愛情轉移

Just got the Mp3 of 愛情轉移, the song is the Mandarin version of 富士山下, and I think it's a way better song compared to the Cantonese version. I don't really understand why everyone loved the Cantonese version so much, to me it was only so-so. The Mandarin lyrics is much better.

Anyways i must say it's great to hear all these songs in advance! ;)

Born to Love

First of all, i hope everyone had a great Chrismas!

The message "Born to Love 06.12.29" attracted some attention for me when I put it up on my MSN Messenger last week. A lot of you thought this is regarding my love life and some even thinks that 06.12.29 is when I have an important date or something...:) Sad to say, there isn't much going on in my love life. Anyway, let me explain: Born to Love 為愛而生 is the sixth studio album by the Taiwan rock band May Day 五月天. I became a huge fan since watching their live over 3 years ago. Their music is inspiring and uplifting. Even their 'sad' songs are full of hope. It's just not your average k-songs (but then honestly they are quite pop rock). Needless to say I am quite excited about their new album, and here is a 60s clip of the title track. They shot the MV in the Republic of Tunisia, at the Amphitheatre of EI Djem.

My Latest Food Addiction

G and I found this new restaurant for lunch and we are totally addicted to it! The place is called Chongqing Restaurant and it specializes in Szechwan Cuisine. Their noodle soup is absolutely delicious and the 2 chicken dish we tried so far are yummy! They add a lot of garlic to their noodle soup base, so there should be less MSG in their soup. Their food is super tasty and I keep wanting to go back everyday! (gotta stop thinking about it! *Drool*) The restaurant have 'changed hands' from one owner to another over a short period of time in the past, so I hope Chongqing is here to stay! They also specialize in Hot Pot but I haven't tried it yet. One small complaint. We were there this past Monday and they didn't have any appetizers we tried to order! They say they are too busy to prepare "Hand Tear Chicken" cuz it "takes too much labour"! Hmmm why list it when it's not available? Anyways, the other dish we ordered to replace these appetizers were too good so I am not gonna complain.

In case you are really gonna trust my word and go try it: Chongqing is located at City Plaza on Centre Street, beside Page One Bookstore, in Chinatown Calgary.

SxS 06.11.27 - Justin & SMAP

Hurry! Watch it before Johnny's Entertainment takes it down from YouTube! I think they have people working 24/7 monitoring uploads of Johnny's artists clips on YouTube.

This clip was from 3 weeks ago, just want more ppl to watch this fun clip. Altho SMAP is not the best singer in the world, they are quite fun to watch, great hosts for sure! Take a look:




Hehe Lock Your Body. :D

Chatting with friends...

Last night i bumped into Pazu on MSN! He is still in Lhasa at the moment learning Tibetan. Gee I've always admire Pazu for being passionate about learning new things! Esp new languages! The hardcore cyclist and I also chatted about things like Chinese DNA (we lack the concept of queuing up, for eg.!), HK Star Ferry Incident and Global Warming (Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth). Pazu thinks that we were doomed right from the start, and even if we start conserving now there is no way to stop the pollution in 3rd world countries. It's also not fair if we (the so-called first world nations) ask the 3rd world countries to close their polluting factory cuz we created this problem in the first place. There is really no easy solution for this eh? My solution to the problem? I am trying to conserve energy and resources while I can. After watching Mr. Gore's movie, I started bringing all paper trash to work (flyers, envelopes, junk mail, etc) for recycle. Also I am using those energy efficient light bulbs while I can. I dont think it'll do much but at least i am doing something right?

And once again this is Pazu's blog! I wish him a happy and safe journey. Too bad he's not in HK when I go there.

I also chatted with Chris (now in Toronto) last night! We haven't talked for so long, since 2002 I think? It was nice to hear from him again. He sound just like the same guy I knew back in high school, full of ideas and plans! His blog is called jooksings.com and i think it has a lot of potentials. Just have to add a bit of character to it and it'll be awesome! I will try submitting a few pieces to the site, after i overcome my writer's block and run it through a grammar check that is...

Why How I Met Your Mother is AWESOME....

Legendary! :D

24 Season 6 Prequel

I guess this is the prequel in the Season 5 DVD set. Hmm it looks more like an ad for Toyota Rav4. Anyways here it is:




Jack being the helpless dude getting rescued? That's a first.....

Anyways looks like i wont be here to watch the season premiere :(

Continued from Below

Ok, i got a copy of the CD last Friday, and my name (in short form) is indeed on the 'Thank You' section of the booklet! Yeah! So glad it's on this CD instead of some other crappy singer's! This is like the first Cantonese CD i brought in over a year, it's kinda strange to see the actual disc....

What's going on....with (my name on) the new Eason CD?

Someone told me that I am in the new Eason CD! ^_^ Hehehehehehe!!! I guess it's my name that's appearing under the credit section? This is so awesome, especially after my years of support for the Canto-Pop community!!!. :D I found this shot of the CD booklet in some online review, but too bad they took a shot at the wrong page!!! @_@ I should have my hands on the CD this Saturday if I am lucky. If you already have a copy can you please tell me what it saids or at least give me a snapshot of the booklet? TIA! More to follow...

More on 24 Season 6

This is a new 24 S6 trailer that looks similar to the first release but with new scenes around the middle to the end.



There's "Kumar" from Harold & Kumar in S6 which is gonna be so cool!

And if that's not enuf for u click here for the official cast photos for the new season.

TV Junkie

Current PVR timer settings:

Mondays: Prison Break, How I Met Your Mother
Tuesdays: House MD, Veronica Mars (thank goodness for time-shift!)
Wednesdays: Lost (temp. disabled due to mid-season break)
Thursdays: The OC
Fridays: Battlestar Galactica
Sundays: Desperate Housewives (my sis'...ok i do watch it)

Also watching: Kurosagi & Spooks.

Current Fave Show: House MD, and HIMYM is getting better and better :)

Devil's Re-visit

Is it just me or HK people simply can't do a proper rip? I came across numerous 'CD Version' of this song but they all turned out to be low-q, mono version. Are these people deaf or something? Anyways, just to do everyone a favor, here's my rip. Enjoy. (Yes you are welcome.)

Chapel of Dawn...i do look forward to it!

How to Steal a Song and Make it Your Own

A demonstration on stealing a song and make it your own! :) Ok it's not really stealing, covering i suppose. I really enjoy this album. It's filled with live performances by British singers and bands and some of them did cover versions of songs by other singers. Some of the stuff are just brilliant! Too bad I can't get this here, well I can always get it on eBay! ;) My current fave are Franz's What You Waiting For (OT by Gwen Stefani) and The Automatic's version of Golddigger (Who would've thought the song can turn out to sound like this? :).

Remembrance Day

When i was little, Remembrance Day was just another stat holiday. I never gave much thought about the real meaning until I am older. Perhaps it has to do with visits to war memorials and reading about WWI and II. I am now more informed on what really happened during those times. This sounds really lame, but I feel very lucky to live in a peaceful era. No one wins in a war, and it does nothing other than revealing the ugliest and darkest side of humans. Anyways, always remember what this day mean to us and give peace a chance!

24 Season 6!!!!

Jack must die (again)???

Gee what's with Jack's China-man clothes? (Brought at Shanghai Tang???) He was only kidnapped to Shanghai, he didnt travel back in time....@_@

This is not as good as Season 5's trailer. Probably cuz there aren't a lot of familar faces.

Anyways, January 14.....still a LONG way to go.

Before & After

So cute, smiling for the camera. :)


Hehe, i'd prefer them nice and fluffy. :)

ROTFLOL :)

Haha this is too funny! I didnt know Weird Al is still singing ... good stuff LMAO! :) He seem to look even younger now, and Chamillinaire seems to be cool with this song, which is awesome~

White and Nerdy - Weird Al Yankovic

My life is brilliant....

My Cubicle (OT You're Beautiful by James Blunt)

Me!

I got this from a forward. Since i don't like sending spam mail i am gonna post it here. :)

NINE FIRSTS

First Best Friend: Michelle / Jacqueline
First Nick Name: Can't remember
First Dog named: No pets :(
First Piercing: No piercing
First Crush: Hmmm ... that's hard to say.
First CD: The Immaculate Collection - Madonna, but the first recording I own is Wham! Greatest Hits - Wham!
First Car: Ford Escort @_@
First Love: Haha, Secret~
First Stuffed Animal: a Donald Duck

SEVEN LASTS

Last Alcoholic Beverage: Night out in August(!)
Last Car Ride: Today
Last Movie Seen: Elektra (skipped thru it)
Last Phone Call: my sister called
Last CD Played: i don't listen to cds anymore (still buys them tho), everything's on my iPod.
Last Bubble Bath: gee, cant remember
Last Time You Cried: Sept 2 /3

EIGHT HAVE YOU EVERS

Have you ever dated one of your best friends: No
Have you ever been arrested: Hell no
Have you ever skinny dipped: What does that mean?
Have you ever been on TV: Yes @_@
Have you ever kissed someone and then regretted it: No
Have you ever cheated on someone?: No
Have you ever skipped school: Of course
Have you ever done something illegal?: Ya...

SEVEN THINGS YOU'RE WEARING

1. bra
2. PJ top
3. PJ bottom
4. undies
5. fleece jacket
6. glasses
7. slippers

SIX THINGS YOU'VE DONE TODAY

1.Woke up
2.Went to church
3. Had Sushi
4. Surfed the net
5. Watched Battlestar Galactica
6. Reading Freakonomics

FIVE FAVORITE THINGS IN NO ORDER

Not including family and friends: Music, Travel, TV, Hanging out with friends, learning new things

FOUR PEOPLE YOU CAN TELL [ALMOST] ANYTHING TO

I will only provide the initials of these ppl: 1)RW 2)GL 3)CW 4)Cy

1. Black or White: Black, only cuz it makes me look slimmer
2. Hot or Cold: Hot, you become lazy/unmotivated under cold weather
3. Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate!

TWO THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE

Travel, travel, travel! Also be less ignorant

ONE THING YOU REGRET

If i do have the ability to undo some of the things i've done i would've but there's really nothing that I really regret so far.

Music Stuff

官恩娜

官恩娜 is probably one of the most underrated singer in HK. She can actually sing (WAY better than some of the so-called singers in HK these days), but seemed to get dragged down by her sorta slutty whore image. Her recent attack by some perv in public probably didnt help (ppl in hk seem to think she deserves it @_@). Ok, altho I don't listen to much HK songs anymore, i still look out for good songs to sing in K. And some of her songs are quite difficult to sing; full of high notes or requires a lot of lung power. I will only sing her songs when my voice is in "good condition". :) My fave song from her is probably 暗戀航空, which is quite 'K-able'.

Recent ANNOYING songs

Fergie posing with the London Tower Bridge

There are 2 songs that annoys me these days. One of them is Fergie's London Bridge. She shot the cover of her single and the music video in front of Tower Bridge, which is NOT London Bridge. It's a coomon misconception to foreigners, and yes i admit I was one of those people until i actually walked on the bridge and saw the Tower Bridge sign. Anyways, the song is kinda annoying and the lyrics does not make much sense. (yes, i do know what London Bridge actually means) The song also sound too much like Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl, and HG is a way better song.

Huh? WTF?

The other one is Beyonce's Ring the Alarm. It's a stupid song with some stupid siren sound throughout and totally gets on my nerves. The music video is kinda like WTF with her going all crazy and angry for no apparent reason. I think MadTV will spoof the MV soon.....:)

Oh i so MISS Japan!

Take a look here! I wish i can take good pictures like those.

It reminds me of the wonderful city of Tokyo and Nikko! Arrh i need to go there soon! Also reminds me of the joy of travelling with friends. :)

(oh FYI i dont know these people in the album, someone just gave me the link)

Ok this doesn't make sense

You Are 10% Boyish and 90% Girlish

Even if you're not a girl, you're very feminine. You're in touch with your feelings, and your heart rules you. A bit of a emotional roller coaster, one moment you're up and the next you're down. But no matter what, you try to be as cute and perky as possible.

How Boyish or Girlish Are You?

Oh gee....

Your Brain is 60% Female, 40% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

What Gender Is Your Brain?

弊!突然想到五月天O個首 雌雄同體 woh.....@_@

My New Addiction

I am like completely hooked on the Green Tea Frappuccino from Starbucks. It taste a lot like green tea ice-cream! YUM~~~ Gotta learn to have some self control from now on!

My new ipod, yeah~

Yippie! My New ipod nano! :) The black one is mine. Since i wanted the 8gb i couldnt choose the color. :( My sister got the color I want tho, the green 4gb, reminds me of wasabi/green tea ice cream. :D

Testing

Testing Hello from picasa....i need to learn how to upload pictures to my blog....@_@ This is my home btw. Gee this is it? SO easy???

Mini Book Review

Remember i said i plan to read at least one book every month? Ok i am delighted to announce that I am actually doing it!!! Here's a list of books i've read since May '06 and a mini book review:

The Five People You Meet in Heaven - this book is a gift from a friend, so i really feel bad about saying this (to the person who gave me this book: Please dont take this personal~). The story got some touching moment, but overall it was overrated and i honestly don't understand the hype for this book. I've done this personality test and it saids I lack empathy. Will my opinion towards this book be proof?

The Da Vinci Code - the story was well written but that stupid fact list/statement on the first few pages of the book is completely misleading which ruins everything (see Wiki for a list of errors in the book). It's a nice 'beach read' but Dan Brown is definitely incapable of writing a long lasting masterpiece (at least not yet).

The Glass Castle - is surprising good! Real life drama that's stranger than fiction. All i can say is that there are all sorts of people in this world.

Eat, Shoots and Leaves - is a book about grammar. I don't understand why it's the national best seller in the UK since the material is so dry! I obviously feel quite different from the people who gave praise to this book. I mean what's so good about this book???

Digital Fortress - after reading this book i think i am done with Dan Brown's stuff. What a 'one-trick guy'! The characters are almost identical to the ones in The Da Vinci Code and again it deals with code breaking (Surprise surprise!).

Confession of a Shopaholic - i'd call this another one of those 'leisure read' and it's actually funny! I can definitely relate to the shopaholic girl. :P It's one of those no-brainer books but hey i need a break once in a while. I will definately read the other books in the series.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - it's a pretty interesting story that explores the mind of a teenager with Autism. I really like this book

The Alchemist - a short read but it has deep meanings and inspires you in thinking about things in life. It's not exactly life altering but it gave me new meaning to things.

蔡瀾六談日本 / 蔡瀾四談日本 - these two books are collection of articles written by 蔡瀾 on Japan and the Japanese culture. Since Mr. Choi is such a picky eater he also talks a lot about Japanese food and where good restaurants are located. I do enjoy reading his books cuz it gives me a better understanding of the Japanese and their culture. The information will come in handy when i go to Japan.

Dispatches from the Edge - this is a memoir by Anderson Cooper, the CNN anchor. You might remember him as the one who bashed the governer of Louisanna on national television. I enjoyed his book although all the war, disaster and chaos mentioned in the book were quite depressing. Mr. Cooper is also quite a depressing person. As i read the book I wonder why cant he just cheer up and take it easy, but then i am not him and i dont know how i would've handled things if I lived a life like his. (loss of loved ones etc)

So there you go, my mini book review. I am currently reading 24 Declassified: Veto Power. Ok it's a lame book but i am going to finish it anyway. I was hoping the book will offer some information on the characters before 'Day One' but unfortunately it didn't. :( One thing for sure is that the book IS NOTHING LIKE THE TV SERIES!

Finally ... the next gen ipod nano!!!

I think it's time for me to get a new ipod~~~~ :D

More about the next gen ipod / nano / shuffle here!

What should i get? Right now it's either the 8gb nano or the 80gb ipod. I am leaning a bit towards the nano tho....

And the new Shuffle is kinda cute! I might just get it to use for work-out. Haha i am so ready to say bye-bye to my old ipod! :P

Where were you on 9/11?

Me?
It started out as another normal day. As usual I cut through the Delta Bow Valley Hotel on my way to work to avoid waiting for the pedestrian light. Something was unusual when I passed by the lounge area. The big screen TV that was usually off in the morning was tuned to CNN, and all eyes were on the image of a building that resembles a chimney with smoke coming out from the top. A hotel staff rushed out from the concierge said he heard another plane crashed at the Pentagon (???) ... it was quite strange and you knew right away that something's not right. I couldn't stop to find out what's going on, so I took out my phone and called home. My dad picked up the phone and I asked him what's going on. He told me that two planes crashed into the WTC and another one at the Pentagon, and that "US is in pretty big trouble today". Everything seemed pretty surreal as the story unfold through out the day. The whole thing really scared me. I remember I had a hard time falling asleep that night from thinking about the number of people who died at the WTC.

After 5 years, most people like me moved on. It'll definitely be different for those who lost their loved ones on this tragic day. This is probably the best way to cope with the fear of terrorism. Another method is probably by thinking that Jack Bauer will come to the rescue. :P

Happy Birthday Airlo!

Today's my friend Airlo's birthday, so i just want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hope your day was happy la~ P-ta's been a great friend from the Uni years. To be honest i don't really understand what made us became good friends, since we've never been in the same class and we lived at the opposite ends of the city. Oh well who cares cuz this guy is funny in a stupid sort of way (haha :P) and can easily make me roll off a chair from laughing so hard. I talked to him last night and he sounded the same. Can't imagine him running a big factory full of his employees. :D Hope to see you in HK soon! I know i can depend on you for bringing me to places with good food~

Like, the Best Wedding Ever!

September 2, 2006 was the big day for my friend Gigi and Andy! I hear the saying that it's so easy for something to go wrong on the wedding day, but in this wedding everything was well organized and was just perfect! Maybe you wouldn't get an honest opinion from me cuz i was involved in the planning and execution stage (hehe). Seriously, i've been to a few weddings in the past, in comparision Gigi and Andy really did a fantastic job, like there was nothing overdone, nothing lame, stupid or tacky, and everything was done in good taste down to the wedding favors which is a nicely wrapped chocolate bar. I've seen people spending a small fortune on some pretty tacky stuff, and it definitely didn't happen at this wedding. Everything was oh so sweet! :D Hehehe~ Gigi, if you do read my blog, i just want to say that i am so excited for you, who's been such a great friend through the years! You look absolutely flawless on your special day~ Nice to know that you are in good hands cuz I know Andy will be able to take good care of you for the rest of your life! We've come a long way since we became friends, and i am just so glad to be a part of your big day and witness this perfect union between two exceptionally special and nice people! Ok let's stop before i start sounding lame... :) I am waiting for your gift you when you come back from your honeymoon ok? :P

It's kinda funny to be involved as helpers in a wedding. I felt like i was a participant on the Apprentice or something (i just finish skipping thru last season a few days b4 the wedding), i tried so hard to get the project done and make sure everything was ok. I am pretty sure i did fine and wont end up in the boardroom, right? ;)

This looks like a cool country to visit

I do want a trip to here after reading this website.

SPEED 10th Anniversary

It's been 10 years since SPEED first debut.

Here's a website set up by Toy's Factory; their former record company that commemorates this special event. It is pretty impressive as it contains sound clips from all their albums and singles.

I actually collected every single/album on that website. I was such a big fan! Looking at these covers brought back some good memories. :)

Medical Appointment

Just went to see the doctor this morning to get a prescription refill. The doctor is about my mom's age and she is kinda ... funny, cuz every time i see her she starts asking a bunch of personal questions like a nosey relative. Today she asked me questions such as if i live by myself or if i have a boyfriend etc etc. And then she suddenly asked me "So are you going to be ok by yourself for the rest of your life?". My first reaction was like "huh"? but then i just told her "well i never thought of long term things like that". It is obvious that i wont go too in depth with her, but on the other hand i think the answer is obvious. Truth is i don't think anyone wants to be alone for the rest of their lives deliberately unless the person is like emotionally scarred or was betrayed and dont trust anyone or something (?). On the other hand it is getting more difficult to find someone with the same set of values, interest, backgrounds, goals, etc. And it is perhaps reasonable to take the time to pick out the right person. Obviously I haven't give up, at least not yet. ;)

Maybe next time I should tell her some bs like i am a lesbian or something ... i am sure she'll be pretty freaked out hehehe :D

Freckin' Terrorists!

After 9/11, we started going to the airports well in advance to check in and go through security. We have to take our shoes off at times and also pay hefty security surcharge. It was alright and never affected me much since i am not the type who carries shape objects around (hey i dont even do my nails). And I was never really concern about my safety on board, cuz i'd figured everyone knows what to do now when they spot a terrorist on board (knock him out like you'd do to a fish!)

But since last Thursday, there have been talks about banning carry-on luggage for good after the alleged terrorist plot was unfolded. This will seriously affect me and i am like screaming out NO~~~ to this ban.

Here's a list of how i will be affected:

• 
  i won't be able to shop at the Duty-Free from now on. :( This is where you can pick up some nice perfumes and skin care products at discounted prices! There are other goodies too!
• 
  i won't be able to use my special travel pack again. :( The package includes a nice Miffy flight pillow and plane ticket holder i got from the airport in Japan and an eye mask (cover, not a facial mask) from TokyuHands. Where will i get the chance to use these from now on?
• 
  i won't be able to take any of my skin care products. :( I don't think they have any idea on how DRY the cabin can get!!! For me, i totally can't survive on such low humidity place. I always carry some facial cream and face wash with me cuz it's so dry there. And of course there's my lip balm and hand cream, which i carry with me EVERYWHERE i go. Checked luggage does get lost and i always carry a set of clothing with me on my carry-on. Arrrh how am i gonna survive without them? A long haul flight gets pretty yucky during its last few hours in the air cuz the same air is being circulated and you do need things like deodorant, mouthwash and stuff to make you feel fresh. Now they are telling us that we can bring them on board! Arrggggh!
• 
  to make it worst, they are also gonna be taking away your Ipod!!! :( Arrrh this is probably the thing that's gonna affect me the most! I won't even survive a half hour train ride without it. Now i gotta try and sit still for like 12hrs+ without any music cuz of these freakin' terrorists!!! Arrrrhhhh they can't ban the Ipod please please please! It'll be even worst if i have to fly with Air Canada cuz they still don't have a personal entertainment centre like other airlines!!! (you get a shared projected screen that's working if you are lucky) Also those crappy headphones provided by the airline...which i totally can't stand!!! Arrrrh someone help me! I cant read on the plane cuz of motion sickness, so my Ipod is like the only thing that'll keep me sane during a long haul flight.

Wooo....what am i gonna do? :~( Stupid terrorists!!!!

An all-time low!

Just a day before payday the balance on my bank account drops to the single digit....

Counting down the hours! ;)

樂壇抄人王

Haha~ This is quite good, with examples.

The "Lost" Pics

These are really old pics (from Nov '05), but i just got them recently. Actually they are not exactly lost; they were on Olivia's camera and i totally forgot about them until recently. So here it is, some of my Amsterdam pics.

See that last picture? Me holding a bunch of clothes i brought from the H&M Stella McCartney line. I still have a long way to go to become a REAL backpacker. (sigh~)

Did you know that ...

... almost all stat holidays in Canada this year falls on a Monday? Of course, with the exception of Good Friday and Boxing Day (but Christmas Day falls on a Monday, so you get an extra long weekend!)

I was afraid that stat holidays in 2007 will somehow be shifted to a Tuesday or something. I just checked and looks like 2007 will be the same; all Stat Holidays on a Monday except for Christmas day which falls on a Tuesday. I dont think a lot of people will be going to work on December 24, 2007 (Monday).

It's been a great summer so far!

Some updates:

- my old digital camera kinda committed suicide when my sister brought it with her to Hawaii last month (she insisted she did nothing to it). Well, good thing that it did at the right time! I felt like hugging the kkysiu in 2004 and congratulating her on getting the extended warrenty. :) Since it's still under warrenty, I brought it in to A&B Sound to get it fix. I bet the cost to repair it is greater than the camera itself, therefore they offered a free replacement! After looking around I decided to pay an extra $50 to get .... ~da da da da~ this! The Olympus Stylus 720 SW is an awesome camera and definitely a step up from my old piece of sh... Anyways, this is almost like a free upgrade! Hehe lucky me! ;)

- i started to read more books lately. In my elementry years i was nicknamed the "bookworm" cuz I was always reading a book. I notice that i no longer suffer from motion sickness reading on the C-train now, probably cuz it's so packed that i cant even see the windows anymore! There's no time wasted during the ride and I am at least being productive. Best thing is I don't get angry when there is a service delay (this happens pretty often!) cuz it just means there's more time for me to read! After spending all this $ on books, i decided it's time to renew my library card after no having a valid card for 8 years. (As suggested by one of the readers of this blog :) I ended up with a new card cuz apparently they deleted all the inactive accounts. :( With the new online catalogue, it is so convenient to search and put books on hold. Instead of searching for books at the library and going thru the line-ups to put stuff on hold like we did 'back in the old days', all i gotta do now is search for the title at home and wait for the library to contact me when it becomes available!

Ok i am not done yet but let me write more in the next few days....

Sugar, We're going down

I like Fall Out Boy and i love the song 'Sugar, We're Going Down', but this is just too funny. :D

The Keys to My Heart?

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to obedience and warmth. In love, you feel the most alive when your partner is patient and never willing to give up on you. You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring. You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please. Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage as something that will confine you. You are afraid of marriage. In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

Canto-Pop

Well, the Cantonese music scene is as dead as ever, but there are still good stuff.

I highly recommend Kay's latest EP. Read here, this pretty much sums up what I wanted to say about this EP and her last album.

It's a good thing that we no longer have to tolerate the crappy lyrics from Wyman and Mr. Linxi. @_@ I've never heard of 周博賢 before Kay's first album, but ... he's good!

Official Site

Oh...btw, the new Softhard song is very ng dim woh :(

Rudest City?

I am surprised that China didn't make it to the rudest cities list. (probably cuz they were afraid of doing any tests there)

Eurotrip (Don't tell Scotty!)

Ok i am probably one of the last person on planet Earth who never saw this when it first came out. I finally saw it last night. Now i have this song stuck in my head....


Scotty doesn't know.....Scotty doesn't know.....

And i was wondering why the guy singing looked SOOO much like Matt Damon, turns out that IT IS Matt Damon!

This sucks!

No more TOTP??? :(

Isn't this like the only show where singers performs live?

Moose spotting!

I've seen deers around my house before, but yesterday i spotted a moose for the first time! Haha he's just like the logo of A&F. It was pretty dangerous since the moose was wandering around on the main road and a few cars almost hit him! He was obviously scared by the whole thing and started walking into the front yards to avoid the cars. As a responsible citizen, i called the Calgary Police. The moose ran pretty fast and was out of sight in a few minutes, hope he's ok and is not injured. Too bad i didnt have my phone with me, wanted to take a picture of him. :(

Smile :)

If i like this song, does it make me an evil bitch?



Lily Allen - Smile

Softhard -- Long Time No See~

Really long time no "see".



Wow, Jan looks so young! Or is it the work of PS?

Life is Soft, Play Hard!

My Stripper Name

I guess i don't need one cuz my name is ALREADY on the list. @_@

Just for the fun of it, i am .... Raquelle Lustycheeks~

(instead of creating more spam i am posting this here, feel free to respond :P)

See what your stripper name will be, and share it with your friends:
We all need a little stress-reliever! This only takes a minute.
Please don't be a prude and ruin it. Send it on to everyone you know including the person that sent it to you.

Sometimes when you have a stressful day or week, you need some silliness to break up the day. And, if we are honest, we have a lot more stressful days than not.

Here is your dose of humor...

A. Follow the instructions to find your new name.

B. Once you have your new name, put it in the subject box and forward it to friends and family and co-workers. Don't forget to forward it back to the person who sent it to you, so they
know you participated.

1. Use the third letter of your first name to determine your new first name:

1. A = Fantasia
2. B = Chesty
3. C = Starr
4. D = Diamond
5. E = Montana
6. F = Angel
7. G = Sugar
8. H = Mimi
9. I = Lola
10. J =Kitty
11. K = Roxie
12. L = Dallas
13. M= Princess
14. N = Heidi
15. O = Bambi
16. P = Bunny
17. Q = Brandy
18. R = Sugar
19. S = Candy
20. T = Raquelle
21. U =Sapphire
22. V = Cinnamon
23. W = Blaze
24. X = Trixie
25. Y = Isis
26. Z = Jade


27. 2. Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your new last name:


28. A = Leather
29. B= Dream
30. C = Sunny
31. D = Deep
32. E= Heaven
33. F = Tight
34. G = Shimmer
35. H = Velvet
36. I = Lusty
37. J = Harley
38. K = Passion
39. L = Dazzle
40. M = Dixon
41. N= Spank
42. O = Glitter
43. P = Razor
44. Q = Meadow
45. R = Glitz
46. S = Sparkle
47. T = Sweet
48. U = Silver
49. V =Tickle
50. W = Cherry
51. X = Hard
52. Y= Night
53. Z = Amber


54. 3. Use the third letter of your last name to determine the second half of your new last name:

55. A = hooter
56. B = horn
57. C = tower
58. D = fire
59. E =thighs
60. F = hips
61. G = side
62. H =jugs
63. I = shock
64. J = cocker
65. K= brook
66. L = tush
67. M = sizzle
68. N = ridge
69. O = kiss
70. P = bomb
71. Q = cream
72. R = thong
73. S = heat
74. T = whip
75. U = cheeks
76. V = rock
77. W = hiney
78. X = button
79. Y = lick
80. Z = juice

81. Now when you SEND THIS ON...use your new name as the subject!

Buggers with Bad B.O. @_@

Seriously, buggers with bad b.o. should be banned on C-trains!!!! It's getting hot these days, and with no air conditioning, the C-train can be a hell hole during rush hours. The other day i had this guy literally breathing down my neck and stuff and it was just gross. @_@ I didnt think he did it to as a form of harassment, but still, can't he exhale thru his nose or something???? I thought i'd sound too harsh if I ask him to stop breathing. And just when i thought i can get off the train it stopped because of an "emergency" on the train in front of ours. So we waited for 10 minutes, packed like sardines, and of course the cart started to smell when people started to sweat. @_@ The train finally made it to the next stop, and I could see the police arresting 2 people and there's this other guy with a nose bleed. Ok, maybe i should be glad that it didnt happen on my train.

Oasis???

I kinda disagree with what's on the top of the list.

And ... Spice Girls? Hmmm....

Ya ... I read it, finally~

Ok, i know i am probably one of the last person on Earth who hasn't read Da Vinci Code!!! I finally finished reading it on the weekend. I like the brilliance of how it combines existing elements (artwork, architecture, etc) that are familiar to readers and how it fits almost flawlessly into story. I do think the 'Facts' page in the beginning of the book is a bit misleading tho. Overall a pretty good read, but unfortunately as a long time viewer of shows like 24 and Alias, the plot twist in the book just doesn't surprise me anymore. :( I was able to crack the last code btw! Probably most of you've got it too but still ... pat on the back for myself ~~~ ^_^ Now i can finally go see the movie! I am glad that i've been to most of the places mentioned in the book, so i was able to form mental pictures as i read along.

Btw can someone explain to me why hardcover books are always released a few years before paperback versions in North America??? Really cant think of a reason besides the fact that hardcover costs more so the publisher makes more $. How come they never consider the fact that a hardcover is heavier and less portable? It's very hard to read that on the train while standing. :(

The "Bus Uncle" Hype

It's been the talk of the town in Hong Kong, and even the Associated Press ran a story on it. When i first saw the clip weeks ago, i didnt even have the patience to view the whole thing. I really don't understand what's the big fuss about it. I don't even live in Hong Kong and I see this sort of incidents every time I am there. I've seen more outragous stuff: for eg. a man on the MTR talking very loud to himself about the pressure he face, like negative capital, his work, etc. The man was talking so loud that the whole train could hear him. He went on and on but no one dares to shut him up. The other time i saw this man on the street who kept yelling "delay no more" and other rude things to this woman; the woman kept telling him to stop but still followed him as he continues the insult loudly. (this was probably the worst i've seen, i didnt get involve tho cuz the guy looked like triad members, i just gave him the dirty look) The list just goes on and on ...

(sigh) ... HK kids .... can turn anything stupid into a hype.

Anyways, HK can be quite a stressful place when you are actually working there, so i am not surprise to see people 'losing it' all of a sudden and have a meltdown.

Muse - Supermassive Blackhole

Supermassive Blackhole is the new single from Muse. When i heard it for the first time, my reaction was "huh"??? I first wondered if I've grabbed the wrong song or something. On the other hand I recognized the vocal was unmistakenly by Matthew Bellamy. Anyways, this new single is VERY different from their usual style, and i actually like it! It's good to hear my favorite bands are now experimenting with new song, just like what Keane is doing recently!

Recommended: MSN Live Messenger Beta

I just installed this an hour ago and I am impressed. They've added one very important function that was missing from the old versions; the ability to send offline messages! Alright!!! Now I can finally abandon ICQ for good!

Download it HERE

24 Season Finale - LAME!

[Ok I've made this blog entry spoiler-proof, please use ctrl-a if you'd like to read the spoiler section]

I know 24 is just a tv show, but as a long time fan, I must say I was quite disappointed and a little ticked on the Season finale tonite. 24 is now officially a cheesy soap opera. Here's my random blabbling about tonite's show:


- so they promised a 'final show-down' between Bauer and Logan, and what do we end up getting? Some sort of staring contest between the two! @_@

- Chloe got an ex-husband??? He was able to appear right away at CTU too! Totally came out of nowhere~ @_@

- Arrh it's like so cheesy, they have so much time left and they took the time to wrap everything up with everyone, but seriously my biggest question remains: WHERE THE HECK IS WAYNE PALMER???

- speaking of things they failed to wrap up ... what about that mystery group who did nothing but gathered around with bluetooth headsets on their ears? They suddenly popped up in around Ep 20 and we know nothing about them! Damnit!

- Audrey sure recovered fast from her life threatening injury a few hours ago....@_@

- Prez Logan and the first lady making out ... arrrh gross...

- Martha told Mike... "I tried to hold him as long as I can... I already did all I can... but only several minutes..." <--- this is suppose to be funny, right? :)

The show should've ended on Hour 21. I thought the hi-jacking of the plane was a little crazy but quite fun to watch. Chloe zapping the drunk guy at the bar was one of the best action sequence this season! :D Anyways, you watch me complain about it now but come next January i will probably be watching Day 6. In fact I think Day 6 will be good! Haha...good luck Jack! If the poison veggies in China doesnt kill you, i am sure you will rather be dead when you use their public washrooms. :P

OMG!

Greg's my colleague. :( See link

Hope he'll be alright.

eBay / PayPal dispute resolved!

Guess what? I just checked my online credit card statement today and they've reimbursed the amount I paid to the eBay seller who ran away!!!!! Yeah! ~~~ Word of advice, NEVER delete any email from eBay, Paypal or the seller regarding an auction until you receive the item in satisfactory condition. I kept all the emails and was able to provide the info to Amex in an organized fashion upon request. It'll save you a lot of trouble when you need to explain the situation, especially people who's not familar with eBay/PayPal etc.

On the other hand, i think it is of one's best interest to avoid buying anything expensive on eBay. Really not worth the trouble. Reminds me of my experience with my first CD-Writer. Another long story...

Shopaholic Syndrome

I think i am becoming a shopaholic! Help!!!

Stuff I brought last week:

1 pair of Converse All Star
1 pair of sandles
1 pair of work shoe
1 skirt
3 tops
skin care pack from Biotherm
bags of body care products from the drug store
songs on iTunes.....

arrrh the worst thing is that i feel like this is developing into a habit. Must say i am quite happy after spending all my money. :)

Meanwhile I am trying to fight my Vita Lemon Tea addiction. @_@ The addiction's getting a little bit out of hand. It was out of stock at T&T the other day but i managed to dig up a pack buried under all the other Vita drink. Lucky me! :) Now let's see how long will this 6-pack last.

Jack Bauer's Bag - Part II

Get it here!

Keane - Under the Iron Sea

Two tracks from the upcoming album was leaked to the internet recently (what else is new?). They are "Atlantic" and "Is It Any Wonder?" Both amazing songs and very different compared to their debut album "Hopes and Fears". I do look forward to this album. Looks like i will be spending a lot of $ on CDs again this summer. :P

Death Cab for Cuties / Franz Ferdinand Live

Death Cab for Cuties / Franz Ferdinand Live @ the Calgary Corral 06.04.26

I remember last year when I saw the Killers I said to Gigi that i wish FF would do a live show in Calgary. I waited for another year and finally they were here last nite along with Death Cab for Cutie! Along with an opening act that we completely missed (the Cribs), which i hope i wont be kicking myself in the future if they turn out to be a cool band. I really dont understand what the organizer of the show is thinking when they put the two bands in the same show together, cuz FF and DC are very different in style, one's got really catchy beat, and one is more of the mellow type. DC is actually not too bad of a band, but their songs simply lacks the energy to get the audience going when it's performed live. Since i wasnt so familar with DC's songs, i find the performance a little boring, but DC does have a good lead vocal who didnt crack and screwed up as much as Alex :P

Needless to say, the FF part of the show was awesome! They sang all my fave songs and rocked the crowd with their amazing stage presence. The best part of the concert was when the guys from DC and the Cribs joined FF on stage and did this cool drums sequence together! Overall it was a great show and I was a happy kid with my new band tee. :D

Just hope that there will be more cool bands coming to Calgary!

Our seats aren't too bad....

Franz Ferdinand!

Just came back from the gig; it was pretty awesome! I LOVE FF!!!! Now waiting for my hair to dry out completely before going to bed. Still gotta go to work tmr. :(

To be continued....

How?

The weather's been pretty good lately, but i am still complaining. The difference in temperature between mornings and evenings is about 15 degrees or more. So how do i dress myself so i keep myself warm in the morning and make sure i wont bake myself on the C-train when I go home in the evening? Pretty annoying indeed.

Tuen Ng Festival is not until May 31, 2006, which means that I won't be able to pack up my winter clothes until then. Gotta believe in that old Chinese wisdom ...

Franz Ferdinand will be here next week! Definitely something that I look forward to.

24 in Rolling Stone

Didnt have time to finish reading the whole thing while picking up my meds at the drug store today, so i am glad that they put the whole interview online:



Click here to read it.

Am i the only one who likes 24 but doesnt like Kiefer Sutherland? (not that i hate him or anything)

Oh btw the 24 quiz part does contain spoilers (yes Olivia!) :P

Music i've brought / been listening to lately

1) Fall Out Boy - From Under the Cork Tree (Ltd Edition)

This is a pretty good album if you want to listen to music with catchy beat and stuff. My fave songs are the singles from the album so far (Dance, Dance, Sugar, We're Goin Down and A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me"). The song names on this album are so damn long. @_@

2) Annie - DJ Kicks

I like her solo album a lot more. This cd is not that bad.

3) Röyksopp - Röyksopp's Night Out (Live EP)

As a Röyksopp fan i am quite familar with their songs by now (they only had 2 albums so far tho). This live EP is quite good. I've seen them live on TV a couple of times but i'd wish they'd come do a live in Calgary or something (chances of that is a little slim tho). Annoying thing about this cd is that it is one of those stupid 'Content Protected' disc. Cant even play it on my PC (but luckily i got mp3s). And these record companies complain drop of sales...

4) The Arcade Fire - Funeral

I finally got this after listening to the mp3s for so long. A pretty good album except i hate whoever that designed the packaging of the cd. No wonder why some ppl stop buying CDs! A proper cd case next time, please!

5) Napoleon Dynamite OST

You'll love this soundtrack if you've seen the movie. :)

WTF?!

Some kinda curse or what? I was feeling sick and then went out to get some meds / food and my car got hit. @_@ Luckily no one was hurt, the damage was minor and my car is pretty crappy, but still. It was totally not my fault and i just called my insurance agency to report it today. They said that they might rule it as 50/50 cuz it happened at a parking lot which is an uncontrolled area which is a load of crap cuz that stupid car just backed out and hit the side of my car, how can it be my fault??? Anyways, if that woman denies it's her fault i will for sure flip out.

Sick AGAIN?

Ya you read that right. I am still not 100% recover from that deadly cold i had last month. Went to the doc's office today and found out that both my throat and right ear is infected. Yikes! Hopefully i'd feel better after getting more rest this weekend. Got some antibiotic this time to help me fight the virus.

Stuff

My colleague was involved in a serious car accident 2 days ago. Her Tercel collided with a pick up truck and her dad passed away at the scene. She is now in serious but stable, non life-threatening condition. Luckily she survived and hopefully she will make a full recovery. She used to sit by the windows and I'd often go near her desk to look at the weather outside. During the rainy season last year, i was there a lot to look at the Bow River and we'd chat about things. She's such a nice to everyone. I remember she offered me her rain coat once when it was pouring outside. I just hope that she will be ok, and may her father rest in peace. I've always wanted a compact car but perhaps I should get something bigger.

Brought the latest issue of Giant magazine with Jon Heder a.k.a Napoleon Dynamite on the cover with a special music section with interviews of Goldfrapp and Lady Sov.

What's in Jack Bauer's Bag?

This is pretty funny. I found this here btw.

I've been wondering why they make Jack carry this friggin' bag around all day on Day 5. Here are some possible explaination. In case you are wondering, there are no spoilers in this article. Yes this message is for you Olivia!;).

What's In Jack Bauer's Bag?
by Jamie Chisholm (chisholm@barstoolsports.com)

Jack Bauer's bag terrifies me. Since the newest season of 24 kicked off, Jack has unleashed his typical level of death and maiming, often armed with only his over-the-shoulder messenger bag. The bag never leaves his side. In fact, if the mystery of Jack's bag was a logic question on the LSAT's it would go something like this: Jack Bauer's bag never leaves his side. Jack Bauer kills people. Therefore, Jack Bauer's bag kills people.

But what exactly is in Jack's bag? That mysterious bag has enabled Jack to single-handedly throttle the plans of an international terrorist organization with seemingly unlimited resources and manpower. After countless hours of research, I have unraveled the mystery of what Jack keeps in his jaunty over-the-shoulder number that enables him to fight a one man battle against global terrorism. Here is the invoice from Jack's bag.

• Three vials of sodium pentothal
• Chase's other arm- there is no way that Jack was unaware that Chase broke Kim's heart. Jack always gets his revenge.
• Copy of CTU Distress Codes (2004 Edition)
• Three Cruise missiles
• Four pairs of flexicuffs
• Sun Tzu's The Art of War
• Medieval Iron Maiden
• Pair of pearl-handled Colt revolvers
• Habib Marwan's heart
• Sunglasses
• Cell phone and PDA chargers
• Band-Aids
• Swiss Army knife
• Box of Powerbars
• Two Fruit Punch Gatorades
• Change of underwear
• Schematics of every building in Los Angeles
• Two claymore anti-personal mines
• Driver's License, Helicopter Pilot's License, Airplane Pilot's License, SCUBA certification card, CPR certification card, Frequent Finagler card
• Bamboo shoots (for torture)
• Branding irons (for torture)
• Three pints of type sensitive blood
• iPod
• Kim's senior portrait from high school
• Approximately 17,000 9mm bullets
• Flare gun
• Night vision goggles
• Centrum A-Zinc vitamins
• Copy of Barstool Sports
• Arab-English dictionary, Spanish-English dictionary, Farsi-English dictionary, Russian-English dictionary
• Heroin
• Mass Card for Edgar's wake
• Hit List
• Picture of him and Tony Almeida performing "Love Is a Battlefield" at CTU: Los Angeles' Annual Karaoke Christmas Party
• Business Cards
• Pepper Spray
• AK-47
• Altoids
• Gas Mask
• EpiPen
• Ticket for year long vacation, flight leaves tomorrow at 8:30 AM

My Care Package!!!! ^_^

A parcel was waiting at the door for me when i got home from work today! Wow, a whole box of junk food from Japan!!!! Arrrrrrhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Hehehe THANK YOU Justina! Luv ya! You're da best and really made my day! Thanks for being there and listen to me during those timees when i was confused, crazy and outta my mind! :) I just hope that my clothes will still fit me after i finish eating your care package. I will share it with other people hehehe dont worry. :P

happy.BIRTH.day

Wow! I got this book today! I just ordered it on the weekend and it arrived today! Turns out that 博客來 uses DHL to deliver their products which is great cuz if I were to get this book from the bookstore in Chinatown i am sure it would've costed a lot more and will have to wait for at least a month? I'll definitely order from them again. The book is actually a bit of a rip-off, cuz it's a book full of his lyrics and his photos/pictures. Well there's the CD-Single too but i already got the mp3 (kinda environmentally unfriendly to put only one song on a full cd when you think about it). I thought he'd at least talk about the story behind these lyrics but he only wrote a few sentences for each song to explain how he wrote it. :(

Feeling Better

Ok i am back. Been sick for the last 3 weeks and off from work for a week. It was probably the worst cold i've had in recent years. I was around a lot of sick people since October of last year but I never got sick until now. Luckily it didn't develope into a flu but it was quite a severe cold. Lots of productive time wasted during this past 3 weeks as i felt so weak and did nothing except cough, sneeze, blow my nose, sleep and watch tv. It was a 'good' thing in a way cuz i was finally able to watching the stacks of DVDs i've got on hand, and I was all caught up on shows currently on air. What a life eh?

Here's a list of shows i watched in the last three weeks:

1) A few Hong Kong movies - to be honest, i don't remember the names of the movie i 'browsed'. I burnt the VCD images onto CD-RW's and tried to watch, but none were interesting enuf to make me continue. I ended up fast forwarding 98% of the movie. Some were downloaded but i decided to erase it from my HDD to save space. I wonder why i wasted all my bandwidth to download them in the first place? Looks like I won't be watching any HK film from now on.@_@

2) Swing Girls - this is a Japanese movie about a group of jr/high school girls who formed their own jazz band. This movie is not totally outstanding but it brought back memories of the days when i played in my Jr/High School band. I played the Alto Saxophone and we did played some of the music featured in the movie (eg. Swing the Mood). Overall the movie is quite pleasant to watch and I had a few good laughs.

3) Napoleon Dynamite - ok i confessed that I downloaded this movie. I had no idea what this movie was about at first. Saw a lot of people talking about it tho and was kinda curious. The movie revolves around the life of this dweeb Napoleon Dynamite, his geeky friend Pedro and this girl Deb (Mac on Veronica Mars!) I really don't know how to describe this movie; it doesnt have a main plot and there were some odd moments. Can't say i like this movie but i do find myself digging up information on it after watching, so maybe I do like it? Ok maybe I do! The actor who plays Napoleon and Pedro looks very different in real life unlike the weird look they had in the movie.

Hear Napoleon Dynamite talk Here!

Jon Heder in real life - not like he's totally hot but u gotta agree that he's hotter than Napoleon!

4) Battlestar Galactica Season 2 Part 1 - this show was sooo boring at the beginning (esp that mini series in the beginning!). Perhaps because I was never a Science Fiction fan, therefore it was kinda hard to follow at first. The show's been better since I've figured out what's going on. Actually a lot of the show's content serves as some sort of parady to today's current events. Now I am waiting for Part 2 and the 'shocking' season finale. When will I get the my next set of discs, Seewise? :D

Still Alive

Ya, that's right, i am not dead yet.

Saw this in Olivia's blog. I don't know if it's accurate tho, what do you think?

My Personal Dna Report




If you put your mouse over the picture above you can see a summary of my test. Turns out that i am an Independent Leader

Hmmmm.....

The Handover of Hong Kong or The Great Chinese Takeaway

Charles' diary lays thoughts bare

The diary which sparked Prince Charles' court fight with the Mail on Sunday has been released by his lawyers amid claims it was not a "private" journal.
The 3,000-word document is said to have been written as the Prince flew back from Hong Kong in 1997 after attending the former colony's handover to China.

He mentioned talks with Tony Blair and the "ridiculous rigmarole" of meeting the then Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

But his surprise at not being seated in first class is also touched upon.

Charles says copies of eight journals were handed to the Mail on Sunday by his ex-employee.

He is suing the paper's owners, Associated Newspapers, for breach of copyright and confidentiality following the publication of an article in November 2005.

The prince's legal team says Charles gave copies of his journals only to family members, friends and advisers and denies the Mail on Sunday's claim that his aim was to influence political opinion.

'Astonishing'

In the diary, the prince also talked of official events on the Royal Yacht Britannia and his "overwhelming sadness" that the vessel was soon to be "ex-commissioned".


"I stood on the deck gazing at the departing skyline of Hong Kong and telling myself perhaps it is good for the soul to have to say goodbye to the dear yacht in the same year. Perhaps..."

He recounted that Britannia was followed by a Chinese patrol craft during his stay.

"The whole business was drearily reminiscent of the Soviets and their behaviour when I was in the Royal Navy over 20 years previously."


Such is the end of Empire, I sighed to myself
Entry in Prince Charles' journal


The prince said Mr Blair was a "most enjoyable" person to talk to - "perhaps partly due to his being younger than me.

"He also gives the impression of listening to what one says, which I find astonishing."

But he rued the fact that the prime minister was in "such a hurry".

He added: "They then take decisions based on market research and focus groups, on the papers produced by political advisers and civil servants none of whom will have ever experienced what it is they are taking decisions about."

Talking of his outward journey on a British Airways 747, Charles writes: "It took me some time to realise that this was not first class(!) although it puzzled me as to why the seat seemed so uncomfortable."

He then discovered dignitaries, including Edward Heath, Douglas Hurd, "the new Foreign Secretary Robin Cook", and Paddy Ashdown, were all "in First Class immediately below us".

"Such is the end of Empire, I sighed to myself," Charles wrote.

'Propaganda' speech

Charles titled his diary The Handover of Hong Kong or The Great Chinese Takeaway.

The extracts already published in the Mail on Sunday showed the prince described Chinese officials as "appalling old waxworks" and one ceremony as an "awful Soviet-style" performance.


In the background was the sneaking worry about creeping corruption and the gradual undermining of Hong Kong's greatest asset - the rule of law
Entry in Prince Charles' journal

Of a banquet during his stay, Charles also wrote of sitting next to the Chinese foreign minister, "who must have had considerable difficulty knowing what to make of me".

The Prince described the Chinese president and "his cronies" at a handover dinner that followed.

The president "gave a kind of propaganda speech which was loudly cheered by the bussed-in party faithful at the suitable moment in the text," Charles wrote.

"At the end of this awful Soviet-style display we had to watch the Chinese soldiers goose-step on to the stage and haul down the Union Jack and raise the ultimate flag."

The journal continued: "Thus we left Hong Kong to her fate and the hope that Martin Lee, the leader of the Democrats, would not be arrested..."

He said everyone at another reception was "thoroughly optimistic" about Hong Kong's future.

"But in the background was the sneaking worry about creeping corruption and the gradual undermining of Hong Kong's greatest asset - the rule of law."

He said the Chinese army was also a concern because soldiers' low pay meant there may be "irresistible temptations to intimidate or threaten local people".


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/4740684.stm

Published: 2006/02/22 17:57:53 GMT

© BBC MMVI
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I must sound like a total traitor but i seriously felt his pain regarding the handover. Sob Sob...he's so right about those awful Chinese politician. The only thing that's wrong? Haha Mr. Tung is not that complicated. :D

Ok i want this book

【2006/02/19 聯合晚報】
阿信個人書 跟創作賭氣
五月天主唱阿信出首本個人書Happy Birth Day。

記者周文郁/攝影

【記者梁岱琦/專訪】「每一次寫完一首歌，都像是死過一次」! 阿信一向是「五月天」裡的創作靈魂人物，最近他挑出自己的66 首歌詞創作，推出「Happy.Birth.Day」個人書，但說起創作，阿信是既痛苦又快樂，他寫起歌來可以不吃、不喝、不睡，但寫完後，「所有的這些苦難都不見了」。

阿信不想當「五月天」裡第一個出書的人，「我本來想等石頭或瑪莎出完後再出」，而且結合歌詞與心情寫真的「Happy.Birth.Day」，也不是阿信最想出的一本書，「我覺得我的第一本書應該是一般的文學書，大家都不知道是我寫的，這樣有出版社要出、有人要看，才是最棒的」。不過，在同輩的創作歌手裡，阿信的文字一直有種敏銳的觀察與自省力，這一、兩年來，很多人看重他的文字功力，光邀詞的歌手還不少。

書裡的66首歌詞，有「五月天」的、也有阿信寫給其他歌手，他也藉著出書的機會，「還原」某些歌的樣子。像是他寫給朱孝天的「啦啦啦」，原本裡頭有句歌詞說，「膽子很大、英文很破」，但當時唱片公司表示，「我們朱孝天的英文很好」，於是這兩句歌詞就被改了。謝霆鋒演唱的「寂寞堂口」原本叫做「寂寞殺人堂口」，阿信也在書裡恢復原來的歌名，也透露出這首歌背後不為人知的故事。

為了該不該把創作時的情境寫出來，阿信掙扎了很久，他覺得，「我把這本書當成詩集，而詩是不需要解釋的」，但想到自己也從「披頭四」的書中，得知他們創作的過程，直到截稿的最後一天，才臨時補了六千字的創作過程，也意外曝露了歌曲後的故事。收在「人生海海」專輯裡的「一顆蘋果」，是阿信聽到堂哥在一場黑道「槍戰」裡，中槍半身不遂後所寫的。「當初擔心家人的感受，一直考慮該不該寫出來」，阿信坦承，「最後決定寫了是因為，至少這樣可以告訴大家歹路不可行」，「寂寞堂口」也是因為堂哥而寫的。

要創作出一首歌並不是這麼簡單，阿信笑說「自己百分之九十都在卡在創作瓶頸」，為了不想跟別人一樣，想要有不同的表達方式，每寫一首歌他都要花很長的時間「想」。「蘊釀一首歌需要很大的能量」，阿信承認專心創作時，總是熬夜、不吃、不喝，「我心裡不認輸、也賭全部的氣」，他的時間有限，因此邊上通告、邊寫歌是常有的事。只是難免會發生「驚險」的場面，阿信就記得他在配唱「知足」這首歌時，臨時知道孫燕姿下午要來，中午才開始寫「第一天」的歌詞，隔天王力宏又要飛回來為梁靜茹製作「絲路」，等到梁靜茹都開始錄音，他才一邊寫「絲路」的歌詞，現他想起還是「頭皮發麻」，驚訝那時不知那來的「神力」。

AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Franz Ferdinand in Calgary on April 26!!!! ARRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHH~~~~~

Updated my Photo Blog

See here:

http://spaces.msn.com/kkysiu/photos/

Responsible Travelling Code

I found this here: http://ihome.cuhk.edu.hk/~a014700/responsible_travel.html

Responsible Travelling Code

(adapted and rewritten from various sources on the Web)

Travel

• Travel to meet the world and for the experience that brings, not to "conquer it."
  
• Travel in a spirit of humility and with a genuine desire to meet and share with local people, instead of counting rolls of film shot or calculating miles traveled.
  
• Travel with an open mind. Respect local religions and customs.
  

Learn

• Learn to observe, think, speak and write in a way that is non-ethnocentric, non-racist and non-sensationalizing.
• Learn that people in the area you visit often have time concepts and thought patterns different from your own. Not inferior, just different.
• Learn a little of the local language e.g. greetings and thanks.
  

Dos

• Ask permission before photographing people. Should they want a copy of the photograph, do send it.
  
• Be environmentally friendly. Use reusable materials when possible. Support local recycling programs.
  
• Buy arts and crafts produced by the local community. Use services and stay in lodgings that are owned by a member of the community.
  

Don'ts

• Don't buy sacred items or artifacts central to the culture. Don't patronize tourism activities that undermine the local culture or value system.
  
• Don't expect any special privileges - you are only one of many tourists who visit.

*MORE* Trip Plans?

Here are my friend's trip plans for 2006:

- Rome, Italy in April
- London, England in May
- Japan or Taiwan, Hong Kong, China in October
- Cambodia in November/December


Quite tempting as I want to join all four, but i only have $ to join 1-2 at max. Just wish I have more money sometimes. I need to find a part time job. :(

Hong Kong & Stephen Chow

Just finished watching the HK segment of Jonathan Ross' Asian Invasion. There were some very nice shots of HK and just made me realized how much I miss the place! Arrrh I so want to go there in December! Jonathan Ross interviewed Stephen Chow (Sing Chi) on the show! This is the first time I've heard him speak in English and I think he's quite good considering that he's never had any formal English education. Chow's been one of my fave actor since I was a kid! He was a children tv presenter at that time and i suspect the kids who grew up watching him ended up being a little wacky. :)

Peter was here!

Peter was in town last week. It was nice to see him again and he hasnt changed a bit; still the same groovy guy i knew back in the UC days and can still crack me up whenever he opens his mouth. I dont remember exactly how we met, and i can only remember that i asked him to get me Softhard's debut CD! Kinda weird but this time around I asked him to get me another Softhard CD (ya there is this "new" album with some new songs!). I guess I am just consistant? :) I also got a new wallet as a bday gift (tsumori chisato!), hehe thanks so much Peter!

Since Peter was here for just a little over 24hrs, we tried not to waste any time. First we stopped at Trong Khanh for the tasty vietnamese noodles. We took pics of the noodle so we can show to Kian (who's currently in Singapore, hehe sorry!) :P. Then we went to the street where MEC and all the other outdoor shops are located. Peter's an "outdoor look" person, haha! (note the difference between Outdoor and Outdoor Look :D) We had dinner at Sushi-Bar Miki; the sushi was AWESOME but the hot food we ordered that nite (fried squid and katsu don) was just ok. We met up with Cathy and Eva at Cheesecake that night and had a little get-together. I havent seen Cathy in ages!

The next day I took Peter to shop around for gifts for his colleagues. It's some sort of HK culture where you have to get your colleagues something when you travel overseas. We spent quite a bit of time doing that and almost missed our lunch! At last we made it to Sushi Zipang and had some very delicious sushi. :D While we were there a lady started to talk to us. She's quite nice and she's from Orlando, Florida (a nice American!). She said her daughter is studying MBA in Calgary and working in funds management or something. She passed me this slip with her daughter's email address on it and the world "Big Money Mentors". Hmmm it's almost weird how I always have nice people who'll walk up and start a conversation with me. Anyways, she did asked me if i am still in school! Hehehe.

Had a short walk on 17th Avenue after that. It's February and still no snow on the ground! Showing Peter around made me realize that Calgary is quite a pleasant place. Before we know it, it was time for Peter to leave. I hope he'll come again soon! I totally forgot to bring him to that hill that's near the end of Lion's Bridge. You can take pretty good pictures of the city there! Oh well, next time!

Calgary Tower

We had our team building event at the Calgary Tower this morning. It was quite early when we got there (at 9!) and we had the whole place to ourselves! I remember i was there for the first (and only) time when I was in Gr.12. There was me, Clara, Winson and Jason. I remember we were there because Winson had a pass to get us in or something. Gee, we have changed so much since then! Anyways, the tower recently added the glass floor to the observation deck. I wasnt scared but it is weird walking on it. Makes me wonder what it's like to be walking on the one on CN Tower, this is probably nothing.

I took some pictures for those of you who are homesick. Will upload them soon! :)

Happy CNY!

Thanks so much to my friends who remembered my birthday! :) Love ya all~ Ok, i dont mean i dont love those who didnt remember :P ... I understand that everyone's busy lately! At the same time i'd like to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year! Hope your year is filled with lots of good luck! Smooth sailing in everything you do and for the singles I hope that special someone will show up soon! :D

Loneliest Bday Ever

I went and paid my speeding ticket today, i just thought i should get it over and done with
before the new year starts. I was only doing 68 on a 50 zone! Arrrh. I remember why i went so fast! It was because i had to switch lanes to try and avoid this drunk driver (at least i suspected he was drunk, cuz i was on 17th Ave). :( I tried to fight the ticket and hoped the constable wont show up, but she did! She told me that there's no way i can fight the ticket and asked me to plead guilty. Well, i accepted the plea bargain; as a result she slashed the mileage that i went over by half, so i only paid $75 instead of $13x. It's better than nothing i guess, esp with my current financial situation; every penny counts!

After work i went to Purolator and picked up my new monitor. It is an awesome mon and it is a
lot bigger than my old piece of crap! I can now see details in pictures that i was never able to
see on my old mon! I think i need to take out all my pics and view it on this monitor again! As I do every year I spent my birthday with my family. As some of you may know my mother just had an eye surgery not too long ago, so she cant cook. :( They were gonna go to Cheesecake Cafe and get me a cake, but the South location was closed for renovation until Feb 8!!! Arrrh, no cake, no dinner! Oh well ... :( I did get my "Red Pocket" tho. Let's hope I'll have a better birthday next year!

Sushi @ Zipang

Tonite I went to sushi zipang with Gigi and Andy to celebrate my birthday. I got an I-pod Shuffle case by Coach from Gigi! I love it! It's a blue leather case on a neck strap with a butterfly on it. I dont have a case for my shuffle and this is just what i need. :D Thanks Gigi! The food at Zipang was awesome as usual; it's one of the few "real" Japanese restaurants in Calgary and i'd definitely go there with Peter this week. Anyways, we had fun chatting that nite and we actually had some intellilectual conversation about politics. We all voted this year and at the end we agreed that the political parties in Canada are pretty much useless.

It's kinda weird how Gigi and I became close friends. In fact, we simply couldnt recall how we became friends! We will always remember how we met tho; we were competiting in a singing contest. (yes, how cool is THAT! @_@) Altho we didnt win anything at the contest, this friendship we have at the end made the contest worthwhile! :) Ok i know this sounds kinda cheesy ...

How I Met Your Mother

I know this sounds stupid, but i really like the new show How I Met Your Mother. It's just one of those silly sitcoms, but maybe there's been a lack of sitcoms lately... and i sort of need that weekly comic relief. This week they did a Before Sunrise-like episode! Hmm I don't believe it, the writers must've seen that movie! And of course there's Neil Patrick Harris! Hehe, i was a Doogie Howser M.D. fan! :D He's awesome in the show, actually he's LEGENDARY!!! Hehehe.

I do hope that there's a season 2....

Selective Hearing - My 2005

01. Royksopp - The Understanding
02. Annie - Anniemal
03. Goldfrapp - Supernature
04. Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better
05. Jamie Cullum - Catching Tale
06. Ladytron - Witching Hour
07. 陳綺貞 - 華麗的冒險
08. 五月天 - 知足 Just My Pride 最真傑作選
09. The Killers - Hot Fuss
10. Oh frack, i dont have a 10....

*not in any particular order

Aquarius - the bad luck sign of the month?

January's been such a long and dreadful month for me! I don't believe all the bad things that has happened to me so far! Arrrh. Things are not going well at work, cuz I don't think I am being aggressive enough. Oh well, good thing is that I always look on the bright side and I am taking this as a challenge. Altho I still hope that Program Support will contact me soon ....

Anyways, i was pretty stressed out in the last couple of days to a point where I started looking up my horoscope on the internet for some answers. I stumbled upon a few sites about my sign, and what they say about Aquarius is so true!

AQUARIUS
BORN: January 20 - February 18
SYMBOL: Water-bearer,
ELEMENT: Air
PLANETS: Uranus and Saturn
COLOUR: Electric blue
PLANETARY STONE: Turquoise

TRAITS:

» Refuse to follow the crowd
» Strong desire for knowledge
» Strong will-power
» Relate well to diverse personalities
» Open-minded
» Idealist
» Easily bored
» Humanitarian
» Logical
» Artistic
» Intelligent
» Unorthodox
» Emotionally detached
» Inventive
» Resentful of being told to what to do
» Skeptical
» Highly developed sense of social equality
» Most comfortable in the world of ideas
» Intuitive
» Honest
» Independent
» Unpredictable
» Dogmatic
» Impatient
» Freedom-loving
» Progressive
» Altruistic

FAMOUS AQUARIANS:

» Galileo
» Thomas Edison
» Abraham Lincoln
» Charles Dickens
» James Dean
» Charles Darwin
» Oprah Winfrey
» Jennifer Aniston
» Matt Groening
» Justin Timberlake
» Christina Ricci
» Alicia Keys
» Seth Green
» Michael Jordan

Hmmm, they forgot Mozart...who was born on the same day as me! :D

Anyways, as you can see, Aquarius people can be quite annoying. Honestly i dont know what i'd do if I have a friend who's an Aquarius. (come to think of it, I dont have one!) I guess this is why my friends are quite precious to me, cuz unlike my family who's got no choice :P , they actually choose to tolerate my sometimes unusual behaviors.

知足

五月天 - 知足

怎麼去擁有 一道彩虹
怎麼去擁抱 一夏天的風
天上的星星 笑地上的人
總是不能懂 不能知道足夠

如果我愛上 你的笑容
要怎麼收藏 要怎麼擁有
如果你快樂 不是為我
會不會放手 其實才是擁有

當一陣風吹來 風箏飛上天空
為了你 而祈禱 而祝福 而感動
終於你身影 消失在人海盡頭
才發現 笑著哭最痛

那天你和我 那個山丘
那樣的唱著 那一年的歌
那樣的回憶 那麼足夠
足夠我天天都品嚐著寂寞

(知足的快樂 叫我忍受心痛)

This is such a beautiful and peaceful song. It reminds me that I should always be grateful for everything I have now. We can live a simple life and still be happy, as long as we know how to appreciate everything we have. And you just have to trust me on this one, the best things in life are free! :) Remember to pray for the people you care about and wish them the best.

(I learnt this from someone who was important to me, and i didn't think i understood everything he was referring to until i was in Sri Lanka and India last year. I will try to write about it if I have time)

阿信說："如果我愛上妳的笑容，但你的笑容不是因為我，那麼我就該放手，看著你為別人綻放笑顏而知足"

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Looks like the seller who sold the Pink Razr V3 to me was a scammer. :( Within a few days, the seller's profile was flooded with negative feedbacks, and today, he/she is no longer registered on eBay! I know I will get my money back, since i used a credit card for this purchase. I just can not believe all the bad things that has happened to me lately. I've never had any problems with eBay before, probably because I've never brought anything over CAD$100 in the past. I've made 2 big purchase lately, and they both turned sour! Arrrh!

It's been really busy at work too. As some of you may know, I am now in a new position, and I've been trying very hard to learn my job for the last 2 weeks. I think i am doing ok, but the comfort level is still kinda low. :( Yesterday, a Team Leader came by and asked me if I am interested in working at Program Support (sort of like Tech Support in our division) temporary, he said that the dept is short staffed, and they know I have some computer-related background, but there's no guarantee on whether or not they'd switch me. I really hope that they will do the switch, cuz i know that I dont exactly enjoy what i am doing right now.

Here's a reply from the seller

Hi, You have to wait 30 days because you placed a claim on my account, now my account is on hold because Paypal is now investigating.

Frack....

Arrrhhhh!

Since I still haven't got my X'mas present (ya the one i brought for myself!) yet, i contacted the ebay seller for answers. I almost got an instant reply and the seller just said they had some trouble with Dell and have to give me a refund instead. Question is, why it took them so long to tell me? Maybe they were hoping that I dropped dead during the holiday season so they wont have to give the refund or something? It's already been a month! I am simply ticked. Meanwhile, Dell.ca have raised the price of that monitor again, so i can't get it from there! Arrhh this is very upsetting, as I was so looking forward to my new monitor!!! I hate this!!! When will Dell.ca have another sale?

The Incredibles

I watched The Incredibles tonite finally (ya after having the dvd for more than 6 months!) and as a long time Pixar fan I gotta say it was a TOTAL let-down. :( I guess Pixar is trying to compete with Dreamworks (who puts out movies with ugly animation like Shrek and Shark Tales! Ok i agree they are funny ... ), so the storyline of The Incredibles is aimed at a more mature audiences. By doing this I think Pixar has lost its touch; cuz Pixar films are suppose to be suitable for all ages right? The script sucks and it's probably the worst Pixar's ever done! So surprise that the movie is not a flop at the theatres.

Seriously, i am disappointed, i thought Pixar can do better than this.....

Happy 2006!

Happy New Year! I don't really know how to judge my 2005; it wasn't a bad year at all, but then it not the best either. I have a few New Year resolutions, but of course i won't say it here, cuz it'll not come true unless i keep it to myself!

Anyways, I do have some plans for 2006. First of all, I should be going to Thailand sometime after September (must be in Calgary on September 2 for Gigi's wedding!). After talking to Pazu for a bit, he got me convinced that Thailand is the place to be! :) I just pray that he's still in Thailand after Sept, or else this might not work. I should be stopping in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and even Singapore and Cambodia perhaps? I want to go to as many Asian countries as possible this time. That should be fun! Pazu told me that everything in Thailand is quite cheap (For eg. HKD$16 for a movie and cheap accommodations!) This will make it quite affordable as I should be taking some time off from work (right now i am thinking 2 months!!!) Hehe i better go pick up a backpack in MEC soon! Arrh i can't wait, it's something to look forward to, something that'll give me a lot of motivation to do things through out the year!

I picked up a great deal on ebay last nite after coming back from a NYE party, and finally I won a Pink Razr V3!!!!! Special thanks to 'Conan' in London who saw it and told me about it. I guess ppl are still suffering from hangovers in the UK and so they couldn't bid! What a great way to start a new year! Hehehe. I cant wait to flash it and get it to work.