so i've always known that i'm not exactly the most technically savvy person out there. but it only really just occured to me that not only am i totally under-utilizing my mac, but i just don't know enough about what the internet and technology has to offer!
so check this out. there's a user who has posted up a list of 25 of his top mac applications that he could not live without. of this list of 25, i currently have three installed on my own mac. these are: skype, handbrake and firefox. okay, so two of which are not mac-specific. that makes this even more pathetic to think about.
now going beyond this, the other 22 - i never even heard of! and to make things worse (or embarrassing), questions like "what's a BitTorrent client?" and "how does RSS feeds work?" crossed my mind.
i asked my brother to explain to me how RSS feeds work. his explanation was clear and simple. but somehow, i just can't get it. but. i have dared to be brave and have now downloaded NetNewsWire to dabble in. i will let you know how it goes!
in any case, i'm sure this is going to be interesting. but somehow, i'm still worried. downloading things from the net, whilst illegal, is moreover worrying for me! i just can't do it. i never know what looks like a good file or what files are going to have viruses. i don't know how people do it! it took me ages to get the concept of a torrent and how that whole thing works. somehow, i'd rather PAY for my stuff and do it the "right" way, rather than have to worry about downloading a worm or a trojan or another crazy computer bug.
hah. "computer bug". i guess really am a noob.
=.=
oh. and don't even get me started on the intellectual property argument. i've been thinking WAYYY too much about it the past few days. actually, you know what? i think i'll keep that topic on the table for a another dawning day. =))
*crap is crap*
usually, i'm the kind that never has nothing to say. i really do always have an opinion. about everything.
but the for the past two weeks (which seems like forever), i've been left surprizingly opinionless.
i'm not entirely sure what's to blame but these days i sit in my classes and i just think. wow. how come everyone knows so much?
how is it that the world's wealth of knowledge seems like it's been transferred to everyone else, except for me?
i feel foreign.
there was a point in time when i first got back from canada/US after a good six months of being abroad. and in class everyone was talking about the recent election and how australia was just about ready to be flushed down the toilet (of course this topic was discussed a lot more eloquently and passionately featuring extremist cases of political "jargon" and other such wisecracks). but for the life of me, even though i had followed the federal election briefly on youtube and news.com.au, i sat there not able to even recall who the new australian prime minister was, let alone being able to discuss new rudd policy directions, budgets, platforms and all of that stuff. shame on me! right?
so now, there are times when i think that i'm totally out of my league. is it my fault that i use common sense as my primary platform of political interpretation? ultimately, i just think that theories should exist to help us make sense of reality. but if a theory doesn't do anything except confuse reality even more, then it really must be a crap theory even if it was theorized by some dead guy who was the founder of whatever institution that was world-renown for watever reason.
honestly. crap is crap. why can't we just leave it at that?
but the for the past two weeks (which seems like forever), i've been left surprizingly opinionless.
i'm not entirely sure what's to blame but these days i sit in my classes and i just think. wow. how come everyone knows so much?
how is it that the world's wealth of knowledge seems like it's been transferred to everyone else, except for me?
i feel foreign.
there was a point in time when i first got back from canada/US after a good six months of being abroad. and in class everyone was talking about the recent election and how australia was just about ready to be flushed down the toilet (of course this topic was discussed a lot more eloquently and passionately featuring extremist cases of political "jargon" and other such wisecracks). but for the life of me, even though i had followed the federal election briefly on youtube and news.com.au, i sat there not able to even recall who the new australian prime minister was, let alone being able to discuss new rudd policy directions, budgets, platforms and all of that stuff. shame on me! right?
so now, there are times when i think that i'm totally out of my league. is it my fault that i use common sense as my primary platform of political interpretation? ultimately, i just think that theories should exist to help us make sense of reality. but if a theory doesn't do anything except confuse reality even more, then it really must be a crap theory even if it was theorized by some dead guy who was the founder of whatever institution that was world-renown for watever reason.
honestly. crap is crap. why can't we just leave it at that?
*i marvel at God*
so today was probably one of my most scary days ever.
it started off with getting out of bed on the wrong side. as crazy as it sounds, my head just didn't feel right. i didn't feel good when i got dressed, i didn't feel good when i got in my car and i definitely didn't feel right when i got on the freeway then realized that i had forgotten my wallet.
things got worse because i was late for work and for a seminar (which was completely boring by the way). and then i was totally unproductive at work. things started to look up over lunch with liz, but then working after lunch was just totally painful.
so at about 4 o'clock, i decided that enough was enough and that it was time to go home. i packed my stuff and was out of the office by 4:30.
bad move.
i was so tired, my eyes kept closing. but then i got on the freeway and was relatively awake. i was only driving for about 5 minutes, past canning bridge on kwinana freeway. i was driving about 15 meters behind a ford falcon wagon pulling a trailer. then it all happened so fast. i saw the ratchet rattling... and before i knew it there was a block of metal the size of a large clay brick flying at me. i tried to take a quick look in my mirrors, but i couldn't swerve because there were cars in both lanes either side of me. so i saw it flying, screamed with my mouth wide open, then it hit. i even think i swallowed glass.
so all i can say now is that God is good. because if that metal brick thing hit any harder, i'm not entirely sure i'd be here right now! see have a look at this: it looks way worse in real life.
so apart from being thankful that i'm still alive, i'm also thankful for friendship. sadly, ronnie and christa and baby jayden went back to new york after three years of stirring ministry here in perth. we're all so sad to see them go but i know that God has big things planned for them.
so here's a happy-sad moment sending them off at the airport:
and finally, there's other types of friendship which i find totally liberating. and i'm definitely thankful for it. the type of friendship where i'm be free to be myself, say what i want to say and be totally carefree.
there's many things that i'm thankful for. and today really just reminded me that you know what? i don't want to die yet. there's so many things that i still would like to have the chance to do.
but honestly, i marvel at God, the things that He creates and the ways that He shows us His love.
it started off with getting out of bed on the wrong side. as crazy as it sounds, my head just didn't feel right. i didn't feel good when i got dressed, i didn't feel good when i got in my car and i definitely didn't feel right when i got on the freeway then realized that i had forgotten my wallet.
things got worse because i was late for work and for a seminar (which was completely boring by the way). and then i was totally unproductive at work. things started to look up over lunch with liz, but then working after lunch was just totally painful.
so at about 4 o'clock, i decided that enough was enough and that it was time to go home. i packed my stuff and was out of the office by 4:30.
bad move.
i was so tired, my eyes kept closing. but then i got on the freeway and was relatively awake. i was only driving for about 5 minutes, past canning bridge on kwinana freeway. i was driving about 15 meters behind a ford falcon wagon pulling a trailer. then it all happened so fast. i saw the ratchet rattling... and before i knew it there was a block of metal the size of a large clay brick flying at me. i tried to take a quick look in my mirrors, but i couldn't swerve because there were cars in both lanes either side of me. so i saw it flying, screamed with my mouth wide open, then it hit. i even think i swallowed glass.
so all i can say now is that God is good. because if that metal brick thing hit any harder, i'm not entirely sure i'd be here right now! see have a look at this: it looks way worse in real life.
so apart from being thankful that i'm still alive, i'm also thankful for friendship. sadly, ronnie and christa and baby jayden went back to new york after three years of stirring ministry here in perth. we're all so sad to see them go but i know that God has big things planned for them.
so here's a happy-sad moment sending them off at the airport:
and finally, there's other types of friendship which i find totally liberating. and i'm definitely thankful for it. the type of friendship where i'm be free to be myself, say what i want to say and be totally carefree.
there's many things that i'm thankful for. and today really just reminded me that you know what? i don't want to die yet. there's so many things that i still would like to have the chance to do.
but honestly, i marvel at God, the things that He creates and the ways that He shows us His love.
*just because*
rule: routine needs to be nipped in the bud.
that's what i keep thinking everytime i get home from work, tired. i just want to sleep. or plonk my butt on the couch. but then, i'll always find something to do. then by the time i have dinner and finish doing whatever i was doing, when i get into bed, it's always 12am, which is pretty late considering my days start at 6:45am. but then, at 12am, i always feel the urge to read. so, i give into the temptation and i whip out a novel to read. then once i start reading, i usually can't stop (especially if it's a robin jones gunn novel). so i read the book from cover to cover. by the time i put the 400+ page book down, it's 3am.
then i sleep.
for 3 hours.
at 6:45am, i'm rudely awakened by the sweet sounds of secondhand serenade, fall for you. which happens to be - my song. at that point in time i snooze my alarm. and do so roughly five to six times every morning. by the time i peel myself out of bed, it's 7:30am. at which point i realize that i'm late. not late by work standards, but late by my standards.
i realize that with a 7.5 hour work day, if i start at 7:30, i'll be done by 3:30. but if i start at 9:00, then i'm there til 5:00. and that's just depressing. not to mention a pain in the butt because of the peak hour traffic both there AND back. so ideally? work should start at 7:30.
but like i said, routine needs to be nipped in the bud.
so let's say thanks because i think a "new" routine is dawning for me this year.
yay to that!
that's what i keep thinking everytime i get home from work, tired. i just want to sleep. or plonk my butt on the couch. but then, i'll always find something to do. then by the time i have dinner and finish doing whatever i was doing, when i get into bed, it's always 12am, which is pretty late considering my days start at 6:45am. but then, at 12am, i always feel the urge to read. so, i give into the temptation and i whip out a novel to read. then once i start reading, i usually can't stop (especially if it's a robin jones gunn novel). so i read the book from cover to cover. by the time i put the 400+ page book down, it's 3am.
then i sleep.
for 3 hours.
at 6:45am, i'm rudely awakened by the sweet sounds of secondhand serenade, fall for you. which happens to be - my song. at that point in time i snooze my alarm. and do so roughly five to six times every morning. by the time i peel myself out of bed, it's 7:30am. at which point i realize that i'm late. not late by work standards, but late by my standards.
i realize that with a 7.5 hour work day, if i start at 7:30, i'll be done by 3:30. but if i start at 9:00, then i'm there til 5:00. and that's just depressing. not to mention a pain in the butt because of the peak hour traffic both there AND back. so ideally? work should start at 7:30.
but like i said, routine needs to be nipped in the bud.
so let's say thanks because i think a "new" routine is dawning for me this year.
yay to that!
*extremities*
a colleague today told me about her 14-year-old brother who brought his 14-year-old girlfriend home for dinner. her mom simply freaked. she just didn't know how to deal with "losing" her baby boy. and while this brother of hers was the kind of boy to not lift a finger around the house (and get away with it), at dinner he got up, cleared his girl's plate and asked her "how did you like it honey?" with a smile.
it's things like this which make me really laugh and wonder.
i laugh because i realize that it's so typical for young ones in love to lash out extremities. some of which may be regretted later on. now this boy carlos is probably one week away from saying "i love you" to this poor girl, and it seems to me that the words "i love you" can be so unbelievably carelessly used these days.
i wonder for this reason: if young people are going to throw around "love" like an everyday word of passion, then what does it mean for people to say it when they really mean it? do we need to come up with a stronger word for love then?
when i was growing up, just saying that you "liked" someone was such a huge deal, complete with the whispers and the giggles. let alone saying that you "like liked" someone. so now, when kids say that they "love" someone, does it carry the same meaning as it used to?
personally, i feel that this is how it should be: once you truly love something or someone, it never goes away. i am a strong believer in eternal love. maybe that's because i'm Christian and i cherish the eternal love that God has for me. but this probably doesn't apply for everyone in this world (although i do hope that one day it does). but perhaps this explains my intolerance for people who say that they "love someone always", but then years down the track it turns out it's not true.
nevertheless, i try to think 10 years or 20 years in the future and i can imagine the linguistically emotional stuntedness of teenagers. if no one says that they "crush" someone or that they "like" someone, and if "love" loses it's meaning... then what's left?
xoxo. pheebs.
it's things like this which make me really laugh and wonder.
i laugh because i realize that it's so typical for young ones in love to lash out extremities. some of which may be regretted later on. now this boy carlos is probably one week away from saying "i love you" to this poor girl, and it seems to me that the words "i love you" can be so unbelievably carelessly used these days.
i wonder for this reason: if young people are going to throw around "love" like an everyday word of passion, then what does it mean for people to say it when they really mean it? do we need to come up with a stronger word for love then?
when i was growing up, just saying that you "liked" someone was such a huge deal, complete with the whispers and the giggles. let alone saying that you "like liked" someone. so now, when kids say that they "love" someone, does it carry the same meaning as it used to?
personally, i feel that this is how it should be: once you truly love something or someone, it never goes away. i am a strong believer in eternal love. maybe that's because i'm Christian and i cherish the eternal love that God has for me. but this probably doesn't apply for everyone in this world (although i do hope that one day it does). but perhaps this explains my intolerance for people who say that they "love someone always", but then years down the track it turns out it's not true.
nevertheless, i try to think 10 years or 20 years in the future and i can imagine the linguistically emotional stuntedness of teenagers. if no one says that they "crush" someone or that they "like" someone, and if "love" loses it's meaning... then what's left?
xoxo. pheebs.
*oh how things change*
generally speaking, when people welcome in a new year, it begins with resolutions, promises and others of the like. but one thing which i only noticed this year, is that the new year also brings dramatic change. i feel as if people around me are living towards new aspirations and are somewhat conscious of the fact that they really want something different from the year 2009.
work is definitely like this.
i kinda expected that it was going to be a bit weird coming back to my job after leaving for a couple of weeks. obviously, someone had to do my job when i was away, but i didn't quite expect to feel so... trodden over. it's not so much that i feel replaceable because to be honest, i'm actually quite relieved that i am so replaceable right now! but when i look ahead at the year 2009, i'm scared. scared is all i feel. overloading at uni and dealing with work and other commitments, while fulfilling my promise to myself that i WILL have a social life this year - it's all quite worrying. last year i kept getting frustrated because i was never able to go where i wanted to, despite the fact that transportation and finances were no object. time seems to run away from me. but i know for a fact that i don't want to be one of those 80 year olds sitting in a rocking chair while looking back on life realizing that i spent my 20s working hard at things that didn't really matter.
friends matter.
faith matters.
even uni matters.
when it comes to compromise. i suck. i really really do suck. i'll be the first to admit that decision making has never been my forte. put me in a petrol kiosk with 25 different kinds of beverages? chances are, i'll walk out with five, just because i couldn't decide. and that's after 20 minutes of serious deliberation.
but the problem is that life isn't like the petrol kiosk refrigerators. it's actually a lot harder. and so this is where i'm lacking. the only problem now is that i know where my head is at, but the action part of the equation lags quite far behind.
well, now it's time for a p.s.
honesty is a virtue that is often ignored. but i personally think that the virtue most forgotten these days is patience.
patience in answers.
patience in prayers.
patience in wisdom.
patience in friendship.
patience in knowing what's right even though everything else tells you it's wrong.
xoxo. pheebs.
work is definitely like this.
i kinda expected that it was going to be a bit weird coming back to my job after leaving for a couple of weeks. obviously, someone had to do my job when i was away, but i didn't quite expect to feel so... trodden over. it's not so much that i feel replaceable because to be honest, i'm actually quite relieved that i am so replaceable right now! but when i look ahead at the year 2009, i'm scared. scared is all i feel. overloading at uni and dealing with work and other commitments, while fulfilling my promise to myself that i WILL have a social life this year - it's all quite worrying. last year i kept getting frustrated because i was never able to go where i wanted to, despite the fact that transportation and finances were no object. time seems to run away from me. but i know for a fact that i don't want to be one of those 80 year olds sitting in a rocking chair while looking back on life realizing that i spent my 20s working hard at things that didn't really matter.
friends matter.
faith matters.
even uni matters.
when it comes to compromise. i suck. i really really do suck. i'll be the first to admit that decision making has never been my forte. put me in a petrol kiosk with 25 different kinds of beverages? chances are, i'll walk out with five, just because i couldn't decide. and that's after 20 minutes of serious deliberation.
but the problem is that life isn't like the petrol kiosk refrigerators. it's actually a lot harder. and so this is where i'm lacking. the only problem now is that i know where my head is at, but the action part of the equation lags quite far behind.
well, now it's time for a p.s.
honesty is a virtue that is often ignored. but i personally think that the virtue most forgotten these days is patience.
patience in answers.
patience in prayers.
patience in wisdom.
patience in friendship.
patience in knowing what's right even though everything else tells you it's wrong.
xoxo. pheebs.
*welcome to 2009*
so it's the the first day of the new year! gosh 2008 went fast. like really. i feel like i barely accomplished anything! hopefully though looking to the new year, 2009 will hold better things!
okay so as promised, i still have a lot more photos to share from my travels. the rest of these start from tuesday last week, when we took a ferry over from hong kong to zhongsan. my uncle and aunty have been living there for the past four years, and let me tell you, after spending a week in hong kong, relatively unplanned about where to go and what to see, it was such a fantastic feeling to have a tour guide and a driver!!! since my uncle is the general manager for a plant over there, he was so cool to have his driver take us around zhongsan and then take two day trips to shenzhen and guangzhou. it's always really good when you meet family abroad though!
anyhow, here's the snaps and a rundown of our china trip so far:
this is the CKS ferry that we hopped on, it was about a one and a half hours ride from HK to zhongsan. seeing that we were all pretty knackered, we slept through most of it anyway! so no, i don't actually remember it being very bumpy, but it sure was foggy outside! but then again, maybe it could've been thick smog or pollution, in china, you never really know!
so maybe the van curtin is slightly in the way, but still it was a funny sight! so that makes two motorcyclists that i've seen carrying some heavy duty equipment! one guy tied a washing machine to the back of his bike! i really was waiting to see a guy carrying 15 people stacked up. would've made for quite a photo huh?
in guangzhou, we went for lunch at a thai restaurant called Banana Leaf. so we get seated, i look around, quite bewildered at the two massive trees which seem to spread all over the ceiling. so naturally, i look up to check out the superficiality of the tree leaves. but then, i don't see bananas hanging from the tree, but i see a multitude of massive durians! i'm not sure if that was intentional, or if they just couldn't find fake bananas to hang off the tree (but then it is china and they can make anything right?) or if they just got lazy and thought their patrons wouldn't notice! strange...
like i mentioned before, china makes for much more funny english and signage than hong kong.
it also seems that china makes for good food when you know where to go. my uncle brought us to his regular teppanyaki place. the chef simply put was very very skilled. i'm not sure i agree with her recommendations of which sauce to use on what meat, but the way she de-shelled those prawns had me amazed. needless to say, it's pretty cool watching people cook for you when their hands move so fast.
another night for dinner our uncle took us to "Seaport City Restaurant". now this place was just crazily amazing! i've never been to a restaurant like it before. firstly, we had our own room. and second, we had our own private bathroom. let's just say that it was very very very posh.
the other thing that i've realized this trip is that i think i'm an animals-right-ist at heart. prior to this trip, i usually could care less about what animal i'm eating because i think the food chain exists for a reason (i do however draw the line at dogs and cats). but over the past two weeks, every time we've eaten chicken (which by the way happens to my favorite edible animal), my heart churns because they always always ALWAYS put the head on the plate for display with the rest of the body! i really do think it's totally gross and just completely unnecessary. =(
chicken aside, seaport was so posh that if you wanted a seafood dish and wished to choose exactly which fish/crab/lobster/sea cucumber/snake/eel/prawn you wanted, you took the lift down to the ground floor and picked them straight out of the tank/tub. now the fish and the prawns i could deal with, but my goodness! i have never ever seen so many snakes ready to be eaten! there were cages and cages, and buckets full of them. it was totally rank! however, i must say that the prawns that my uncle chose were pretty huge, and not to mention, tasty! =p
okay moving on, shenzhen made for some good shopping experiences - especially for raph! it was hilarious, we went to a upmarket shopping center that day and for the most part we were just browsing as stuff was suprizingly expensive! we then wandered into Jack Jones, which seems to be a pretty good brand over here (it's somehow related to the brand, Only). now the salesgirls in this store were particularly leechy, and i had purposely made a bee line straight out of the store a few minutes earlier because one of the girls was seriously seriously stalking me. but anyhow, raph was trying on a few jackets here and there, and one salesgirls just totally got attached. but i've gotta say. she was just so good. and even though she spoke really little english, and we even less mandarin, we still managed to work our way around getting sizes and what not. single-handedly, she managed to up raph's purchase from just one jacket, to the jacket, shirt and vest! i know it doesn't sound like much, but when you consider that each item was pretty pricey, it was pretty skilled of her!
but what made the moment even "golder" was the fact that she ushered raph to the fitting room to try on all the merchandise. while waiting for him to dress up, rach and i ended up chatting to her. among other things, she asked us where we were from, whether we were working, how we related (p.s. she was totally suprized when we told her we were siblings - it must be the one child policy thing!), and then - whether or not raph had a girlfriend! she was totally excited and just really really cute. she helped raph to fold up his sleeves and she pretty much just told him straight out that the t-shirt he was wearing just wasn't good enough, and that he needed to walk out of the shop wearing the shirt from there! so of course, the moment warranted a snap!
cute huh?
the next day also saw another day trip to the city of guangzhou. we ended up leaving the house quite late today, so we didn't get much of a chance to do too much shopping once we were there. but our aunty took us to a pretty sweet market-y type bazaar in which we found some awesome bargains! i bought a bunch of jewelry and scarves =)
later on that night, we went on a night-cruise to see the lights of the city. while the bridges were pretty cool, it really just didn't compare to the other tours that i've been on - especially when you compare it to the east/hudson river in new york and pugent sound in seattle!
so that leg of our china trip ended on tuesday morning when mom, dad, rach and i took a ferry back to the HK airport in order to make our flight to shanghai. raph ended up taking a ferry back to HK to shop and party it up with friends there.
upon arriving in our hotel at shanghai, rach and i realized that there was seriously something suss about our hotel room. it seems to us, that this hotel, despite being awesomely located to everything touristy, is intentionally tailored for perverted travelers.
so not only does our room come equipped with a full packet of condoms, but it also has a hormonal supplement for dudes that need "assistance"! the funniest part of it is the descriptions on the back of the box. however, in fear for the young ones and innocent minds, i think it best not to post them up here! one other thing which adds to the perversion, is the fact that our shower has a half body mirror sitting right next to the shower head. =.= quoting from rach, it's probably of some assistance when hotel guests find themselves getting up to the heebie-geebies!
what i will post up here however for another laugh, is one page of the hotel's service directory. now there's only one instruction. click on the two photos below, and read it aloud to yourself:
and for an itemized description of the "list of artcles":
awesome english huh? honestly, as soon as i read it, i called my mum in her room, told her to flip to the page, and just started crying with laughter. i laughed so hard, my back started to hurt!
well that pretty much sums up my travels so far! =D
well i should be off, tomorrow has in store a day trip to hangzhou that happens to start at 6:30am! woohoo right? =.=
haha.
love,
pheebs.
okay so as promised, i still have a lot more photos to share from my travels. the rest of these start from tuesday last week, when we took a ferry over from hong kong to zhongsan. my uncle and aunty have been living there for the past four years, and let me tell you, after spending a week in hong kong, relatively unplanned about where to go and what to see, it was such a fantastic feeling to have a tour guide and a driver!!! since my uncle is the general manager for a plant over there, he was so cool to have his driver take us around zhongsan and then take two day trips to shenzhen and guangzhou. it's always really good when you meet family abroad though!
anyhow, here's the snaps and a rundown of our china trip so far:
this is the CKS ferry that we hopped on, it was about a one and a half hours ride from HK to zhongsan. seeing that we were all pretty knackered, we slept through most of it anyway! so no, i don't actually remember it being very bumpy, but it sure was foggy outside! but then again, maybe it could've been thick smog or pollution, in china, you never really know!
so maybe the van curtin is slightly in the way, but still it was a funny sight! so that makes two motorcyclists that i've seen carrying some heavy duty equipment! one guy tied a washing machine to the back of his bike! i really was waiting to see a guy carrying 15 people stacked up. would've made for quite a photo huh?
in guangzhou, we went for lunch at a thai restaurant called Banana Leaf. so we get seated, i look around, quite bewildered at the two massive trees which seem to spread all over the ceiling. so naturally, i look up to check out the superficiality of the tree leaves. but then, i don't see bananas hanging from the tree, but i see a multitude of massive durians! i'm not sure if that was intentional, or if they just couldn't find fake bananas to hang off the tree (but then it is china and they can make anything right?) or if they just got lazy and thought their patrons wouldn't notice! strange...
like i mentioned before, china makes for much more funny english and signage than hong kong.
it also seems that china makes for good food when you know where to go. my uncle brought us to his regular teppanyaki place. the chef simply put was very very skilled. i'm not sure i agree with her recommendations of which sauce to use on what meat, but the way she de-shelled those prawns had me amazed. needless to say, it's pretty cool watching people cook for you when their hands move so fast.
another night for dinner our uncle took us to "Seaport City Restaurant". now this place was just crazily amazing! i've never been to a restaurant like it before. firstly, we had our own room. and second, we had our own private bathroom. let's just say that it was very very very posh.
the other thing that i've realized this trip is that i think i'm an animals-right-ist at heart. prior to this trip, i usually could care less about what animal i'm eating because i think the food chain exists for a reason (i do however draw the line at dogs and cats). but over the past two weeks, every time we've eaten chicken (which by the way happens to my favorite edible animal), my heart churns because they always always ALWAYS put the head on the plate for display with the rest of the body! i really do think it's totally gross and just completely unnecessary. =(
chicken aside, seaport was so posh that if you wanted a seafood dish and wished to choose exactly which fish/crab/lobster/sea cucumber/snake/eel/prawn you wanted, you took the lift down to the ground floor and picked them straight out of the tank/tub. now the fish and the prawns i could deal with, but my goodness! i have never ever seen so many snakes ready to be eaten! there were cages and cages, and buckets full of them. it was totally rank! however, i must say that the prawns that my uncle chose were pretty huge, and not to mention, tasty! =p
okay moving on, shenzhen made for some good shopping experiences - especially for raph! it was hilarious, we went to a upmarket shopping center that day and for the most part we were just browsing as stuff was suprizingly expensive! we then wandered into Jack Jones, which seems to be a pretty good brand over here (it's somehow related to the brand, Only). now the salesgirls in this store were particularly leechy, and i had purposely made a bee line straight out of the store a few minutes earlier because one of the girls was seriously seriously stalking me. but anyhow, raph was trying on a few jackets here and there, and one salesgirls just totally got attached. but i've gotta say. she was just so good. and even though she spoke really little english, and we even less mandarin, we still managed to work our way around getting sizes and what not. single-handedly, she managed to up raph's purchase from just one jacket, to the jacket, shirt and vest! i know it doesn't sound like much, but when you consider that each item was pretty pricey, it was pretty skilled of her!
but what made the moment even "golder" was the fact that she ushered raph to the fitting room to try on all the merchandise. while waiting for him to dress up, rach and i ended up chatting to her. among other things, she asked us where we were from, whether we were working, how we related (p.s. she was totally suprized when we told her we were siblings - it must be the one child policy thing!), and then - whether or not raph had a girlfriend! she was totally excited and just really really cute. she helped raph to fold up his sleeves and she pretty much just told him straight out that the t-shirt he was wearing just wasn't good enough, and that he needed to walk out of the shop wearing the shirt from there! so of course, the moment warranted a snap!
cute huh?
the next day also saw another day trip to the city of guangzhou. we ended up leaving the house quite late today, so we didn't get much of a chance to do too much shopping once we were there. but our aunty took us to a pretty sweet market-y type bazaar in which we found some awesome bargains! i bought a bunch of jewelry and scarves =)
later on that night, we went on a night-cruise to see the lights of the city. while the bridges were pretty cool, it really just didn't compare to the other tours that i've been on - especially when you compare it to the east/hudson river in new york and pugent sound in seattle!
so that leg of our china trip ended on tuesday morning when mom, dad, rach and i took a ferry back to the HK airport in order to make our flight to shanghai. raph ended up taking a ferry back to HK to shop and party it up with friends there.
upon arriving in our hotel at shanghai, rach and i realized that there was seriously something suss about our hotel room. it seems to us, that this hotel, despite being awesomely located to everything touristy, is intentionally tailored for perverted travelers.
so not only does our room come equipped with a full packet of condoms, but it also has a hormonal supplement for dudes that need "assistance"! the funniest part of it is the descriptions on the back of the box. however, in fear for the young ones and innocent minds, i think it best not to post them up here! one other thing which adds to the perversion, is the fact that our shower has a half body mirror sitting right next to the shower head. =.= quoting from rach, it's probably of some assistance when hotel guests find themselves getting up to the heebie-geebies!
what i will post up here however for another laugh, is one page of the hotel's service directory. now there's only one instruction. click on the two photos below, and read it aloud to yourself:
and for an itemized description of the "list of artcles":
awesome english huh? honestly, as soon as i read it, i called my mum in her room, told her to flip to the page, and just started crying with laughter. i laughed so hard, my back started to hurt!
well that pretty much sums up my travels so far! =D
well i should be off, tomorrow has in store a day trip to hangzhou that happens to start at 6:30am! woohoo right? =.=
haha.
love,
pheebs.
*once upon a time in china*
wow! there's so much to catch you up on. the past week has been hectic hectic hectic! i've traveled to five cities over the past 7 days - it's incredible! and i've started to realize that china isn't so bad after all. while i would never want to live here because there are just wayyyyy too many people, there are some things to be had whilst here! by saying that, what i really mean is that shopping has been awesome!
q. but you know what the hardest part of the travelling is?
a. the language barrier
so you know, coming to china has really made me wish that i spoke chinese. and it is kinda sad that it's taken me this long to figure that out. just last night when we checked into our shanghai hotel, the fridge was turned off because it's winter here, so the hotel tries to conserve energy (oh how ironically greenie of them!). there was a notice on the front of the fridge saying to call the front desk if you wanted to have it turned on. so, of course i called the front desk and it was shocking. the lady did not know what a "fridge" or "refridgerator" or "freezer" meant, and i had absolutely no idea how to say it in mandarin! she thought i meant air-con, which okay i applaud her for that deduction, but still! i had to ask my mum to call the front desk for me, and then they told her that all we had to do was turn the dial at the back of the fridge (duh!). so now i just think, instead of having the notice say for people to call the front desk, why didn't they just say to turn the dial in the first place!?! it all just seems so crazy. =.= and don't even get me started on the haggling!
okay, well so much has happened over the past week, we've been to so many amazing places, eaten at some pretty awesome restaurants and just witnessed a whole new way of life. i was told the other day that china girls get married really young, usually at around 21/22, and then they have a kid the next year. and coz they're still so young and they need to work,they leave their baby with their parents in the villages and then leave to the city because the pay is better there. i just can't imagine growing up in such a lifestyle. really.
so that's another thing that this trip has taught me: APPRECIATION.
here's the five things that i need to appreciate more:
(1) God
(2) family
(3) friends
(4) work
(5) love
who knows, maybe God has planned for 2009 to be a better year than this one. in any case, i'm definitely looking forward to it!
so as usual, i'll close off this post with a bazillion photos. and yup this time it WILL be a bazillion coz travelling for 7 days has let me take over 900 photos!!!
so here goes:
Day Five, Six, Seven, Eight and Nine: Hong Kong
signage in mong kok, hong kong is absolutely crazy!! it's not quite as funny as the chinese, because surprise surprise, hong kong people actually can spell in english quite well!
but before i speak too soon! that doesn't mean dodginess doesn't make it up there!
nice photo of rach and i on our little trek up to catch the peak tram. we were both having such good hair days! hehe.
now once we were up on the peak - we were so amazed by the view. there's a little viewing gallery which you have to pay a little extra for, called the "sky terrace". it was amazing though because they built a glass "wall" around the side to block the wind. but once you stuck your head over the glass, the wind hit you like a tonne of bricks! such good engineers/designers hey. i always love people who help my hair look good in photos! =p but this snap just goes to show that no matter where you go, the rude/inconsiderate tourists always seem to be around.
same day as the peak, we jumped on the train and went to disneyland!!! now all i can say after our mere 5 hours there, is that i really really wished that i was 10 years old again. i can just imagine, it would've been ten times as magical and 50 times more amazing! even then, it was still cool. and i can finally say that i've been on space mountain! and gosh, i really hope the LA one is better coz by my standards of roller coasters, the HK one just did not compare!!!
on our last night in HK, we were so hungry that we decided to stop for eats at a restaurant in langham place. now this building i'm pretty sure is home to the world's longest escalators. the building houses two of them which each transcend past 5 storeys. that's pretty mighty hey! this restaurant, which shall remain nameless simply because i can't remember the name, by far wins the Most Confusing Asian Menus everrrrrrr!!! in total, between the five of us dining there, we were given 17 menus, 18 if you count the drinks one that was left standing on the table. and surprise again, the food really wasn't all that good.
now we also took a day trip to macau on Christmas Day. this was funnnnn! hahah. it was only a short trip because we went sometime in the afternoon, but i still feel like i saw enough. =p
i can also say that we ate well, because this was by far the best congee i have ever tasted in my life. and for those of you who know me well, congee is one of my favorite foods, so needless to say, i was pretty stoked when i tasted it. =p
and of course, the portuguese egg tarts just HAD to be tasted. now there were six in this box, but five seconds after mom brought them to us, two of them were appreciatively devoured! so travel hint no 1: if you ever travel to macau, you MUST eat these egg tarts! and travel hint no 2: yes, they are meant to look a little burnt - they're good that way!
so a visit to macau wouldn't be complete without a trip to the venetian resort. only three letters can describe it: O.M.G. it's HUGE! massive! ginormous! this photo is of their gondola ride canal which they built on the inside of the east wing of the resort. you see the sky? yes. it's fake. but wow. you sure do feel like you're outside when you're inside! amazing huh!
the SLR took awesome photos of our family from outside the resort - but i haven't yet got my hands on them! but once i do! this is there first place they're going! so stay tuned, they'll be up here soon.
the family on the turbojet ferry ride back from macau. yes, we're all happy chappies!
whooooops!
okie. forgot to look at the time. i've got to go!
hope you've enjoyed reading what i've been up to so far! =D and i just want to put it out there, feel free to comment okie?
will write soon,
love, pheebs.
q. but you know what the hardest part of the travelling is?
a. the language barrier
so you know, coming to china has really made me wish that i spoke chinese. and it is kinda sad that it's taken me this long to figure that out. just last night when we checked into our shanghai hotel, the fridge was turned off because it's winter here, so the hotel tries to conserve energy (oh how ironically greenie of them!). there was a notice on the front of the fridge saying to call the front desk if you wanted to have it turned on. so, of course i called the front desk and it was shocking. the lady did not know what a "fridge" or "refridgerator" or "freezer" meant, and i had absolutely no idea how to say it in mandarin! she thought i meant air-con, which okay i applaud her for that deduction, but still! i had to ask my mum to call the front desk for me, and then they told her that all we had to do was turn the dial at the back of the fridge (duh!). so now i just think, instead of having the notice say for people to call the front desk, why didn't they just say to turn the dial in the first place!?! it all just seems so crazy. =.= and don't even get me started on the haggling!
okay, well so much has happened over the past week, we've been to so many amazing places, eaten at some pretty awesome restaurants and just witnessed a whole new way of life. i was told the other day that china girls get married really young, usually at around 21/22, and then they have a kid the next year. and coz they're still so young and they need to work,they leave their baby with their parents in the villages and then leave to the city because the pay is better there. i just can't imagine growing up in such a lifestyle. really.
so that's another thing that this trip has taught me: APPRECIATION.
here's the five things that i need to appreciate more:
(1) God
(2) family
(3) friends
(4) work
(5) love
who knows, maybe God has planned for 2009 to be a better year than this one. in any case, i'm definitely looking forward to it!
so as usual, i'll close off this post with a bazillion photos. and yup this time it WILL be a bazillion coz travelling for 7 days has let me take over 900 photos!!!
so here goes:
Day Five, Six, Seven, Eight and Nine: Hong Kong
signage in mong kok, hong kong is absolutely crazy!! it's not quite as funny as the chinese, because surprise surprise, hong kong people actually can spell in english quite well!
but before i speak too soon! that doesn't mean dodginess doesn't make it up there!
nice photo of rach and i on our little trek up to catch the peak tram. we were both having such good hair days! hehe.
now once we were up on the peak - we were so amazed by the view. there's a little viewing gallery which you have to pay a little extra for, called the "sky terrace". it was amazing though because they built a glass "wall" around the side to block the wind. but once you stuck your head over the glass, the wind hit you like a tonne of bricks! such good engineers/designers hey. i always love people who help my hair look good in photos! =p but this snap just goes to show that no matter where you go, the rude/inconsiderate tourists always seem to be around.
same day as the peak, we jumped on the train and went to disneyland!!! now all i can say after our mere 5 hours there, is that i really really wished that i was 10 years old again. i can just imagine, it would've been ten times as magical and 50 times more amazing! even then, it was still cool. and i can finally say that i've been on space mountain! and gosh, i really hope the LA one is better coz by my standards of roller coasters, the HK one just did not compare!!!
on our last night in HK, we were so hungry that we decided to stop for eats at a restaurant in langham place. now this building i'm pretty sure is home to the world's longest escalators. the building houses two of them which each transcend past 5 storeys. that's pretty mighty hey! this restaurant, which shall remain nameless simply because i can't remember the name, by far wins the Most Confusing Asian Menus everrrrrrr!!! in total, between the five of us dining there, we were given 17 menus, 18 if you count the drinks one that was left standing on the table. and surprise again, the food really wasn't all that good.
now we also took a day trip to macau on Christmas Day. this was funnnnn! hahah. it was only a short trip because we went sometime in the afternoon, but i still feel like i saw enough. =p
i can also say that we ate well, because this was by far the best congee i have ever tasted in my life. and for those of you who know me well, congee is one of my favorite foods, so needless to say, i was pretty stoked when i tasted it. =p
and of course, the portuguese egg tarts just HAD to be tasted. now there were six in this box, but five seconds after mom brought them to us, two of them were appreciatively devoured! so travel hint no 1: if you ever travel to macau, you MUST eat these egg tarts! and travel hint no 2: yes, they are meant to look a little burnt - they're good that way!
so a visit to macau wouldn't be complete without a trip to the venetian resort. only three letters can describe it: O.M.G. it's HUGE! massive! ginormous! this photo is of their gondola ride canal which they built on the inside of the east wing of the resort. you see the sky? yes. it's fake. but wow. you sure do feel like you're outside when you're inside! amazing huh!
the SLR took awesome photos of our family from outside the resort - but i haven't yet got my hands on them! but once i do! this is there first place they're going! so stay tuned, they'll be up here soon.
the family on the turbojet ferry ride back from macau. yes, we're all happy chappies!
whooooops!
okie. forgot to look at the time. i've got to go!
hope you've enjoyed reading what i've been up to so far! =D and i just want to put it out there, feel free to comment okie?
will write soon,
love, pheebs.
*hellooooo singapore*
hi guys!
the last couple of days have been unbelievable hectic. i finished up at work on wednesday - i was meant to leave the office at 12pm, but ended up sticking around til 1:30pm. and lol. i had 21 things on my to do list before flying off at 1:15am that same night. the day was hectic running to and from shopping centres and then it was even more hectic trying to get all my stuff together! but luckily, everything got done and i was at the airport by 11:15pm ready to check in. then when raph and i got to the airport and lined up, we found out that my flight had been delayed. from 1:15am until 4:15am!! so the contemplation started in deciding whether or not to drive home first, and then drive back again later on in the early morning. raph had to work the next day, and so did dad, so it made more sense for me to stay at the airport. so i did.
o.m.g.
it was the longest night of my life. i ended up watching two discs of one tree hill. thank goodness i brought my laptop with me! AND kept my charger in my hand-carry bag. hahah. =p that's forward thinking for ya! after that and the plane ride, i ended up landing in s'pore at about 9:15ish-am. normally getting through singapore immigration is really quick. but it so happened that a plane from india had landed just before my jetstar flight (at terminal 1), and so it happened that the immigration lines were absolutely JAMPACKED with indian people! worse though, is because it takes ages for indian people to get through customs, with their visas and other paperwork. instead of 10 minutes, it was more like 30-40mins! needless to say, the "other foreigners" like me, were getting quite ticked off. now i think back to it, it was actually quite funny.
rach came to pick me up from the airport, and so after reaching my aunty's place, we headed out to orchard. and wow. i've not had such a good shopping day in a very very long time! let's just say that ted baker makes it all so much better. heheh. but i ended up buying two pairs of shoes and a really really nice ted baker bag! =)
i didn't end up sleeping last night until about 1am again, so technically i had been awake for more than 48 hours, with 2 hours of cat-napping on the plane. hardcore hey! i really don't think i'm cut out for it - i was getting preeeeetty moody by the end of the day.
but now i think, it's kinda funny when you travel overseas, but then you don't really feel like you're overseas because you know where things are and you can recognize enough buildings and streets to get around on your own. that's what singapore has become to me! it's the weirdest feeling though because i look around me and there's a bazillion asian people, yet they all have this really funny way of talking. even funnier because i was standing on orchard road watching a street concert/musical and omg. i could NOT understanding what those people were saying!! yet, i'm pretty sure that they were speaking some kind of random english, or "singlish" as they say here.
anyhow, as usual, i got to take quite a few good snaps throughout the day! yay. =)
DAY ONE
me at changi airport
nothing says singapore like good 'ol chicken porridge from food republic in wisma atria
just in case you can't tell, that 60% of sign belongs to ted baker. and that big white bag i'm holding comes from there too. =D *grins* let's just say that 50% off a really nice bag makes me sky-high-happy.
oh for every high there's a low. this drink was the worst thing i've ever ordered. EVER. it was called a "minty lychee tea". yet it was ice blended and looked like puke. worse $6.80 i've spent on a beverage. lol. =p
hehe rach. =p but of course, when i found bubble tea, i just had to get the usual. but what was jaw dropping was the fact that it only cost me $1.80!!!
DAY TWO
lunch at shokubo: rach and ben
lunch at shokubo: jeremy and me
hehe. jap apple juice is so good. i think the packaging makes it taste better.
somehow, in cold storage in takashimaya, we managed to find the grossest drink. but rach's face really does say it all.
we then met up with raph so we could go to the airport to pick dad up. hehe. and truly, a day is not complete without a funny face picture.
but it was a good hairday for us both - nice picture hey!
so that marks both day one and two of my asia holiday!
stay tuned for more updates!
love,
pheebs.
the last couple of days have been unbelievable hectic. i finished up at work on wednesday - i was meant to leave the office at 12pm, but ended up sticking around til 1:30pm. and lol. i had 21 things on my to do list before flying off at 1:15am that same night. the day was hectic running to and from shopping centres and then it was even more hectic trying to get all my stuff together! but luckily, everything got done and i was at the airport by 11:15pm ready to check in. then when raph and i got to the airport and lined up, we found out that my flight had been delayed. from 1:15am until 4:15am!! so the contemplation started in deciding whether or not to drive home first, and then drive back again later on in the early morning. raph had to work the next day, and so did dad, so it made more sense for me to stay at the airport. so i did.
o.m.g.
it was the longest night of my life. i ended up watching two discs of one tree hill. thank goodness i brought my laptop with me! AND kept my charger in my hand-carry bag. hahah. =p that's forward thinking for ya! after that and the plane ride, i ended up landing in s'pore at about 9:15ish-am. normally getting through singapore immigration is really quick. but it so happened that a plane from india had landed just before my jetstar flight (at terminal 1), and so it happened that the immigration lines were absolutely JAMPACKED with indian people! worse though, is because it takes ages for indian people to get through customs, with their visas and other paperwork. instead of 10 minutes, it was more like 30-40mins! needless to say, the "other foreigners" like me, were getting quite ticked off. now i think back to it, it was actually quite funny.
rach came to pick me up from the airport, and so after reaching my aunty's place, we headed out to orchard. and wow. i've not had such a good shopping day in a very very long time! let's just say that ted baker makes it all so much better. heheh. but i ended up buying two pairs of shoes and a really really nice ted baker bag! =)
i didn't end up sleeping last night until about 1am again, so technically i had been awake for more than 48 hours, with 2 hours of cat-napping on the plane. hardcore hey! i really don't think i'm cut out for it - i was getting preeeeetty moody by the end of the day.
but now i think, it's kinda funny when you travel overseas, but then you don't really feel like you're overseas because you know where things are and you can recognize enough buildings and streets to get around on your own. that's what singapore has become to me! it's the weirdest feeling though because i look around me and there's a bazillion asian people, yet they all have this really funny way of talking. even funnier because i was standing on orchard road watching a street concert/musical and omg. i could NOT understanding what those people were saying!! yet, i'm pretty sure that they were speaking some kind of random english, or "singlish" as they say here.
anyhow, as usual, i got to take quite a few good snaps throughout the day! yay. =)
DAY ONE
me at changi airport
nothing says singapore like good 'ol chicken porridge from food republic in wisma atria
just in case you can't tell, that 60% of sign belongs to ted baker. and that big white bag i'm holding comes from there too. =D *grins* let's just say that 50% off a really nice bag makes me sky-high-happy.
oh for every high there's a low. this drink was the worst thing i've ever ordered. EVER. it was called a "minty lychee tea". yet it was ice blended and looked like puke. worse $6.80 i've spent on a beverage. lol. =p
hehe rach. =p but of course, when i found bubble tea, i just had to get the usual. but what was jaw dropping was the fact that it only cost me $1.80!!!
DAY TWO
lunch at shokubo: rach and ben
lunch at shokubo: jeremy and me
hehe. jap apple juice is so good. i think the packaging makes it taste better.
somehow, in cold storage in takashimaya, we managed to find the grossest drink. but rach's face really does say it all.
we then met up with raph so we could go to the airport to pick dad up. hehe. and truly, a day is not complete without a funny face picture.
but it was a good hairday for us both - nice picture hey!
so that marks both day one and two of my asia holiday!
stay tuned for more updates!
love,
pheebs.
*whoopsies!*
heheheheh.
okay. so i've been working on a new template for this blog on-off for something like the past 2 months. and then earlier this evening. i was just sooooo smart. somehow i managed to wipe my old template... without saving it.
LOL.
so yes. just in case you're wondering, why the new look? that's why. and hahaha. i don't even have enough time to go and properly re-work it. so kudos to the dude for creating this template - it was easy enough to piece together. but to all my *loyal* readers, please bear with me until i get all the aesthetics sorted out!
anyhow. life lately has been busy. it's been dinners out pretty much everyday since the exam period finished! and i'm headed off on holiday in about 11 days - yay! so much exciting stuff.
i'll have lots of photos and that to bring you next time.
but until then, sayonara! =D
okay. so i've been working on a new template for this blog on-off for something like the past 2 months. and then earlier this evening. i was just sooooo smart. somehow i managed to wipe my old template... without saving it.
LOL.
so yes. just in case you're wondering, why the new look? that's why. and hahaha. i don't even have enough time to go and properly re-work it. so kudos to the dude for creating this template - it was easy enough to piece together. but to all my *loyal* readers, please bear with me until i get all the aesthetics sorted out!
anyhow. life lately has been busy. it's been dinners out pretty much everyday since the exam period finished! and i'm headed off on holiday in about 11 days - yay! so much exciting stuff.
i'll have lots of photos and that to bring you next time.
but until then, sayonara! =D
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