Typhoon Usagi

it was touted as the strongest typhoon to brush HK since 1979 but it was such a let down!! first, it came only at NIGHT, a SUNDAY night to be exact. water was leaking into my house (came in through the air con vent).. which kept me quite busy..

then useless typhoon went off by 10am monday.. which means everyone had to be back at work by 12pm!! sian to the max. seriously if anything, HK should take the biggest hit as we do not have farmlands, village huts and very few fishermen. all we have are skyscrapers (in fact too many!) and ALOT of people who are tired of working.. we will welcome any typhoon with open arms as long as it gets us a free day off work.

come on, HIT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME!

548 - is not a new gang name!

the 5:
1) do not kill
2) do not steal
3) no sexual misconduct
4) no unskilled speech
5) no intoxication

the 4:
1) there is suffering
2) there is a cause of suffering
3) there is an end to suffering
4) there is a way to end suffering

the 8:
siong man, this one i will learn later. practice the above first hah!

猪扒饭

am missing my own "猪扒" in Singapore.. which, should be engaged in the exact same activity as this one now. what is new?!

can only kelong once

yeah baby, there is always a first time for everything.

"GO OUT"

i refuse to call this a "small" basket - it is just a very "exclusive" one hor. (exclusively for small items only) love my super cool basket which i finally used it for its original purpose - "GO OUT". picnic on the beach today was fantastic. not overly crowded (for HK standards!), clear sky, hot sun and cold water. good friends sharing food laid out on a mat. nothing more to ask for.

FT

north, west, or northwest
metal and water = good.. des means "F" no ok, "B" ok..
invest in others! mai kaki lai!
apparently 34 is the magic number.. HUAT ah!
younger than me!!! nOOooO!!!
think, think, talk - still valid!!!
all the way until 70..

well, as they say.. 算命的, 骗你十年八年!

we LAOs niangs say: Happy National Day Singapore!

very proud of my creation here, we actually got comments on FB from people thinking this was a souvenir tee we bought in Laos and wants us to buy for them! sorry hor! this one is i design one hor!

definitely not a LAOsy trip! - guess whose perky butt this is? :)

laos: luang prabang

i just had to take a picture of this uncle and his sibeh jialat condition fan! i see him peng kang the meat with the lok kok fan beside him i also feel damn hot liao.

we joined an eco tour which brought us on a 4 hour trek in the jungle with a brief stopover in one of the local villages. not sure if they kids go to school but they were pretty much hanging out even though it was a weekday.

the trek was fun only because it started to rain really heavily halfway through! the kuangsi waterfall which was supposed to be the highlight of the trip was a clear disappointment simply because the rain brought all the mud into the waterfall :(

i kept slipping and falling due to the rain and mud, after a while i just gave up! i sat on my butt and started sliding down the slopes instead. as they say, if you cannot beat them, join them!

best you've never seen a wooden ATM machine!!

we stayed in the Luang Say Residences, i have to say this can be one of the best accommodation i have ever stayed in! the room was classy, food was amazing and the service is impeccable! of course all these come at a price, thank god we got a good deal this time :)

laos: vang vieng

after a four hour bumpy bus ride, we arrived in Vang Vieng and checked into our first decent resort. (NO!! i do not want to be reminded of the hotel we stayed in Vientiane!!) we were told Riverside Boutique hotel was flooded just one day before our arrival and the pool was quite murky but that did not dampen our spirits at all because of the amazing poolside view; limestone cliffs!! this must be one of the best pool view i have seen.

we rented the resort bicycles (for free) and took a ride around the small town. so.. i have come to realize that "甜蜜密" is actually quite siong in real life. all I know is, either my friend needs to lose weight or learn how to ride a bicycle on her own!! we gave her 2 months to learn and she still CMI. grr..

day 3 we went caving, this view of paddy fields was taken just before we entered the cave.

this caving experience is so different from the "caving" experience in Guilin, even though it was also a limestone cave. this one is very much kept to its original state, we had to use torchlights and it was slippery so we had to watch every step we take.

we just kept following the guide and before we know it, we went really deep into the cave! when he switched off the torchlight it was PITCH dark. i could not see my fingers with my hand in front of me. i cannot imagine what would we do if we lost our light and our guide there! such a terrible situation i do not want to be in!

we made it out nonetheless! in the safe hands of our guide! he had a good camera steady hand too haha (he took this shot for us)

laos: vientiane

based on "i don't know what decision making process" we decided that the holiday destination would be LAOS! haha, i am sure JY has a lot to say to this!! anyways, first day and last day was supposed to be Vientiane - it is kindda like a pit stop almost. and it is only a pit stop for a reason: there is nothing nice here except for the Luang Prabang Bakery that serves up the best croissant i have ever tasted!!

blue skies

here i am, waiting for 17 clients to come into the boardroom as i cannot wait to speak to them about using us for portfolios.. really..? hah, clearly not. heck the portfolios, enjoy while the blue skies last! could not resist sneaking in a picture of this beautiful day and breathtaking view of HK from before the meeting starts.

我终于 "出头" 了!!!

but 是 30 "出头"... -_-||

surprise delivery to the office - a huge bouquet of flowers from Agnes B fleurist, very HK baller style and chocolate truffle birthday cake from Mandarin Oriental.. da best in town! what can i say? there are too many people who love me.

had a fun time watching movie, eating cake, drinking tea and ultimately falling asleep on the couch at AN's house!

MBTT

this is taking 马不停蹄 to a whole new level.
meet my new friend, Buting Ma.

after WEEKS of WAITING the horse mask has finally arrived!

"dindinz"

do not ask me why "dinners" are called "dindinz"... i was just told this is the "norm". the ngoh hiangs i brought back from Singapore taste heavenly!! i really need to inherit this 家传菜 of the mum.

anyways while AN and i were having dinner, SL was cracking her brain on an email she wants to send to complain about her unlawful dismissal. wow.. suddenly i feel the "problems" i "face" at work are like kindergarten problems. i should really cherish what i have.

simple things that make me happy #12

snuggled in bed with a smug on my face knowing someone else has to work OT over a sunday while i don't.

kayaking and coastal clean-up

today was a really fun day out kayaking in the sun and sea. best is - i get to do it for free and also contribute to the environment!

we were exposed to a full day of learning how to kayak and had to paddle all the way from Mui Wo to Chi Ma Wan - an island i never knew about.

in between we had to stop by some little coves to clean up the coastal area then tow the garbage bags back to shore. it was really easy without the garbage tow behind you but later it became a totally different story!

my arms were really burning and hurting like hell straight after! but it felt SUPER GOOD! lactic acid - love it! i will do this again and again anytime! except for some cuckoo bird or "阿害" as AN puts it - today is a perfect day!

shadow

knock knock..
who's there?
jess.
jess who?
jess me and my SHADOW..

sigh.

shio bakzhang!

妈妈的粽子永远是最香最美味的.
在嫌弃妈妈不会这个，不会那个之前...
不如先赞赏她所会的一切?
牢记。

the mum: 1 , me: 0

surround sound

do you know what does 'surround sound' system mean in a work context? let me explain. it is the non stop 'sounds' coming out from those blatant ball carriers who are always 'surrounding' the important people such as a new angmoh towkay who just arrived in Asia. that is what 'surround sound' means... but, when the VIP is gone, suddenly the sound also stops... pathetic.

SSP friendly uncle DPD

got to spend some time with Jia as she visits HK for work. really happy we got to try the sham shui po friendly uncle dai pai dong together. i really LOVE their food!! although my friends seem to think i love the uncle who takes our orders more. totally want to take every single visitor there next time. but need to go in bigger groups and cooler weather + armed with wet wipes hahaha.

vegetarian 'dinz'

tried cooking an all veg meal today for AN and SL. everything was vegetarian including the oyster sauce! took quite a bit of effort for the old cucumber soup but it tasted great! i started the habit of becoming vegetarian once a week since April and it was possible only with social support from friends who do not mind doing it together! perhaps i may just turn full veg one day.. mmm..

Shanghai in a nutshell

after the 3 hour flight delay from HK to Shanghai... 筋疲力尽
thank god the car ride from airport to LL's house... 有惊无险
seeing LL and Yellow... 异地重逢
Cami... |骨|瘦|如|柴|
walking around the city with no agenda... 随心所欲
most of the restaurants we ate in... 物超所值 ^^b
appreciative of the hosts... 地主之宜
wrong return date on my ticket... 晴天霹雳!!
so bobian must buy a new ticket... 破财消灾 :(
after all that fun it is time to go back to work... 打回原形 @@

Guilin.. 真的还好而已

and they say 桂林山水 - 甲天下.. i say SO-SO-ONLY! quite disappointed with what i saw. not sure if it was the wrong season or was it because we joined a local Chinese tour which kindda spoiled it for me. this picture was probably one of the best shots of the 山水 there, so you can be the judge.

we joined this cheap local tour which brought us to so many places, including a ride on one of the ferries like this. i got into a huge fight with a China aunty on board of the ferry because threw a soiled diaper (full of shit) into the river right in front of my eyes. i even had to take a whiff as the wind was blowing my direction. let's just say it was VERY hard for me to sit and do nothing - i went right up to her and gave her a piece of my mind!!

what was slightly more entertaining were the caves we visited, unfortunately they were dramatically litted with neon colours that made me felt like i was in 盘丝洞 of 西游记 the entire time.

very impressed with how they actually brought the entire souvenir shop INTO the caves as well - seizing every opportunity to sell fake stones and jades to tourists like us.

and of course, people like them almost makes me want to laugh. excuse me, the '后面 aunty' - the sign already told you "NO ENTRY" and you still happily walk in to take pictures. '前面 aunty' sitting on the railings 'like a boss'. haha.

Guilin - definitely not a place i want to re-visit again.

the tan chen hong dodson HK reunion

been a while since the family of four travelled together. definitely a luxury for the sis to be out alone without the kids. i was eager to arrange for something special so i made a booking for lunch at an exclusive club in HK.

the food was really amazing - so many selections and they were all delicately prepared. they rarely repeated the same dishes so each time you go back to the buffet line you find something new!

what made it extra special was the décor and exclusivity of the club i guess.. i will definitely bring special guests/visiting friends to this place anytime!!

just another day in HK

really curious to see how long these protestors can last.. the previous "occupy central movement" went on for more than a year!! i certainly it will not take that long for the workers to find a solution as time is clearly not on their side..

life is GOOD

came to work and saw 爱心早餐 ready on the table with a very sweet note. i guess this must be "breakie?" as AN would most likely put it..

ps: LL.. jiayou!! life is good! "earn while we can!" HAHA.

cycling @ Tai Po

today was a fantastic day out cycling in Tai Po! really makes a difference when you have locals to bring you around. for a start, i would have never found the bike rental company! it was on the 5th floor of a building in an industrial estate.. and you know the trail is amazing when you look up and see this while cycling!

went to the village in Tai Po where the fellow HK friend's grandma still lives in.. we even had the priviledge to visit the 94 year old grandma and see the insides of the ancestral house