Melody
Ten on Tuesday

10 Things You'd Like To Change About Your Country
  1. The weather. (I know, this is way off topic, but it just came into my mind) It's too hot and humid here. {Humming to oneself: Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...}

  2. Have natural resources

  3. More media choices (be it newspapers publishers or TV stations)

  4. Educational system

  5. Tax

  6. Provide assistance to poorer families, especially healthcare

  7. Tighter scruntiny on charitable organizations (doners have a right to know where their money goes to)

  8. Working mothers to have more flexible working hours

  9. Employ women even though they are pregnant (most organizations don't even consider hiring them when they know the applicant is pregnant); some organizations even layoff employees who return from their maternity leave

  10. Raising prices almost everywhere except our salaries (haha!)
Melody
Picture collage with courtesy of five-blossom.

I LOVE Kit Kat!

Yesterday, I was looking through some pictures from Flickr and I stumbled upon this picture collage. It caught my attention at first glance and I love it so much that I have to add this on my blog. Thank you, five-blossom. It is also a pleasure knowing you. :)

So far I have only tried the strawberry and cherry blossom flavour. (Maybe I have to visit Japan for the other flavours since I couldn't find them here!)

I will be posting more beautiful pictures in future.

PS: Jennifer, if you are reading this, I know I can always count on you on this! ;)

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Melody
I am taking a walk down memory lane today... perhaps this is a sign that I am getting old already?

I remember these are some of my favourite games during my Primary school days:

Paper Dolls


Figures are cut out of paper (usually in card form) and the different sets of clothings (plus accessories) have tabs attached to them so that they could be held onto the dolls.




Five Stones

Most of the time, my mother made them. She will fill the pieces of cloth with beans and stitch them up. Viola! Now you have your own set of Five Stones.

To Play: The player tosses the single stone into the air and makes an attempt to pick up one of the stones on the ground and catches the other stone that was tossed all with the same hand. The player repeats this until all stones have been picked up. Next round, the player will throw down four of the stones, throws the single stone in the air and attempts to pick up two stones this time before catching the tossed stone with the same hand. It then proceeds to the next round where the process is repeated for three stones...then all four stones are picked up.

Rubber Band Rope Jumping

You need lots of rubber bands to do this. Loop them together with one another and a rope is formed. Two persons will stand opposite each other, each holding the end of the rope. They will start with lowering the rope on the ground while the player will jump across it, then the rope is raised to different levels: ankle, knee, waist, shoulder and finally the head as the level of jumping gets higher and higher.

Hopscotch

Draw the patterns on the floor with a piece of chalk. Throw a stone inside square 1. Then, starting with square 1, you have to hop into each square and end in square eight. (For squares 4 and 5; 7 and 8, you have to jump landing with one foot in each square). When you reach squares 7 and 8, you have to turn back and jump again until square 1. Then, you continue to throw the stone inside square 2 and the process repeats until the stone reaches square 8. (Note: The player has to skip the square where the stone is placed though.)

Gosh, how I missed these games! Sadly, I think the kids today play too much computer games, and I don't think they will understand the joy of playing these 'traditional' games which we used to play during our times. Now all I can say is, time really flies and things change.
Melody
Before I start reading the first page, I thought the heroine's name will be Jasmine, since the cover said so. But it wasn't, and her name is Dou Qing Mu; and she loves the smell of Jasmine (ah...that explains it).

Qing Mu lost her mother when she was young; her father remarried but her new stepmother despises her, thinking she is nothing but dirt getting in her new life. Although the stepmother has a daughter from her previous marriage, Qing Mu is glad that Zhi Lin is nothing like her mother. They share food and secrets, goes to school together, until Zhi Lin tells her she likes a boy in school.

Qing Mu likes Xia Yi Ye too, but she knows they are worlds apart as he is the 'golden boy' in school - with his good looks and excel in his studies, while she is a plain looking girl with a stammering problem. Yi Ye knows Qing Mu one day while he went to her 'rescue' as she is being teased by their schoolmates; and they became friends. Yi Ye enjoys being with Qing Mu, as she is different from other girls he knows in school. But when he tries to get close to Qing Mu, she keeps a distance from him because she knows Zhi Lin likes him.

Years passed. Zhi Lin marries another man and Qing Mu is no longer a shy girl and is able to speak fluently after surgery. She now owns a spa and top model Xiao Qin is her regular client. They became good friends; Xiao Qin will share her love life with Qing Mu, that her boyfriend is a well-known screenwriter and seldom spend time with her. Thus to get him to notice her, she asks for a breakup which he agrees without hesitation. Xiao Qin then tells him she meant it as a joke, and that he needs a break from his hectic job. She gives him the address of the spa she frequents, hoping he is just tired and will change his mind.

Yi Ye is tired of his girlfriend's charade, but he visits the spa out of curiousity but never expect this visit will take him to his childhood's love embrace. Qing Mu is equally shocked to see him, but never know he is the boyfriend of her regular client as Yi Ye doesn't want their newly found love be affected by his work and his past relationship. They live happily for a while, until the truth lets out in the end. Heartbroken and feeling deceived, she left.

Yi Ye then returns his attention to his work, hoping it would make him stop thinking of Qing Mu. But tragedy strikes as Yi Ye's co-worker (also a screenwriter) is jealous of his popularity and he struck Yi Ye's head with a metal bin. Fearing he might become a vegetable, Xiao Qin leaves him for another man. Qing Mu knows of Yi Ye's accident and sits by his bedside consistently and tells him about their lives - beginning from their childhood memories, hoping Yi Ye will regain consciousness.

Xiao Qin is touched by Qing Mu's gesture, and knows she would never be the woman in Yi Ye's heart. Qing Mu vows she would not leave Yi Ye, even if he would never be up and well again.

Since this is a romance story, you might have guessed what would happen in the end. Though the plot isn't new, I am still touched by the author's superb writing skills.
TBR
Melody

1. How many unread books do you have in your house, right now? (Your own books, that is--not ones that belong to other family members--and not counting things like school books, if you have them.) Clearly, an estimate will do.

About 90 books. And I haven't even count my chinese novels and mangas!

2. To the best of your recollection, what is the OLDEST unread book in your collection? How long has it been waiting?

Hmm...this is a tricky one. I think most of them are Lori Foster's earlier books (when she first wrote for Harlequins; and I got them from two friends whom I known from Lori's forum.) Probably they have been around for 3 years or more.

3. Do your TBR books (that's "To Be Read," if you didn't know) haunt you, make you feel guilty that you haven't read them yet?

Oh, and library books don't count . . . not unless you absolutely don't have ANY other unread book except what you checked out last Tuesday.

Absolutely. I feel I have left them behind and just dive into the newer books, but I will surely read them, just have to depend on my mood. But there are so many to choose from!

Melody
Well, after Lantau Island, we visited Hong Kong again the next day. This time, to The Peak and Disneyland! We came out from our hotel early in the morning because we knew we would take some time at the customs and the time traveling via the trains.

The Peak




So we took a cab from Central (to save all the hassling) and reached The Peak. This is the main entrance.





We took a tram and this is the breathtaking view when we reached the top of The Peak. However, it would be better if you could view it at night.













There are several souvenirs shops, boutiques, eateries at The Peak. There is even a Madame Tussauds but we didn't go in (We were running on a tight schedule that day!) We managed to shoot a few pics with the wax celebrity figures such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan outside the entrance though.












Disneyland

My daughter has been looking forward to this trip! (Or shall I say it is me?!) Whenever she sees the advertisement on TV, she will point her little fingers at the screen and shrieked, "Mickey Mouse! Mickey Mouse!" So knowing that we will travel to Hong Kong, of course we have to add this on our itinerary.

We took the MTR and stopped at Sunny Bay station where we transferred another train to the Disneyland.




We took this train from Sunny Bay to Disneyland.








The interior of the train. Very comfy seats (not those cold steel ones).







Finally we reached Disneyland! It was a perfect sunny day. A great day just for this outing.














I loved admiring at the window displays at those merchandise shops. Of course I felt tempted to buy some items.



A parade along the main street. There are also several performances in the theatres and we only managed to catch three of them. We didn't even finished touring all around Disneyland! (My advice: Go early in the morning!)



We waited for the fireworks, and it wasn't a disappointment. (We captured the fireworks on video so this is the best picture I could offer.)


So this is the end of our Hong Kong trip! A little hectic, but we did buy something we want (e.g. Hard Rock T-shirts, Mickey Mouse stuff toy & shirt for our daughter) so all of us were happy. The next day we went back to Guangzhou and did some last minute shopping, then it was home sweet home.
Melody
What Your Soul Really Looks Like

You are a warm hearted and open minded person. It's easy for you to forgive and forget.

You are a grounded person, but you also leave room for imagination and dreams. You feet may be on the ground, but you're head is in the clouds.

You see yourself with pretty objective eyes. How you view yourself is almost exactly how other people view you.

Your near future is a lot like the present, and as far as you're concerned, that's a very good thing.

For you, love is all about caring and comfort. You couldn't fall in love with someone you didn't trust.

Some of these are quite true.
Melody
Our next destination - Lantau Island in Hong Kong! By then, we had moved into a Shenzhen hotel. We took a KCR rail from Lo Wu where we transferred to Tsim Sha Tsui via the MTR where we reached the Central station. (And yes, we had to go through customs before departing from Lo Wu, and it was quite a long walk transferring from one station to another.)

We then took a ferry and finally reached Lantau Island.





Here are some pics we took in the ferry.















The major attraction - the Tian Tan Buddha (also known as the Big Buddha). The weather was cold and windy; we wanted to climb up those stairs leading to the Buddha but the in-laws were against the idea, especially my mother-in-law who has kneecap problems.







Look at this gigantic urn!






We decided to take the bus on our way back to Mui Wo (didn't know there is a bus service!) and we found this sign in the bus.



So the passenger isn't allowed to talk to the bus captain (road safety practice of course), but what if we want to ask for some directions eh?



So there we spent one day in Hong Kong. By the time we reached Central, it was already quite late and we haven't had our dinner yet. (We had to ask a bypasser where to find a place to eat. She kindly showed us the direction while she told us she works as a maid there. She is a Filipino.) We walked some more until we found a food outlet. By then, we were all famished! We ate quickly for we feared we couldn't catch the train back to Shenzhen.
Melody

  1. Books

  2. Babies (and my daughter as well!!!)

  3. Green Tea

  4. Ice Cream

  5. Potato chips

  6. Fridge magnets (better still if they are from overseas!)

  7. Hard Rock T-shirts (from anywhere!)

  8. Blogging (Oh yes!)

  9. Flowers

  10. Women's Magazines

Join in the fun!

Melody
The other day during lunch hour, a colleague told me something "big" happened while I was away on vacation. Thinking there might be no variable bonus this year or even a pay cut, I crossed my fingers while waited for her answer expectantly.

"You know, so-and-so had a squabble and most of us could hear them in our offices!" Was her reply.

I wasn't sure if I should be grateful or relieved to hear it has got nothing to do with the $$$ issue, but... office politics? The mention of these words is enough to send you scurrying out of the office doors.

Despite the stress and competitiveness of today’s office work, why should one allow such thing to happen within the offices internally (or externally)? Don’t we have enough problems at work? Don’t we waste too much time shooting darts at someone’s back than doing his/her work productively? Sadly this will carry on unless we learn to respect the other party more, and not trying to put one another down just because he/she feels she is more senior or anything else that matters. I feel communication plays an important part, no matter what position you are. Often, miscommunications occur because no one really cares enough to sit down and discuss things openly. Sometimes, we made assumptions but ended up it wasn't what the other party was thinking, which in turn resulted in miscommunications and then the vicious cycle begins.

On the other hand, some of us did it because we want to outshine the other party. Or we are jealous and feel we should do something to win the bosses' approvals. Whatever the reasons, there are always ways to create office politics. Which is why I rather keep a low profile but sometimes it will get to you no matter how hard you try to dodge it.
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Melody
After Guangzhou and on the third day of our trip, we hired a rental car service and proceed to Shenzhen (We only spent one day trip in Shenzhen). The road journey took about 2 hours, and these are some pictures we took during the road trip.

Our daughter (going to be 3-year old in March) was thrilled to see the train for she has never been in it before. So when she saw this, she exclaimed excitedly, "Look! It's Thomas!" (Well, you see, she is sorta influenced by her nephew (who's 8 months older) since it is his favourite toy!




Look at these high-rise apartments! Can you guess how many floors they are?



Finally we reached our destination - Window of the World. Here in this theme park, you are able to see replicas of the famous scenic sites around the world. It was indeed an eye opener for us.





This is the entrance. Beautiful, isn't it?






We saw this once we stepped into the park. We were all awed by the creations.






Thailand. What a majestic palace!







Japan. You can actually find Mount Fuji here! (A pity that there isn't any snow...)







India. Wow! Just look at this! It's the Taj Mahal.






Australia. Sydney Harbor Bridge.








Holland. Wind Mills.







Egypt. The Great Sphinx of Giza.




United States of America. Golden Gate Bridge.
(As you can see, it was night time by the time we shot this picture! We spent 3/4 of the day in the park.)


Well, trust me there are a lot more pictures but I just couldn't post all here. And I also wish I could go to these famous attractions in reality! Hmm...maybe if I start to save some money now, hehe.
Melody
Here are some of the pics we took during our trip to Guangzhou. The weather was nice (about 11 - 19 degrees) and no snow. The flight wasn't too bad either, only took us 3 hours plus to reach Guangzhou.

Here are some of the places we visited:
Temple of the Six Banyan Trees



Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall



The picture of the tree roots was actually found at a park in the memorial hall. It was a very old tree (not sure the exact age) but I heard somewhere that you could actually tell a tree's age by looking at its roots. (Anyone, any idea?!) ;P And the chrysanthemums and roses were gorgeous.

Seven-Stars Rock Park




We actually took a ferry to this park. It was beautiful, but it rained and wasn't too good for sightseeing, but we made the best out of it.

Don't be mistaken that there were flowers on the trees, they were actually strips of red ribbons being threw and hang on those branches. They believed if you write your wishes onto the ribbons and threw on the branches, your wishes would come true (I didn't try it, anyway I know I will surely miss the throw!) The spiral joss sticks that hung on the top of the cave could actually burn for a month! Wow!



The first picture was actually taken from our hotel room's view. Some of the houses were demolished, not sure what they plan to do next.

Bicycles play an important role as their transportations. You can see them almost everywhere you go. There were several occasions that I saw the cyclists had dozens of boxes on their bicycles! (They were in fact making deliveries) You should marvel at their balancing skills!

As for the last two pictures, they were taken at one of the busiest shopping areas - Beijing Road. There were so many things to shop over there, but alas we ran out of time!

Look out for the posts on Shenzhen and Hong Kong which I will post the following days...