HK weather

i was walking with a colleague to get something from their flat. looking up, i saw this haze drifting along the high-storey building. flats, apartments abound here in hk due to lack of space to build houses like in manila. that's one thing i immediately noticed especially looking for a bigger place to settle. space is a luxury. my colleague lives on the 49th flr so from their window all they really see is a heavy cloud. ala heaven. hehe or pollution that wasn't able to fully circulate out of hk atmosphere? oohhhh, hope they can still breathe from up there.

in the evening, i find sauntering from our office to the bus stop a breather as the breeze touches my face, soothes my nerves. the pavement as of this time is now deserted of office workers who hurry their way home. though dimly-lit, it's safe to pass by here. well, generally, i feel protected here because of high police visibility. (around 4-5 checkpoints in 1 year, i think) no need for alarm. just a precaution. however just be prepared to show your ID when questioned.

pgma to visit hk

anything related to politics doesnt really interest me. that was before. now, i can be a bit more sensitive to the current events hounding prominent personalities. more so, those that concern the president. ofws in hk were invited (well, not me personally haha) to join the protest against mrs arroyo when she comes to visit hongkong. according to reports, her entourage and guests spent around 2M php just for this entire trip. (full article HERE) amidst the country's flailing stability in most aspects, she manages to squeeze in this visit instead of attending to more pressing matters back home, using the funds to a more concrete purpose. the argument here is this may be an investment - for pinas, inviting other countries to trust in the capacity of the philippines to be an attractive package to put their money in. the problem here is, how can she "sell" a commodity which is "rotting at the core"? i may not know the ins and outs of government but from where i'm standing, the administration needs a LOT of work. so much issues to iron out, matters to take care of, promises that are yet to keep.

poor juan, carrying all the burden.

happy easter!

A Blessed Easter!!!... and happy birthday to migs! i loooove the soccer cupcakes! and the eat-all-you-can mc donald's delights. hehehe

cheung chau food trip

twas saturday. time for some RnR after a week-long work. we headed to cheung chau. from central pier 4, we boarded the fast ferry that brought us to this outlying island in 30 minutes, as opposed to a regular one for 45 minutes (at half the fare too).

strolling a few minutes in cheung chau will get you to the beach area. but we didnt really wade in coz the water is still cold nor did we hang out in the sand coz the sea breeze is still a bit chilly for us. instead we let jack (fwend's barely 2 year-old son) enjoy his time in the nearby playground. the island is a little more commercial than lamma (another outlying island) as it swarmed with merchandise from souvenirs to clothes (baleno) to food (mcdonalds, parknshop, watsons). alleyways are also packed with quaint in-house stores.

we eagerly looked forward to having dinner al fresco in one of the restaurants by the bay and sample their seafood. here's one we randomly picked.

we were still apprehensive ordering the lobster coz we're not sure if the price in the menu is per order or per gram. took the safer route of ordering crayfish with garlic.


we wanted to know their version of beef curry...

here's the rest of our gastronomic delights. choi sum in garlic sauce, crayfish, yang chow, beef curry. the lil "palanggana" you see there is tea, where we "clean" our dishes before eating and wash our hands after. yep, you're right. we drink the same type of tea too. shelled out less than 200hkd (they charged 5hkd for the tissue) for 4 people. not bad at all.

among the many restaurants that lined up the harbor of the island, i would say i will definitely come back here. "hong kee respaurant". affordable, good food.

the undomestic goddess

just when i thought im slowly coming to terms with my domesticity, this one hurdle dampened my spirits. it's not just learning to cook, washing the dishes, cleaning the room. but more.

HOW DO I STOP A LEAK IN THE TOILET BOWL?

you see, the water keeps on flowing inside the bowl and i dont know how to STOP the water from pouring inside the tank. it doesnt stop by just "sealing" in the water. the problem is there's abundance of water that it overflows inside the tube. i know there should be some gadget to determine that there's enough water in the tanks, ergo, water SHOULD STOP coming in. this went on for months already, causing my other flatmates to ask why our water bill was expensive. and wallah, they saw my meter way higher than them! overridden with guilt, i immediately sought the help of a plumber. i asked around hoping for an english-speaking plumber but to no avail. after seeing him fix my toilet tank problem, i know it's right calling for help than putting myself into (more) trouble.

lesson learned: thou shalt NOT procrastinate the repair of water leaks (nor any domestic, meaning flat-related, problem at that) beyond the cost of water and plumbing services, i was more concerned for the wasted water due to my unmindful behavior.

pushing daisies: first touch - life; second touch - death

barely a few days after finishing the pre-strike episodes of gossip girl, i am now into pushing daisies. series-hopping can be confusing at times coz i tend to mismatch characters with the stories with how many episodes i've seen. i have always been curious with the idea of death. what comes after it? in pushing daisies, it attests to the truth that there is life after. not in the context that i was brought up though. hehe the smell of death may be your truth but the gift of life and love transcends that reality giving you the privilege of a second chance.

the series is fast-paced, witty and the characters have their own personalities that helps develop the story and each other's behaviour. among them, i like olive snook. she works for ned at the Pie Hole, secretly adoring him, inspite of his detachment from the real world. her support role is enough for me not to be suffocated with ned and chuck's coosome twosome attitude. then, i realized how can i feel mushy when they dont even touch?! physical demonstration of emotions is just one way to show that you care. one more, i LOVE LOVE her version of "hopelessly devoted to you". aliw! haha



question: if ned ripens rotten fruits for his Pie Hole, who dies in place of them? or what? i got lost in the series like, if ned keeps one person alive for a long time.. not just more than a minute or so, like really bring this person back to life like what he did for chuck, is there any ultimate consequence? like, this personal gain will haunt you ten-fold? (di nman ako paniwalain sa karma noh?! hehe)

"dead like me", a 2003 movie (or shoe) from the same creators might be interesting.

"mother of toddler in flu tragedy gives birth to little girl"

barely a week of a reported girl dying of a flu virus in hongkong, came this news that her mother gave birth to a baby girl, in the same hospital. The Standard gives more details below.

"The mother of a three-year-old girl who came down with flu-like symptoms and died five days ago in Tuen Mun Hospital gave birth to a healthy baby girl in the same hospital yesterday.

The baby, weighing about 3.2 kilograms, was born at around noon - just hours after the mother went into labor and was rushed to the hospital.

The Ho family had mixed feelings with the new arrival, as only meters away in another ward, was their six- year-old daughter who was yesterday confirmed to be suffering from the A/H3N2/Brisbane strain of influenza.

The post-mortem to identify the strain which may have killed her sister, Ho Po-yi, was still on-going.

But both virologists and doctors strongly believed she had contracted the same strain as her elder sister, the H3N2 virus, which first surfaced in Hong Kong in 1968.

Speaking on a radio program yesterday, Hong Kong University research center of infection vice president Ho Pak-leung said it was "extremely rare" for completely healthy children to lose their lives due to flu, as only three have had died of the illness in Hong Kong between 2000 and 2005.

"But those children had other underlying health problems," he added.

The three-year-old developed a fever, cough and runny nose and was taken to a private doctor last Friday.

She was taken to Tuen Mun Hospital's emergency department at about 5am on Saturday with a high fever - 40.3 degrees Celsius - and an upper respiratory tract infection.

She died later that day.

Ho Pak-leung said the virus could have attacked other parts of her body to cause severe complications that led to her death. He appealed to both schools and parents to stay alert as Hong Kong has entered into peak flu season due to a longer and colder winter.

He also warned the flu season could drag on into the summer as it did in 2000.

"The situation this year could be more severe than the past couple of years. The peak season is likely to go on for some time," he said.

Ho also warned that those who had received flu jabs might not be adequately protected due to the variations of the strains.

Speaking on another radio program, Chuang Shuk-kwan, consultant doctor (communicable disease) of the Centre for Health Protection, said he could not rule out the possibility the three-year- old girl had contracted the H3N2 virus.

Chinese University clinical virology professor Paul Chan Kay-sheung explained that H3N2 is the most common strain found in humans, with only rare cases being H3N1.

"It would be very alarming if the girl was found to carry strains other than N1 and N2 - which means it is a new strain and can be very virulent, considering that it had killed a patient and caused severe symptoms on another girl," Chan said. "

75% tax reduction, aryt!

the announcement of tax cuts is like a song to my ears. who wouldnt love it? it's like getting a big discount on that elusive pair of shoes or a pair of designer jeans or iPhone or dSLR and the list goes on and on. hk taxation scheme is one of the best in the world (as i've heard and read) and this tax rebate is icing on the cake. from 100,000hkd exemption for basic allowance and 200,000hkd for married, they now increased it to 108,000hkd and 216,000hkd respectively. 8,000 is a big thing for me. i may not even pay tax for this year's assessment. or the HK government may still owe me. can they refund or reduce my future year's tax? actually, i still dont understand much about this kind of stuff. all i know is that it's a very good thing. haha did they overtax? is hk economy doing fine in spite of a weak US dollar? where is this wealth come from?

HKSAR's budget, financial secretary, john tsang can explain in more details in this article.

how to enjoy my tax rebate: spend on travel and gadgets

as if i have THAT big of a tax. it wouldnt even cover half of my would-be expenses.

xoxo, gossip girl

"Welcome to New York's Upper East side where the wealthy and connected mingle at benefits and try to deal with their always dramatic love lives, not to mention picking colleges. Blair Waldorf is the so-called toast of adolescence in her world; she and her friends go to a prep school and fancy parties with their rich parents. Blair is envied by her adversaries because she is thought to have the perfect life, not just because of her gorgeous boyfriend, Nate Archibald, but because she's also planning on getting into her dream college,Yale. Her seemingly perfect life is interrupted by her ex-best friend, the beautiful Serena van der Woodsen, coming back into town after getting kicked out of boarding school. Serena comes back into her life, and into the eyes of Blair's boy friend. When everything Blair knows starts to fall apart, everyone will realize that her life is far from perfect. Will life in the the Upper East Side redeem itself of what it's really supposed to be? Or will the false facade reveal that the rich have the same problems as the not so rich (Jenny and Dan Humphrey), if not more. And just maybe Jenny and Dan are all the more happy with their simple, not so expectant lives."

for nothing better to do, i randomly picked a new tv series to watch. and what do you know?!! i loved it. i just finished 13 episodes of gossip girl. need to wait until after april 21 to watch the next one.

the "gossip gurl" in me

i LOVE pep.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal). does that make me a gossip girl? never a day goes by that I dont visit this pinoy showbiz site. haha keeps me posted with the 'current events'. beats reading stuff about our farce-ridden government. *sigh* what drives a gossip girl being into one. maybe because i think i lead a boring life? or i just dont wanna dwell on my life and its frivolities? hmm.. defense mechanism?

xoxo
.rEeYuH

I Am A Beautiful Old Person
by Eleanor Roosevelt

Many people will walk in and out of your life,
But only true friends will leavefootprints in your heart.
To handle yourself, use your head;
To handle others, use your heart.
Anger is only one letter short of danger.
If someone betrays you once, it is their fault;
If they betray you twice, it is your fault.
Great minds discuss ideas;
Average minds discuss events;
Small minds discuss people.
He who loses money, loses much;
He who loses a friend, loses much more;
He who loses faith, loses all
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature,
But beautiful old people are works of art.
Learn from the mistakes of others.
You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.
Friends, you and me....
You brought another friend....
And then there were 3....
We started our group....
Our circle of friends....
And like that circle....
There is no beginning or end....
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift.

songs in my mind

coming back from manila, i realized i need to update myself with the latest songs playing on the airwaves and latest music videos plaguing the channels. i still have that last song(s) syndrome.

WITH YOU by chris brown



BECAUSE OF YOU by ne-yo
i have always favored ne-yo since i first heard SO SICK.




maybe it's time i get my own mp3 player.. i know! SO pathetic! im thinking the more popular APPLE iPod -- shuffle or nano, or something from the CREATIVE line or the minimalist SONY walkman. i want good quality, easy to use, easy to carry, something that will reflect my sense of style (nakng!) and of course, light on the pocket. guess, i'll be preparing my comparison table to decide which one.

nothing is definite. for all i know, i may be buying a digicam instead. haha

oo, pinoy blogger ako!

oh yeah, blogger in FILIPINO! way to go! actually, i still dont know what i can get from this. ala spelling check? against our own tagalog dictionary? hmm, how do you say "edit html" in filipino? ganun ba? blogger has more info here. with the growing community of pinoy bloggers all over, this is one we should be proud of too.

Go P-I-N-O-Y!!!

(was) in pinas for a hiatus

i headed for manila 3 weeks ago via flight 5J143. thanks to cebu pacific's low fares that i got to snatch a bargain deal. for 1000hkd, i was able to book a flight home. i took a longer leave since it's the end of the fiscal year for us and chinese new year was coming.

• 2D/1N - baguio ==> went to baguio country club thanks to lolo pilo who sponsored us in this exclusive getaway
  
• 2D/1N - batangas ==> grabbed the chance for an early summer outing as i know i wont be experiencing it here
  
• 1 D - laguna ==> hied off to the hotsprings in the midst of manila's heat
  
• 2D/1N - tagaytay ==> enjoyed the cool breeze, just a few hrs away from manila. went to picnic grove, cliffhouse, ate at manos greek taverna, bag of beans and tried tagaytay's night life.

in between i got to do some "stuff" - well, it's more like a routine sleep for a half day, 3 hrs bumming (basically, stay in bed and choose among TONS of channel in cable) and preparing to go out. im more of a nocturnal person so in the morning, i take my time sleeping. haha mostly, i visited my friends who are still in manila and bugged (or begged) them to squeeze a few hours of their time to meet me. hahaha all is worth it.


vian, my inaanak, barely 3 years old


my former colleagues, minus agh


tried this greek joint in tagaytay

more pichurs here!!!

in laguna: time for hot spring

as they say, laguna is the resort capital of the philipines. true enough, there are villages here that are mostly private pools for rent. those near monte vista (tama ba?) resort you can find lotsa private villas you can choose from. they have their own "barker" to boot who will aggressively approach you upon seeing you carry with you a battalion of eager shorts-and-slippers-clad individuals. for my family of course, we came prepared. a near relative of ours, knows the owner of a private pool, so we rented it out for the day. it's a 3-bedroom, 2-storey house with 4T&B, 2-car garage and a videoke! i would say it's spacious enough for 22 members of my family. hehe plus we get to sing to our heart's content, if the videoke machine would just play the right songs. haha

the 1.5hr drive from mamuy's place is still convenient because we were early. early enough to arrive there with the pool still being managed to be filled up. since we were only there for the day, we dont get to use the rooms so much. but i went up and inspected it for "future" references. big enough, not cramped for 20 people to comfortably sleep for the night.

the water was not that "hot" as we expect especially, it was a cold and windy day. what kept it warm though is the company of family you care about.

pichur pichurs here!!!

in batangas: shore hopping

together with the WHOLE family, we went to batangas for an overnight stay. originally, i asked mama to help book the kabayan resort coz it seems an affordable place to stay complete with the amenities im looking for - with swimming pool. haha but since 'twas chinese new year, it was already full. we opted to stay in sigayan bay. this resort is owned by one of mama's colleague (so discount, for sure). coincidentally, it's also in batangas.. and it's beach front is along the shoreline, a few meters away from kabayan resort!

sigayan bay is also in san juan batangas, along with many beach resorts batangas boasts of -- sabangan, la luz, laiya coco grove, etc. they are basically the same except for the amenities each resort provides and of course, the beach front you're faced with. hehe unfortunately, for sigayan, it's not swimmable, for me. haha i find the stones a sore.. for the feet and the moss an icky feeling. though i havent trodded the waters, many already said so. and so off we walked to kabayan beach resort front. thankfully, they share the same shoreline. too bad, we can't use their pool.

pichur pichurs here!!!

in baguio: a short sojourn

my family and i were headed to baguio country club for an overnight stay. no, we're not members but merely sponsored guests. thanks to lolo pilo, mama's boss and ninong, we got to feel the ambience of this exclusive club. actually, we rarely stay in the hotel except to eat and rest as we are pressed with time in sightseeing baguio.

however, we managed to visit lourdes grotto, go to burnham park, shop at baguio city market where mama (as usual) bought "baguio" shirts for everyone in the family, shot poses in the mansion, wright park, mine's view park, camp john hay and kennon road view deck.

pichur pichurs here!!!

in manila: reintroduction

imagine going home to this... just plain SIN. hehe one of the first things i do coming home to manila is to eat filipino food. whether in restos or at home. food, entertainment, lifestyle is still different from abroad.

FOOD - authentic pansit palabok from jollibee goes hand in hand with calamansi rather than lemon. crispy pata, bulalo is a staple in every pinoy resto in the metro.

ENTERTAINMENT - went to laffline for a doze of live entertainment. laughter which i only get from streaming tv show reruns when abroad.

LIFESTYLE - since im on vacation mode, i get to wake up late.. and not think of doing any household chores, at all!!!

there will still be more entries to come as i chronicle my stay in pinas.. i have yet to go to places up north and south.. and meet with friends along the way.

world's largest malls

philippines is one hub you don't wanna miss especially if you're a mallrat. hehe i read in this article that our very own 7,107 islands houses 3 of the largest malls in the world. asia, where land and labor cost are cheaper compared to other continents, it's not surprising that structures of this kind abound its space.

mall of asia - truly lives up to its name. though i have only been here 2x and only for a total of 2-3 hrs visit, i know i havent scoured every store. it will take me X visits to do this. what is X?

sm megamall - this dominant structure along edsa is what i usually frequent before especially when they 3-day sale! goodness, imagine me squeezing through those throngs of people to get a measly 10% discount on my fave jeans. haha

sm north edsa - i learned to liked this mall again because it has reinvented itself. with The Block adding to its classic ShoeMart label. technically, it has the basic things you need. (i just don't like the cinemas) but adding a lil upgrade won't hurt.

malls to visit: trinoma, greenbelt 5, (i heard glorietta 5 will rise soon?), greenhills promenade (ba un?) anything, este anywhere else?

"lemon tree" in 4 languages

that was our performance in the annual dinner. SO lame, i know! but considering the capacity of my colleagues (haha, parang ang talented ko noh?!) that presentation required the least amount of effort. i would have wanted something a lil 'performance level', as they say. hehe but pressured with time and meeting the schedules of other people, we just cant afford to practice and meet more often. oh well, just to present 'sumthin' would be ok.

we sang "lemon tree" and translated into 4 languages:
cantonese - sang by the Thais
filipino - sang by the Japanese
japanese - sang by the HongKongers
thai - sang by the Filipinos



obviously, we didnt win la!


post script: in exchange for the embarassment, we were given 1000hkd (each, asa!) and ate yumcha! yummmmy!

annual dinner @ hopewell center

last friday we held our company's annual dinner at king palace restaurant in hopewell center, wanchai. and as usual, food was plenty.. drinks abound even more! i have no idea what the dishes are called as the menu is written in chinese. i just clicked away my digicam (vidcam, actually).....

our appetizer... i didnt eat the yellow thingy and the pig's leg ba iyon?!! hehehe

oh, i like this.. shrimp with veggies served in crispy noodles, though i didnt like the noodles .
tastes like cuttlefish ball stuffed with shrimp. this is quite heavy coz it's REALLY packed, so 1 is enough for me..

hmm, this one, i have NO IDEA at all. didnt taste, not interested. PASS.

menu wont be complete without steamed fish...

our equal servings of soup...

my cupful of soup.. i liked it.. ala bird's nest.. or it's really one. hahaha

fried chicken sans the flour, etc. kinda bland and oily for me.

noodles again.. and rice.. is served at the end of the course meal. i didnt taste the rice. im quite full already. and i heard it's glutinous rice.. argh, SO filling la!

and dessert... didnt have one too. beans.

no reservations with anthony bourdain

i love him and his show. it's laid-back, real, down-to-earth, profane at times if you may. i like the way he showcases the food and tries to get its unique taste. the last episode i watched was his feature about hongkong (maybe, that's why i loved him more!) living in a country featured on tv gives me pride and joy. and of course, with much interest i hung on to every word he says.

though hk is a small region, i havent travelled nor explored much mainly because of the language barrier, adding to it is the not-so-polite manners of the people. even the cameras of tony didnt escape the irritative attitude of one streetfood owner. she said to tony and his friend to hurry up selecting food so as not to disrupt business and hinder other people from buying from her. DUH?! we can see well enough that there are no people nearby.. wanting to buy.. and with that attitude of yours.. they'll have second thoughts about it! is that the way to treat your customers?!! guess il have to blog about that in another entry. hehehe

moving on, he ate claypot rice (i havent tried this) where rice and other viands are mixed and steamed in claypot and served hot. usually eaten during winters as it's too hot to eat in summer. betting in racehorses in happy valley (i havent done this, only mark six) and enjoying a post race meal in north point -- these are dai pai dongs, as i understand it.. outdoor stalls, eateries but now are located indoors so as not to cramp the road so much. drinking tsingtao beer (ulk, not my type) to cap the night.

he featured more local food sans the fancy names, garnishes or western influences. from the abundant variety of dimsum, dumpling, noodles to the succulent flavors of typhoon shelter crabs and suckling pig, goose kind, anthony surely captures the essence of the place and manages to create a lasting impression to would-be visitors.