find myself two.

Tired...

7 years. I am damn tired about it.

Norah Jones

On airport express, I have an urge for Norah Jones' jazz. Turn on my white machine and had the headset plugged into my ears, I was brought back in time... Back to the Norah Jones concert on 27th Feb 2005. I could feel my shoulder was rubbing against that of my neighbour...

With my eyes closed, I could feel the light running outside the train window.

My clock always has the same problem. Both the hour and minute arms are turning anti-clockwise occassionally...

對生命有感覺嗎?

開心, 滿足, 憤怒, 希望, 期待, 激動, 憂鬱, 渴望...

剛剛看完 "奇蹟的夏天" 回來, 我問自己... 對生命有感覺嗎?

有感而發, 大喊... '我二十九歲, 我在為理想努力...'
只要盡力, 我便贏了!

Value

Well, being a person who appreciates experience in life, I have no regret being away from home for the past 3 years. Afterall, I treasure all the friendships I have gained in these years.

My father once told me, according to the Buddist saying, the probability of 2 related person meeting is extremely low. Don't know where the statistic comes from, he said, the next time you meet the person who sat next to you on star ferry this morning will be 200 million years later. Well, that shows how precious for you to meet someone and become friends (not to mention becoming boyfriend/ girlfriend)...

Thank you for all the friends I met on the road I travelled in the past 36 months...

Naive

Everytime we sat together, he would tell me, he was proud that we were still in touch. Why should he be proud while I have been the one who dedicate to preserve the relationship? I made every effort to keep the relationship alive. What has he done?

Two weeks ago, I decided to unplug and kill the 8-year relationship, as I did not see any point to continue giving endlessly. I am tired to be the one always taking the initiative. If he doesn't care, why should I?

I bury all the memories with no regret. I am just hopeless, period.

2 faces of Eve

Putting as much make-up as I can to make my small eyes look BIG. Deep blue, aqua green, black with gold dust...

Thinking Jay's new song deserves the top of the billboard, while asking why David Tao's can't stay at the top for longer...

Working my ass off on GMAT. Telling my boss I am going to devote 120% effort for the bank.

Knowing the fact that I am running out of time for the GMAT preparation, I am still laying my eyes on "The Amercian next top model"...

Why do you "google" me?

Tell me, have you ever google him or her or yourself?

Simply heartwarming

Arriving early to the client appointment, I simply wanted an escape from the office. I was 15 mins early while my client was 30 mins late. How much time has I been waiting? (sounds like a GMAT quantitative question) The correct answer is 45 mins. Painless because I have all the reason on earth to do my favourite passtime - daydreaming. Shut down almost for the whole 45 mins, besides ordering my kiwi juice and tea.

At lunch, I was giving an exaggerating speech in front of my customers. At the corner of my eyes, I saw him from his back. I thought I have mistaken. His sms to me said I was correct.

Anyways, after waving good bye to my clients, I quickly ran to the meeting place, sat down and ordered myself a coffee. Within minutes, he was there sitting beside me. We started chatting about everything. Topics ranged from coffee without sugar, how much is my rent, fat girl vs smart fat girl, pastime, Singapore... Just half an hour coffee break, I felt like coming out from a therapy.

Well, nothing complicated, it was just a heartwarming coffee break.

The agenda

This is a record of the low tide of my "career". I could be laughing at this entry by next September.

I have been the golden boy. It's time for me to learn a lesson. To learn that I am too honest, too much of integrity. These are the basic values in life, but not necessary valuable in the living jungle. Too bad that I am not the kind of person who can sleep well after covering up lies with bigger lies.

From today on, no genuine smile will be found in the office (well, office ain't a place for genuine smile, if you need one, do it at home). Everything is a fake. Just as faking an orgasm as you are pay to spread your legs and to satisfy your customer. In exchange, it is money.

It is just 11 minutes. Everything will be alright afterwards.

At the dinner table tonight, everyone seems to have something to bitch about their job but me. I am just indifference. I have no feeling nor passion about my job. I am just faking it. I am just faking it for the money.

What is in a relationship?

Being single, I always think grass is greener on the other side. In fact, it might not be true. Girls who are married or attached have their sets of problem. Their problems could be much complicated and draining than mine as they involve another human being, which is one of the most complicated creature on earth. Well, this has been discussed over a hundred times in Sex and the City.

Hang loose and click to view a cross over clip of Sex and the City and Matrix from YouTube: When Carrie meets Neo...

when I still enjoyed swimming...

I haven't swam for a long time, a serious swim, I mean. Not even when I was in Singapore, where there is a nice pool at my condo. It was just too bored to swim alone. Too bored to swim without competition.

I used to be in the school team and my specialty is free-style. I could finish 50 meter in 36 seconds. That was history.

I seem to be motivated when competition exists. To prove that I could do better than the others, I am willing to put extra effort. Just as now, I am spending most of my time preparing my GMAT. It is a competition too. BTW, I got 590 this week. Getting better.

Well, now I know why I am dragging myself to work everyday without enthusiaum.

Tokidoki... a beginning of an obsession

I am not alone...

BBS in the past, internet forum, discussion group nowadays are one of the best creations of the century. People discuss about everything on the net. Anything that is of your interest, there is almost a discussion threat.

My hot topic of coures is GMAT. I am reading latest discussions every night before bed. From the forum, I learn others study strategies and plans. Then I adjust mine a bit accordingly. Peer influence is very important. Reading the discussion encourages me through the painful time (not that I am very hard working, yet I have also sacrefised my "The Apprentice" re-runs on TV)

Here is a quote which enlightened me: -

First and foremost, you have to keep reminding yourself that your GMAT score is a direct function of the time and effort you put into preparation. Sure, you need a fair amount of intelligence.

The more I studied, the more I became convinced of this simple fact -- your score is NOT an intelligence gauge, it is a reflection of how well you have prepared for this specific test, how good you've become at answering GMAT questions. It's quite a narrow study area, and it CAN be mastered.

If you don't already have an 800 score, realize that every hour of preparation will improve your ability to score high on the GMAT.

quoted from Testmagic.com

blur like sotong

I came across this on the net. Hilarious! It said Singlish is an economical lauguage by counting how many syllables you can save while speaking.

English / Singlish

Hello, here is my passport. / Nah.
Where do I go to collect my luggage? / Take bag go where, ah?
You mean chewing gum is prohibited in Singapore? / Gum cannot, meh?
What shall we have for dinner this evening? / Tonight eat what, ah?
I' m open to suggestions. / Anything also can.
Do you have a reservation? / You early-early call, not?
Yes, it's reserved under the name “Tan”. / My name 'Tan'!
This way to your table, please. / Come!
What would you recommend? / Here got what, ah?
Our speciality is fine European haute cuisine. / Ang mor makan, lor.
Would you recommend this dish? / This dish how, ah?
It's alright. / Can, lah.
The steak here is exceptional. / Here the steak is tok kong.
We also have a fine selection of pasta. / Also got mee.
Perhaps the fettucine or linguine? / Mee pok, mee kia, also got.
Would you care to sample our desserts? / You want lizard?
May I have the bill, please? / (mime signing cheque)
The prices here are rather steep. / Wah, here damn ex, man.
Next time, I'd rather eat at a hawker center. / Go hawker center also better!

Singish was what disgusted me first when I settled in the country. But, it was also what I carried away with when I left the country.

Sofia

I was reading an article about Sofia Coppola. She is referred as "the icon". I think she is cool.

Before, I knew her as the daughter of Francis Coppola. She directed movies like Virgin Suicide, Lost in Translation (one of my favourite movies under the "heavy" catagory) and recent Marie Antoinette.

Besides being a director (the first female nominee ever for Oscar best director), she is also a designer, a photographer and a "muse" (products inspired by her, e.g. Sofiamini). She is an "icon" who people follows. Whatever item picked by her, be it a handbag or a pair of panties, it will become the trend. What impressed me was this: "a New York girl who never boost about how many pairs of Manolo she has and insists to wear flats as she likes. She has such heck care attitude simply because she wore Chanel since 11"

lost and found

I went ballistic last night when I realised I have lost my belt. A little black belt. I got out of bed at 2:00am and started searching for it. It was not at the usual spot in my closet. Then I turned my store room upside down and still couldn't find it. After 15 mins search, I sat myself down and tried to think hard where it could be. But I couldn't figure out.

Then I walked into the store room again and saw the little belt hanging on the back of a chair. I found it. I went back to my bed and sleep.

By the way, during the search, I found the long lost treasury bag, which contains two bracelets and one necklace from Tiffany. They were lost for about a year and have been written off.

Talking about lost items, ask 5pf what happened to me when my phone went missing at my apartment. I am just feeling insecured.

550

An encouraging result from the 2nd mock test today. Of course, there is a long way to reach my target (a.k.a. the bottomline of Insead's admission). So, 不成功, 便成仁.

After the test, I was wondering alone at Citysuper for a bit. Checking out the stationaries which are nicely displayed at store for the new school year. I like the pencils!

I always want to share this with you (but have forgotten for a few times): -

David Blaine, the street magician. I can non-stop watching him to repeat the same tricks to different ppl on AXN for at least an hour. I like the way he approached his "audience". He goes "can I show you something?"...

Lock to be Free

Felina, my yoga instructor, said "Lock your joints, then you can move freely".
It sounds contradicting? But it is true.

Snap

Here are a few snapshots from our tour in Hua Lian last weekend.