The last day of 2006

My dad and I went cafe hopping in the afternoon on the last day of 2006. The cafe in the picture is where my dad had his 3rd cup of coffee. It's a really nice place and I would say it's the best of the day! The setting was very comfortable and the teatime menu was great! They started opening the veranda and putting some tables and chairs outside after I took this picture. For a second, I almost forgot I was in Hong Kong. Then we went to different places in Kowloon and had the New Year Dinner at a second floor restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui. By the time we finished, it was 11:30 pm and we were right in front of the JumboTron (is that still the term for the really big outdoor LED flat panel display?) at the infamous Chung King Building. I have a video clip of the "5 Cities, 1 Party" countdown but of course no one will be interested in that.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

運命

In Hong Kong, you are constantly reminded why having money is a good thing. You see people with lifestyles that are on the extreme ends. On the taxi, the taxi driver expressed how the economy has been very bad and tough for them and how they are barely getting by. But in our family circle of friends, you see people who went on vacation 4 times this year. They take you out to member-only places to eat and openly tell you what incredible amount of stock gain they made just from the last few months of 2006 and how they reward themselves with it. Then on our way going from one place to another, you again see people at the bottom of the society... The next day, my well-to-do classmate showed me where you can buy some quiet moments after work in this densely packed city without any reservation, provided you can pay the price of course. She updated me on news about some of our classmates (some of them are very successful and you can see them on TV news as spokepersons for their respective industries - law, food and drug, investment banking, government. But one committed suicide ...) Later she took me to the cake shop in the middle of the financial district opened by our rich classmate a year ago and we also stopped by the Italian restaurant that my childhood friend took on as the interior designer. (How come they all seem to have more interesting job than I do) Then on my way home, I bumped into my high school English Literature teacher at the bank and I was shocked to see how small and tiny she is now. (She was a wonderfully unique teacher who recognized my strengths early on as a kid and had given me some life-long confidence in everything I do. Anyway...) I would love to say hi but she looked so deeply preoccupied and unhappy that I just could not bring myself to interrupt. Also the thought that it's always easier for students to remember their teachers than the reverse dominated my decision process...

Today I also ran into my boss' executive assistant E whom we used to work together at a startup company many, many years ago. Our boss C, who has proven herself time and again as a successful business entrepreneur, is now a mother of 2 and is opening a school for the gifted kids next year. E is still her trusted assistant doing all the operational execution work! C is one of the most witty, crazy, fun and world-rounded people (men included) I know with multiple Master degrees and E is one of the most dependable gals I know with a Master Degree from London School of Economics. I was their trusted CPA and we are all within 5 years apart in age. I have been desperately wanting to know their whereabouts for the last 10+ years when I left Apple and they also moved on to something else (work email was the only thing we use). E and I will be having dinner next week maybe together with C if she could make it in such short notice. And I just found out C lives at the building literally next to ours. If I can count the windows correctly at the right direction, I could see if she's home or not!! How exciting is Hong Kong Everyone leads such different lives and you could always see a familiar face among a sea of faces if you pay attention.

地震

We felt the 7.1 earthquake near Taiwan earlier. The quake lasted for almost 2 minutes and my mom did not believe me when I told her we were having an earthquake and pointed at the trembling plants. She tried to close the veranda door and found out they are in locked position. That's when she started to feel it.

This is a photo of the building near us. If you can see the architecture, it's supported on "stilts". I am sure the plants don't just tremble there. Dare to live there?

結婚記念日

This is one of the main reasons why I am in Hong Kong. おめでとう!

My Tarot Card

You are The Wheel of Fortune

Good fortune and happiness but sometimes a species of intoxication with success. The Wheel of Fortune is all about big things, luck, change, fortune. Almost always good fortune. You are lucky in all things that you do and happy with the things that come to you. Be careful that success does not go to your head however. Sometimes luck can change.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

お父さん

My dad. He does not mind us shopping at all and at times would be very interested in seeing we are looking at. He would also willingly carry the stuff we bought. You could never guess his age from this picture. Actually not even people who have met him in person. Hopefully I have that same gene.

広告板

Unlike here, there is nothing worth staring at when I am on the road in US. I will miss all these "distractions" when I go back.

メリ－クリスマス!

Eating out everyday for the last 12 days had finally taken its toll on my stomach, but I won't go into details of what happened to me. But that's life in Hong Kong. You meet people for lunch, tea, dinner and sometimes more drinks or dessert before heading home. And of course everywhere is packed with noisy people. You can't hear your cell phone without setting the ringer to the loudest. And for me, even the loudest is not loud enough so I keep missing calls. And when I need to talk on the phone, I can't even hear much of what was said because everyone around me is much louder. I should have brought with me the ear plugs we use in our lab to protect my ears.
Anyways. Today is Christmas so I guess that's why they have fireworks at Victoria Harbor. It was such good timing that we were able to enjoy it at a restaurant right after dinner with a full view. Hong Kong is definitely more festive than where I come from, despite the commercialism. But all in all, I had a wonderful time catching up with my best friend on Christmas Day!!

南浦大橋

I have wanted to see this Nanpu (南浦) cable suspension bridge for a long time. This time in Shanghai, I finally went through it twice. Once from the airport to the hotel on my cousin's son's car and another time on a taxi going back the opposite direction to the Long Yang Road Station to take the Maglev Train to the airport. This bridge is the main connection between Puxi (浦西) and Pudong (浦東) above the famous HuangPu River (黃浦江). Nanpu bridge in the southwest together with the Yangpu (楊浦) bridge in the northeast and the Oriental TV Tower form the picture of "two dragons playing with the pearl". This man-made scene attracts millions of people to Shanghai each year.

上海磁浮列車

I rode the Shanghai Maglev Train from Long Yang Road Station to the Shanghai Pudong Airport this time. The train ticket was surprisingly affordable (50.00 RMB or 40.00 RMB (=USD 8.00) if you can show a same day air ticket). The highest speed it goes is 430km/h and the ride took less than 8 minutes. The ride has some slight turns and you can see passengers on one side are sometimes higher than the other side during the ride. You get a slight dizziness when the train accelerates but otherwise, it's a very enjoyable and quiet ride. You can see more pictures here.

上海

I just got back to Hong Kong. Shanghai is such a lovely city. I enjoy being surrounded by Shanghainese speaking crowds and the food at the small stalls are really delicious and cheap! It's also definitely a photographer's heaven! I took over 600 pictures and have a few that I really love. The best is each photo has its own special memory to me! 本当に、本当に、本当に嬉しいっっ。

Crowds

Today I have to be in Central to get some travel documents done before I fly to Shanghai tomorrow. While I was there, I also stopped by the boring building I used to work at as a summer intern. I could not find it but had to walk around before I remembered where it should be. I really loathed that place because the people were very mean to me until they saw me riding a cab with the partner of the company, who was my neighbor. Then they all wanted to invite me out to lunch to get the scoop on my relationship with the partner. Anyways, I took a picture of that stupid building (not seen here).
I love pictures with many unidentifiable people with colorful clothings. Unfortunately, this picture is full of people wearing dull colors. I only had 1 second to take the picture, so that's what I got. I have quite a few pictures of this intersection from different years.
Here is another one that's more colorful.

Trams

The trams that run only on the Hong Kong Island is cheap ($2.00), fun and convenient if you could get on one. I am so happy it's still around and doing well. I remember back when I was in high school, everyone had some unpleasant stories to share about riding the tram whether it's being gropped, brushed or pressed upon by some nasty old men. Pick pocket was common, too. So there was a time period of maybe over 6-7 years that I completely avoided it. But now that I think about it, I bet those crimes are only targeted at young school girls who would not know how to react to them and not adults who are more vigilant and ready to alert others. In any case, I would still be cautious when I ride the trams and other public transportations in Hong Kong since it's so crowded.

Admiralty

Hong Kong is a tiny place with 6.8 million people officially. I left more than 15 years ago and seldom keep in touch with too many friends and after a while it's just a bit hard to stay in contact. But today on a busy weekend with everyone out on the streets, I met 2 acquaintances and exchanged business cards!! Now I am back in touch with my college friends!? How did that happen? I was not planning to meet up with anyone and now I am back in their circles on my second day in this city! It's a bit shocking for me still and a bit exciting at the same time.
The picture on the right turns out quite nice with clear blue sky and white cumulus clouds. The building on the left is a very popular photo target among tourists visiting the Central area. The building on the right to me has more meaning... some small old memories. That's the building where my dad signed up for my first computer class which was a total waste of money. The classes were completely useless and basically let kids sit in front of a computer and "learn" what it can do. I think I spent more time looking outside of the view than looking at the stupid pre-DOS monochrome monitor. I remembered my feelings at the end of it was "shoot! I just wasted my precious summer vacation!?&*($%#". Anyways, maybe I should be more forgiving because we are talking about the early '80s.

Home Sweet Home

After a long flight, I finally arrived at my destination. I would love to write about my bad experiences with United Airline, but let's just say: avoid flying with them whenever possible. Above is a photo taken from the veranda at our house. I just can't get enough of this view. I have to walk out to the veranda every hour to check the view. It's just magnificent!! Today has been drizzling all day and it's about 16°C. I forgot my tripod so that's why it's a bit blurry. But of course, I don't know how to take picture is another reason. Originally I was planning to stay out late and not be at home so early but in the end, home seems to be the most peaceful place I want to rush back to. I am still not used to the constant bustles and hustles around me which makes me dizzy after a while. I don't get jaglag whenever I come back but I must be tired from the flight... 15 hours non-stop flight plus the 4 hours check-in and ground travel is really exhausting. Plus, I did not get any sleep before my flight packing until 4:30 a.m. I don't know how to pack to begin with and I can never travel light. But I did pretty well this time just forgetting the tripod, the HDVR and my wedding rings.

台所の右側

Took this picture while my husband was preparing dinner last night. With the previous camera, I could never get a picture of Bebe-chan indoor at night that doesn't make her look scary. Finally. There will be more pictures of her from now on. I will be experimenting more with different settings.

思い出

It's true. You start thinking back on the old days when your life is nothing more than a bunch of routines.
I will be going to Asia in 2 days and I can't help constantly thinking about all the places I used to go so often growing up. It could be another 5 or 6 years before I will be there again, so I really want to treasure my time there by hitting as many old and new places as possible.
Because of the new camera, I could not focus on my study at all yesterday so I have decided to postpone my exam until I come back from vacation. It's ashame because I have already spent some 20 hours of intense studying this month and I am so close to achieving the certification by the end of this year. But on the other hand, it definitely takes out the stress I don't need right now. If I don't pass it could very well ruin my mood for the trip. So I guess it's the right decision. At least my mind is at ease now and I can start enjoying thoughts of places, people and food. But I will be missing my cats very much. I wish cats could travel internationally as easy as we humans do. Hopefully they will be okay with my in-law.

Adopt a cat!

This is one of the many perks you get for keeping a cat.

Panasonic DMC-FX07 カメラ

新しいカメラを買っちゃた!
たしかに格好いいって、軽いて、値段も安いのカメラです。でも、興奮後にはちょっと疑問が残ります...
このLeica Lensカメラは良いですけど、Canonじゃない。Canonの鮮明な映像を撮ることができません。 綺麗で写真を撮りたいなら、いつも手動設定が必要です。 人物を撮るときには、露出補正をよく使います。 それはいいの? 買った後に検討するのは遅過ぎるでしょうか? どうしよう? 迷っております。

Updates:
After playing with the camera for hours, I know how to compensate for the noise problem!! It's easy and the pictures are actually GREAT!! Also, I found out I love fiddling around with the camera to get exactly what I wanted and it's a lot of fun! It's completely more than capable. This is now a sure keeper!

ワイルドスピード3 TOKYO DRIFT

夫と二人で鑑賞｡ 車好きの人間なら楽しめます。レースシーンはたまに面白かったです。
でもまあ、 ストーリーは陳腐で、何も言うことはありません。俳優と言えば、 魅力なくて、人物の個性も活力じゃない。
きっと、意外なことではないと思います。

オススメ度： ★★☆☆☆
(あくび...残念...)

海岸

A little bit of the California coast at this time of the year. Nice, peaceful, very quiet with blue skies. Could be breezy at times (but not on that day). A wonderful way to relax on weekends.

Christmas lights

Christmas is almost here. We bought some new outdoor Christmas lights to decorate our palm trees this October but have been too lazy to put them on. Instead, we decided to just put some lights in the house. Having these lights on at night completely change a person's mood and make the atmosphere of the house more cozy and warm. I highly recommend leaving them on even after Christmas!

Notice who are also admiring the lights in this picture? My two chubby ones!

焼プリン大好き!

最近焼プリンを初めて作りました。
このレシピはかなり簡単です。
でも、多分会社帰り後はもう疲れました。。。
作り方は分かているんですが、
調理の成分は完全に間違っていた。
幸いにも、この焼プリンは甘過ぎましたがまだ食べられました。 私たちは一気に全部(=卵四個)食べました。
自家製のデザートはなかなか良い感じだ。
すぐもう一度作りたいんですね。

更新:

今回やっと成功しました!! ちゃんと美味しい!

007 カジノ・ロワイヤル

To me, this is the best Bond movie I could recall. Daniel Craig finally redefines what James Bond should be all about. No more just cheesy talks and all sexed up to charm the babes to get to the bad guys or just to serve his ego. His role is demanding and finally with real class! This movie is GREAT!! I will watch it again when it comes out on DVD.
オススメ度:　★★★★★★(超満点! ブラボー！)

Another Daniel Craig's movie: Layer Cake is not bad, too.

作ってみたいレシピ

夫と弟はうどんが大好き。
今日この新しいレシピを発見しました。うまそうな!
韓国のチジミを思い出す...

うどん餃子
【材料　2人分】
うどん・1玉　玉ネギ・1個　土ショウガ・少々　ニラ・少々　卵・1個　片栗粉・適量　ひき肉(鶏又は豚)・100g　サラダ油・適量　＜タレ／しょうゆ・適量　ラー油・適量　酢・適量＞

【作り方】
1. うどん、玉ネギ、ニラはみじん切りにする。土ショウガは皮をむき、みじん切りにする。
2. ボウルにひき肉、卵、片栗粉を入れてよく混ぜ合わせる。ひき肉と1の野菜を混ぜ合わせ、柔らかい場合は片栗粉か、うどんを足す。
3. ホットプレートにサラダ油(又はゴマ油)をひき、熱くなれば、2をひとくち大の大きさもスプーンなどで並べこんがり焼き色をつける。
4. ポン酢に付けて食べる。

無駄な週末

来週仕事のための試験があるので、土日に家で過ごしてました。
でも、勉強は全然しなくて、三つ映画を観ました。
自分が恥ずかしくあるべきです、本当に。

観た映画は:

Cars (2006)
オススメ度:　★★★★★ (満点) Good movie!!


My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006)
オススメ度:　★★☆☆☆


Accepted (2006)
オススメ度:　★★★☆☆

Legion of Honor

This is one of the places we took our wedding pictures in San Francisco. But believe it or not, we had never been there before that day and we have been living in San Francisco for over 15 years!! Shame on us!! We will need to go back there and see this place again.