Road Trip to Toronto

Dec 27th-29th: 加拿大多倫多為食之旅

My second time to Toronto and my second time to be on a long road trip (i.e. >5 hours ride).
It's a bit too long to write about, so let's sum up into one sentence for you first.
>>食盡亞洲菜 + 唱K + 新舊旅遊點

Day 1:
Meeting up with car 1 @ Pacific Mall.
Dinner @ Memories of Japan.
Sing Karaoke @ Ten 23
Refresh @ hotel
Late night meal @ 強記雞粥 Keung's Restaurant
Dessert @ 芝蔘堂

Day 2:
Morning tea @ 黄金閣 Golden Restaurant
Sight-seeing @ Casa Loma (show: Sleeping Beauty)
St. Lawrence Market--> Antique Market + Distillery District
Sight-seeing @ CN Tower









Dinner @ 鼎泰豐 Ding Tai Fung (highly recommend: 蟹粉小籠包)









Christmas light display seeing
Sing K @ Take One
Dessert @ 許留山 Tracy Dessert

Day 3:
Breakfast @ 周記茶餐廳 Jubilee Cafe









Shopping for cream soda & roasted duck @ T & T SupermarketS
Sight-seeing @ Niagara Falls

Isn't this list impressive?

Christmas & Boxing Day

過去兩年的聖誕都是在空中渡過，今年終於留在紐約慶祝。Boxing Day 更是通宵達旦。

Christmas Eve

平安「日」，要作最後衝刺買禮物。

I also stopped by Barnes and Noble for my holiday read and ADORAMA for my [Dad's] broken ancient professional Nikon camera.

不經意地，路上一直哼着謝安琪的「囍帖街」……
……有感情 就會一生一世嗎……

~~~~~~~~~~

平安夜

沒有宗教信仰的我，今年再次以「稀客」身份出席聖誕節活動。

是次平安夜崇拜的活動對象主要是成年人。對我來說，這是個認識宗教的好機會。

整個活動的安排很恰當。比如說，主持化身成聖經中的人物生動地表達他們的心聲。另外，雖然我對詩歌班領唱的部份曲目很陌生，但歌譜卻是似曾相識。

祝聖誕快樂

Last workday of 2008

My expectation of today: one of the busiest and craziest workday of the year.
Yea, but it's over!

My exhaustion after work: suffering from a severe headache.
Yea, but nothing can have my festive spirit down!

Merry 10-day Christmas & New Year celebration! 明早還要作購物的最後衝剌。

Jay Chou World Tour

周杰倫世界巡迴演唱會

由於交通，時間，場地和其他理由的關係，這是我來美多年第一次看的演唱會。感覺也蠻好的。雖然我並不是周杰倫的die hard粉絲，但從未質疑過他的號召力。

一進場，全場爆滿，盡顯周董的魅力。同台表現的有特別嘉賓台灣樂隊「南拳媽媽」。

單曲過後，周董不但又唱又跳，且作樂器演奏，還跟「南拳媽媽」的成員切磋琴技，來一個鋼琴大斗發。他的現場表現很有水準且唱功了得。

面對他的才華，您怎麽可以不連聲說讚？

看罷精彩的演唱會了，不忘感謝您的邀請。

演唱會後，我發現自己多聽了中文歌呢！

Snowy Friday

DayTime on Snowy Friday
Twilight--a young adult fiction that had been highly recommended by my colleagues and book reviews.
I finally picked it up at a NYPL branch and started reading it with a cappuccino in hands. This book is fun and easy to read. I finished reading nearly 10 chapters in one breath.

NightTime Adventure
Return of Jason Kidd @ IZOD Center
New Jersey Nets vs. Dallas Mavericks.

Happy Holidays!

My first Christmas present of this year
Presents have been sent to our office. Most of them were food items. Today, I received a nicely wrapped one personalized to me from a friendly customer. Since it does not look like any of the other food items, I will open it along with my other presents on Boxing Day.
Looking at it. tempted. delighted.

Dinner @ Angelina Cafe
Soup of the Day:
Carrot Lobster Bisque. (yum~)







Clare's Spicy Fra Diavolo
We decided to share the entree in order to make room for dessert.







My sweet crepe:
Raspberry and Chocolate Chips crepe
Simply powdered, but rich in favor. (though I like somewhere else better)









Hot chocolate (oo... hot!)

December 15

一向行事低調的我，因為工作的關係，可能會突然高調起來，仲要見報。對於被邀再作訪問，Boss 表現得興奮，話拍照時會躲在我身後。

預告：新一年將至，我的網誌會有新驚喜給您。

2nd weekend of December

Another December birthday celebration on a Friday evening.

Rolling onto Hunter Mountain. Skiing or snowboarding?
因為一個型字和同伴壓力，我成了snowboard的新丁。

What a perfect day to have a Sunday brunch with my dearest friends at Cafe Falai!

The Rare Prints and Drawings of Salvador Dali at William Bennett Gallery in SOHO.

The third workday without coffee

沒有咖啡的第三個工作天

雖然這是一個很短的工作月，但公司非常忙。近幾日的工作量更似是辦不完。
The pharmacology...and the magic numbers like 27, 125, and 706 are still rolling around my head. aiya!
每日放工，第一件事是深呼吸。平靜下來後，又會發現還沒有吃過午飯，肚子餓得要趕回家吃晚飯。之後會找個藉口去散步。

>>一個人散步是寂寞還是寂靜？

最近忙於玩樂，少了看書，但仍然閱讀了不少雜誌。今日翻開WSJ Winter 2008，看到有Jacques Herzog 和 Pierre de Meuron 的專訪，令我十分雀躍。

>>我很喜歡看雜誌，您呢？

Big Day

大日子!

Dec 6th, 2008 (Sat)
A big day for those who were taking CFA, LSAT, SAT II, Mathematics Olympiad...

I prayed for your survival.

Birthday Dinner + Karaoke + Park~ing

December is here

十二月在此、煩惱也在此。

難題
最近發生了不少事情，腦海中冒出了幾個問號和多了幾個感嘆號。
工作方面：唉! 金融海嘯嘛！
家庭方面：唉！(但亦哈！)
人際關係方面：唉！唉！是我們把問題簡單複雜化嗎？
其他方面：唉！唉！唉！-----

反思
那種要認認真真地下決定的心理壓力變得越來越重。面對前路，一臉無奈。 (我認真的樣子您可未有機會見到，但那可會是很嚇人的。小心！哈!)

應對方法
十二月要繼續玩，且要更盡興。今個月的節目表已經排得密麻麻，再煩的事，容後再說吧！

明日是個大日子，後天再談。

Extraordinary Thanksgiving

不一樣的感恩節

I don't know how to describe my level of tiredness at this point...
Getting excited about Thanksgiving.
Being caffeinated, hopping around on a quiet Thanksgiving.
Sleeping through black Friday sales. Eating out. Gimme more coffee. Walking in and out Circle with a Five Guys stuffed stomach.
Outing fun, though attending a convention on a rainy day was not exciting. Lovely brunch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

一首兒歌，勾起了我們純真的童年回憶。在這短短的車程中，它帶給我們不少的歡樂，亦成為了今日我們的inside joke。

愛心一百次 原唱：戴恩玲

*　 粉紅粉紅趣緻的臉
　 我叫一聲即可飛上天
　 赤色絲巾圍在肩
　 凝望鏡盒身體會變
　 隱藏隱藏少女的臉
　 我對他不可講出半點
蘋果圓被 tum tum 轉
　 太多珍珠怎計算
　 也許豬的身體不優美
　 長鼻短尾
　 但是別人不可天空裡
　 高飛
#　 是我心　無限的純真
　 珍珠珍貴像信心
　 使我極動人異常吸引
　 願你知勇敢的孩子
　 應該加點真意和誠意
　 愛心不止一百次
Repeat * # # #
　 一身好本領和才智
　 愛心不止一百次

November 19

Today is Boss' birthday. I made him blush... haha...

Also, I am feeling much better today than yesterday and I am coughing much less. yay!

November 18

飄雪

紐約轉寒了，小心着涼泥！

The joy of sharing

分享的喜悅

如果分享是喜悅，歡迎您來到我的網誌。由於我在早兩年才真正進入數碼時代，所以只能在此跟您分享近年，尤其是讀書時的大小事。(其中我已抽取了娛樂性比較高的照片，所以應該不會太沉悶。)

• 讀書時的我，樂天知命，一臉稚氣。雖然經常烏龍百出，但對於新奇刺激的事物絕對有很深的體會。如>> 「日語營」 << 及其 >> 晚宴 <<
• 南非遊學時，學習當地的歴史文化，探訪貧乏區，登>> Table Mountain <<, 擁抱大自然，更在>> Safari的日與夜 <<與野生動物作近距離接觸，其中在>>「野外Bushmen體驗營」<< 及 >> 被野猴一家襲擊<< 的經驗更是難忘。

讀書時純樸的生活雖然值得懷念，但工作助我成長。
珍惜現在，展望將來。對嗎？

Welcome to my life <3

November 13-17

Nov 13
During the 3-hour long lunch meeting, I was like...
"I think we should... cough! cough!"
"I suggest... cough! cough!"
"I ... cough! cough! cough!"
As a result, my boss told me to oversee other assistants to work on my task. I actually wish he would have said that I should leave work early.

Nov 14-16
自生病起的每日餐單：粥 + 熱檸蜜 + 幾粒Ricola
雖然每天早上的病況比較嚴重，但我認為應可無藥自愈，所以一直拒絕食藥。

Nov 17
今早醒來，喉嚨突然痛得利害。到了中午，某人給我一粒神奇話梅，果然沙啞的聲線變得明亮起來。
但入夜後，由於咳得太嚴重了，無法入睡，終於要在把四年來第一口的咳藥水喝下。

November 10-12

Getting ill and recovered

十一月十日
突然病倒了。而且是好病那一種。
Primary cause: workload (I don't think my friends had gotten me into this over the weekend)
Secondary cause: cold weather
The workload overstressed me and got me ill. I started coughing in the afternoon, but very soon, I was coughing as if my lungs were about to come out in the evening.

十一月十一日
When I woke up this morning, I was struggling whether I should go to work because of my condition. I also was unable to say a word... kind of pitiful. I ended up going because I had to be AT two teleconferences. In fact, the meetings got canceled. If I had known it in advance, I would have called sick and stayed at home. I felt much better after having congee for lunch (heehee)
Someone had told me: "Refused to be sick." I tried and it worked at school, but it hasn't been working very well lately. 有時侯，我發現自已原來很柔弱。

十一日十二日
I woke up coughing with a dry throat. Perhaps my heat at home was too strong last night. Need to drink more water.

~~Get Well to everyone~~ Stay warm!!!

November 9

與君一席話

Your word was like my guidance. I appreciate your advice.

>>Josh Gorban's You Raise Me Up.

November 8

This is the Lobster Pie I brought from Boston.
$15 for one. It'd better be good.
I brought it to my office 跟同事「分Pie食」

Dinner @ Ippudo
Party @ Duvet

"The Athens of America"

Boston--a place I visited about ten years ago. Today, my friend and I found ourselves wandering in this lovely city with my google maps and list of restaurants.

Our first stop was a brief window shopping on Newbury Street. Instead of being a shopaholic, we had a pear-ginger upsidedown cake at L'Amora Cafe.


This is the facade of the building where one of the Finale restaurants is located.
We ordered Finale Forest, Razzmatazz, [Boston cream cake] and a soup for lunch there.


By the lagoon, a squirrel came to us, standing there patiently. Apparently it was eager to be fed. Soon enough, it got disappointed and walked away.

Without a Lonely Planet in hand, we realized that we had missed The Freedom Trail that we were just walking along towards Faneuil Hall Marketplace. In fact, we indulged ourselves with 2 scoops of Joey's Gelato (green apple and mint chocolate) in Quincy Market. We decided to have an early dinner at Union Oyster House. The rotating miniature of this historic site at the window of the gift shop drew our attention. After a brief shopping, we turned ourselves in to a waitress who later brought us to the Colonial Room for dinner. We simply ordered a Shore Dinner.




After that, we made our move to Boston Chowda where I ordered a small Clam Chowda and a Lobster pie to go.

We took the train from State station to South Station to catch a bus for our return.

November 6

是日心情=是日天氣=陰陰沉沉

因為Subway跳站令我遲到，加上她的態度令我氣上心頭，所以一大清早就好嬲。改期？仍是未知之數。居住在城市，Walk it off 可算是最簡單的調節心情方法。走累了，自然氣也消了。洗澡後，再次精神奕奕，心情靚靚地去歎茶。

Alice's Tea Cup (Chapter II)

November 4th and 5th

走訪記

昨天為了令今天的時間表空出一點時間來溫習，我把兩天的行程合起來。跟友人聯絡後，就出門了。在十二小時內，我到過紐約上城，Brooklyn, 再返Manhattan。

整天在Subway及人群中穿插。Coffee 完又Coffee。一Tea再Tea。之後仲有甜品。

One of the highlights is The Hungarian Pastry Shop on Amsterdam Avenue.
A neighborhood-friendly cafe with neither air conditioning nor music. It has indoor and outdoor seating. The order was to be delivered to the table. It's dim inside, but I found myself seating by the wall where a wall light is located.

When I was walking home, I heard people screaming. I had no clues why they got so excited on a Tuesday evening until I heard "O-ba-ma."

悠閒的一天

今天應該可以把那封遲遲未完成的信寫完。

November 3rd

I signed up for a pastry course more than a month ago at Cha-An. They called me up to confirm over the weekend, letting me know that I would be the only non-Japanese in the course, which would be taught in Japanese. I knew it might be awkward, but it's not like the first time I've been to places or situation like that. So there I was, standing in a kitchen with ten Japanese students and one ABC. The majority of students seemed to be a bit older, and Chef Sato assigned me to be in a group with three younger girls (one got a call from office, so she left early). We made chestnuts tarts, though they looked more like huge macaroons to me.

其實今早感到不適，忘記食藥打底就出門去了。弱不襟風，竟就此出事了。

原先定下的行程要臨時取消，改為睡覺。醒來後，心情煩燥兼暈陀陀。幸好只浪費了大半天，就已完全康復。 (可能我底子好啦，哈!)

明日是出遊記
後日是今日行程的延續
星期四的早上不容錯失
星期五仍有待確實

November 2nd

Shortly after my post last night, I fell asleep. How ironic! Today, I was planning my week-off and trying to organize some pictures on my online album.

I am looking forward to my extraordinary pastry experience tomorrow. (How extraordinary? I will let you know, but I can say that it has something to do with communication.)

十一月，玩時玩，有些事情得要認真起來。

November 1st (evening)

12 hours later...

Okay. Having a venti coffee works, I did not doze off at work.

I am off this week. I will keep you updated more frequently. (^.^)>

November 1st (morning)

十一月一日

今早爬起床，已急不及待要報告一下昨晚萬聖節狂歡晚會的盛況。

Last night, I went to my friend's apartment for a quick dinner before heading to a Halloween party. When I was showing one of my friends my green sparrow curtain holder, he broke its wings. Oh... no! At first, I was worried that the little bird would get dirty or be lost later tonight, but I realized that being a "bird without wings" made me feel uneasy because I don't know how and where to place it when I get home. I also asked my girl friend to do my last minute nail because my hands were too shaky. In fact, manicures require more practice.

It was a long journey... hah... we passed by the Halloween parade, but it did not look as exciting as last year. We got in with a little trouble. Wow! It was packed. Anyway, let's have a birthday shot and great fun will follow. Cheers!

We left the dancing hall before 3 a.m. Like everyone else, we were competing for a taxi, but ended up waiting for someone to pick us up. On the way home, many drunk people were still hanging out; one passed out at the corner of a road. There also was a traffic jam at 4:18 a.m... (Oh, this is New York on a Halloween Friday, no wonder.)

Was I sleeping?
When I was sleeping, my mind seemed to have been running in the past hours, and I woke up without feeling tired at all. Same thing happened not long ago. Was I really sleeping that night? I wonder. Anyway, I am going to order a large coffee for my breakfast.

Home Stay

在家的一天

It was a pretty well-planned day-off, but things did not go well as I had expected. Alas...

Exciting October!

樂透 * 十月

鬼屋「驚」歴 @ Schmitt's Family Farm
是次的驚遇，我並沒有被嚇破膽，好彩！

Moblie Art: Chanel Contemporary Art Container by Zaha Hadid @ Central Park





Afternoon tea @ Alice's Tea Cup (Chapter III)


Art appreciation @ Metropolitan Museum

同行的友人對於藝術甚有研究，我對她的每一句記話都牢牢記住，如上了一堂課似的。











今年生日，也許累倒了您。
那種感動，越想寫，卻越寫不出來。
謝謝您的關懷！

Andras Schiff: Beethoven Piano Sonatas @ Carnegie Hall

I received free tickets to the concert before getting from work. I was lucky enough to find a 知音人 to go with me on such icy, rainy evening. Being in a concert hall is always a great experience. I also like to 「對號入座」. hah. The music was inspiring! The performance was marvelous!

"Fall" of joy continues...

如果八月是情感上的交替期，九月是理智上的調節期，那麽十月是......

「荷包缺財期」

因為有很多人生日，包括我自己。無他的，最重要是與衆同樂。

我對生日的期望不大，只求開心，能與家人，朋友歡聚就已經很滿足。

但今年我變得貪心了，所以要事先張揚。

If it's possible, I want something elegant and practical for my birthday.

--> just like me (haha. sweet!)

Summer is over, fun stays in fall

Good morning everyone!

已經一個月沒有更新這個網誌啦！有掛住我嗎？

I was not busy in September, but I'd like to do more outdoor activities before the weather gets cold.

Beside regular biking (which I have stopped) and food craving activities, I attended a couple of interesting/ nerdy events, such as U.S. Open, Oliver Sacks' lecture, hot-potting, and a party at Hiro Cocktail Lounge.

Oh, did you GO MAD on the 27th or 28th? I felt weird standing underneath the needle-ceiling light, but was fascinated by the portrait that was made of combs. Of course I didn't miss the giant abacus, did you?

Delicatessen

尋找幾家下東城必訪小店

Doughnut Plant 是間不起眼的小店，專售甜甜圈，亦是方形甜甜圈的始祖。這間店地方不大，只有兩張椅子，裝修跟以前差不多。雖然今日可以在部分Dean & Deluca 買到它的doughnuts，很多人仍然會慕名而來，而我就是其中一個。






今次本來想貪得意買五個不同味道的方形甜甜圈來拍張「方形奧運標誌」的照片，但後來發現只有兩種味，所以就沒有買那麼多。





Here are White Peach (round) & Strawberry jelly (square) doughnuts:





The Sweet Life. a candy store.

I thought this store would have been closed, but I am glad that it is not.








Babycakes 是近兩三年開設的另一間小店，專售以spelt 和 gulten free 的cupcakes。

This is my spelt lemon cupcake.






走訪Il Laboratorio del Gelato途中遇見一班遊客在雪糕店旁的博物館參觀。(but I kept thinking that the museum has changed so much... it was not on that street, that building before. Maybe it has renovated... and moved to another location nearby... but why?)




By the way, are you a fan of pastrami? If yes, then you should go to Katz's Delicatessen on Houston Street. This time I only passed by it.

~~~~~~

As my "Olympics fever" began to fade, I became ill... a real one just hit me right at my head...
now it's over. (smile)

Oh! I am going to have a 4-day long weekend. Woo-hoo! Should I burn myself out or do something relaxing? How about going on a road trip?

等待... 新的 schedule... 如果時間多了，我應該找兼職嗎？學車？學跳舞？進修日文？還是要為跳糟作準備？What do you think?

Olympics Heat

奧運熱潮

自奧運開幕以來，我每晚都做貓頭鷹，待在電視機前至三更半夜，所以早上要多喝茶caffeinate下自己。休假日，起床時已是日上三竿。之後又寧願做couch potato，連單車都無踩 (but I'll be back on my routine really soon) 。但又因發現球拍積了塵，所以要作小掃除。(Yea, it has been a while since I last used them. ha.)

我自問對體育並不瘋狂，但今年奧運的爆冷賽果和Michael Phelps的八金佳績果真很有意思。

08.08.08

08.08.08 (初八) is all about the Olympics and China.

Instead of giving us some highlights of the Opening Ceremony in the morning LIVE, NBC was giving a workshop on Chinese culture, so I had to watch the 4-hour ceremony rerun at night. I rarely finished watching the entire ceremony in the past, but this one was totally awesome!

China + "2008" =?
>>man-power + symbolic creativity<<

When I first heard, "2008 drummers," I was like "woo!"
Later, when I heard "2008" martial art/ Tai Chi performers, I was like "2008? again?" Oh, don't get me wrong, the performers were amazing, especially the martial art/ Tai Chi performers. I agreed with the TV hosts when they commend the difficulty on having 10 people to make a circle, and there are 2008 of them. In fact, they make a perfect circle, regardless how constant they need to change their location during their performance.

「百鳥歸巢」

中國民族，文化，歴史，哲學... 盡在鳥巢，與國際交流，並薪火相存...

It makes me want to go to London for its opening ceremony in 2012, but at the same time I am worried that the British workers may continue their boycott... hmm... anyway...

"You and Me"

"One World One Dream"

Let's show your Olympics spirit!

眼光光...

It's almost 1 am, I am still 眼光光, so I am typing a few words here...

今日，她淡然地說聲再見，為她倆六年的賓主關係畫上了句號。

與她共事期間，我欣賞她對工作熱誠，對後輩有耐性，對家人更不在話下。

遇上她是偶然，是一種緣份，能在她身上學習是我的幸運。

願她一切順利。

Work

Yesterday

During the lecture/ workshop, I was sitting in between my boss and my colleagues. Perhaps it was after lunch, 飯氣攻心, but sitting in a leather sofa is so comfy, I could not help myself from "fishing" 「釣魚」... Hmm... It was not easy to escape the eyes of the consultant, but I might have slept in front of her for like 3 seconds. hah.

Today

During the teleconference yesterday, I was told to get ready for the NIH site visit in a week. Today, I received some guidelines for what I would possibly be questioned. Carrying the printouts, staring at the 13 3-inch binders, I was not happy but to start studying. Alas...

Caribbean Blue : : Gulf of Mexico

還記得這首歌嗎？


每個地方的風土人情都很特別，今次去了墨西哥。在Hotel Zone 的沙難上，光是望着蔚藍色的天空和海水已經很寫意。

Day 1: arrived at Le Meridien Resort and Spa & seafood feast @ Crab House
Day 2: Xcaret (a water park located at an archaeological site)
Day 3: bus tour to ChiChen Itza & clubbing
** 自從去年的意外，遊客已不准爬上塔頂。回想以前我在參觀另一座差不多高度但已被多次破壞的瑪雅金字塔時，曾危坐頂部破落的一角自拍，果真是「唔識死」。其實這座塔又真是幾高ge。難怪當年旁人話我crazy啦！
Day 4: the dolphin experience/ skyrider & classy dinner @ Aïoli
Day 5: sunrise on Ballenas Beach

旅途中的小插曲：

• 旅遊巴被中途欄截
• 常被以為是日本遊客

回美途中:

• 在我座位的同一行和前一行，我遇上了一個中暑的女生 (she was with a group of tanned people，一個愛子心切的父親 (he said he had to sit with his son no matter what) 和 一家三婦人 (grandma with psychological condition, her daughter and her granddaugther)。他們在機艙內擾攘多時，雖然我已應他們的要求和他們交換座位，但是全機爆滿，很困難地終於在飛機(在跑道行走時) take off 前達成共識坐下來。
  
• 美國機場入境處的安排... 一個字： 亂。

雖然如此，整個旅程是愉快的。享受加勒比海風情之餘，又對瑪雅文化有了更深的暸解。加上當地的人，無論是遊客或本地人都很友善，經常主動替我們影相。另外，同行的美女們來了一個大解放，拍了不少水着寫真(我的則欠奉)。哈！

同墨仔講完bye bye，明早又要「捱驢仔」了。

July 4th Weekend

Pocono後記

去Pocono之前，我已經有一段日子沒有如此開懷大笑過。

「男子組」加「女子組」合共十六人，我們玩遊戲，煮飯仔，看電影、電視，shopping，water rafting...還高談闊論了大家的五年計劃。就這樣我們嘻嘻哈哈地渡過了一個愉快的週末。

「充電」回來，我心情甚佳。此外，Cancun遊又出發在即，真令人期待。最近墨西哥治安不太穩定，加上今趟是「女遊團」，我會多加小心。

===

投入

投入工作是應份的；玩樂時的投入程度都應該是百分百。

正如旅發局話齋：「Live it. Love it」嘛！

所以明早去踩單車，我興奮極了！

Firefox Download Day 2008

If you link to mozilla.com today, (and if you are lucky enough to get through its BUSY site today), then you will see this message: Today is Download Day - help set a new Guinness World Record!

Download Day 2008

Join us to set a Guinness World Record for the most software download in 24 hours!

Please download Firefox 3 by 17:00 UTC on June 18, 2008. That's 10:00 a.m. in Mountain View, 1:00 p.m. in Toronto, 2:00 p.m. in Rio de Janeiro, 7:00 p.m. in Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Rome and Warsaw, 9:00 p.m. in Moscow, and June 19, 2008 at 1:00 a.m. in Beijing and 2:00 a.m. in Tokyo.

Don't ask me if this mission has a point, but it did get me curious. I was #1,888,019 (I saw 018 and I added one assuming that it was me) on the site to download the new version. Pretty slow... Anyway, the number jumped to 1,924,281 just minutes after I finished downloading it. I am wondering how many people are going to do this "interesting" mission. Okay, I need to figure the new features out. Ja nei.

Happy Father's Day +

今日除了是父親節和弟弟生日外，還有別的意義。

去年今日，我畢業了！



~~~

Monday Morning Blues? No, it was May Day Blues.

Staying in a convalescence home is not the best way.

I will be going to convalesce in Mexico in July.

Introducing Joanna Wang Ruo Ling

台灣歌手王若琳

Lost in Paradise and...

Let's Start From Here

To the Grads

致畢業生

五、六月對畢業生來說意義重大，終日為升學求職奔走。

古語有云：「少年情懷總是詩。」別忘記學生時代青春的回憶啊！

青いベンチ by サスケ




仲有呀！要笑著地面對未來... 哩！

明日への扉 by I WISH (川嶋あい & Nao)

The Power of Faith

Sweet songs for couples who are currently in a long distance relationship.


そばにいるね by Thelma Aoyama (Feat. SoulJa)



ここにいるよ by SoulJa (Feat. Thelma Aoyama)



Also, let's have a laugh at this:

爆笑Interview

Memorial Weekend

久違了，您好嗎？對於住在美國的中國人，今年的Memorial Day似乎比往年有意義。

回顧之前幾週天災不斷，地動山搖。由緬甸的風災到四川的地災，報章頭條，字裏行間，總是離不開災情，拯救進程及籌款等字眼。

連土豆仔都停工，在它的網頁中替受難者哀悼:

5月19日-5月22日 為地震中遇難的同胞哀悼
Earthquake National Mourning
Service Suspended
May 19 To May 22, 2008

儘菅如此，很多人都籍著是次長假外遊，尤其是大學生。我弟就是個好例子。

細佬第一次獨自出門，作為旅遊經驗比較豐富的家姐，當然要出手相助。凌晨時份，聯誼回來，見他仍在收拾行李，就幫他打點一下。翌日，臨行前再double check旅遊行程事宜。 然後，那backpacker就飛走了。

他出門後，我終於有時間更新個blog，和把那本「黄頁」讀完。近來，工作時只想到要控制EQ和把工完成，放工後又沉迷看電視，所以少了更新，真的不好意思。(Oh, you know what, Dancing with the Stars really has gotten me into ballroom dancing. hah!)

Innovative "Toy"

新玩意

今天公司添置了一台新「玩具」。

它比我高、比我重，是個值超過五位數字的超級放大鏡。

另外波士又訂購了一些曾斷市的小「玩意」。它的包裝看似尊貴的煙盒、卡片盒。其實那是double-package 的外層，內裏的小盒才是寶。

Rainy Day

下雨天

I am not supposed to be writing this since I am at work right now. I am supposed to be very excited about the long weekend, but I am not. Just not today.

At work, teamwork matters; missing one step can ruin everything. I understand why and what we got the blame for, and I am trying to work things out between us and them, but it's frustrating to see that things are not working.

This is burdensome...

My sorrow mood is penetrating the office. =.="

那天，我在整理電腦存檔時發現了「它」。

如今重新細味，百感交集。

Recap

我不但喜歡潛水、有時連性格都很「潛」。以往每逢休假更是定必外遊。剛剛過去的一週，公司休假，我竟然一反常態地留在紐約休養生息，相約友人茶聚。

再次見面，儘管只是閒話家常，與友人言談中的感覺總是很奇妙。同時間，我不得不承認大家真的長大了。外表可能沒有多變，心智卻明顯地成熟了不少。

另外，雖然來美多年，但我很少參觀博物館。(I didn't notice Brooklyn Museum is next to Brooklyn Botanic Garden until recently. ~.~") 這個星期卻去了兩次[博物館]。首先是蔡國強於Guggenheim Museum以火藥爆破為材 (我想他以外星為題) 的藝術展。


(Thank you Laura for taking this shot for me!)

然後從朋友口中和<<紐約時報>>的介紹中提及紐約多間博物館入夜後會變身成派對場地，聽起來頗有趣，所以我們一起去了湊熱鬧。

We chose to go to the American Museum of Natural History. I heard of the new exhibition Water: H2O = Life at the Rose Center of Earth and Space when I was watching the Colbert Report the other day, but dancing underneath the giant ball and standing next to ancient fossils was just beyond my imagination. I did it and it was fun. hah!

政冶觀點與角度

Riot in Tibet: Clarification



雖然中國的Censorship是有名的，但是西方媒體是不應該把南亞的暴力衝突及武力鎮壓事件都推到中國政府涉及西藏的問題上。

「做人不能太CNN」

Update

Tonight's birthday party at Zerza was a success! We all had so much fun, especially when the belly dancer came along... haha... Good time!

It's 4 am on April 13th. I have been up doing several things since I got back. I think the hookah is keeping me awake. Well, maybe it's good because I am [finally] updating my blog. hah!

Two updates:

1. My cell phone is fixed, but the old pictures can't be retrieved.

2. I am going to have a week of this week though I have not decided what to do. Any suggestions?

A Tale of Mari and Three Puppies

因為我小時候看過同一屋詹下, 所以覺得日本柴犬「健健」好可愛。又因為於大地震當年去過新潟，所以對以此為材的 マリと子犬の物語 (聽說香港將譯為「柴犬奇蹟物語」) 深感興趣。齊來欣賞它的宣傳短片吧！

NBA night at Madison Square Garden

NBA game New York Knicks vs. Charlotte Bobcats at Madison Square Garden

As you may have known, NY Knicks has not been a leading team for various reasons... And we were not expecting much about Knicks, and this game, but the ticket was so cheap. 超值票只是$15 (a hot dog, a pack of chip and a 24 oz soda is included) It was a good deal, wasn't it? Before the game, we were already prepared to yell, "Fire Isiah Thomas!" if Knicks was losing.

我們跟一眾山頂上的朋友食熱狗、飲汽水、大叫、喝倒彩和拍手，氣氛很好，加上球賽異常地激烈，眾人都樂在其中。

Also, during breaks, instead of watching commercials, we enjoyed cheerleaders dancing, drummers, 3-pointers contest and such. We also got several updates on National Hockey League's playoff between New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils.

Surprisingly, Knicks won this NBA match and Rangers won the NHL match on that night. Cool!

I might go to see LA Galaxy in the summer, wanna join me?

Unlucky Sunday

死機

My cell phone has been a useful device in my comprehensive alarm system. This morning, after I turned my cell phone off, flipped it, and I fell back to sleep like I always did. However, when I woke up, the screen of the cell phone was not showing any images. Two-third of the screen was blank with bright background and the remaining part of the screen was completely black. So I turned it off and turned it back on. Well, this time, the power was on, but not the screen.

When this happened, the first thing that came across my mind was my pictures. I saved about 40 pictures I had taken at school and work where I did not carry my camera with me all the time. I never backed up those pictures or saved them in any other devices. I never thought those images meant so much to me.

I decided to have my phone fixed right away. At the subway station, there were already a lot of passengers waiting on the platform, so I thought I would not have to wait very long. After waiting for 15 mins, I overheard a man talking to the station's agent. He was yelling at the agent, complaining about the long wait. I could not hear what the agent said, but it turned out that all trains skipped our stop. Without notifying us, the agent made us wait and watch all other trains running bypass the station for that long. We left with disapproval.

I finally arrived at the store though I was too early. Once I got in, I was told that no technician would be in today, so I had to come back.

Noma in Africa

I was reading the latest issue of National Geographic. There was a one-page advertisement/article on the Noma disease in Africa. I blurt into tears when I saw those compelling, shocking images.

It was a pain.

壓力從何來?
是我太累嗎?

Accident

意外

還記得周星馳的名句﹕「燒雞翼, 我鍾意食。」

前幾天，我在煮雞翼的時候被油彈中, 頸上留下了幾處傷痕。

痛!

好痛!

自高中以來, 我從不擔心身安全的問題，反而是次意外... 也許是那幾道傷痕啓發了我...

Leap Day

February 29, 2008

This is a special entry dedicated to all Leap-day-born individuals!

Happy Birthday to all leap-day babies! YEAH!!! ^o^

Happy Chinese New Year!

祝大家鼠年行大運

恭喜發財
新春大吉
大吉大利
如意吉祥
花開富貴
身體健康
心想事成
青春常駐
出入平安
龍馬精神
身壯力健
和氣生財
年年有餘
生活愉快
國泰民安......

My warm wishes never end

恭喜!恭喜!

Super Tuesday!

Super Bowl Ticker-Tape Parade

Lower Manhattan was full of blue and white papers and Giants fans. Were you one of them?

U.S. Presidential Primary Election/ Caucus 2008

Who did you vote for?

Super Bowl XLII: Patriots vs. Giants

Super Bowl heat in NY

If you are in NY, you will know nothing the Super Bowl heat is inescapable this week. New York Giants and Super Bowl have been a dominant topic in Sport news and daily conversation. Even my father was wearing a Giants jacket today!

After long six working days, I joined the mass couch potatoes...

I am writing this entry right before NY giant got the victory... okay... I hear my neighbors screaming... "Go! Giants!" "Yeah! it's winning!" "Hurray!" Just one second left... people in the street are celebrating already.

"YEAH!!! New York Giants won!"

A huge parade just begins!

Google Partnership

Google + NTT DoCoMo???

How about Microsoft + Yahoo! ?

另一種期待

聽說鄭丹瑞主演的"小男人週記舞台劇"KISS ME GOODBYE"很有意思...

望穿秋水, 黄子華新一輯的棟篤笑呢？

MacBook Air

Steve Jobs, Apple Chief Executive had announced new products at MacWorld 2008 on the 15th. The main focus was the MacBook Air, "the world's thinnest laptop" for $1799.



I am not a Mac user, but I might become one soon. But, what happens if I "accidentally" put too many magazines on the MacBook Air? hmm~

Adobe Photoshop + Mac

Photoshop recently announced its new product Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 for Macintosh.

Due to the virus invasion, our Windows was down for a week, but Photoshop CS3 has been running great. Although the product won't be shipped until March, many websites have provided tutorials in advance. I am wondering if our office should start considering Mac, and the new Photoshop for Mac, since the new one seems more interesting. Perhaps just different... or how different can they be? More features will be demonstrated in a few days at MacWorld 2008. I will wait.

Happy 2008!

My first entry of 2008 is about having a great time with some of my all-time-favorites (sound like chocolates tim).

We, three 20-something Libras, celebrated the new year in Las Vegas. Upon our arrival, we observed the Strip buildings from the plane. It was like saying "welcome to Las Vegas." Within a week, we've been to most landmarks, enjoyed the festive spirit with a full stomach and a glass in hand; we also spent a day in Grand Canyon, which was the first of the Seven World Wonders I had ever been to. (Hey, anyone wanna join me for the rest of the Six World Wonders?)

We also took this opportunity to see a fantastic residence show, called Le Reve (Fr: The Dream) in Wynn. It was like a circus show set in water with compelling music though it was relatively short. Well... I became more fond of Critque de Soleil and Benoit Jutras's work.



Oh... I found the local drinking culture and no-glass-drink-on-New-Year-Eve rule very interesting.

I wish you all a happy new year!
Cheers!