The most fabulous birthday party 2007

An awesome birthday party for Charles and Rosemary was thrown yesterday. All guests enjoyed their great time.

"We want to walk hand-in-hand with these two kids, to make them proud to enter the new chapter of their lives - 60s!!! A stage glorified by wisdom and life experience." Their daughter, Gloria said to the press.

The younger daughter, Prudence, also expressed her joy. "I am really proud of my handmade banner and all decorations. It spent me more than one day to prepare everything."

Loads of refreshments were prepared. However, it seems this family is lack of health concerns; mainly junk food served - M&Ms, potato chips, pizza, nuts, ice-cream, dried beef etc. Thanks god there were exceptional - A bowlful of salad and raw fish.

The birthday kids received fab gifts that night - Charles got two Vivienne Westwood ties which totally matches his mischievous personality, while Rosemary had a long pearl necklace, which fits her fair skin tone a lot.

More than 100 photos were taken, it is not surprising because Lucas Baby solely took 10 photos, by the remote controller.

A retrospect of 2007

I woke up early in this quiet morning. Lazy Jeff and Lucas are still having a sound sleep.

Time flies, especially in this year. I think I enjoy 2007 a lot, how about you?

The biggest 'event' in this year is my second pregnancy. Frankly, I still cannot figure out where I get the strength and courage to be a mother of the second baby again. I still remember the awful 1st trimester in the mid of this year, and the big shock of CPC and kidney dilation of my unborn baby. Luckily all had gone and this little creature grows healthily.

I had picked up violin again. Sadly it seemed not the perfect time, I had quit the lessons since my 5-month pregnancy, because I felt really exhaustive to practice violin with a big belly, given that I still could not manage to use my strength properly during the practice.

I had done one travel in March, with my beloved colleague Samatha. It was a nice business+leisure trip, we spent one week in London. A place I am very familiar with, but still got lost always, even with a map with us.

Talking about the relationship with my family - Jeff is always my best partner, he is more than a husband, but my soul mate and my best friend, who shares the same thoughts with me always. And he is also an excellent daddy, especially when I got pregnant again, he helps me to bath baby and change nappies. I would like to say a big thank to you, my dear!!

I also feel the changes in my parents and sister, they become happier with a new member - Lucas joining our family. Thanks you all for helping me to take care of Lucas when I was exhausted. I am sure Lucas loves him Kung Kung, Po Po and Yee Yee a lot.

Okay, about works... Um.. I always think I could do better. I know my learning path is going up, but is still a bit slowly. Nevertheless, As I should get the career-family balance, I had to sacrifice opportunities sometimes. Surely, this is a happy problem, at least I can choose how to manage my time, and also thanks a lot for the support from all colleagues who work with me, and my company. All of them are really nice people, it is rare to meet in work place in general, actually.

About personal growth?? I guess I grow a lot since I become someone's mother. I still love crying, but I am much stronger than before.

There are several days to 2008, I wish you all have a prosperous new year!!!!!

An email from the past me

I have received an email from the past me. I've composed it out from Nov 20, 2006, through www.futureme.org.

The content is as below:

Dear Manki future,
Cheers, you are much better than you think.

I cannot recall this whole email thing, I can't remember while I knew this website and sent this email to myself. Seems by the end of 2006, I had some uncertainities to myself.

This little message warms my heart and I feel great that actually I am much more happier and confident to myself this year!!

Many many works

Many many works, daily hassles and problems should be or had been fixed in this month. Luckily a care-free long Christmas Holiday is heading. Hope everything falls into its right place soon.

Total failure - fluffy egg cake

Did I tell you I am an idiot in home-economics?
Last week I got a big fat failure of baking a fluffy egg cake.

The recipe required 60ml fresh milk only... but I measured wrongly and end up I poured 600ml. 10 times of the original request, 540ml excess, 9 more portions can be made if I can beef up other ingredients!!!!!!!!!

You can see the mixing of milk and other ingredients in the pictures~~

But guess what? I will never give up, I will be back, this coming weekend!!!!!!!!

P.S. Lucas was helping me to make the cake, he is so sweet!!

Over The Rainbow

Connie Talbot, a talented 6 year-old little girl who rocked the world in Britian's Got Talent show. People claimed she is the next Charlotte Church, I just hope she would still be a simple happy girl after becoming famous.

I bought her first CD - Over the Rainbow. Apart from Over the Rainbow, she also sings 'Imagine' and 'Wonderful World' heavenly.

Her website: http://www.connietalbot.com/index.php

My first lemon sponge cake

This was the first lemon sponge cake I made two weeks ago. I should have post this entry last week but my life was like a roller coaster.

It was also the first birthday cake I made for Jeff. I am going to bake another cake for my parents by the end of this month!!!

Left Bloody eye - Episode III

I visited the doc finally. He said my bloody left eye might need totally 14 days to be totally recovered.

Jesus, I am learning to accept it. I have just found that actually my eye was quite beautiful, at least it had destinctive black and white colour.

The only thing I feel happy is, it can get well before the Christmas Holiday.

Blood gets in my eye (left eye)...

Okay, the broken blood vessel in my left eye caused by the vomit on Monday night seems recovering, but the relatively little red stain under my eye diffuses to a thrilling blood sea and surrounds my pupil. I really feel upset. I am scared by myself every time I look at the mirror.

We planned to take some 'pregnancy photos' in studio this weekend, but have you ever seen a woman in big belly with a rabbit eye in any picture? It sounds creative, but not pleasant at all.

Tomorrow we should go to a social function, I really worry I will make people scream.

AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH......

雙瞳

我的左眼出現雙瞳。多了一個紅色圓點，看起來很恐怖。
話說小朗傳染了腸胃炎給全家。週一下午我感到胃痛及作悶，謝菲腸痛及暈眩，他先回家休息，並勸我取消晚上跟客人的晚飯。

到了六時半，我也受不了，謝菲愛妻深切，堅稱自己沒事，並駕車接我回家。

途中，一陣悶氣從我胸口湧上，我知道自己將會嘔，但沒有器皿盛著，便嘗試用手蓋著口鼻阻止。

當然，這一舉動是徒然，那股壓力仍是一氣呵成的釋放。

之後，我感到在眼有點痛，還以為眼睫毛入眼，但我們估計是我"反嘔"失敗，壓力壓傷了眼睛。

隔天，眼下出現爆微絲血管的情況，眼球下一片血海。今午，瘀血擴散到眼球旁邊，形成雙瞳，幸好不痛不癢，應該會慢慢復原。

Honour that exclusively for him

I get a 2008 organizer from my banking client, this is the first year I got one which dedicated to me. I feel quite happy about it.

Then Jelly showed off his one to me just now, he is not only getting a plain organizer, but also with his name printed on the leather cover. Okay, this is really a kind of 'honour' only he can receive.

When I told him mine didn't have any name on it, he said, 'poor you, no name girl'.

......

Still in "The Other Side of the Story"

I am still reading the book The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes. It's really a long book, more than 600 pages.

Now I am in Pg. 480, hopefully I can complete reading it over this weekend. Then I can start a new book right before Christmas.

Historian will be my next book. Time to read something more serious. I read too much chick lit. Someone, especially those who discriminate against women's novels claim chick lit can deteriorate readers' IQ... surely this is totally bullshit, but I really get a bit tired to see how career young women strive for exciting life in both workplace and love affair between the pages.

Happy Birthday Jeffreson

Send you loads of kisses birthday boy. I am proud of you as you will become a father of two handsome boys very soon.

XXXXXXXXXX

My first green tea cheese cake

Last Saturday, I was too exciting and forgot to take a nice photo for the whole green tea cheese cake I made in the first time. Strictly speaking, this was the first baked cake I have ever made.

So what you can see here is the remaining 1/8 piece for breakfast in the next day. It received really good response, the taste was great. Even my F.I.L. who excels in criticizing praised it. Surely there was still great room for improvement, the eye white was not stiff enough and made it a bit too hard, but Jeff promised to buy me an electronic egg beater, I am sure the next one will be much better. I am planning to prepare a home-made birthday cake for him. He is really a lucky man!!!!!

P.S. Lucas also ate a lot!!!

Mood Swing

Remember that when I just stepped out from the college and faced the real life, I was a very emotional person.

Sometimes Jeff would complain about that, I got angry easily, and sometimes even for no reasons. I looked like every single human being in the planet had pissed me off, and I just take people acceptance and understanding for granted, especially those who loved me a lot. Because I thought that because they loved me, they should accept me as an artistic, weird and emotional person.

But when I experienced much more and interacted with more people, I understand my thought was totally wrong. No one have obligation to suffer from my mood swing. Then I know that everyone has responsibility to control his/ her emotion.

One day, Jeff told me I become much more mature than the first day we stayed together... Of course, already 10 years time.

And I find that actually, I am not that artistic as I believe...... hahahahahah.

Can the Christmas aroma sustain until Dec 25?

Sorry, maybe there is too much of a cliche, but I worry if I will get sickening by Christmas Carols in the 'actual' Christmas day.

Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas. That's why I want to save the original flavor and aroma of Christmas as much as possible. However, since everyone is already excited by the festive season right after the Halloween, with the bombardment of Christmas ornaments and Christmas songs everywhere, how can this excitement maintain for two months, at least to me?

Christmas, after all, is a religious festival, to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. I am neither a Catholic nor Christian, but I think we should at least respect others' religions a bit, to remind ourselves the real meaning of the festive season - which should not only be shopping, partying, gift exchange and money burning.

It is just like your friends throw you a birthday party in Karaoke. The place is glamorous - plenty of wine and caviar, confetti blankets the floor, all guests dress gorgeously. However, all of them just got drunk and gone crazyduring the party,no one has ever said 'Happy Birthday to you', and even some of them do not know you are the birthday boy/ girl when they step in the Karaoke room. Isn't it sad?

我的肚子比籮大

我正在寫一本生活日誌，以散文形式，記錄我三年內兩度成為媽媽的驚喜旅程，過程有如過山車，當中的心情跟身形鉅變可謂嘆為觀止，小生命帶給我的快樂亦是始料不及。這套散文集叫"我的肚子比籮大"。

我的中文打字很差，但希望建立到網上版，跟你分享。

A pleasure

Am feeling happy because Jelly just praised my work. He said it is such a pleasure to review my work because it is pretty well done.

That's good. Improvement delivered!!!

******

Recently I am quite productive and effective, most of my works run rather smooth and I am energized. This is the positive outcome from the high hormonal level in the second trimester, plus getting help from another brain in my body - the one from my unborn child.

He should be a sparkling gem.

Swire Symphony Under The Star 2007

Thanks Daddy for helping us to get the free tickets for this biggest outdoor symphonic concert in Hong Kong. It will take place in Happy Valley Racecourse on Nov 30 night. Audience can enjoy the divine music under countless of twinkle stars (although we will not see any, most likely).

I told Jeff the tickets are his birthday gifts from my Daddy. His birthday is in end November. =)

Am anticipating it!!!!!

A different November

If I am not wrong, November was always a stressful month to me.

It was the time I had to prepare for examinations in school days or dived into the peak season in work days.

Therefore Thanksgiving day was very meaningful to me. Not because I celebrated this festival, but in tradition, after this day, people will start preparing for the Christmas. It seems not the case in Hong Kong in these two years though, because everywhere is already in Christmas decorations after the Halloween. Thanks to the aggressive consuming culture.

However, my main point is, I feel so happy in this November, I see the peace around me. Last week, I was praying for a good result for my unborn child, then I received a good news on Oct 31.

That's why November is a new start for me!!!!!

Love in the first sight

When those little white flowers on Daisy Marc Jacobs met my eyes, my heart just felt into it, at once.

Daisy Marc Jacobs is a newly launched Eau de toilette for young females. It perfectly blends notes of wild strawberry, violet leaves, red grape fruit, which creates a fresh, pleasant and girlish scent.

I am totally attracted by its stunning and cute bottle design. To me, it is irresistible. I have never bought perfume simply because of its package, until I met Daisy.

It is interesting that daisies themselves carry no scent, but this fragrance demonstrates the subtle beauty of these little white flowers.

Last night I blanketed myself in several sprays of Daisy before bed, then these golden droplets brought me a sweet dream....

Wanna know more about Daisy? Let's visit its official website http://www.daisymarcjacobs.com/

My dad in Halloween night 2007

Hippy Charles.

Happy Halloween!

We overcome the challenge

We overcome the challenge. This can be said as a little challenge because eventually we get a good news.

My family and everyone knows it are so happy for me.

Thanks everyone of you. Including my family, my friend and my company.

Now I have mood to read book. And I schedule to watch Little Miss Sunshine this weekend... and go to park with Lucas... and have a big fat crab dinner at home...

Sometime, life is like a roller coaster

This is one of the biggest challenges I am ever facing.

Jeff and me hold each other's hands tight.

We believe a good news will come eventually.

Becoming Jane

I've seen Becoming Jane last Friday, Jeff was with me. It's good that he didn't fall sleep even we watched the movie at 9:45pm.

I love Jane Austen a lot. Her first book I read is Jane Eyre when I was in Primary school.

I love the movie because I like Anne Hathaway a lot, even someone criticized she is not an ideal person to act Jane Austin as she carries no idiosyncrasy (thanks Sam for teaching me this word) of a witty British female writer in 18th century. Anne is my most favourite Hollywood actress since her 'Princess Diaries 1', the movie which made a breakthrough in her career path. She is never in drop-dead-gorgeous type but I just think she is cute.

After the movie, I asked myself, do I have gut to become Jane? To give up status and fortune in order to pursue my dream? A dream that no one believe you can achieve?

The best quote of this movie is from Jane's mother. When Jane turned down the proposal of Mr. Wisley, her mother was furious and said 'Affection is desirable, but money is absolutely indispensable!' Oh, she reminded me the figures in my bank account, the credit card payment... ahhhhh.

Good learning - Adversity Management

A good lesson over these two days, Jelly shows me that he is really a market research guru.

Usually, we faced many hindrance, difficulties, obstacles in our projects. Sometimes we just have bad luck, other time the study is too difficult to acheive, sometimes just a simply mistake can spoil the whole thing, etc, etc. We name all these as 'WOKs' (yes, the wok for cooking in all Chinese family, wok also carries a symbolic meaning, it means shits that require someone should be responsible to or to deal with it).

The wok we face this time is, we work with an agency in on island in Pacific Ocean which quality cannot reach our expectation. It cannot complete our tasks and had late responses all the time.

The client started to complain and kept calling me and Jelly last night.

Then this morning, Jelly came up with some ideas, he implemented all damage controls within several hours - we got a new agency, checked their costing and capacity, communicated with the client, got the confirmation, cut the crap done by the original agency, discussed the final charge... We completed all these in one single day. If we are lucky enough, we can get what the client needs over this weekend.

Through the process, Jelly's aim is simply problem-solving, no blaming, no fighting, no name calling, Sometime you don't need to act like a bitch or pull your hair if someone has just ruined the work. We worked things out step by step like waltzing. I feel so good because we really work as a team!

He is a good role model to me!

Another nice book - The Other Side of the Story

I am currently reading 'The Other Side of the Story' by Marian Keyes. Three women's lives (Gemma, Lily and Jojo) intertwined and formed a fiction with humor, happiness and bitterness. The same story is narrated from three different angles.

This book contains more than 500 pages, I am just in Pg. 68, still reading Gemma's portion. I would spend more time on it in the coming long weekend.

Gemma is a party planner in Dublin and she used to spend her all her single second in work. However, her life was just flipped up-side down when her dad left her mom for his 36 years old secretary. Her mom is suffering panic attack all the time and she even has difficulties to left her for work.

Gemma is a single child, she understands that one day she should take care of two parents by herself, if there is no shoulder from any life-long partner to take the burden, but everything just comes suddenly and she doesn't know how to do.

On the other hand, her ex-best friends Lily, who stole her love has just written a novel 'Mimi Remedies' and entitled the national bestseller. Even her sobbing mom loves this book.

It is worth for me to spend time on, Marian's writing is less girlish than Meg Cabot and full of dark humour.

My New Blythe - Hawaiian hot babe

Aloha, welcome to my Blythe family!!

I am planning to run a beauty contest for all my Blythe. Will come soon.

I know I am crazy, so what!!

Struggle

Are you a workaholic? I was, but I am not. Precisely, I cannot afford to be since I have my own family.


Working 9 to mid-night in weekdays and having business trips always, for me, is a sacrifice, not a challenge. It is because I cannot leave my husband and kids behind and eat up our family time for job.

People can never be satisfied, when you greet others, you will say 'All the best', because you wish them to get everything the best. I know I am already a blissful person because I have such a lovely family.

I know it is unrealistic to expect blossoming career development in my current working place, because I choose a happy balanced life. However, can I get what I want in another place? Any opportunities out there?

I have to do some searching.

Obsessive compulsive disorder

If you have watched the TV series 'Monk' you know what 'Obsessive Compulsive Disorder' means. It is a psychiatric anxiety disorder. People suffers from this illness tend have repetitive behaviours which they feel forced to perform.

Do you have this kind of problems? For me, I am quite obsessed to check my email box during work (in every 15 minutes or more often), thanks to the malfunction email receipt notification. Sometimes, that little envelope in the bottom right hand corner of my screen just pops out from no where suddenly...

Since the day you have come to this world, the sky is more beautiful

I watched the last episode of Mother at 14 in Pearl channel tonight. It is a happy ending. Since the day her baby arrived this world, Miki feels the sky is clearer and more beautiful.

I think if I am not a mother, I could not share her feeling. However, once I gave birth, the world is also different to me. No matter how pathetic the world is, I can still see hope.

This is the beauty of being a mother, you could not feel unless you experience it. The process of labour and delivery is extremely suffering but I discover the miracle of life, and unconditional love - I love my baby for no reasons.

Toxic air

We were planning to have outdoor activities with Lucas today, but I guess we should cancel it, because the new report claimed that Hong Kong air pollution today reached health-threatening level, even though now is the National Day gold weekend in Mainland China. Apparently there are still many manufacturing activities ongoing......

Sigh......

Obsession in facebook

I know I should control myself. I am just wandering around facebook mindlessly when I have time or feel boring. Thanks to all user-friendly applications in this 'social utility', you can send friends surprise gifts or delicious desserts effortlessly. It is really hard to resist the temptation.

Now once Jeff and I arrive home, we occupy a computer immediately (we have one desk top and one note book), then I will login in facebook, he will go to all stock market websites.

My goodness, what kind of couple are we?

Anyway, my daddy had just joined facebook and my sister and me bombard his profiles page by all those little plants, messages, holiday gifts and some bizarre applications. Let me know if you also wanna be his friend! He is a really hip parent!!!!!

WWF Walk for Nature @ Mai Po 2007

A findraising program of WWF. It aims at arousing our consciousness of climate change.

Date: Oct 28
Starting time: 9am-2pm
Venue: Mai Po

Please click the subject to access the link. Let me know if you have interest. Jeff and I will join!

Diary

正在讀大學的小表妹也有寫blog，其中一條posted link，是她參與的大學組織的網上留言板。

我在HKU時是drama society的一份子。Society其中一件很重要的資產，就是所有會員也可留言的DIARY。它是一本硬皮簿，內容不限。寫diary的習慣一代傳一代，巳承襲多年歷史，大家很踴躍地下留下點點的無聊事，重要事，所思所想，好及爛的gag，甚至駡戰......好一個大學時代，大夥兒談話劇，談兩性，談人生，談社會，就是不談讀書，多爽。

未知HKU drama society 的DIARY是否變成網上運作？但我希望它仍是一本硬皮簿，有著它所質感，載著每位筆者所字迹，每一筆的力度 。

Roundtable

I learn Roundtable Group from Cup Magazine.

It is a Research Institute which aims at developing a platform for young generations to learn, discuss and express their point of views of various Hong Kong issues, from sustainable development to heritage conservation.

The group is formed by professional from various aspect, such as political commentators, professors, accountants, civil servants, university students, etc. To achieve self reliance and responsibility, the group was restructuring into Roundtable Enterprise and Roundtable Community in 2006, which offer services of research & event consultancy, travel and exchange activities, education and design work.

Roundtable Group offers E-Journal online, please access the below link for further information:
http://roundtable.com.hk/index.php

High recommend you to have a look, then you will know that apart from pollutants and the blossoming stock market, Hong Kong is much more than that.

101Things You Need To Know (... and Some You Don't)

Jealous Lucas took away the book '101Things You Need To Know' from my hands several times, because he didn't want me to spend more time on it. Frankly speaking, once you pick it up, it is difficult to put it down.

There are 101 facts the book is going to tell you. 101 star stickers come with it, if you think you can master a 'thing to know', you can put a achieved star on the page.

The basic need to read this book is, as mentioned - 'A secret hiding place for this book' (you see my case now, I worry Lucas will flush it into toilet on day'. It also requires you to have 'A brain like a sponge'.

Give you a glimpse about what facts will be taught in this book, here are the examples:

What is the Sixth Sense?

Why do we dream?

Were all Roman from Rome?

Who invent the Internet?

What happens in the Bermuda Triangle?

Can you sneeze with your eyes open?

Is your teacher an alien?

I admit, all topics are very 'discovery science'... people know me well now understand why I love this book a lot, because I am a 'discovery science' junkie!!

4th Wedding Anniversary

Tomorrow will be our 4th Wedding Anniversary. I want to send a big big kiss to Jeff. You are always my best husband. Thanks for your caring and patience to this weird, rebellious, pessimistic and stubborn Manki.

I do not know where I have guts to pick up another life-long project - to become a mother of our second baby, sometimes when people ask me how come I wanna have another baby, I cannot give them an answer, or just provide a rationalized answer, but I know from my heart, I have such courage simply because I love you and you give me strengths all the time.

Hope we will share all happiness and bitterness together in the future. Thank you!!!

A physical challenge

Being pregnant and taking care of a 1 year old kid at the same time is a tough physical challenge to me.

I just want to sleep through my holidays.

讀書樂

剛過了的週日，我取消了小提琴課，讓自已歇一下，並跟謝菲及小朗B享受清閑的早晨。

我們先去又一城的超級三文治吃過一頓豐富早餐(小朗B搶吃了一大塊火蹆及煎蛋)，跟著到壹頁堂看書。在壹頁堂內，起初小朗B還是中規中矩，怎知逛到中文書部變得異常興奮，一手取了倪匡的<夢裡的話.酒後的話>，再跑到走廊中央，一邊坐下一邊大力摺皺書皮。我阻止他並表演徒手捉B時，有位先生在旁欣賞並發笑。

其實當天我們買了很多書，每人也有收穫，其中兩套我最喜歡是：

"我的低能之道"

同事陳是作者馬仔的粉絲。馬仔是一位典形的OL女人仔，現己是全職創作人了。在這書她以漫畫描述她在家庭、工作、讀書及生活的低能事，令你捧腹大笑。我當日已看畢，並借了給妹妹，有笑同爆。


馬仔有一個網站，有興趣可以去hea一下 http://www.maggiemarket.com/。



"The Miniature World of Peter Rabbit"

是買給小朗B的，我也很喜歡。小小的盒內藏有十二本Beatrix Potter的名著，是一套很漂亮的Pocket Library。

這個週日很疲倦，又很滿足。

Put some sheer blackberry on my lips

This is the next beauty item I wanna have - Clinique Almost Lipstick Sheer Blackberry.

A hint of dark red colour matches perfectly with A/W outfits and black wears, it is the best touche up for a look of rebellious girl look. Yes, this is the image I am going to create in this winter... isn't it funny for a pregnant woman to look a bit naughty and deviant?

Just kidding, but I have never tried such dark colour before. I guess the last trend of deep red lips was in early 90s - Christy Chung was the best demonstrator of such make up style. However, it would be a modified version this year, sheer texture should come with the dark shade to make the lips more kissable and radiant. I guess Clinique is a good choice, and I heard that MAC is not bad also.

However, to create a rocky girl look, I should get well soon and start to do some exercise, otherwise, it can be very awful to my pale complexion goes with the dark lips, or I should save this horrible look for Halloween.

I am a mean girl

I have just called off the search of Jelly. Finally he came back to Hong Kong from some place else. He was out of town to a mysterious place about a half month.

Maybe we have not seen him for quite a long time, we feel he looks a bit different, or maybe he is just tired.

In the afternoon, my interesting colleague, who likes Jelly a lot, came into my room and was whispering 'Oh your boss is back...why did he shave his hair?'

I replied straightly 'He didn't shave his hair, he lost it.'

Definitely the above dialogue is in Cantonese, not Jelly's mother tongue.

No more frowning

The story told by Chrissee this morning made me discover my 'little yet big' change - I used to have a 'frowning lines' which lies vertically between my eyebrows, and the left one was particularly obvious, but they diminish... actually I can still spot the very fine line in the left when I have a close up, but it is not that obvious as before.

I can conclude 4 possibilities of this 'miracle':
1. I feel more content to my life and reduce the frequency of frowning.
2. I don't have to sharpen my vision by squeezing my eyebrows when my eyes feel tired but I wear glasses during work (I have long sight).
3. My moisturizer and beauty rituals do work.
4. All of above

Girls, relax and smile more to stop fine lines and wrinkles develop on your face!!!

Save our habitat

I am still suffering from running nose, sneeze and sore throat.

Actually the sickness was not serious, however, thanks to the pollutants we can see by our flesh eyes, they stimulate my respiratory system and I could not get the total recovery for a whole week.

When I look up the grey sky, I ask myself, how come Hong Kong is being like this? Where is our lovely subtropical monsoon climate? What a unbearable habitat we leave for our next generations??

I am thinking, I should do something.

I am going to write an email to Environmental Campaign Committee (ecc.epd.gov.hk) to address my concerns. It is useless for the government to deliver slogans simply from the Blue Sky Campaign but lack of other effective measures, if it still believes protecting our living place will damage the economic development. Do you remember the '888 light out event' in 2006? Mr. Tsang refused to stop the A Symphony of Lights for just one night, his reasons was - it will damage the international status of Hong Kong if we switch off the lights.

My gracious!!!

In long term, I will try my best to convey the concept of 'saving our planet' to the next generation, to write some stories and arrange field trips for them, and to join some Environmental Protection Organization with them.

Personal effort can still make a big difference, it just depends whether you are willing to do it.

What if I live alone?

Suddenly I have a weird thought...

How about if I have not married but am having a single life and living alone?

I think my little 'paradise' will be very messy. I will not make my bed everyday because I slept until the last moment. I will not cook always because this is neither my interest nor strength. You know, I can just pick a piece of ham from fridge and put into my mouth.

I will spend a lot on skincare and outfits and you cannot tell my home is a chaotic place by judging my appearance.

I would not switch on the air con always because I hate air con and it makes my skin dry. Instead, I will use fan or air cooler more.

I may stock up many organic and healthy food but cannot consume all before the expiry dates.

I will only wash my clothes once a week or less, or just send to laundry.

I will burn essential oil to make my place cozier... but just in the first few months when I move in this house, and give up soon because I realise I am too lazy to clean the burner.

CUP Magazine

Have you read a magazine called CUP?

It never targets the mass market, a very localized, political, sarcastic, critical yet hilarious monthly magazine from several intellectuals in Hong Kong. It's available Pacific Coffee and I read it every weekend when I go there, but I am considering to subscribe it.

I think you may love it, if you don't, at least you can learn something from it.

There is no free education

Have just read an article in SCMP 'The high cost of our 'free' education, by Alex Lo, Sep 06, 2007.

His key point is, thanks to the dyfunction of Hong Kong education system, many parents pay huge expenses to tutorial and interest classes for their children - the education in Hong Kong is not free at all.

Our education system has gone through radical revolution for decades, but what we can get from it?

Do you remember how many tutorial classes you attended in Form 5 and Form 7? For me, in Form 7, I joined 4 tutorial courses- Micro/ Macro Economics and Physical/ Human Geography, for the two A-level subjects. Not to mention those super intensive courses before the examination.

Frankly, I do not want my kid to go through the same ridiculuous system as I did.

Visual bookshelf

I am tidying up the Visual Bookshelf in my facebook. It is an application to show your friends what books you had read, want to read or are reading.

Currently I am reading 'The Nanny's Diaries'. A novel about the part-time nanny, Nanny (this is her name), who is a college student who helps wealthy Mrs. X to take care of her 4 years old kid, Grayer.

Mrs. X is a typical wife of an affluent man, especially in the world of soap opera and novels- doesn't work, doesn't do housework, doesn't raise her own kid, doesn't own her husband solely..... her main 'jobs' are throwing parties, collecting silver plate from Tiffany, having high-tea, etc. Well, sometimes I wonder if this is just a kind of stereotyping we have to all those rich wives?

I have just finished less than half, I read so slow once I have Lucas.

My mother is a good presenter

If you know my mother well, you will know that my motherand many Tai-Tais, love to repeat every point at least 3 times in a conversation.

Remember my bosses had taught me a very basic rule for presentation, that is:
Tell them (the audience) what you are going to tell them - i.e. the introduction
Tell them - the main content
Tell them what you have told them - the summary

I just realize my mother is an outstanding presenter.

Boring...

Had just gone through a painful peak season. This peak season was the one of the most exhaustive because it crashed my morning sickness.

Anyway, these two weeks are already much better. God treats me not bad, at least all those new projects just fly into after the end of the prime time.

My company will have an incentive tour tomorrow until next Monday, the destination is Perth, Australia. Wow!!! Poorly I will stay in office because Jeff strongly 'recommended' me not to travel when I am pregnant...... He even threatened me he would not sleep and have microwave lunch box with Lucas for every meal if I insist to travel.

Okay, giant trees and fresh air in Perth, hope we will meet one day.

Professional Nannies

I've just read an article 'In good hands' in SCMP, which is about professional nannies in Hong Kong. Most parents who employed these professionalists were expatriates in the past but now local Chinese is also a fast- growing customer segment.



These super nannies are highly educated and well trained. Most of them received education in early childhood education. Some local parents love to hire English native speaking nannies in order to allow their kids to expose to the language in the very early stage, while other selected those from Taiwan who can teach the children Mandarin in the daily environment.

Surely, you have to pay big buck for these specialists, the salary of an experienced nanny is around HKD40,000.

In the article, a western nanny comments that Hong Kong parents in general focus too much on the kids' academic result but overlook other important aspects of their upbringing.


Well, I still believe love, care and teaching from parents are the most important for children. Being a mother, I think the best thing for my kids is to expose to different opportunities and experience, to encourage them to explore life, but not to mould them into the shape as I expect. We give lives to children, but it does not mean we have the right to control their path in the future.

A Practical Me

I love to browse my friend's blogs when I have time. Most bloggers I know are girls (you know, girls love writing much more than boys).

Some of them are very sentimental, they write poets, share their fluffy, delicate feeling by words... Comparing with my solid description of daily life, I just realize stories I post are very realistic and 'tangible'...

I thought I was an emotional person, but it seems I am transforming in these few years... What does make the change??

雞蛋仔

星期五五時半左右，做report做得想瘋，便到樓下買雞蛋仔。

該雞蛋仔小店頗有名氣，有很多人排隊，我排了25分鐘，不知那裡來的耐性。花了這麼多時間，我買了兩底，一底給我，一底給那位女人心海底針的組員。

味道不錯，但始終不及我讀幼稚園時，媽媽每天接我們放學時買給我倆的雞蛋仔。那種感覺是熱騰騰，香噴噴，脆脆的外殼包著軟軟的心，蛋味撲鼻，令我感到很窩心，很幸福。

Stock market

Everyone is talking about stock market. I am just not motivated and uninterested.

I think I will not be a billionaire because I am lack of sense to figures, especially on money (don't know why I can work in all those banking projects for many years). For me, a figure with 5 zeros or 6 zeros do not have great difference to me.

That is okay, getting rich is never in my agenda.

A weird me

Photo taken at 石板街.

Be a strong girl!!

Alright, after a messy Wednesday, I make up my mind and have courage to face all challenges again this morning.

Before the phone conference in client's place, I stocked up my energy with a cup of COVA hot chocolate, yummy.

The review was greatly presented by our TW Big Brother. Jelly said he performed much better than you know who in our other office, when chatting with our client after the call. He is pretty nasty.

My friendly client knows tonnes of works piling up on my desk, he asked me to relax, work never ends.

Then before I went back to office, I bought a McDonald lunch set in order to store up the strength and fat to combat with the air con and endless work this afternoon.

Gear up!!!!!

Generations

Tonight Jeff asked me if I had very rare chances to stay with my grandfathers.

Yes, I only met my maternal granddad several times when I was a kid, but I still remember the big house he lived, the long wooden stairs, his warm smile and blurry eyes when looking at me. Everyday I visited him, I sent him some little gifts, such as a card or a paper heart I made.

My memories were only these.

It is a sorrow that I had never met my father's father, because he passed away when he was very young. Sometimes I do hope I could meet him.

When Jeff told me how his granddad was, such as his traditional mind, his strong personalities, I am astonished, because I have lack of experience to communicate with men in that generation. I just realize that some concepts I take for granted, such as the equity of two genders, for them, it is never in their vocabulary. There is nothing right or wrong to them, we shape and are shaped by culture.

Lucas is so lucky, he has 4 grandparents, treasure him like a prince.

Loneliness

I feel so lonely. Always stay in my freezer-like room, no window, no fresh air. No one cares, no one concerns.

What can I ask for? Here is just a damn office.

Am still having the morning sickness, through days to nights, but who can understand the pain? The suffering?

Hurray!!!

I had completed one Marathon report, one proposal and one Executive Summary.

How I have chance to take a deeper breath.

St. Catharine's 94 old girls' gathering

Dozens of beauties

Old 4 Phoebe class

Great thanks for Billie, Ivy Wu and Dai Kuen for organizing such a nice gathering on Aug 4.

33 old friends had joined the gathering, and we were having extremely high spirit the whole night.

When we were playing games, those staffs from the restaurant also laughed. The emcees kept remaining me to calm down during the game sections.

From my eyes, all girls are unchanged, they are just like the same teenagers I met many years ago. If you were there, you would know what 'girl power' means.

I left the gathering at 11:45pm, it was such an unforgettable night!!!

My dear friends, keep it up, I want to see you girls again soon.

Protected the Queen's Pier by their bodies

My doc suggested me to take some more rest, so I stayed at home yesterday afternoon, was lying on the bed.

I was watching how those kids trying to protect our Queen's Pier by their bodies. 20 of them were connecting each others by chains, lying on the floor to express their determination to save this piece of heritage

Frankly, I am really impressed by them, by their courage, by their enthusiasm to safeguard our memories.

I was thinking, if possible, I am willing to take a day off to join the students, and let everyone who knows me see my face in TV, to get mad at me, to make fun at me, to appreciate me...... I am still young, I want to do something I think it is worth to and make some people's jaws drop.

Our lives have too much worries and concerns. We always live for some people's expectations. I do wanna change this situation, I wanna tell everyone that we should live for our own self.

I hate to conform.

I am damn sleepy!

Can someone glue me on the bed then I canstick with it as long as possible.

Bed is now my best friend!!

I am just too lazy to work, to eat and even to sleep, if possible.

Very contradicting? Yes, I ask myself what on Earth I am doing, I should close my eyes and sleep.

I wanna fly..

I will tell you why I cannot travel in the coming months later.

Right now, I really wanna take a leisure trip to some places I haven't visited before - Hawaii, France, Italy, Norway, Africa, Brazil...

Dear all these exotic places, when can I visit you???

My company would have an incentive tour to Perth, Australia in coming September. Poor me should stay in Hong Kong. Jeff said if I insist to go, he wouldn't sleep in those 5 days.

Okay, get the message, please don't intensify your action.

I just don't wanna start to re-work on that lengthy report... Argh...

Tear me apart...

Endless work last week and every moment was racing with time, on top of all these should handle someone who walks along with me everyday literally. I am really burnt out.

Had arranged a training for Taiwan counterpart on last Thu and Fri. Apart from the sudden missing (not sudden actually, at least he gave me 5 minutes notice) of our presenter in the last session in the first day, other seemed smooth and well organized.

I myself had offered a training on Friday morning. Thanks for the support of my colleagues, most of them had joined and received quite active response from them.

I was planning to work tonight, but I am just too burnt out. Sigh.

Do all of us learn from it?

Tin Tin is sent back to its original master this morning.

Dogs have lives and dignity, please respect them.

I am speechless and frustrated.

Hope this is the best decision for Tin Tin.

Impulse decision

I do love pet and I always dream about having a puppy, but I hesitate to make my dream come true because it means a life is sent into your hands. This is such as huge responsibility.

With less than 24-hrs notice, suddenly my father-in-law decides to adopt a Chihuahua from his friends. Well, after a 'democratic and transparent' discussion, this Yoda-like Chihuahua comes to our home last night..

My family immediately name him 'Tin Tin'. All kids are exciting of his arrival, including Lucas. He wants to touch the doggy but Tin Tin is too passionate and licks his toes. I hold up my baby immediately and comfort him with gentle stroke.

My family is packed with people with polarized personalities, so you can imagine what a chaotic scene would be when this puppy is jumping everywhere - some kids are screaming, then she is over-sensitive, then he asks her to calm down impatiently, then he keeps praising how good to have a dog at home, and that well-built young man is playing with this tiny dog ...

I worry about Tin Tin during night because he misses his ex-master and his pal - another Chihuahua in his old home, then we bring a torch to visit him in midnight. When he sees me, he jumps to me and is shivering, then I embrace him like holding a little baby and try to calm him down. However, when we order him to get into the cage, he roars with grieving sound, I think he is crying, which makes me feel so sad... I am thinking, are we prepared to take this responsibility?

However we believe he will try his best to adapt this new environment.

It is funny that Lucas is jealous when I am carrying Tin Tin.

By the way, Jeff wants to give him an English name - Yoda.

Not to think too much...

One email brought a little storm in office yesterday, and it forces me to face the fact that I should tell the bosses about it.

As three of them were not in office, I send out the notice by email.

And they have no feedback in the last 24 hours.

I think they just do not know how to respond my news.

I also don't know how to respond to this response.

It is really difficult to be a career woman.

Welcome back, Giga

Hooray, my teammate Giga is back from Jakata.

Life is nice if you have a good team-mate around you.

Welcome back, I am glad you feel Hong Kong is your home!!

Agnes S in Italy

My cousin Agnes S is having a 3-week design related course in Italy.

I just got her email. She said the trip is really expensive and some classmates are irritating. Despite all these, I am sure she enjoyed the tour and the study a lot.

Last time she mentioned one of the activities of this course is to visit Prada factory. However, Prada cancelled it finally with an explanation provided 'We do not want China People to visit our factory'.

Well, Agnes didn't have a strong feeling on this, because she doesn't like Prada neither.

When I heard about this, I will think, well, whom we can blame? Who spoiled our reputation in the international world? Ourselves!! Don't forget we are really part of the Mainland China and we can hardly distinguished ourselves as HongKongneses but not Chinese.

And, sometimes HongKongeses also do somethings embarrassed ourselves in the public. For example, speak very loudly, listen to mobile phone during shows, brands obsessed, etc.

This is a controversial social/national identity issue, would talk about it more if I have time.

Hope our nation will improve and sweep away the label of 'copy-cat' in foreseeable future.

I thought I would not...

There were so many times I told myself and others that I would never do something but finally I violated my words:

1. When I was a kid, I would never get marry because I wanted to stay with my mom for a whole life.
2. When I was around 11, I said I would never date because I thought it is not necessary at all.
3. Then when I was a teenager, I told my friends that I would never get marry before 30 but I wanted to be a career woman.
4. Before I got married, I told Jeff that I would never, ever have a baby because I didn't want to bear such a huge responsibility, and I wanted to build my career.
5. Okay, once I had given birth, one of the first ten sentences came from my mouth was - I didn't want to have another baby again.

Well, I better don't babble that much.

Indepth Interviews

My schedules packed with in-depth interview these two weeks. I should do 3 interviews per day in average, with mom and expecting mom.

As I do not have great exposure to qualitative study, this is a good learning to me. Hope I can handle it.

I was very helpless last week because I got a quite demanding client who wanted me to do a phone conference with her team and also the creative to share our findings and insight of a completed study. As even Jelly had not done the presentation for this project I really had no clue about how to offer a "sharing", that was why I asked a help from TinTin, and he suggested me to develop extra piece of analysis for clients after the con call.

Poorly, seems Jelly doesn't agree with that piece of analysis, he still kept challenging my thought and asking me question through email. However, what can I do??? The client needs it urgently and he left me alone for his leisure trip during this critical moment......

Hope he will not bite my head when he comes back to Hong Kong.

I am not a plastic bag

老實說，整件事令我有點受不了。

初時，真的以為這是一件好事 - Anya Hindmarch推出一個只售HKD120的環保袋，上面印有"I am not a plastic bag"字樣，為推動環保意式出一點力。

只可惜，發售當天人們瘋狂採購，爭先恐後，有排隊黨出現，有人插隊鼓噪，警察到場維持秩序，搶購後滿地膠袋廢紙等......直教我搖頭嘆息。

有時，一個品牌本身有很好的形象及價值，但不幸地，用家的形象(user image)令很多名牌蒙羞。先有LV及Gucci，現在，就發生在Anya Hindmarch身上。

如果在街上我看見一個OL揹著一個I am not a plastic bag，高傲的眼神配以微微向上的左邊嘴角在IFC買La Mer，不屑身邊那一個路過的少女碰到她的袋，我會不期然聯想她在排隊買I am not a plastic bag時，大聲痛罵前面打尖的那個她。當I am not a plastic bag到手時，她興奮的致電男友及好友，並邊拆開包裝，邊拋在地上，邊想著今晚要"叫班Friends去老蘭"，因為要炫耀一下。

打著環保旗幟去做宣傳，其實兵行險著。弄得不好，老貓燒鬚！

1997-2007

Everyone is talking about the past 10 years.

From 1997-2007, Hong Kong experienced the huge change after its handover to the People's Republic of China. We had gone through many troughs in the first 8 years, and getting better in these two years, in terms of economic situation.

How about the degree of autonomy? How about the path to democracy?

I was a kid when Hong Kong was facing the fear towards the reunification with the mainland China before 1997. Friends from more affluent families migrated to other countries. For people who stay in Hong Kong, they used to say what they need is just prosperity and stability, it is not a big deal whether they have freedom of democracy or not. I somehow agreed with the adults at that moment (because I was young and not strong in independent thinking), What I worried at that time was whether I could still read Garfield comics or not.

However, when I grew bigger, my mind changed. I started to feel it is unfair to deprive one's freedom, no matter how much you give me and how stable the society is.

I am so happy to see the public is also changing in these few years, they do not merely care about money, but they go to the street to fight for freedom and autonomy, to fight for the geniue treasure.

I hope it can keep going.

Mega Box

We learnt a lesson.

If you stay at home and have nothing to do, enjoy your free time at home, especially during a hot and humid day.

Yesterday we felt boring then went to the brand new gigantic shopping mall - MEGA BOX around 3 something. We brought BB with us. As the queue of shuttle box is pretty long, we walked to there from Telford Garden.

Well, I could not suppress my disappointment when I reached there. Every corner was packed with people. Have you ever seen crowd control in shopping centre? I had!

The two giant home and furniture shops - B&Q and Spotlight - have humble decoration... B&Q is a IKEA wannabe, but still has a far way to go. Stuff there are quite low quality, and the price is not very attractive with such standard. The overall feeling to me is both shops look like Hypermarkets in mainland China. Of course, the biggest problem was so so so so many visitors.

We have not gone to other shops, because simply wrestling to get a space or walking forward had already spent all our energy.

The luckiest thing is, we managed to leave Mega Box before the downpour started.

A Break

Thanks god I can really take a break. This time I can be off with no obstacle!!!!

I will take a leave tomorrow, what I am planning to do is:

Have a date with Lucas in the morning time.
Have hair cut in the afternoon.
Dine out with my cousin and sister at night for girl talk, will bring Lucas with me also, even though he is a baby boy.
Clubbing with Jeff

Wow, can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

查理斯博客

My daddy's new blog!!!

Daddy, let's write more, some of my friends are your reader!!!!!

Another me

Allow me to have crazy thoughts sometimes.

Sometimes I imagine if I made a different decision at certain moment, my life will be totally changed.

If I did not give up violin in Primary 2:

I may end up become a violinst in my school philhormonic ochestra.
I may spend my every summer in a music room instead of swimming pools.
I may be 5' 2'' only because I don't swim a lot (then my imbalance head-body ratio will become more obvious).
My academic result should be much better because I don't spend too much time in swimming pool in school days.
Get into HKU, may not choose BA, but BBA or Law school.
I may never able to meet Jeff because I didn't join that ball in that Christmas.
I work in the marketing department of a big firm, am aggressive in my work and am single.

Or....

If I joined the editor group as an extracurricular activity when I was form one:

I love editorial work and my aim is working in media when I grow up.
My academic result should also be much better as I study hard in languages, but Maths still sucks.
Get into Journalism in CU.
Missed the ball in that Christmas where I can meet Jeff.
But get some boyfriends in those three years, all of them are childish.
Get out from CU, get into TVB, become an anchor in TVB news (hahah), but only work for one year because the life is just so harsh.
Get a new boyfriend, he is already 30 somethings, but still a kidult...
Then quit the job in TVB news, get into XYZ magazine to be an editor, because I love this magazine
Work 9-12 three times a week...

Both stories won't come up I become a mother......
I love my real story more.....

Tree inspires you!!

Do you love trees? I love them very much, I do believe they have thoughts and widsom.

This is a tree from London Hyde Park, does't it look like the one in 'Big Fish' movie?

P.S. this picture was taken by Samantha, I found it in my personal folder in the server when I tidied my messy stuff this morning...

Who am I?

From time to time, in certain points of life, you may feel miserable, and want to figure out who you are actually, what is the role you play, what achievement should you have, how will you be in the future, etc etc. And then throughout the process of seeking your identity, to overcome all crisis, to experience happiness and saddness, you define yourself, you construct the real you. And then one day, you may feel comfortable and confident, because you accept your whole self, including the good and bad parts.

Of course, not everyone can reach this stage, hope you and I can be the one.

EQ challenge

Different people are using various ways to challenge my EQ. Okay, after all I am already 30, I should be stable and strong.

I really want to SCREAM from my throat.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH.....

And should I contact MPU (Missing Person Unit) that Jelly is missing? I do not have any clue where he is, he is just disappearing. My goodness, he is our boss and team head, how can he leave us alone and face the cruel world like this???

A new exciting tourist spot - Free fall cable car

A cable car in Ngong Ping 360 was fallen and crashed on the ground into pieces. Let see the words from Skyrail-ITM managing director Bill Calderwood (from SCMP online - Cable car suffered from high wear and tear, Jun 13, 2007)

"The reality is that the climate ... is a fairly harsh, exposed climate," he said, which had "made us more conscious of the fact that we need to take preventive maintenance on a more frequent basis".

Hello? Have you ever seen a cable car which is not under a 'fairly harsh, exposed climate' around the world? Is there any cable car built indoor with central air conditioning system??

Emergency support service

Jelly is in Brazil. He was calling from the airport at my noon time and claimed that he was stuck there with no information of the hotel. He asked me to help him to search the hotel contact.

As it was the midnight at his time and he is extremely tired (had been in flight for around 24 hours), he needed to get the phone number desperately.

With several phone calls back and forth, I gave him phone contacts of several hotels (he didn't know the exact name of the accommodation), luckily one of them is correct. He thanked me wholeheartly.

Jeff said I am even stronger than those platinum card banking service, I consider to put this attribute in my CV:

• Act as a dedicated, personalized concierge to offer emergency support when my boss is travelling.

Ha, sounds pretty attractive.