14.12.10

Things You Should Know About Me (part II)

I know~ This is a very random topic. But while doing it, in some ways, I get to know meself better...

- Hate precipitation days (rainy and snowy)
- People know me as DramaQueen (not the traditional definition you're thinking)...the name came in because I like to watch movies and dramas (generally the selection is done according to the casting, not the plot)
- Physical appearance counts enormously (I know I know...it's a serious problem of mine)
- When I first meet someone, the first things I analyse are the eyes and hair
- My hair and teeth are the most important things on me...which I sherish the most. Don't you dare and try to mess my hair...unless you want to watch my fist on a close up plan. Have to pay a visit to my dentist soon, to get a pearl white laser bleach + try not to eat too much chocolate and drink too much coffee (it'll stain my darlings)
- Extreme perfectionist and dirtyfreak
- Insanely in love with food made with flour (sandwiches 'but have to be without tomatoes because I hate it when it leaks and make my bread all sloppy', pizzas, buns, pastas, dumplings - Siiigh!!! I'm such a cheap date)
- Shopaholic (at least I'm faithful to my brands - Burberry being my favorite)

- Allergic to alcohol
- Never been clubbing in my entire life, because I hate dancing (I know I'd look like a chimp) and I don't drink...so what's the point? I literally/120% prefer singing. A de más, I hate over-crowded places where you can't even hear what the other person's trying to tell you.
- Will want to have 2 dogs (Boston Terrier and Chihuahua) - Hero (英雄救美) and Beast (美女與野獸)
- Believe black is the colour for class and mystery (black dominates my closet)
- Love diamonds for its eternity signification, toughness, and brilliance
- Into futuristic style/design
- Would love to learn how to play electronic violin
- Family comes before anything else...my mother is the most precious, but can't always get along with father...Hmmm
- All time favorite classic animated Disney movie - The Lion King.
- Like to cook, but can't stand the 油煙味...don't want my clothes to stink and me become a 黃面婆
- Utterly hate fake/copy stuffs...affects my pride
- It annoys me to know that someone's mad at me
- Collections (3): watches, eyewears, and cellular phones
- Favorite style of clothing - duffle coat + boots
- Suffer serious short-term memory disorder

- Hate to receive perishable gifts = food
- Favorite building on this planet - the Empire State and Chrysler building (Americans do have good architectures)
- Hate to be embarrassed/humiliated in public
- My lucky number is 4. It also represents my Sailor Moon character from high school - Jupiter (♃)...although my favorite character had always been Mars and my real astrology planet being Venus

- My favorite letter in the alphabet is X...no matter in which way you look at it, it'll still be an X + it represents mystery and unknown factors + in Roman numerals it stands for 10 (十全十美)
- Hate people who drag their feet when they walk. C'mon, are you that muscleless???
- Hate people who don't cover their mouth when they yawn...dude I don't want to see your blackwhole
- 3 things I hate when going to a cinema/theater: people speaking non-stop to each other, people playing with their phone and people kicking on the back of my seat.


Please!!! Don't judge.

13.12.10

Messy Little Raindrops - The Flood


I really do NEED (yes, need as an essential element and not just want) her new album. Can't wait to see her in the American version of The X-Factor, which btw just break the record of 19.4 million viewers for the season finale. Please!!! Come before I rot.

10.12.10

A Place to Avoid

Note 1: This is not an exageration...it is the holy truth and nothing more than the honest truth.

Note 2: Never thought it would actually happen in real life (not in a movie)...certainly not to me.
------------------------------
This afternoon, I went to Pang Pang karaoke with a friend. Once we were done by 2000, as a ritual, we were trying to think of somewhere to have supper...but this popsicle-freezing temperature left us no other choice than go to the McDonald's (which I swear to boycott from now on) in the corner of Ste-Catherine and Mackay.

Everything was absolutely fine (except the smell of the place) until I started to undress my chicken nuggets. The moment I opened the box, a young man (as an educated young lady, I shall not unveil his nationality) came near our table...sat beside me...and asked if he could take a nugget. I firmly said no, but he took one anyway. A friend of his came to do the same. And another one followed as well. *magical sparks* Half of my supper just disappeared in a blink of my eyes.

No no. That's not the end of the story yet. Continue the reading...

3 or 4 other young men approached our table and started to plunge their never-washed-dumpster-dirty fingers in our fries and took my friend's uneaten burger. Out of rage, I looked into his eyes, gave him my whole tray and told him that he can have.it.all. (now that his fingers and saliva are all over my chickens and fries) and better buy us a new trio before my friend calls the police.

At the same moment, one of the employees noticed and threw all those society-living-garbages out of the place. She also gave us a new trio and told us not to be afraid if it happens again...and throw our beverage to their face. *moment of silence* Wait a second. As a civilized person, I am not going to throw anything at anybody. Moreover, what if he jumps on me with all that liquid on him??? Is it worth it to dirty my duffle coat because of that? Or, what if he slaps me in the face in public? Is it worth it to sacrifice my face for that???

The most unbelievable thing of all during this hard-to-forget incident...the Asian man who sat beside us took his tray and sneaked away instead of helping us. Can we call that a gentleman??? I don't think so. Is he a man to marry??? I don't think so. He can't even be counted as a man.
------------------------------
Lesson 1: If you can't or don't know how to raise your kid...don't give birth or wear condoms or simply remove the 's' activity from your list.

Lesson 2: If you're only 2 innocent ladies, don't ever go anywhere near that McDonald's...no matter what time of the day it is.

Lesson 3: Some men are not reliable...be aware. They might be women in disguise.

8.12.10

There Are No Ugly Women, Only Lazy Women

Some women (one of them being myself) spend a significant part of their life complaining about themselves being ugly, wrinklish, fat, unwanted, unattractive, etc.

With a little lots of money, time and effort (depending on each individual's case) everyone have the potential to be beautiful. For example, go to the gym to do more exercises, buy some products/lotions to moisturize your skin, and buy some decent clothes that fit you right.

If your appearance is hopeless, then...work on  your personality. One's great personality can positively influence one's physical projection into other people's eyes.

If you want to be glamorous...start working on both, your interior and exterior beauty.

Dirtiest Colour

Answer: Grey

Justification: The majority believe black is THE dirtiest, but they're wrong. A stain on a white shirt is black, but dusts on a black shirt appear white. So, if you have trouble managing your cleanliness...make friends with grey clothes.

Note: Even if grey is dirty, I don't despise it...but pink and brown.

7.12.10

Ugly Snow White

Yes. It's true that I utterly hate Snow White (the ugliest Disney princess EEEEVER - side note: my favorite is Jasmine) to the point of wanting to strangle her, but it's not her that I'm talking about.

I had and still have to go to work (to earn my bread) in this horrible snow storm of Montreal. By pure coincidence, MeteoMedia didn't announce any precipitation tomorrow...and I'm working from home. What the hell!!! What's the point of all this???

It implies: Having to carry home an encumbering laptop kit, tonight in this storm. But, won't have to go out in a not snowy day (tomorrow), just to work from 1300-1800 (5 hours).

PS. I'm proud of myself for being the only one who arrived on time, in spite of this weather disaster...and the building's entrance wasn't even shovelled when I got there. =_=' Nice job.

6.12.10

TVB’s 4 Parties

It took me a lot of time to FI.NAL.LY get what I didn't understand for yearsss...why the hell do all my favorite artists suddenly vanished from the industry??? It's as simple as a battle for power between 4 parties.


梁家樹's party:
羅嘉良, 古天樂, 郭晉安, 郭羨妮, 宣萱, 陳慧珊, etc.

Tommy Leung – Head of TVB’s drama production department.
(Artists known for their diamond-class acting - me love)
In 2001, Leung's party was at its peak, as almost all artists under his roof were immensely popular, first-rated, and ratings guaranteed. In subsequent years, after a fierce battle with the Tsang party and the increasing power of Virginia Lok in 2003...most Leung’s artists have already left TVB.

曾麗珍's party:

歐陽震華, 馬浚偉, 黎耀祥, 陳豪, 王祖藍, 蔡少芬, 張可頤, etc.

Catherine Tsang – Head of TVB’s drama production department.

(Artists known for their first-class acting - me love)
Even though artists in Tsang's party are known for their acting skill...they're not heavily promoted, because Catherine put most of her energy in directing and producing series. Moreover, Virginia Lok has a slight advantage being Catherine's direct boss.

樂易玲's party:
鄭嘉穎, 林峯, 吳卓羲, 黃宗澤, 馬國明, 黃浩然, 佘詩曼, 胡杏兒, 鍾嘉欣, 徐子珊, etc.

Virginia Lok – Head of TVB's production and resources department.

(Artists primary known for their "good" look - acceptable)
The fate of all TVB-managed artists rests in her hands. Lok has been responsible for launching the careers of many newer artists, with Kevin Cheng (her "god-son") being the ultimate example.

陳志雲's party:
鄧萃雯, 鄧健泓, Amigo, 陳法拉, 陳敏芝, etc.

Stephen Chan – TVB’s General Manager.

(All left overs - Me hate)
Specializes in supporting/promoting artists who are considered "troublesome" and unwanted by other parties. He's just lucky to have Sheren.

Artists with NO party affiliation:
楊怡, 廖碧兒, 米雪, 惠英紅, 謝雪心, 關菊英, 韓馬利, etc.

Mainly, they're all older generation veteran actresses who already have the skill and have been in the industry long enough to know how things work. They don't bother to follow a leader, because their position's already approved in everyone's heart (like myself).


2010 - TVB 43rd Anniversary Award
Lifetime Achievement Award – Louise Lee (Fair)
Best Series – Can't Buy Me Love (Agree)
Best Actor – Wayne Lai (I was for Moses Chan)
Best Actress – Sheren Tang (Of course)
Best Supporting Actor – Evergreen Mak (No complaints)
Best Supporting Actress – Fala Chen (WTH. Nancy Wu's a better candidate)
Best Performance Award – Moses Chan (Nice)
Best Host – Liza Wang, Louis Yuen, Johnson Lee, Wong Cho Lam [Fun with Liza & the Gods] (Good choice)
Favourite Male Character – Raymond Lam [Kingsley King Pok - The Mysteries of Love] (Pfff!!!)
Favourite Female Character – Charmaine Sheh [Princess Chew Yeung - Can't Buy Me Love] (Ouin)
Most Improved Male Artiste – Raymond Wong (Okay)
Most Improved Female Artiste – Natalie Tong (Waaash!!!)
Most Admirable Programme Award – The Voice 2 (Thumbs up)
Best Variety Show – Hong Kong Architecture (Good)
TVB.Com Popularity Award – Raymond Lam (Right)

1.12.10

Sneak Peek

Like all previous years...I am to post a Christmas wishlist of mine, so that people who feels the desire to buy me a present (within a reasonable price range), won't get me something I don't like need.

Movies: Resident Evil
               Resident Evil: Apocalypse
               Resident Evil: Extinction
               Resident Evil: Afterlife
               Richie Rich
               Speed
               Speed: Cruise Control
               The Ugly Truth
               Lion King
               E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Books: The Mind of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes
             The DefinitiveBook of Body Language by Barbara Pease
             Ridiculous Tongue Twisters by Chris Tait
             The Unofficial Guide to Cruises by Kay Showker
             Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships by Douglas Ward
             Criminals and Their Motivations by Martin Goodman
             Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts
             The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
             The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead by Max Brooks
             The Element Encyclopedia of 20000 Dreams: The Ultimate A-Z to Interpret the Secrets of Your Dreams by Theresa Cheung

Nixon Banks (black)
Apple itouch (8GB might be sufficient)
Sony Ericsson Vivaz (venus red)
Cheryl Cole's book (Through My Eyes) and latest album (Messy Little Raindrops)
A pair of Hunter rain boots (black)
A pair of Micheal Kors rain boots (black)
HP Passport hard drive
Burberry tonal check pouch (black)
Burberry keychain (black star or cube)
Burberry...anything from that brand will bring me to Heaven
Donation to my dentist laser treatment
Contribution to my Dolce & Gabbana ophthalmic eyewear acquisition

+++ Knowing that there are going to be remarkably numerous Christmas parties/get togethers...I have to constantly warn myself that being a non-drinker, I better try to get away with just touching my lips to the alcohol...instead of embarrassing myself by getting sick and possibly spewing the dinner back onto the table.

29.11.10

謝雪心's Unknown Talent

I never really was a fan of 謝雪心, Susan Tse, before (when she was still with ATV). Thus, I never noticed how talented she is...very gracious when she acts AND can sing beautifully. You'll understand what I mean after watching the video (and that is if you know how to enjoy art).

Reference: Her singing 牡丹亭驚夢之幽媾@金曲娛樂真經典演唱會2010

27.11.10

Upcoming Movies (2011)

Within those announced movies to be out in 2011...there sure have lots of sequels.

Worth the wait: Green Lantern, Saw VIII (isn't Saw VII suppose to be the last? My premonition's right. Muwahahah), Mortal Kombat 3, Scream 4, Puss In Boots, GI Joe 2, Underworld 4, Kung Fu Panda 2, 3 Musketeers, Just Go With It, Night at the Museum 3, Wimpy Kid 2, Wolverine 2, and X-Men First Class.

Questionables: Monopoly, Smurfs, Reboot, Alien Prequel, 11-11-11 (LOL why did I at some point see this coming too), Silent Hill 2, Final Destination 5, Terminator 5, Kick Ass 2, and Marvin the Martian.

Waste of time: Last Airbender 2 (will certainly be the biggest joke of the year).

25.11.10

Let Go...Free Thyself

Forenote: It's related to the horrible thing I've done to someone...which I already confessed some times ago.

It's been a while since I'm struggling on forgiving myself and trying my best hoping this person can find a way to forgive me as well. I'm aware that I did something terribly wrong and, in fact, apologized sincerely countless times. Really don't know what I can do more if that person chooses to ignore me (which is somewhat understandable).

So, I've decided to try and let it go...leave that person alone and not bother him anymore. At the same time, I hope to live a happier life by not thinking about it anymore, because life is too short to try and make everyone like/appreciate you (but I'm that kind of person...hate knowing that someone out there is mad at me) instead of enjoying the present moment.

Time flies faster than you think. Let things go...enjoy life to its maximum...don't allow yourself to have a chance to regret.

22.11.10

記憶宮殿

Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci

大家有冇睇 <讀心神探> 啊~~介紹記憶宮殿(最強大的記憶技巧)。
記憶宮殿法的基礎是這樣一項事實:我們非常善於記住我們所知的場所。記憶宮殿是一個暗喻,象徵任何我們熟悉的、能夠輕易地想起來的地方。它可以是你的家,也可以是你每天上班的路線。這個熟悉的地方將成爲你儲存和調取任何資訊的指南。來看看它是怎麽運做的。

運用記憶宮殿法的五個步驟:

1
.選擇你的宮殿
首先和首要的,你需要選擇一個你非常熟悉的地方。本技巧的有效性取決於你在腦海中輕易地再現這個地方並在其中漫步的能力。你必須僅僅用你精神的眼睛就能身臨其境。舉例,一個較好的初步選擇可以是你的家。請記住,你對這個地方的細節的再現越鮮明,你就能越有效地記憶。其次,試著在你的宮殿裏確定一條特別的路線,而不只是再現靜止的場景。也就是說,想象對你家做一次詳盡的巡視,而不只是簡單地把你家圖像化。就像我們將在下一步驟中看到的,這會大大增強本技巧的效果,如果你能按照確定的次序回想起物品的話。對記憶宮殿的選擇,這裏還有一些行之有效的推薦,以及可以採取的路線:你所在城市的熟悉的道路。可能的路線比如你開車上班經過的,或其他你熟悉的街道的順序。現在或者以前的學校。你可以想象從教室到圖書館的道路(或者是去街對面的酒吧,如果那讓你銘記於心的話)。工作場所。想象從你的隔間到咖啡機,或者到你老闆的辦公室(這不難選吧)。風景。想象在附近一帶散步或者你在公園裏慢跑的路線。

2.列出明顯的特徵物
現在你需要注意所選場所裏的明顯的特徵物。舉例,如果你選擇巡視你的家,大門應該是第一個引起注意的特徵物。繼續在你的記憶宮殿裏做虛擬漫步。進門之後,第一個房間裏有什麽?系統地分解這個房間(你可以確定一個標準程式,比如總是從左看到右)。什麽是下一個引起你注意的特徵物?可以是餐廳中間的桌子,或者是牆上的一張畫。一邊走一邊繼續在頭腦中記錄其他的特徵物。它們中的每一個都將成爲一個記憶槽,等下你就可以用來儲存一個特定的資訊。

3.把宮殿牢牢印在腦中
要讓這個方法有效,最重要的就是要讓這個地方或者路線百分之百地印在你的頭腦中。盡你所能去記住它。如果你是擅長形象思維的人,這應該不難。如果不是,這裏有一些能幫上忙的竅門:按照路線親身走上一遍,當你看見那些明顯的特徵物時,大聲地重復。在紙上寫下選擇的特徵物,在腦中巡視它們,並大聲重復。總是從同樣的視角觀看那些特徵物。得明白形象思維是一種技能。如果你仍然感到困難,你可能要先去提高你的形象思維能力。當你相信你已經成功了,再反復幾次。對你的記憶宮殿來說,大量練習你的路線是非常重要的。只要你自信已將路線深深印在你的頭腦中,你就算準備好了。你已經擁有你的宮殿,它將可以反復用於記住任何你要記住的東西。

4.聯繫
現在你是你宮殿的主人,可以好好利用它了。就像大部分的記憶增強方式一樣,記憶宮殿法通過形象化的聯想起作用。過程很簡單:你選擇一個已知的圖像——稱爲記憶挂鈎——和你想記住的要素結合起來。對我們來說,一個記憶挂鈎就是我們記憶宮殿裏的一個明顯的特徵物。記憶挂鈎方法就是改善記憶:講你大腦的語言這篇文章裏描述的方法,如果你還沒看過它,強烈推薦。根據那篇文章的描述,形象化聯想的正確方式是:瘋狂的、滑稽的、討厭的、不同尋常的、超凡脫俗的、生動的、荒謬的——總之,就是那些容易被記住的東西,不是嗎?把場景營造得獨一無二,在真實生活中永遠不會發生。唯一的規則:乏味就是錯。雖然這個技巧能記住大量資訊,先讓我們從簡單的開始:用這個記憶宮殿來記購物清單。假設清單上的第一項是醃肉讓思維送你去你的記憶宮殿。你在頭腦中看見的第一個特徵物是你家的大門。現在,用一種滑稽的方法,把醃肉和你家大門的樣子形象化地結合起來。比如想象巨大的醃肉條像B級片的僵屍一樣從門下湧出來伸向你的腿,這樣如何?去感受醃肉手在你腿上的觸感。去感受那該死的邪惡的醃肉味。這夠讓人印象深刻吧?現在打開門,沿著你已經確定的那條路線繼續走。看到的下一個特徵物,把它和要記憶的下一項聯繫起來。比如下一項是,而第二個特徵物是丈母娘的照片。很好,在這點上你知道該怎麽做……程式都是一樣的,只要保持頭腦中的畫面聯想,直到搞定所有要記的專案。

5.參觀你的宮殿
到這一個步驟,你已經記住了那些專案。但如果你是個新手,你可能還需要做一點復習,至少要把行程在頭腦中演練過一次。如果你從同樣的地方開始並遵循同樣的路線,每當你看到途中選定的特徵物時,要記的東西就會瞬間浮現。路線從出發到結束,注意那些特徵物,並且在腦中重演場景。當你的行程終結,轉過身從反方向走回你的出發點。最後就完全是增強形象思維能力的問題了。你越放鬆就這事越容易,你就能記得越好。

18.11.10

SA Magic Phrase

Countless sales representents have absolutely NOOO clue on what they're or suppose to sell. You ask them information/price about a specific model/item (with the product's name...thinking that it would facilitate their task), the only reaction you'd get is a face of I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about-can-you-speak-in-a-language-I-understand.

BUT...their "professionalism" allowed them to come up with a get-rid-of-the-customer phrase which can subtlely sort them out of the embarrassing situation...

"Everything you see on the display window...is all we have."

Tadan!!! Their job is thus done beautifully.

11.11.10

Cheryl Cole Promise This

After Cheryl Cole's big success of "Parachute" and "Fight For This Love"...her new solo album Messy Little Raindrops (ft. her new single "Promise This") is officialy out and number 1 on the market...AGAIN. ♫joy to the world♫ Here's the new hit all over the world.


At the same time...she also launched her "Promise" pinky ring, a design collaboration with Fawaz Gruosi, the founder of Grisogono. "The first piece from her new capsule collection is a rose gold and blackened silver ring that spells out the word "Promise" with a heart-like "m." The ring is designed to be worn on the pinky finger. It sells for 920 euros (approximately $1,270)." Ayaaa!!! Why so expensive???
  

Through My Eyes by Cheryl Cole is also available...but not in Montreal of course, because we suck. I think I'll have to get my copy on Amazon. Siiigh!!!


WAYYY TO GO Cheryl!!! 2010 is definitely your year. *clap with big hands*

9.11.10

All Good Things Come To An End

One whole month of travelling is a good source of energy...but also a way to make you realise that Home (with a capital H) is the best and warmest place on earth. Quite honestly, I believe 2 weeks is the perfect number to get away...enough to make you forget about your tired everyday life and not enough to make you miss people you care.

Airports
- Montreal's airport is the most technology and design retarded
- Shanghai's very empty if you have to wait 5 hours for the rest of tour members to arrive
- Hong Kong and Beijing's are just huge as shopping malls so you won't have time to get bored.

Airplanes
- If you're not going directly to your destination, but have to be transfered (which is mostly done with smaller planes) remember not to choose the place next to the propeller...it'll make you deaf for the next hour. O_O
- Do not waste your time sleeping...they have now a good selection of old and new movies and TV shows. (if you don't sleep during the flight, you won't have jet lag...trust me)
- Can't understand why people hate plane food. Am I weird if I like them? I mean...they give Häagen-Dazs ice-cream.
- All take-offs and landings are good tests of my bladder control.
- On my way back to Montreal alone (HSK's staying an extra month in Korea)...a grandma was nice enough to put a cover on me just in case I get cold.

Suzhou 蘇州
- Extreme humiliation of a Mainlander...she didn't turn off her mp3 player during the take-off. We could've died because of that piece of ****
- A non logic woman who doesn't have the common sense to lead her seat back-up for me to eat. Literally having her head-rest over my plate.
- People are allow to smoke and speak loud in restaurants and hotel rooms. WTF! I guess I've been spoiled where smoking is prohibited in most places, Montreal.
- Very cheap (110$RMB can buy a dinner for 5), but oily and salty food. I guess "oil" is the cheapest ingredient here.
- Internet connection is snail-slow and networking sites (FaceBook, Twitter, BlogSpot) are just all blocked.
- Forgot to bring my camera's battery charger...had to use my mother's dummy cam during Korea and Beijing (photos might not be the best). Siiigh!!! What kind of memory is that??? Have no one else to blame but myself.
-Starbucks drink sizes are different. We have mezzo, grande and venti; they have tall, grande and venti. When I ordered my usual Mezzo Javachip Frappuccino, it turns out that the lady heard Green Tea Mokka. Euh...is that even drinkable??? It took her 5 minutes to finally get what I really wanted. Why didn't I ordered in chinese? Well, because the menu was only written in simplified chinese and I can't possibly know which is Javachip.
- Went to a temple and hit the gong 3 times to bring health to my whole family.
It is too humid for clothes to dry up if you wash them at night...had to use the hair dryer to blow dry my socks and undies. *sad*
- Watched the Ugly Truth in my hotel room. Muwahahahahah. Gerard and Katherine in China.
- Hospitals here have no names. They're identified with numbers.
- Went to the silk factory. Finally know where SK-II come from.

Nanjing 南京
- My neighbor's mother's 2 friends can sure drink a lot. They have to open 2 bottles of beer at each meal.
- My sister have a new challenge...biking in high heels. lol People would go to work in suits and riding a bike.
- Super 5* hotel with a large plasma TV, wireless keyboard (connection faster than other hotels) and a princess chair.
- A lot of street vendors everywhere. You come out of somewhere and suddenly you see an army of vendors running towards you with their products.
- Just realized that people in China looove to use their own face as their commerce logo. Lack of imagination.
- I'm feeding all moskitos to protect others. Ahhh!!! I'm such a nice and generous person. (in exchange, everyone gave me their special cream...I ended up putting at least 5 different kinds on my legs) Really felt warm. People actually care for other tour members and so I became friends with everyone sitting in the back of the bus.

 Wuxi 無錫
- Purple sand teapot is the most well known product from Wuxi. If you want to be sure to buy the real stuff...well you know where to go. Not only it's top quality, but the deisgn is also nowhere to be seen.
- Visited a pearl industry. SAs in China are very good sellers. After an hour of intensive brain-washing...I bought a grade A pearl necklace for my sister (approximately 250$CAD). I was very tempted to buy one for myself too, but my beloved A-grade-well-designed black pearl cost 8000RMB (around 1200$CAD)

 Hangzhou 杭州
- The world famous SongCheng show was a little boring at the beginning, but it gets better...covered lots of love legends I appreciate.
- My mother got "mugged" at that tea garden...I mean who would buy tea for 500$CAD???
- I'm not very fond to the idea of letting people play with my feet (massage). Anyway I worried for nothing because they ignored me the whole time, thinking I'm not admissible (under age) for the treat.

 Shanghai 上海
- Shanghai's night view is a chinese version of New York's...both beautiful.
- Absolutely have to bargain no matter where you go. Set the price to 1/3 of what the actual asking price is...if they refuse, higher the price a little and if they still refuse...walk away and they'll call you back. In other words, something they ask for 100$...you can have it for 30$ or less (depends on your bargain skill).
- A SUPER line-up at the Expo to get into China Pavillion. Don't know if it's worth it, but I'm utterly happy to get a VIP pass.
- I'm so good. Just realized that I didn't buy anything in the Expo beside food (was surprised that it was delicious).
- All pavillions are amazing from the outside (have no comments for the indoor since I didn't want to stay in line for hours).

 Hong Kong 香港
- Taxis are cheap and everywhere...cannot resist to grab a cab no matter where I need to go.
- Love their MTR too. (have A/C, easy access, have multiple exits, and can walk from a station to another *in my spanish accent* al interior.
- What a good taste for road names...Nathan Road. Hahahahah. (Seriously, I'm not sarcastic. I love the name.)
- In our hotel room, the hairdryer happened to be broken and my adapter converter wasn't compatible. WTF! What's my solution to this (can certainly not go out with my hair undone)...go to a hair salon every 2 days to get a hair wash-cut-dry for only 80$HK.
- Had much fun in Lan Kwai Fong, Gecko bar. And NO I didn't drink anything with alcohol...only a small cocktail...didn't want to end up in a stranger's bed.
- OMG OMG OMG Last time in Hong Kong I had the chance to see lots of celebrities having a party in a restaurant. This time I had the luck to spot Steven Ma in front of Louis Vuitton in Central.
- A humongous cockroach in front of the bathroom door in a restaurant. It's special to have that insect guard your toilet door. You can be certain that I'm not dare to go in...although I did because I wasn't able to hold it anymore.
- DimSum experience in 7eleven...failure (we literally over cooked)

 Macau 澳門
- First thing we saw in the ferry station was 2 women pointing and yelling at a man in public. What a humiliation. I was sitting beside them and was terribly scared that those women would hit me accidentally.
- Casinos-hotels-resorts in Macau are impressive. I got the opportunity to see the Grand Waldo (where my mother reserved), the Venetian (the one I always wanted to see...the one in Las Vegas is my next target), MGM Gran (to see the lion, of course), and Wynn (the golden tree and golden dragon presentation left me speech less).
- We boycott Lisboa. It's the only one who asks for a proof of expense in their casino before we could use their shuttle bus.
- People guarding the door asked me for a piece of identification in order to let me in. Euh...do I look THAT young???
- Have to honestly admit that Portuguese tarts are better than egg tarts. I shared a half-dozen with my friend, but I could've finished them myself.

 Korea 朝鲜/韓國
- Not staying in an hotel, but an officetel (with a heating floor) = office + hotel. The door lock is by code...which is very awesome. Thinking of installing one for my room.
- Lots of churches everywhere.
- Advanced technology in metro: have air con, toilets, movement sensor esaclators, touch screen maps, tv, tells you which side to exit, and an elevator connected to the outside.
- People seems to like pushing me.
- The main thing we do in this country is eat and shop.
- Went to a traditional restaurant where you have to leave your shoes outside the room, sit on the floor and wait for the waiters to bring in the table full of food.
- Speaking of food, I think I ate too much over-spicy food...felt sick and vegetable for a day.
- Saw a guy with a condoms-print tie. I truthly hope he won't ever find out. LOL
- E-mart is a place like Costco, but only bigger and more food stands. Mmmm
- Koreans looove caffes. You can find at least coffee shops on each street. The most special  ones we went are surely Star Wars Caffee and Hello Kitty Caffee (which I enjoyed killing her)
- This is where I start to miss home and my mamaaa.
- Adidas is my real thing...here they have Samdidas.
- It is NOT possible for foreigners to visit Korea alone...there're no english sign and local people don't speak english.
- Bought a passport case, but had to return it because it doesn't fit...the SA refused to make a refund because it was an open box. Well...how am I suppose to know that it doesn't fit if I don't try it? Apparently, you're suppose to test it with the sample...but who shops with their passport in their bag???
- Most memorable person in Korea? Shin Won Lee, HSK's cousin. She's such a nice person...she brings us wherever we want to go, invite us to expensive dinners and gave me lots of compliments.

Beijing 北京
- A man in our tour forgot his passport home...so his wife had to travel alone and he had to go home. lol
- A stupid kid spent the entire flying time kicking on my seat and her parents say nothing. What kind of education is that???
- Don't have much photos of meself, because I can't possibly always take photos of myself or ask people around.
- My backpack is at everyones service.
- It is not even a question, I would definitely go back to Beijing once more. Only an hour in the gorgeous Forbidden City and the Great Wall...it's far from sufficient.
- No shopping at all during this tour. *depression* At least I'm lucky enough to have found my beloved candies.
- Greatest deception for the Beijing duck. Even those in Montreal and Toronto are wayyy better.

Trivia
- I do feel tall (at least average) in China. Muwahahahahah.
- Forgot to bring my camera charger and thus have to use my mother's dummy.
- Since day 1, people assume I speak mando the moment I set foot in a store.

- People there are only unilingual. I'm lucky to know mando...just failed for Korea.
- "There are still so many smokers in China I'm afraid the world's tobacco industry would collapse if China suddenly decided to ban smoking all together." (from Kelly Hu)

- If the smoking didn't kill me, the driving might have.  At many occasions we're just missing head on collisions or kill some pedestrians by inches.
- Everyone think I'm 15-16 and wonder why I'm not at school, but travelling.
- Put in the garbage all unwanted and worn clothes...don't have to do my laundry and make more space for new clothes. Incredible strategy. *thumbs up to myself*
- In Canada, people cover their mouth when they cough...In China, I have to cover my face when people cough.
- Miserable squat toilets...no seats (only a hell whole) and no toilet papers. So most of the time I have to hold it for as long as I could. After all this time, I still haven't master the art of those hell wholes and my pair of Converse suffered the consequences (RIP after a month of intensive work out). If you think positively, it is a good way to train your biceps femoris and rectus femoris.

- When drivers get on the wrong road, instead of taking the next exit and find the right way...they would immediately make a u-turn and literally drive in the opposite direction of the traffic.
- If you ask me what i've seen during the trip...I'd say the tour guide's flag.

P.S. Bonus materials are available if you have earned my friendship-trust package.

26.10.10

Alive Not Dead

Giving a sign of life before Blogspot, Twitter and Facebook close my account.

Just in case you're wondering...I haven't post anything in weeks because I'm still not back from my one month trip and not because I'm dead or something.

I will definitely update everything when I get back (annecdotes and photos).

Heads up: you better save at least an hour to read the upcoming post (unless you're a close friend of mine...then I'll tell you everything personally). It'll take an eternity to update what's been going on for a month.

Anyway, the suspense have to maintain for another week. Please be patient. I promise to make it up to you with juicy stuffs.

Btw, I'm quite happy I haven't forgot my english and french after all that time. (forgive me if I did make mistakes)

4.10.10

Master Of The House

As the Master of my house (master of cleaning that is), I'm afraid I'll see inches of dusts the day I'm back from Heaven. -_-' What can I possibly do to prevent this from happening???

Make a simple-detailed-scheduled list of chores for my sister to follow. But...I can't stand next to her and make sure she does them correctly, right?

*headache*

In this particularly hard moment, my little genius came to help. The genius me brought up a wonderful plan. That is to give the list to my grandma and have her annoy my lazy sister until she does them ALL before letting her out of the house with her boyfriend. *sound of a million dollar winning slot machine from Sin City* Siiigh!!! Sometimes I do admire ideas coming from the other me. XD *thumbs up*

30.9.10

Foretaste of Beijing

I'm very excited to visit Beijing...the Forbidden City and Great Wall, etc. WOW!!! I'm wondering why I love those places that much? Maybe one of my long-time-ago lifes happened there? Who knows. Maybe I was even the Empress 武則天. *evil laugh* (think of Scar in Lion King) Muwahahahah!!!

Anyway. Remember how I was happy to learn that Kelly Hu is spending 3 months there to take mandarin classes? Well, looks like (with a 68 font size "I") I'll be there at the same time. HouRAY!!! She posted some of her interesting and hilarious anecdotes on her blog. This can certainly give me an idea and some tips on going to China. Take a look at what she wrote:

Just arrived in China yesterday morning.  Got my apartment all scrubbed up and set up in one day.  Let me tell you, it wasn't an easy job.  The Chinese idea of cleanliness is something I just can't get used to.  For example, I have little dogs on my floor which I thought I would love since I miss Mushu, right?  Well, the dogs are sweet enough but the owners think it's okay to let the dogs out everyday to do their business on the hallway floors!  I mean, WTF!?!  There's pee and poop right in the hallways.  I have to make sure I remember to look down before I step out of the apartment from now on.  Might be hard to remember with all the jet lag and morning classes.

On the subway home from class today, a young woman found the need to talk to me in Chinese.  She was using a hushed tone and I couldn't understand what she was saying but she kept pointing to her chest and my chest.  I finally figured out she was letting me know that my top button of my shirt was undone.  I left it like that on purpose.  Nothing falling out or anything, just your average low cut V neck, but then I remembered a guy staring at my chest in the elevator.  On the walk home I realized that women here have very small breasts and tend to keep them well tucked away.  No wonder people here are infatuated with my enormous B-cups.  Well the beautiful weather will start going away and I'll be covering them up soon enough.  Until then, let the Chinese men enjoy.

[...]

Day 3 in Beijing started on my own catching the subway to my Mandarin class.  This time I was more conservatively dressed but I still stuck out like a sore thumb.  I think I'm just much rock-n-roll for Beijing.  Funny, I feel so tough compare to all the women here with my buckled boots and leather jacket.  In New York I feel like a wimp.  Small chance I'll be getting mugged here.

Figured out something very important today.  The subway map I downloaded from the internet before leaving LA is out of date.  Of course, the subway line I'm on has been completely revamped.  Thank goodness I remembered my guide, Mable, telling me in passing on day 1 that the subway station looks so new because it's only about a year old.  Unfortunately there are no new maps available at the subways station, so I spent the time on the subway jotting down all the differences, looking like a complete foreigner, once again.  After all of that, I realized I had my camera with me and I could simply take a photo, duh.

[...]

Found a Wal-Mart here in Beijing.  Woo Hoo.  And Guess what!  They even sell live turtles!  Unfortunately not as pets but rather to eat.  Yuck.

Took my first cab ride today.  It was peak hour so cabs where super scarce.  Took me all of an hour just to get one!  I kept stopping caucasian people to ask, first, if they spoke English (all of them did) and then, asked their advice on catching a cab.  One guy told me  to go to a hotel to find one.  I asked what I should tip the doorman for getting me a cab and he said people don't tip here in China.  I love that!  The idea of tipping drives me crazy sometimes.  I love a society where you don't have to think about that.  Of course, I did end up tipping the door-person when she got me a cab anyway.  Just didn't feel right to leave without doing it.

[...]

Watched some international ping pong tournament on tv today.  It's amazing how interesting ping pong can be when you don't have anything else to watch in your language.  People take their ping pong very seriously here.  I wonder if ping pong athletes in China get lots of ass like professional athletes in America?
Got this thing to make my internet stronger today and all of a sudden a whole bunch of backlogged email came pouring in from the past few days.  I was wondering why I wasn't getting responses from people.  Thought nobody loved me.  Missed some pretty important email's, too, including one from my agent saying they want me for another episode of Hawaii 5-0!  Guess I'll be jumping on a plane  next week to Hawaii.  Of course, just when I feel like I'm getting settled here and things are getting really good I have to leave.  But I'll be back right after I'm done.  Sooooo much more of Beijing to discover!
OMG. Remind me that I have to update my blog too, while I'm there.

29.9.10

The X Factor Season 7 Auditions

I'm a little behind schedule...just finished watching The X Factor's season 7 auditions. It is so far so good. Some of them really have potentiels...nice swagger, strong voice, and good looking.

But as usual, I have greater moments enjoying the bads by laughing myself out. I mean...how can those people not hear themselves and realise how bad they are? Why on earth can't their family and/or friends tell them, instead of let them humiliate themselves in front of thousands of people AND (most important of all) torture the audience? What did we do to merit that???

Anyway, at the end, I still have to admit that I can accept bad singing people as long as you have a great attitude and seem to enjoy yourself. But...


This is PHE-NO-ME-NAL/UN-BE-LIE-VA-BLE/LE-GEN-DA-RY. Call me small potato or whatever you like, but I've never seen something similar before.

Ear Dropping

I don't know if people are concern that it is not quite polite to ear drop. Yes!!! OKAYYY!!! Fine!!! I confess that I like to do that when I'm bored in public transports, restaurants, or bathrooms. (at least I'm being honest, right?) But I didn't know that one will actually give her own comments out of nowhere to some strangers. *chuckles* Can you be more obvious about it? It's literally telling everyone else that you're listening to their conversation and don't have a functional brain to shut your mouth or at the very least say something which makes sense.

Where do those people come from??? Was I having the same education as they have? I'm starting to fear the future.

28.9.10

Birth Of A New Blog

This blog came to life after the death of it's 3 siblings.

I voluntarily killed the oldest *ashamed*, the second was stolen by an unknown jerk, and the third one will be terminated by Live Spaces. *sob* I hope this little baby will stay with me for the rest of my life.

It took me ~10 hours to import all memories from others to this one (still not done and not to mention that I can't import comments from previous posts). What's left??? Try to put back my photo albums and lists. Ohlala!!! My eyes burn, my back hurts and I can't feel my fingers anymore.

I’m Alive

Just feel that I have to write something to keep my page alive. (even if it’s not significant) Isn’t it funny how I’m suppose to be doing more activities and go out more often during summer time, but have less to share? Siiiigh!!! Guess I’m just spending my time on intensive tv series watching.

A whole day of churh visiting in Quebec City with aunty and cousin from HK. Thank Goddess it didn’t rain a drop. *claps* Photos should follow, the moment my not-too-fast-working aunt decides to send them to me.
  
For supper, after long non-decisive discussions, we finally went to Europea (one of those classy retaurants I’ve always wanted to try). It has a keuwl interior design, nice waiters, great concept and good food presentation. Anyway, all this just to say that everything’s a sugar to my eyes, but when it comes to taste…it can’t be compared to Cavalli.

Hope to have the opportunity to try more exotic/special restaurants. Lets save some $$$.

You Think You’re Smart??? (Part VII)

Why can’t all Countries be on the same region and use the same voltage???

Now I’m FORCED to buy a region-free bluray player and an universal AC adapter converter.

8.31 Incident

The month of August ended in disaster/catastrophee…not the way I would wanted.

Long story short: I had some tensions with a close friend of mine because of some ridiculous incidents and people.

Long story long: If we trace back the origin of the problem…it all started with the Visa.

To be able to get into China, we have to get a Visa (I hope you know that) and thus my kind aunt went all the way to Ottawa in order to save everybody some $$$. The glitch here is that she won’t be able to go to Ottawa herself to pick them up. What was her solution? Give the receipt to a friend, also a high school friend of mine (who happens to work in that deserted city), so this person can bring them back to Montreal when she’ll be back (on Friday night) for the weekend. Do not think that this plan is working in splendor. The little complication is the fact that my friend wants to go to Vermont with her Honey Bear (leaving Friday afternoon), which requires a passport (I hope you know that too)
to get through the US boundary.

This wouldn’t be such a big deal if my aunt’s friend/my high school friend have nothing better to do than go to the Embassy, pick up our passports and post them back. But…life isn’t always going as well as we wish it will. Worst case scenario…my close friend will have to go to Ottawa and pick them up.

Looking from another angle, it is completely understandable if that Ottawa friend refuses to do it, because it means that she has to spend her lunch/personal time to do us a favor. I was surprised that she ended up accepting the demand. Muuucho gracias!!!

My close friend and I had an argument on that, because she was so frustrated that she said not wanting to go to our trip anymore. At first, I was on my nerves too, because I did everything I could, trying to make things work…and all I get in return was dissatisfaction. After a moment for meself to calm down and think over the situation (put myself in my friend’s position), I can understand why and how important this is to her. I kindly apologized for being a little rude over the phone…and things are back to their initial state. *strongly hope*

Ha! That’s not all. Don’t you dare think that it is over. There’s a part 2 to my miserable journey.

We have to also book flight tickets (for a small group of 6 people) to go from Shanghai to Hong Kong. The website was malfunctionning:
  • It keeps saying "your session has expired" at every 2 minutes
  • It indicates Sold Out after me booking for 3 tickets -_-’ What am I suppose to do? Have the others take the following flight? Nonsense.
  • Called the help line (stayed on the phone for ~50minutes) and had a hard time understanding his accent (at least he’s kind)
  • Finally found out that there are places left…just not shown on the site. WTH!!!
  • That representant tried to put the total on MY Credit Card *exhales* Do I look like I have enough $$$ to pay for 6 tickets???
  • Received an email with only our names…no total and no detail
  • Sent an email back to ask for a proper receipt and when we’ll be receiving our etickets…still waiting for an answer
Did I tell you how much I *with a dictator’s voice* HATE waiting and knowing that someone’s mad at me??? Well...

You Think You’re Smart??? (Part VI)

(read it somewhere on a website) Here’s an interesting question for YOU…smart arse.

If drinking and driving is illegal…why do bars have parking spaces???