Dance like no one's watching

leaping lizards and homeless cows! the weirdest things do happen to me! was at Coffee Club for lunch just now and was about to place my order when a fly flew straight into my left eye. i wanted to use my hand to brush it away but the waitress taking our orders was standing quite close to me and so my hand was blocked by her pen and order pad. as the fly (it was those tiny fruit fly type) approached my eye, i blinked instinctively but as the blink was delayed (my first option was to flick the fly away), it was too late. as my eyelids closed, i felt the fly being squashed between my eyelids. *piak*. it killed the fly.

unfortunately, the fly fell into my eye when i opened my eye and i had to use quite a bit of effort before i could get it out. argh! gross. i know. but thank God i used to wear contact lenses so i’m not squirmish about sticking my finger into my eye.

after i got back to office, i used my eyedrops to flush my eye thoroughly. amazing thing is? my vision (which has been blurry since Mon) suddenly became crystal clear!!! no idea why man. sigh. guess the fly’s death was not in vain. it died for a good cause!

on an extremely short fuse today.  guess it was an accumulation of all the things that did not go right today, various people pissing me off, being tired and swamped with work.  heard from Bubbs who heard from another TJ classmate that there’s a class outing tomorrow, and some of us were conveniently excluded from it. 

that totally made me fly off the handle.  my msn nick called my TJ classmates bitches & bastards (well, i later amended it to just “bitches” ‘cos i realised my grind has always been with the gals only).  i don’t know why i’m pissed.. ‘cos i’ve never bothered to go for any outings anyway.  i supposed it’s the knowledge that we were “sidelined” (in Iceboy’s words) deliberately that pissed me off.  i checked my email accounts and no mass mails were sent.  i checked my hps too (i have 2 lines… 1 of which i’ve had since i left JC) and no smses were sent to me.

clarinetist says that i should just turn up for the dinner tomorrow.  it’s to welcome my arch enemy from my TJ class back from NY.  (long story as to why she’s my arch enemy).  i didn’t even know she was in NY and i have no intention of welcoming her back.  but i will quite definitely be at the venue ‘cos i’ve been intending to check out this boutique there.  didn’t have a chance last night (worked late) and tonight (went canteen).  so tomorrow it shall be!

okok.  i know i’m just over-reacting.  going to sleep right after the show “Bones” before i blow more fuses.  (but i really have a story to tell as to why that woman’s my arch enemy leh!  hehe… ).

for the first time in my working life, i am actually pissed off with foreigners. yes, specifically FOREIGNERS. i was all set to go for a product conference with my department in Oct. i even cancelled attending a friend’s wedding for this conference. however, i just heard from my department secretary that our managing director (an aussie) has not given the green light for me to go – he wants to give my place to j-san (japanese) because he wants j-san to grow the jap biz.

pissed off man. j-san knows nuts about specialty lines. and it’s not as though no one’s given him training before. he just isn’t very bright. he has at best, been a translator for us when we meet with our jap clients and even then, some things get lost in translation!!!

hmph! pissed off man… all these farangs. grr…

fei-zai just walked past my desk as i was typing this… grr… don’t blame me for growling at him… grr…

Iceman says i attract weirdoes… and Katrine concurs. Sigh. After this morning, i’m starting to believe it too.

My mom and i were standing at the section of the train where 2 carriages are joined. There were already people leaning against on the wall on both sides, and i was standing in the middle, next to the pole. This stocky, muscular, short guy comes in, SQUEEZES his way behind me, yanking my bag round the pole ‘cos it got caught between him and his HUGE bag. I glared at him and he said, “I’m sorry”. I turned away, giving him a hostile blink in the process. This exchange ensued:

Stocky guy: I already apologised. U don’t have to give me that look.

Me: (Glaring even fierce than before) OK. I heard your apology and will try not to give you that look. *Rolls eyes*

Stocky guy: I already said sorry. What’s with that expression?

Me: U could have said “excuse me” and I would’ve moved aside right? There was no need to push.

Stocky guy: Then EXCUSE ME and I’m sorry to piss u off on a morning like this.

Me: Fine.

I then turned away and resumed the conversation I had with my mom about makeup and the like. Stupid stocky guy… Chinese but spoke with Australian accent. Makes me want to punch all the stupid Chinese with Aussie accent around. Fei zai better not talk to me this morning… grrr…

This reminds me of another incident that Fei zai told me about. He was taking the lift with some stranger (a gal) and she kept checking her makeup in the mirror in the lift. Fei zai couldn’t resist and he said, “U look pretty enough already”.

The gal was very embarrassed and promptly stopped looking in the mirror.

What’s with these stupid Aussies huh? People check their makeup also must chup meh? I told Fei zai if I was the gal, I would’ve replied, “Thanks for your compliment. Now stop checking me out already”, and then turn and do an even more deliberate check of my makeup in the lift.

Bleah.

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Note to Sponsors: This is a bitchy post right? I’m griping! Bitching! Pay me someone, pay me!

My panda (An An) went missing.  Escaped from the chain on my hp dangly and disappeared.  First noticed its disappearance after lunch… when i took my hp out of my lunch pouch to check an sms and the chain got caught in the exterior links of the pouch.  After i unknotted the chain from the pouch, i realised the panda was missing.  *Sniff*.

An An was attached to the other chain u see in the pic.  Now he’s gone.  *Sob*.  I think the skiver went off for a walk and got lost.  Or he probably ambled somewhere to take a nap and never came back.  Waaaah!

If anyone sees my panda, please let me know.  *Sob*.

Speaking of pandas, watch them live here! 🙂

I really don’t get it.  Saw on a Ch U trailer that xiaxue has been living off her blog earnings for a few years.  Why on earth does she earn anything from her blog at all?  Her English is bad, her writing sucks, her posts are boring… all she does is hurl abuses at others and people pay her for that?

Told Booze Queen about it and we analysed what i should do to improve the ratings of my blog.  I could (bearing in mind that i need to target a different market segment from xiaxue)…

1. Write in bad Chinese.
2. Bitch and use every vulgarity (Hokkien, Malay, Cantonese) i know about everyone i know. 
3. Gossip about my colleagues.
4. Speculate about who’s gay in office.
5. Spill the beans on all the scandals.
6. Show off my boobs.
7. Show off foreign bf who is not caucasian (Hong Konger can or not uh?  I like Hong Kongers leh… they’re foreign to Singapore?)
8. Write about the best chicken wings in CBD (vs. xiaxue’s best shopping buys)
9. Write about the various types of alcohol.
10. Write about the various ways to hide your puke at a club/pub.

Now how’s that for increasing ratings huh?

Who could forget this!!

And this!

Wonder if those people in the videos ever survived the publicity…

It was VERY TEDIOUS… took me a few hours to upload, sort and put in the captions.  So u must forgive the uncreative captions.  Proudly presenting… my HK photos!  (Picked from 773 shots from my digicam, 153 shots using my hp, and a few cute shots from Iceman’s digicam!)

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For the sake of good order, i decided to include a list of must-see, must-eat places in this post.  So that next time when i visit HK again, i’ll be able to find this precious list of things to do in HK.  🙂

FOOD

Wonder why this ranks top of my list…

1. Che’s Restaurant (Wanchai MTR, The Broadway 4/F) – selection isn’t wide but the standard of dimsum is one of the best u’ll ever find!  Must trys are the egg tart, fried char siew pau (the mix of the creamy & salty butter versus the sweet & succulent char siew… oohlala!)
2. Kam Moon Kok Restaurant (Jordan MTR, opposite BP International House) – true blue HK 茶餐厅.  After u’ve had the real thing, places like Hongkong Cafe in Singapore sucks big time man!  The must trys here are the western toast (french toast with peanut butter inside!!), spicy pork cubes noodles (the wu xiang rou ding mian), and the beef brisket soup noodles.  Never tasted such delicious spicy pork cubes & lean beef brisket before!
3. Traditional Noodle House (TST area) – the ma la mian there is good.  Wide variety of noodles at cheap prices!
4. Maxim (Mei Xin) Dimsum (Cityhall) – Very good selection of dimsum… some dishes were better than the others but it’s a must try!  I also lurrrve their mooncakes.  Always buy at least 2 boxes back.  Check out http://www.mei-xin.com.hk/

SHOPPING

1. Island Beverly (Causeway Bay MTR) – 4 floors of cool evening dresses, funky fashion, cool accessories, jewellery, etc.
2. Tsim Sha Tsui (TST MTR to Jordan MTR) – shop along the entire Nathan Road and check out all the little streets branching out from it!
3. Parklane Shopping Centre (TST MTR) – Esprit, G2000, Geox, Bossini, Adidas.
4. Times Square (Causeway Bay MTR) – 13 floors of shops and food.  Really cute items too!  (Like the animal TVs, banana protective case in the slideshow above.  Hehe).
5. H&M (Queen’s Central Road, Central MTR) – really cheap clothes.  Love the jeans, suits & accessories!
6. Citygate Mall (Tung Chung MTR) – Lots of factory outlets (Adidas, Nike, Bodyshop, Esprit, etc)… but the prices are not necessarily cheaper…
7. SOGO (Causeway Bay MTR) – right next to Island Beverly.  This place is packed ALL THE TIME!  Rain or shine, weekday or weekend.  The locals (and tourists) love it!
8. Esprit Factory Outlet (Kam Sang Commercial Centre, near or on Hankow Road, Central MTR)
9. Tons more lah… but these were the places i went during this trip.. and the first 5 are my favourite haunts.  🙂

SIGHTSEEING

1. Stanley (take bus 66, 6A, 6X, 260 from the bus terminus at Central MTR) – beachy place, very relaxing, great for photo taking.
2. The Peak (take a tram from the Lower Peak Tram Station, which is a 10 min walk from Central MTR) – I’ve always known the Peak as “Victoria Peak”.  But on my latest trip to HK, i realised it’s no longer referred to as “Victoria Peak” but just “The Peak”.  The night view is great… but i got the chance to go to the Peak during the day this time and the cool weather makes it a wonderful place for walks and treks.
3. Lantau Island (take MTR to Tung Chung MTR & take a bus from there.  Forgot what bus no.!  Sorry!) –  A lot of nice outdoorsy area to explore.  I wouldn’t recommend Disneyland… but do check out the Big Buddha and Tai-O (i didn’t get to go this trip… but i will on my next!).
4. Avenue of the Stars (TST MTR) – pure touristy place. 
5. There’re a couple of other islands that i want to visit… slowly… heh.  🙂
6. U can also take a 1-hr ride by jetfoil to Macau from Shun Tak Centre.  For more details, check out http://www.turbojet.com.hk/index.htm.

OK… that’s what i recall from memory so far.  Think i shall keep my map safely in my drawer… though it’s quite tattered now.  Haha.  Tatteren and torn… but hey, all the above treasures are marked out on it man!  🙂

This has been thoroughly tiring week.  Came back from HK on Tuesday afternoon, went to work on Wed in a daze, attended ABC’s wedding dinner on Wed night, continued to be dazed at work on Thursday, went for Oktoberfest @ Swiss Club on Thur night, and had milo poisoning on Fri. 

Milo Poisoning?  Yeap.  Well, i was ok on Fri morning, even after the 5 mugs of beer at Oktoberfest.  Woke up at 7:30am, showered, dressed, and went to work as usual.  Bubbs had already gone to the pantry so i decided not to get any breakfast drink and just had water.  When Booze Queen came in a little later, i went to the pantry with her and made a cup of milo.  30min after drinking the milo, my stomach felt funny.  Then the pukey feeling came.  At first i wondered if i was having a hangover, albeit a super belated one…

Some silly underwriter then turned up to look for my boss without any prior appointment… and since my boss wasn’t around, i had to entertain him first.  Another 30min later, i really felt like puking.  The min the underwriter left, it was straight to the toilet.

Puked a little and my constipation from all the beer the previous night (beer tends to give me constipation) turned into diarrhoea.  It was amazing.  Felt sick and got Bubbs to cancel the lunch appointment we had with my cousin as it was raining and i didn’t want to run in the rain to look for a loo should i need to retch again.  Bought lunch, went back to the pantry, and the pukey feeling came again.  Cleared my system again and took a bottle of Po Chai Pills.  Fwah!  They were good.  Within 20min, i was eating and enjoying my fish soup noodles as per normal.  The pukey feeling and tummy upset were totally gone!  I swear by Po Chai Pills as a digestive cure-all man!

While we’re on the topic of Po Chai Pills, i did a search of it online and this is what i found:

Po Chai Pills (保濟丸) are a Chinese product made with several herbs formed into tiny pills about the size of a buckshot. Po chai is used as a remedy for the relief of acid indigestion, heartburn, and gas bloat. It is also used as a hangover prevention remedy.

Po Chai Pills were developed by Li Shiu Kei in Foshan, Guangdong in 1896. Following the Chinese Civil War, the Lee family fled to Hong Kong and reestablished their company, the Li Chung Shing Tong, in Hong Kong. However, their mainland property was nationalized, with the result that there are two makers of Po Chai Pills (Baoji wan in pinyin):

• Li Chung Shing Tong (Holdings) Limited (李眾勝堂) in Hong Kong; and
• Guangzhou Wanglaoji Pharmaceutical Company Limited in Guangzhou, China.

A mutual agreement between these two parties has limited Wanglaoji’s trademark rights to mainland China, while the Li Chung Shing Tong has the right to use the trademark in rest of the world. The mainland manufacturer sold the pills out of the PRC as Curing Pills.

All i can say is… Po Chai Pills, GOOD!  Heh.

Ok… i have no idea why i’m awake so early on a Sat morning.  Going back to bed… will post the photos from HK… eventually.  HAHAHA.

Hi everyone!!

Am in HK now. Hehe… very fortunate that Iceman’s bro is working here now so we got free accomodation. Took tons of photos (200+) so it’s going to be a real task sorting them out when i’m back. (Note to Zounds: At least my photos are photos with PROPER subjects. Not your random snapping of cars & street signs! People would think you had a taxi driver fetish lor! :P)

Anyway, today marks the end of my 3rd day in HK. Arrived on Wed morning… and my itinerary so far:

Wed – Stanley Market, TST
Thur – Lantau Island, Central, Lan Kwai Fong (Just a quick walk. Didn’t stop for a drink though!)
Fri – Macau

The plan for Sat is to visit my favourite breakfast “tea restaurant” (cha3 chan1 tang1) at Jordan, then shop around TST / Nathan Road area, followed by the Symphony of Lights show at 8pm, then perhaps Ladies’ Market.

Plan for Sun is to visit Victoria’s Peak, then dim sum, then shopping at H&M (Central area in general), then back to The Peak for more photo taking.

Iceman’s bro also managed to get us tix for Ocean Park… so if all goes well (i.e. weather permitting), we’ll be panda watching on Mon. Hehe.

Okies… words are boring w/o photos. Will be back on Tue. Till then… sunny weather everyone!