Where is Denial?

Back in the Race!

2011-10-22T09:41:00.003+08:00

Hello everyone!

Hope every thing has been fine and dandy the past few months while I have been slaving as the maid in Malaysia.. hahaha!

Anyways, I am back at work! *yay* I had been entertaining a few offers, and in the end decided to pick sunny old Malaysia! So come visit me! *hypnotise*

You can find me in my clinic, do drop by with cake... I like cake...

My bruises are aching =(

Call me Guru

2011-05-27T14:06:00.003+08:00

Asia is pretty big on titles and positions of power. Everyone wants to be the CEO, the COO or the MD in a billion dollar company. No one wants to be the little guy. If you are say... the janitor... you wouldn't get the girl. However, if you decide to call yourself the 'Hygiene Engineer' in a big multi-national corporation, then you are more likely to score with the ladies.

But then, if you look closely, just about everyone and anyone is vice-president in the company (I don't think banks need so many of them VPs). Insiders tell me, the way the letters are arranged can tell you if they are really the guy in charge, or just another pretty face.

Why do they do this? The clients demand to speak to someone in a position of power, thus they put one of 1342 vice-presidents on the line. The client speaks to someone they think is in charge, while the minion thinks he is the king of the coop. It's a win-win situation. What is there not to like?

However, while this up-marketing would give everyone a glamorous role in the rat race; it is not a very accurate description of the work one does.For example, I am currently on a career break. It's a lovely way to put 'I just want to bum around, see the world and be a sloth'. Or I could be known as 'unemployed'. Now that could imply 'I was laid off/fired/incompatible with the directions of the company' or 'I am taking a sabbatical to discover myself'.

All those fancy titles in 'em name cards that are handed out like candy, they are just spin. But we get taken in by the polish, and assume the grubby little guy is less worthy than a speck of dust (Okay, I exaggerate). We should be looking beyond the pretty faces to find the true characters and personalities that lie behind. Therein, lies the path to a true partnership.

Now call me Super Love Guru buahahahaha!

Kimchi 101

2011-05-26T00:57:00.005+08:00

Hello everybody!!

Ah... good to be back... I have no excuse.... none whatsoever for not blogging, besides the ever so tiny issue of blogspot being blocked in the Motherland...

Anyways... I have just come back from.. making kimchi haha.. so not exciting, but so yummy.

I.should.stop.watching. Korean.drama.series.and.drooling.over.the.food.

I have made it my mission on this career break of mine, to cook better. I can make basic stuff like bake cakes, pies and quiches... and roast lamb, chicken, fish... but I needed to learn how to fry an egg and cook rice in a rice cooker.

For those who are wondering how to make yummy fresh kimchi from scratch, here goes!

Ingredients:

A head of cabbage (about 2kg) - get one that's heavy and compact

1 cup of Korean chilli pepper powder - Szechuan chilli powder is spicier for those who like it

30ml Fish sauce (or to taste)

30ml light soya sauce

30g sugar (or to taste if you like it sweeter)

10g grated ginger

1 bulb of garlic sliced lengthwise

1 small radish julienned - I had pink lemonade preserved radishes which I made earlier

Bunch of spring onions julienned

15g toasted sesame seeds

A sprinkle of cinnamon because I like it

1 puréed pear/apple/chunks of tinned pineapple -optional as I used pink lemonade

Rock salt - lots of it

Method to my madness:

1. Split the cabbage into half or quarters. Sprinkle generous amounts of rock salt all over and including the inside leaves. Leave in a bowl for about 3-5 hours until the water is drawn out.

2. Wash the cabbage at least twice to remove the salt. Squeeze dry and leave to drain.

3. Mix everything else together to form a paste then using your hands, rub into the cabbage. Using a spoon to apply all the spices just won't cut it... Remember to wash the hands well especially under the nails!

4. Put into a earthenware jar to ferment for 6-24 hours. You can use any jar or a large Zip-lock bag. You will see excess liquid formation after about 6 hours, and a zip-lock allows the kimchi to be rotated for a more even coating.

Store in the fridge and consume within 2 weeks for best taste. If you leave it longer, you get a stronger and more pungent smell. This kimchi is very good for stewing cuts of meat and frying rice and making omelettes!

Bon appetit!

How Asian/Chinese are you?

2010-12-30T21:56:00.004+08:00

You know those online quizzes that everyone seems to be taking to find your life partner/ideal job/inner superhero etc? Yea, those.Well, there are also quizzes that give your your inner ethnicity.

I have been called a 'banana' - Yellow on the outside while white on the inside. One of those people who look Asian but are anything but. Growing up, I always felt pretty annoyed at the labelling of people. I don't believe in stereotyping and name-calling and was very upset by the juvenile tactics of other children to differentiate themselves from you. Just because someone has a different upbringing does not mean they are odd and that you should not hang out with them. I would also be the first to admit that my upbringing gave me an edge over others in many areas. The isolation and constant upheaval also makes you tougher and you lose that rose-tinted view of humanity very quickly. After all, life is about the survival of the fittest.

Anyway, Facebook showed me a way to put the taunting to rest for once and for all. There was this quiz to determine how Asian a person is. I did the quiz quietly confident that I will pass and silence those sceptics forever! =)

I FAILED MISERABLY. =(

Undaunted, I did another quiz on how Chinese I am. I like wontons, I have good grades yadda yadda yadda... I had a very good feeling about it!

I FAILED AGAIN. =(

My friends and family had so much fun *rolls eyes* laughing at me. I am probably the only Chinese person in the whole entire universe who is 0% Asian and 0% Chinese. In fact, everyone tells me, one fine day, they are going to take my Malaysian passport off me! =(

I guess I need to train my cute poses V^^V, watch more Korean dramas and eat more dimsum.

Life is tough.

It is OFFICIAL!

2010-10-11T21:24:00.004+08:00

I purchased my ticket departing Cantoland today. It feels so good to cross the 't's and dot the 'i's.

Kuala Lumpur here I come! For two weeks anyways! I will probably drop by the Dark Side for a few days in between. I can't decide where to celebrate Halloween.

Friends and rich men please come out to play!

Oh, and six boxes was just a dream.

Hello Goodbye

2010-09-12T15:21:00.005+08:00

It is official. In fact, we now live in an environ where things are official when it's announced on blogs and Facebook. There is no need to go register at your nearest Marriage Registrar's Office when you just click 'married' on your Facebook status.

Anyways, I digress.

I declare to the world (yes, you) that I am done with Cantoland. Finis! I have finished the last museum on my to-do list last week. In it's own way, it was bitter-sweet. As I finished up, I couldn't help but feel melancholy. The American and I have spent a considerable time exploring the museums of this place. There was this unwritten rule that once completed, we would have finished up with Cantoland and it would be time to leave. I also had this 'I must go to every shopping mall in Cantoland' list; I am sure I have completed the majority of the malls according to my trusty map I have done 78/104... (I added another 32 off the top of my head which are not in the list)... Which is considerably more than most people I would believe! =)

It's now time to move on and up in the world! I am moving up north to the world of Giant Pandas! Wonderful creatures though they don't do very much.

Packing is always a nightmare when you don't have the company packers at your disposal. I hate to declutter and have to choose to keep books or shoes.Now is a good time to get it in my head that I don't need so many shoes/bags/books/clothes. You get the idea. I have only dug out half the stuff and already I am panicking. There is no way I will ever be able to condense everything to six boxes.

At least I have set me a target. No more than six boxes. *groans*

Real Chinese

2010-08-28T22:29:00.004+08:00

It is official...

I am a real Chinese person! =) I get the 'yellow on the outside, white on the inside' and the 'cannot take spicy food' jibes all the time. Believe me, if they can take away my claim to Asianism they will!

So I got me a proper certificate. In fact, I should have scanned it as a jpeg file for the whole world to see. Our esteemed Chairman Mou once said:

'不到長城非好漢' which literally means you're not a real man until you've been to the Great Wall. Some people dispute the saying alluding to the actual 8000+km walls but most tourists are happy to accept it as are the travel agencies raking it in.

Needless to say, yours truly climbed all 193 steps of it.. Did I say 193 steps? Well there were too many people and it was too hot. Anyways, I got my certificate by arriving at the site. We got a spare cert for er the Fifth Sibling... Fat Eagle can go get his own when he gets to Beijing. So Lamby Chai Ming Noodles is a real Chinese too, even though my little sister has always known that by the 'Made in China' tag on his bum (Lamby not Osbert).

So if anyone ever questions my authenticity, I have a certificate to prove!

Koala Food

2010-07-11T12:07:00.004+08:00

My last post got me an email telling me I should go to Australia. The little koalas are looking lost without me to feed them custard buns. Thus, thinking of all the poor little koalas and kangaroos who are deprived of the joy of custard bun I relented.

Therefore, I solemnly promise that I will go visit Australia within a year or else I will turn into a custard bun. I would prefer to be kept in a nice air-conditioned room under a glass case away from prying fingers rather than be koala-food.

Koala a.k.a Bubbles (L) Anamika (R) I had to steal this of FB! =P

Going Places

2010-06-10T00:05:00.002+08:00

Hello World!

It's been a long time since I last updated and many many things have happened since.

I shall update them slowly... :) With pictures... Nice pictures + cute guys to appease the Blogging God hahaha!

I have been busy traveling as you may have noted. Been to Hollywood, Vegas, back to Kuala Lumpur, went to China on multiple shopping expeditions/dimsum trips. The best dimsum in the world is in ShenZhen! I swear! :) Went to Xian to see the Terracotta Soldiers reputed to be the Eighth Wonder of the World...hurt my wrist and got a brace and steriod injection... all in the past two months or so.

And so, this past weekend I did what I should have done ages ago. I sprained my ankle wearing 5 inch high stilettos in a moving boat after a few drinks while trying to take a photo. Serves me right huh? I strapped it for a day or two and it was as right as rain. :)

I shall be more careful this weekend and stick to dimsum in vast quantities!

Plans for the next quarter are pretty hazy, but definately on are:-
1.Tourist duty this following week for friends coming for another friend's wedding.
2. Taiwan trip with Korean boys *hola!*
3. Beijing trip with familia! All expenses paid!
4. Shanghai trip with friends to visit the American who is moving there this week.
5. Chengdu trip to see cute ~~sister~~ pandas.

China is the flavour of the month for the moment. I was going Down Under, but in light of certain developments I shall eventually unveil, it shall be put on the shelf for the time being. *Sorry King Yien!*

I have great plans! =)

I am going to be a Superstar

2010-03-14T16:56:00.003+08:00

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls....

Welcome to Hollywood! :)

Yes, yours truly is livin' it up in Hollywood. Well, I am technically here for a conference and we are doing a poster presentation. But it's okay. If some talent scout thinks I have what it takes to be the next big thing then why not? It's weird to be in America for the very first time.

I am a proud owner of a Hooters t-shirt! And can thus wear my boobs all the way up to my chin!

Out of Office Reply:

2010-02-08T21:32:00.002+08:00

I am going back for Chinese New Year on Friday. Or at the very least, I am going back for the reunion dinner. This year's celebration will be pretty subdued as we feel the absence of a loved one in our midst. Somehow, things don't feel just quite right without my grandfather's cheeky grin when we smuggle some fatty siew yuk onto his plate without grandma noticing.

We have to stay at home instead of going out to sample delicious homemade pineapple tarts. Thus, I have made my booking with my aunt for a box to be delivered to my house ehehe...

The end of an era drives home the fact that we are not getting any younger. Our parents are aging, our siblings are growing taller and people are popping out babies left,right and centre.

The pressure is on...

My Duvet & I

2010-01-22T11:28:00.003+08:00

My duvet and I are getting better acquainted.. Not that we were strangers before this. Just that we need to spend more time getting to know each other.

I am feeling sorry for myself because I have a common cold. I know now, how men feel when they get the sniffles...

End of an Era

2010-01-10T21:42:00.000+08:00

I went home for a flying visit this weekend. 26 of 48 hours was spent going to the airport, waiting at the airport, in the plane, waiting to get out of airport...repeat cycle four times.

It was a exhausting trip, but given the choice, I would still have done it. I had to say goodbye. And saying goodbye, knowing that you will never see him alive ever again is all the more difficult. And the fact that you know exactly how long he has to live makes it all the more distressing. When we do what we do, one glance at their faces would give us a pretty accurate indication of how much time a person has left.

That is why I never say goodbye... Because goodbye is forever...

In Memory of:-
Paul Chai 1925-2010.

Touch GO! into Twenty Ten

2010-01-01T20:59:00.008+08:00

Google images of Victoria Harbour

Happy New Year everyone! :)

Time flies when you're having fun. It seems like yesterday when I graduated from university. This year, Fat Eagle has graduated while the two youngest siblings are in secondary school. The fifth sibling is still in one (very tattered) piece and will probably survive another hundred washings in the washing machine.

I have been in Cantoland for more than two years now. While some may consider it a relative short period of time, I prefer to see it in terms of proportion. 27/303 months of my existance = 8.91% of my life.

2009 has been an exciting year. I made a resolution to see more of the world and I did! Looking back at my very dire predictions for 2009, I can see that they did come true (except the fireworks bit and mangoes ). We were pessimistic entering 2009 and we leave it feeling the worst of the financial crisis has past.

My favourite dimsum restaurant closed down, and deep fried custard bun is no longer very readily available as it has been taken off the menu at my local restaurant. I hang out with the girls in the hospital and we spend our days oogling the pretty cars in the carpark and speaking Cantonese. One day we will have the guts to leave our phone numbers on the baby pink volkswagon beatle with a Barbie on the dashboard. It is so cute! If I have a car, I will get a customised number plate called 'Barbie' hahaha!

This year the BBC could not decide if Dr Who would pronounce as 'two thousand and ten' or 'twenty ten'. In the end, they settled on 'twenty ten'. A shorter mouthful if you ask me!

And twenty ten is going to be a good year!

Shanghai Baby!

2009-12-21T20:54:00.007+08:00

It wasn't that cold! Just ~5 degrees celcius...

Hello everyone!

I am off to lovely Shanghai tomorrow for Christmas. I am feeling excited but just ever so slightly worried about the weather. They forecast rain. I hate rain. Rain will make my feet cold and wet. Rain ruins the feathers in my hat. Cold rain makes me want to curl up in bed with a hot water bottle and a good book. You get my drift. Now, if the temperature drops a Celsius or two, then we will get snow! :) I don't mind that! :)

I am rethinking my wardrobe. We are supposed to go to find ourselves men with too much money and too little sense who need women to spend their money for them. How am I suppsed to do that dressed like a snowman with a red nose? If I am left to my own devices, I will spend the whole trip holed up somewhere warm like a bear; a very fashionably dressed one at that hahaha.

I know the motherland does not like blogs. And my ability to update photos regularly is pretty dire. No worries. I shall just stand in photos in someone else's camera *evil laughter*.

Have a blessed Christmas and a joyous New Year! May Christ bring peace, love and happiness. to one and all.

Oh, and happy glutinous rice ball festival tomorrow! It's the Winter Solstice. It is one of my favourite days of the year as it is the shortest day and the longest night. Some people may find this depressing, but I like the fact that after the longest night, the darkness will only get shorter!

The Medic has Landed

2009-12-19T23:07:00.002+08:00

This the week before Christmas. Yours truly was debating the wisdom of sending home Christmas presents for the Fifth Sibling etc era. Then I remembered that the little brat sulks and will refuse to talk to me for a month if I did not send anything back. So a massively overpriced parcel was duly dispatched to the sunny land of Nasi Lemak. The postman stuck about a hundred stamps on the parcel. You would think that they have large denomination stamps that would suffice, but no, he covered the side of the parcel with colourful Cantoland stamps. I wouldn't let him put the fancy gold/silver/bronze East Asian Games limited edition stamps because that would guarantee the non-arrival of my parcel.

We had a Christmas party at work where we had to bring along a dish we made ourselves. Everyone else had parents/helpers who made the food, while I made my own. I am so proud of me. In fact, I deserve a prize. I won the lucky dip! I never win anything! :) So I am now five hundred dollars richer! :)

The medic has come back to visit Cantoland this weekend. I am so excited! It's been a whole ten months since I last saw one of my Powerpuff sisters (who happen to be grown men but it's okay). It will be fun to catch up and drink lots of alcohol without guilt, because no matter what, I will never out-drink a doctor.

Three days till Shang Hai! :)

Skin is Big Money

2009-12-12T16:07:00.004+08:00

I went to the dermalogists' annual christmas dinner last night with the boss. Skin is one of those specialist fields that all women would like to have as a friend while all major beauty product companies would love to have as clients.

Needless to say, we always come home with loads of goodies. I have enough beauty freebies to last me the next three years no kidding! Am aiming for the free laser treatment and botox next hahahaha! You seriously do get scutinised by dermatologists for any textural imperfections, acne, thread veins. Just like your dentist would be staring at your teeth when you are talking to them, or your podiatrist at your feet and highly inappopriate footwear.

But when your friend the dermatologist decides that the lone pimple on your forehead does not become you, he will give you loads of freebies to get rid of that pimple. I like my dermatologist! :) Or maybe they were staring at my cleavage wrinkles. =/

We met quite a few unmarried doctors in various specialties. Medicine can be such a small hunting ground. They were surprised to find that we have ~~loads of single and available girls for sale~~ attractive young women in our department. If you do look at the percentage, 80% of our professional staff are unmarrried and 60% are female under 30 years of age. There aren't very many of us to start with anyway!

So the boss is scheming to matchmake us all up. I get to play charporone and pick a fight when the doctor 'makes the move'.

Work is fun! :)

And the seas parted...

2009-11-29T00:35:00.002+08:00

As most people know, I am multi-talented *hahahahaha*. No, seriously, I am. :)

However, even perfect people have their quirks. And mine is that I cannot ride a bike *shock horror*. Oh, I did try as a child. I still remember aged six and living at Maria Strat in the Hague, my dad was trying to teach me the finer points of riding a bicycle. Everyone in Holland rode a bike. I couldn't for the life of me get it, even with trainer wheels. Then we went on holiday to Austria, and lo behold! I could ride when we got back! :)

The skill was lost with age and I found myself unable to ride a bike aged sixteen. Don't ask me why. I can't drive well either.

The local and the Aussie-local can't believe this for a fact, and persuaded me to come bike riding. So I went as I was promised dimsum after, and I love dimsum! :)

We went off in the heat of the day and rode thirteen freakin' kilometres! It was a scenic route and the weather was fantastic, but my bum hurt. In fact, it still hurts. The Aussie-local was equally unacclimatised to exercise, and we made the local abandon the plan to ride the whole route back again in favour of taking the train home. Ahhh..convenient public transport links!

I doubt I will be doing that amount of exercise again so soon. But then, we mustn't think of such unpleasant thoughts. I will concentrate on setting up my pretty new netbook! :)

Freezin' Popsicles

2009-11-22T15:02:00.002+08:00

Cantoland has been having a cold spell of late. Normally we should be able to go swimming in the sea at the end of November, in fact, some die-hards still do that on New Year's day in Aberdeen -_-'' but that is another story. Wimpy Chinese people do not even go out of their homes with less than five layers of clothing in 16 degrees celcius. So you can imagine how many layers the local population have been drawing on in 13 degrees celcius the past week.

And, for the very first time, I feel truly Chinese. I wore a tanktop under my uniform to keep me warm. Total: 2 layers. Which, to my asisstants, is a vast improvement to my previous baby-tees in mid-winter. :)

Hopefully, the termostat will rise a little. I prefer the comfortable temperature of 20 degrees celcius. *bliss*

This week, I have been busy planning my holidays. Finally got my Shang Hai tickets for Christmas with the girls. We are going ~~boy~~ man-hunting, and China is supposed to be full of rich men with too much money and too little time to spend it. Where better, than to go to the financial capital of China for our little fishing expedition? :) Then to plan my New Year's trip to Vietnam and a trip to Harbin for the Ice Festival in -40 degrees celcius. My fingers and toes are so going to fall off! Then it will be time for Chinese New Year *yay* and pineapple tarts *yum*. I love pineapple tarts!

Anyone wants to come traveling with me? :)
21st-26th Dec - Shang Hai, China
1st- 3rd Jan - Ho Chi Min, Vietnam
14th-18th Jan - Harbin, China
12th-21st Feb - Kuching, Sarawak & Kuala Lumpur.
13th-20th June - Climb Mt. Kinabalu & stay up there *cavewoman hohoho*

I haven't got time to plan for Beijing and Xi'an and all...

Six weeks till the end of the year!!

Hard Act to Follow

2009-10-28T23:01:00.005+08:00

I know I know.. I have fallen off the edge of the Earth.. But yours truly has just crawled back up. :) So viola! I am back! :)

No, I haven't been in Beijing all this while (I wish!)

It's been busy busy at work and outside of work. Been having way too much fun. And cracking my back while I'm at it... =P

But I'm well and good to go! Will head out for a night cruise on a traditional junk boat on Victoria Harbour tomorrow night, followed by dinner at one of the poshest restaurants on this side of Cantoland. I am debating between wearing my usual going-t0-work gear of shorts, grubby Birkenstocks and baby tshirt; or to scrub up a little in a mini-dress and 3.5 inch heels...

Aqua Luna - The junk boat we're going on! :)

Decisions... decisions... Nonetheless, this event is organised by a woman (who could tell huh?) and all of us are living it up here. I wonder if there is anything more that will impress me? Eventually we will run out of exciting/romantic/different/exotic things to do and will die of boredom.

Journey to the Centre of the Universe!

2009-08-13T00:19:00.007+08:00

I am going to Beijing today! :)

There is this massive conference that is held every year in an Asian-Pacific country where all the world's experts on diabetic limb congregate to present their life's work. Essentially, I am going there to be a screaming fan to flash my boobs at all the biggest names in podiatry. Well, maybe not flash my boobs.

The real reason I want to visit Beijing is for Peking duck *shh*, the great wall and the Forbidden City. I was told there is a roller coaster at the great wall of China for the thrill-seeking tourist. The American is supposed to go jump off a building on Saturday and I didn't want to feel left out of the adrenaline rush! :) Then I have an excuse not to go do the same the following weekend.

I can't wait to visit the capital of China and see for myself how modernisation has changed the landscape. No doubt, my view of the city will be all squeaky clean and wonderful. The underbelly of Beijing would be hidden away from view, and not easily found in the short time I am there.

I just hope there is time for me to soak in the hot spring! The conference is being held at this resort which promises hot springs, shopping and a theme park hohoho. It is just a ploy really, to make us think that we are going to enjoy ourselves, when we have to be at the conference from 8am till 9pm the whole three days!

It's probably a good thing, that I am not Singaporean, and thus will not exhibit the kiasu-ness to attend the whole conference and therefore will have time to be a prune. Assuming that my flight with China Airways actually lands in one piece. Then I have to worry about being able to make it back to Cantoland alive.

And We're Rollin'!

2009-08-05T20:44:00.003+08:00

Zhu Hai Hot Spring Resort

I know I have been terrible and should be shot *uhuh* for not blogging in ages.

But since my lovely readers love me very much and would miss my randomness when I am dead by chocolate, you should avoid ~~feeding me chocolate~~ thinking of shooting me. :)

As I have announced to the world. I went on holiday. Cantoland has this thing, where we have to take complusory leave for a minimum of two full weeks a year for stress relief. But they only give us very little leave to start with. My assistant gets ten days, which would amount to her two weeks. So she has to work her ass off the other 50 weeks of the year. Slave drivers... *grumbles*

I will blog about my holiday when my arms resume their normal range of motion. Which will be about next year. You see, in my eagerness to get back to work, I hurt my back and went for physio. Then I was supposed to go swimming, but when to the hot springs to prune up and be massaged till the cows come home. Then I went pole-dancing. So that's why I can't move my arms above my head without winching. Or my thighs into the yoga positions I should be doing.

They are all excused really, because my holiday snapshots are all still in the camera and the pendrive my brother gave me before I left.

The only significant thing that I brought back was TEN POUNDS. I put on ten freakin' pounds in the UK! My assistant told me so, my dietitian told me so, my speech therapist tells me so, my cleaner tells me so, heck even the patients tell me so! Arrghh.. But I have lost it all and more now *looks worried*. I should eat more and work less. Life would be much more interesting.

On a lighter note, yours truly has two brand new podiatrists to corrupt! :) Our team has conned two unsuspecting young pretty and gullible girls to come work for peanuts in Cantoland. Okay, they are still older than me, but I am an authority on the hottest places to party in Cantoland hohoho, so wisdom before age I say! ;)

I shall have to start crowd control measures for the number of young men who will be knocking on the clinic door.

Burning Plastic

2009-07-01T00:24:00.002+08:00

It's National day today in Cantoland.. There are normally fireworks.. I LOVE fireworks... I normally watch it with the American. But this year, I am going to miss the show.

But it's okay... Because yours truly is at the airport, waiting to increase her carbon footprint.

I cannot wait to see my family and my friends. It shall be a sweet homecoming...

As long as British customs doesn't take all the good stuff in my suitcase!*wink*

White Lies

2009-06-29T01:46:00.002+08:00

I was pulled up the other day, for being sociable.

I never knew that making friends was an offense. That having personal time was a big no-no. And not telling people who don't need to know your private life what you are doing with your time is illegal. Because apparently it is.

I don't think that telling little half-truths is a sin. Because these half truths have allowed me to protect you from feeling the hurt of exclusion. And the hurt only comes from the attitude you give to others. Thus their reluctance to include you into their social lives. So why shoot the messager when you accidentally find out?

One day, I hope you realise that is it important to respect others. We are watching and waiting. I can tolerate a lot of bullshit. However, I draw the line at manipulation. My life is mine to live as I please. And you are not invited into it.

Fat Eagle has Landed

2009-06-17T00:20:00.002+08:00

My big little brother is in town. And I am so broke.

But it's okay. He is my little brother. If I don't spend money feeding him, who should I be spending money feeding anyway? I don't like pets birds.

He shall be here until Monday and we are hitting all the major sights. That is, if it doesn't rain. -_-

The joy of having someone to kick and toss lame jokes! :)

And it's a Pandemic!

2009-06-12T18:08:00.000+08:00

WHO declared the H1N1 virus, better known as Swine Flu, as a pandemic today.

It was surprising that Margaret Chan, did not declare that when Japan, then Australia had community outbreaks. But when Cantoland reported their first case of local human-to-human transmission, suddenly we were all worried and WHO decided to call the highest alert level. Did it help to note that she is from Cantoland originally?

The reason for calling in Phase Six is clear. There is wide global outbreak of this virus. Eventhough the number of fatalities are not very high, the fact remains that this virus affects many people in multiple countries. And we are just begining to see it spread to the developing and third world countries.

There have been reports that older people have immunity due to previous pandemics like the Hong Kong flu or the Spainish flu, while those of us below the age of forty have never been exposed to this virus.

There are two schools of thought:

1. Let everyone get it. Once we all get hit with this relatively mild virus, we would have immunity when it becomes more lethal later on.

2. Use Tamiflu and prevent everyone from getting this virus. However, once the virus mutates. We.are.screwed.

I've had my flu jab every year. And I have to say, when I fall ill. I fall really ill. And this has occured every time I have an annual flu jab. Should I be peeing my pants? Maybe.

Or I should just keep up on the hand hygiene, alcohol wipes and face masks.

Seoul 101

2009-06-01T10:24:00.001+08:00

They make shopping appealing.Even for grouchy boys.

As I have very happily flaunted my holiday snapshots on Facebook, I am sure no one wants to see any more here.

Seoul is a brilliant city. In fact, it's so nice, I would love to move there tomorrow. Why tomorrow, because I have dinner plans today and I really want to eat dim sum this morning.

Essentially, there are a few things any discerning tourist must do in Seoul:

1. See the hot guys/girls whichever strike your fancy. The local population, contrary to popular belief, do not look like your typical Chinese Malaysian kid. They don't subscribe to the short spiked hair and geek glasses. Their features are more in line with Northern Chinese, with stronger Mongolian features. Either that, or they would have consulted one of the many plastic surgeons in Korea. After all, Korea is famous for it's plastic surgery.

They are experts at prostheses.

2. Visit the big drain! Korea is brilliant at landscaping. They have a stream right in the middle of the city that was turned into a sewage system and covered over. It has now been turned into a lovely green area with sit-out areas and lots of plants! I like! :)

3. See a Palace. there are five major palaces in Seoul. Go to the one that has traditional costumes to try on. They wouldn't let me be a palace guard, as it was not a position for women. But I got to wear their colourful Hanbok and parade about. I even got to be a cultural icon and had tourists snapping away! Korean palaces are way more colourful than Chinese ones. In fact, the whole country seems to be transmitting 'rainbow' vibes.

Cultural Icon No 132. They label people/buildings/stuff as icons with numbers!

4. Eat the local food. They have a lot of fantastic food and alcohol. I wouldn't be able to begin on which is my favourite. If I ever marry a Korean, I shall have to name my son Kimbap (triangular rice cake) and daughter Kimchi (fermented vegetable). I can't spell the rest.

The American may disagree that Krispy Kreme is a local Korean delicacy.

5. Go clubbing. The nightlife is heaving and way more exciting than Cantoland. Or I just have a tame existence? There are bars and clubs to cater for every whim. You have themed bars, street bars or just party-in-the-park clubs. Very chilled out atmosphere. None of the get-as-much-drink-down-in-as-little-time-and-make-as-much-trouble rubbish. I never knew cute little Korean girls could dance! Or nerdy boys either.

Street cocktail bars.

6. Go shopping. I got shopping fatigue. They love their shops as much as Cantoland. However, it was all local brands and the stuff was all to the local taste. If you like skirts that end half way up the thigh and slut shoes then this country is for you. Dirt cheap too. One redeeming factor for this prude, is that their shoes are wide-fitting.

Bonus tour: The ex-president commited suicide the week I was there. Thus, I got to watch a presidential state funeral and check out the riot police. :)

I want to go back to Seoul soon. But then the Dutchman may not be too pleased to have me cramp his style lol.

Korean Boys are Hawt!

2009-05-29T09:16:00.003+08:00

If anything, the funeral of the ex-president today has the military and police cadets out by the droves. We all know that Korean boys have compulsory military service.

And if we work on the misconception that all Korean boys are as hot as their on-screen counterparts, then today is the ultimate opportunity to check them all out in uniform.

Ahhhhhhhh.....

Death by...

2009-05-27T21:01:00.002+08:00

Yay! I am leaving in twelve hours! :)

My boss gave me a stack of heavy duty face masks today. You know the ones that filter about 99.9% of airborne stuff? Yea, those. And alcohol hand wash and gloves. Just in case I happen to sit on the same plane as someone with Swine flu. I think I would attract more attention with my precautionary measures than someone who does have the virus and refuses to comply with cross-infection measures. If anything, Cantoland has made me more cautious. I no longer think wearing a face mask all day long is a nuisance; while gloves and handwashing are routine and full disposable gowns are regular wear. But then, I work in a healthcare system that has survived SARS.

North Korea has decided to test some missiles this week, to the dismay of the global community. They are also threatening to attack the South. I may get to see a tank or two and get caught up in the foray. I should get my alternative travel plans ready. I know that if planes don't want to fly in Korean airspace, I can take a ferry to China and fly back to Cantoland from there. Or I could blow up my little dingy and berth back in ShenZhen river. :)

I doubt travel insurance covers Swine flu or nuclear war. I either come back in one piece, or in a seven day quarantine or not make it back at all.

Closet Detox

2009-05-26T22:51:00.005+08:00

I figured I have way too much stuff. I really should get rid of half my stuff.

Any takers? :)

If anyone is interested. I shall go through my closet and dig out shoes I have not worn, clothes I hardly wear, mini skirts I have no guts to flaunt... My accesories I would have to do another day as there is just too much!

I am off to Seoul is less than 36 hours and I am absolutely bouncing with excitement! :) This year shall be a great year.

This is the year Stella goes bankrupt while discovering what she really wants in life.

Beauty Vs Brains

2009-05-20T22:52:00.004+08:00

The gods of hospitals have showered their er.. grace on us poor souls in the clinic. They have decided to grant us a tiny 150-square-feet office. And being the absolutely easy-to-please people that we are, we are ecstatic. So we have moved in people! The boss has moved all the crap out of the clinic leaving me a lovely clean space to roll about. :) Well, maybe not roll about, since there is hardly enough space to squeeze past the clinical treatment chair and wheelchair in case of a fire. And I get to pick my own filing cabinets. I want a pink one! :) And a red lamp! :) So what if it doesn't match the cream clinical decor.

I got a little perk-me-up from the chief executive of one of the hospitals in the post the other day. One of my patients had written a heartfelt thank you letter for our service. And so he popped in a little note in appreciation for the effort made. I am quite addicted to collect those 'gold stars', like people collect blue and yellow slips in KTJ. I am kiasu.

We have a symposium on Friday and I was 'volunteered' to help out. While every other medical professional gets proper jobs like timekeeping, registration, audio visual etc, my official job description is to 'look pretty' and 'ring a bell'. -_-

I didn't think my life would one day come down to this. Since when have my (non-existent) beauty outclassed my brains?-_-

Boredom Kills, Frustration Stubs Toes

2009-05-15T19:20:00.005+08:00

I realised that I enjoy kicking things when I am frustrated. This is not a very good habit as I would end up with a sore toe and lowered IQ. You know how the big toe is the brain in Chinese reflexology. So I try to kick soft objects such as someone else or a ball of paper as a compromise. Then again, there is only so much abuse the person sitting near you can take. They don't make men like they used to *sigh*.

So I have decided I don't want to have a sore toe or to scuff my pretty shoes. I shall get a potato gun to shoot people with. There were some pretty cool spud guns available online and DIY, but then they wouldn't fit my handbag.

I just need a nice mini potato pistol so that I can carry it around in my Club Monaco clutch along with a little bit of carbo.

Yay, weekend... I'm heading to the Motherland tomorrow. They have snow slopes in the Tropics. This I have to see!

Mass Fatality Plan

2009-05-13T19:37:00.004+08:00

They send us random emails en masse in this country. The emails make my day because hardly anyone emails me. They can range from 'do not gamble or drink alcohol during work hours' to 'the most memorable thing that happened in 2008 was Mr X retiring'. These people have a very weird sense of humour. No wait, they were serious.

We got one today about the Mass Fatality Plan. Now, unless you live in isolation with no means of communication, everyone has heard about Influenza A that's spreading like wildfire around the world. And you would have probably heard about how Cantoland went OTT to lock everyone up. We survived SARS; there was a valid reason why. We isolated infected people to prevent disease spread and scrubbed everything raw.

So this week, there is a new case of a local who came back from the US with it. And just because this is one of their own, they have decided that he was more important than the foreigner who incidentally, was also an imported case, and have declared a state of emergency. Thus we got an email on mass fatality in case of community outbreak. Initially, I thought they were going to lock up the hospitals and anyone who happened to be inside and throw away the key. Then hidden overhead vents will gas us and they will put us into a mass grave they just happened to have conveniently disguised as the swimming pool. Or they may throw our bodies into the construction site of the new wing of the hospital like the indigenous tribes of Borneo used to do to christen their long houses.

My department has our contingency plans ready. We will close all non-essential services. I hope that I will finally have time to read those ~~magazines~~ research papers.

Tai Tai my Foot.

2009-05-03T22:13:00.003+08:00

The Lobby @ The Peninsula.

When you visit Cantoland, Lonely Planet tells you to take high tea at the Lobby of the Peninsula Hotel. This is a practice from colonial days when the rich ladies of leisure sat about and sipped English tea in fine bone china cups and nibbled at dainty sandwiches while gossipping and comparing the size of their diamonds.

And just because Lonely Planet said so, the queue at the Peninsula was an hour long. They do not take reservations and all guests must queue up, or pay some one else to queue. They don't even take a number and call you back when there is space. Snobs.

Yours truly queued patiently, while playing games on her phone ~~and checking out the cute waiters~~ . The lawyer and her friends joined in, and we were all dressed like aspiring tai tais complete with dangly jewellery, clutch and high heeled shoes and silk dresses. I had just woken up and had a cream puff for breakfast, while the others had a bun each. So when we ordered, we ordered a portion for each of us. We made small talk while I checked out the china and the silver. I have better at home.

When it arrived, we looked at each other and said: " that's it?" Then proceeded to woof everything down, and complain we needed more food. No one else seemed to be complaining about the miniscule portions. Idiots.

Tell me, how do grown women survive on so little? This is FOUR portions!

We had a pot of tea each to our individual preference. In Cantoland, they have a great fondness of tea, and when your teapot is empty, you lift the lid and the staff will refill your pot. We didn't know what to do with our empty teapots. We had been commenting on why the girl who ordered Chinese tea, had a taller teapot. We also commented on the gradual lightening of her tea in her teacup and further debated on how best to draw attention our empty teapots. Suggestions ranged from lifting the teapot lid a la Chinese restaurants to hailing the waiter in Mandarin a la Mainland tourist/Singlish a la your friendly neighbour.

The tea service by Tiffany & Co.

Then one of the girls burst out laughing. And wouldn't stop for five minutes. And then very soberly told us that she had been drinking 'tea' from the hot water pot to refill our teapots. We looked into her teacup to see clear water with 2 tea leaves floating about.

The peninsula has never seen such failures in womankind. I guess I am just not cut for the tai tai lifestyle *sigh*. Or I should ~~eat more~~ train harder.

Bun Bun Baby...

2009-05-02T21:40:00.000+08:00

Towers of Buns filled with bean/lotus/glutinous rice/sesame paste.

The May Day weekend saw Cantoland celebrating Bun Festival in Cheung Chau. Not that Bun Fest is in anyway related to May Day, but that the Saturday happened to be Buddha's birthday= Bun Festival. Isn't is great to have a bun festival on your birthday? When I'm the queen, I am going to declare my birthday to be custard bun festival too! :)

I have been recuperating from my horrible cold and have found myself fit to enjoy the festival. I am the podiatrist here, so no one should question my judgement. So Friday night saw the bankers partying it up, and yours truly amongst them. It also saw Cantoland's first case of Swine Flu also known as Influenza A (type H1N1) and the lockdown of the hotel with 300 innocent people within it. We had dinner at the American Restaurant with was a bare 2 minutes walk from ground zero. There were cops everywhere! Bankers are paranoid people and refused to walk through the area for fear of cross-infection. I figured that the guy would have infected everyone around the area prior to being admitted anyway, and may even have sat in the very seat in the very restaurant we were having dinner at, and partied at the very clubs we went that night.

Saturday, bright and early, we went to Cheung Chau for the festival. For those newly addicted to my sporadic writings, bun festival occurs once a year. They have bun towers four storeys high, and people climb up a tower and grab as many buns as they can to win the competition. There are team events and individual events. The winner gets to take home a giant bun. No, I am only kidding. They get a trophy, though a giant bun would be better. They also put kids on sticks and parade them about town for kicks. If I ever have a kid, I would put him/her on a stick and join the parade too so that my kid won't feel left out.

The children are dressed in various characters. This year included AIG. It was probably for the children's safety they didn't dress them up as Lehman bankers!

The lawyer and her friends, the American and the medic student went along with me for the parades during the day. The pseudo-lawyer went for the competition at night. I am a lightweight and was unable to stay awake for such long hours in the heat. Next year, I am going to join the competition hah!

The queues were horrendous!

Peace Buns- thought to bring peace to the receiver.

Preparing the tower for the competition. Buns at the top are worth 9 points; bottom 1 point. Aim of the game is to get as many points are possible.

Buns are taken down to be distributed to the masses.

We went to the beach after. The beach was lovely! All nice soft sands, clean waters, and hot men in swimwear. Ah... Sight for tired eyes. :) Beer googles helped too.

Only in this country, would you get quirky festivals such as this. And they take it real serious too!

Swine Flu

2009-04-28T18:27:00.004+08:00

The news has been heating about the epidemic in Mexico. Cantoland bosses are watching very very carefully in anticipation of hitting this tiny country.

Because let's face it. It is gona hit us. With the ease of travel nowadays it's just a matter of time before someone comes back with it. There are suspect cases in China as we speak. WHO has risen the alert to 4, which is just short of a pandemic. Cantoland is sitting at Serious level 1. I personally think it should be sitting at Serious level 2 to reflect the cross human transmission in a foreign land, but I can understand that they do no wish to freak people out.

People are freaked out already. My clinics are 30% lower with people choosing not to come to the hospital for fear of cross infection. Or maybe they heard that the podiatrist is down with a cold yet still at work. My assistants are all drugged up to prevent themselves from succumbing to my cold -_- .Accident and Emergency was pretty quick on it's feet when I went to see them this morning. I know, abuse of emergency services... But it was pretty much an emergency. I had finished my medication and my cold was showing no sign of abating with the next available out-patient appointment 36 hours away and 20 patients booked in. I needed medication fast *sheepish*. I was out the door in 15 minutes flat with my new prescription.

My staff are all prepared for a possible pandemic. We are going to be tellytubbies in our blue scrubs, disposable tunics, masks and face shields. It shall be an interesting experience, just like SARS.

I just hope that I get well enough to go for the Bun Festival on Saturday. I lurrvee Bun Festival!

Horrible Weather *Gaahhhhhhh!!...

2009-04-25T15:26:00.003+08:00

It's been raining... It was raining when I woke up, and hasn't stopped. So much for my plans to go out and get some sunshine and a new book to read. -_-

The cold is a getting better but showing no instant signs of abating. :( Thus the medication continues. I had the sudden need to do laundry and have sent just about everything to the laundry lady. I also have weird food cravings for things like penne pasta, baked potato with tuna and cheese, dimsum and cream puffs.

I settled with yummy cream puffs to take my mind off having to eat congee all day (again!)

Life sucks.

Battling the Cold

2009-04-24T13:09:00.002+08:00

I bet you didn't know that prostitution was legal in the little city state of Singapore. I didn't know either. But trust the government to make it legal so that they can legitimately tax the profits as the Dutch government is trying to do.

I am currently at home reading random news excerpts in between sleep and medication. I was hit with the common cold (why is it called common when it doesn't feel that great??) on Wednesday and have been off work yesterday and today in the hope of recuperation. My clinics are all totally messed up now. :( I have chaos to look forward too, as my assistant very gently reminded me when I went back in to work today to attempt to sort out some paperwork.

But that is all for next week. I shall enjoy the rest of my unexpected long weekend. I have a weird craving for tom yam soup.

Dear Diary...

2009-04-10T13:08:00.002+08:00

Some friends are coming over this week for Easter. They are determined to max out their credit cards and empty their bank accounts. It is quite frightening to see women so motivated. We are also doing the mandatory sightseeing of Cantoland and Macau so that there are photos to show the parents when they head back.

Today is Good Friday. Fasting here is nowhere near as intense as home. We are supposed to take no meat in our 'two light meals one heavy meal' fast. Failing which, we should donate a generous amount to the church missionary fund. Holy Thursday mass was a publicity drive to generate income for the missionary work for the church in China. It seem to work, because everyone stood up and put money into the donation boxes. They probably collected in excess of a hundred and fifty thousand local currency in the ten minutes. Hit them where it hurts, and in Cantoland, it's the wallet.

Today was spent cleaning. I have cleaned my windows three times, and still they smudge.. :(

I am also going to Mass the will start the whirlwind round of shopping in my local area and then to Causeway Bay.

Tomorrow is Dimsum and more shopping, then to dinner and drinks at the clubs and pubs in Soho and Central.

Sunday we will head to Macau with the American and friends for sightseeing and more shopping. I wanted to go to the spa but was out-voted.

Monday is the usual Cantoland sights with dinner of the most famous roast duck in this country.

Tuesday to Thursday I have to work, but I have their schedule packed with shopping expeditions and food hunting.

I don't anticipate any sleep this week. Or I may just collapse in exhaustion.

Guinness Book of Records CantoPod Editon

2009-04-06T18:13:00.002+08:00

I broke my own record today. You get days when you see pretty little shriveled up toes that just happen to pop off ~~and is put into a doggy bag for people to bring home to put on their mantlepiece~~. Then the clients miraculously heal up really quickly and everyone is happy.

You don't get days like that very often. It normally takes a bit of wriggling and twisting and a lot of waving of hands and saying magic words before the digits auto-amputate.

Today, five little pigs went to the podiatrist and never made it home.

I am so proud of myself.

Spring Cleaning

2009-04-05T20:53:00.005+08:00

My 3 Inch Lotus Shoe Collection

I have been procrastinating for a while... My dirty laundry is sitting nicely in the laundry bag while my clean laundry is piled in a heap on the floor as I couldn't be bothered to put them back into the closet. The closet is full anyway. But I really should be putting my clothes away instead of pulling socks from the pile every morning. It's not that I have to wash, dry or even fold the clothes, labor is cheap here and someone else does it for me. At least I don't actively pay someone to iron my clothes... That's because work clothes come ready pressed.

However, some friends will be visiting during Easter and thus I should have finished my cleaning by then. Nothing better than a dose of housepride to get the cleaning done.

I went out with the bankers on Friday for drinks and dinner. It was good to see some I have not seen in a while. In fact, I probably see them more often than one of the other guys who stays on the same floor as I do. It also reminded me why I should not be in my line of work. I don't get to flaunt pretty heels everyday. Hefty price to pay for your work clothes to be laundered for you? Saturday was a nice relaxing day with Dimsum, shopping, dinner with the American and drinks with some other bankers. I should really stop shopping. You see, you get a skirt that doesn't match anything else you own. Then you look for a top to go with it, and then a belt and so on and so forth. The only thing don't have to get anew are my shoes, but that's because I have a lot of those already. But this weekend I am the proud owner of some very pretty porcelain beads to be strung up into a belt. I probably won't even wear it with my new skirt...

I can't wait to declutter! Spring is here and it's mating season. The boss is away and I am running the ship. If I have my way, it would be nice and light clinics, but I only have a pair of hands that cannot work miracles, though we get pretty close. I am interviewing a guy who used to work at HSBC, and will hopefully have a new assistant by week's end. Somehow my assistants are all male and are getting younger and younger.*shifty eyed* Research has proven that people work better when motivated. I am planning for when we have three young single female podiatrists working together in the next few months. :) I am anything if not a considerate boss. Ha!

LaLa

2009-03-27T22:50:00.003+08:00

I was skimming through Yahoo Odd News while taking a break from Shakespeare...

You've got to love competitions like this:

Oddest Book Title of the Year award:
- 1997: "The Joy of Sex: Pocket Edition."
- 1998: "Development in Dairy Cow Breeding and Management: and New Opportunities to Widen the Uses of Straw."
- 1999: "Weeds in a Changing World."
- 2000: "High Performance Stiffened Structures."
- 2001: "Butterworths Corporate Manslaughter Service."
- 2002: "Living with Crazy Buttocks."
- 2003: "The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories."
- 2004: "Bombproof Your Horse."
- 2005: "People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It."
- 2006: "The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification."
- 2007: "If You Want Closure In Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs."
- 2008: "The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-milligram Containers of Fromage Frais"

I want Sevens tickets but I didn't manage to get them this weekend. *boo*
However, I am going to visit the orphanage and dinner and drinks after *yay*

And Then God Said...

2009-03-22T16:04:00.006+08:00

It's the middle of Lent and Easter is 19 days away. My resolution to stop shopping lasted about three days... I know this is a terrible reflection of my willpower, and I am not proud of it. However, God forgives our transgressions and if I make every effort to continue Lent as it should be kept, then surely, I can redeem myself? Until my credit card bill arrives.

I was having dinner with the pseudo-lawyer and the Singaporean and conversation turned to my lack of male companionship ahahaha. It has been a subject my mother has been picking at for ages, and has very correctly pointed out that Rome was not built in a day, and thus I should not expect to get from zero to hero in one either. I have been pestered to make a checklist so that my friends and family can keep an eye out for a potential somebody and not have to nudge me at the sight of a guy (I work in an all-women environment, and they can be very enthusiastic).

We debated the merits of a long list or to keep it short and sweet. The Godbrother had a point when he said the Ten Commandments was short but thorough! Should we set up a hotline with numbers for potential callers to HSBC customer service to press to weed out the ineligible?

So here we go again.. I have done this list previously.

Stella's List

1. Able to speak/write/read fluent English. I can't spell and sometimes spellcheck doesn't work.

2. Aged between 24-35 years old inclusive. There is a cap as friends were going to ask their aging building security guard if they wanted the job. -_-

3. Has more earning potential that me. This should be easy peasy as I earn peanuts.

4. Able to do his own laundry/ironing/housework or at least will pay someone else to do it!

5. Be at least 10 cm taller than me. I own some rather nice heels and would like to keep on wearing them thank you very much!

6. Can cook edible food. Otherwise will not complain about my cooking.
7. As smart as I am.
8. Willing to move to a country with clean air and trees of mutual accord when we grow old.

So you see, it isn't that hard to find someone. In fact, if the guy can cook kuching kolo mee or tomato kuay tiaw all the above can be forfeited based on that skill alone. :)

I am not looking for someone who worships the ground I walk on though it would be rather nice to be worshipped. I am not looking for someone who looks like a Greek God, owns a yatch, a 3000 s.q apartment at the Peak, drives a swish car... I just want someone I can be happy with, someone who will notice if I am under the weather and cares enough to bring me a donut/deep fried custard bun/cookie/brownie when I need a pick-me-up. Someone who likes green and purple and is not hopeless with fixing furniture. Someone to anchor me when I fly as to pull me in before I get burnt.

Someone who doesn't like Hello Kitty but will tolerate waking up to one in the mornings.

Cutesy Pics

2009-03-13T17:03:00.003+08:00

Yahoo News just reported that Japan has appointed three girls dressed up as Anime/Manga characters as culture ambassadors to the country. Each girl is set to appeal to a different target group with one dressed as a Victorian doll ala goth Lolita; a schoolgirl and a cute bunnyskirted kawaii girl.

This would raise eyebrows in most of the world, bar Cantoland. People here are crazed fans of anything Japanese and cute. They walk about in cute dresses with cute pens in their bags and post-it notes etc. The hospital put a stop to cartoon characters on the name stamp of its' professional employees as to maintain a respectable image. However, I have seen some pink stamps of Dr XYZ with a cute pink Hello Kitty at the side. -_-

They could not stop the population from indulging in their love for all things cute as evidenced by the sheep in the shopping mall display. They not only put sheep in the middle of a perfectly nice shopping mall; they had to make the sheep blush!!

How the Current Economy Affects Us

2009-03-09T17:46:00.003+08:00

Today we are going to review an essay that a sixth grader can hand up to his teacher... But then again, this is probably something that every person can relate to in this environment.

How the Current Economy Affects Us
by Stella Chai age 11.

The 75 year old pensioner would probably find his pension isn't worth too much as inflation rises the price of basic necessities.

The 50 year old pre-retiree has just found that his nest egg has shrunk so much he may not be able to retire in as much comfort as he would like to.

The 35 year old family man finds it hard to get another job and he has a mortgage to pay and a family to feed.

The 20 year old student would find the fees have not gone down while the loans will still remain and the employment prospects dire. Oh and quite a few shops have closed.. :(

The 5 year old kid finds that his parents can't afford to buy him a new toy every week anymore. There is also no more ad hoc parties and holidays to exotic lands complete with the penguin balloon (I've always wanted a penguin balloon).

And how does this affect me? After all, working in the public service is considered the 'iron rice bowl' and in the current situation supposedly the most stable profession available. So if yours truly decides to ditch the paycheck in lieu of say lying on the beach.. then it would affect my spending power eventually. :)

As my mother very dryly commented: ' Yea, in this climate, even the guys would be looking for a girl who has a job.' -_- Since when was love dependent on finance?

Two Left Feet

2009-03-07T15:08:00.003+08:00

My mother has decided that I have depression/need a hobby. Thus I received a very pleasant email on Friday telling me that:-

a) I should go pick up ballet. I have never done ballet in my life and the only attempt I ever made to shuffle my feet was the Cha Cha.. Okay, and belly dancing but that doesn't have much footwork involved. Besides, ballet traumatises the feet.

b) I should try Tai Chi. My grandfather does Tai Chi at the crack of dawn and I should try it out so that I can wake up at 5.30am to do Tai Chi when I head back to the land of the hornbill.

c) Pick up a musical instrument. My current appreciation of music is having it played to me, not playing it. Though the chinese Gu Zhen would be totally awesome to learn.

Which leaves me to think.. Why didn't she pay for dance classes when I was a kid? My sister does all manner of dance and doesn't have to do any academically linked extracuricular activities. My parents have gone soft *grumble*. They should totally make her do the whole 7am-9pm study schedule like every other kiasu expat brat.

Ticking Boxes

2009-03-06T23:30:00.003+08:00

I did this personality test to figure out if I am really a nice person or if my patients say that just to get me to be gentle on them...

Your view on yourself:

You are intelligent, honest and sweet. You are friendly to everybody and don't like conflict. Because you're so cheerful and fun people are naturally attracted to you and like to talk to you.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You like serious, smart and determined people. You don't judge a book by its cover, so good-looking people aren't necessarily your style. This makes you an attractive person in many people's eyes.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You prefer to get to know a person very well before deciding whether you will commit to the relationship.

The seriousness of your love:

Your have very sensible tactics when approaching the opposite sex. In many ways people find your straightforwardness attractive, so you will find yourself with plenty of dates.

Your views on education:

You may not like to study but you have many practical ideas. You listen to your own instincts and tend to follow your heart, so you will probably end up with an unusual job.

The right job for you:

You have plenty of dream jobs but have little chance of doing any of them if you don't focus on something in particular. You need to choose something and go for it to be happy and achieve success.

How do you view success:

You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

What are you most afraid of:

You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

Fence Sitting

2009-03-05T17:28:00.003+08:00

This two month notice thing is not getting me anywhere. I am pondering if I have made the right decison? Should I stay or should I go?

There is no right choice, just a well justified tilt of the scales in one direction.

I just want to get married lol... Saves all that trouble on making choices etc and having to pay for my own shoe shipping service ehehe...

I should advertise.

Stella Likes To Stop Shopping

2009-02-25T21:33:00.003+08:00

If I say it enough times, it may filter into my subconscious and I may be able to control the damage I do to my bank account. My credit card has been getting a bit more exercise than it should have and lent should be the best time to rest it. Six weeks should be enough to pay for the shipment of my ~~shoes~~ important podiatry stuff *cough cough* back to sunny Malaysia. =)

9.5 weeks to go! :) This weekend is Sarawak laksa weekend. I am gona beat my brother's laksa hohoho!

Stella Likes to...

2009-02-23T23:39:00.002+08:00

Flo did this cool thing on her blog the other day where you use the power of Google to find out what your namesake does for fun...

Anyways, the top ten things that Stella likes to do is...

1. Stella likes to videochat. I don't even know how to use skype.. I know.. I am hopeless.
2. Stella likes to be a normal person.
3. Stella likes to build nests in her cage. Apparently this Stella is a pet rat.

4. Stella likes to keep up with technology. Yes I want one of those cute red Sony thingmabobs that is the size of a clutch and I can keep in my back pocket. What are they?

5. Stella likes to eat, read, ride bikes, write and listening to obscure music.

6. Stella likes to keep her body in shape by regular exercise and is always in demand.
7. Stella likes to matchmake and has often had problems with understanding why her friends don't always like getting set up. I am a Winx Club character?

8. Little Stella likes to gently jump up wrap her paws around you and look into your eyes as if to say 'love me!'.

9. Stella likes to be nekked. I think it's naked on a nude beach. :)
10. Stella likes to go outside in any kind of weather. Me thinks typhoon hunting is cool!

So there you go! I don't think Stellas the world over have er.. a general like of exercise, or bike riding. I can't ride a bike.

A Different Way of Life

2009-02-22T22:17:00.002+08:00

I have just about done the one thing I have been dying to do but didn't have the guts to do so. I have thrown in the towel.

Those who know me have told me how proud they are of me. And it just goes to show how much bad vibes I have been transmitting to everyone the past few months! So I truly apologise! I am also grateful for the sympathetic and soothing sounds you make when I whine and moan and mope.

It has been an extremely difficult decision to make. There is so much I love about this place yet there is also a lot that pisses me off. However, I have nothing to lose by my choice today and all the world to gain.

I am going to find my little piece of heaven and then I am going to finally settle down.

The Moon and the Stars...

2009-02-16T01:02:00.003+08:00

Horoscope for the week ending February 21, 2009
The suggestion that you should put yourself first seems straightforward. It isn’t, primarily because you still confuse the urge to please others with your own, very personal desires. Equally perplexing are decisions about what to pursue, particularly if it’s without others. However, that question is central to this cycle. Instead of endlessly weighing up your options, try out one or two, allowing experience to guide you. While this may seem abrupt, if not risky, this cycle is as much about overcoming your tendency to confuse debate with actually undertaking a new venture, pursuit or commitment. Take a deep breath, plunge in, and things will look very different and be a lot more fun.

Lovers Anon

2009-02-14T00:54:00.005+08:00

Happy Valentines Day everyone! :)

I wish everyone a brilliant day with sunshine, low humidity and Air Pollution Index of 0-25, fresh air and green trees with a light breeze... I sound like a weather report! :)

It was a hectic week at work and we saw my assistant leaving this week. My parents and I had a deep discussion yet again on what I should do with my life. And we have come up with various answers, with the main point being: I need to leave Cantoland. My one main reason would be the pollution and humidity being too much to handle with a significant adverse reaction to my health already noted from being here the past sixteen months. I have to consider where I want to end up in life and what I should do to achieve it. I also have to decide if I love my job enough to forfeit my health. And we all know that health is more important that patient satisfaction.

It shall be hell to have to break this to the boss.

On a lighter note, two friends from Glasgow dropped by my clinic today! :) I have not seen them for almost eighteen months and it was a pleasant surprise to see someone from university days. The physio sent me an absolutely cute calendar from Glasgow that is truly appreciated! :) I didn't know my love of chocolate, shoes and shopping was that widely known haha... However, there is now a new weakness. On Thursday, the podiatrist and myself discovered crispy custard buns. That's right, a sweet custard-filled bun that was deep fried to perfection. You bite into the crispy exterior to enjoy the oozing custard in the centre. Heaven must taste like this. We didn't managed to stop to take photos of the first half dozen, so we ordered another half dozen just so that we could take photos of them *ehem*.

Crispy Custard Buns.

Who needs a man when you have custard?

Name Tag

2009-02-12T17:50:00.003+08:00

My brother tagged me, and dared me to find things that start with 'S'. I was indignant that he could put our other siblings' names in his 'O' tag... So I dug out my brain and gave it a go to prove him wrong, and that you didn't need your parents to name you with the same alphabet to win! :)

Rules:It's harder than it looks! Copy to your own note, erase my answers, enter yours, and tag twenty people.Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real...nothing made up! If the person before you had the same first initial, you must use different answers. You cannot use any word twice and you can't use your name for the boy/girl name question.

1. What is your name : Stella
2. A four Letter Word : star/sock/soup/soap/sass (triple-S)
3. A boy's Name : Sunny/Solomon
4. A girl's Name : Sushi.. only in HK! Sinderella/ Stephanie
5. An occupation : Stewardess
6. A color : Sunshine yellow haha...
7. Something you'll wear : Strappy heels
8. A food : Sushi
9. Something found in the bathroom: Strawberry soap (I'm so kiasu I know)
10. A place : SCOTLAND! :))
11. A reason for being late : Sheep blocked the road
12. Something you'd shout : Shit!!
13. A movie title : Star Wars/Star Trek/Spongebob SquarePants-The Movie
14. Something you drink : Strawberry martini
15. A musical group : Spice Girls haha
16. An animal : Snail
17. A street name : Star Street
18. A type of car : Sedan
19. The title of a song : Sing A Song of Sixpence

Two Green Bottles...

2009-02-11T23:00:00.003+08:00

http://picasaweb.google.com/stefreader/SardiniaMezzaLuna#5076998182173534786

I went on a refresher course on advance resuscitation today and it was amazing to see what doctors go through on a daily basis! It was pretty cool directing teams of nurses what to do in the effort to keep people alive. The experience was illuminating because it just drives home the fact that the medical field is not a one-man show. Everyone automatically focuses on their specialty at the expense of everything else. My automatic response was to look at the PVC feet of Angus the dummy and diagose them (He had daylight signs and was likely to have Rheuamtoid Arthritis, possible diffuse callous formation exacerbated by Converse type shoes). I learnt how to read ECGs, what drugs to pump into people and all those things that first year medical students must think is child's play. Basic life support is important. I work alone in an isolated area with no supporting staff in close proximity, and am a great risk to myself and my patients if there is no one who is able to provide fast response to medical emergencies.

Which brings me to the point of this post today. I was too busy having fun resucitating dummies that I didn't get the mass resignation memo. It is official, there are now two green bottles, sitting on the wall. And this particular green bottle is seriously contemplating moving off this particular wall.

I have to throw down some cushions first.

When Shit Hits the Fan...

2009-02-10T21:42:00.003+08:00

The workplace is proving to be entertaining of late. The political situation is as dramatic is PKR & BN in Perak. Well okay, there are only five of us with two of us leaving this month and a third seriously contemplating it. I have no idea how we are going to keep on going, and I sure hope that we will be able to survive the never-ending flow of people who expect the same intensity and level of service output with two staff as when we have five staff. I don't see how this is possible without:-

a) Falling ill with overwork.

b) Growing two pairs of hands and three heads.

I should totally consider alternative employment. Anyone looking for say, a filipino helper or erm, a mail order bride? I even look good in frills.

Keep On Swimmin'

2009-02-08T22:06:00.002+08:00

Since landing in Cantoland on Monday, I was down with tonsillitis within 24 hours. Not an auspicious start to the new year no? Nonetheless, I still managed to get to work and get some red packets! It is brilliant being single in a Chinese community hehe.. Though it makes me quite guilty that my assistant and my cleaner have to dig into their pockets in this time of economic uncertainty to give me a red packet. Our patients tried to give us red packets too but we are not supposed to receive any financial incentive from them, though the chocolate and cookie drawer is pretty full at the moment! =)

We had our annual training days with other colleagues over the weekend. Only in this country do they make you come in on a Saturday to collect Continued Professional Development (CPD) points! They used to make it Sunday as well, but the less suicidal ones managed to veto that thank goodness! I decided that dimsum was more important than CPD points and dragged my podiatrist to eat our weekly allowance of custard buns. Saturday afternoon was spent shopping with the ophthalmologist's friend from Oxford, while Sunday was my usual routine of going to Church, lunch, shopping with a massage thrown in.

I am considering what I should give up for lent this year. And I have decided that this lent, I shall quit shopping for 40 days. This is going to be tough if I go to Thailand in March or if I happen to have a sugar low and cannot find a donut-substitute. However, this is probably my greatest vice and I should aim to cut the amount of exercise my credit card gets. Who's with me?

Happy Niu Year!

2009-02-02T01:09:00.002+08:00

Happy New Year! I know its way past the first day of Chinese New Year, but then again there are 15 days!

Yours truly had an interesting time at home feeling ill and eating pineapple tarts. I am now busy packing up to head back to Cantoland at six am and will be back at work at two o'clock later today. Life is tough.

Some people have been asking what happened to my photos. Well, I have decided to make this an intellectual blog with heated discussions about the weather and if it is better to go penguin-watching in South Africa or the North Pole. (I think South Africa) Thus the lack of bimbotic photos.

However I couldn't resist this one photo!

No more train tracks! :)

Hike Ho!

2009-01-17T22:05:00.002+08:00

The physio came into my clinic Monday to invite me to join a hike to a country park in Fanling today. My first reaction was shock as I didn't expect someone that I have barely spoken two words to in the whole year is asking me out hiking... Those who know me know that exercise is not my thing. The second reaction, I am very sorry to admit was wariness. Cantoland is rife with individuals whose main source of entertainment is to muddle waters. I was quite reluctant to join was my department is not exactly BFF with their department. However, since I was invited to 'bring a friend' I decided to drag the american along to be my buffer against a Cantonese speaking crowd.

The hike was pleasant with brilliant views of mainland China in the distance. We had three gorgeous golden retreivers along with us and everyone was in dog-speak mode and failed to interact with each other. Some school kids who were (obviously arm twisted into hiking on a Saturday) walking the opposing way commented on why we were coming from China in the wrong direction. -_-

The american and I were tempted to call their bluff and warn them to beware of the smugglers! :)

The local crowd had prepared a barbecue and we had a nice time toasting butter bread with honey ( It was the only thing I could BBQ well anyways). I had a pleasant time with my own company and with 'nature' haha.. I only got minor allergic reactions on my forearms as the whole walk was paved and there was hardly any undergrowth. I did not see any tigers, lions or pandas either and was quite disappointed. Due to the economic recession, many factories in ShenZhen have closed. This has inversely allowed us to have better air quality in Cantoland and will hopefully improve skin conditions. I ended the day with a very pleasant massage and facial. Life is good!

On a lighter note, my dermatologist is wonderful! I called him to tell him I was not going to be able to attend his clinic on Wednesday, and he came to my clinic to give me a consultation! My assistant then went to pay the fee, err sit in my 'consultation', pick up my prescription and my medication. All I had to do was sit on my little bum at work. It is very touching to see people go out of their way to help you... I strive to do the same.

Hang Zhou

2009-01-01T22:41:00.002+08:00

West Lake.

I went to a little trip to China in the New Year with a friend. We joined a tour group that took us to some of the prettiest spots in China. There were 33 people in the group, and would you believe it, 16 of them were not from Cantoland! Therefore, I managed to huddle together with the non-chinese speaking crowd in ignorance as we wander our own way oblivious to the deathstares of the tour guide! :)

I went to the airport at 5am in the morning after coming back into Cantoland the night before to hail in the new year. We then flew out to Hang Zhou and arrived mid morning. Now Hang Zhou is a place I have always wanted to visit because of the West Lake. Why? Well you see, as a child geek, I read the Asiapac comics on chinese mythology and the most vivid of them all was Madam White Snake. Those who know this story would know she lived at the West Lake charmed a scholar and married in. Anyways, the monks got her and imprisoned her in the pagoda by the lake. She was eventually released when the pagoda collapsed. The pagoda was also a symbol of rising awareness of womens' rights in the country.

Li Feng Pagoda.

We went to check out some gardens, bridges, and rock formations around the lake. Hang Zhou is also known as the city of lovers. There is a lovers bridge, which is said that if you walk along that particular bridge with your beloved, you will always be together. There is also another saying that if you walk the a particular walk with a girl and she is still walking with you at the end of the journey, you can propose to her. As you can probably deduce, it is a pretty long walk, and to be able to stand someone after about two hours of walking in the freezing cold is no mean feat! I was in a pretty crap mood after a day of wandering about in the chill!

Lovers Bridge.

Hang Zhou is famous for it's beautiful scenery and should be revisited in all seasons. I am aiming to head there again in another season to see another side of the city. We stayed at this hotel which didn't look too impressive on the outside but was very comfortable inside. I wonder if it's just me, or the Chinese have a fascination with clear glass shower cubicles to provide the discerning traveller with an uninterrupted view of whoever is in the shower *rolls eyes*.

Long Jing tea military plantation of the PRC. It was frosty!

Fanciful Chinese village houses.

I noticed that the so-called village houses in Hang Zhou were all very fancy. They looked like the candy houses in Disneyland with their multi-coloured walls as well as their over-the-top decor. The villages are full of such examples. In Cantoland this would be unimaginable! However, they do not lose their way of life and continue to earn their living in anyway they can, such is the resilience of the Chinese.

Doing Laundry.

Happy 2009

2009-01-01T01:53:00.000+08:00

I received an email from the medic a few days ago to check that I was still alive *yes* and that I have been good *yes*. And since I was so well-behaved, I got a little Stella as a reward... :)

It is comforting to know that there are people who think of you when they are on holiday!

PS: I watched the fireworks on NYE in HK with some friends. The fireworks were depressing at best. Still, it was a step toward my resolutions! I will post up my holiday snapshots soon.

Feng Shui 101

2008-12-31T12:33:00.005+08:00

As we sit here and moan the passing of another year, we must not forget to have say, milo ais or a roti canai to wash down the sorrows. I know I have probably bored everyone to tears about how this has been an exciting year blah blah blah... and infected everyone with my insecurities and my fears. Well, I am going to say it again, this year has been tumultuous.

I am going to be very brave and make a little prediction on the year to come. We all know that anything I swear will happen will definitely go the opposite way. We also know that whatever I say I will never do, I end up doing *sigh*. History has proven thus, and I am going to be very sly and work it to my advantage hehehe... :)

First and foremost, I shall work very hard as usual. I shall have no time to ogle at the doctors in the hospital, neither shall I have time for a cup of tea and a cake during the day. We will not have any chocolate in the fridge for emergencies.

I shall also live in a tiny pigeonhole with no friends. There will be no one to clean the place and no other interesting people to talk to in the corridor. My place shall be dusty from the construction site in front and I will have to listen to the patriotic music that is broadcast to motivate the workers at 8am every morning.

I shall have no friends who speak English. My world will only have individuals who speak Cantonese and Cantonese alone. No one will be brave enough to chat me up and I shall eat my dinners alone in some dark alley somewhere. Fireworks will no longer be a pleasurable activity with brilliant company. In fact, they will stop having fireworks due to the economic slowdown.

All the shops in Cantoland will close down or will never have sales on their wonderful things. There will be no clothes that fit me and no bags that match my shoes. The restaurants will run out of mango and custard buns and dimsum will no longer be available.

My friends and family will be too far away to comfort me and there will be no one who understands me. I will not be able to voice my thoughts without repercussions and act impulsively and be forgiven for my transgressions. I shall lose my ability to smile and laugh, and the will to love...

For it is in our darkest hour, we find God and ourselves. Though I truly pray that my life will never come to this.

Thank you for your encouragement and concern. Thank you for your companionship and care. I would like to thank you all for taking the time to check on me, keep me grounded, let me free... I wish you all a happy and fulfilling 2009. May your predictions be more accurate than mine, as I hope mine don't come true! :)

Home for Christmas...

2008-12-21T19:00:00.004+08:00

My mother was trying to contact me over the weekend but was unsuccessful due to a) I was sleeping; b) the connection was fuzzy; c) I didn't pick up the phone; d) I was ogling cute dermatologists. Finally she texted me to tell me that our friends from long ago are all coming back to KL for Christmas. If you can read between the lines as well as I can, it translates into:'' All my friends' kids are coming back, so you have to come back too." And so yours truly being the filial daughter, is going home for Christmas! It feels good to be able to go home and annoy the little sister. The last time I saw my family was some five months ago. My siblings have supposedly grown taller (and fatter). I need to go home to assert my authority and squash the siblings a little. I bemoan the fact that my mother did not feed me enough as a child, thus my stunted growth. I shall dread the day my sister is taller than me and gleefully rubs it in *growl*.

I made a gingerbread house today. While everyone else manged to assemble their houses with minimal mess, mine was covered in chocolate and icing to keep it together. It is still really pretty though! No matter, the heavy icing will ensure the house stays in one piece on the flight home on Thursday! :) I have realised I am not cut out to be an engineer or an architect. I guess I shall stick to feet huh? :)

I can't wait! It's four days till Christmas! And the clouds seem to have broken over. The world looks rosy from where I'm curled up under my duvet. It's hope it stays this way! :)

Manipulation

2008-12-18T21:41:00.003+08:00

It is now six days till Christmas and I have not sent out a single Christmas card. I know I should have done so earlier, but I had all kinds of excuses such as 'the post office is only open office hours and my clinic hours are longer than office hours'. Or I should have dragged myself out early on a Saturday morning to queue up behind all the Filipino helpers who are sending their care packages to their families back home. Well, it is too late now and I am sure my friends would appreciate random cards at other times of the year! :) Besides, think of the trees I can save.

I have finished Christmas shopping and was contemplating doing away with wrapping paper and gift bags. My conscience was nagging me as I wrapped up the presents and tied them with shiny ribbon. People do not need a thing wrapped in fancy paper and ribbons and put in yet another pretty bag with tissue paper. I would appreciate a hefty book voucher just as much as the Ferraro Roche my patients give me. While one will sustain me for a day (or two if I pace myself); the other will ease my boredom throughout the year. However, there are certain expectations to be met in this society of excess, and I guess it's easier to wrap than to justify the lack of wrapping. It is easier to meet the expectations of the receiver than to make a stand for the sender, as it an unwrapped present is akin to social suicide *rolls eyes*. I guess I will just have to eat more meat to paccify the tree gods.

As the year is drawing to a close, people start searching for that elusive something that is missing in their lives and seek solance and companionship be it with God, family, friends or strangers. No one wants to be alone whether they admit it or not. I get pensive as Christmas draws near and start thinking back to all the little things I have gone through over the past year. I am extremely thankful for what I have. This Christmas will be the second Christmas I am spending away from home. I am seriously considering flying back home just because; Just because it's been a long time since I saw my family; just because I have not seen the new home; just because I want to see if I can still use my sister as an arm rest;just because I want to laze in the pool; just because I have no oven to roast my leg of lamb.

In the meantime, I am going to make a gingerbread house this weekend! :) It is the winter solstice festival this Sunday. The Chinese believe this longest night to also be the coldest ,and the most important family celebration in the year. The pseudo-lawyer and myself are looking forward to the glutinous rice balls filled with peanut paste in sweet ginger soup. *yum*

One more day to the weekend! *double yay*

Alien Speak

2008-12-16T21:24:00.004+08:00

We had a new addition to our team last week. It is pretty surreal to have another person in our little crusade. Suddenly, we can do so much more than before. We don't have to juggle our lives with work with little leeway for sudden changes that will ripple on to our clinics for weeks on end. It has given us a little more breathing space; a second more to use the inhaler before plunging back into the chaos.

This has also brought home the fact that it is bloody hard work. I tell people to come to Cantoland to live and work with me. And I don't realise how difficult it is to adapt to this life. The new addition has broken down a few times in the past week due to a variety of factors including the language and culture barrier. The intensity and the speed of life here is also a hundred times faster than what most people are used to. I am glad I am able to adapt to this place in a relatively short span of time. I remember feeling lost and disorientated when I first got here. We do not realise how difficult it is to uproot ourselves and plonk ourselves smack bang in the middle of another country, exceptionally so if we are working at grassroots level.

I will never laugh at my friends' Cantonese ever again. Neither should they at mine. And if anyone decides to move here just to entertain me, I shall be eternally grateful and promise to be nice to them for the rest of my life!

A.I.

2008-12-03T20:05:00.005+08:00

December comes up from behind you in no time at all. I have graduated from 'one year in Hong Kong' to ' just over a year in Hong Kong'. Soon I will be 'graduated two years ago' as we hit 2009. Somehow, the knowledge that you are out in the big wide world for such a length of time is pretty humbling. I mean, I have this misconception that I am old *shut up all those who disagree* and that I am supposed to have some basic knowledge of the fickleness of human nature. Well, yours truly would like to report that the world is not a pretty place, but then you all know that already. We can try our best to make it nice but there is always someone set on sabotaging it by throwing a spanner in the works. And I have learnt that we can either let it go; or wallow in disappointment, self-pity, frustration and anger at the insolence of others.

At this time of year when Stellas go into hibernation, I start thinking of resolutions for the new year. I like to be kiasu I know. I look around at the people around me and see what the Jones have that I don't. So far, the list looks like this:

What the Jones' have that I need to keep up with:

1. Marriage. 2008 seems like an auspicious year for people getting hitched. Either that, or I am hitting a certain age where there are expectations of such.

2. Babies. Everywhere you look, people are poppin' them out like nobody's business. I believe no one thought the world would be in such economic turbulence nine months ago, if they knew they

a) wouldn't have so much time to make babies;

b) would have spent more time on the stock market instead.

Being pregnant also keeps you safe from retrenchment as it is supposedly cruel to fire a pregnant woman. They are however, only now starting to address the issue of racial discrimination in this country.

3. A mortgage/credit card debt the GDP of a third world country. I am thankful that I am financially self-sufficient and can pay for all my frivolous purchases without my mother knowing what I have bought.

4. A hobby. Preferably something like flower arranging or bonsai-trimming. I would like to try sky-diving but I am slightly concerned about fracturing my calcaneums. Maybe learning a language is more practical.

5. Christmas break planned. I have not decided what I am going to do over Christmas. I want to go to Harbin for the Ice Festival (because they have fireworks and I love fireworks) but I don't want to go alone, and it's going to be -20 degrees Celsius.

This weekend I hope to go to China with the Oxford kid so that I can ~~corrupt~~ enlighten Chinese medical students about the wonders of shopping and spontaneous shoe purchasing. Then we can go to Queens Spa for rest and relaxation while the masseuse works on the knots in my shoulders. Bliss!

Oh weekend cometh!

Footnote: This post was supposed to be about artificial insemination but I guess I went OTT.

And My Kidneys Go To....

2008-11-26T17:15:00.000+08:00

I waltzed into my clinic today to find the boss and my two assistants in a 'stand-off'. They all turned to me when I came in and I had a sense that something was about to happen. I did a quick search of my conscience, and figured I didn't do anything wrong, at least that I know of.

"Do you want to donate your organs?" asked the boss.

"Come again. What did you say?" This didn't sound like I did anything wrong. Or maybe what I did was not salvageable and I had to donate a kidney to my patient?

"We are recruiting organ donors. You want to give yours away? Did you check your email by the way?" explained the boss.

"Sure I did but the link to register wouldn't open." I did remember to check it.

And so, yours truly has decided to ~~sell~~ donate all usable organs upon my death. I was looking for a clause in the registration to see if I could specify who I didn't want to donate them to; like the annoying old woman who bugs me for an earlier appointment every three weeks or say a terrorist or the guy who decided Krispy Kreme was not worth keeping open in Hong Kong. It is a skewed Chinese belief that you should die with all body parts intact. I have people who refuse an amputation in life threatening situations and thereby loose their lives. One told me that she needs both her legs when she is a ghost so she can walk. I told her she could use her Zimmer frame and that ghosts float about anyway. She was not convinced.

There are certain things I think I have planned out in my life such as the colour of the carpet I want in my dining room (green) and that I want to be cremated to save space. And since I am going to be dust I don't think I need to be such a big bottle of dust. For, even in death, the amount of dust you generate can be an indication of how skinny you were.

Cold Spell

2008-11-22T12:28:00.003+08:00

Winter has finally arrived in Cantoland. It is lovely here in winter, in fact, I would put Hong Kong as the place to have a fashionable winter. The winter is cool, with the thermostat hovering at 15-25 degrees Celsius. It is also nice and dry with clear skies. So it is possible to wear mini skirts with funky boots and light knits. Better yet, there is no need to wear a big bulky jacket to cover everything up in an attempt to keep warm. :)

My uncle and his family came to visit Hong Kong the past two days and I obviously got fed. It's nice to see people from back home again, to enjoy the company of cousins and just to have someone around to look out for you, even for a little while. It's nice to have someone around who is impressed by your ability to speak broken Cantonese. Maybe my cousins were just being polite...

My grandfather called my dad to tell me that my great grandaunt has passed away. I knew I had relatives in Hong Kong, but I just never got round to saying hi. So now that my grandfather's remaining elder has passed away, it seems to be an end of an era. I am now faced with the prospect that my grandparents may be the next to go. We are not getting any younger. My next ten years will probably be spent RSVPing wedding invites and funeral notices. I will be a pro in wedding and funeral etiquette by the time I'm done. Then life will throw in children christenings and birthday parties, followed by extreme kiasu-ism with public exams for the overachieving ~~mother~~ child.

This weekend is going to be spent gardening. I have a non-existent garden but it's okay. I plan to buy some plants to put on my balcony and pretend to weed them. Preferably, solar-powered plastic plants would ensure my success in this current whim.

Dot-to-Dot

2008-11-10T22:19:00.004+08:00

One of my dearest friends from long ago came to visit me this weekend. I've not seen her for thirteen years and I didn't know what to expect. Apparently, neither did she. However, it was amazing how we just fell into habit and were babbling away, filling in the blanks of the years apart. And I found that we are not that different. We have the same outlook in life, the same wants and desires and the same core principles as well as fetish for shoes and bags. I know that there is this whole school of thought, where you are a combination of the six people closest to you. While this may be indicative of who I am now, to find that the people I grew up with to be so alike is kind of weird. Were our parents instrumental in bringing us together as Shell brats abroad? Or were we drawn to each other due to similar personality traits? People who are similar either repulse each other or find their closest friends in each other. We can either like what we see or dislike the other person for being just like us. Yet I wonder if we were capable of making this distinction as children. Maybe we just didn't like someone 'just because they annoyed me' or we found little Joe next door to be 'the one person who will do anything for me including letting me play with his favourite Supersoaker and standing there while I soaked him and he didn't even get angry at me'. No I am not revealing who little Joe is.. Ha!

As I look back at the different people I have left behind in various phrases of my life, I am certain that each one of them have the same drive to succeed in life. Each one of them are capable and independent women who will continuously challenge themselves in their respective fields and each one of us are strong family people. Surprisingly, of the various 'best friends' I have, there are two corporate lawyers, two pharmacists, one consultant and an almost doctor. I wanted to be a lawyer once and to think that the girls I dominated the playground with as a child would both grow up to be lawyers. Did we have the foresight to single out other lawyers in our groups of playmates? If that were the case, I'm glad I never got the idea to be a podiatrist when I was a kid. I would have no friends if that were the case! Maybe that explains my lack of entertainment of late.

It would be interesting to note how each one of us make our choices in this long road of life. We will probably have two kids and a puppy/cat/hamster while juggling our full-time jobs and an over-achieving husband. We will probably never learn how to cook rice properly (okay, just me) and can live on dessert alone. We will also have a collection of shoes known to husband along with a secret stash hidden somewhere he doesn't know about. We will be overworked and complain about the lack of time while secretly enjoy the stress of our jobs. And one day, we will realise that our families matter and will probably drop the million dollar deals to tend to nappy rash and skinned knees. Don't wonder when this will happen, because I believe we will all be popping out the babies before the age of thirty. Trust me on this one, we are too vain to leave maternity late!

Mehul is Back!

2008-11-06T23:36:00.003+08:00

I have been suffering from a migraine that has been threatening to split my head the past week. Believe me, its not nice to have to attempt to string coherent thoughts together. I am blaming the changing weather and the pollution. The fact that I should be sleeping eight hours a night instead of six is not relevant. The two hours were well-spent drooling over hot Taiwanese drama actors. I must have some kind of skewed perception of good-looking as I now think thick eyebrows are hot on a guy. Maybe this migraine is affecting me more than I think.

So if we put together a list of 'Stella's Idea of Hotness' this is what we will get:-

1. Bushy eyebrows, preferably without the long trailing ends seen on Chinese kung fu movies masters. Mono brows are also not acceptable.

2. Glasses. Yes, I think geeks are hot ala the geek in Ugly Betty.

3. Pink shirts. My brothers are adverse to wearing said colour even though it brightens their complexions. If it works for women, it should work for men.

4. Brains. I like guys who are able to give me their two cents worth with style.

5. 6-pack. I am not talking about beer but abs. *drool*

6. Height. As the only person who is short in my family is the Fifth Sibling, I would prefer a guy who is tall so that he doesn't feel intimidated by my family.

7. Long eyelashes because mine are short. If he likes me enough I may get to harvest them for fake lashes hehe...

8. Strong and firm hands. I am a sucker for manly hands. No callouses please, exfoliate and moisturise before application.

9. Body hair in the right places would be okay. I would feel weird if a guy had smoother legs than I do.

This is obviously a very short list of superficial attributes and is no way an indicator of personality and now that I look at it; put together would make a very weird looking individual...I think I need new glasses or keep at the dramas to alter my perception of male beauty.

On a happier note, I opened my door yesterday to see one of the Oxford kids who is back for the next few months! It is brilliant to have someone else on my floor who speaks English (okay, American) and eats vegetables and Hui Lau Shan. Life is looking up! My friend from primary school in Holland is coming to visit this weekend. I've not seen her in thirteen years and I don't know what to expect. It's weird to see someone who was a major part of your life all those years ago. How life goes on has never been more obvious. We have a lot of catching up to do I should think. And I wonder, will this happen again with the people I have now?

And We're Back In Business!

2008-10-29T23:37:00.003+08:00

I finally got my contract sorted today. There is no change to the original one but I figured I kicked up enough of a fuss to make my stand. I feel better for having given my two cents worth on the situation in this country for my profession. I now have to figure out if it is illegal to work while waiting for my new visa as there is a lapse of eight days between the two visas. I am assuming its okay as they didn't specifically say I couldn't, just that I can't leave the country. I do love living life on the edge... And if I do get caught and dragged to jail, please send all correspondence to this jail in Stanley. It's by the beach and absolutely lovely!

The day before I signed my contract, Krispy Kreme filed for bankruptcy. The banker called me up to make sure I was okay so did the lawyer. My boss called me up to check on me... I was not okay as my local store had no one picking up the phone when I called five times to verify. Apparently I don't buy enough donuts to sustain them. They have the airport branch still open and I am banking on my compassionate friends buying donuts for me on their way back from trips. It doesn't take a lot to make me happy, and if you give me pretty, shiny pieces of jewellery I would be even happier. =) I really should consider moving to a Krispy Kreme secure country or find a surrogate donut.

I wonder what other cruel joke fate would throw at me? Since things come in threes, I don't want to think about it as it is too depressing. I can't go out of Hong Kong for eight days. It takes little things like this to make you realise how much freedom you have. It is a sobering thought as this is nothing compared to the oppression some people have to live with on a daily basis.

One silver lining in the clouds is the letter I received from the Custom and Excise Office today. As I have already flaunted widely, this year the government has given everyone a tax rebate of 75%. Which means yours truly is paying peanuts for tax. My eyes almost popped out of their sockets when I read the sum which included a forecast sum for 2008/2009, I am paying a grand total of....*drum roll* Three hundred and ninety Hong Kong Dollars only... And of that, HKD110 is for next year. It is a farce! Why bother collecting tax if that's all they are going to get?? It works out to less than HKD50 a month or three pounds. The paperwork costs more than the actual tax!!! However, this was only for six months of the year. I doubt I would be so smug this time next year. Still, three quid a month for tax is pretty amazing huh? I think I like this country after all...

Howdy Ma' Mates!

2008-10-24T00:24:00.002+08:00

Aloha!! :) I know I have been very out of touch. You know how things are, the computer calcifies and leaves you stranded on a desert island. Then your boobs start sagging and taking the line of least resistance ie: downwards. Okay, so maybe things aren't so radical yet. But one day they may turn out that way.

My contract is still leaving me unclear as to where I will be for the coming year. The guy at HR is to be credited for working his ass off on my behalf. However, it is unlikely there will be a happy outcome. Nonetheless, one can always live in hope or rather sit in limbo and twiddle thumbs. I had rescheduled Thursday and Friday in anticipation of a day at Immigration, heck, I even called up lunch buddies from amongst the bankers. However, I was in clinic on Thursday and will be there this morning yet again. I have the afternoon off to go do bank stuff. It is depressing when you have to take annual leave to sort out bank stuff. =(

The weekend will probably see me wasting away yet again. Last weekend was spent worrying about my contract and my flights back for Chinese New Year. I thought I could beat the system and fly Airaisa to Kuching via Macau thereby saving me transit time. But noooo, Airasia decided to scrap the route and I had to find another flight with a transit. Then they happily resurrected the route after Chinese New Year. Arrrghhh!!

I am seriously considering Botox. I wake up every morning with frown lines between my eyebrows. It is not healthy for a twenty four year old...

Two Cycles and Counting...

2008-10-12T01:02:00.001+08:00

A year older is a year wiser. I would like to thank everyone who sent me presents/cards, wined and dined me, entertained me, called me, texted me, prayed for me, posted on their blogs for me, facebooked me as well as those who pretended to forget my birthday. Thanks ever so much for your thoughtful words. Thank you for making the effort to brighten my day and set a smile on my face and a twinkle in my eye and a lot of Hello Kitty memorabilia in my room.

Note to all: I don't like Hello Kitty, I tolerate the thing.

I am grateful for the family and friends I have. I continue to seek God's blessings for each one of you in everything you do. Thank you for your loving words and kind thoughts and actions. You make my world a better place to live in. I am now two Chinese Zodiac cycles into life, may there be many more to come.

Birthdays Come in Threes

2008-10-06T22:27:00.000+08:00

This is a public service announcement... Happy 21st Birthday to Fat Eagle! =)

As much as I would love to fly out to Newcastle to bake you a cake, the flight tickets are pretty expensive.. :( However, since you are such a capable copy-cat and can copy my cake recipes without my prompting, I shall let you get on with it!

I am sure you will have a lot of time to study hard this year. You will not go out and play too much neither will you eat too many White Rabbit sweets. One can only hope anyway... May God guide you and keep you, may He give you strength and wisdom. May peace reign in your heart and joy be ever present.

Don't work too hard. Life is too short to live with regret, though maybe systematic revision will help.

Lots of Lamby love,

Your bestest big sister

xoxox

Happy Birthday

2008-10-04T12:36:00.001+08:00

This is a public announcement. I would like to wish my littlest brother a brilliant and amazing 15th birthday. May he be happy in what he does, take every opportunity presented to him to the best advantage (including kicking Lambib when the chance arises), live with no regrets while hopefully studying as hard as he plays.

The past year has been a journey of self-discovery for him and I continue to pray for God to provide him with strength, preseverance, peace, love and joy. And if that doesn't satisfy him: Yes, Jie will consider paying for your school fess... happy?

In Reflection

2008-09-22T12:09:00.001+08:00

22 September: I arrived in Cantoland a year ago to this day. I didn't know what to expect, what I would see, who I would meet, heck, if I will ever be able to order food... One year on, I believe that I have conquered my fears. This year was a trying time to learn if I could ever live independently and not go bankrupt at the end of it. I am proud to say I still have money in the bank though my closets are wayyy too full. =)

The past year has also been a opportunity to develop my skills in my profession and I believe I now know more than I did a year ago. The friends I have made have been brilliant, but it also draws to the fact that no one stays with you forever. Life is transient. There is nothing you can do to keep things as you wish them to be, to remain as it is. One could sit and wallow in self-pity, in love lost, in opportunities missed, in things that might have been. But then again, looking at life whizz by while sulking in a corner is not my style. So I spend my days thinking of ways to annoy my assistant and pretend to make him work harder hehe... And the guy had the nerve to message me that we forgot to bring stuff from one clinic to the other and get me flustered and running back to the clinic when in fact he had already picked it up... Grrr... I really should work him harder...

HR are being their usual bullying self, but they now realise they cannot push me about. I may have made them sit and and take notice that there are some brains behind the bimbo and I will not sign a contract I am not happy with. I am glad I am young, free and single with no major responsibilities over my head bar what I will eat for dinner. This leaves me the chance to make a stand for my profession and myself, and should things go pear-shaped, I can still pick up the pieces after. Let's hope they don't go that way, because, as much as I say I am sick and tired of this country, I do enjoy being here.

On Saturday I will just go to China for dumplings all by myself. My lousy friends refuse to come with me and the American can't get an on-the-spot visa (while all other passports can). I was looking forward to a week of unemployment but I seems I won't be getting it. On Monday, I will go to the Immigration Department to process the emergency extension HR has persuaded me to sign then am off to the cinema for a good movie with the Lawyer. Tuesday will be another public holiday and I will head back to work on Wednesday unless a typhoon blows up on Monday and the whole plan is screwed. Life is good when you don't have to work... Even better when you know you have people on their toes...

Butterfly Effect

2008-09-20T22:30:00.003+08:00

The week saw Lehman go down, with Merrill Lynch and AIG narrowly surviving this round. It has left a lot of people in limbo over their future. While some may say I am in no way affected by this turn of events I beg to differ. I now have friends who are unemployed and thus not in the mood to play with me, overworked due to the increase in workload and therefore unable to play with me, friends who have no peer pressure to come out since everyone else is not out and thus refuse to come out to play with me... This is serious shit.

The week also saw HR finally showing me my new contract. Those sly people were trying to push me into signing a three year deal on the same terms as last year citing 'my visa will expire soon and I need to get a new one really quickly, so I should sign this now'. I don't take well to bullshit so I told them that I was not signing this contract and they looked kinda shocked. I will hold out and talk to the big boss. It seems that historically, we are paid less while new graduate physios etc are all getting paid more than I am and will continue to get paid more unless I kick up a fuss and demand to be paid the same. I am not even talking about any experience I have gained over the past year! I hate bureaucracy!

I am going to one of the islands with the glaswegian-hong-kee tomorrow. It shall be one of those parents-trying-to-fob-of-their-only-son-to-seemingly-unsuspecting-podiatrist senarios. I shall try to escape without having to swear my devotion/love to other people haha... It shall be an interesting trip; The American was right, I am a sucker for self-torture.

Mooncake MIA

2008-09-13T22:34:00.003+08:00

I was told by a little bird that the Koreans have claimed the Dumpling Festival for their own, saying that the dude who jumped into the sea was a Korean dude. So I wondered who was going to claim the Mooncake Festival also more correctly known as Mid-Autumn Festival?

If the Mooncake Festival was Japanese:
Lanterns will be made of impossibly difficult to replicate origami.

If the Dutch claimed it to be their festival:

Everything would be orange, not just the egg yolk inside the mooncake.

If the Malaysians decided that heck, we wanted a piece of the fun:

There would be sambal ikan bilis and coconut rice filling complete with the banana leaf skin.

If Singapore decided to be kiasu:

We would have the Hainanese Chicken Rice filling and the mooncake will be bigger and better than Malaysian mooncakes.

Thank goodness no one has decided to go to UNESCO to claim this festival for their own yet *I think*. I am an advocate of cultural exchange and sincerely believe that those little things we do in our home countries are also done similarly in our neighbouring countries for the same reason. People move to new places and bring along their beliefs and practices and are later incorporated into the local practice. Likewise, Malaysian podiatrists who are currently living in Cantoland will bring along the stomach to try different mooncakes especially the Sambal Ikan Bilis one and play with Hello Kitty lanterns. I am all prepared for my first Mid-Autumn festival in Hong Kong! I have two mooncakes ready and a cute inflatable Hello Kitty lantern in a pink dress holding a yellow flower and purple wings that has flashing lights and annoying music. I will out-kitty even the most hardcore little girl with pink bows ahahaha...

My one peeve is that someone has stolen my mooncake from the fridge. I was looking forward to having the yogurt flavoured snowy mooncake for breakfast! Grrr... I will hunt the person down and pluck out their eyebrows then paint over with Silver Nitrate! Grrrr...

HR = Evil

2008-09-03T22:14:00.003+08:00

Ask any working person who doesn't work in Human Resources (and are thereby not biased) and they will tell you all kinds of horror stories about their experience with this particular department. It seems there is some kind of "training camp" they send them to, that teaches them how to make every other person's life hell. They will pull you up one day for a 'soft inspection' where they check your dress and tell you your ironing is not straight enough because you have a crease at the sleave. They will change rules without informing you. Then they can also conviniently forget to tell you that you are supposed to justify why you are here serving their countrymen five months ago and will only start looking for the form five months later and only after you have probed them and sent them a zillion emails. Arghh! Sometimes I wonder why I do this to myself!

PS: I will start writing more substantial stuff soon. I promise!!:)

PPS: The 2008 Hong Kong Rat Race is set for October 19th this year. Unfortunately, I don't work in a bank. And I am in no way fit enough to run up and down escalators. If it was a HK Shopping Race then maybe I would be fit enough to run up and down escalators! :)

Bankers are a Girls' Best Friend

2008-09-01T22:48:00.005+08:00

The banker woke me up on Sunday morning asking me if I wanted to go to Macau. As I was so rudely woken up, I was in no mood to entertain anyone and said no then I went back to sleep. Half and hour later, he called again and this time, got it into my thick head that I was being bribed with front row tickets to watch Cirque du Soleil all expenses paid. So I perked up and prettied up for a trip to the circus courtesy of the robust HK financial industry. :)

Cirque du Soleil first opened in the custom built theatre at the Venetian, Macau on 28th August this year. It is expected to be a permanent show on the Cotai Strip. The company who was forking out for the event had invited its employees and clients and their tager-alongers to watch the show. It was interesting to talk to the other bankers who have moved here from all over the world. Likewise, I hope they found me interesting too as I was in no way connected to any of their work and had just tagged along because I wanted to watch the circus, just like the five year old kid called Daisy who sat behind me in the ferry! Meanwhile, the bankers were busy networking and making new friends. All in the name of drumming up more business.

I think I spent Malaysian National Day well... There is never a better way to celebrate anything than to something exciting. Likewise, buying new shoes can also give a similar feeling of euphoria.

One Green Bottle... Sitting on the Wall...

2008-08-30T17:44:00.004+08:00

This weekend has taken a long time coming. I was tired out by Thursday and decided I would crash out for the weekend and hibernate in my 70% goose down duvet. Bliss!

The ophthalmologist leaving for Oxford on Wednesday. This leave moi all alone here in rural Cantoland. How depressing huh? *sniff* I shall not wallow in self-misery *sniff* and get out and take life by the horns.. *yea right.. flops back into the duvet*

While I was pondering the eccentricities of this tiny nation, I have made up my mind to start a ne project on my blog *eyes gleaming*. I shall need to find hapless volunteers for my entertainment pleasures and also for the entertainment of my loyal blog readers *Lamby sit up*.

So, more news on that front when I have trapped my victims! :) Oh by the way.. It's National Day tomorrow. On a normal Aberdeen Expat National Day celebration, we tend to go for a picnic/barbeque and sing the national anthem while waving the flag to passer bys. The women then to choose more discreet and isolated locations while the men would prefer crowded areas when the choice is left to them. This year, I shall be celebrating it in another country with myself. And maybe some Indonesian Satay. Pathetic huh? The food I can come up with...

Shoes are a Girl's Best Friend

2008-08-26T23:09:00.002+08:00

I was out at the weekend, showing my podiatry student the lie of Cantoland's extensive shopping malls. It is so much better than those of UK and Malaysia. To say that you will get shopping fatigue is no joke. The student I was showing around is a known compulsive shopper. In fact, we both agreed we need to go for SA (Shopaholics Anonymous) sessions for therapy. However, as her suitcase was already overweight on the way here, there was no way she was able to bring all the goodies back. So I shopped on her behalf.

We were looking at the choices of footwear available to the discerning woman. I have to say, the choices are beyond the imagination. You would think they would have exhausted the designs but no, the boutiques were showcasing so many shoes that were unique and quirky. How am I ever going to be able to top them? Those who know me, would know I have a large number of shoes not suitable for general consumption. But I am a podiatrist, I know what I am getting myself into... =)

So to see more fantastically different shoes and even being able to have them made to measure to your exact specifications in three days for such little money was brilliant. I love my new leather pumps that is patterned broadsheet! Thank goodness I live so far away from shoe shops. I have to find innovative ways to store them. I went off to Ikea to find a solution to my storage problems and found some cute baskets in which I can stick my shoes. Way better than boring shoe racks and lighter to bring back too!

The joys of shopping! My mother think I should find something better to fill my time otherwise I would just work and shop. Hmm...

Typhoon Nuri

2008-08-22T23:36:00.003+08:00

I found out on Wednesday that a typhoon was heading towards Hong Kong. I was just a little skeptical , I mean, it was calm though hot. No winds, no currents. However, my patients on Thursday told me that this was the "calm before the storm" (this saying exist in Chinese too! Chicken and egg?). The air was heavier, the winds non-existent, the birds and the crickets fleeing, and the old women with arthritic joints complaining of pain and 'wind' in their bones. That was how they predicted a typhoon in the old days. Nowadays, they have fancy smancy devices at the Hong Kong Observatory that would give you detailed weather reports.

The signal was One until Thursday evening. As I have described previously, you get signal one, three, then eight is when you don't go to work and it works up to nine with a maximum of ten. The finals for the equeastrian events were on Thursday night and thus I suspected they were reluctant to reschedule the event for another day therefore the late raise in signal until later in the evening.

This morning I woke up to calm skies and sunshine. I was thinking how ironic if the typhoon didn't happen and Cantoland would be in an uproar to discover they had to go to work today. =)

It was typhoon signal Eight. I called them bluff and figured they just wanted to keep people happy or face a backlash of unhappy skivers. So I went back to sleep until later in the morning. By the time I decided to wake up it had started raining. So being the ever curious trill-seeker that I am, I brought my student podiatrist out to Causeway Bay for Dim Sum and shopping. The shops were all shut but there were still loads of people wandering about. Your average tourist was looking all lost and wondering what all the fuss was about. It was, afterall, no worse than the average Scottish day or so my student podiatrist put it. They upped the Signal to Nine which was exciting though looked like an overkill. The overhead speakers were going into overdrive telling people not to go outside as Typhoon Nuri was going directly for Hong Kong. The winds started howling a little louder and we started looking up to check if things were going to fall on our heads. So after wandering about aimlessly at Causeway Bay, Shatin and City One we decided to rent DVDs and head back to hide out. By this time it was getting pretty dangerous to stay outside. The non-essential services had been closed and airports, the stock exchange, shops, buses and ferries were all shut down. The MTR was running at 15 minute intervals instead of their usual 2 minute intervals.

As I looked out my bedroom window, it is kinda unnerving to see the cranes swaying in the gale force winds. The fire truck and ambulances lights flashing intermittently and the trees bent in all directions with howling winds billowing. I just hope that it will subside tomorrow as I have a ballet to go to and a pretty dress to wear. One can always live in hope. Typhoons are only fun when it's a weekday.

The Happy List

2008-08-15T01:30:00.003+08:00

My sister sends me spam all the time. Yesterday she sent me one about lists. Now, Miss Lamby is the Queen of making lists. She makes lists for everything with a column for checking at the end. :) She is more organised that I am, and I am 23!

Anyways, this time round, the email was a story about this teacher who asked her students to list one thing that was special about everyone in their class. The teacher then compiled them into individual lists for all her students. The story goes that everyone was pleasantly touched by the various descriptions that their friends had for them, and years later still kept those treasured lists.

I want to start my own Happy List. If I could invite everyone who reads this blog to leave me one word or term that tells me how much I mean to you it would be great. I know this is very kiasu and thick-faced. But I am depressed now and I need a little pick-me-up. =P I promise I will write them down and pin it up on my wall so that I can remind myself what I mean to other people and then I won't feel so blue anymore. Pretty please? :)

I will write one back for you too!:) Thank you!

Blues

2008-08-15T00:47:00.002+08:00

The girls have left me all alone in Cantoland with no one to play with, no one to talk to, no one to lean on and cry about all the injustice in the world and no one to eat Hui Lau Shan with. =(

I had a brilliant time while it lasted. However, the distance just makes the seperation all the more painful and the knowledge that we can't just hop onto a train/bus to crash and do girly things is too depressing to think about. *think happy thoughts*

I hate feeling low. I hate the sense that I am unable to do something worthwhile with myself. I hate not being able to be there for the people I care about. However, the greatest discomfort is feeling that maybe, you are just not good enough? Confidence is a fragile thing.

Olympic Season

2008-08-09T01:18:00.002+08:00

The Olympic opening ceremony was amazing. Ra and I had dinner and watched it from the comfort of the local cha chan teng. China put up an amazing show and has truly arrived. We went for our daily dose of Hui Lau Shan dessert and had a massage to ease the kinks in the shoulders.

Nits is arriving tomorrow! :) We have a fantastic weekend planned up and are going for the Olympic dressage on sunday. It shall be fabulous to have the girls around with us. The only one missing is sweet Lai Ye * hint hint* but we will eat an extra mango pudding for her.

Go Purple!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2008-08-03T11:50:00.002+08:00

I am sad. I don't want to go back to work. But I have a suitcase of instant noodles to finish and my girls are coming to visit me in less than 24 hours! :) So that makes my trip back all the more bearable. I will miss the family who are having a party in rural Sarawak without me, my friends who are here from all over and the fifth sibling. It is very tempting to bring the fifth sibling back to Hong Kong but I will be disowned by my family forever and my cat Mango will die a slow and painful death.

I went to the Curve yesterday on a 'me and my dad' trip. If things go as planned, I may come back here on a ad hoc basis. We shall wait and see. On one hand, if they do go along with it, I will be back here for good *AArghhh*. On the other, ad hoc work that is well paid is hard to say no to especially when country hopping coperate work is involved. For the time being, HK is my life.

We went out with some friends from Aberdeen. Four days from now, we would have been back in Malaysia for one year. Its been a while huh? Time flies when you're busy having fun. Now I have aunties with 35 year old nephews wanting to be matchmade. It is scary to think that as I age, my wrinkles will be more pronounced and my skin will sag.

I don't want to grow old!

Smiling at Lions

2008-07-31T00:18:00.003+08:00

I am going to Singapore tomorrow. It's been something like eight years since I went to Singapore proper (transits do not count). The last time I was in Singapore I was there on scholarship to study secondary school. Contrary to popular belief, I do possess some brains; Left brain and right brain and they work occasionally. So I went off to Singapore to study in a girls' school and lived in a girls' boarding school attached to yet another girls' school. Needless to say, I didn't take too well to have no one to whine to. So when I eventually decided to call it a day and go back to study in rural Sarawak, I learnt to appreciate the finer points of male muscle. I have never taken my guy friends for granted since. The things Singapore teaches you! :)

I am off to visit Nithia, the smartest medical student in Singapore, JB and some say Batam. Ra my love is hopefully going to join us. We live in hope, but I rather she manages to sort stuff out and come to Hong Kong. I am sure everything would go swellingly and we will have a whale of a time. Nithia is going to give me the grand tour of JB including the homes of the KTJians of our year. I shall try to be on my best behaviour.

I will also check out the lion thing and take a photo, being the kiasu tourist that I am. The family I used to stay with when I was studying here is busy this week and I while I would love to meet up with them again, I know it is not possible to do that in the little time that I have. I am just going to have a nice relaxing trip and see some sights, eat some local food and chill with friends. It shall be a nice end to the break. The weekend will see me hanging out with my dad and hopefully conning stuff off him hehe...

The last few hours that the family is together before we head back is all the more precious and bittersweet. I am never going to be able to take over the world at this rate!

PS: This is a lovely pick me up from Discovery Channel.

Kolo Mee Count

2008-07-30T00:03:00.002+08:00

The top shelf of my freezer is loaded up with my favourite kuching kolo mee. The dude who makes it is making a killing from my family. So far, we have bought something like 100 packets since Fat Eagle came back.

I would be stretching the truth to say I am looking forward to going back to work. I have just started to feel a little bit more relaxed and now have to pack my bags. The eldest brother is heading to our home state on Thursday with the mother and the other siblings joining him on an extended tour on Friday. I will be heading to Singapore to check out some places. While I enjoy doing what I do now, one must not be too comfortable and must always look for alternatives *nods sagely*. I am tempted to try something new and different, yet when faced with the issue of continued development and training in a profession that is in shortage and the choice of trying something different that does not guarantee a similarly successful outcome, most people would balk and stay where there are. I don't like staying in one place for too long as I would feel restless and bored.

Plan of Action: I need to rethink my long term plan.

The Crux of the Matter

2008-07-23T23:36:00.003+08:00

Only your loved ones are able to stop you from destroying yourself. Those who know you truly are able to discern plain tiredness from something deeper and care enough to tell you to 'draw back', 'hold the horses', 'take more care!'... STOP! Before things spiral out of control and you loose all sense of self.

I am making a firm resolution to protect myself. The loss of self-preservation due to a sense of righteousness and moral and professional obligation is no way a trade-off I wish to consider. At the end of the day, the loss is mine and I will be discarded when I am no longer useful with nothing to compensate. Sorry doesn't make the noodles.

I must learn to breathe.deeply. And stop to smell the flowers along the way.

Honey I am Homeeeee!!

2008-07-21T17:23:00.002+08:00

I am finally home to annoy the family. As of today I have had:

1. One bowl of kolo mee
2. One bowl of yung tau fu.
3. One meal of seafood *yum*
4. One plate of wah-tan-ho

5. Two pieces of kaya on toast.
6. Three pieces of durian.

Which is not bad huh? It is nowhere near the amount of food I consumed when I came back at Chinese New Year and had a 24-hour food tour. I have great plans to eat my way through twenty packets of kolo mee while I am back So far I have negotiated eight packets for my personal consumption from my siblings. I will just have to steal the rest.

The friends who will be around this time are all pretty busy so I will have to entertain myself by reading books and spring cleaning my house. I have done one bathroom so far and will move along to different rooms as the week progresses. Decluttering is very therapeutic. My mother has told me to put all the stuff I want to give away in a big box so that she can dispose of it. I know I have a lot of many things and I guess I have reached a stage of life where I don't want too many bits and pieces. Just one pair of diamond studs, one diamond ring, one purple cocktail ring, one pink bag, one blue bag, one ~~single~~ box of cookies... You know... The cousins are eyeing my shoe collection but I doubt many would move past my sister who has the same size feet as I have *shock horror*. When the baby of the family started to grow I have no idea but I do not like the idea that she may one day tower over me.

It is great to be home. Nothing beats the feeling of being accepted just as you are, warts and all. The endless food supply, free laundry, brilliant ~~punchbags~~ siblings who come back to be entertained again. Home is where your lamest jokes are belly-aching funny, where your sarcasm is known to be harmless and your whining actually gets someone's attention. The moment you arrive home, the tension in your shoulders fade away, the headache you have been nursing somehow disappears and the abdominal pain that has been bugging you the past few weeks magically resolves.

The next two weeks will be heaven sent. I will hopefully be able to rest and reassess my priorities in life and try not to get myself married off.

48 Hours

2008-07-17T00:42:00.006+08:00

In 48 hours I will be able to tell you the plot of The Dark Knight. We all know that its about this guy in a black tight jumpsuit with a cape that likes to shine lights up on top of buildings who is fighting this dude in a purple suit with eternal happiness plastered onto his face. I am looking forward to Heath Ledger's last movie because I admire him as an actor and also because we were young once, and drooled over him in 10 Things I Hate About You. Christian Bale is also extremely hot and will provide eye candy. I also happen to know that this movie was shot on location in Hong Rockin' Kong and they filmed it at the Batman building where the banker works. Well, it has an official name but is also known as the Mehul / Batman building. I have a dare with the American: We are going in matching Batman t-shirts. =D For someone as serious as him, it would be funny. I had to compromise the full costume complete with cape to be worn the whole day at the bank for a cute t-shirt *shesh*. I think I am too accommodating!

Work has been fun with the interns around. It has also been brilliant to have someone to have meals with every night. This just disproved my theory that I am an anti-social being. I enjoy the company of my nearest and dearest but I don't like the awkwardness of getting to know people. I have completed the family shopping and my bag looks to be full of presents for the family. It is not everyday I get to go home and I realise how people who live far away from each other would use monetary and material bribes to relieve the guilt they have for not being there in person. I wonder if the sister would feel that I am over-showering her with presents? I doubt so, she seems intent on getting more out of me.

I got my China Visa sorted before I am going back. The mother called to tell me that they are not issuing any more after this week. Thank goodness I had the foresight to plan ahead!

Moral of the story: Planning ahead is good for peace of mind. It is also a sign of OCD.

I am going to get some Peking Duck for Friday and watch the light show at Victoria Harbour with the intern. It is a very relaxing way to spend the night before heading for Batman. One of my friends is quitting his job to go woo this girl he likes who lives in another part of the country. While I am pissed that he broke his promise to meet up this time, I am also fascinated that there are guys as reckless as him who would do such drastic things for a thing called love. Maybe love is not so fickle after all. Maybe, just maybe, someone may love me enough to do the same one day?

When the Cat is Away...The Mice Come Out to Play!

2008-07-13T15:00:00.002+08:00

The boss is away on holiday this week. This leaves me with one visiting podiatrist, one student podiatrist, one volunteer and two assistants to entertain. My party tricks are pretty limited. However, it would also be interesting to make them do useful things like staple pieces of paper together, x-ray kid's jokes and buy me coffee and cake.

I will also have to sort out my stuff to bring back home as I will be going home in six days. Six more days till I get to eat kolo mee and bask in the airconditioned comfort of home! I plan to be more sociable and meet and greet those I have ~~avoided~~ not seen in a long time. I am hardly the mostjobless person in the country and therefore did not meet up with many people whenever I go back. However, seeing that this is the longest trip I have ever been back since I left for Hong Kong I promise I will make an effort to attempt to contact people I have not seen in a long time. There is no definition of 'a long time' so that will just be a general post on this blog and on my Facebook and Friendster profile hoping people will not see it. I would be spending time with the usual crowd anyway.

The plan for this week when the cat a.k.a the boss is away? Easy!

Sunday: Shopping as the sales are on in Hong Kong.

Monday: Clinic, go to Vietnamese for dinner and Hui Lau Shan mango pudding for dessert.

Tuesday: Other clinic, triage all 23 patients and why to split myself in half as my two interns struggle to treat them and write up all my notes. Go to Temple Street Night Market.

Wednesday: Pick up passport from Visa office with hopefully a new Chinese Visa inside. Simply Thai for dinner. Book Batman tickets.
Thursday: Do laundry before I leave for Malaysia.
Friday: Last day of clinic for two weeks. Go to pick up a Peking duck from the best Peking duck restaurant in Hong Kong. Batman at IFC where it was filmed.
Saturday: Fly for home. Screw Hong Kong!

Why We Have HR

2008-07-06T20:55:00.002+08:00

I was cruising through FaceBook when I saw this:

When a panel of doctors was asked to vote on adding a new wing to their hospital, the Allergists voted to scratch it and the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.

The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the administration had a lot of nerve, and the Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a misconception.

The Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted; the Pathologists yelled, "Over my dead body", while the Pediatricians said, "Oh, Grow up!"

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, the Radiologists could see right through it, and the Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing.

The Internists though that it was a bitter pill to swallow, and the Plastic Surgeons said, "This puts a whole new face on the matter."

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists felt the scheme wouldn't hold water. The Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas and the Cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no.

In the end, the Proctologists left the decision up to some asshole in administration.

On a more sober note, I was reading my magazine and chanced upon this thing called a Demotivator. So for those who spend a whole lot of money on frivolous items, and can't seem to stop please feel free to use this tool to guilt-trip you!

And then there was one

2008-07-04T00:22:00.004+08:00

First there were three..

The Oxford kids have gone back to Oxford. The Power Puff Girls are also gone, with the medic back in Aussie and the ophthalmologist heading to China tomorrow for field work. This leaves me on my own. It's been a long time I was last alone like this and it doesn't feel too good. That's why I did not want to rent outside as I would be going back to an empty house and have no one to talk to (bar the cat but I don't have a cat). However, I must not be reliant on others to provide the entertainment. While it is nice to have people to talk to, to confine and to send stupid bar jokes, it is also important to spend time alone in reflection of the things we do. It is crucial that we are not swept away in a tide of activity and forget the goals we set out to achieve in the first place. I told myself that this place was a place to learn about myself and what I really wanted in life. The social whirl is a great distraction from boredom and loneliness but it can also be in the way of achieving our goals. This time of solitude is godsent to allow me to re-evaluate my decisions as to whether they are the right ones at this point of time.

Food Snobbery

2008-07-02T21:57:00.004+08:00

Mini Bun Towers.

The high cost of fuel has resulted in the average Joe reconsidering their options on where to spend the pennies. While some people may have no qualms and preference on where they shop for food, there are a surprising number of people who are food snobs and refuse point blank to be seen in the local frozen food store. I personally don't have a preference on where I buy my food unless it's chocolate cake where Sainsburys and M&S would top the list.

Hong Kong has the same dilemma as the UK as the cost of living increases. The locals enjoy eating fresh food and refuse to buy food that has been dead more than 2 hour prior to being served at the dinner table. Yes, they are that fussy. Therefore with the higher fuel prices and a more affluent China this has undoubtedly resulted in people having to reconsider the options available. I buy my food where and when it is convenient for me. I don't cook enough but eat out most of the time and as I am one person, the cost of feeding me is the same when I cook or eat out.

Nonetheless, it would be interesting to watch how things pan out. I just hope that the elderly and the very young will not suffer.

Tai Tai-ing

2008-06-30T23:50:00.002+08:00

Today saw half the patients skipping their clinical appointments. While they have a choice to not turn up, it is extremely rude and inconsiderate to not tell us in advance so that we can free up the slots for more appreciative people. This is probably due to the fact that tomorrow is a public holiday for the Hong Kong SAR day, when Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty. So all those calculating Chinese people decided to go on a long weekend without telling their podiatrist.

The medic's friend is going to be in town tomorrow so we will be dimsum-ing as usual. I will also need to finish up the shopping for home as the siblings are expecting presents. Why do I have such fussy and particular siblings in the form of Fat Eagle and Miss Lamby? Noodle brother is much easier to pacify as he is easy-going like me hehe. Maybe I can get them all a bar of soap or something.

The boss tells me there is a rally every 1st of July for democracy in Hong Kong. You see, when the region was returned to China they had a 50 year timeframe to draw up the masterplan for democracy or will revert to communist rule in 2047. So I will go to Central and do my bit for an independent Hong Kong. If I don't pronounce my Cantonese well, it will come out as ' Bau Sun' which is me wanting to carry my grandkid instead of freedom of vote. It is highly likely I will be demanding for a grandkid.

By the way, I want a cute grandkid with brains and would look good in a Hello Kitty suit.

The Price of Fuel

2008-06-28T18:34:00.003+08:00

The price of fuel has rattled a lot of people. The cost of living has increased dramatically with no increase in salaries in the foreseeable future. Lifestyles change to accommodate inflation as we try to battle this in our own ways. The family is glad that we have gotten used to the one car per family, and to using public transport. There are many who see public transport as 'below them' or an inconvenience. If I had lived my whole life in my own country, I would have probably be of the same opinion. Fortunately, living abroad allows me to look at the bigger picture. We have it good that there is no tax on our fuel in Malaysia compared to many other countries where it is taxed up to 200%. I believe to there is hope in public transport. They just need to provide more door-t0-door routes that allow people to travel without relying on driving to the MRT station to catch a train. We need to adjust our habits and change to be able to survive in this time of global economical strife.

Note to self: I shall not shop for unnecessary items.

Typhoon 8 Amber Rain

2008-06-25T17:54:00.004+08:00

Typhoon Warnings.

I woke up this morning to heavy rain and waving trees. It was so tempting to just snuggle back into the duvet and sleep some more but no, today is Wednesday. And on Wednesday I have to go to work. *Think positive thoughts*

Anyways, I ambled to the window to check on the construction site and realised there were no workers about listening to reinforcing communist music. The trip to the pantry also saw no cars in the car park outside. I mean, the banker told me that it would be Typhoon Signal 8 today but I didn't believe him.

So being the chirpy little podiatrist that I was, I skip-hopped to work.. Okay, I tentatively skipped around the puddles to get to work. Just to find the whole hospital deserted. My department door was locked and in darkness. There were no patients in A&E, even the enquiry counter was closed. Then I saw the typhoon evacuation notices and the buses lined up to take people home. I called the boss to find out what was happening and was told to stay indoors glued to a TV until they lift the alert to level 3.

Stay indoors? Hahahaha.. It is my first proper typhoon so obviously I went out to check it out. The shops were closed, the glass doors were all taped up. It was all very prehistoric like in those old HK movies where they tape up the windows. There were no people on the streets. I was hungry and persuaded the Oxford kids to come for dimsum with me. The subway was empty! The streets deserted and only bewildered looking tourists huddling away from the rain were present. The canvas posters on the walls were all ripped and bins had flown away and there was debris everywhere. The restaurant was open because I had called in advance to check, but there were very few customers. So service was exceptional. We got a brilliant view of the harbour front and could see the weather at it's glory.

Happiness was short-lived when they lowered the signal to Typhoon 3 and we had to get back to work. The locals must have been glued to their TVs as we were on our way back home, they were pouring out of the subways to head to work. Crazy workaholics! I went back to work in the afternoon and spent a pleasant afternoon as half the patients decided that it was too much of a hassle to come out and see the podiatrist.

My first typhoon is pretty cool. They have different levels from level 1 where they warn you there may be a typhoon to level 11 where it is dangerous and we have to stay indoors for fear of our lives. The rains have codes as well, with black rain being the most severe rainstorms and we have to stay indoors. I think the local population can be overcautious, as Glasgow has gale force winds and I still wander out in my naivety. However, this country has a history of loss of life from weather conditions and they may be wise to steer on the side of caution. We don't want any cute little Hong Kee girls blown away into the sea do we now?

Monopoly HK Edition

2008-06-24T21:21:00.003+08:00

Monopoly is one of those games that I can never win. Even my sister's pet lamb can win this game while I wallow in debt and live off my generous brother(s). Maybe that's why my father insisted I study some form of business which will hopefully save me from financial ruin.

The knowledge didn't save me, neither did it destroy me. I buy things with my eyes wide open knowing very well that the salesgirls are just trying to squeeze every single penny they can out of me and that the whole 'buy X amount and get Y% discount/free Z gift' is a marketing ploy.

The sister has at least four different Monopoly sets and can manage advanced adult Monopoly while I prefer the Jnr version. I know...I don't like complicated games. Anyway, I had the weirdest dream last night where I was a pawn in the Monopoly game. I was the green person. (My Junior Monopoly has only basic four colours okay, no fancy gadgets and tokens.) Anyways I was playing against random kiasu people and I had to get various property in like 45 minutes. So I grabbed the green token and went to steal the red and yellow one from the other teams scattered around a game board that looked suspiciously like Hong Kong. Unfortunately I didn't manage to steal the blue one before timeout and was almost caught by the evil Yellow Queen who was anorexic and puked into a box made of carrots to stay skinny. However, I managed to slip out of the yellow building with my token right in front of blue vodka drinking guards before the Yellow Queen declared a state of emergency and clamped down all entry and exits to ~~China~~ the Yellow building.

My thought process manages to baffle me time and time again.