"Smoke gets in your.... EYES~~~~~~"

Start a smoking ban. Let non-smokers eat, drink and shop in a non-smoking environment. Force the smokers to smoke together. Smokers cannot take the smoke and give up smoking. So far so good...

Unfortunately they congregate in front of buildings, right in front of the entrances. I'm not sure about you people out there but I notice that the number of smokers standing right in front of my office building is increasing. Is it because of the weather? Or it's just the increase of Chinese tourists? Whatever the case its a terrible trend and I'm pretty sure it will only get worse from here on...

Got an A for one of my 2 papers. Let's see if I can make it 2 out of 2... Spent hours of sleeping time cramming my head with the studying. Body still trying to recover from the loss of sleep 2 weeks on... I guess I cannot use the study technique/scheduling which have served me well all these years... Must really take care of my own body... Anyway, 1 full day of classes tomorrow~

So looking forward to the qualification round of the bowling tournament which will begin this weekend. Let's hope I can make it 6 good games in one outing to secure a place in the finals... *fingers crossed*

If I really find a buyer for my apartment and a rental place in my dream estate, I should be moving out of the city within the next 2 months. And one important reason for moving will be for the puppies. Kind of pains me to see them playing catching, chasing each other between whatever space I have in the bedroom and the limited estate in my living room not occupied by sofa/hifi/tv/cabinet... Apartment-hunting starts this Sunday!


Really full of activities recently. All that means no time for me to lie down and relax...

I *heart* Stephen Chow

Something to brighten up your day~ that is if you understand what they're saying...

Time flies...

Time flies when you're studying, bowling, working...

Revisited Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in one of the modules I've taken recently. And then I thought to myself... are Singaporeans really that high up on Maslow's? Yes and no. I believe that most Singaporeans own their own property. But I also know that most Singaporeans have high job insecurity and a mortgage burden. Also trying esperately seeking culture, creativity and respect into our lives.

What about HK? After staying in HK for more than 4 years, apart from the affluent expat community, I think that most people in this city are pretty much stuck on the bottom 2 tiers on Maslow's... the rising property prices isn't helping matters...

It seems like we are all modern day cavemen, struggling for a place to stay (apartments instead of caves), light + warmth (electricity vs fire) and food (paying for them instead of hunting/farming). Most of us will be stuck in the race to stay competitive or just to survive till the day we die.

Seems like we've missed the boat to sell our cave here in HK... job cuts + anti-bubble measures will affect the buying sentiments here. Many are waiting for the price to dip before pouncing. I have had enough of city life... time to move out to the countryside and get a car~

HK Dramas... real and reel~

The 2 weeknight dramas on TVB are pretty nice. Spent last night sitting in front of the sofa picking up shit and watching TVB. I prefer the show at 9:30pm with some pretty experienced actors and actresses. Emperors and eunuches are just not my cuppa tea...

But nothing beats the drama in HK. The media is digging up everything about the Chief Executive. If you still don't know who he is, go find a Duck in Disneyland... but I cannot blame anyone for not knowing him. Ain't done anything fantastic for HK in the international arena.

But he's done alot for HK. Done so much damage that he's been attacked left, right, centre and below the belt on internet forums and newspapers. From accusations of importing car(s) without paying tax/fees, getting Lehman-related payments for relatives, introducing some sort of vouchers for energy-saving bulbs which will in fact increase your electricity bill policy among many others... He's really gotten himself into a mess...

I'm plagiarizing something from one of the forums :
"亂加電費, 同強盜有何分別?
答: 一個犯法, 一個合法."

Anyway, freedom of speech and lots of reporting freedom, but how much accuracy? Not sure but there's nothing one can do about it here in HK. One important lesson in HK if you are a celebrity or a political figure is to stay out of the media's spotlight. But hey~ at least they are providing an interesting read for me on a daily basis~

And for today's read : Singapore's Press Freedom Ranking. Press freedom is one thing. Baseless accusations is another. Can Donald sue anyone for libel?

Back at work, major change in the organization. The top guy will be overseeing China offices personally. Will probably make life for people in this region tougher. Don't think he will come in and say things like "Hey you're underpaid! Let's raise it by a good 20%!". More likely to hear things like "Hey com'on China's our main market now! If you cannot support anything and everything being asked for by the sales and design team then off you go!"

Well... I'd like to support anything and everything. But I'm not getting the support from HQ. I'm relying on help from fellow strugglers especially my fellow I.T. manager in the States. He used to write to me on a monthly basis for assistance. Likewise I write back for advices. Recently he has been writing on a weekly basis... seems like the minimal support he's been receiving from HQ is there no more...

And I don't understand how it can take more than 3 months for any I.T. team to upgrade/rebuild their EDI server. When I heard that one of our partners needed 2 weeks to recover their EDI server I nearly went bombastic. Then I got news that the EDI server in my very own HQ is limping (which means no new EDI + no amendments + no whatsoever in the meantime). And it will be March before they can put it on another configuration... 5 months... 100+ working days... At least it is not dead...

Well... at least I have an answer why my 10+ development requests are being put on hold since July. Now I can answer my users as to why their requests are still not completed. Maybe its a good thing since my EDI staff will be having her maternity leave. Free me from taking over all the shit...

I'm back~

Yesh... barely alive... preparation for 2 exams last Saturday nearly took my life away. I cannot remember the last time I've sat for 2 papers on the same day. For one of the papers (3 hours) we were supposed to prepare for questions from 7 case studies. How in my forgetful mind can I remember anything from 7 cases?!?!

The 2nd paper was open-book, full of calculations and to be completed in 2 hours. Open book I did, digging into the pages for solutions to the questions. "This formula, no... that?... no.... HELP!!!" I did submit the paper in 1hr 59mins. A close 2nd to submit. The professor extended the deadline to 2pm+? I have no idea... My body and mind were long outside the exam hall by that time~ Incredibly happy just to finish the exams. 6 more Saturdays like that and I should regain my bumming-around-Saturdays...

Went to M's new place in Tung Chung. Love the length of the living room. Wish I have that type of living room for my alarm clocks. Tung Chung is a bit far and they don't allow dogs in the premises. I don't understand HK... Most parks don't allow dogs. Many of the high-end apartments don't allow pets. My estate allow dogs but don't allow them to run around on the podium floor. Is this place stupid or what? Oh... wait...

Love Tung Chung. Loved the cool air. Much cooler than Kowloon. I really cannot figure how the weather can be so different. I'm sweating like a dog on my 30+ storey apartment and yet I was feeling kind of cold while having seafood dinner at this great place in Tung Chung.

Anyway got M a PS3 Slim for his new place. I hope he likes it. He was asking me about places to get new games and all while driving to Mei Foo bowling last night. Apparently after we left on Sunday night he started playing Winning Eleven 2008 (I gave him since I will never play it again... 2010's coming out next week) and got 2 players sent off! Hah! And he's like a kid, eager to get something new to play. I guess living in Tung Chung he will not have to visit the city... its really a self-sufficient place with shopping, food and entertainment.

Yes... Mei Foo Bowling last night. Food and Bowling @ HKD198/person for 5 hours. We played 16 games each and now my right bicep is like Popeye. Got a game with 9 straight strikes before I blew it. Ended up with 279 again... sighz... My 2nd perfect game will come... someday...

Summary of events...

Meet Samba. This little cotton-ball Pomeranian is a friend of my 2 alarm clocks. They are friendly to each other (my alarm clocks are friendly to all dogs, big or small) and they seem comfortable with one another. Samba's coat of fur looks delicious... just like one of those cotton candy floss in Disneyland...


After staying in HK for 4 years, finally had my first bowl of 车仔面. The one in the photo was the 2nd bowl... the 1st bowl tasted so good it was gone before I had a chance to take a picture...


We had a little game in class for Operations Management last weekend. Trying to cut cost by implementing the operation techniques we've learnt so far. From using 15 staff and cost of $4000 in losses to 4 staff with a profit of $700 (Best of the 3 teams), I'd say it was a good lesson. Learnt much more than any of the last 6 classes.


Went to Po Toi O over the weekend. It's not that far if I was in school but it's not really that near from my place. It's too secluded to visit if you don't have a car. Luckily we went with C. And C drives a big mean Lexus.


But seafood? They sure have them in abundance. They are famous for their squid sashimi. On top of that we had lobster sashimi, mantis prawns and some mini-geoducks among others. Bill came up to HKD1600. I didn't pay a cent since I paid for yumcha which was something like HKD330? A great deal...

And I heard they will have live sea urchins which will be opened right before your very eyes when the weather turns cooler! Now I'll have to check if C will be in town come December...

It's the crying game...

The marketing strategy these days : Make the tears flow...