London Day 3

Yesterday night the network was down. My eye lids also could not keep opening at 10:30pm, then I crawled onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

I become a morning bird these few days, I wake up at 5:59 am this morning. Thanks god that I can connect the network again and it gives me a chance to make this entry. Okay, to report what we had done on Day 3:

London Zoo

This is the first time I visited London Zoo, we were very lucky that yesterday was the first open day of Gorilla Kingdom. Three giant monkeys looked quite perplexing in there cozy glass cage, maybe they were missing their natural habitat.

Chicago
We came back to Covent Garden at 0430 pm for the musicals 'Chicago'. We could not get discount tickets but the show is still worth for value. The performance is awesome and I love the story so much. I will buy its soundtrack when I come back home.

Straits Restaurant
We had a relatively decent dinner at the Straits Restaurant. It is an Asian cuisine restaurant near our hotel. We can tell the staffs are Malaysians because they have the temperament of our boss and colleague of our counterpart. The girl there is pretty funny, but I can tell from the short conversation with her that London is quite a tough place for her. It is good to have a short trip here but will be another story if you settle down in a foreign place.

London Day 2

Thanks god our boss Tin Tin performed unquestionably great in the presentation. The clients are strongly impressed. This left us a worry-free holiday in the coming days.

In the afternoon, we walked from the place we stay - Park Lane Mews to Buckingham Palace, then the Westminster Abbey, The Big Ben, and then the London Eye. Finally I had a great chance to sit in the London Eye Capsule and enjoyed the stunning view along the two side of River Thames.

The weather is chilly, and even had some light shower in the afternoon, but when we got into the London Eye, the sun came out from the thick cloud, which gave the final touch up of the whole scene.

The next spot of visit is Harrods. We tasted the 'famous' Gelato there. Maybe we had too high expectation, it is a bit disappointing, the dessert is not as wonderful as we expect, instead, it is too sweet to us.

During night, we bought Dinner from M&S.

I want to write more, but I really cannot control my eyes, the eye-lids are so heavy.

London Day 1

I cannot describe how exhausted I am right now.

This morning we arrived London at 5:50am local time, then we got a taxi to Park Lane Mews Hotel. No room was available and we left the hotel at around 8 am to explore the nearby areas. We got the room at 2pm, finally.

The place we had been today: Hyde Park, Oxford Street, Covent Garden.

Am really cannot open my eyes, talk to you tomorrow.

I can't believe I will fly tomorrow

I read my calendar wrongly. We should leave at tomorrow midnight, not Wed mid night...

I miss BB and Jeff sososososoososo much...

Thanks God that Kelly got a strikingly good job in her on-site presentation, otherwise I will think I shouldn't be alive.

Samantha and I haven't planned our trip...

That book of perfectly useless information

Have not shared my reading experience with you for a long time.

Recently I am reading many books concurrently. I hate to do it but I do not know why I can hardly concentrate on any of them.

One book is the Princess Diaries - After Eight... I can hardly have association with the book because it is really a book for teenagers, that means it targets readers who is at least 15 years younger than me, given that I am getting farther and farther from its prime audience age group.....

Another book is called 'That book of perfectly useless information', it is really silly but makes me burst into laugh many times. I love to read it when I commute back home by MTR.

There is one topic I laugh crazily and wanna share with you:

Unintentionally Funny (Actual) Newspaper Headline (Pg. 109 - 111 Michell Symons, 2006, That Book of Perfectly Useless Information)

'Cause of Aids found - scientists'
'Lawyers give poor free advice'
'Man found beaten, robbed by police'
'Blind woman gets new kidney from Dad she hasn't seen in years'
'Kicking baby considered to be healthy' (ahhahah, I couldn't help to laugh and almost pee...)
'Boys cause as many pregnancies as girls'
'Lung cancer in women mushrooms'
'Living together linked to divorce.' (successful marriage can be found among couples who don't live together???)
'Police search for witnesses to assault'

CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!

Blook

Have you heard something about 'Blook'? According to the newspaper, it means books from blog - people publich books directly from the content of their blogs.

I don't know why, but I just don't like this blog-publishes-to-book idea. When blog becomes something on a piece of paper, I think it lose the original taste.

That's why I always choose snack in its original flavour, instead of its chocolate version.

Exploring London

This will be my third time to visit London.

I will have a business-com-leisure trip to London, from Mar 29 - Apr 2, will come back to HK in the afternoon of Apr 3. Surely I will miss Lucas and Jeff very very very much. This is the first time I depart from baby for such a long time.

I will go with Samantha, luckily this time the boss we go with is Tin Tin, he is relatively the most patient and generous boss.

Thanks god that after this UK trip, we still have a long Easter holiday ahead. I will compensate BB and my hubby.

I will buy two giant Easter eggs for them, maybe one more for my sister.

Confrontation

Today is my bad luck day.

I was being scolded by two persons in the same day, one is my boss Kelly Larry, one is a person who has similar position at home - my father in law. I can only claim I am unlucky.

For Kelly Larry, I became the target because when she was in Frankfurt waiting for a flight Dusseldorf, she wanted to find someone to teach her how to fix the charts. Unfortunately no one picked the company main line at 2:00pm, the line was diverted to a secretary who was not in her place. Then she called my mobile and I picked the phone, then I became the squeeze ball.

What a shame that I did not know how to fix the chart instantly, I was running over the whole office with my mobile as a crazy woman to find someone who knows how to do it... poorly that person also needed sometimes to check. Kelly said she will call back but so far have not heard from her.

I feel so incompetent, even I had finally fixed the chart later and sent her by email. Hope it really helps. Anyway, thanks Bonbon because when she knew I had a hard time, she tried to tell me jokes and gave me some grapes.

The second unfortunate event: After such stressful day I came back home with a tensed body and mind, I felt so happy to see my baby. When I carried Lucas my highness in domestic arena suddenly spoke up, I did not even sense the one he scolding was me at the beginning, 'You let your son sit with us and have dinner, and then you let him putting his hand into the baby food. Just now he screamed because your maid did not allow him to do so.....'

I do not have any hints of such complaint. Hello? This is a extremely normal scene for a baby learning how to eat by himself. It looks abnormal to him because he did not experience or has any knowledge of it. I Then replied: 'I just want him to experience and explore the surrounding area, and his behaviour can be definitely guided.'

He was a bit shock because he did not use to be talked back, well actually I just told him the fact and my own thought, nothing offensive. Then he smiled a little bit and said 'He is really playing the food like playing cerement....'

I then told baby not to do so and carried him upstairs, and i never returned to the living room again.

And then I know that before I came back, he made such complaint again and again everytime when he saw someone in the house, including my maid.....

I am open for the opinions from others about parenting, but it limits to discussion, not scolding or blaming.

Tulips

Tulip is my most favourite flower. If it is a person, she should be a maiden with strong characters. (The word 'maiden' fits more than 'girl' in this context, because it sounds more classic...)


Photo from Jeff 17.03.07 at Flower exhibition, the Victoria Peak

The Queen - Diana - Mother Teresa

I love the movie 'The Queen'.

Needless to say, Helen Mirren's performance is unbeatable. She has a talent to make audience think that she is not acting as the Queen, but She IS the Queen.

Apart from that, this film gives me a chance to think the whole 'incident' in another way.

When Diana died, most people were grieving. We love Diana so much. I cannot deny that she is an extremely attractive and adorable woman and contributed a lot. We are fond of her even she is not perfect as a royal family member. However, why do we love her so much?

Is it because she is beautiful?

How would we perceive the whole thing if she is not beautiful?

In Ameile, there is a scene about an old woman talking that Diana's death is a great loss when she read the newspaper. Ameile asked that how about Mother Teresa, she also passed away several days after Diana, won't this a great loss also? The answer from that old woman is no, because Mother Teresa is not pretty and old. Ameile disapproves and challenges that does it mean old and not pretty people are less valuable??

Mother Teresa devotes her whole life to many helpless people and brought that overcome the tragedies, she is always my hero.

Those who loves Mozart will never get old

Last Thursday, Jeff and I attended an 'education concert' - Swire Classic Insights. During the concert, conductor Mr. Henry Shek brought us through Mozart's Jupiter - Symphony No. 41 in C major. Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra performed heavenly.

Mr. Shek led us to find out the patterns through out the Symphony. In that one hour, I experienced how amazing music can be. I am impressed that the world gets such extremely talented people like Mozart to touch our heart by his breath-taking music.

Last year was his 250th birthday. Lucas was so lucky that he could come with us to enjoy a concert which celebrated Mozart's great day in last Christmas Eve. I still remember that my belly was wobbling with the music rhythms.

Mr. Shek said 'Those who loves Mozart will never be older than 35. It is because all his music was composed in those 35 years. His life is like a match, which is very short and sparkling brilliantly and lights up the world.

Sacrifice

Another vivid example showing how great Jeff is.

Last Friday I bought myself a ring, the first silver ring I buy in my life. It is a gift to glorify and demonstrate the economic independence as being a modern woman. (I exaggerate, just kidding)

On Sunday, I sit with my baby on toilet bowl and made him 'poo poo', after done, I wiped his back side and threw the tissue into the toilet bowl. At such 'critical' moment, my ring was too loose and slipped elegantly into the toilet, with a crystal clear 'ting' sound when it reached the ground. Please note that I have not flushed yet.

I was shocked and say 'ah' in quite a high pitch.

Jeff responded in 0.2 second rushed into the toilet. I told him the dramatic scene just then.

He asked me to leave the 'area' and brought baby to the 'safety place', he said 'I will manage it, don't worry'.

Then he used a giant plastic bag to wrap his hands and he stirred the water... after 10 seconds, he took out the ring.

I even dared to ask if he had touch any baby's poo poo, he replied with a pity smile ' of course, what do you think, the ring was under the poo!!'

I really love Jeff, he is a hero!!!!!!!!!!

How do you construct the world in your mind??

Stereotyping is important because it helps us to simplify the world in order manage information in our mind.

I am interested to learn how others construct segments in their brain. Tonight, I am just joking with Jeff that one of our dearests believes that all people in the planet can only fall into 4 big categories:

Chinese
Foreigners (what he calls Gwailos/ westerners)
Men
Female

He tries to explain people have different behaviours or perception because of his/her gender or 'nationality'. For example, If a person is creative, he will say because that man is a westerner, Chinese won't have such big wit.... Another example, ALL women will not care about their career once they become mothers.

Base on his mental map, there are 4 combination formed: Male Chinese/ Female Chinese/ Male Westerners (Gwailos), Female Westerners (Gwaipos).

I am not being sarcastic, I just think this is interesting.

How do you define the world??

Rules in working place

1. Your fault is your fault.
2. Your boss's fault is also your fault.
3. Your boss has a right to ruin your reputation or scapegoat you in front of your clients and colleague, for the sake of retaining his face.

I experience the 2nd and the 3rd rules thoroughly in these two weeks. I thought HE is the exceptional, HE is reasonable... But I discover that all working places have no big difference at all.

The REAL last phase of the Europe project

Don't wanna write any work-related entry but my life recently is either about job or my baby. It will be fantastic if I can split myself into two individual, a stay-home Manki and a career Gloria and each of them has 24 hours a day to spend (that means 48 hours in total as a complete me).

Now we are really reaching the last phase of the 9-country project. I think we conduct this research for almost one year, if we count the initial costing period and the idle time before the actual start. We look forward to finish all local reports by this week and hopefully I can take some annual leaves in the coming two weeks.

The happiest moment for me everyday is to simply stay with my baby and look at him when he falls asleep. His fair light skin and long eye lashes make him looks like an adorable angel.

Annual Dinner 2007

We just had a great fun in the Annual Dinner this year, everyone burst into laugh in every 5 minutes.

The theme this year is 'knowing your colleague'. Many awards had been given to selected staff. Surprising, I got the 1st runner up of best dressed staff and won $1000 cash.

I will spend those lucky money to a gift for Jeff, he wants to have a flash.

We had the party in a small island in Repulse Bay, I understand why our queen highly recommended (that means ordered) the committee to host the function there, the place is just terrific, we had our overwhelming starry starry dinner on the lawn.

When we are waiting for the dining time, several of us video recorded some silly stuff. One of the videos is my yoga class, you can view it below:

This is the best annual dinner I had so far.