I couldn't have come up with a more accurate description.

This Barnes guy must be a great friend of BB. Or he could be BB in disguise!

And apparently, "Gastrosexual" is the word to describe a man who takes pleasure, and excel, in cooking.

"What's the psychology behind a man wanting to be alone in a kitchen? For Julian Barnes, the appeal lay in pedantry: an academic consultation of reference books followed by scholarly research for authentic ingredients. Then, exacting reproduction of recipes with precise timings and flawless reproduction of a premeditated result."

--- p.58, Waitrose Food Illustrated, October 2008

When having the blues, read a book.

"He awoke each morning with the desire to do right, to be a good and meaningful person, to be, as simple as it sounded and as impossible as it actually was, happy. And during the course of each day his heart would descend from his chest into his stomach. By early afternoon he was overcome by the feeling that nothing was right, or nothing was right for him, and by the desire to be alone. By evening he was fulfilled: alone in the magnitude of his grief, alone in his aimless guilt, alone even in his loneliness. I am not sad, he would repeat to himself over and over, I am not sad. As if he might one day convince himself. Or fool himself. Or convince others - the only thing worse than being sad is for others to know that you are sad. I am not sad. I am not sad. Because his life had unlimited potential for happiness, insofar as it was an empty white room. He would fall asleep with his heart at the foot of his bed, like some domesticated animal that was no part of him at all. And each morning he would wake with it again in the cupboard of his rib cage, having become a little heavier, a little weaker, but still pumping. And by midafternoon he was again overcome with the desire to be somewhere else, someone else, someone else somewhere else. I am not sad."

--- Everything is Illumiated by Jonathan Safran Foer

Pain of being a Hong Konger.

When George W. Bush makes one of the many stupid decisions that he has made, the US citizens are partly responsible, because they (at least those who voted for him) helped put him in office.

We Hong Kong people don't even have the luxury of blaming ourselves for making a bad choice. And so we have to watch our utterly incompetent / borderline imbecilic government officials making unacceptable mistakes time after time and having the nerve to make excuses for themselves. They have collectively taken the word "shameless" to a whole new level.

I have never been more ashamed of our government than I am now. Just look at what they have done in the past 11 months and you will see.

I want universal suffrage now. Whatever dumb-ass I decide to vote for, at least that would be MY decision and I will live with the consequences.

給愛我的您。

From G's article on today's Apply Daily.

那個“她”，也是“他”。

-------

她 愛 你

‧ 她 把 隔 夜 的 尾 盛 載 在 一 個 小 碟 上 ， 大 家 吃 飯 時 ， 她 把 那 碟 子 放 在 自 己 面 前 。 ‧ 她 把 新 嘗 試 做 （ 卻 失 敗 了 ） 的 菜 式 ， 放 在 自 己 面 前 。
‧ 熬 通 宵 的 翌 日 ， 桌 上 出 現 一 杯 去 濕 茶 。 5 分 鐘 後 ， 她 從 廚 房 伸 出 頭 來 ， 偷 看 你 有 沒 有 喝 。
‧ 你 為 了 打 發 她 ， 亂 說 自 己 抽 煙 不 算 兇 ， 她 回 答 說 ： 「 你 昨 天 抽 了 22 根 煙 。 」 原 來 每 趟 替 你 清 理 煙 灰 缸 的 時 候 ， 她 的 心 一 直 數 算 。
‧ 躺 在 床 上 的 時 候 ， 忽 然 發 覺 原 來 已 經 換 了 淨 的 被 鋪 。 然 後 想 起 被 鋪 好 像 昨 夜 早 已 換 了 … … 抑 或 是 前 天 呢 ？ 總 之 就 是 換 了 。
‧ 某 天 你 移 動 床 褥 ， 原 來 很 重 哦 … … 她 何 來 力 氣 獨 自 托 起 床 褥 去 換 床 單 的 ？
‧ 發 甚 麼 神 經 ？ 每 一 頓 飯 都 煮 牛 肉 。 「 我 見 你 上 星 期 把 那 碟 瓜 牛 肉 吃 清 光 嘛 … … 」 你 完 全 記 不 起 甚 麼 上 星 期 的 瓜 牛 肉 。
‧ 而 她 不 吃 牛 肉 的 。
‧ 她 拿 了 湯 水 給 你 ， 你 在 夜 忽 然 想 起 哎 喲 ！ 死 ！ 袋 子 有 一 壺 湯 ！
‧ … … 然 後 你 打 開 袋 子 ， 發 現 再 有 一 個 膠 袋 包 裹 湯 壺 ， 打 開 膠 袋 ， 發 現 湯 壺 外 再 有 數 條 橡 皮 圈 紮 一 層 抹 手 紙 。
‧ 她 致 電 你 ， 你 說 你 正 在 工 作 ， 她 說 一 句 「 對 不 起 」 就 急 忙 掛 線 。 她 向 你 說 對 不 起 。 她 向 你 說 對 不 起 。
‧ 她 很 緊 張 地 問 ： 「 我 抹 東 西 時 不 小 心 碰 到 你 的 電 腦 ， 畫 面 上 忽 然 有 光 ， 會 不 會 有 事 ？ 」
‧ 為 甚 麼 每 一 次 很 晚 回 家 ， 進 門 不 久 就 看 見 她 步 出 睡 房 去 洗 手 間 ？ 為 甚 麼 每 一 次 都 剛 巧 遇 上 你 回 家 的 時 候 上 廁 所 ？ 凌 晨 2 時 回 家 ， 她 就 2 時 上 廁 所 。 凌 晨 4 時 25 分 回 家 ， 她 就 4 時 25 分 上 廁 所 。 為 甚 麼 無 論 多 晚 回 家 都 遇 上 她 碰 巧 醒 來 ？
‧ 她 老 是 說 喝 汽 水 沒 有 益 。 你 發 現 雪 櫃 永 遠 有 喝 不 完 的 汽 水 。
‧ 腳 趾 踢 到 椅 腳 ， 嘩 痛 痛 痛 ！ 痛 一 會 就 不 痛 ， 你 嘩 啦 嘩 啦 跑 開 了 。 然 後 她 走 過 去 把 椅 子 移 開 。
‧ 你 某 天 發 現 她 腳 上 穿 你 的 一 雙 舊 襪 子 。
‧ 她 學 說 你 的 口 頭 禪 ， 又 要 講 錯 。
‧ 她 發 現 你 臉 上 每 一 顆 新 長 出 來 的 暗 瘡 ， 無 論 那 顆 暗 瘡 是 多 麼 的 小 。
‧ 她 輕 鬆 地 說 ： 「 你 前 天 不 夠 睡 ， 只 睡 了 6 小 時 哦 ， 昨 天 又 只 睡 了 5 個 小 時 。 」 其 實 連 你 自 己 也 不 記 得 。
‧ 她 明 明 在 默 默 熨 衣 服 ， 忽 然 說 起 ： 「 要 找 對 自 己 好 的 人 ， 知 道 嘛 ？ 」 然 後 你 發 現 她 原 來 在 想 關 於 你 的 事 。 你 不 回 應 她 ， 她 回 復 沉 默 。
‧ 但 你 知 道 她 仍 然 在 想 所 有 關 於 你 的 事 。
‧ 你 不 快 樂 ， 完 全 沒 有 表 現 出 來 。 她 突 然 問 起 你 近 來 怎 樣 。 你 說 ： 「 沒 甚 麼 哦 ！ 」 你 改 變 話 題 。 她 也 改 變 話 題 。 大 家 轉 說 其 他 軼 事 。 你 暗 暗 在 想 為 何 她 會 知 道 你 不 快 樂 。 你 知 道 她 根 本 不 相 信 你 那 句 「 沒 甚 麼 哦 」 。 大 家 口 中 繼 續 說 別 的 話 題 。
‧ 你 說 過 會 跟 她 飲 茶 。 她 清 晨 就 下 床 等 你 。 一 直 安 靜 地 坐 在 大 廳 中 ， 等 你 。
‧ 早 上 臨 出 門 前 ， 我 發 瘋 地 找 一 件 白 色 的 襯 衣 ， 你 翻 出 許 多 白 色 的 裙 子 、 白 色 的 褲 子 、 白 色 的 外 套 … … 我 說 算 了 ， 不 用 找 了 ， 轉 身 就 上 路 。 夜 回 家 ， 我 發 現 有 幾 件 白 色 的 衣 服 放 在 床 尾 ， 才 記 起 自 己 曾 經 找 過 那 襯 衣 … … 早 上 的 事 ， 我 已 經 忘 記 ， 你 卻 整 天 往 櫃 翻 ， 想 要 找 尋 任 何 白 色 的 襯 衣 … … 每 當 我 踏 出 家 門 的 時 候 ， 我 把 一 切 拋 諸 腦 後 ， 你 卻 把 那 一 刻 的 任 何 事 情 牢 記 住 。 在 外 面 ， 我 的 時 鐘 已 經 走 了 許 多 個 圈 。 你 的 時 鐘 ， 卻 停 留 在 我 步 出 家 門 的 一 刻 。 當 我 回 家 ， 你 的 時 鐘 才 從 我 離 開 那 個 時 刻 延 續 。 你 的 時 鐘 就 停 留 在 我 步 出 家 門 的 一 刻 。

For all dog (or cat) (or animal) lovers.

This is one of the best books I have read this year. If you love dogs, this is the perfect user manual. If you love animals, this book is for you too.

"A dog's love is the same as God's love. That's why 'dog' is 'god' spelt backwards." It cannot be more true.

Maybe I should get a few copies for my animal-loving friends for Christmas...

Vienna & London.

The Schonbrunn Palace. The weather was excellent that morning, which made all the difference. When we left after lunch, the sky was clouding up already.

The absolute highlight of my trip to Vienna - conker picking. Until then I didn't know what a conker was (horse chestnut, looks like a regular chestnut we see in HK, but you cannot eat it). Apparently children in UK collect them and turn them into a toy. Such is the privilege of kids in the west - they are so close to and comfortable with nature and what it offers; unlike most of the Hong Kong- (or city-) raised kids, who don't even know the feeling of walking barefoot on grass.

BB's highlight of his trip in Vienna - listening to a (free!) organ concert. I felt asleep half-way through.

A group of US tourists saw me giggling and taking photos of this statute. They immediately took out their cameras and did the same.

Natural History Museum in London. One of the less expensive (free entry!) activities in London. Everything else costs you an arm and a leg.

A giant spider, the current exhibition at Tate Modern.

Borough Market. It's not huge inside, but all stalls offer the freshest food in town - organic fruits, fish & chips, home-made everything (sausages and pies, cheese, chocolate truffles, olive oil, etc). We had a chorizo sandwich, a veggie burger, a sausage bun, a spicy cider and an apple juice. Very satisfying lunch.

The prize winning pork pie at Borough Market. I bought one and carried back home for my dad.

Running away from the credit crunch (or trying to...)

As our holiday draws to a close, here are some of our (in fact, these are written by BB) most memorable moments of our trip to London and Vienna:

1. picking newly hatched conkers for DB's first time (even more amazingly, in the gardens of the spectacular Schonbrunn Palace);
2. watching the horses train at Spanish Riding School (it's only now that we can appreciate the equestrian events at the Olympics);
3. eating weiner schnitzel at Figmuller where the schitzels are bigger than the plates themselves;
4. trekking round Vienna at night looking for an emergency chemist (for nurofen, not durex);
5. enjoying an organ concert at St Peters Church in Vienna;
6. celebrating Ian's wedding at Whitehall Place (one of the most lavish weddings we've been to in UK);
7. looking round the Natural History Museum in London (who said it's just for kids?);
8. lunching at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay (the first and hopefully not the last time we will be eating in such an amazing restaurant);
9. taking in the aroma of a box of fresh white truffles (at RGR);
10. DB being in Rothko paradise, surrounded by his paintings at Tate Modern;
11. BB being in shoe shop hell, surrounded by shelves upon shelves of boots (in both Vienna and London);
12. savouring the mushroom cheese pancakes at the Hampstead Creperie;
13. using the shopping scanners at Waitrose;
14. standing outside Covent Garden tube station in the rush hour and pouring rain;
15. getting used to London transport again;
16. getting used to having a bath every night rather than a shower;
17. catching up with friends and family; and
18. wishing that the economic doom and gloom will have blown over by the time we come back.

Photos to follow when we are back in HK.

小貓咪。

小貓終於找到主好人家了。除了愛心小姐外，還有其他人表示有興趣收養小貓。香港的有心人，還是有的。（但大多也是女性唷。）

由於新主人今天早上才接小貓，她昨晚便在我家度宿。我的三頭貓如臨大敵，整晚都在戒備狀態。直到今早，其中一隻對她好像友善多了，走上前又哄又聞。但是十分鐘後，小貓便要走了。

貓離開後，我竟然流了兩滴眼淚。想不到，只是一晚的相處，我會這樣捨不得。

小貓咪對世界充滿好奇，沒有戒心，無論大貓如何“怒啤”，她也一派天真無邪。在她眼中，世界是美好的，是充滿可能性的。看著她，我看到久遺了的，叫作“純良”的東西。我被她感動了。

大城小事。

*這幾個星期，工作前所未有的繁忙，每個project也是urgent，一天到晚也在check emails 和conference callls。
*看情況，未來幾個月，情況應該都沒有改善了。
*但看看Lehman Brothers, 又會暗自安慰，有份工作，已經很幸運了。
*原本在父母家裏的肥貓Lulu，最近因身體不適 -- 即年紀大（13歲）和癡肥（17磅）-- 要長期吃藥。父母照顧不了，結果Lulu“過檔”來了我和伯伯家。我看著Lulu由手掌般小巧，長大到現在我要出盡力才能把她抱起，13年晃眼就過。
*希望在Lulu有生之年，我可以好好照顧她。
*昨天下班時分，在往小巴站途中，看見一頭小貓咪。比手掌還小，但聲線洪亮，喵喵喵喵叫不停。（應是餓壞了。）我忍不住，把她抱起來，去了最近的獸醫診所。初步檢查，是頭一個月的小貓女，健康精靈，只需要杜蟲除蚤。因不能把她帶回家，只好把她暫留在獸醫診所。
*過去18小時不斷跟各流浪貓中心和愛貓朋友聯絡，看看能否為貓咪找到安身之所。
*剛剛收到電郵，有位愛心小姐想領養小貓！！

吃，因為無聊。

所以肥囉。

Spiced red wine poached pear.

"When there are no consequences, being wrong is simply an interesting diversion."

---- Saturday, Ian McEwan

A night with Tony Parsons.

My knowledge about Tony Parsons or his works does not go beyond Man and Boy, Man and Wife, and page 16 of One for My Baby, all of which I read over 6 years ago. However, when BB suggested that we attend a literary dinner with him, I was quick to say yes. After all, I have never been to a literary dinner before, and the mere words “li-te-ra-ry dinner” sound sexy and posh enough (shallow I know). Plus, lately I have been reading nothing but Hello!, Elle and Marie Claire (plus more than my share of Next Magazine, Sudden Weekly and other local trash gossip magazines), and therefore a literary dinner sounds a timely and much desired cultural fix.

So we found ourselves sitting inside Grappa’s at 7.30pm last night, waiting to meet the international bestseller (Man and Boy sold over two million copies worldwide). Dinner was from 7.30 to 9.00. At the price of $500 per person, dinner was, at most, mediocre. I had a Caesar salad and duck breast while BB went for the onion soup and chili spaghetti. When my dessert came (chocolate semifreddo with summer fruits), there was fruit juice all over the plate – obviously the kitchen staff did not bother to wipe the rims of the plates before serving the dish. I wonder what Chef Ramsay would say (apart from the two dozen F-words) if we were in Hell’s Kitchen. BB and I calculated that the cost of our 3-course meal plus a glass of wine would be less than $80. What a rip-off. But then again, we came for Tony, not the food; besides, who in the first place would have any expectation about Grappa’s food?

At 9pm, Mr. Parsons came to the podium. He was a lot funnier than his books (or at least my memories of them). He took questions from the audience and gave witty and very honest answers. For example, when asked what prompted his transition from being a music journalist to a novelist, he said without blinking “Unemployment!”. He is a huge fan of Hong Kong too, having visited the city many times over the past 10 years and having made some good friends here. According to him, Shanghai, the place where his latest novel (My Favourite Wife) is set and where he spent a lot of time over the past three years doing research, can never beat Hong Kong.

Despite having met him in person and coming home with two nicely autographed books, I still cannot say that I am tempted to start reading his latest work. BB, on the other hand, is busy reading The Family Way, a present from BB's dad that has been sitting on our book shelf for more than a year before finally finding its way into the light again.

It got me thinking – which writer would I want to meet most? This year, I think my answer would be him.

師徒。父子。

From Ming Pao Instant News (13.59, 18/8/2008)
------------

孫海平泣不成聲劉翔也哭了

劉翔因傷退賽，與他情同父子的教練孫海平在記者會上以手掩面，泣不成聲。他並透露，退出後劉翔也哭了。

「劉翔今天到了準備活動場地，他一直在堅持，他一直在玩命，」孫海平說，然後控制不住地哭了。

他說，劉翔當天上午要做準備活動的時候傷病再次發作，現場有三個醫生在替劉翔進行傷勢處理，最後實在沒有辦法了，用冷凍、噴霧，都沒用，最後請體育醫院的副院長進行按摩，給予劉翔最強的刺激，劉翔痛得渾身發抖，但還是沒法撐起來。傷在最受力的地方，一撐就軟下來，但是他始終在堅持。

「劉翔在進檢錄處之前，腳已經麻木了，但到了檢錄處以後，又慢慢恢復知覺了，但這時候，疼痛比以前還厲害，連走路都不行了。但他硬堅持還要跑，」孫海平說，眼圈又紅了。

他說：「劉翔賽後哭了，他非常難過。」

孫海平是劉翔的恩師，兩人第一次見面是在1998年的夏天，孫海平一眼看中了劉翔。「在同年齡的孩子中，他個子比較高。雖然技術比較差，但節奏感很好，這可是先天的優勢啊，當時我就想讓這孩子跟我練。」孫海平曾經這麼回憶說。

劉翔是中國田徑出國參賽最多的運動員，他與孫海平一起，在國外一站一站參加比賽，磨煉自己的比賽能力。

孫海平有打呼嚕的習慣，為了不耽誤劉翔比賽，晚上都等劉翔睡熟之後，自己才合眼睡去－－他要明確劉翔睡熟了，自己才能睡，直挺挺躺在床上，睜大眼睛讓自己清醒。

雅典奧運會前，為了備戰，孫海平把自己的老母親送到養老院，自己全天帶劉翔訓練。

這對師徒的關係，是中國體育界的楷模。雅典奧運會後，劉翔通過接拍廣告，在寸土寸金的上海為師傅孫海平「掙」下一套精裝修四室兩廳的大房子，不僅為孫海平解決了住房窘迫的難題，師徒倆還因此住進了同一個小區。一時傳為美談。

閉上眼，世界只有我一個。

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喜歡一個人孤獨的時刻 但不能喜歡太多
在地鐵站或美術館 孤獨像睡眠一樣餵養我
以永無止盡的墜落 需要音樂取暖
喜歡一個人孤獨的時刻 但不能喜歡太多

喜歡一個喝著紅酒的女孩 但不能喜歡太多
把她送上鐵塔 給全世界的人寫明信片
像一隻鳥在最高的地方 歌聲嘹亮
喜歡一個喝著紅酒的女孩 但不能喜歡太多

喜歡一個陽光照射的角落 但不能喜歡太多
是幼稚園的小朋友 笑聲像陽光一樣打擾我
我輕輕的揮一揮手 凝結照片的傷口
喜歡一個陽光照射的角落 但不能喜歡太多

喜歡一個人孤獨的時刻 但不能喜歡太多

---《太多》陳綺貞

Gratitude (Posted by BB).

From DBJ: Today it is my prerogative (or that is what I have told BB) to have someone else write my blog for me. So, over to BB.

From BB:

Once in a while DBJ has her "me-time". Today is one of those days. This is "divide and conquer" according to what we studied at Care Group. So DBJ is off (and this is not supposed to sound too SATC) to get her hair done and enjoy lunch with some girlfriends and then have dinner with parents.

Today is also DBJ's birthday. In the card I scribbled last night, I tried to jot down our highlights of the past year. My memory (and DBJ's, she will readily admit) gets worse and worse but our personal highlights ranged from the spiritually significant (finding a Care Group, DBJ's mum accepting Christ) to the more worldly and trivial (enjoying some great holidays, Nespresso parties and discovering "Settlers" and Ian McEwan's writing).

I hope we get the chance to sing Matt Redman's "Blessed Be Your Name" at tomorrow's service. If not, then we will be doing so in our hearts.

I will be back (at least) 3kg more.

Taiwan is an evil place. Really. With its XiaoLongBao, hot & spicy steamboat, Japanese restaurants (yes Japanese food in Taiwan), various forms of noodles, pineapple cakes, sweet and savoury pastries...etc., Taiwan is a place anyone who is on a diet should avoid like a plague.

And I am going there tomorrow! For three days! How I have missed you, food market! And you, Yummiest-BBQ-corn-I-have-ever-had, here I come again!

Blessed are the brave ones, for they will buy new, bigger sets of clothes soon.

JK Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement

You can watch and read her inspiring speech here.

A couple of quotes:

(On her parents wishing her to take a vocational degree) --
"...I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you."

(On what we can do to make a difference) --
"If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better."

Quick update.

If I haven't been updating my blog as frequently as I should, it's because:

1) I have been travelling - I just came back from a Bangkok eating and spa trip. I have had so many bowls of Tong Yum Kung that now I have decided to stay off it for the rest of the year. Next trip is end of July, destination Taiwan.

2) I have been busy googling and youtube-ing him. Have you watched Wanted? If not, I urge you to. Not only will you find it extremely entertaining (though in a weird way), you will also get to see "Britain's brightest up-and-coming actor" (quote from Arena). Then watch (or re-watch) Atonement, Becoming Jane, Penelope, The Last King of Scotland and Starter for 10, and you will know what I mean.

不相愛的好處。

於9426.2公里外，你在電話的那一頭說：“我想我現在明白你當時在倫敦生活時那種孤單的感覺。” 之後的那一句，即使你沒有說出來，我都聽懂。

親愛的，其實你並不如你想像中的那麼瞭解我。我在外頭的那些時間，曾是很多東西，但孤單，從來不是。

能與分手了的男人做回朋友，只因不用再無時無刻披起肩甲去捍衛自己的立場想法價值觀。沒有無窮的寄望，沒有無聊的對峙，尋回喘氣的空間，演化成一段有適當距離，恰當關心，和沒有壓力的友誼。剛剛好。

於是，我在電話的這邊說: “嗯，是嗎。”

I am singing this song in my head all day long at work. (Don't worry I can multi-task.)

As we gather my Your Spirit work within us
As we gather may we glorify Your Name
Knowing well that as our hearts begin to worship
We’ll be blessed because we came
We’ll be blessed because we came

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end
They are new every morning, new every morning
Great is Thy faithfulness oh Lord
Great is Thy faithfulness

And then I found this on Youtube.

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