Alone

I went out jogging for half an hour.

The air was moist and crispy cool. I think I was walking in a thick layer of fog, a cloud.

My lips could feel the tiny water droplets lingering in the atmosphere.

The feeling was really relaxing. I enjoy being alone, without any portable music gadget, just get a bit closer to the surroundings, to hear how wind blows, trees whisper.

When I started sweating a little bit, I felt genuinely happy, not because I was losing weight, but because I realized I was a big idiot.

Why the hell I thought about terminating my maternity leave suddenly? Why on earth I cared so much about my bosses said?

Should I end up to stay my whole life in a firm? No, so why don't I enjoy every minute I work in this company?

Not to care about how people expect you and how you expect yourself... Just ENJOY!

Because, I know I would not spend my whole life there. It doesn't mean this company is bad. It is just like one day you realize the person is not your ideal lover, you break up with him, but it does not mean either of you are bad person.

I feel very happy. If actually I am still being trapped in a mood swing, surely I am swinging up. Hope I would back to the ground, if cannot still at the top.

My new toy - FUJIFILM FINEPIX F100

I am never a gadget person, it explains why I did not own a digital camera until now. Maybe I would have had one earlier if I was not living with Jeff.

Anyway... dada... This is my new toy - FUJIFILM FINEPIX F100.

This is not a fancy DC, I would say. The outlook is not as attractive as those Canon models, but the picture quality is almost the best in the market, according to Jeff.

I love the various modes it available, which tailor-made for different environment, such as Museum, Party, Flower, Text, Landscape, Sport, Night, Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach and Underwater. What is more, there are several other modes exclusively for Portrait - Natural, even skin tone and brighten skin tone effect, which are highly favourable by girls.

Not to mention, the camera also comes with the face-detection function, a must-have for newly launch models of all brands.

Wanna see some photo samples? Please feel free to visit my Picasa website!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/mankileung

制水

今天我住的地區制水。水務署稱下午二時會恢復供水，怎料晚上九時仍然沒有水。屋苑內及附近地方的臨時水缸內的水也用光了。

我們這屋苑像一個小社區，我聽見"村口"有很多"村民"很煩燥，不停地問管理員怎麼辦。管理員很無奈地安撫他們。

就在這時候，水來了。

為了替那位管理員解窘，我從窗口大叫"有水啦！"

我承認我叫得像"有賊呀！"多一點。

一秒後，我看見那人羣開始散去，安心地回家洗澡了。

制水真的很不便，雖然聽起來很小學生課文，但這次經驗提醒我要珍惜食水啊！(要用小朋友腔讀出)。

My new hair style

I have no patience to wrestle with every strand of my wavy hair every morning, I have had straightened my hair in salon last week.

I am so satisfied with it this time, hair is straight but not too 'artificial'. What do you think?

I know I love you

I know I love you, because

• When I feel mad for no reasons and want to bite someone, you are always my top of mind.
• I do not feel silly to ask you silly question, (e.g. do you think my eyes are getting bigger and bigger?) Because I know you always give me a favourable answer.
• I remember all your favourites, but if you forget mine, I would go insane.
• I love to bully you sometime.
• I do not feel embarrassed when I cry even watching a comedy movie with you.
• When I see something interesting, you are always the first person I want to tell.
• I want to share both happiness and sadness with you.
• My heart breaks if you are upset.
• I am willing to be a mother of your children.
• I think you are my soul mate and want to spend every moment with you.

An irritating me

Kelly Larry is right...I am contradicting myself.

The agreed date to resume my work is on May 5, it was accepted by my bosses after an uncomfortable negotiation. However, now I want to get back to work earlier, because I miss my work, and I feel guilty as my teammate is having extraordinarily heavy workload.

On the other hands, I know I will miss my kids terribly... I wanted to extend my maternity leave in the first place because I wanted to breastfeed Linus longer, and to spend more time in his first few months.

Gee.. I hate myself... I am so irritating...

Bitterly sweet

It's 0:33 now. I just have had the last 'milk production' of today.
Baby Lucas is sleeping next to me, it is the second day he wants to stay next to us at night.

I had just read a blog of a 15 years old girl. We know each other but I do not think she will think I am also her blog reader. I better not to tell her. Her diaries fill with bitterly sweet, she is on her way to discover her true self, to understand who she is.

Well, this is what I am doing, even I reach 30 years old, and am turning into 31 next month.

I love my secondary school life, my teenage years were easier than some girls, I guess. I studied in a girls school, beauty consciousness was not strong enough to make me felt inadequate or miserable. I had load of great friends around me, although one or two hurt me really really bad in the later years. My school works were good enough for me to enter the university, but not very brilliant. I found myself a lucky girl even though I had a very shitty 19 years old.

But I do not want to live my teenage life again, if there is really a chance.

I hate that miserable feeling, which people usually experience in their adolescence. I always felt I missed something, I did not understand what I really want, I could not figure out what the meaning of life. I felt inadequate when I looked at those on TV who were already famous but younger than me...

Yes, I still have such feelings now, but once you live longer, you are smarter to not letting such miseries to bother you always.

Sometime when I look at the two kids, I wonder how they will be. I just want them to be happy and to proud of themselves.

悠閒的一天

今天原定上午做facial treatment，美容師卻病了。本想改為做負離子直髮，相熟髮型師又放假。



都好，多點時間陪寶寶們。還有很多書及雜誌未看。



產假還有個多月，現在努力養好身體及精神，回到崗位時努力工作。

千嬌百美

我花裙不太多，尤其是長裙。可能是春天來臨，近日忽然愛上長花裙，以作波希米亞人打扮(又可掩飾生完BB後未完全修好的身段)。

一口氣買了兩條，漂亮嗎？

我認為要穿得長花裙好看，上衣要素色及簡約，配長頸鏈或長耳環，腳踏平底涼鞋或wedge，手執一個鬆軟軟的啡色大皮袋(千萬別掛上hello kitty或其朋友的鎖匙扣)，玫瑰色紅唇，再加上一頭微曲長髮就很迷人了。

a spot of bother

I am reading A spot of bother by Mark Haddon. I love it a lot. It is about 4 weirdos in a normal family.

The whole family falls into the places. George, the depressed father who discovers a sinister lesion on his hip. Jean, the wife who has extramarital affair with George's ex-colleague. Katie, who never has good relationship with her parents, a single mom. Jamie, a homosexual son who thinks he was born in a wrong family, a wrong place and a wrong body...

As Katie suddenly announces the is getting married, everyone in the family thinks she is going to marry a wrong person, the second time. However, this wedding pulls all of them back again in some sense.

I have yet known whether it is in positively or negatively way, because I am just in Pg. 80, but I just love the story. I call them as 'a normal family' because I think most families have some abnormalities.

Mark Haddon is also the author of 'the curious incident of the dog in the night-time', another outstanding novel filled with dark humours.

10 Ideas that are changing the world

The cover story of Time Vol. Mar 2008 is fascinating. It is about the revolutions that are happening and which will shape the future, which involve:



1. The concept of common wealth - thanks to the globalization and rapid changing climates, all nations are now in the same boat in terms of multi aspects.



2.The end of Customer Service - the emerging of self-serve technology (e.g touch screen sushi ordering system) which save human resources from service sector.



3. The Post-Movie-Star Era - No more so-called super stars can guarantee to rock the blockbuster. Instead, moviegoers are looking for impressive stories. (See the success of JUNO).



4. Reverse Radicalism - It is proved that to disengage terrorists from their associations by education is the much more effective way to stop terrorism.



5. Kitchen Chemistry - It is not about dehydrated ice-cream for astronauts, but how to measure and prepare food in more scientific way. (e.g. Kraft Foods know there is the great difference to heat an egg at 60c and 61c)



6. Geoengineering - Decarbonizing our atmosphere seems very difficult, another upcoming stream of scientists are thinking about how to mess the air more to stop the global warming.



7. Aging Gracefully - Gray-haired societies are still the strong vehicles in social, economical and political fields.



8. Curing the 'Dutch Disease' - how to solve the paradox of plenty in resource-rich nations, i.e. to avoid rich gets richer by exploiting the poor.



9. Women's Work - Female strongly boost national economies, not by shopping, but by establishing their own small scale entrepreneurship. Good examples demonstrated in Asia and Africa.



10. Beyond the Olympics - Sporting events are the most effective channels of marketing. Now, marketers are thinking about making more globalized sport game all over the year.

I do not have superman-complex, but I do wish to involve in some of these trends to contribute a better world in the future.

Better get yourself a copy!!!

I feel awfully sad

Don't worry friends, I will overcome this moody period. This blogsphere is already good for me to release my anger, frustration and disappointment...

Let me make a virtual scream here~~~ AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

Okay, only getting a bit better, but better than nothing change.

A boxful of memories

I believe everyone has a treasure box storing their precious memories, which locates in a special place in one's heart.

I have a boxful of memories literally. Many years ago, I bought this wooden box in a flea market, and I filled it up with loads of pictures, funny stuffs and greeting cards. Each of them represents a remarkable moment in my life.

Cycling and jogging

I went cycling from Shatin and the Science Park on Tuesday, and jogged for 30 minutes on Wednesday evening. I will practice yoga today afternoon. Wow, I feel really good. It is so nice to do exercise all by yourself, you can enjoy your very private and personal time

My belly is firmer and starts to build muscle.

Scientific fiction

My 6-year-old nephew Isaac is highly talented in arts.

He loves drawing, music, writing stories and letters (especially love letters to his girl-friends). One night, he drew a picture with the Sun in the centre and the Earth on its orbit, but there was an arrow from the Earth to the Sun. I asked him what it was about.

"The Earth is spinning around and around the Sun and finally it goes into the Sun." He replied.

My jaw dropped. Then I spoke to Isaac, "So how about all human being and animals on the Earth? Are they going to die?"

He lowed down his voice and said, 'they will (be) burn(t)."

"Er....wow.... it is interesting." I was stunned. He had written a catastrophic scientific fiction which does make sense. It is possible for the planet losing its gravity for whatever reason and crashes to the Sun one day!!!

I am totally impressed by his imagination, even though it is a bit pessimistic.

Jogging

I went jogging today. I've run for 20 minutes, felt so good.

I am planning to go cycling in another day. I have not been such sportive since I left school. To be a sportive babe, I've just bought a bottle of Shiseido Sun Protective Lotion SPF50 PA+++. Actually I was finding the sunblock in ANESSA line, but it is discontinued for awhile and the whole range of new products will only be launched in this summer. (I am sure men are expecting ANESSA for another reason...its ads usually starring bunches of bikini goddesses, which I also feel captivating.)

I just discover that if you want to keep your workout habit a bit longer, invest in your sport wear wardrobe and skincare parlor. You will feel great to workout in cute T-shirt and sleek running shoes.

A nice break

When both babies were sleeping tight this afternoon, Jeff and me managed to sneak away for shopping in 3 hours. Our maid looked after them.

When I held Jeff's hand tight, he asked me when was the last time we holding hands. Oh gosh, it seems long long time ago. We seldom date since our first child was born, let alone we are the parents of two kids.

Within these three hours, we shopped for sport apparel (I am going to start jogging and cycling next week), groceries, Lucas's wear (he grows very fast in these two months) and food for tonight dinner.

******

I can't believe I can prepare a decent dinner within an hour. I just found I can really cook, with some guidance and suggestion provided my maid. She asked me if my mom had taught me cooking or not... I told her that my mom always demonstrated how to cook but never allowed us to touch. Every time she said 'I show you this time and I let you do next time...'

Well, although I don't cook well, I am sure I have some talent. Jeff gave me a thumb up!!!

Quaterly age crisis

I used to tease those self-help-book-junkies. However, I read two recently.... the book names are very cliche and I feel too embarrassed to tell you here.

When people are going through a new phase in their lives, I think they would be like me, suddenly obsess in sometimes they has not even touched. However, it is nothing bad to try something new, right?

In one of the books, I found a term 'Crisis Chick', which is about women who are facing age crisis. Guess what, I got almost all ticks of its characteristics. I wonder if the author is actually depicting me.

Crisis Chick always worries about making a wrong decision and screw up her whole life ahead. (Damn, isn't it me?) However, life is not that simple, the logic is never be that direct. Every choice can bring me pros and cons, why should I worry too much?? What I should do is to make a thoughtful decision and go ahead with faith. That's all.

SCSG, my secondary school

Last Saturday, I managed to go to the Fun Fair of St. Catharine's in the last minute. Jeff and Lucas came along with me, it was the first time Lucas met most of my classmates. He cried fiercely in the first 15 minutes, until someone gave him a big 4WD toy car.

It is so delightful to meet all those familiar faces. I was very upset last week, but once I could see my old friends again, my sadness swept away and everything seemed not a big deal anymore.

The campus is as beautiful as when I graduated, except the new, awkward new building which stands alone at the open area where used to be. Frankly, it totally violates the spacious design of our school, what a shame.

I am always proud of being a 'St. Cat Girl'. We embrace the motto of BRAVE, GENTLE AND SINCERE even we graduated. Another key element of our school is being innovative since it was established, from the campus architectural design - an octagonal hall, to its mission - to nurture female professionals in different fields, and its class names - Mary, Martha, Dorcas, Phoebe, Priscilla and Ruth, which are derived from 6 remarkable women appear in the Bible.

There is a piece of impressive sharing from Mrs. V. Wong, our famous geography teacher in SCSG Old Girls Message Board (http://groups.google.com/group/scsg-old-girls-forum/web/my-sharing-with-old-girls-----wong-sin-shuk-kuen-vicky?hl=zh-TW). In her passage, she reminds her favourite quote 'Be a lady'. Guess what, she asked me to be a lady once when I joked and yelled at my friend in a recess. This article recalls loads of happy memories in my teenage.

SCSG, wish you all the best!!!