DAY 19

The trip wasn't that bad afterall, I find some of my mom's friends very interesting. One of them was put in prison for 10 years in 1980 for taking part in some wen hua da ge ming activities, one's a principal, one's a pro lawyer (da lv shi), one's a social worker, one's a university lecturer and the rest are teachers!

We went to the offshore island today (cheung chau), and its a tombolo! It takes 50 minutes to reach Hongkong mainland by ferry O:

There was a jap shop there selling the best Dorayaki (tong luo shao) I've ever had! Its run by a few japanese ladies and they have pretty big handrolls too :P My mom and her friends have another pal staying on that island, and she treated us to mango Daifuku! I ate two even though I'm not supposed to eat fruits cause I'm having a cough and sore throat.



I also ate the most fantabulous dinner today, there was mentaiko/karasumi, urchin roe, sashimi, sushi, natto! It was a treat for my aunt and her family cause they always treat us to dinner, lunch and stuff like that.

Nothing beats sashimi, and I've been craving for mentaiko/karasumi (I don't know which) for a year ever since I watched it on tv! :D Natto also tastes better than I thought :]


The four plates (without natto) costs 82.92 SGD o_O But the sashimi was seriously damn fresh zomg I'll love anybody who can feed me this everyday T.T


We also bought a small piece of camembert (cheese) and zomg, KIMCHI!!! I also tasted a macaron for the first time in my entire life O: All these were from a supermarket similar to TheMarketplace but its called Threesixty instead.



Tomorrow's gonna be another hectic day: visiting grandma in the morning, third aunt in afternoon, shopping after that and countdown at night! :D

Off to bathe!

Day 18



I visited the doctor in the morning, my third time during this trip. The medicine was extremelby bitter but the porridge, fishballs and vegetables my mom cooked were delicious :] During lunch, I finished 10.5 episodes of doraemon (I wonder how many episodes there are) and I plan to finish the remaining episodes AND watch a few episodes of Atashin'chi the next few days. The people here don't watch Atashin'chi anymore though ):

In the afternoon, my mom and I went to this art shop and bought quite alot of stuff. Its nothing like art friend though, its only a tiny shop with a few catalogues on a table so you tell the shop keeper what you want and she'll bring it to you in a box.

We were there till the shop closed at 6 and my mom, dad, aunt, cousin and I had dinner at a little shop called "four seasons". Lip smacking dishes and dessert, I absolutely LOVE mango pancake!



Yesterday, I went to church with my parents and a few relatives cause they had this anniversary celebration thing for couples. So my cousin and I were in charge of taking photos. BUT, they only let us take photos in front, not at the seats so he pangseh-ed me. Felt so awkward walking around with a camera in front of the church zzz.

We had lunch at a jap restaurant:


Its abit dark but I don't have the time to post other pictures yet.

The pearl milk tea made me hyperactive and I also almost vomitted on the bus after that. I'm not drinking milk tea for the next 3 weeks, it makes me DAMN hyperactive, such that I couldn't stand not moving around or talking for like...3 or 4 hours?!

Food was so-s0, the previous jap meal was better. Visited my grandma at the hospital at tuenmun after that and bought a card reader and a microSD for my mom.



27th was the BIG party with my relatives! (7 families)


Alot of food! But not enough to fill everybody's stomachs ): (tiramisu missing from picture)


My cousins were bored and started editing pictures -_-

Guess who! LOL, all of them hate him alot so they added a picture of a dung on his shirt too. That's chen yi xun if you haven't known by now :P He was already in this pitiful state by the time I entered the "cousins only" room. I have 6 cousins btw, 5 male 1 female.

They randomly got a picture of a businessman and edited it too (I joined in the fun at this point), and even wanted to send it back to him but couldn't find his email, just his company's... haha.





Oh, who has webcam can webcam with me Terie and I had quite some fun yesterday, until my keyboard and mouse died on me. I had to unplug them several times...

Still on my shopping list is a keyboard for myself (everybody complains about it), thumbdrive, memorysticks, a mouse (for my computer, not my hamsters), jeans, dresses, jackets, sneakers, sportshoes, piano scores, some assorted stuff, food.... -__-

I also need an external harddrive to put my doraemon, Atashin'chi, lust caution and smap x smap but I don't think I'll be able to get one now so ):



1 more week and I'll be back! Mine's a sunday 4pm cathay flight, and I'll REALLY miss hongkong alot ):


I apologize for this very boring post, I'll write more after bathing or something. Its a trip to some offshore island tomorrow with a bunch of adults I don't really know so good luck to me -_- One teenager and a big bunch of adults in their 50s.....

Hi folks, this is my christmas dinner. I think its MUCH better than your turkies and puddings and log cakes. I'm practising the art of self-denial.

(I'm beginning to think I need BOTH grammar and vocab classes cause I wasn't even certain if I used the word correctly zomg! Maybe the O'levels were a good thing afterall >:[ )


and THIS...

was my very wonderful christmas eve lunch. I bet its much better than your christmas spreads added together! .... ):




at least there's my small number of presents (but I'm happy cause I expected nothing, anyway)....

Christmas gift #4! From my cousin's girlfriend whom I've always wanted to meet. One of the reasons why I declined my aunt's offer to eat at her place was because I thought she wasn't coming! That's a monkey puppet and the blue thing is my hand.

If I can, I'll try to go out today and get her a gift or write her a card :] She's really very nice and my cousin is damn sweet to her! I think they look like each other, hope they get married soon and give birth to cute little kids! :P


christmas gift #5! from my 表姨. Its like some incense thingy I think.




wait, I've already got my first 2 presents way before christmas right?

SO WHAT WAS MY 3rd PRESENT?!?!
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THIS!!!!

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.
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gross shit. That's my 凉茶. DO YOU SEE THE ICKY STUFF IN FRONT?!



they are...


crickets' shed husks/skin.

Yes so stop groaning I'm drinking this...dump of thing. Instructions were to add 5 bowls of water to these 药材 and boil for 50 minutes.


there were peppermint too and they smell great. The medicine still tasted freaking bitter though, I finished two rolls of the hawflakes just for one packet of that medicine @.@



But I call this my christmas present because it miraculously made me cough out a ball of phlegm + blood that made me feel much better after that.

I actually took a picture of that ball of thing (that looks like a zygote/fetus/ball of cells, seriously) but I don't think I should show it to you guys cause it'll make you sick.





My mom boiled the second pack for me this morning..


I took 41 photos of the smoke cause they were pretty! I'm not gonna post everything, of course. I'll only show you 4 then.

billowing clouds of smoke. My dad haven't been cleaning the tiles, I can tell -_-


the smoke got less..


...and then there were none. well, almost.


it looks like some black 温泉, there was ALOT ALOT of smoke but it couldn't be captured on the camera.

That's my mom pouring more 凉茶 into another cup. She forgot to add 蜜枣 so it tasted DAMN DISGUSTING.

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FOOD:


辣椒鲜鱿! yes squid! :D (macro-ed wrong thing LOL)


my favourite dim sum in all its glory (its the same dish, yes)


i forgot its name its a special kind of char siew pao


鲜竹卷 and 虾饺 (har kao)


cold dish (Y)


The fried was had a really special taste and the 马来糕 was the nicest i've ever had.


鸡蛋仔! something like our waffles, you can buy around40 balls for 9 HKD (SGD 1.66) Especially nice when you eat it hot during the cold weather :}


they nickname this "film" (the black one). Its actually sesame roll. The one at the back is 马来糕 again, but its a different type so its not as nice.


Some lamb hot pot. My mom and dad shared it while the rest were at home 过冬-ing


THIS IS AWESOME. AWESOME.

You might be disgusted after I tell you what it is but it has the greatest texture, taste, everything. That is called 猪红. Yes, pig's blood.


They call this 星洲炒米 (Singapore fried noodles?) Its nothing compared to Hokkien mee.


炒河粉. This picture looks weird portrait or landscape o_O


greatest 豆腐花 on earth (the smiley makes it even better)


beer served in a metal mug!


I helped my cousin tie her hair the other day! Looks cool, no?

(this is under "food" but its not food)
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Here are some photos from the cable car trip (ngong ping 360):


it was a 21 minute ride


I found a scarf tied to the handrail! Its like it was tied there to remember the death of someone :X don't think it was true though, at least I hope its not cause I touched it..


Me, my cousins 毅泓 (THE SUPER FUNNY ONE 2 years younger) and 毅杰 (THE SUPER CUTE ONE)


beautiful sunset O:


night view from cablecar




Lastly, here are the books I bought from the bookfair the other day (I can't be bothered to take out my mom's stack)


two of them are for my brother and since I can't decide which photo looks clearer (they're pretty much the same actually), you'll have both. HAHAHA.



I'm currently reading Mister God, This is Anna because its the only book small and light enough for me to bring around. (I think most of you should have read it by now) The book I really want to read is My sister's keeper but its very heavy so I'll read it in Singapore.

Why is the holiday named Boxing Day?

The holiday is named Boxing Day because the tradition of giving gifts of cash, food, clothing and other goods to the less fortunate were placed into boxes for easier transportation. The goods were distributed based on the family needs and their services to the giver.

What is Boxing Day?

Boxing Day is a day the higher classes gave gifts to the lower classes. Before or on December 25th people of similar class would exchange gifts to celebrate the Christmas season. Gifts were not exchanged with the lower class until the next day called Boxing Day. It is also known as St. Stephen’s Day.

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I always thought boxing day was the day where kids rip their presents and get their christmas presents from their boxes :p Didn't know it was created to give thanks and assist the less fortunate in the community O:

I don't think most people really understand the true meaning behind christmas besides the fact that Jesus was born on that day. Or is it only me?!

"GO AWAY, ME WANT PREZZIEEE!! ME FIRST!!!!"

"TEEHEEHEEHEEHEE ME LOVE SANTA"

See the kids only want their presents!!! Me too, maybe! HAHA (Have I told you I believed in santa until primary 6 when my mom told me they were the santas?! Hey, at least I got double the amount of presents from my parents okay!)

Just read the post below I'm so going to watch it another time and appreciate the details ;D

In America

Well you know, I was still "moaning" about spending my christmas alone just now. My aunt actually asked my mom and I over for dinner right after she reached home but I declined the offer.

Firstly, I was (and am) still kinda sick and secondly, I've just started on In America and didn't want to stop watching. Sitting back on the armchair with closed curtains and a movie playing on the projector screen would be the best it can ever get for a home theatre effect.




Needless to say, In America was simply a great film. What's all the fuss about this movie, you ask? I watched most of it on my brother's tiny monitor back in primary 5 and it became one of my favourite movies of all time even though I was still too young to understand some parts back then.



I quote from wikipedia a quote from Steve Parsall, "This is a tearjerker for all the right reasons. Because it's delicately manipulative and the characters are so precisely emotional. And because Sheridan's manner with the material makes crying seem like a cleansing, an affirmation that something so simple and sweet can still move us . . . I loved this unassuming, heartfelt little gem, even if I couldn't stop sobbing for an hour after the show. It's just so beautiful."


My sentiments, exactly. I'd have to disagree with the "couldn't stop sobbing for an hour after the show" part though, because it surprisingly didn't make me cry as much as I thought I would. That itself is the beauty of them film, it does not have any particularly striking storyline, but its direction for a simple and heartfelt story is enough to help you understand many things in life.

For me, I never truly realised the seriousness of the death of a loved one until I watched it. I also learnt that we should always look forward to the greater things in life instead of wallowing in self-pity over a loss.


The film was a tribute to the director's (Jim Sheridan) brother, Frankie Sheridan, who had died when he was 10. Most of it takes place in Hell's kitchen, Manhattan and is about an Irish family which moved to America to forget the death of Frankie, their son (and brother in the 2 sister's case). It tells us about the life and troubles of penniless immigrants and the pain of the loss of a family member.


What deeply moved me was when this violent drug addict, Mateo, softened up to the girls, christy and ariel (the girls telling the story), after they banged on his door during halloween and spoke to him just like a friend. Later in the movie, before he died, he paid for all the hospital bills for the mom's hospital stay before giving birth.

I also cried when the premature baby first moved it limbs and stopped crying after the mom held out her finger for him.

There was also a part where dad was playing this hide and seek game with the kids when the mom asked, "You never looked for me, have you?"

and then he replied, "I wasn't looking for you, because I know I can always find you wherever you are."



No wonder its got itself 3 Oscar nominations, another 18 wins & 33 nominations. Also, I seem to have this really soft spot for bad guys who become more gentle (or become human) after being touched or loved by a particular person. Watch sora kara and you'll understand O: (Sora kara soundtrack is awesome, btw)



There's one word to describe this movie: beautiful.

and there's one comment from me: just watch it, you'll never regret it. Download it, torrent it, watch it online..I can lend you the disc if you want.


Desperado by The eagles. This song appeared in the movie when Christy was singing it.


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...I just wrote alot of stuff when I told myself not to -__- Hope I didn't spoil it. I think I need some grammar classes. BECAUSE I THINK MY GRAMMAR SUCKS. tyvm ):

The next movies I want to catch are, Artificial Intelligence (watched it more than 3 times), Taxi Driver, Pride and Prejudice, Breakfast at the Tiffany's!



Damn it, the cable's with my dad and he's not back yet. There's pictures of my stack books, the icky stuff in my liang cha (Its gross I swear), my dinner (I regret not going for the dinner tonight cause my cousin's girlfriend was there) and my...ball of phlegm. NAH I'm not gonna post that up.


My cousin's girlfriend gave me a monkey puppet and its real cute! She's very pretty, very nice and she's called windy. I like her alot (not because of the present).

The other christmas present I have is from my 2nd aunt and 6th aunt. Its a very nice bag that I've been using for a few days already (its still my christmas gift). Oh yes, my mom gave me that esprit wallet as a christmas present too but its already getting a teeny bit dirty!


My cousin hasn't recovered from her fascination of having her own handphone so she sms-es me whenever she can. I admit I don't reply immediately cause I've been watching my dramas and movies ):

I coughed out a THICK ball of phlegm (mostly blood, in fact) an hour after drinking a cup of that icky liang cha the doctor gave me today. Actually, it looks as if I just coughed out a fetus or zygote or a ball of cells. Its gross but I feel much better now :]


Lastly, I think I have the nicest relatives around. Even though I only go back once a year or two, they treat me so well, calling me ever so often when they heard I was sick. Somehow, I think i'll miss hongkong alot alot alot alot when 4th of january comes.



Dearest all, Merry christmas.

Wait, Happy Boxing day, its already 12:23 am.

A heart that has been touched can never live alone again.


The last episode of sora kara furu ichioku no hoshi never fails to make it cry. Being misunderstood really sucks, its like you can feel for ryo when yuko shot him. I'm not very good at conveying all my thoughts (alot of them, actually) into words so I'll leave the drama to your own appreciation. I think its a nice feeling to be able to change somebody like that.


try clicking on the picture ^_^
Take it as a christmas present from me to you :P


and here's the (very touching) movie I watched yesterday.
TRY CLICKING ON IT (picture) TOO! That's my 2nd christmas present for you guys :] I always liked the female actress acting as the young akari, btw.


My christmas of 2008, the only one and the last I'll ever have, has been spent watching the the whole series of sora kara. And In America moments later. Not a bad choice for a drama, I like rewatching things and notice new details each time.


But its rather lonely here. My mom's out to visit her friend, my dad's in china working, my brother's with his friends in Singapore, my relatives are having a church party while the rest are having their own little family gathering...

and I'm stuck at home all by myself in Hong Kong with a slight fever, an itching (and hurting) throat and two cups of seriously bitter liang cha.


Where is my piano when I need it?!



At least I have some tag replies to do:

David Santos: Brilliant!!!!!!!!
{BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!}

FELICIA (:: emma when will you be back!
{4th! (I've already answered you anyway :P}

ken: dont lie ):
{about? me not believing you that you're coming? -__-}

Jason: yo! merry christmas!
{merry christmast too and have a good day! I hope your arm breaks this year like mine! jk ^_^}

ANNA: ZHU GUANG BAO QI! That's e show i bought in msia! but im missing e next half of the show:(
ANNA: anw merry christmas!
{HAHA REALLY! ky catches that show everyday too! (almost, at least) watch it online! I missed much more than you though cause I keep coming back home late >:[ }




Have a merry christmas everyone, its time I learned to enjoy these rare moments with me, myself and I.

Treasure every single moment in life, especially with the ones you love.



I just watched a very touching movie, its called 10 promises to my dog / 犬と私の10の約束 /Inu to Watashi no 10 no Yakusoku

Im' still running a fever and crying made everything worse. My cousin lent me the disc she rented and I've waited for my mom to come home so we could watch it together, my dad just caught it halfway cause he has work in china tomorrow. Its kinda stupid that they don't celebrate christmas up there, what is christmas with your family members all in different places?



9. You have your work, your entertainment, and your friends. I have only you.

10. Go with me on difficult journeys. Everything is easier for me if you are there. Remember I love you . . . (I found this especially touching, cause this represents what her mom wants to say to her)



Need some rest now, and I hope I'll be better on Christmas day.




Watch the movie if you have the chance, touching stories like these are much more meaningful that your action packed thrillers. I think I'll catch In America or Artificial Intelligence tomorrow.




Signing off at 12:06 am on 25th december.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! :D

Sick on christmas eve.


It started with a terrible sore throat last night and when I woke up this morning, I was running a fever. Went to the zhong yi to get some yao cai and in there were some dried insects o_O

I promised to watch madagascar with my cousin though, so I popped a neurofen tablet in after eating breakfast. The movie was so-so, I don't like the show in cantonese >: [

There's Galileo (the movie), despereaux and bedtime stories but I don't think there's time for me to watch all of them ):



The medicine tastes horrible, I'm gonna take a rest now.

I still can't believe I'm sick on christmas eve .__.

Day 12: Visiting Godma & Godpa + Bookfair


My mom and I took the MTR to 北角 and met up with my Godmother at the exit. We walked to a 茶楼, where my godpa and Carol, a friend of my mom and godma, (they used to be colleagues when my mom was still teaching in hk) were waiting .

Everyone said they won't be able to recognize me if they saw me on the streets. o_O The last time I saw my godpa was four years ago and I haven't been writing much to him, especially this year ): I could tell he was really excited to see me though.


The choice of word was "excited" because he's like a kid and adults don't get excited that easily right? He's such an interesting old man, it makes writing a whole essay all about him a piece of cake!

I won't torment you hungry peeps by posting pictures of the food (though I took alot of pictures today too)....JUST BECAUSE IT WASN'T THAT NICE TODAY :D I'm too old for santa claus so it doesn't matter if I'm naughty or evil hahah....



Here are some pictures:


Godma, me, mom, and their friend Carol (Auntie Carol)


Godma, Godpa, me, mom.


My Godma's a principal of a school and my Godpa is just....very cute and funny!


He's the kind of person who'll throw insults at you 24/7 (mostly true, but most people won't do that), so he keeps pissing my Godma off. I can't count the number of insults he's thrown at my mom with my 10 fingers so my Godma said this to him: (english translation)

"If you continue insulting her she won't want to visit you anymore and as a punishment I won't let you see your God daugther!"

Ohyes, I don't understand why he likes seeing me, I think i'm the only female (in my generation) he knows LOL.



Anyway, he has a wicked sense of humour. He's really clever and his brain works really quickly so he can churn out the funniest jokes within seconds, most of them consisting of word play (best jokes!). I can't remember the funnier examples, but he said:

Him: "你知不知道 除志摩 是瞎的吗？”

Me: “真的？”

Him: “当然！他 随处摸 (touch everywhere?!) 嘛！”

Hmm actually you can only understand if you know cantonese. both are of the same pronounciation LOL. He has alot of these kind of jokes that makes you go ROFL. He can piss my godma off but after awhile she'll break into a smile again cause his jokes (actually they're just blabbering) are so funny and cute HAHA.

Sometimes he's so crappy, nobody listens to him. So when my mom, godma and friend are talking about more serious matters, he'll either start his chain of criticisms relating to their topic or blabber a whole load of rubbish andd try to get their attention like a kid. So I'll talk to him and the rest might follow too.

When he gets impatient (like the waiters don't serve us), he'll go get his own water or do other random stuff. My Godma would start "lecturing" him but he won't care.

Then he'll start insulting people again and utter more nonsense (real funny crap) and sometimes churn out some really meaningful and wise statement.



Oh, he has a huge ego too. He was like, “世上没有我真是没有乐趣！” (the world won't be a fun place without me). At these times, the adults will start insulting him back then ignore him. Another thing he does when he gets bored is to sing or....talk more gibberish.


His insults aside, he's a great person to be with cause he's just so interesting! No, I take my words back, his insults make him funny actually. Most people won't take them to heart anyway :P


That's already a quarter of an essay and there's so much more I can write about him! He's also a really moody guy, cause he can be grumpy and emo the whole day and refuse to talk to you. Today's a good day cause he's being cheerful HAHAHA.

I don't know how my godma ended up with him cause she's the complete opposite! My godma's a very nice person :]




After lunch, we walked to a place where we took a bus to their apartment.


passed by this shop.



and...


SAW THESE LIFTS!!!!


You have to MANUALLY open the door (refer to picture) and look its just so old @.@

The rest of the shops around it are all very new so I suppose they want to retain these old fashioned lifts and remind the younger generation of the older days?!

First time I've seen these lifts in my whole life!!

...



Then we reached their house! Its at a place called peacock road:


I remember this pond!


and I used to run around this slope at night!


Their unit (the white bulging thing is the security guard "box") with the clothes and stuff


another picture. And yes, the Christmas flowers (poinsettia) are real cause its quite cold here. Temperature is 11 degrees today!


They have the COOLEST stuff in their house like the FIRST instrument of china, some cup called the 贪心杯 that has a hole at the bottom. When its not full, water won't leak but when you fill it to the brim, the water will start flowing out from the hole at the bottom! don't know how it works o_O

There's also massage chairs, electrical sole massagers, digital temperature controller for the shower, and the coolest table around. Oh, and electrical hole punchers where you just slot the paper in and its done.

Godma had an appointment so we left after awhile. She treated me to coffee malteasers!


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After that, my mom and I took a bus to the HK convention centre for a BOOK FAIR. My other uncle gave us tickets :D

The offer was buy 2 get 1 free for english novels! one for HKD 59, 3 books for HKD 119! That's around 7 SGD for one novel and you can only get them at like, 18 SGD k. So I kinda got crazy...

There's stuff you guys all read like jodi picoult, judith mcnaught, tom clancy, dave pelzer, cecilia ahern, Michael crichton, dean koontz, nora roberts...BLA BLA BLA, REALLY ALOT.

So I took around 40, sat on the floor and had a really hard time doing eliminations. A photographer took many photos of me cause he thinks Im' amuzing -__-


Photographer: "YOU'RE BUYING ALL?"
Me: "of course not!!! Doing eliminations now!"
Photographer: "BUY ALL! So I can take a photo of you carrying all the books!"


I won't of course I'll look like an idiot (I'm certain I looked like an idiot with my screwed up face trying to decide which books to not buy D:)

Anyway, I spent an hour just to make my decision on the final 15 books I bought. The receipt was real long cause my mom bought a stack to...You won't want to know the price cause its quite scary. The journey home was terrible cause the books were so freaking heavy!!!!




My dad was already at home so he cooked this FANTASTIC cup noodles for us:


The beef is not dried, its packed so its still tender!


(red packet is the beef)


loveeeee.




I'm watching madagascar with my cuzzie tomorrow. and i love watching zhu guang bao qi on tv! PLUS, i learnt a new phrase: za za lum!!!




and so to bed!