Salt and Light

The cleaning lady just came into my office and gave me a little individually-wrapped cake. She said today is her last day at work. She is not an employee of our company, but works for a cleaning company that we engage to clean our offices. This lady only comes into our office at the end of each day to take out our trash.

I suddenly feel a bit sad. All this time my converation exchange with this lady does not go beyond the simple "Hello", "Thank you", "You going home soon? - Yes, about to", so I should have no reason to feel saddened by her departure. After all, people come and people go.

But the cake. Why did she give me the cake? And from the way she gave it to me (in a hush hush manner even though there was nobody else in my office), I figured that she gave the cakes to selective people, and I was one of the lucky few. What have I done to deserve the cake? I don't even know her name! I haven't ever asked about her, whether she has kids, how long she has been in this job. And yet she gave me this cake, perhaps thinking that in some way there is a connection between us (which I failed to notice).

It seems that the cleaning lady and I are in reversed positions. As a Christian, I should be the one reaching out to people, regardless of whether the recipient understands or appreciates such friendliness. But here I am, sitting in my office, receiving a cake from an almost stranger, while wondering why I should be getting this gift in the first place.

This has been playing in my head for the past 72 hours

Make me a channel of your peace
Where there is hatred let me bring your love
Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord
And where there's doubt, true faith in you

Make me a channel of your peace
Where there's despair in life let me bring hope;
Where the is darkness, only light;
And where there's sadness, ever joy

Oh, Master, grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand
To be loved, as to love with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace
It is pardoning that we are pardoned
In giving to all men that we receive;
And in dying that we're born to eternal life.

--- Make me a channel

I should say this to the people in my office building

"Do you ever hold the door open for somebody and they just waltz right through there? No eye contact, no thank you, no nothing. You're just standing there "Well you're welcome Your Majesty! Sorry I didn't sprinkle rose petals for you!""

---From Ellen DeGeneres - Here and Now

This stand-up comedy is brilliant! As always, Ellen rocks!

Questionnaire

I have completed this questionnaire. If you care enough for our fluffy friends, please help.

----------

Survey on HK's Aaimal Welfare
虐待動物法例問卷調查

The government has proposed heavier penalties on animal abuse in April this year. In order to gauge public opinion on the overall animal welfare
situation in Hong Kong, Animal Earth, an animal rights organization, wishes to collect your views through an email questionnaire.
港府於今年四月建議加強虐畜罪行的罰則。為了解市民對法例罰則和香港整體動物福利的看法，動物權益團體《動物地球》現進行一項電郵問卷調查。

Please help us by finishing this simple survey. The overall results will be published afterwards while detailed information will be kept confidential.
請大家花一點時間完成簡單的問卷。我們稍後將會公佈問卷答覆的整體分析及結果，但個別資料會絕對保密，謝謝。

http://www.my3q.com/home2/115/animalearth/86527.phtml

Thank you.

Dr House

Recently I have become a fan of Hugh Laurie, or Dr Gregory House in House M.D. Until House M.D., I never knew who Hugh Laurie was, but BB told me he was already very famous in the UK before House M.D. (he is British, which was a surprise to me because he speaks impeccable Amercian English in the drama series), and was in A Bit of Fry and Laurie and Jeeves and Wooster and Blackaddar (where he plays the dimwit Prince George). I googled him (yes when I am obsessed I am unstoppable, just like I was with the pontikege, and btw I am over pontikege now, surprise surprise) and discovered that he is actually very multi-talented. He plays the piano, guitar and harmonica. He sings very well. He writes novels. He bikes. He rows. He also graduated from Eton and Cambridge.

Oh and did I mention he has the most incredible blue eyes? And I have seen him in interviews, his sense of humour amazes me, and he is nothing like the cranky Dr House character he plays.

There really is something about men named Hugh (Hugh Grant! and Hugh Jackman!).

Girl power

Last night, I went for a kickboxing trial class with a friend. I have taken kickboxing classes before, but those were the group classes held in a gym, where you jab and kick with 40 other people in a not-very-big room. The experience was not very pleasant.

Last night was a Rolls Royce experience when compared to the group classes I took before. First, it was a private lesson so it's just the coach and me and my friend. The gym itself is not big, like twice the size of a high school classroom, but it has a boxing ring (mini version I suppose - I don't know how big a proper boxing ring is), a few sandbags and enough spare room for you to run about kicking asses. Last night there were no other classes or students, so the coach, me and my friend had the whole place to ourselves. We spend the hour kicking and punching. Oh and we wore boxing gloves and kick real people (i.e. the coach)!!

Strangely, I didn't sweat a lot during the class but I could definitely feel I have had a good work out - today my arms and legs are hurting. But it feels good.

The private classes are not cheap, but being DBJ (and a closet shopaholic) I of course have signed myself up. I hope I can shape up my figure for the wedding. Better spend money on this than on a pair of Manolo right?

I will be an ass kicking queen! BB should be very worried.

辣手摧包

我最近愛上了吃麻糬（Pontikege），是瘋狂的那種愛，晚上睡覺時會掛念它，早上返工時會特地在公司三條街以外下車，只為去麵包店買它當早餐。這種小麵包由來已久，但不知道爲什麽我一直沒有看上它，直到現在。

Google了很久,也找不到關於麻糬的詳細營養資料，只知它也算健康食品，但健康食品總有脂肪，有蛋白質卦？就是找不到有關資料。

但也沒關係。觀乎我“新xx，三日香”的性格，大抵會每天吃麻糬，吃它一兩三個星期，然後熱情過了，就再也不會碰它。

The unbearable heaviness of being

In this week's Next Magazine, there is an article about a woman who suffers from delusional disorder, but the focus of the article is on the husband of the woman, who takes care of her all these years.

15 years ago, this woman killed her 13-year-old daughter with a knife and strangled the other daughter, who was 8 years old then. When the husband arrived home from work, he discovered the crime scene. The wife was later diagnosed of suffering from delusional disorder, an illness which led her to believe that the world is conspiring against her and therefore she needed to kill her daughters to protect them. She was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced to psychiatric treatment.

The husband bears no hatred towards the wife. He quit his job to take care of her and he even blames himself for not discovering the wife's illness earlier and getting her the proper treatment.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, rumour has it that Kate Hudson is splitting with her husband after six years of marriage because of Owen Wilson. Allegedly Kate and Owen hit if off while filming a movie together.

I like Kate Hudson and I am not being judgemental here. I write about her simply because I read about it on the same day I read about the husband, and it strikes me.

What is true love? I think true love is a choice. You make a conscious decision and you stand by it. It takes a lot of faith and a lot of hard work.

Wah, true love is such heavy stuff. No wonder divorce lawyers are making so much money.

廣告時間

裝修

新屋裝修，公司也在裝修。每天電鑽吵過不停，令本來已經容易頭痛的我，更加辛苦。

也好，給我一個藉口早點放工哈哈。

88... and counting

I have a countdown calendar on my personalised Google homepage so I know it's 88 days before our wedding. The preparation progress has been very promising so far:

- we have booked all the important services like church, reception venue, make-up artists, wedding dress designer, photographer, videographer, decoration, and band.
- we collected the wedding bands yesterday.
- I am meeting with the wedding dress designer this Friday for a second fitting (i.e. I have to crash diet in the next few days to rid myself of the extra pounds I gained from all the crisps and movenpick ice-creams).
- meeting with the videographer is next week.
- we will collect the invitation cards from the printer this Sunday.
- we have started to put together the wedding schedule.

There are of course a lot of other small but important tasks that we need to take care of, but one thing at a time. BB and I have agreed that every day we have to make some progress on the preparation work, big or small. Yesterday it was finalising the wedding party, today it is calling the stupid "I-am-sorry-our-lines-are-busy-no-matter-how-many-times-you-call" Marriage Registry to arrange for the application of a marriage notice.

Athough I do not mind being busy for a happy cause, what I really want now is fast forward to 3 months later, when the wedding is over, the house moving is done, and we are enjoying the lovely wines in the lovely vineyards. Oh honeymoon, honeymoon, I want you. Now.

It's not time yet

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace."

---Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

A few nights ago I dreamed that my dad had cancer and was dying. The dream was so real that when I woke up, I was in cold sweat and trembling. The dream also triggered the all too familiar train of thoughts, which, as it always have, left me helpless and lost.

It was obviously only a dream, but it could have been reality, easily. Every telephone conversation you have with your parents, every time you see them, could so easily be the last time. The world is too unpredictable, life is too fragile, there are too many crazy terrorists out there who spend their entire life thinking how to blow up planes, too many reckless drivers, too many new types of illnesses.

It takes a tremendously wise and faithful person like King Solomon to be able to understand the profound truth in life. The Book of Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon, tells us that God has ordered all things according to His purposes, and that a man's role is to accept these things as God's appointments. But sometimes, with some things, it is just too hard to accept.

Cream, Sea-shell, Ivory, Magnolia, Cosmic-latte...are all fancy names for white

Today BB and I and our interior designer went to Lockhart Road to sort out the various materials for the house renovation. Thanks to the comprehensive due diligence we did the previous few weeks (including countless arguments), today is a very smooth process. Within two hours, we have decided on the bathtub, wash basins, shower system, taps, kitchen tiles, washroom tiles, and floorboards. Considering both BB and I have very strong and different preference, I am really impressed with our progress today.

Of the 5,000 things we need to do with the new house, one thing is checked! Only 4,999 to go!

Am typing away in my study now. The weather today is perfect - it's been a long while since we saw the blue sky. Hong Kong has become so polluted that clear blue sky is a luxury now.



Meanwhile Mr. Bo is happily napping:



Happy is BB also. He just bought a new game. That means in the next few days I will be an XBox widow.

New apartment

Completion of our new apartment purchase has just taken place! In case you are not familiar with Hong Kong property law, this is how the sale of a second-hand apartment usually goes: once you and the vendor have agreed on the sale price of a flat, you sign a "preliminary sale and purchase agreement" and pay a 3% deposit. In the course of the next 10 days or so, you will need to pay another 7% deposit and sign a formal sale and purchase agreement. Completion takes place about 30-45 days after the signing of the formal S&P agreement, during such time you have to come up with enough money to pay the remaining 90% balance (borrow from your parents/friends/boss, rob a bank, win the lottery, whatever suits you).

Anyway we completed our purchase today, and from tomorrow onwards the decorators will come into the flat and start stripping the place. It's an 18-year-old building so the plumbing and wiring is quite old already, plus the previous owners' taste for interior design is not really our cup of tea, so the whole place needs to be gutted and renovated.

The next three months will be painful (oh the mess! oh the weekly inspection and meeting with decorators! oh another invoice!) yet sweet (oh a new place! oh a custom-designed kitchen! oh a bigger study!).

I am so excited.

得啖笑誓師大會

老闆剛進我的office，給我看一份memo，說“等你看看，笑下都好”。

Memo内容如下：

“xxx集團企業文化變革創新誓師大會

時間：2006年x月xx日（星期六）上午10:00 - 12:30
地點：深圳市市民中心禮堂

-----方陣人員組成及演唱會歌詞一覽表

第一輪演唱歌曲:
《歌唱祖國》/ 《沒有共產黨就沒有新中國》/ 《團結就是力量》/ 《學習雷鋒好榜樣》

第二輪演唱歌曲:
《掀起你的蓋頭來》

第三輪演唱歌曲:
《小草》/ 《大中國》/ 《龍的傳人》/ 《長江之歌》”

........memo裏還有其他的内容，包括這一句“各單位按分配名額參訓，不得缺席”。

老闆“幸運地獲邀請”帶同她的手下（即包括我）參加這誓師大會，但由於她當天有“緊要事”（她租了一條船跟朋友出海），故唯有“萬分抱歉，未能出席”。

嘩，我真是抹一把冷汗！如果要我去這些活動，唱這些歌，我怕我下半世都會發惡夢！（還要我星期六朝早去深圳？有無病！）

在中資公司打工，有些東西始終要慢慢習慣...

Shopping!

On Saturday we had dinner at MOG's place. After a satisfying 3-course meal and a few glasses of red and white, MOG said, "You wanna see my conquests in Europe?", meaning the suits/shoes/belts/shirts/bags/trousers/jackets/etc. he bought during his shopping spree in Milan/Florence/London in July.

In less than 10 minutes, the living room was covered with Prada bag/Christian Dior shirts/Dolce & Gabbana belts/Gucci suits/Tod's shoes/numerous other pretty things. "They were all at least 1/3 of the original price! Everywhere in Europe is on sale!", said MOG. We ooh-ed and aah-ed at these amazing bargains for the rest of the night.

I don't know about the others, but I was drooling with envy. It has been a long while since I last went on a shopping spree. Those who know me well would know this is almost a miracle. When I was younger, I once shopped so much in Paris that I returned with only GBP10 to spend until the next pay check arrived in a week's time (I was too thin-skinned to ask Dad to wire me money). My friends, witnessing my misery, jumped in to buy me lunches and dinners during that week. That was the first time I experienced the power of friendship. *sniff*

Seeing those pretty things at MOG's, the shopaholic inside me was screaming and bursting to come out. BB, who loves me too much to see my suffer, has promised to take me to Europe next summer:


DBJ: I want to go shopping in Florence! I want to buy that Prada travel bag!! Why don't we go to Europe next year? Or better still, we can go shopping in Italy, stop over in Lisbon to visit your grandpa, and then stop over in London to visit your parents! Isn't that perfect?

BB: Yeah.

DBJ: And we can go in the summer! The weather will be fantastic and we can shop all day!! And I can finally meet your grandpa and we can see your parents!! Isn't it great?

BB: Yeah.

DBJ: So is that a promise? Promise? Promise? PROMISE??????

BB: Yeah. Whatever.


As you can see, we are SO going to Europe next summer yippee!!!!

Regret is

after you have eaten a bag of crisps, feel a little bad about your lack of self-control, decide to hit the gym, and after 45 minutes on the stepper machine, realise you have only burnt 427 calories. You go back home and check the nutritional information of the crisps, and find that you have just invited 568 calories into you body.

Then you think "shit, I shouldn't have eaten any bloody crisps in the first place. What was I thinking?"

That, my friends, is regret.

This post should have been up long ago but for the stupid Blogger site glitches...

...OR "On the 11688th Day of My Life".

Birthday card from BB (yes that is a beaded ring):


Free box of Krispy Kreme donuts (distributed in Central to advertise the opening of their first shop in Hong Kong; ex-colleague got two boxes and gave one to me):


Where my precious 8 hours on this special day was spent:


present from my brother:


My birthday dinner at home:
a) they taste much better than they look, trust me
b) these photos were taken when the dishes were half finished - I kept reminding myself I should take pictures first before eating, but when the dishes landed on the dining table I forgot all about the photos

Stir fried king prawns with broccoli


Chicken in sweet soy sauce (Mom's signature dish)


Vegetables and dumplings and fishballs in seafood soup


Thank you all of you for the sweetest warmest birthday wishes (via telephone, email and SMS). You have made this day truly special.

給排球隊小隊長

你說爲什麽人長大了要考慮那麽多的事情，做那麽多的決定，年輕時不用那麽煩惱啊。

小隊長，這是你千千萬萬人生交叉點的開始啊。你現在要考慮，要決定的事情，跟你往後要面對的事情比較（選擇那一份工？應不應該跟他拍拖？興趣緊要還是生計緊要？跟他明明沒將來，應否為怕分手之後的彷徨而勉強自己跟他在一起？應否結婚？應否生小孩？應否原諒他？），其實不算太惱人。但這總是你人生中第一個比較重要的決定，所以你的猶豫，我能夠了解的。

但你要記緊啊，可以選擇，是福氣。能夠選擇，代表你已經長大；能夠長大，也是福氣。在選擇的過程中你會更了解自己，你會發現原來你擁有一些你從來不知道的性格，也擁有一些你不曉得的陰暗面。這個自我發掘的遊戲其實挺過癮的。

當你踏入要為自己的前途作決定的年紀時，也代表你有能力為自己的生命和選擇作承擔。“承擔”，說時重，做時輕。需要的只是那一點點對自己的尊重，那一點點的勇氣，那一點點的忍耐。尊重自己的選擇，勇於面對失敗，耐心等待成功的來臨。時下的年輕人常欠缺承擔，但你作爲排球隊隊長，應該十分明瞭並正身體力行承擔的精神吧。

記着啊，能為自己生命作決定，能選擇自己想走的道路，終究是好事。假如決定錯誤，選擇的道路有偏差，那也沒什麽大不了啊。 你的最大優點是年輕，沒有什麽錯誤或道路是不能糾正或回頭的。

最重要的是，你身邊有一個年紀比你大，做過的決定比你多，走過的歪路也比你多的姐姐嘛。你有什麽問題或想不通的事情，記得找她，她的意見未必中肯，但起碼你會知道，這條路，並不是你一個人在走。

P.S. 謝謝你的生日歌，雖然唱得很難聼，但心意搭夠啦。

邊爐美學

這是我看過對打邊爐最有詩意的揣釋：

“鍋爐的熱氣是最好的面具，讓人仍然看見你，但看不見真的你。其實除了熱氣，打邊爐的過程亦足成就另一種障眼法。各式肉菜擺滿了桌子，你站起身仔細端察，假裝把注意力放置於挑選食物之上，然後用筷子夾起其中一件，放進小箕，把箕子輕輕伸到爐湯之中；你的眼睛全神貫注地望着鍋裏層層冒起的熱泡，不會有人覺得你心不在焉。

打邊爐的美學在於“留白”，你不必急於用聲音填滿飯桌，在手忙腳亂裡，沒有人會逼你表露自己。”

-- 馬家煇 “愛戀無聲”

（好書一本，趕快看啊！）