Sunday, April 29, 2007

Yay, we got an OFFICE !!!

After 2 full days of walking around in Causeway Bay and looking at (at least) 20+ places with various housing agents, we finally found a place that we all like! We will have an office next week~ How AWESOME is that!!?! ^_^


Interestingly enough, the place that we like the most was the very first place we looked at... (same thing happened to us when we were shopping around for our apt....)











Our new office, nice and big and bright!! (and I really dig the big mirror, hehe....)












Our camera man, Andrei, busily documenting and keeping track of all the places that we have seen.











Next step will be to "solidify" our new office and shop for new desks and chairs!!! Busy week ahead !!!! ^_^

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Dinner @ Soho

Went out to Soho with Christina. Yum yum Indian food... (Though still not as good as my favorite Indian restaurant in SF. I miss the yummy, cheap Chicken Tikka Masala from Chutney!!!)

After dinner we passed by Lan Kwan Fong a little bit, since neither Mike nor I had been there since we moved to Hong Kong.
It was.... as crowded as what I saw on TV~ ;)
(mostly foreigners)

I asked Mike if he felt like "going back home".

His answer was... "I don't think we need to come again..."

"Oh...."














We also got ice cream from Christina's favorite ice cream store, XTC. I finished mine (with Mike's help) in the speed of light~ ^_^ IT WAS SOOOOO GOOD!!!!

Welcome back, boss!!


Our poor little tired boss, after 10 hours of long flight from Moscow back to Hong Kong~

Glad to have you back though, hehe!!!!
^____________________^

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Poodle or ....... Sheep???

From the The Sydney Morning Herald : Japanese fooled in poodle scam

"The scam was uncovered when Japanese movie star Maiko Kawamaki went on a talk-show and wondered why her new pet would not bark or eat dog food."

"... Then hundreds of other women got in touch with police to say they feared their new "poodle" was also a sheep."


Well....

This is a Poodle~























AND

This is a SHEEP!!!!!!











btw, what's up with a Poodle being so much more expensive than a sheep??!?!??!?!!!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

YO!!!! HaPpY BiRtHdAy!!!!

We celebrated Ah Gi and APoon's birthday at Yo Park at Kwan Fong Sunday night. Another noisy girl's fun gathering.. hehe.... ;)

(If you want to see ALL pictures, please go to my Flickr Gallery.)

We went to the newly-opened "Yo Park". It's kinda a "entertainment center" for young people. Good for group gathering.











The birthday couple: APoon and Ah Gi !!!!













The 2-pound mango cake is yummy!~ Fortunately we had enough people to "consume" this gigantic cake...











Knowing Ah Gi for more than 16 years, it's really moving and touching to celebrate her birthday with her again...











HAPPY BIRTHDAY, old buddy!!!! Wish you can be a happy girl all the time!!!























Really happy to be able to gather again with all the SFCC gals after being away in a totally different country for 10 years....

Hope our friendship can keep many many 10 years!!!!








"Wong Fei Hung" V.S. Birthday Cake ?!?!?! ;)













Some ppl can't wait to put on her birthday presents!!!

Ah Gi's new "I.T. Look" !!!

(^_~)/






















We also played this thing (forgot the exact name of the game) - where everybody takes turn to pull out one thing from the bottom of the tower and put the same thing on top to make the tower higher. Whoever makes the tower collapse loses!!









And guess who lost at the end ?!?!
Our beloved Miss Angela~!!!! (though she had put in so much attention in deciding which one to pull out)

Doesn't this picture look like a professionally photographed CD cover picture?! haha....
















We also played UNO over at the other table....












Right to left: MDuck (Winner), Carol Tse (Occasional winner), ME (Loser)

>_<..... Had been so long since I played UNO last time.... I forgot about all the rules....... -_-...




The infamous "girls golden triangle"?!?!









Glamorous shot of Carol Tse -- and her newly straight-permed hair that day =D (yea, actually, the new straight-perm was the "main focus" of this picture....) haha.... ^_~v















Everybody, cheeezezzzz.......














Yo Park is decorated with colorful themes, pretty artistic. (Though I am by no means an artist~ Don't trust my opinion....)


Drinks and snacks are included in the basic admission price. Pretty affordable if you have a big group.






















Tons of local and foreign magazines.








Hehe... and of coz, can't miss the video games...















And lastly, the karaoke video that shows how crazy we really can be!!! (I meant, how crazy we really ARE!!!) Just a warning - this video is not for everybody. If you have any heart condition or can't stand noisy, crazy Cantonese girls... please skip the video below (though you'll be missing out, haha...) By the way, please make sure the volume of your speaker is turned down before watching this video.... ;)


Oh oh oh... just a small clarification - The three Carol*s are not part of this madness --
1. Carol Choi moved to the far left end side of the sofa when they began to say the song (to show that she really was not part of this!).
2. Carol Tse, not as luckily as Carol Choi, was too slow to "escape" the mad crowd and was forced to participate in this video
3. And Carol(ine), i.e., ME ^_^ was safely sitting behind ah Gi, "appreciating" this "amazing" singing scene with a painful tummy (from laughing too hard and too much)!!! ^_____________^



And of coz, thx Helen Li for her ultimate performance - the maddest "white flower oil" dancing queen !!

Friday, April 20, 2007

New TV!!



I Finally Got a TV !!!!!
WowHahahaha.....
(^_~)v

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Old friends. . .

Met with a couple friends from St James Primary School last night. So crazy how our appearance might have changed a bit since we knew each other, but personality-wise. . . nothing has changed at all~ =D

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

WHY??? why......?

Gunman Kills 32 at Virginia Tech In Deadliest Shooting in U.S. History

I have a brother in University, and it hurts to think that he could be killed in a normal school day like this...

What has this world become?

What gives people power to take the life of others? Including those so-called "president" of the whatever countries....

I don't care how much hate you have in mind, towards whoever, what other "serious" excuses, or whatever democracy YOU THINK you are building for anyone - the truth is .... no one has any right to take over life of any innocent people!!!

So mad...... and so sad .......

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Past students dinner to random thoughts on traveling

Went to the Secondary school past students dinner tonight. First time to join events of such kind. No expectation, just thought if I am lucky enough, may be I would see some old classmates that I normally wouldn't have a chance to meet up with...

Food was bad (fortunately, glad that part was never in my expectation!~). Six of us went for dessert and also some snacks at a tea-restaurant afterwards, so tummy was happy~ ^_^ Had so much fun just chatting about old "group" memories, including episodes that weren't part of mine (things that happened after I moved to the US), current love life for "some people", and even a bunch of nonsense stuff... Though we are all now "grown-up", all have our own busy jobs and separate way of living, I could still feel the bond from the old days. It's crazy and ... incredibly warm. \(^_~)/

Another pleasant surprise was to see 2 not-as-close old classmates. They both went abroad for awhile after I left and are now back living in HK. Interesting how people go apart and meet again in random occasions (well... i guess old classmate reunion doesn't count as one of those "random" occasions ^_~ oh well... )

Found out that one of them traveled to South Africa alone and went back to Hong Kong all by land routes!! How CRAZY was that!!! A bit jealous...... ;)

Traveling around the world, backpacking-style, was once one of my biggest dreams. (That somehow got replaced by living in Tokyo and blending into the Japanese society, using my Japanese to the fullest ... and now when I looked back at how that dream turned out .... a bit heart-breaking.... sigh.....)

Anyways, I was looking at her pictures and wondered how it must feel like to see all these cool places and countries !! The kind of bliss and amazement (just by looking at the pictures) already made me want to jump up and down!!
\\\\\\^____________^//////

Though touring around the world backpacking style is probably a bit improbable right now for me (well... many reasons: reality check - infant stage of the startup, $$ situation, and that Mike is a "clean freak" and probably can't bear staying at a hostel, etc), I still want to see those places, may be through multiple shorter, less backpacking-style trips.

I like traveling - the idea of traveling was well-taught by my parents since I was little. I remember how they used to be super busy all year long. One primary compensation for their lack of time for me and my brother was the annual grand family trip. Been to numerous places at that time for that purpose (thx, dad and mom!!) And had been deeply in love with traveling since then. Want to travel even more after I get older - things that you can/will appreciate as an adult usually differ (a lot) from things that you appreciated as a kid.

Why traveling? hmm....

Seeing more of the world helps one realize, not only how big is this world, how small is oneself, but also how FULLY you are living your life!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I enjoyed every single picture that I took in my trips (and don't get me wrong, I'm as far as you can imagine as being a good photographer).

I enjoyed every conversation I had with people that I met on my journey (may them be just a passer-by whom I asked for directions, or a stranger sitting across at the same table in a restaurant, exchanged just a few glances with me).

I enjoyed every single meal or snacks that I had in my trips, especially those that were found randomly but were spectacularly delicious.

I enjoyed the feeling of exchanging and holding any foreign currency in my hands, every single coin and paper bill.

I especially enjoyed every single time when I got lost, holding a map and a compress, trying to figure out which way is north...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Breaking out of your normal routine, experiencing things that are outside of your familiar realm of knowledge, feeling the excitement of being at an unknown place, letting your footsteps take you to the next stop, enjoying getting lost in a complicated crossing...

I don't need to know what the true meaning of life is, I just want to feel that I AM LIVING my life and feel the joy in my heart so great that I need to yell out loud "LIFE IS GOOD!!!"

I am looking forward for my next trip!!! ^_^

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Macau Trip

Since we had been working hard during the whole Easter holiday, it's finally time for us to take a short break (after Easter ended and everyone went back to work, hehe...) --> Macau!!















Many people were surprised that I hadn't been to Macau before, especially while more then half of the friends I met in University were from Macau.

Not only Macau is new to me, I am also a newbie to Casino.

Been to Las Vegas once or twice, but never really set foot in Casinos there, mostly just passing by...











Never been a big fan of gambling, probably got a bit brain washed by all those gambling movies about how gamblers are reckless and easily lose all their money and family... I know that's a bad stereotype, but... just can't help it - I don't like gambling.

Mike disagreed and claimed that gambling can be fun and "healthy". I was like.... "hmm......"

But of coz, going to Macau (the first time) and not spend any time at their Casinos will just be kinda stupid and unfair, especially after I found out that in 2006, the total revenue from Macau casinos was actually greater than that of Vegas!!! (not kidding you... )

As it turned out, gambling can be non-reckless and healthy. Set a goal, either lose enough and leave, or win enough and leave the table. I know i know, it's easier to say than to do. That's why I didn't actually gamble ;) But I was very impressed that Mike could do it!! He played a few Blackjack at a table. Once he hit the goal to win, he left, without any hesitation, even though he was winning, he didn't stay but just carried the extra cash away...








Look!! It's a big happy Mike, who won $$$ at Blackjack and KEPT the money instead of losing it back to the Casino~


























You are probably not supposed to take a picture at the inside of a Casino - But I just... couldn't help it!! Quite an impressive view~





















All hotels and casinos (especially) are decorated SPLENDIDLY to attract customers and gamblers.


























































The Star-World hotel/Casino. I like its irregular shape.













































Macau is a city of weird mixed atmosphere. One one hand you have all these fantastic looking casinos, so pretty, so materialistic...












On the other side of the city, you have all the constructions going on. Either to repair some of the very old buildings so they can still have inhabitants, or to build the latest, biggest, prettiest Casino - so dirty, so ugly...

What a strong but realistic contrast!!!














































We also did quite a lot of sight-seeing, considering the limited amount of time we stayed in Macau.

St. Paul's Cathedral

The trademark of Macau.
























































There is a fort above the Cathedral




































Largo do Senado (Senate Square)



A European style town square; lots of tourist gathered here all the time.

































Night view of the plaza, even prettier





















































































































































































































































































































































UFO??

No no no, it's outside the Landmark hotel lobby. Doesn't it look neat?
















We saw this kid who was posing for his parents to take picture. He was so cute that Mike also snapped one... haha...















We got a cash coupon from the hotel and got a free, VERY yummy Shanghai lunch. Not only first time to go to a Casino, also first time to try the Shanghai crispy rice stew (the soup in the middle and the crispy rice bar to the right).

DELICIOUS!!!!!














Dry pork/beef jerky everywhere in Macau.... Mike said they look disgusting, but.... they are so yummy.....


























Interesting Shots






















Lonely, the garbage bin.









Hey someone is taking the picture of us?!?!?

















Animal toilet?!?!

























An old picture? Or an OLD couple?!?!
^________^























Modern and Classic mixture.

Old style, classic-looking European plaza V.S. MacDonald, Starbucks, Mirabell....










Mike, you wanta share what you were starring and appreciating at at that particular moment, huh?~~~ (^_~)v
















Hand (made) picture frame!



















What?! Can't drink while taking a picutre??!?! But... I AM thirsty!!!