Blog Editing

Ok, i've just read over my travel journal and they are so full of grammar mistakes! So, i've corrected a lot of it tonite. Hopefully it is more readable now. (i doubt it's grammar error/mistakes free tho)

this is kinda cute!

Baby hippo, giant tortoise mark year since adopting each other after tsunami

28/12/2005 9:29:00 PM

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - The unlikely couple of a baby hippo and a 130-year-old tortoise were still together, a year after the hippo was separated from its family by last year's Indian Ocean tsunami.

A baby hippo named Owen walks along with its 'mother', a giant male Aldabran tortoise at the Mombasa Haller Park, Wednesday. (AP) The relationship between Owen, the two-year-old hippopotamus, and Mzee, the giant tortoise, surprised conservation workers and made international headlines.

Owen was living with his family on the Sabaki River when massive waves from the Indian Ocean tsunami reached the East African coast. He was washed into the ocean and stranded on a reef.
Residents of Malindi, a small coastal town, used fishing nets to catch him. He was then taken to the Haller Park sanctuary, where he met Mzee and adopted him as a surrogate parent. Owen may have been attracted by Mzee's round shape and gray colour that are somewhat similar to that of an adult hippopotamus.

The tortoise at first resisted. But the persistent Owen kept following him around the park, into the pool and trying to sleep next to him.

Mzee relented after several days. As the bond grew, the tortoise even returned signs of affection. They are now inseparable.

Conservation workers plan to introduce Owen to a 13-year-old female hippo named Cleo early next year, hoping to see the two develop a strong relationship. The female hippo has lived without companionship from her species for more than a decade.

The delicate process will begin with having the two animals meet and become used to each other's smell before moving them into a larger enclosure together with the tortoise.

It's been a year

It's been a year since the deadly Tsunami hit Southern Asia. I was in Sri Lanka and India at that time. Luckily i left Sri Lanka a day earlier (it should've been 2 days, but our stupid tour missed our flight!), cuz if i didn't, i really don't know if i will be here today. I still remember we got the news in the middle of nowhere in India through our tour guide; we received a text message regarding the news. I was kinda in trouble cuz i lied to my parents and told them i was going to Taiwan instead, and i sent them an email telling them that i was actually in Sri Lanka on the 24th. I think i really scared my parents. :( I remember i was telling Ringo that I know Tsunami is Japanese and even sang a few lines to SAS's famous song (called Tsunami!) Everyone in our tour had no idea on the magnitude of the disaster until we were back in HK. As soon as i turned on my phone, there were many messages asking me if I was ok, and i remember the first thing i did was calling Clara confirming that we are seeing "Kung-fu Hussle" the next night. @_@ And then everyone was saying "Oh gee you scared me you are still alive!". I guess i felt the love there.... ^_^ I love my friends!

This never occured to me until much later, but i do consider myself a lucky person after visiting these poor countries. I really dont know how some of these ppl in the 3rd world countries live their lives. Like there should be enough resources on this planet for every single person right? Why do we still have people die of starvation? Why are we not able to protect childrens/girls in the poor countries? It kinda upset me. :(

Ok, getting a bit serious, so i better move on.

24 Day 5

Wow this looks exciting! Can't wait!

Windows hi-res

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/url/www.fox.com/syndication/24/24_promo_314.asx

Windows lo-res

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/url/www.fox.com/syndication/24/24_promo_50.asx

Real hi-res http://www.fox.com/syndication/24/24_promo_hi.ram

Real lo-res http://www.fox.com/syndication/24/24_promo_lo.ram

24 is the only show that i watch religiously every Monday at 19:00 (hehe thanks to Satelite TV i get to watch it 2 hours earlier). Remember not to disturb me during this time alright? :D

It's over!

Yes yes yes yes yes! No more studying for a while. I finally wrote my Acct final today. Yes, i wrote it, i didnt defer the exam or fake sick! I was so tempted to do so, since i did so bad on the midterm. :( You know things are not looking good when there's a Royksopp song dedicated to your midterm mark.

So finally i will have some free time to do things i like. Yeah~

i should be studying....

...but why am i updating my blog? I find it hard to concentrate and this is really becoming a problem lately. :( Exam is on the 19th, why is it so close to X'mas? I am somewhat depressed.

Anyways, i got my Franz Ferdinand DVD on Friday, a great DVD except i felt a little cheated on the karaoke part. I thought they'll have the original footage of the music video, instead, there's some weird video with Japanese on-screen cheerleading. Hmm i guess they really wanna immitate that Japan karaoke-box kinda feeling.

I will be a free person after the 19th, precisely at around 21:00MST.

Christmas Present for myself

To cheer myself up, i've brought this as a X'mas gift for myself.

Look

I am already in heavy debt after the trip, so i really don't know why i got this. The next thing on my list is a pink Razr. I think i will have to wait. :(

Post-Travel Depression :(

I think i am suffering from the Post-Travel Depression. Looking at the pics i took from the trip just made it worst. :( Now i am back to my old life. My savings account balance is at an all time low plus more bills are coming. Woooo :~(

Wish i can live in Europe or Asia sometimes, cuz ppl there can fly to another country within an hour or so, I can only go down to the States @_@ , which is really no different than Canada. So what's the point of going to a place that's so similar to your home base? I think living in North America is so depressing sometimes (in a traveller's point of view at least). Maybe I should really think about moving away for a while. :(

Anyways, to cheer myself up, i already have some travel plans going for 2006. Hehe. I guess i will be leaving again as soon as i clear my debt for this trip. Hopefully I can travel outside of North America every year. For 2006 I'd like to go to the following places:

1. Japan - I've heard this saying that going to Japan is addictive and i totally agree! There's so much to see every time i go there and there's a lot of good food too. (Ummmm Ramen at Ichiran :D !!!) Seriously things are surprisingly cheap there and you are almost guarantee to get good quality stuff. Would love to go to Hiroshima and while I'm in Tokyo i'd like to go to Yokohama (didnt have time on my last trip!).

2. Egypt - That was one of our choices when we got to pick where we'd wanna go last Xmas (and we picked Sri Lanka/India instead!). It's still kinda dangerous to go there now but hopefully Ada & Ringo are not going there this year (then i might be able to go with them!)

3. Silk Road (China) - I dont really wanna go to China cuz of the bird flu, but i know how they maintain those heritage sites in China! (Crappy!) So, before they all get destroyed by those naive visitors i'd like to take a look.

4. Cambodia - I am sure i will get in trouble if my parents finds out i am going there, but ... again this was one of the few places we wanted to go to last year and Ringo went without me this Spring. :( Not sure if it's safe to go myself so i'd ask around to see if anyone's interested.

5. Taiwan - I always wanted to go to Taiwan, hehe to practice my Mandarin and go to KTV :D It's quite easy to go to Taiwan so it's not a priority.

6. Hong Kong - Hmm i will stop by HK for sure if i am in Asia, that's almost certain. I mainly miss my friends and the food there.

Now if i can find a travel buddy!

Back to Reality!

I woke up at 4:20 this morning (!!!) and was ready to leave by aroud 4:40. Left the flat with Olivia's help and said goodbye to my great travel buddy for the last 10 days :( (Bo was still asleep!) The taxi ride only costed Euro 19.10 (exclude tips) and the driver was quite friendly and chatty. I got to the airport quite early, around 5:15? I was surprise to see so many ppl there so early! The lineup wasnt that bad, and the whole check-in process was fast.

When i arrived at the departure gate, a Chinese lady approached me and started talking to me. She is from Taiwan and her husband is a doctor attending a conference in Dublin; He went back to Taiwan early for work while she continued her journey to visit her daughter in Edinburgh. She was really nice and friendly and offered me (who was like starving, cuz no restaurants were opened at that time) this Pineapple "so" (it's a famous snack from Taiwan and it's kinda like Fig Newton except in Pineapple favor). I was flattered as she asked me if I was in High school and if I am in college yet. :D Hehe ... When i told her that i am already working she said that i didnt look that old. :P . Btw i had no trouble communicating with her, so i am convinced that the Mandarin i learnt was the Taiwan accent and therefore my Mandarin is not as bad as i first thought :P. Spent a few hours at the Heathrow terminal and i managed to pick up a Paddington Bear! It's still on sale and i picked the one wearing a red raincoat. Oh he's so cute! :D I will take good care of him for sure. I also spent some $ at Virgin Megastore on CDs (Goldfrapp's Supernature, which is not available in North America until Spring 2006), a Traveller's converter and some books/mags.

Trip back to Calgary felt soooo long, as I was just dead tired but couldnt fall asleep. Air Canada sucked as usual (STILL NO personal tv screens!), but i do feel that I am back in Canada once i got in the boarding area. You can just tell that most of the people on the plane are Canadians; everyone was nice, polite and friendly. And of course you can see everyone's carrying a MEC backpack! It's a good way to spot the Canucks!. Didn't wait too long at the Customs Booth once i arrived and luckily didnt get search by them. Dad was there to pick me up at the airport. I felt kinda sad that the trip ended but at the same time I was glad that i could sleep in my bed again! I so miss my bed!!!

Dublin Day 3

My last day in Dublin started quite late since we stayed up so late the night before. We went to Kilmainham Gaol; It was a jail that was built in 1796, and it was used to lock up political prisoners during the revolutionary days. There were many civil war fought in the country, as a result, many of these political leaders were locked up there, and some were executed! Good thing that we went to this prison on a sunny day. I can imagine the place being a bit spooky and i will definitely not go at night. The guided tour (i was able to get in by student fare again, hehe!) was very informative and the museum had loads of information. It will take me a whole afternoon if i try to look at every single item. The info were quite well preserved and complete btw! Too bad we were pressed for time and i only got to look at the artifacts briefly, but i did gained a better understanding on how the Irish got their independance. Really cant imagine being locked up in this run-down jail, and it's probably haunted cuz many people were executed there, which kinda creeped me out. @_@

After we finished touring the Kilmainham Gaol, it was kind of late to go to the countryside (?) of Dublin as originally planned. :( We ended up going back to the city centre again. On the bus ride to city centre, Olivia had a conversation with Bo:

"Bo, we just got out of the jail" .... "No, we spent a lot of time there .... " It totally cracked me up for some reason, i wonder what the other people around us were thinking :D (yes i am stupid, i laugh about stupid things)

We stopped at a grocery store on our way home, we had to prepare food for our Hot Pot dinner, so we grabbed some beef, veggies, shrimps, and a bag of rice (heavy!). Bo said before i leave we have to have a nice big meal to round up the trip! Hehe thanks guys! I was surprise to know that Bo & Olivia don't use a soup base for their hot pot, but the taste was actually quite good even without it. It's probably healthier cuz there is less sodium. I had a brief chat with one of the flatmates, Tim, who is the only flatmate that speaks fluent English and therefore the only one i can fully communicate with. I thought my Mandarin was pretty good until i met B & O's flatmates here; it's probably got to do with the fact that a) they speak very fast and b) they got some kind of accent i am unfamilar with. Anyways, Tim is a student from Shanghai studying in Dublin. He's a very nice guy! It's kinda funny cuz i've never really had a conversation with a person from mainland China before, so it's interesting to know what he thinks of living in Dublin vs. China.

After the huge dinner we had, it was time to go to bed cuz i gotta get up at 4:00 the next morning!!!

Dublin Day 2

Bo took a day off work today to show us around Dublin (although i suspect that his main objective was to test out his new toy! ;) Danny and Dai Pang, who are B & O's (sorry, takes too long to type out ur full names) flatmates, joined us today. Our first stop was Trinity College, which is located in the heart of the city centre. The college's been around since 1592 and has a beautiful campus surrounded by a bunch of old, historical buildings! I just wish UofC is like that! We walked around the campus and snapped some pictures. We even stopped for a bit to watch a football match. What a beautiful campus! Olivia bumped into her friend Riley in front of the Book of Kells entrance, it was quite timely as students can get their friends in for free! Too bad that I only had a chance to look at everything inside briefly, as I didn't wanna hold up the group. :( The old library building was amazing because it housed many old books dating back to hundreds of years ago. I've seen these old libraries in movies, so it was almost kinda surreal when i saw these old bookcases lining up neatly in front of my eyes. We did more walking around the campus afterwards. Riley tried to show us this Harry Potter style cafeteria :) but too bad the doors were locked. :( Btw Riley is Olivia's friend from Calgary. He's a student studying Dentistry at Trinity College. He was backpacking in Asia for a few months this year and shared some interesting stories with us. I love these travel stories and hope i can go on a backpacking trip next year!

After our tour around Trinity College we took a bus down to the Dundrum area. The shopping mall there is the largest in Ireland, but it's probably no bigger than SouthCentre mall here. Didn't have much time to shop around, but it's probably a good thing because things in Ireland are so bloody expensive! I've started to appreciate Canada more after my trips around the world; like how cheap things are in Canada compared to the rest of the world.

In the evening we made it back to the city centre again and had dinner at a Chinese restaurant. I've heard Olivia complained about the bad Chinese food in Dublin so i didnt have much expectation, but the food turned out to be quite good! I was later told that the restaurant we went to was the only acceptable Cantonese restaurant in town! After dinner we followed Riley to an Irish Pub. I guess my trip to Ireland will not be complete without a visit to an Irish pub! (Thanks guys!) All the pubs were quite full on a Saturday night but we managed to find one that's quite dead after walking around for a bit. Turns out that Olivia had never been to an Irish pub either, so we had our first half pint of Guinness there! ^_^ The taste is actually not too bad, and I'd say it's better than some of the beer that I've tasted in North America. We were there until closing and got back to the flat by around 1:00. Since it was late and Bo had to work the next day, i went to bed without a shower for the first time in many many many many many many years! I felt quite uncomfortable (sorry, i am a bit of a neat freak) but then it's something I have overcome especially if I want to become a real traveller!

Dublin Day 1

Today was my first full day in Ireland. Woke up quite late, at around 10:45 because i was up in the middle of the night putting on extra layers of clothes (i think 5 layers in total)/scarf/socks. It got quite cold at night and i almost got frostbites! I so miss central heating! After the huge breakfast/lunch prepared by Olivia, we dropped off our laundry to this shop across the street and headed out at around 13:30. Christ Church was our first stop. It was just another church to me but there might be more to it than that. We walked around the City Centre, took pictures with "The Tart with the Cart". Then we walked to the Dublin Castle nearby. Olivia and I joined a guided tour (they charged me student fare, haha!) and had a crash course about the Irish history. The tour ended at around 16:00 and we headed down to the shopping district. Did a bit of browsing at the shops, went to the GPO (The Gerneral Post Office of Dublin) for another lesson in the History of Ireland and headed home with groceries.

Olivia prepared dinner again and made pasta for the night. We stayed in the flat for the rest of the night and watched Die Hard 3. What a way to waste a night overseas! But then the past few day's been pretty hectic and I needed time to unwind.

Last day in Amsterdam

Today was our last day in Amsterdam. We wasted some time yesterday wandering around so I was determined to not let this happen again. Since the time we spent at the Van Gogh Museum was much longer than expected, I allotted more time for the Anne Frank House today. Breakfast was called at 9:00 again, and by 10:00ish we checked out of the houseboat. First we headed to the Central Station to drop off our bags at the locker, and then we went straight to the Canal Boat dock. The boat ride lasted about 45min to an hour. It was just another Tourist thing we had to do, but it was well worth it since it was the perfect way to do an express tour of Amsterdam in 45 minutes!

As soon as we hopped off the boat, we wasted no time to catch a tram to the Anne Frank House. I read about the Anne Frank House while organizing the trip and it instantly became one of the must-see places on my list (the other one, was actually Atomium!)! For those of you who are not familiar with the story of Anne Frank, please Click Here. It was quite an experience being in the actual house, and it's hard to imagine being trapped in there and living in fear for such a long period of time!!! I am so glad that i was there, and i am glad that these sites are being preserved. It was quite a moving experience, so don't miss it if you are in Amsterdam!!!

It was around 14:00 when we finished touring the Anne Frank House. We decided to save some money and walked back to the Dam Square area. I seriously needed that break just to clear my head from the thoughts i had after seeing Anne Frank House. Along the way we passed by some interesting buildings and streets. After a 15-20 min walk, we were in the Dam Square shopping district again. We went back to H&M because we didnt spent enough time there the day before. A lot of things in the store were on sale and Olivia and I both picked up some more clothes ^_^. (Ya just the perfect activitiy to keep my mind off Anne Frank, etc) We were there until 16:30 and it was time to leave Amsterdam. Went back to the Central Station to pick up our bags, somehow we couldnt get our locker open and for a while I thought our contents got stolen, but finally we got help and got the door open. We proceeded to the airport by train (3.80 Euro for a 10 minutes train ride, bloodly expensive!) and made it to the airport just in time, the airport was huge and we barely made it to the departure gate around the boarding time. (I will be screaming if I miss my flight again!) The plane was pretty booked up, so by the time we got on the plane all the overhead bins around us were full! Since we sat in the front row, Olivia and I had to walk all the way to the back to store our bags. It was quite a challenge to walk back to the front of the plane since there were still people getting on the plane!!!! It took us forever to get back to our seats! Same thing after the plane landed, we had to wait for everyone to get off first before we can walk to the back to retrieve our bags! What an annoying experience! When we got to the Customs area, i realized my passport was gone!!! Arrrh!!! I left my passport bag in my seat, so i ran the fastest i could back to the plane to get it. Arrrh first i missed my flight, and then i almost lost my passport! I swear, i am usually more careful than that! What was wrong with me?

And finally, my last destination of the trip, Dublin!

The airport bus dropped us off at O’Connell Street. It’s a wide street and is probably Dublin’s main thoroughfare. The street reminded me of Kings Street in Hong Kong so much, because it’s so busy, full of people and it’s full of Double-Decker buses! Even though I’ve heard Olivia complaining about Dublin being old, kinda dirty and rotten I must say I like it! I guess I was pretty much brain washed when I lived in Hong Kong; yes call me a traiter, i do prefer the British ruling HK. Anyways, Ireland is no longer under British rules, but since it still has close ties to the UK, the two countries still shares a lot of similarities.

We only stayed in the city centre area for like 10 minutes, waiting for the bus. We finally got on a bus and headed to Olivia and Bo's flat. Had a quick dinner and went to bed early since Bo had to work the next day.

Van Gogh Museum and etc

The bed at on board the Maria Alberta boat was surprisingly comfortable, and this morning we slept in until around 9:00 when breakfast was called. At the breakfast table, Olivia and I met Wendy & Andre from LA. Wendy is involved in a theatre production (Midsummer Night Dream I think?) in Berlin and Andre is a Special Ed. Teacher visiting his girlfriend. Very nice people and they are so much nicer than some of these American Tourists I’ve met. (Sorry, might sound a bit bias, but I’ve met some rude Americans tourists in the past) Andre was nice enough to offer us a map and helped me locate a few "Coffee Shops" in his Lonely Planet book (Thrills n Chills, hehe). They also shared some travel tips, which was quite useful. It took Olivia and I quite long to get ready and finally we got out by 11:00. First we went to pick up a few items from H&M; for some reason, the Amsterdam store still had some Stella McCartney stocks, so I grabbed a few items off the rack! :D We ate our lunch at a very nice McD’s (i think the interior is designed by some famous designer) and then to the Yellow Bike Company for our Bike Tour. As we waited at the Bike Shop, we were told there weren't enough people to form a tour and they had to cancel it! They tried so hard to convince us not to go by telling us that the weather was gonna be crappy and stuff, so at last we opt out and got our refund.

Our next destination was Van Gogh Museum and we took the tram there. Without doing any research in the first place, I thought the museum only features some of his paintings. Turned out they have almost the complete collection of paintings he did throughout the different stages of his life. I was quite surprise to see some of his oriental theme paintings, never knew he did them (sorry, but they were kinda ugly). The museum also did a good job on explaining the background information with detail description for each painting. Other than paintings, the museum kept some of the things Van Gogh used like his closet and some of his letters. Overall it was very interesting and it’s a must-see for art fans! I don’t think Olivia is a fan of Van Gogh’s artwork and she looked a little bored there. (Sorry!) We spent quite a while at the museum, and before we left we used the video booth there to send a video message to Bo and my Dad. :D

After the Van Gogh Museum we went back to the restaurant district we were in the night before cuz the food we had the other night was very good! Afterwards we wandered around and ended up on the other side of the Red Light District! I feel bad for the women working there, although their work environment is already a lot safer than in other countries. It’s just a weird feeling seeing them on "display". Walked around the Dam Square for a bit and suddenly it started pouring! Since we ran out of things to do, I talked Olivia into try the hemp lollipop with me! :D Hehe! Too bad the amount of hemp in the lollipop was not enough to get us high, but I did had a good sleep afterwards.

Amsterdam!

Woke up a little earlier this morning since we were able to switch to a room facing the back, and it was much quieter! Be sure to request a room facing the back if you are booking rooms at Hotel Opera in Brussels. It was raining throughout the morning and we had to catch our train at 13:50, so we stayed around the Central Station area after we checked out. We learned that we had to pay extra for the Sunday stay because a weekend rate only applies to Fridays and Saturdays in Brussels (really?)! @_@ First we walked to St. Michael’s Cathedral, which is only a short walk from the Central Station. The church is truly magnificent and the architectural style reminds me of the Notre Dame in Paris. Brought a cross for my new home and two mini rosaries there. Poor Olivia’s been sick since the beginning of the trip and her cold seemed to have gotten worst, so we went to a Pharmacy to get her some medication. We try to act out Olivia's symtoms (such as coughing and sneezing and a stuffy/running nose) to communicate with the pharmacist and it was just funny.

After we had lunch and stocked up for snacks for the train, it was time to leave Brussels. As the train arrived Olivia and I parted ways with Bo and headed to our next destination: Amsterdam!

The train ride to Amsterdam was great! I always love train rides in Europe, because the scenery along the way is peaceful and relaxing! It also gave me some time to unwind a bit because our schedule was kinda hectic for the last 3 days, and the 3 hr ride gave me just enough time to think about the things that happened so far and get ready for what’s ahead. Olivia was very tired after taking her medication and quickly dozed off, so I was able to listen to my Ipod (finally :P) during the ride. I watched the beautiful scenery passing by my window and my Ipod was playing the right songs. It was just fantastic! Just beats a plane ride any day. Why can’t they have more passengers train in Canada?

After 3 hours, we arrived in Amsterdam and Olivia looked sicker than ever! I think the medication had quite an affect on her and made her really tired. We headed straight to the Tourist Office at the train station and booked our Bike Tour for the next day. Spent quite some time walking/finding our place to stay for the next 2 nights: Passenger Ship Maria Alberta. We arrived a bit early and I was surprised that it’s just a boat! Why do they call it a ship when it’s only a houseboat??? There was no one on board, so we headed to the “Nemo”, a ship-shaped green building which is a Science Centre for kids. The guy at the Nemo was extremely nice; he tried to help us and let us use his phone to contact the ship owner.

We were able to get on board at last and we were just a little shocked on how tiny our room was . The room (with the bathroom and etc) was just a little bigger than my bathroom back home! A bigger room with 3 beds was only 9 Euros more, so we jumped to the deal, and later we found out it was well worth the 9 Euros. The upper bed was almost impossible to get on (sorry not a wall climber). Actually attempting to get on the upper bed was a lot of fun and we laughed so hard while doing so. (If you follow that link on the last paragraph, there are some pictures of the boat, and the one on the right is actually a picture of our room!)

Olivia made the smart move of asking the locals on where to eat, as we tried not to fall into tourist traps again. On the way to find food we walked straight into the famous Red Light District without knowing, which was quite a shock at first because the first “Display” we saw was this very very fat woman with little clothes on. @_@ Finally we made it to Chinatown and decided to go into the restaurant with the most Chinese patrons. :D The food was good and it was quite a treat after many days of eating just burgers and fries. Afterwards we went to a supermarket to stocked up on fruit, hoping that the extra Vitamin C can help Olivia fight her cold.

Day 3

Our third day in Brussels was ok. We had a late breakfast (almost missed it again) and we decided to walk around the City Centre (yes again!) in the morning. I had a very healthy lunch: Belguim Fries! They are quite cheap, only 1.50 Euro. We found this booth in the middle of a square in front of a church and the taste of the fries was just AWESOME! It's so crisp and fresh! It's the the best fries i've had! The special sauce that came with the fries was good too! We also found a few Chinese Grocery stores and Olivia brought some pig skins (arrh gross!) . In the afternoon we wanted to make use of our Hop On Hop Off bus ticket and went for another ride around the city. Too bad we couldn't hop off the bus cuz there are only a few buses running during weekdays.

We made it back to Central Station by 18:00 to meet up with Bo's cousin, and then we realized that his cousin actually wanted to meet the next day! Hungry, tired, and afraid of falling into tourist trap again, we decide to make our own dinner by getting food from the supermarket. We ended up buying wine, bread, smoked salmon (very fresh and yummy, hehe kinda like sashimi!) and brought it back to the hotel. The food actually tasted quite good, very filling and cost a lot less than dining out.

Atomium!

We slept in today and almost missed our breakfast (ends at 11:00!) at the hotel. The food was sort of hostel style (no contential breakfast!) but it was ok. Walked to Grand Place again to snap some pictures and went to the tourist centre to grab some info on the Atomium. Knowing that Manneken Pis was just steps away from the Grand Place, we took a short walk to take a look. Manneken Pis is a bronze statue of a peeing boy. @_@ We spotted him surrounded by tourists. I read on the internet that he has around 600 costumes but the day we were there he was naked. Totally overrated indeed but we just have to go see cuz we are tourists! There was this stall across from the statue selling Escargots (Sea Snails)! I first thought it was kinda gross, but since I was curious about how it taste, i tried and it was actually quite good!

As we walked towards central station, a girl approached us and offered Hop On Hop Off bus tickets for a discounted price. As gullible and lazy tourist, we accepted her offer and brought our first Hop On Hop Off ticket ever. It was actually a better idea to take the bus to the Atomium anyway, because if we were to take the Metro, we wont be seeing much underground.

The Hop On Hope Off bus took us around the city, which is truly beautiful, and we hopped off at the Atomium. It's a pity that it's closed for renovation until early 2006 but i still wanted to go there to take a look at the structure and take pictures. I've always like to look at different architecture and this one is truly brilliant! The Atomium was designed for the International Exhibition of Brussels that was held in 1958. It was supposed to be demolished afterwards, but i am glad they didnt! I just love this builiding! The design is based on the magnified molecule of an atom, and there are 9 spheres joined by tubes, made from steel and covered in shiny aluminium. I love it! Hopefully i can go inside next time I am in Brussels! We also took a bunch of silly pictures outside of the Atomium to test out the speed of Bo's new toy!

We returned to the city centre at nite and went to this Japanese restaurant. Ordered a Miso Ramen but i suspected it was just a normal instant ramen with tonkatsu! @_@ The cost: 7.5 Eruo!!!! Before going back to the hotel, i had a chance to email my family to tell them i was still alive and i also brought a waffle! I saw them all over Brussels and i wanted to try one. It was quite good, especially when it's cold at night cuz the waffle is quite hot! However, Bo and I agreed that it's nothing compared to "Chicken Eggs" from HK!

1st night in Brussels

We took the Airport Express to get to Brussels' central station. It was only 2.8 Euro and the duration was about 15 mintues. Spent around half and hour finding our hotel and passed by Grand Place. It's a huge courtyard surrounded by historic buildings. It was just magnificant! Since it was Saturday evening there were a lot of people there. Didnt stay too long cuz the place was close to our hotel and we knew we were gonna be back. Finally we found Hotel Opera on a busy street. The hotel is not too bad except in our room there was this one bed that was obviously smaller than the other 2. Kinda reminded me of Goldie Locks...

As soon as we settled down at the hotel, we headed out to the busy shopping district close by. Went to look for the new Stella McCartney collection at H&M but was already sold out. :( We found an Electronics store and Bo saw this 7xx Euro camera he wanted! I was so tired at the store because of the jet lag and i tried so hard to keep my eyes open. At last Bo decided to get the camera. It became his new toy and he pretty much ignored Olivia and I cuz of it throughout the trip. :P

I forced myself to stay awake to adjust to the local time. This is surely the best way to fight jet lag! Altho it is a really hard thing to do. We walked around the area surrounding Grand Place again to find a decent restaurant to dine in. At last we got quite tired, and when this waiter approached and sweet talked us into going in the restaurant, we went with him cuz we were simply too hungry and too tired to look.

I read somewhere that the restaurants around that area is famous as some sort of tourist trap! >_< but we were just too tired and decided to take a chance, so we fell right into the trap! The food at the restaurant was actually not too too bad, altho i was expecting something better. I ended up ordering mussels and it was actually quite good. Olivia and Bo's salmon was not the best. The biggest rip-off at the restaurant was the bottle of water; they charged us 4 Euro for this flippin' bottle. We checked at a supermarket later and it only cost 0.50 Euro!

At last we were back to our hotel, i took a shower first cuz i was just dead tired and needed to sleep. I always carry a set of clean clothes with me whenever i need to check my bags, and this time around it came in handy! I got this overnight kit from the airport that includes some basic stuff, but it didnt include anything for my face! Arrrh i miss my toiletry kit so bad! It's hard to imagine what will happen if my baggage doesnt arrive the next day!

Had no memory of what happened after my shower cuz I was told that i fell asleep in 2 seconds.

Lost Baggage!

The flight to Frankfurt actually arrived a bit early than expected. So .. there was plenty of time to shop around at the terminal before boarding the plane to Brussels. Great! First thing i did was adjusting my watch according to the computerized billboard that shows the Arrival/Departure time. Went to the ATM and got 300 Euro, thinking that should be enuf cash for the entire trip (will use credit card whenever possible). Wandered around shops and had lunch at McD's (Happy Meal!). When it was time to leave, i went to the departure gate and was told that my flight already left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :( I checked my watch and realized that the clock i was following was about 40 mins behind! Arrrh~~ How can a computerized clock be wrong????? I swear i saw it refreshing as it updates the different arrivial/departure time! :( Staff at Lufthansa suggested i go to the ticket office to get a ticket for the next flight. At the ticket office, they told me that i need to cough up 300 Euro for the next flight. I told them that it's not my fault that the clocks at the airport was wrong! The lady was kinda mean and screamed "it's not our fault either!". :( She suggested that i go to the Air Canada counter, since they issued the ticket. From the Lufthansa booth, i dashed a few minutes and finally arrived at the Air Canada booth (huge airport!), put onthis innocent face and sort of beg the lady there to help me. The lady there kinda gave me that "gee, how could u???" look but she quickly issued me a 2nd ticket, which was quite nice considering that i was gonna start crying and tell her that i cant afford the 300 Euro Lufthansa wanted me to pay. Finally i boarded the next flight that leaves 1.5hrs after the one i missed. I prayed that Olivia and Bo would still be waiting for me at the arrival gate.

Finally i arrived in Brussels! Waited at the baggage belt for so long but didnt see my baggage coming. Turns out that they pulled my suitcase from the flight i missed, and it didn't make it on the flight i was on. :( Arrh~ Went to the Baggage service at Brussels airport to report my lost suitcase. The guy there was extremely friendly and helpful, but at the same time very slow! I knew Olivia and Bo was gonna wait until 15:45ish but i was afraid of telling the guy to speed up (that'll be kinda mean!). Finally i got out at around 15:30 and spotted my friends! Hehe quite a happy moment. I told them i was gonna arrive in the "Apprentice" style but couldnt without my suitcase. :(

Brussels!

My journey started today! Woke up at 10:00ish to pack my bags. Packing light is the key, as i realize that I often carry too much things with me on trips! I was ready by around 13:00ish. Went out for lunch and ordered WonTon Noodles, knowing that I won't be having any good Chinese food for the next 10 days. Headed down to the airport to check in early, and came out again to buy an umbralla. At the back of my mind i knew i left something behind, and i realized not long before boarding the plane; my Miffy Airplane pillow and Eye Mask from Tokyu Hands! Arrhhhh~~~ Didnt think i'd survive without my plane pillow so i brought one at the airport. Once i boarded the plane i realized my seat was taken, the guy who got my seat had to take care of a lady with an oxygen tank, so i took another seat instead. The baby in front of me was crying her heads off. @_@ Luckily she stopped crying once the plane lifted off. Going to Frankfurt from Calgary is about 8.5hrs and another 50 minutes from Frankfurt to Brussels. Hmm pretty excited about the trip. Can't wait to meet up with Olivia and Bo finally after all the planning and chatting! Let's hope we are still friends after the 10 days. :P

Go East!

Wow, i've had one of the busiest week of my life. I've finally moved to my new place after all this time! Yeah~ I love my new life :P! It's great that the PC is not in my room anymore. I can have it on all the time to download things and run batch process overnight! I still live pretty close to my parents, so i still wont have to cook. Hehe. Havent done any TV viewing for the entire week because i've been so busy. :( My HDD only got a few gig of space left. I better start catching up. Because of the move, i'd realized that i am a bit of a prat rat. I keep way too much things that i dont need and i buy way too much stuff. I need to clean it out and get rid of some things soon. I guess there'll be another ebay garage sale coming up...

I've finalized my trip plans! I will be going to Brussels and Dublin in about 2 weeks time and I am quite excited! :) Just need to do more research online to see if we can also accomadate a trip to Amsterdam. I know this is gonna be great! I will be going with Olivia and Bo (See Travelgoats's link on the side bar). Daddy is quite worried about Avian Flu outbreak in Europe but I am not too worried. Should be ok as long as I stay away from chicken and eggs. :P Of course i will be more careful too.

Btw i think i failed my midterm. :( When i get a feeling like that I am usually right :( This means that i gotta do well on the finals now. Gotta start working hard!

Midterm

I am suppose to be studying my midterm now, so why am i writing my blog instead? I dont know. Why am i studying something i dont like? Dont have an answer for that either.

Been pretty much swamped with things to do lately: midterms, moving (both residential and office!), trip plans (?) etc, plus got rear-ended last week! Arrh i can feel that i am quite burnt out.

Already have a list of Mandarin CD/DVD i need to get: Show/Rainie/MayDay. Hmm that should fulfill the requirement for free shipping!

And i still have to catch up on all the tv viewing....arrrh~~~

You Could Have It So Much Better ....

With Franz Ferdinand! Yes! The new album is out!!! Wow I better go buy it at HMV today!

chet lam x at17

Went to the Chet Lam + at 17 concert on Saturday, Oct 1st. I brought the ticket mainly cuz I wanted to see at17, but Chet Lam turned out to be quite good! Overall it was an excellent concert; the venue was great, cuz it's at the new cozy ballroom at the McEwen Hall @ UC. The place isn't really that big but they still had a video screen in front (a professional, clear one!). The audio is clear and a lot better than i expected. Audiences were great! Again the reaction of the audiences were better than i expected cuz usually the Chinese are a bunch of deadbeat audiences! :)

The show started off with Chet Lam coming out with his guitar in casual clothes (a white shirt and jeans to be exact). After about 1-2 songs at17 came on stage to join him. They pause between songs to chat on stage and the interaction with the audience was great! They even talked about their music influences which is always cool. I've seen at17 live several times in HK and Eman & Ellan's sings very well!. They are also quite good at playing their acoustic guitar. Quite impressed by their acoustic version of Paranoid Android! Hmm let's try to list what songs they sang: they covered Kylie Minogue's Can't get you outta my head, "Kissing You" (Girl pretend to be a boy), Adult Ceremony, Meow Meow Meow, Three Minutes Later, Porcelain (this is Julia Fordham's song i believe), they pretended to end the show by singing The Best is Yet to Come together. Of course three minutes later they came out again for the encore! at17 sang I Love Classroom and another song from Chet and the show ended. It was 12:00am by that time and i am sure everyone had a good time!

The only complain about the concert is the long intermission in between. I believe the intermission was only around 15-20 minutes but before that there was these guest singers that did some "undingable" stuff that almost ruined the night. Luckily Chet and at17 saved the show after the break (which felt like centuries)!!!

Btw, Chet and at17 only went to Toronto and Calgary and not Vancouver! Wow I am so shocked! Some fans from Vancouver drove 14hrs to see them! Wow~ some die hard fans out there!

Ya.......

....i am the idiot who still buy cds.....

Mix Tape versus Mix CD: A Eulogy for the Soul of Rock & Roll

I came across this ... this is what i used to do. Wanna post this here as a dedication to my friends who received my tape(s) before:

Ya, I know i am pretty old-school....

Mix Tape versus Mix CD: A Eulogy for the Soul of Rock & Roll
Bex Schwartz

Friends, we are gathered here today to consecrate the official death of a beloved and adored member of our society, an icon, an artifact of such profound and unspoken eloquence that countless months of sleepless nights have passed in pondering its very significance: the Mix Tape. For the Mix CD has slain it; slain it with the sword of ease and convenience, destroyed that which made it great.

Now, there are those who would say the "Mix CD" is but an improved form of the mix tape. The mix tape is dead, they say - long live the "Mix CD." Fie on you who utter such blasphemy! Pay attention, now, to the Mix Tape/Mix CD catechism. Listen and learn:

1. Speed versus love

You claim that your digital so-called "burning" abilities allow you to make the atrocity of a "Mix CD" in mere minutes, thus saving you countless hours of painstaking mix-making labor and hassle. You claim that you can compile your favorite songs and near-instantaneously produce enough copies for all your coworkers to enjoy after lunch. You claim that your "Mix CDs" (pah!) are far more easily enjoyed and consumed. And I reply:

Easier is cheaper. Friendship is dear. To what end speed? To what end convenience? To what end mass duplication? Are you so devoid of human emotion that you cannot envision spending intimate hours with someone you cherish? To make a mix tape properly takes preparation of ritualistic proportion. First, one must seek the elusive cassette tape of the ninety-minute variety, for fie on you who dare to be a sixty-minute man. Second, one must create the most exquisite combination of hallowed songs to fit within the forty-five minute boundary, for no man chance the wrath of cutting off the last verse of a cherished song. And third, one must remain glued to side of the double-sided tape deck for the entire duration, hitting 'pause' at precisely the correct moment, lest moments of 'snow' prevent seamless integration of the chosen and esteemed songs lucky enough to make the final edit. And the final provisions: one must decorate the cassette label and perhaps (perhaps) provide a brief explanation of the weight and significance of every track and transition. Then, and only then, may a supplicant bequeath the sacred symbol to the very fortunate recipient.

This is time spent on love, friends! The four hours it took me to create the perfect mix tape shows you that I care. If it took me ten minutes, maybe I just want to borrow your car.

2. Ease versus taste

And then you mix-CD heretics saith: "I don't even need to own the songs I want someone to hear! I can pull them straight from KaZaa and thus I can give someone 'Question' without buying the whole Old 97s album! Because I really only like that one song but I want this guy to think I'm all alt-country!" And I reply:

The Search is the Destination. Downloading a song is nowhere near as impressive as taping a song off of your mother's original vinyl album. Remember that and extrapolate its true meaning and smear it like holy ointment across your torso. And wading through the other songs on The Troggs Greatest Hits makes you the sort of person who discovers "Love is All Around." There is no other way! Plodding through every used CD store off of Bleecker Street until you find the Men Without Hats album, because you really want "Rhythm of Youth" instead of "Safety Dance" - friends, this is what the army means about building character! Otherwise, you are condemned, doomed to know only "Moondance," never "And it Stoned Me" - "Down Under" and never "Down by the Sea" - "Mexican Radio" and never that other Wall of Voodoo song. The reward depends on the effort!

3. Convenience versus Commitment

The CD infidels say unto me: "A CD can be played anywhere! In your computer, in your stereo, in your discman! Nobody listens to tapes anymore!" And I reply:
Commitment leads to intimacy. Do not underestimate the forced intimacy of the mix tape: the resurrection of a battery-operated tape-playing personal stereo and headphones; the full ninety minutes committed to listening to both sides of a tape without the CD's all-too-tempting 'skip' function.

Consider the duties required of the Mix Tape beneficiary. The Mix Tape must at once be heard, on the car stereo or the Walkman. The Mix Tape must accompany the giftee across town, on household errands and Slurpee runs. The Mix Tape must be cherished on a train across Eastern Europe, on a bus back home, on a power-walk through the park. And the Mix Tape must be appreciated in toto - one must never skip over a song, even if it is by the detestable Mazzy Star. And if you are fortunate, there shall be a favorite song, shared with the Creator of the Mix Tape, and it shall be recognized as a symbol of the blessed union to remain everlasting. Because you worked for it. Would you care as much for someone's latest Mix CD, scrawled-on with permanent marker? Methinks not.

And even after it is forgotten it remains. Ah, the dig through crumbling shoeboxes to retrieve one's favorite mix tapes; the chance encounter at the bottom of the closet. The Mix Tape will be cherished always, even after one has sold all one's Rush albums.

4. Sophistication versus sincerity
And they say unto me: "Stop walking into the twenty-first century backwards! It's the carousel of progress, buddy, and you're about to get bull-dozed. Look, I made my own cover art for this CD and I think it's a perfect reflection of who I am and how well I know how to use Quark." And I reply:

You can't digitize the love. There's nothing like smudged erasable-ink penmanship to pluck at the heartstrings. There's nothing like two cleverly-named sides of a cassette tape. And there's nothing like the little ripples in the song that you wore out by rewinding it over and over and over again in your best friend's Dodge on the way to the Dairy Queen that long, hot summer that you were obsessed with rainbow sprinkles and Ani Difranco.
Do you not cherish your mix tapes? Do your little teensy weensy "portable" compact discs betray the same sentiment and personality as your cassettes? You don't have a car, but if you did, to what you would you listen while driving? And if you do have a car, and if you have installed a CD system - FIE upon you, infidel.

Remember the Mix Tape and keep it holy. Kyrie Elieson, my friends, (the version by Mr. Mister on your "Totally 80s" compilation) - that is what I say unto you. Do not fall into the deep, dark, but dangerously silent pool of ease and luxury afforded by the so-called "Mix CD." Be not led into temptation. In short, my darlings, keep it real. Or else,R.I.P.Mix Tape

Thanks for the memories.

Found the article here

Busy...

Gotta go to my accounting class today after work....arrrh! I am so behind! I havent done the questions assigned last week yet. After today i will have more to catch up to. There's a lot of new shows on tv now too and i wonder if i will ever get to watch them. I am still trying to catch up with last season's stuff. @_@ Gee ... i am trying to finish the OC right now. It's turning into some teen soap but it's got awesome music! I guess this is my way of trying to stay young?

Harry Potter

Just watched the new Harry Potter trailer today. Hmm looks pretty good. I only read book 1 of HP, but i am a fan of the movie! I guess it has a lot to do with the fact that I am lazy. Quite look forward to this new movie coming in Nov. Call me shallow but I do like HP more than Lord of the Rings. I remember falling asleep watching the first LOTR movie.

Music Talk

List of CDs I brought lately:

the Killers - Hot Fuss (Sp Edition): Luckily i didnt get the first edition. Really like this album. I actually didn't like them that much when i saw their gig back in March.

Songs I like: Somebody Told Me, Jenny was a friend of mine, Mr. Brightside

Green Day - American Idiots: a band i really like listening to lately.

Songs I like so far: Holiday, Wake Me Up When September Ends

Black Eyed Peas - Elephunk: this is kinda old but i brought it anyways cuz it's got a good mix of cheerful, virbrant tunes.

Songs I like so far: Shut Up, That's Get Retarded/It Started, Hey Mama

Eason Chan - U87: show of support for a quality album, hey i made some recommendations for this album!

Songs I like so far: songs by Cy, Bad Habits

Fan Fan - One-to-One: got the special edition with the DVD. Hard to surpass her last album for sure.

Goldfrapp - Ooh La La CDS: Hehe courtesy of a friend from London! Got the Ltd Edition slipcase too....yippie!

Royksopp - The Understanding: I like this cd! Quite different from the last one and it's got more vocals on this. Not as ground-breaking as the last one but still quite good.

Songs I like so far: Circuit Breaker, Only this Moment

Paul McCartney - Chaos & Creation in the Backyard: Hmm this is an interesting cd, i never knew i'd get a cd by Sir Paul. Was recommended by a friend. I really like it tho, i never knew Sir Paul can play the drums and 10 other instruments before seeing the making of the album.

Songs I like so far? I just got this yesterday, and there are a few tracks i like but i am not familar with the names, will tell ya later :D

CDs I will be getting:

Jan Lamb - 30mething: Gotta get this. Jan Lamb is the former member of Softhard in case you don't know. as always the lyrics are too witty. :D

May Day - Just My Pride: May Day is definitely my fave Asian band right now! This year will be the first year I dont get to see their show since I became a fan! :( This is their best of cd and i highly recommended it esp if you are sick of the HK crap.

That's all for today....

More Toilet Tales

Had quite a busy long weekend. My toilet was clogged again!!! It literally drove me crazy! It's my ensuite bathroom and you can imagine the inconvenience. :( I tried to fix things and eventually the parts inside the tank started to fall apart. I was already quite traumatized last time when I had to remove the toilet, this time I say forget it and get a new one. My sister and I went to Home Depot and ended up getting the cheapest American Standard we can find (only $118 + tax!). The next day I got it installed with the help from my daddy. Basically i've learnt the following: 1)Detach the tank from the toilet 2) Detach the toilet from the floor without making a mess 3) How the toilet is connect to the ground 4) Getting rid of the old wax ring 5) Putting the wax ring on the bottom of the toilet 6) Installing the new toilet and align it to the right position 7) Attaching the new tank to the new toilet bowl 8) How to adjust the water level and water flow of the tank......great achievements eh? After all the hard work and observations, i realized that the cause of the "clogged" was the slow water flow. I could've avoid all this if i knew how to adjust the flow from the beginning. :( Oh well....this new toilet seem to be more efficient than the old one, and the tank is much smaller (Altho it's a 13L model also)

Ok, if you ever have a problem with your toilet, dont expect me to help you (yes, as in getting my hands on your toilet, no way!), but if you need good advice on how to fix things I think i more than happy to give you step by step instructions verbally. :)

Anyways, took me a long time to make sure everything in the bathroom is sanitized afterwards. Now everything is nice and clean and germ-free! Yeah!

Freaked Out

Received a postcard from O yesterday. She went to Paris! And E will be going to Rome next week! I AM SO JEALOUS! I will be busy starting this month , making it harder to plan a trip. I still hope I can go to Rome with B&O by the end of 2005.

Just realized someone I used to know abused his sister (who i know) in the past ... this is quite creepy and it's freaking me out. I actually didnt realized that he was the girl's brother until recently. I am so glad that I dont know the guy anymore.....

Saw War of the Worlds on the weekend. I know it's a little late, but hey I hate lining up for movies, so it's a good time to see around this time as the theatre was half empty and I can easily find a good seat. This movie scared the sxxt outta me. No, i am not afraid of those Aliens, it's the reaction of the human beings that's comparable to a horror flick. People always say that Steven Spilberg is a brilliant story-teller, and they are right, as he was able to introduce to the audience the backdrop of the story and each character's personalites etc pretty quickly in the first few scenes, and didnt wait too long before jumping to the aliens attack. (The Island is a lot worst at doing that, and i will be writing about later). Throughout the movie, I just cant help but wonder what I would've done in a situation like that. While I think the character of Tom Cruise is a bit of a selfish bastard, i realize that anyone can be as selfish as him too if push comes to shove. I do hope that I will still have the heart to help others (like the son in the movie) in these circumstances tho. Any type of war can bring out the good and bad in humans I guess. And if i were to choose, i'll probably choose to die, i think surviving is actually scarier, and I dont wanna be mentally scarred for the rest of my life with those horrible memories. Just blabbling again.....

CD Shopping

Hehe I got the album by The La's today for $12.99. This is definitely a lot cheaper than ebay. Not sure if this is a deleted title, cuz there aren't a lot of new copies floating around on ebay. Anyways, getting a new copy at HMV is definitely better than a used one. I guess I am just the kind of person who will not give up on things I want until I hunt it down. Hmmm actually that applys to CDs only.

Sugar Rush & There She Goes

Watching Sugar Rush right now, in case you don't know what it is, this is a UK TV Series. It's quite good and I can't wait to see the finale. "There She Goes" by the La's is one of the songs that was used in the series. I like it. According to this website, the songs is about heroin....ok...cool!~ You can find the mp3 to the song there too.

THERE SHE GOES -- The La's

"There she goes
There she goes again
Racing through my brain
And I just can't contain, this feeling that remains

There she blows
There she blows again
Pulsing through my vein
And I just can't contain, this feeling that remains

There she goes
There she goes again
She calls my name, pulls my train
And no-one else can heal my pain
But I just can't contain, this feeling that remains

There she goes
There she goes again
Chasing down my lane
And I just can't contain, this feeling that remains

There she goes
There she goes
There she goes"

Painting is no fun

Started painting my new room on Saturday, and i am still doing touch-up's today! I've been awfully stressed over a lot of things lately, and this painting job is taking a lot of energy outta me. Sigh....I estimated that I should be done by tomorrow. And then I need to start working on my clogged toilet. The plan is to get it removed and try to sort things from there. Wish me good luck. @_@

And then tomorrow i gotta meet some deadlines for the budget run. I am also responsible for something that's not suppose to be my job. @_@ Arrh i wanna scream.

Her???

What?

WC Trouble @_@

OPENING A CLOGGED TOILET

• In most cases you can open a clogged toilet using a force ball-type plunger
  (first plunger in image). A regular suction cup plunger will seldom do the job
  (second plunger in image). A force ball-type plunger exerts a great deal more
  pressure for cleaning toilets than the regular type.

Ok i tried that with that force ball-type plunger, didnt work.....

• Be sure to have sufficient water in the toilet bowl when using the plunger.
  

Yes yes yes~

• If the plunger does not clear the clogged drain, use a closet auger (see image
  below). Start the auger or snake into the bowl and continue to crank it
  until it becomes tight. This cranking and pulling action will usually bring
  up the object that is causing the stoppage.
  

I brought the auger, followed your instruction, still not working for me. Luckily, this cranking and pulling action didnt bring up a piece of poop or anything.....

• If the closet auger is not effective, use a small snake in the same way as
  described for opening lavatory drains.
  

No, the auger was not effective, at least for me. Now i cant even bring it back to Home Depot for refund cuz of sanitary reason.....

And no, why would a snake work if a auger (that's just like a snake) won't work on the problem?

• If neither the plunger, the closet auger, nor the snake removes the
  obstruction, you may need to remove the toilet from the floor, turn it upside
  down, and force the obstruction out from the top or bottom.
  

OH boy...do i really have to end up doing this?

• If you must remove the toilet from the floor, use either a wax preformed O-ring or fresh plumber's putty in reseating the toilet.

I dont wanna do this tho....:(

Praying for the Ducks

Yes i am still very very worried about the family of ducks who were crossing the road the other day!!! I do think about it a lot and i am so scared of being on that road again because I might see a line of flatten ducks across the road. :( Woooo thinking about this makes me wanna cry. :~( I hope this doesnt make me sound too crazy. I just hope that they made it to the other side safely (ya like Toy Story 2!) and if not I think they should be in heaven by now.....since all dogs go to heaven ducks should too.

Ducktales

We saw a line of ducks crossing as we drove thru the back roads on our way home. My dad just barely missed the family of the ducks and you can see them hurried to the center dividers. However, i am so worried about them as they have to cross the other side with cars going in the other direction. I sure hope that they make it across safely. If i were alone, i might just stop my car and help stop the cars for the ducks, but since i was with my parents, they will tell me that i am stupid. :( I just can't help being worried about their fate. They actually looked pretty cute while crossing, but i cant imagine what might happen to them. What if the cars cant see them? This whole family might be killed! What about if the car only hit the mother (?) in front? Those little ducks (about 5-6 of them) will become orphans. :( And what if it only hits the ones at the end of the line? I am sure the mother will be very upset as she was trying to protect them all the way. :( Meanwhile, with that new back roads we have around our house, i wonder if we as human beings have invaded their space and forced them out of their habitant. :( Humans are quite bad aren't they? Ok am I just thinking too much?

PSB Performance

Today i brought Pet Shop Boy's Performance DVD at Play for $16.99. Will probably watch it later. Right now it's in a queue with all the other DVDs i still havent touched since I brought them. (some are still sealed after 1-2 yrs) @_@

What's Wrong with Tom?

Yes I am talking about Tom Cruise. I am not a fan (thank Goodness!) but his strange behavior on Oprah is quite creepy. I've always thought of him as some kind of a freak, but he seem to be outta control now. Ya i know it's none of my business....

Anyways, i always used to think that Tom is a Hollywood version of Lau Wah. Well obviously not anymore cuz Lau Wah seems more normal.

Wow!

Saw Carol at Ikea on the weekend. Wow she slimed down a lot! She told me that she used to be a size 1x and now is down to size 4! I hope you dont mind me putting this down Carol! You should be proud of your achievement! I am quite jealous and envious at the same time. I wonder if I can ever lose weights like that. I am so impatient and loves to eat. Maybe a lipo will help me....@_@

I am watching Veronica Mars now as per my friend's recommandations. I should've started watching this earlier, now i feel a bit behind.

Walked to HMV at lunch and brought Keane's Live Recordings 2004 EP. I guess i am a bit of a fan! I also saw PSB's dvd for cheap at Play...hmm i am gonna get it next time i got there cuz I see Amazon and etc are selling it for over $20. Also saw some CDs i wanna get at HMV but I will wait until i have more $.

~You Upset all the Hong Kong People!!!~

Watched "AV" last nite. Haha this is quite a good movie. I've always like movies from "Pang Ho Cheung". My fave of course is "Men Suddenly in Black". I think HK should have more movies like this, movies that are funny and not about Triads or police.

Haha~

Today I was at the Law Firm signing some legal docs, and the lawyer asked me if I am over 18!!! Wow, that's quite flatting ... hehehe. Looks like I need to work hard to keep my "look" like this the whole time.

Went to Chinook afterwards and realized every store has a sale! Brought tee's from American Eagle and skirt at Zara. I dont usually find things at AE, but this season they seem to have some decent stuff. Hehe life is good.

Currently rotating in my CD Player / Ipod:

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
Annie - Anniemal
May Day - "When We're Mixed Together" Live Album

Sugar Rush

Started Sugar Rush tonite. See here for show info. It's quite good so far, i think i will keep watching. Love the music on the show btw.

Bid on a key pouch and other Hello Kitty things on ebay. Let's hope I win the final bid alright?

After the Rain

Wow finally the rain stopped! I dont believe this dreadful weather lasted for so long! We deserve summer-like weather and not crappy days like the last few days. Calgary decleared state of emergency for the first time ever, and the situation seemed quite serious. It's kinda neat to go watch the rivers, cuz water level's so high and flowing so fast. Too bad the water is muddy and gross, or elese it would've looked nice. Feel sorry for the folks who lives in Mission. I really like the community and thought of buying an apartment there. Now i guess i'll have to think twice cuz water damage can be quite costly. On a side note my ensuite toilet seem to be clogged for some reason :( No matter how much i try unclogging it with a plunger, it is still not flowing like the way it should. I wonder if it's got to do with all the sewage problems other ppl in the city are having. Gee i sure wish there wont be any sewage backup, cuz ... that'll be quite screwed. I gotta go to Home Depot 2morrow perhaps and figure out what to do next. City officials are asking people to lower their water consumption. Hmmm they have to provide us with water, i need a bath every day! :( Just in case I am gonna stock up on water at Culligan tomorrow.

Other news, i forgot to turn off the lights to my car on Friday. It was raining like crazy that day, so i had to turn on the lights for safety. I only left it on for an hour or so, and the next thing I know, my engine wont start! I had to call AMA to give my car a boost. The guy came quickly altho i was initally told to wait for 3 hours or so. Actually "the guy" was a man that looks quite old (and i am surprised that he's doing this job at such an old age!), but what a friendly dude! It was an easy job anyway and it didnt require much work (which is nice, cuz i wouldnt want him to hurt his back or something!) Anyways, may God bless him and hope he retire soon.

Ok not much to write about beside these and let's just hope i find a good solution for my toilet. I am not gonna use it for the next 2 days and see what's gonna happen.

Music Updates

Hmm i thought i said i'll put some MayDay lyrics up, but turns out i never had much time for that. Maybe i can cheat and put them up later?

Got some cds from Amazon/ebay/online stores lately. Annie's Heartbeat CDS and album Anniemal, FF's Promo DVD, JC's Twenty Zero Five Live, Keane's Special Edition, and May Day's live album. I will have plenty of stuff to listen to for a while. :)

I am also watching the O.C. Season one right now. It's a bit depressing watching it since it reminds me of the old days. Some of the things in the script is kinda retarded, which is really an indication of me getting older. :( Anyways just been watching things slowly ... but i better catch up soon before my HDD explodes!

24 Day 4

Pretty much sums up what I wanted to say about Day 4.
(Grabbed this from the 24 Yahoo Group)

From: "Chris Troise"
Subject: RE: my thoughts; w/ previous season spoilers

That's hardly the only thing to be concerned with. How about these:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
(mind you, I LOVE 24 and have been watching it religiously since S1 episode 3. This all comes from love. If you like, I can do a posting of the -good- things!!)

- No CTU perimeter has ever secured anything

- He needs it *NOW!* (drink!)

- 24 is realtime my ass.

- CTU is the least secure place on the planet

- Did Jack ever recharge his cellphone?

- After a one year hiatus from CTU, Jack still had memorized every password for every situation. "Override the yada-yada: password niner-charlie-falcon-zero" Good memory!

- Any injury to Jack, no matter how severe, is forgotten about in two episodes

- Nobody yawns, and there are no relief shifts

- Tonight I will dream about Nina and Mandy taking me hostage. Mmmm....

- I can hardly log into my co-worker's PC with his password written down in front of me, CTU does pretty well (1) instantly uploading the camera feeds from some god forsaken gas station in the middle of nowhere, (2) forwarding calls/videos from anything to anything, (3) Knowing how to navigate any computer system at a moment's notice without a manual

- CTU's computer is better than the Bat Computer and no lead is to thin to hang the entire plot on: "He drank water you say? Cross reference everything about water in the computer with everything related to humans", "I found it sir, he works for this company at this address", "Download the floorplan into my PDA...got it, how many people are in there?", "Two, and the one on the left is carrying a pizza, small, could be anchovies", "I knew a guy who liked anchovies, where is he?", "LAPD just went to his house and he had Marwan's laundry in his dryer!", "I need him brought in for questioning NOW!", "He was shot! He's dead! But in his car was a Blockbuster receipt for 'Jerry McGuire'", "Cross reference..." (you
get the idea)

- "The design of the chip on the boyfriend's computer was for a nuclear missle football override!" Huh? 'Central computer chip design lookup database'? Wha?

- CTU likes the Patriot Act

- Did Cheng really have to start conducting his investigation at 3am? Would it really have been so bad to say to him "Feel free to come in first thing tomorrow morning, of course assuming a nuclear bomb hasn't gone off".

- Cheng finds out a helicopter is leaving CTU and is able to: (1) know where it is going right down to the *exact landing location*, (2) get there *ahead of the helicopter itself*, (3) and take the CTU agents captive.

- 24 is realtime my ass.

- "Infra-Red Satellites" are able at a moment's notice to determine how many people are walking around, in real time, any building, on any floor, and yet are not able to pick up a missile over the course of hours??

- Its not "Logan's Administration", he's just filling in until the President recovers in a day or two (hey, Jack recovered from his plane crash the same hour!)

- Regardless of the urgency, people always feel free to talk s.l.o.w.l.y. and somehow have the time in advance to whip up computerized video presentations to compliment whatever they're saying.

Good: "(bursting in) Sir, the woman you're about to give immunity to was the one who tried to kill Palmer!".

Bad: "I'm sorry to interrupt", "No, please, come in, how are your kids?", "Fine sir, little Timmy is trying out for the school play", "That's great, give my love to Mary". "Will do. Sirs, I have information you might want to know..."

- I'm a little tired of all trails going stone cold with the suspect being murdered only to have the trail start again from some silly event like someone using the wrong credit card somewhere in the midwest (and CTU picking it up instantly), or someone's girlfriend calling CTU to rat out her boyfriend, or someone uses someone's cell phone, and so on. That's the writers cheating on us. Look, they have 7 months until Season Five, START WRITING!!!!

- You're right, why'd Tony have to take his shirt off? [Note from kkysiu: Yes, other than showing his chest for the female fans, he needed to swap clothes with that guy Mandy shot]

- Mandy was meeting up with Marwan on the helicopter because why? Because she, uh, I don't know. Was involved. Somehow. More so than the others. I guess.

- Stop reusing actors from other shows. That was Ross' girlfriend Charlie. I don't want to be reminded of Ross, ever. The Amnesty lawyer was Charlotte's boyfriend from Sex and the City. Find new people!

- Except for Milo from S1, who apparently was also on Alias. Milo rocked and was a belivable computer expert. Bring him back. And Chase.

- A gentleman never torture's a man in front of his wife, especially if you're shtupping her

- 24 and daughters do not mix. Chase's daughter. Jack's daughter. The head of CTU's daughter. All trouble.

- Chloe, please, save it

- There really is nothing left for any future season. Space aliens? Asteroid?

I better stop and go to bed.....

(a few previous season spoilers here)
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.
.
.
.
.
.
.
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- S3: Kim is an idiot. Yet after some courses she's as good a computer expert as Chloe

- S3, Why did Jack cut off Chase's hand to get the case off him if he only was going to drop it into a fishtank anyway? Couldn't Chase have just held it in there himself? Oh right, there were ducks in the way (/batman reference off)

- S3: Tony, who last season got shot in the neck the first time in the field just walking into a mall, did pretty well this season for someone rusty drinking beers on his couch that morning

Royksopp待望の新作

Only this moment, hold us together......

ノルウェーのエレクトロ・デュオ Royksopp が待望のセカンド・アルバムをリリース

シンプルなブレイク・ビーツに、微妙にチューニングが壊れたようなリフが絡むビッグ・アンセム "Eple"。Royksopp の名前は知らなくても、この妙に耳につく曲を聴いたことがある人は大勢いるはずだ。その"Eple"が収録された2001年のデビュー・アルバム"Melody A.M."から4年。彼らの待望のセカンド・アルバムが、6月下旬に、所属先の Wall Of Sound からリリースされることになった。

"The Understanding"という仮タイトルがつけられているこのアルバム。メンバーいわく、前作に比べてよりメロディーにこだわった作品とのことで、より多くのボーカル・ナンバーも収録されている模様だ。とにかく、全世界を席巻した"Eple"の後だけに、今度はどのようなサウンドが展開されているのか、注目のリリースであることは間違いない。

先行シングルは、"Only This Moment"で、6月13日の発売。その後アルバム・ツアーも行われる予定で、来日公演も期待したいところである。

収録曲

01. Triumphant
02. Only This Moment
03. 49 Percent
04. Boys
05. Follow My Ruin
06. Beautiful Day
07. What Else Is There?
08. Circuit Breaker
09. Alpha Male
10. Someone Like You
11. Dead To The World

Ya ... i said there will be more MayDay songs...

Anyways i like this more than the original version.

溫柔(還你自由版)
曲：阿信 詞：阿信 編：五月天

走在風中 今天陽光 突然好溫柔天的溫柔
地的溫柔 像你抱著我然後發現 你的改變
孤單的今後如果冷 該怎麼渡過 天邊風光
身邊的我 都不在你眼中你的眼中 藏著什麼
我從來都不懂沒有關係 你的世界 就讓你擁有不打擾
是我的溫柔 不知道 不明瞭 不想要 為什麼
我的心明明是想靠近 卻孤單的黎明不知道 不明瞭
不想要 為什麼 我的心那愛情的綺麗
總是在孤單裡再把我的最好的愛給你 不知不覺
不情不願 又到巷子口我沒有哭 也沒有笑 因為這是夢沒有預兆
沒有理由 你真的有說過如果有 就讓你自由這是我的溫柔

我給你自由 我給你自由
我給你全部全部全部全部自由 Oh.....
這是我的溫柔 還你你的自由 Oh.....

May Sweep

i am sort of glad that all my fave shows are ending within the next 2 weeks. i gotta catch DHW, 24, The Apprentice, Medium (sort of lost track but will try to catch the season finale), Numb3rs (same thing) .... and then when these are done I gotta catch up on my DVDs. Here are what's waiting in line for me to watch: Alias S3-4, The O.C., Veronica Mars, Kamen Rider Blade, Jamie School Dinners, Engine, numerous other shows, misc movies .... wow~~~ so much to watch, so little time @_@ I wish I can carry a DVD player when I go do my workout. I am almost sure that I will be glued to the treadmills if I can watch whatever I like on TV.

As for 24 ... Wow Mandy is back! And please please please don't kill Tony!!! :(

MTV2 and BEP

Great! MTV canada will be off air as of June 30, 2005 :( This really sucks cuz MTV2 is one of my fave channel at the moment. Stupid Much and MTV Canada doesnt play mv's anymore. I am sick of seeing shows like Pimp My Ride, Punk'd, The Newly Weds @_@ on these channels. MTV2 is the only channel with pure hit mv non-stop 24/7. I hate this i hate this i hate this! I want MTV2 back! :(

Other news: Gigi and I are still trying to buy BEP tickets online. The seats availble right now sure sucks. Hope there are better seats available when the tickets go on sale on Saturday, May 14. Don't phunk with my tix......

This is a "lighter" song for concerts. ^_^ I think they copied the chords from "Loving You"....

擁抱

脫下長日的假面　奔向夢幻的彊界
南瓜馬車的午夜　換上童話的玻璃鞋
讓我享受這感覺　我是孤傲的薔薇
讓我品嚐這滋味　紛亂世界的不了解

*昨天太近　明天太遠　默默聆聽那黑夜
晚風吻盡　荷花葉　任我醉倒在池邊
等你清楚看見我的美　月光曬乾眼淚　　　　
那一個人　愛我　
將我的手　緊握　
抱緊我　吻我　喔　愛　別走

隱藏自己的疲倦　表達自己的狼狽
放縱自己的狂野　找尋自己的明天
向你要求的誓言　就算是你的謊言
我需要愛的慰藉　就算那愛已如潮水

Repeat *

Penguin!

MayDay! MayDay!

Wow today is 05.05.05! This calls for a celebration!!!!

Will try to post some MayDay lyrics through-out this month!

瘋狂世界

如果說了後悔　是不是一切就能倒退
回憶多麼美　活著多麼狼狽
為什麼這個世界　總要叫人嚐傷悲
我不能瞭解　也不想瞭解
我好想好想飛　逃離這個瘋狂世界
那麼多苦　那麼多累　那麼多莫名的淚水
我好想好想飛　逃離這個瘋狂世界
如果是你　發現了我　也別將我挽回
想了你一整夜　再也想不起你的臉
你是一種感覺　寫在夏夜晚風裡面
青春是挽不回的水　轉眼消失在指間
用力的浪費　再用力的後悔

i didnt know there was a usage limit....

yahoo launch music sucks! looks like i've exceeded their monthly usage limit in 2 days! you are only allow to stream 600 songs (including the ones u've skipped!) per month! gee what am i suppose to do now? today is only may 2nd!!! when i tried to upgrade my account by paying i was told that it is only available to us citizens. @_@

i think this yahoo launch music site has a lot of potential! I think it's even better than mp3 because you can set up your personal music station and music database online, find new songs that matches your taste, share your favorite music with others, and you can stream it anywhere you go. You no longer have to worry about storage......i think it's great! if only it's available in Canada!!!!

My Yahoo Launch Station!

Click Here!

Still trying to refine my choices ... will probably take days before i can get it right.

Oh~

the two demo songs i've heard ... the names are actually 爛 and 浮誇! Oh i hate the lyrics of 浮誇! It's about a wannabe....@_@ Wyman sure screwed up this time. I think the lyrics are his personal story.

CD Shopping April 2005

Went out for lunch today and walked all the way to the Downtown shopping district. Brought Kaiser Chiefs' album "Employment" ($9.99) and Kasabian's album ($15.99) at Play. Entered a contest to win a Kasabian army shirt (!) and opened a cd membership at Play Entertainment. Play is a new CD store and they seem to offer great prices just like A&B Sound. Now that A&B is folded (Sob sob...) i guess Play will be the place to shop for CD! HMV started their spring sale and Keane's album is only $5.99! I am sure the cd is worth more than that~

The Killers Gig @ The Stampede Corral

went to see the killers in concert tonite at the stampede corral. got there at 18:20 and waited until 19:15-ish for the freakin' door to open. our seat was alright, very close to the stage altho very high up too. Oh well. tegan and sara was the opening act and they were only ok; the vocal had a good voice but their songs are a little too repetitive. also when you are ready to see the killers you are probably not in the mood to hear the type of songs t&s played. their music is more for Spring/Summer afternoon listening. :D their band tee is quite nice altho i didnt get any cuz i didnt even know them. tees for the killers are quite ugly and sorry i am not really a fan.

t&s played about 10 songs and after that it took about 40-45 minutes for the killers to finally get on stage. they probably played all their songs on their debut album? it's too bad that they played mr. brightside and somebody told me right around the middle of the show and i really had nothing to look forward to from that point on. :( I tried hard to listen to their songs prior to the concert but i only liked the 2 songs i mentioned. oh well ... i think it's good to attend more concert and find out what's in and etc. looking at those ppl standing in front of the stage reminded me of the Muse concert. Just like those kids down there i was being toss around in a sea of fans. if only Muse was playing at the corral....

there were some weirdos sitting around us, eg they were all standing and blocking our view so we had to stand. @_@ the 2 girls originally sitting beside me probably dont know deodorant exist. @_@ And then the worst came when the 2 girls were replaced by these ppl and one bastard was smoking in a smoking prohibit area. @_@ Fcuk....like i thought this only happens in China?

kkysiu blog's Easter Egg!!!!!

Congratulations!!! You've just discovered the well hidden Easter Egg on this blog! Thanks for reading my blog and going back to the old postings! Hahaha~ This is me singing in Japanese. The reason I did this was because ... hmmm i guess i was trying to prove a point? (Something stupid happened, and let's not mention it here) Anyway, feel free to comment, and hope it wont scare you too much. Don't laugh too hard at my Japanese English accent. ;)

kkysiu's version of Walking in the rain (Originally by SPEED) -- Download
One take version @ kkysiu Studio
January 13, 2004

(Posted September 16, 2005)

Finally.....

Wow i finally got this working and published after so long!!! Ok i will be posting my music choices here for sure.