:: Hong Kong Christmas 2007 ::

Back from Hong Kong!!

Hmm though this trip i have experienced much more HK life than my previous trip, i feel quite upset and frustrated most of the time. my mom complains and scolds a lot, my dad .. getting old, most of the time "in a world of his own" (quote from my mom). my 2 aunts (my mom's sisters) are both older than my dad, so.. my pace of exploration is not suitable for them. i must admit that when it comes to travelling, i'm very selfish, if u want to rest i'll go ahead by myself kinda thing. i slave drive myself and everyone.. haha..

Pre-trip - 20 Dec
Public Hol. Shiok! Breakfast with parents.. went back home to rest, then went out to meet my poly IM classmates. Thanks Weng Heng for organising! we had dinner at Vilagè at the Heeren, then chill out at cuppage. Ashley, send us the group photos! =)

Would have stayed longer if i didn't have a flight to catch the next morning.

Day 1 - 21 Dec
went to airport to meet my aunts to check in our luggages together. then we had breakfast at the canteen.

flight on Cathay Pacific. Kinda my first time taking it. Kinda - because I don't remember any trips before i was 10. Got smoked salmon, Toblerone chocolate and Haagen Dasz ice cream! woohoo~ Watched Flash Point on board.


realised i didn't bring my Octopus card just when we were about to leave the airport to board the coach to hotel.. sianz!! Day 1 is Free & Easy, so we met up with Peiyun, and she brought us to Fo Tan in the New Territories for Da Pai Dang dinner... cool..


Fo Tan is an industrial area.. a lot of HDBflat-looking kinda buildings.


Had roast pigeon, "nine-stomach" fish, fried beancurd, and veggies. Interesting.. Went to Sha Tin for a short while then my aunt wanted to go back to hotel to rest already. A bit disappointed because I would like to go for dessert though i was very full already. hehe.. but i was very tired too, we were all tired la. Had a headache after the flight. so we bade yunz goodbye and took MTR back to East TST and walked back to hotel and rested for the night.

Day 2 - 22 Dec
Woke up early for HK Half-day city tour. Had dim sum breakfast at Wan Chai and sightseeing at the Golden Bauhinia Square, Repulse Bay, Aberdeen Fishing Village, half-Peak view, etc. Quite cool la, get to see more stuff than travelling on our own, and understand more from the tour guide lor. But of course they always bring us to Traditional Medicine shops, jewellery shops etc to earn our commission.


Afternoon we went to Hung Hom station to take a train to Shenzhen. The tour guides always change one, here a guy just accompanied us to take the train, and then transferred us to another guide, a Shenzhen local. At first i didn't understand why we had to take a train at Hung Hom station when East TST is the terminal and the train would be emptier, until the guide brought us to take the train towards East TST. Oh, we were going to take a rebound train. Then again, the train destination alternates between Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau. We had to alight to board the correct one at East TST. haha.

At Shenzhen we walked to the hotel -.-" quite near la, but very tiring and troublesome for my eldest aunt, who is 70 years old. We were dragging our luggages also.. hmm. At the hotel the guide asked us whether we want to join the optional programme that includes dinner and transport to the shopping area. we joined since it was our first time in Shenzhen and we weren't familiar to get around on our own. For the shopping i split up with them and went on my own. bought 2 tops only cuz it was winter time. not satisfied with the salespeople also, they follow u all around the shop, watching u as u look at the clothes. argh. traffic was heavy because according to the guide it was Dong Zhi (a festival).


Looks like Shanghai!

Day 3 - 23 Dec
Breakfast in hotel. quite lousy haha. went for a city tour, visited a jade jewellery shop. my mom bought jade earrings! >.< also visited a silk ..factory? shop? ah well. we went to the one in Suzhou already, and bought expensive silk quilts. here the price didn't vary much, luckily. lunch and then visited Window of the World and Splendid China. walked a lot, my feet very tired.


I can't help it...


Merry Christmas 2008 indeed!


Ahh!! Giants attacking the forbidden city!

went back to the hotel and went for massage. the tour guide had recommended the tuina massage, at 70yuan. halfway i started crying.. and i couldn't stop because i was embarrassed.. kept thinking how people would laugh at me when they hear that i cried during massage. argh. damn painful la. i cried until i couldn't breathe.. the masseur brought me a glass of warm water to calm me down but i choked on it, felt like i was going to die there. quite idiotic leh, she was like trying to punish me for not choosing to use oils for the massage. need to pay extra one lor.

Day 4 - 24 Dec
Same breakfast >.< Checked out of hotel in Shenzhen and walked to the train station again. Boarded the train back to HK. YAY! Alighted at East TST and had coffee at Starbucks, cuz it was still early to check into the hotel (same one as our first day here). we got a floor higher than our previous room! rested a while before we went out to Mongkok. Walked there. didn't buy much, i was too tight on my spending. took train back to hotel cuz our feet were all still tired. Had a late dinner and then headed out to TST for Christmas countdown. Super disappointed cuz the fireworks were at Canton Rd at the west of TST and we were at the east!!!!



i'm impressed with the HK police la, they blocked off the whole highway for pple to walk.



Day 5 - 25 Dec
Christmas Day! went to explore To Kwa Wan with my dad while the women were still sleeping. i didn't know how to get there and wasted a lot of time searching for the right bus stop. had a quick breakfast at a small coffeeshop and then took bus back. actually i was there to explore the Cattle Depot Artist's Village, but it would only be open at 12pm. oww..



went to church myself. i had told my dad to buy breakfast back for the women cuz they wouldn't have eaten already, but he insisted that they would be smart enough to go out and eat first. argh. so by the time church service started they were hungry and wanted to go for breakfast. i was walking so fast that my mom scolded me when they caught up, because my eldest aunt had fallen down. the paths there are not well-levelled actually.

i think the Anglican church there .. ok i think i shouldn't comment. =x had Holy Communion.

walked back to hotel, but we stopped by Pacific Coffee on the way. ordered Christmas gifts for our friends back here. =) after that my aunts decided to stay in the room to rest, and i brought my parents to Central, to take Star Ferry and electric tram, and it was my first time exploring Sheung Wan as well as Lan Kwai Fong. This whole trip we didn't visit the Peak summit and Causeway Bay at all.. aww.. my mom kept complaining so we had to forgo some places.



Soccer Fan, at Lan Kwai Fong

took MTR to Mongkok cuz my mom had bought a pair of jeans from Baleno and realise she couldn't fit in it after she tried it in the hotel room. We went back to exchange. then we took bus back to hotel. went nearby for dinner and then went back to Pacific Coffee to collect our orders.

Day 6 - 26 Dec
Dim sum breakfast at London Plaza (went there with Andrielle and Roy before). Checked out of hotel. Did some last minute shopping before going back to the hotel to board the bus to airport. Bus dropped by Tsuen Wan to pick up passengers from another hotel. There got large shopping malls.. hmm~


Won't you feel insignificant to live in one of these units?

wanted to eat at Hang Heung Kitchen at the airport, but after walking unnecessarily we didn't have time to. Dad bought some takeaway food.. i went near to find out why it took so long and realised he had bought 4 packets of rice. argh. i was thirsty, not hungry lor! ya i'm very unappreciative hor. but the rice caused me to be unable to touch the onflight food at all eh. so wasted.

touched down, shopped at the DFS, bought Absolut Disco and some new beer. =D


Actually for this trip.. ya a bit disappointed lor, had to miss out a lot of places. And i absolutely hate being scolded without reason, it spoils my whole day. and i didn't buy much. 3 tops in total for myself and souvenirs for friends that's all. Tried to search for jersey for a friend but couldn't, didn't buy anything from H&M also. I still love Hong Kong. =) wonder if there's any travel companion out there willing to be tortured by me next time lol. keep dreaming of settling down there. haha!

:: on crushes ::

read a friend's blog about her crush on someone i know. i gave her some advice... goes like this:

"... actually, loving someone... by telling him that u love him may actually hurt him somehow. yes it may cause him to notice u more, but it may be make him feel unnatural around u and there'll be somehow a kind of pressure to behave around u in order to continue to give u a good impression. friendships.. developed under that kind of pressure is difficult to remain real. and if he starts to notice u more and becomes interested, it may seem to turn out like an impulse? ..."

who am i to give such advice?! haha.. no wonder i've been single for 3 years. (or more, if i don't count the last silly impulsive "relationship".) had countless crushes over the years, sometimes it's the same person again, triggered by circumstances that bring us working closely together... but i .. sometimes i feel i'm not meant to be loved. like i'm just going to go away from home and settle down elsewhere. or maybe i'm going to die young.

weiting believes if u like someone u shld tell him. i used to do that.. but now i believe in what i quoted above. somehow telling that someone is a selfish act? like to make urself noticed that kinda thing..

sometimes i convince myself i don't need a boyfriend (i just bought a t-shirt that says "Explain to me AGAIN why I need a boyfriend"), sometimes i doubt my stand. sometimes i desire the sweetness of being in love, sometimes i loathe the lovey-dovey-ness of couples. it's a cycle over and over again.

:: Resolutions 2008 ::

well some people don't need New Year resolutions to resolve to do something.

but for me 2008 is going to be a super challenging year. i'm going to challenge myself to do a lot of things i've never done before, and to push myself harder. i wanna live my life fuller!

1. Run in a marathon. never done before
2. Learn to ride a bicycle. in progress
3. Learn driving. enrolled
4. Visit Vietnam. GoFestAsia?
5. Finish reading more Christian books.
6. Plant seeds, and if possible, reap some harvest.

:: update - last one of the year?? ::

no good pics of the dress yet le, wait till i get someone else to take for me, during the wedding dinner!


Christmas trees. how many can u spot?


one at Heeren.


Brandon Soh's design!! wah he's zai man.


Guess where this no man's land is? Read on to find out...


ohh a dead dog body. why do i like to stare at morbid stuff?


11 Dec Tue
Back to work. Very surprised to have not that much work to do because my colleague has covered some of my work. somehow i was worried about some projects, because they are my baby after all. found some mistakes, though it's not a matter of life and death kind of mistakes, they were really silly mistakes! eg. a hotel Christmas hi-tea promotion matched to a BBQ picture. oh c'mon, his excuse? the picture was there in the first place. REPLACE it lah! it was a 2006 Dec promo pic lor. gosh imagine my blood boiling that day. but during lunch a thought came to me, though i really hope to make him leave (oh i'm so mean), i ought to thank him still for covering my work for the days i have taken leave.

went to watch movie with my parents after work. Enchanted at The Cathay. hmm cheaper than GV. oops switching loyalties? :P Had dinner at the chinese restaurant in the basement. okay la not bad. Good movie. the song is stuck in my head! haha.. haiz my dad always have no good comments for movie one. dunno next time still wanna ask him out for movie or not le. =(

12 Dec Wed
interesting that after camp i'm often earlier for work.

previously i was complaining about a client who rejected my design time and again. well today they have accepted it finally, with a few minor changes. glad something is working out. Praise God!

still some changes to Christmas ecards.. but completing really soon. YAY!

after work went to Bugis to buy t-shirt for yunz. then took bus to orchard to meet weiting. cuz i didn't check her reply about dinner on tues.. and she wanted to watch Enchanted! owww..

met her at Wheelock Place, Sakae Sushi. ahh they close so early at 10pm and last order was at 9.30pm. ohh c'mon it's Christmas period, people are shopping! her meeting ended late la. sashimi wasn't enough, so we bought Mac shaker fries and hung out at Shaw Mac cafe with Choc-mint frappe.

haha whenever i go out with friends i don't want to go back yet, though i ought to go back early to rest. somehow it always doesn't seem time to go home yet.

13 Dec Thu
Ran some errands.. went to Pple's Park complex to buy toiletries again. haa.. Ran out of sanitary pads. i remember there was once i wished that i had enough money to buy a lifetime stock of pads so i would save myself the embarrassment of buying them ever again. ok la now grow up a bit, nothing about pads to be ashamed about. in fact it's fun to go supermarket to find new improved products and packaging. =P

then went to Pearl Centre to check out the new reject clothes shop weiting told me about. hmm quite disappointing leh, probably the nice pieces were quickly snapped up.

took train back to punggol plaza to check out the dental clinics. wanted to make appointment but apparently the dentist is busy! next available slot is February / March. omg. i told the ..assistant i'll see how. haha. wah lao. still expect pple to go for regular checkups every half a year. really must make appointment half a year beforehand man.

14 Dec Fri
client was pissed with my colleagues. oh well, me too. i think i'm having PMS la. i was early for work so i could leave on time today! but last min i had to clean up their ****.

been listening to Gold90.5FM lately. even before the camp yeah. very relaxing ma. haha.. very funny, today someone actually requested the song What I've Done by Linkin Park!! the deejay was very nice about it la, he put it nicely that they don't play certain genres of songs because they don't want to steal listeners from their sister station, 98.7FM.

15 Dec Sat
breakfast with dad, then he brought me on a spin to Punggol End. finally got to visit the Punggol Marina country club. it's so near yet so far. i wanna go fishing...

went home and got ready for cell. went to Frujch and we had a sectional dinner after that. played the air hockey. so cool haa never knew it needed air to be played.

16 Dec Sun
Breakfast with mom near church before service. sermon on Acts 18.. hmm.. makes me think about my own missionary journey.

wanted to go ECP after church one.. but oh well.

went home to sleep a few hours and woke up to pizza hut delivery. haha.

feeling moody. feel that i'm a lousy human.

:: Gold 90.5 FM - Classic Hits All Day ::

Haha that's my group name for youth camp!! and yup i'm back from camp, taken 2 days of leave and feeling recharged. haha.. before the camp i have been staring at the comp monitor for long hours till my eyes feel like they're bulging out and my head aches.

btw. if you've checked out my previous entry, there's a pic. I forgot to intro it. this shop offers Western, Jap, Korean and Chinese cuisine. lol. very nice though! the menu listed Fried Rice, Minced Meat noodles but are not available =( they have Salmon Fried rice, but not Fried Rice. how funny. also the shop name - in Chinese it's Tang Xiao Chu, but the English name it's Hang?s Delight. (Have you spotted 2 mistakes?) They never demand the designer to reprint..

ok back to updates.

30 Nov Fri
Diana finished her exams! Went for dinner with her at Mos Burger (yummy) and shopping at Wisma (argh.. oops haa okay la they're quite fine clients) and finally used my Topshop card! ah yes Weiting was referring to the black and gold dress I bought. It's $56 after sale. will upload the pic later. =P I can never find anything in Topshop man. Too ex and the clothes don't look worth the price. Went to Esprit upstairs after that and saw a lot of nice clothes!! Looking forward to my HK trip. Will shop lots lots!

1 Dec Sat
Went to Orchard again in the morning, this time with my mom. There was a Children's Charity carnival going on and my mom has free carnival coupons from her boss. So nice hor!! Spent the coupons on mainly food, and some bags, stuffed toys, games, and special items like Prison Break folder and a Lost notebook. Left at around 1+pm. Took train to Bedok where I'm supposed to meet my cell grp to go ECP.

Spent the whole time there learning to ride a bike (again) while the rest took turns to teach me and cycle around. It really hurt my whole body... Suffered lotsa injuries (sobz) After returning the bikes we took Ben's car to get to the food centre. oh man i ate a lot. Haa..

Wanton mee, satay, carrot cake, chicken wing, coconut!! After that nothing much to do, so we went back. Took train with Matthias towards the east and decided to call my dad to fetch me. Turns out my parents are in Tampines! So I alighted to find them. Felt a little hungry (oops!) and ate some more. Walked around Tampines to find the right bus stop to take bus 34 home.

Tired.

2 Dec Sun
Still tired and aching ALL over. had breakfast with my mom (actually i was the only one having a drink) and then walked to church. YAY the MCG Newsletter is printed and distributed!!! very happy haa.. got new song for camp. a lot of pple weren't at service because of Children's camp as well as StanChart Marathon. after service had lunch with Psalmist and prac for youth camp sessions.

surprisingly i wasn't sleepy even after prac. so i went out with some M'kk guys and Gabriel, to Vivocity. it was Vincent's bday so it was sort of a celebration for him ba. had dinner at Terra Cafe (i only realise i've been to the one in Bugis after I saw the menu) didn't have enough money to order more. hmmm.. haven't got my money after transferring funds. walked around and then went back.

3 Dec Mon
Worked a bit late, so by the time i called my dad he was already home from Kovan. and I wanted to go Kovan!!!!

Went to enrol myself in Comfort Driving Centre. I came out feeling very scared, lost, inconfident of driving!!! haha.. i've always thought myself to become a very dangerous driver, very blur on the roads kinda thing because i can't coordinate my limbs. i thought i've conquered my inconfidence by thinking that, since there are so many drivers out there, how difficult can it get? but i have to keep praying that God will guide me all the way.

4 Dec Tue
Wanted to ask pple out for movie, until i realise that.. today got prayer meeting!! very few pple there. from youth only Evelyn, Ron and myself. wahaha.

5 Dec Wed
Haven't been talking about work because there's too much to complain about. haa.. i felt very racist suddenly, since my Chinese colleague wasn't around.

after work went to take bus to Cineleisure. alighted behind Taka instead cuz i thought it would be faster, but i had to detour cuz there wasn't a traffic light where i needed to cross so i had to walk back, to the front of Taka! it was pouring heavily so it slowed me down a lot. =x the SAJC mentors had a grad dinner at Meritus Mandarin so Theodore had to rush. oh, i was going to meet him and Wen Zheng to discuss youth camp stuff. finalised on our camp group name as well as identification. Wen Zheng had lost his wallet but managed to recover it, only after our meeting. haa. Praise God.

6 Dec Thur
One day before the camp! haa.. went to buy gold cloth for our group identification. as well as some toiletries - it's so convenient to work at Chinatown =) so excited about the camp. haa.

packed my bag and tried to sleep early, but i was kinda bothered about my finances. argh. received a call, at first i thought it was some stalker from my poly, then i realise it's one of my group members. i wonder how he got my number, since he shld be contacting the person who called him?

7 Dec Fri
Camp! My dad gave me a lift since he was going to work about the same time. wanted to have breakfast, but i woke up too late, so no time.

For Bless1000 my group is assigned to go to Bishan - haa we happen to have 2 Bishan residents. Deb is very familiar with the place, so we split up and went to give out the Christmas tracts at a prime position. after we were done, a lady who knows Deb bought canned drinks for us. then we went to find the guys. bought some snacks from the pasar malam there :P took bus back and it was soon time for lunch haa.. Nasi Lemak. no serviettes leh. haa.. didn't bring my own mug so didn't get drink =(

after a while we boarded the bus to Camp Christine. passed by the Jalan Bahtera MOE Adventure campsite where i had bad memories.. haa.. and had great and funny memories at Camp Christine, where i first had my period when i haven't been educated. man, i thought i had some disease or what la. freaked out. haa.. and i still remember who was the one who helped me with my first pad :P okok stop it.

played "ice-melting" games and also combined with another group to play some games during our free time. After that i realised i was on duty and supposed to have dinner first! haaa.. Jem drove us in Aloy's car to Salvation Army. it was there that i realise i didn't bring my jacket to camp at all. so i borrowed a jacket from Wen Zheng last min. haa.. Auntie Joyce Chow preached about Witness Jesus.. learnt that there are actually mistakes that are easily committed when u reach out to friends. actually we ought to preach Jesus and His love for our friends, rather than what He can do for them, or else they will only ask Jesus for help when they need it but when things are fine they stop going to church. Or.. when things seem to turn for the worse though they ask Jesus for help they lose faith. know what i mean?

after that took bus back with the group. so tired. had supper and vesper with the group, then leaders' debrief. dunno why this time i feel like i'm not doing enough as a leader, like there's more that could be done. i think i have been a camp group leader before, but it felt easier then, probably because i was kind of an intern? hmm.. went to shower and then QT and sleep. froze during the night cuz i didn't have my jacket. =( haa

8 Dec Sat
Woke up early for prayer. felt more refreshed =) had pancakes for breakfast. haa.. attended workshop on sharing the 4 SLs in Canto.. led by Jeffrey. i was shun bian learning Canto. haa..

after that Chris shared on Apologetics.. it means something like defending our faith. meanwhile i was a little distracted, because i had called my dad to bring a jacket for me. At first i asked him to bring to Salvation Army in the evening, since the campsite is super inaccessible, but he asked my mom whether she wanted to come along to Lim Chu Kang, i didn't feel bad la.. like shun bian go pa tor. haha..

had a power 10 min nap. then we played dirty games... i was really reluctant man. very stressed, considering i have to set an example for my group. for the past few years the games weren't that rough lor. sobz.. haha. i think my group saw my effort to play la, hope that encouraged them. =P i think we really had fun and didn't stress ourselves out to win. went to shower after that. realise i didn't exactly have a lot of time to rest before dinner. asked Jem for the stuff that my dad passed to him. he actually brought along my silk comforter, in a backpack!! it takes up a lot of space when folded, and i already brought a backpack on the first day, my dad shld have known! ahaha.

brought my jacket to Salvation Army. I feel so loved =) hahaha.. did projection with Guorong. a bit stressed cuz that night we did a lot of impromptu songs. including Party by Chris Tomlin they did for Live Concert, i don't even know that song! went back to campsite for supper and vesper and leaders' debrief. we all agreed that we did better today. =)

9 Dec Sun
doesn't feel like Sunday. haa.. today woke up a bit late for prayer. after that we had cell group time. a few of us were constipating and joking about having a "smooth" time. haha.. then i realise we haven't had fruit in our meals. hmmm... Wen Zheng shared what he learnt through the sessions, after Theodore led worship. i believe the Holy Spirit had left a stirring in the hearts of our members. =) had lunch and then phototaking session, and while waiting my group played some games. then we had indoor games and boy, it poured very heavily man. the tennis game was super stressful. haa.. after that we had free time. wanted to take a nap but i couldn't fall asleep, so i went to see what my group was doing. joined them in playing the table soccer game, but we improvised it by using straw etc. so cool haha.. we left saliva all over the table. wahaha.. the team that loses will stuff 4 marshmallows in the mouth throughout the Finale night. haha. my team was the one that lost!! after that we played individual and i lost, so i had to stuff an extra marshmallow. sobz.. haha..

went to shower and then played Saboteur with Nelson, Elisa, Seng Tiong and Naomi. my first time playing, but managed to grasp the idea. haha.. we only had time to play one round cuz we spent too much time watching another group playing Mafia, which takes super long. soon it was time to head to the hall for the Finale night. the tables were decorated with tealight candles.. so romantic! and we had spaghetti for dinner!! background music was good =) Wen Zheng was the emcee for the Finale Night and Aloy was the entertainer. hahaha.. he's really good man.

during the Leaders Appreciation session my group was really very sweet. theodore, wen zheng and myself went up with marshmallows stuffed in our mouths as forfeit for the games we played earlier. my group shouted "sun oi lei!!" to me cuz it was really funny when i tried to pronounce it during the Vesper the night before. =) feel so loved

our group won the consolation prize but we weren't disappointed or what la. i'm glad my group is really sporting. =) feel so touched and wanted to have a time of sharing, but we went to play Blind man's bluff. at first i was okay to play that game, till i saw how scary Paul could get playing that game. i freaked out and decided to sit one corner. ahha.. after a while other group members started to join us. and after a few injuries we decided to play Mafia. it was really a long game. played a few rounds and a few pple got sian already. some of us went to watch the Hokkien debate between Nigel and Jason. haha.. then i went to sleep. ..it was about 4am already haha..

10 Dec Mon
ohh last day of camp... had chee cheong fun for breakfast and the group was laughing at the way i eat it. haha.. i had to open up the rolls and eat it like hor fun. i'm sure there are people out there who eat like that too! after breakfast it was time to pack up and clean up the area. i feel so lazy~~ haha.. there were nice guys who helped us clean the girls' assigned spots. then at 10am we gathered at the main hall for final thanksgiving and dismissal.

took the bus back to church and some of us stayed to help the camp comm move the stuff to the office. then my cell grp went to Mac's for lunch. wasn't hungry so i ordered Happy Meal =) kept shitting. haha.. shitz. went home to shit and sleep, wake up for dinner, shit, watch tv (Heroes!), tried to shit. and haha okok stop it.

some BB boys were fast man, when i opened my MSN there were requests to add me already. haha..