Back from Macau and Hong Kong

Back from Macau and Hong Kong, another adventure exploring the unknown.

One week of sight-seeing, shopping, photo-taking and lots of walking. Hong Kong is said to be a food paradise. I think all the walking is enough to burn off whatever extra calories I've put on.

It was good to have company on this journey. At least I could share the huge portion of food that Hong Kong offers. :) Having the locals to bring us around also made things so much more convenient, and it was a joy conversing with them, half the time trying to decipher the Cantonese dialect.

And my toy must have had lots of fun. Freaking 1400+ photos taken. Spent the whole day going through them, and even after the selection, it's still a freaky number of 1090.

Also got to fulfil one of my childhood dreams - Disneyland! I was a kid for that day, going totally crazy over Stitch, and maybe a little over Mickey. Yes I kissed Mickey. haha.

Now it's back to the usual routine. I really can't wait for my next travelling adventure again.



*will slowly upload the photos to Flickr and Facebook.*

Crazy?

Given my hot temper, somebody, particularly a stranger, calling me "神经病" (crazy) would send me cursing and swearing.

But today, I just raised my brows, while the thought of what-is-this-world-turning-into ran through my mind, and the day went on very soon after.

Perhaps I was too tired, too preoccupied with all the rush in meeting the deadlines. Or perhaps my EQ is getting better.

I'm just re-affirming myself that I don't need to give a damn to what people say about me. It doesn't matter. I am who I am, and I live my own life.

Time to take a break.

Cats - The Musical

This is not one of my favourite musicals, but nevertheless, it was still quite entertaining.

There were moments the entire theatre was filled with giggles, laughter and applauses. There were also moments I was nearly bored to death.

The music wasn't that fascinating (I still love the music from The Phantom of the Opera), the set was too cluttered that I felt it was quite distracting. The plot wasn't that great either. Only the colourful costume/make-up and the choreography were worth watching. But since I'm not a dance-person, a couple of times my mind was drifting somewhere else.

What makes this musical different from the others, is that there were interaction between the audience and the cast. The cats would actually come down from the stage, fiddling with your bag, scratching your arms. A few cats were even spotted around the circle seats. Imagine they would have to run from the backstage all the way up to the 4th level to mingle with the crowd for a few seconds, and then back down to the stage again. Very physically demanding for these poor cats. They were actually panting when they got to the top level.

Sadly, most of the interaction were limited to the stall seats and the front row areas, and the dynamics of the show were very much reduced when looking down from the 4th level. I can't complain much, what I've got was a complimentary ticket.

I still stand by my rationale, I would only get tickets for stall seats when watching musicals. Pointless to pay for a ticket that doesn't allow you to enjoy the musical to the fullest.

busy kids?

It makes me wonder what can kids be busy with. My kid told me that she was too busy, so she couldn't study for her spelling, and couldn't finish the homework I assigned her.

Busy watching cartoons? Busy playing computer games? Busy going out to play?

I couldn't agree more that children shouldn't be deprived of their playtime, because playtime is a good avenue for them to explore their creativity and to develop skills. But I also believe that it's never too young for children to learn their responsibility as a child to parents and as a student.

I don't think I'm the evil teacher who forces the kid to do tons of homework and finishes the whole book of assessment. Never once I've assigned more than 5 pages of homework for each subject. Not because I doubt the kid's ability in completing the homework. She could easily complete them, the guessing game is like chicken feet to her.

I only give a few pages of homework, because I know I will take ages to finish going through all the corrections, because I know despite me repeating the explanations umpteen times, she still wouldn't get it.

She's not dumb, she's just not smart, academically-wise. Any child who could come up with all sorts of possible excuses is not stupid. I just couldn't stand the attitude. Sitting there, saying 'don't know' without hesitation, and waiting for me to give direct answers.

I don't expect a 11-year old kid to understand the underlying rationale of achieving good results. But if the kid is not willing to learn, no matter how much effort the teacher is putting in, it's not going to work.

Richard Poon

I'm starting to fall in love with his voice. :D

Richard Poon, another brilliant singer from the Philippines. He is actually a Taiwanese, but he has been residing in the Philippines for many years already. And yes, he speaks fluent Tagalog.

He sings the jazz 'Big band' music, and he's really good at it. He was even given a music award for being the most popular/best lounge music singer in the Philippines. :) Hence dubbed as the Philippines' only Big Band Crooner. wooh~

Listen to his music:

Richard Poon - I'll Take Care of You


Richard Poon - The Last Time


Richard Poon - Kahit Maputi Na Ang Buhok Ko


:D

*Yeah! New blog header!*

Another letter to Ah Gong

Dear Ah Gong,

How have you been? All of us went to visit you today, did you see us? We brought you some of your favourite food, and your teh. I hope you have had a good time savouring them.

It has been almost 7 months, but you know you are always in my thoughts, and I know you are also looking over me from up above.

It has been quite some time since the last family gathering during the Chinese New Year. For the first time I wasn't around with the family during the New Year, but I know you were supportive of my decision. I haven't been seeing the rest of them since then, but for a moment, we all seemed to be looking much older (wiser I hope).

I miss Ah Ma's cooking as well. I haven't been eating dinner at home lately, and I would only get to see her and Po-po occasionally, at the void deck on my way to work. Sometimes I wished that time could be turned back to years ago.

You must be having a good time, enjoying the afternoon right now. Checking out your new fridge and new car perhaps? I will find Marlboro for you, and give it to you on my next visit. :)

I miss you.