I need a vacation

i can't sit still at work. 

Calvin and Hobbes fans - this is the best resource on the web for C&H comic strips

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this track pretty much sums up my idea of bad euro-pop. *laughs*

| Download of the day: O-Zone - Dragostea Din Tei |

kitten's gone

i've moved!

the new aparment is HUGE (by HK standards anyway).  in my old place my bed was sandwiched between two walls and i was used to sleeping in a tight space (i actually found it comforting to be all snuggled up) but in the new apartment i have TONS of space around my bed and i feel like i'm stranded on some strange island in the sea.  it's very unsettling

so basically i haven't slept well since i moved here and i've been stumbling into work every morning with a pounding headache and puffy eyes

yeah, i need some company

will you be my Vodka?

the problem with adopting animals at SPCA is, the adorable ones go soooo fast.  literally within 2-3 days of their arrival.  and since you can't "reserve" cats, whether you end up adopting the cat you picked online all boils down to pure luck (or your "?" with the animal, as the japanese would say)

| Download of the day: Mary J. Blige - Rainy days |

Joyce, thanks for the cutest birthday card ever!

A forward

Spend some time to read this.  i quite liked it

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The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life.

We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.

We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

- George Carlin -

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i've been having nightmares 3 nights in a row.  why?

| Download of the day: Christina Arguilera - Beautiful |

Trail of gold ....

i love being in the water  

Tried wakeboarding for the first time today - could get up easily but as soon as i tried to flip one leg forward i fell flat on me face [splat!]  didn't help that i only got 3 minutes before having to surrender the reign either

do you ppl have any good tips re: wakeboarding?  i'm *dying* to go again so you watersports fanatics pllleeeease give me a shout mext time you go

oh and i got braces!  modern technology rocks.  my braces are manufactured by a company called invisalign - as the name suggests, they're virtually invisible + pretty comfortable compared to traditional braces.  and since these braces are a major foodtrap, i have finally found the ultimate excuse to go on a liquid diet.  breakfast - coffee.  lunch - soup.  tea - McD sundae. dinner - lychee martinis

oh my.....

| Download of the day: Portishead - Sour times |

i took my mom to a private kitchen called Yellow Door today.  private kitchens are a not-so-new concept that sprung up about a year ago - these are very very small restaurants (4-5 tables) that offer home cooking in a relaxed atmosphere.  the menus are set and dinners range from 6-10 dishes. 

[i should go work for a food magazine]

anyhow i digress

as soon as my mom and i step into the restaurant, she yelled out a name - turns out my mom and the owner went to university together and haven't seen each other for 30 odd years.  what a random coincidence.  so the owner came over to catch up, and i got a rare glimpse into my mom's life as a uni student 

my mother was mischievous as a kid and rebellious as a teenager (i would know, i'm a carbon copy of her when she was young).  i had a great time hearing about how active she was in school, the organizations she was involved in, and all the pranks she used to pull on teachers and friends.  

in all honesty, once in a while, i still see traces of that fun-loving college student throwing her head back in a wicked giggle, but ever since I've know her she's been "Mom".  To me, she is: motherly, reliable, cautious, strict, homework ... not falling off trees and badly grazing knees, stealing sweets from the kiosk, skipping school to go catch worms, cutting her friend's hair using a rice bowl's circumference to measure the "right" length...

i don't know how i feel about the two polar-opposite Mom's that i'm getting to know.... i guess certain compromises we make because we have to, and others because we want to.  i should have a proper chat with her some time.  meanwhile this afternoon was a real treat.  i felt like we've suddenly grown closer

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what do you think about this quote?

 "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing."

| Download of the day: Holly Valance - kiss kiss |

Are girls supposed to smell nice?

... and look well-kept all the time?  is that what makes them "ho ho mei"? (alvin and rich )

I walked into the elevator this afternoon after my run, sweaty, still puffing.  the two tai tais who walked out at the same time paused when they saw me, look startled, and inched their way past me, way off to the side of the corridor

hmm.  made me want to belch loudly to add to the image

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HK can be quite pretty sometimes.  you just have to catch it at the right moments

[bowin road, 6:43pm]

My new toys

happy entry today.  too much ranting recently

1) Steve gave me the Nikon FADF 18-35mm f3.5-4.5 lens for my birthday last year and i went to take photos of the HK skyline with it.  got some awesome prints since the angle is sooooo wide on that sucker. thx man     i am now looking for a new lens that's super fast with an image stabilizer and super zoom so that i can play stalker ... 

2) USB charger

- i'm probably behind in this... there's this phone charger that you can plug into the USB port in your computer.  they rock.  v conveninent and it means less junk to bring while traveling.  you can get it for HK$35 Wanchai computer center 

3) thinking of buying these for the new apartment, now that i have a big living room and it'll actually make sense 

4) also considering adopting a cat for my new apartment from SPCA hong kong. my cat will be called vodka.  a short hair breed will be good; don't want to end up with a nose allergy

i am getting lots of birthday reminders recently. what's up with july/august babies?  there are so many of us!!

| Download of the day: Black eyed peas - Let's get retarded |

What do you do when you're feeling lonely?

So yes I got upset at something this morning.  and my bad mood lasted the entire day.

I was really edgy through dinner.  I think my mom noticed that something was wrong but our relationship has evolved to the stage where we only talk about pleasant things so as not to offend each another.  It was ok, I coped without losing it.  But still I needed an outlet. 

I discovered that now, when I feel lonely or unsettled, I get this desperate urge to spend money, to buy new stuff.  Buy buy buy.  It's like I fervently believed that my new purchases can fill this emptiness I'm feeling.  I carve the feeling of walking out of a store with armloads of shopping bags.  So every store my mom and I went into I was pulling out clothes to take to the fitting room.  I tried on every pair of shoe that I found mildly interesting looking.  I was a shopaholic on the prowl looking for feed.

Thank god the big sales were on and all the clothes were spewed across the tables like unwanted merchandise.  And I hate picking through stuff so I only ended with a top.  ONE.  Minimal damage on the clothes front. 

But after I parted with my parents I passed by the HMV store and remembered that they were having a DVD sale.  So up to the 3^rd floor I went and combed the sales rack.  20 new movies in 15 minutes.  Not bad.

But it didn't hit me until I entered the subway station for my ride home.  I made a beeline for the convenience store looking for something to buy.  Gum?  Do I need gum?  A magazine for the road?  Water??   Diet coke???  This was when I caught myself.  Ai.  This really was too much.   I've become a faithful follower of the retail therapy cult.

Not that I think it worked as I'm still angry.  Boo.  

Maybe this track will calm me down:

| Download of the day: Frank Sinatra - Fly me to the moon |