Ashleigh and Pudsey

And so through facebook recommendations I ended up with this video:

And I got addicted definitely...and I saw more of their stunts...
Check out the Semi Finals and the full version of the Finals too :)
Simply amazing.
Yeah, I love dogs, and will never stop loving them.


Patty, I miss you a lot too.
Why didn't me and my sis train you to be someone like Pudsey when you were born? XD
LOL.

Lego Madness

And I never know that Hong Kong people can go so crazy over Lego.
It somewhat amazed me.

I saw this advert on Facebook yesterday and was struggling whether to go. Well, I would love to go as Lego is something pretty cool and I do play it a lot when I was young and well who knows I might pick up something cool and cheap through the warehouse sales and refresh my childhood memories. And the reason not to go? It's damn far away from my home and I'm a little worried that it might not turn out to be something as cool as I thought.

Still, I decided to go and I reached the venue at around 10.45am.
S>H>O>C>K>I>N>G. I'm no.693 in the line. 

 And I hear chatters around me saying that some people came to line up straight after the English Premier League match at 6am @.@ and it'll be at least another 2 hours to go at my current position. After much thinking, I decided...to stay, and chose to believe that it shouldn't take that long.

And what have I discovered?
- Almost everyone around me are super Lego fans.
- People can spend over HKD10000 on all these Lego products. (And that's the amount of cash they brought here lol as the sales only accept cash payments)
- People with large purchases needs to order a delivery van or at least need to have their own car to transport those Lego-s.
- The most popular Lego is the "Castle城堡" and the "Big Ship(?)帆船" which I have no clue at all but I keep hearing people discussing about those.

And so, just because I made all the way there and lined up for X hours, I got myself the spaceship set.... say "Yay!" to me! Haha.

[Seriously I went through a lot of drama before getting this set LOL]

A couple of shouts.

A couple of funny/interesting things that happened this week that I would like to share....

1) The Bank of China issued 2 million commemorative notes in Hong Kong in order to celebrate the 100th anniversary of BOC. And people went up for grabs like crazy. The lines were crazy, people line up for 10 hours to buy the notes. The 2nd hand prices were super crazy too. It was sold at HKD150 from the banks and it was valued at around RMB800 in the market. Wohoo....good profit here...it made me felt like buying too. They call those "middle-men" trying to make profits the "yellow-cow"s. LOL.

2) There's this interesting ceremony called the "borrow money from guan-yim" ceremony which happened on Fri, 17th Feb. People starting queuing up since the night before at places that are near to guan yim temples, including the football court just beside the building I live in, and the queue was there all day long...as in it was still there when I came back from work at 8pm. It's amazing to see how Hong Kong people are so into this tradition ....I guess it "works" in some way and that's why people are still following it.

3) The debate. Most Malaysian Chinese would know what I'm talking about hehe. Yeah....and facebook is truly "scary"....photos and videos and pages and sites and comments and more sharing are everyone within just a couple of hours after the debate. And the focus of the debate would be lady of MCA Selayang, and now better known as the parking lady, or "kak tunda" in Malay. Hmm...and you could look the whole debate if you're interested. 

A production of my uni

This documentary was actually aired in several television stations in HK a couple of weeks ago. I guess it's a pretty cool thing.

Well, it is definitely a miracle. Especially for those founders who witnessed the establishment till the growth of the university since 1988+.

Although I really hate the study-stress I had all the while in HKUST, I still have no almost no regrets for choosing to come over. (Well, sometimes I do think that things will be so much simpler if I hadn't choose this path). But being in HKUST for three years had made me seen so much more than I've expected, so much that I think I've realized more of what I actually enjoy doing, and what I am capable of.

Well, back to the topic. This great uni has really great research and great opportunities for people who share the vision to make a little difference to the society, and bit by bit, to the world. And although it's true that me and many of my peers are not directly related to the video (some very high-tech results and mostly postgrad related), I'm still proud to see this video and proud to say that I'm an HKUST alumnus. 

The squeeze

The first time ever....I had to wait for the FOUR MTRs before my turn to get on board.

The peak hours for the peak areas in Hong Kong Island would be from 5pm till perhaps 7.30 or 8pm.

Lucky me, if I am working in Central, I can get on board easily as the Central is the first stop of the line I'm taking, and usually I will try to secure a place to sit and stay in my own world till I reach Mongkok, which is just 5 stations away. 

But if you have to switch lines, i.e. from Hong Kong Island to Tsuen Wan line it is definitely a disaster. 

Admiralty, the interchange station will be so full that might make me give up going back home on time when I see it. Haha, I [might] rather go back home a lil later to not squeeze in with the crowd. 

T-shirt reflecting the crowd in HK=.= And Lucy on the first row is ANGRY.

The experience was painful. I was waiting with the crowd of god knows how many people and I decided to take my own sweet time until I got the space to get into the MTR. After four trains had passed, it is finally my turn and I just stood on wherever tiny space I got in the train and boooooooom I was on fire when people behind me just couldn't stop SQUEEZING. YES, and so they PUSHED. Well I wouldn't mind that much if I wasn't standing behind a primary school kid. I was trying to go against the pressure on my back cause I really don't wana push the kid and cause any uncomfy-ness. But the pressure behind me is just crazy. I almost couldn't stand it and bang on the kid and his mum started protecting him after noticing the crazy pressure around him. Yes, it's just unbelievable.

And well, people are just so used to this right? So used to it that they just don't make any sound and just accept the squeeziness and the pressure everyday. Well, perhaps making noise wouldn't help anyways so why bother. So used to it that they might be one of those people who tries their luck by sucking in their belly as much as they could to get in the last tiny tiny lil spot in the MTR......

Hmm........無奈。

讓人心寒的

兩個星期前，《都市日報》的封面讓我一驚，不知該說什麼好。

兩歲的小女孩被車輾過，十八路人視而不救。

這社會到底是怎麼啦？

這還不夠，事發之後竟然還有種種搗亂電話事件以及拾荒婆婆被說閒話之事還真叫人心寒。之後才從朋友口中聽說此事是因為好幾年發生的《彭宇案》，此後國內路上就很難再有什麽好人的了。

心寒呀心寒。

我唯有希望這世界會從此事變得好一點，quote女演員姚晨在微博對悅悅的祝福【但願天堂沒有車來車往】吧……

One of the food

This is one of the food that I kinda enjoy in HK. 

This one is with 鮮蝦雲吞:). HKD25.

It's called 貴州酸辣紅薯粉 (well it's a type of noodles). And I always prefer to have it as spicy as I could take it....
And erm, as much as my tongue and taste buds like it, I guess my stomach doesn't really like this type of spiciness....

Anyway, I don't care. I will still eat it...... occasionally.

Thanks to Su Yi and Alex Choo's treat^^


Owh by the way, it's NATIONAL DAY of PRC!! I did thought of going out for the fireworks at Tsim Sha Tsui...(well since we're not that far away anymore) but maybe...I'm already too old for all the squeezing and tip-toeing HAHA...Happy Birthday ^^!

A change in season, timezone, and living style.

It's no longer Spring. It's Summer. I did not keep my promise....instead I kept myself busy like hell for the past 3 months. 
ごめんなさい～～～


Well, it's true that in general Westerners have a better quality of life, so guess what, (most of you might have known) I am now in Vancouver, Canada! Currently a Global Leader and Local Counselor for this program called Bodwell's University Summer Programs. And so now I finally have some time to update my blog :):)

久違了大家~~

Doggie on the journey....as usual :)

This is my first day here and the thing that excites me most would be the WEATHER! Owh thank god it is like HK's winter here....daily temperature between 20-25 degree Celcius. And I can survive in my room without a fan.What a relief from all the sunburn suntan I got during my trips to China in June+July! Owh and speaking about my room, yes I HAVE MY OWN ROOM. wow...isn't that exciting?

Before I arrive I was kinda worried about the 16 hour flight and jet lag and stuff. But after that...I realized that I am such a pig that I can sleep anytime I want. I am extremely tired though, and I guess it's not because of the jet lag but rather the lack of sleep for the past few weeks when I am on work or on service trip.

Ah, I am goina have an exciting journey here I bet.
Sooooo looking forward~~~ 

HKUST's 20th Anniversary Celebration :)

20th Anniversary Signature Board, and my signature 

It's a whole day thing. 3 classes skipped, and I do feel guilty about that. But...it's something that I've committed at the beginning of the semester and I will keep my promise. It's a huge celebration and it's really nice to be part of this event anyways :)

The VIP room, and view out of HKCEC.

And so we got a coach to send us to Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. But no coach back. We got Chinese food lunch boxes prepared for us, but not invited for the table dinner (well, we heard that some student associations got invited...hmm, why not us...we're here for the whole day....). We had the rehearsal for around 5-6 times, a really short and simple rehearsal. After all, we will only be officially in the ceremony for around 5-8 minutes max. 

And the most anxious part is that (as mentioned in my previous blog entry)...I was a THAI today, instead of Malaysian. Well, our roles (as international students) is to wear our national costume and kick off the start of the ceremony and welcome our officiating guests into the hall. And since the school can't find any Thai students to be in the ceremony, they got me to dress up in the Thai costume instead. To be honest, I do feel kinda misrepresented. Imagine what'll happen if a person comes up to me and speak Thai all of a sudden? That'll be scary man......

Spot me in the photo? Haha...cheers, almost 20 nationalities here!

Anyways, I had a lot of nice food today. And I think it's pretty meaningful to witness this huge event as well...many BIG NAMES were here including the CE of HK, and even our ex-President, Prof Paul Chu.
So enjoy the photos here people.....

Owh I love the chocolates. Tasted like some high-class ones..and the design of the display is super cool too. Everything is made of chocolate!

Small lil tarts, cute and nice.

Guess what? I had like THIRTEEN strawberries this evening!! ^.^ Super sweet and yummy :)

All the best to HKUST, and to those who have yet to check about events in conjunction with the 20th Anniversary, do check out its official page!

There were many bouquet of flowers around...fresh and really nice!

Owh ya, one more exciting thing, I met Risa in the event, the girl in Japanese Yukata. She used to be a student in the International School of Kuala Lumpur, and I had spoken to her and her mum when I went back to Malaysia to promote UST in September 2009. I was hoping that she'll come by so that I will have a friend to help me in improving my Japanese, and at last I meet her today! ^^

幾件事

有不很開心的，有讓人滿足的，也有……感動的。

今天的LANG堂里，老師要我們每組介紹一個我們認為persuasive的廣告。我的同學介紹了這個廣告……

因為我很想媽媽，很想我家人。所以感動了，課堂里不禁流了幾滴眼淚……但沒有什麽的。只是太想念而已。
好了，不說這個，說下一回事吧……要不然讀著我的部落格要你流眼淚也不太好……呵呵。

上完第一堂課，去了學校二十周年慶（下個星期五有個大歡慶會哦！詳情我遲些再報上來）的briefing session，然後再去上Psychology。

吃了LG1的油雞肉燥飯當午餐。

The RM3 smaller portion chicken rice has so much more chicken than this!

這應該是我開學以來第四次在學校餐廳用餐。果然，是讓我很失望的。那片油雞，長長一塊切成好幾片，偏偏幾乎都是骨頭，吃什麽呀=.=而我可以點了有肉燥的這一份是因為我真的很喜歡吃豆干，被你charge extra $2 （normal的燒味飯是$20，燒味飯+肉燥是$22）不是讓你大大減少燒味肉的分量耶……太不可思議了。This explains why I don’t like eating on campus…

吃完了以後，就是準備Student Information System的training的時候了。有點緊張，也有點期待。結果七位學生里有三位是我認識的，呵呵，尷尬，我這個不夠班的"instructor"，可能會讓人覺得很奇怪吧……

事情還算噢崎，畢竟這是第一次，我還有些問題是不會解答的，但下一次應該會好一些的，我相信。

介紹一下吧，Student Information System是大學因為3-3-4新的教育制度將推出的新系統，最主要的改變就是學生的course registration。新的system不叫course registration咯，叫class enrollment。還有很多其他改變，陸陸續續大家都會知道的了。我現在和另外一位ITSC的staff是Ambassador Seed。負責幫忙推動整個change management，train 十八位Ambassador Leads，然後再train全校差不多500位Ambassadors…聽起來有點嚇人吧……呵呵。不過這經驗，真的挺不錯的。

開了一個簡短的會議，就去UST Great Minds的活動。LTA的capacity大概是400人吧……去的好像差不多有450-500人耶，這個實在太厲害了！

哦，我不是說還有感動的事嗎……這裡有好幾個professor的分享，挺感動的。

其中一個算是我印象比較深刻的，就是分享"A journey towards happiness"的Prof Chow。他說，人生就之活一次，不能再重來。如果我們只想著之前所做錯的事而不向前看，那我們永遠都不會快樂。Happiness is short，there is no such thing as eternal happiness。然後他的ppt里最後出現了"幸せ"這日本詞兒……我聽了覺得挺有共鳴的。

嗯。快樂，幸福，不都就是這麼一回事嗎……

遲些他們將活動的影像post出來以後，我再介紹你們去看吧……:)

好吧……很累的一天。我要去我的睡夢中

找我的幸福。

沒想到就這樣。三月份過去了。幼兒園的時候學的，三之後是四，嗯，四月份來了。你，是不是一直都在準備邁入四月份呢……？

With Meetings...

Well it's just another day with 3 meetings, and nothing much else. Luckily the meetings weren't too long and at least I got something done in each of them.

Received an email from the university regarding one minute of silence for Japan, tomorrow at 1.46pm. It has been 7 seven days since the devastating earthquake and tsunami. The death toll has hiked up so rapidly and thousands of people are still missing. Relief has been provided by nations around the world, and support has been given by people across different continents through various means especially on Facebook. The nuclear plant phenomenon has worsen the situation in Japan. Everyone started to worry about the nuclear radiation and some Hong Kong people even died from eating too much salt as there were rumors saying that salt might protect you from the radiation. Don't get exposed to the rain, even it's just a few drops. People start forwarding messages about being more cautious regarding this radiation....
Panic is everywhere.

I hope this will end sooner.
And I'll share this video, well, part of education I believe :)

Study and Work

Well, it's time to settle down a little and study for my SOSC200C: Women in China midterm happening this Wednesday, and complete my ERP powerpoint slides job!

Owh, and one more thing, I cooked bak moi (pork porridge) today!! Haha, it is nothing like the Penang ones, but still, pretty good for the first try I guess. Applause to me :)
[Too bad, I didn't take photos of the moi....]

Just wanna introduce a movie in this post: The King's Speech

Award Winning Movie: 4 Oscars

Tsunami

20110311. Never thought it would really be here again :(
I browsed through some videos by CNN and some news channel. It was shocking, and devastating.
To a certain extent, I couldn't believe what has happened. Even houses were swiped away...

On Facebook, Michito was just saying that he's on his way to uni this morning and is looking forward towards the start of uni, and who would expect that in the afternoon, the 8.9 earthquake happened followed by more than 50 subsequent earthquakes.

At 0205 hours (GMT+0800),
• 8.9 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks hit Japan
• Tsunami engulfs northern port of Sendai and islands
• Emergency at nuclear plant, fears of radiation leak
• Tsunami warnings for many other countries
• Death toll said to be more than 1,000 so far
and more to be discovered and reported. "Currently 2am, power still out, cold. Keeping positive, but so many people have been injured, or killed." --from The Guardian

I just hoped that more people would be safe, and everything would recover as much as possible soon.
Take care日本....

Sick Pig

病豬？

呵呵。

對，今天病得很嚴重。三年以來我第一次覺得病了之後是馬上要去看醫生的。

=.=

啊，休息休息吧……

And since I'm too sick to take any photos... I'll just share a song here :)
It has been quite sometime since I listened to new songs....

And I like this one pretty much^^