Nightmare on Christmas

I am still suffering from my "24-hr sleepiness symptom", and went to bed around 9pm on Christmas day.

I then woke up at 1am, cause my head ached a record high level in recent years. It's like being hammered with nails to my head.

AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got out of bed in the hope of locating any pain killer at home but in vain. After struggling for a while, when I couldn't stand the pain anymore, I finally decided to got dressed and visited the Circle K downstairs (at 1am!). Luckily, it's a real 24-hr convenient store (some 7-11s and Circle Ks closed at mid-night), and I got a pack of Panadol there. In 20 minutes, my headache was more or less gone (thanks goodness) and I went to bed again.

Then the real "nightmare" came. I dreamed of a cat wondering my bed side and used its fore leg to touch my face.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But I couldn't scream at all.

And I woke in the middle of the night again. No wonder my Chinese doctor said I don't have quality sleep.

P.S. Pain killers used to be my good friend. My record was taking eight Tylenol a day (maximum dosage) in a few consecutive days, till one day I received an email from a friend telling me that I would die soon if I continued.

P.P.S. Cats are my life-time greatest enemy.

Elmo Saves Christmas Part 6

So Elmo had saved Christmas.

May I wish everyone a warm Christmas and prosperous New Year :)

Elmo Saves Christmas Part 5

Elmo Saves Christmas Part 4

Elmo Saves Christmas Part 3

Elmo Saves Christmas Part 2

Elmo Saves Christmas Part 1

Back

I was backed on Friday night, and will be back to the reality tomorrow.

I would call it a wonderful trip -- eating and sleeping, reading and going out sometimes, chatting with grandma, eating and sleeping again... ... That's what life should be!

Thanks those who had "entertained" me during my study. I was going in a rush indeed. Should stay longer and going more cities next time.

Last but not least, check out my pictures taken in Edmonton. I am starting to like photography!

Platform 9-3/4, King's Cross Station

I sneaked out from grandma's appointment at the University Hospital today to have a walk on campus and took the LRT to downtown. I was supposed to take a bus at the stop on 100A Street and 102 Avenue back home.

Well, I walked around. I saw 100 Street and 101 Street, 102 Avenue and 102A Avenue, but there's no such street numbered 100A.

...... ......

I felt like Harry Potter.

P.S. Of course I finally got the bus back home, but I still couldn't see the mysterious 100A Street. It turned out that the bus stop is located in between 100 and 101 Streets along 102 Avenue. But then I got off the bus one stop earlier and had to step on the snow for another block home :(

Two cups of tea and three mugs of coffee

That's how I stay awake today to avoid more embarrassment. I think I better sleep early tonight, although it doesn't really work.

Safely Arrived

I'd safely arrived Edmonton last night, and not only having jet lag but feeling very very sleepy 24 hours a day!

We went to Burger Deluxe to have greasy burgers, greasy hotdogs, and greasy french fries and sweet potato fries tonight. It tasted so good, and I am going to gain the few pounds lost last month in only a meal's time!

I am flying to Edmonton tomorrow!

So this is how we destroy the earth

Pictures taken during the dismantling of our exhibition last night.

At least 95% of our exhibition was tailor made. That means, at the end of the fourth day, everything became "construction waste" and went to the landfill.

Poor mother earth.
























To rewind a bit, this is how it looked during the set-up process. Two major differences between this collage and the next one are there's no carpet and the light wasn't on yet.





















When the light was on. (Pictures taken after the Opening Ceremony on 29 Nov, when there's still some final touch up.) Somehow I think we used too much lighting, which means a lot of electricity! I think we are one of mother earth's greatest enemies.

P.S. Photo credit to Constance, who took up the role of "stationed reporter" of the exhibition.

P.P.S. I added a slide show of the pictures on the side and it slows down the loading of my blog a lot :(

Sunrise at HKCEC

Seven years ago, I had seen once sunrise at HKCEC while waiting for the results of the LegCo Election 2000.

Today, the day after the LegCo By-election (HKI), I was also at the HKCEC early in the morning, cause it's the last day of the four-day exhibition on Women of HK - A Century of Contribution and Change.

After months of preparation, the exhibition finally came to an end today, and I can finally breath again. Unfortunately, lots of follow up works are also coming and I will be busy for at least a while.

Pictures of the exhibition will be coming soon. Before that, let me introduce the following:

A chart beside my desk showing the status of the production of our 70 exhibition panels, for e.g., if the text and layout are ready, if the panels are confirmed for output, etc. Colleagues came to check out the progress from time to time.

This is the notice board in front of my desk. The one on the top right corner is obviously a wall calendar. The one beside is the floor plan of the exhibition, while the one below the wall calendar is the timetable of our guided tours. They are there to remind me of the works and how many days left, as well as easy discussion with colleagues.

I was at HKCEC since last Wednesday (28 Nov). When I was back to the office tonight, Christmas decoration is already on!

未完的小說 An Incomplete Novel

Couple of days ago, I received the first draft of a novel from a long lost friend, and I couldn't help myself but burst into tears in the office.

To be a writer (and also a painter) was one of my childhood dreams. Unfortunately, I still haven't found a way to start yet. Probably it's one of the reasons I started the Facts and the Myths of the Tse Family. I am so happy for my friend who has taken a lot of effort and squeezed the time in between busy schedules to finish something he treasures.

I haven't started reading the novel yet, but I promise I will, after 3 Dec.

P.S. 《未完的小說》 is my favourite song.

In the office......

Please check your watch, this is 9:29pm, Saturday, 24 Nov, HK time, and I am still in the office working on the project to the right :~

9:29pm is actually quite early, comparing to my departure times during the past few days -- from 12:20am to 1:10am. Fortunately and unfortunately, this still hasn't broken my record yet.

So this is an exhibition on the development of women in HK from 30 Nov to 3 Dec at Hall 5B, HK Convention and Exhibition Centre. Make sure you drop by and say hi, while I am stationing there starting 28 Nov.

For details, please click.

District Councils Elections 2007

I woke up at 4:30am (not what I wanted nor planned) this morning, and figured out that some of the people I know or some of the people I wanted them to win had lost their seats in the District Councils Election yesterday. I was quite upset and couldn't fall into sleep again for a while.

However, I am also proud that one of my friends had run her campaign beautifully. Although she lost, at least she got enough votes to have her deposit back :P

加國大學排名榜 維多利亞居首?????!!!!!

I find the following coverage from Mingpao today quite ridiculous.

For those who haven't been in schools in Canada, it's already the 17th year the Maclean's does similar ranking of Canadian universities. It usually has three categories (as universities can be quite unlike), (1) medical doctoral (those with medical schools and grant PhD; usually the bigger and older ones), (2) comprehensive (those in the middle; also grant PhD with with limited programmes), and (3) primarily undergraduate (very self explanatory; usually the smallest). Most of the universities you can easily recall their names are in "medical doctoral", with a few exception in "comprehensive". Sometimes, the Maclean's might provide a ranking that combines the three together, but not very often or seldom. When a Canadian news medium wants to report the ranking, they almost always put the No.1 college in the "medical doctoral" category in the heading.

So you know what I want to say.

When I read first the heading, my first thought was "What? U. Vic.? Never heard about it."

加國大學排名榜 維多利亞居首

【明報專訊】《麥克琳》(Maclean's)雜誌公布今年加拿大大學的評選排名，維多利亞大學和麥吉爾大學分別獲綜合類別及醫學院類別的第一名，斯高沙省的阿卡迪亞大學和紐賓士域省的阿利森大學，則並列本科生類別的首位。

在 綜合類別中，維多利亞大學由去年的第三位，躍升為今年第一；卑詩省的西門菲莎大學今年則前進兩位，佔據第二名；滑鐵盧大學下降一位至第三。醫學院類別，麥 吉爾大學保持第一的位置；卑詩大學及皇后大學則並列第二。多倫多大學排名第四，該校在1994至2005年間，曾長期高踞榜首位置。

P.S. Apology to those in U of V. Not offensive. Just try to illustrate how ignorant HK news reporters can be.

Powerpuff Girls Christmas @ Heng Fa Chuen?????

I thought it was. But when I turned around:















It's actually the Incredibles!















With the super heroes around, we will have a safe Christmas this year!

P.S. More The Incredibles Christmas decorations are still being set-up in the mall tonight. More pictures next time.

The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince

I am listening to the OST of the 1st Shop of Coffee Prince these two days. It's much better than I expected, and it seems especially good for a sunny Sunday morning, quite stress relieving after another busy week.

I am the type of persons who have to listen to music with vocal. However, when listening to songs that you can't understand any one single word, it becomes quite down to earth that you have to use your heart to feel the music/song. It's something very different.

BTW, the TV drama is good too, although I am only on the 5th episode. You may want to have it a try.

My latest Facebook status

Ida is busier than you can imagine as someone don't know how to use their brains...if they have one...

The Tse's "Quick Dating" Agency

My sis said if we had had a "quick dating" agency instead, we should be rich long ago.

The younger ones in the family shouldn't know that we used to have a garment factory. It experienced the same ups and downs as the HK light industry, and it was long gone by now. During different periods of time, Dad, Uncles 2, 3, 4, 5, Aunt 7 and Uncle 10 had all worked there before, and more of us had helped doing packaging and cutting stitches during peak seasons.

However, the factory was only a mask to hide it's true identity. Its true self was "The Tse's Quick Dating Agency". Dad, Uncles 3, 4, 5 and 10 had all met their wives there. The only exception was Uncle 2. Uncle and Aunt 2 met each other else where. Nonetheless, the Consultant of The Facts and the Myths of the Tse Family said Aunt 2 had also worked at the factory. After Uncle and Aunt 2 were married and before Aunt 2 moved to Edmonton, someone said it would be easier for Aunt 2 to find a job there if she knew how to sew. Hence, Aunt 2 came to learn sewing and worked there for a year or so before she moved to Edmonton.

That makes a complete set of my grandparents' daughters-in-law, who had all worked in Dad's factory.

Mom and the Aunts came in two very different stages. During the first stage (Mom, Aunt 2, 3 and 4), there were really sewing machines in the factory and they all know how to sew. During the second stage (Aunts 5 and 10), however, the "production" part of the factory had already moved to the Mainland, and the factory sort of became a trading film. Hence, unlike the other daughters-in-law, I don't think Aunts 5 and 10 know how to sew and they worked on some paper works kind of things in the company.

Originally, I wanted to add that all the "sewing expert moms" had helped their daughters to do needle work homeworks, except Aunt 3 who only has a son. However, Rose and Di told me that they didn't have needle work class those days, which made my generalization fell :( However, I want to stress that I did all my needle work homeworks myself and thought myself quite gifted. So you know whom Mom had helped :P

P.S. Special thanks to Sara who had contributed a topics. Others should throw me some ideas too or the series will end soon!

Iron Ring

Everyone who received engineering education in Canada wears an iron ring on the little finger of his/her working hand (the one who hold the pen or pencil). It reminds us our obligation and responsibility to the society being an engineer. We have to attend an Iron Rings Ceremony during graduation year to receive the Ring, and we are not supposed to share the details to whom who had not attended the Ceremony :)

Although I have not been in the field for a long long time, the Iron Ring still gives me courage and strength at times of difficulties.

How do you eat your oranges?

I eat oranges only by peeling off the skin. That is, not by cutting them into pieces with skin, but by peeling off the skin only.

Yes, I only eat oranges this way. (Well, except drinking fresh orange juice, I guess.)

I don't know how the younger ones in the Tse Family eat oranges nowadays. But for most of the older ones, peeling off the skin is the only way we eat oranges :)

When Uncle and Aunt 10 were just married (or before they were married), Aunt 10 saw me peeling orange skin and said "all those in the Tse Family eat oranges by peeling off the skin." I said "it's because when I was little, Grandma and Aunt 7 peeled the orange for me so now I peel it myself and for the younger ones too." I remember when Ed was a small kid, he would put an orange and a knife on the dining table after a meal without saying anything. Then, I would peel one for him, may be one for Di and one for myself. It usually took quite a while.

I suddently remember that when Aunt 7 was still in HK, after dinner, she would peel oranges for herself too. Not only she would peel off the skin, but she would also separate each orange into 10 pieces, and line them up on the dinning table one by one before she ate it. (Count it! There're 10 pieces in each orange.) But with five older brothers and one younger one and also Baby Ida, you could easily imagine that she could hardly eat any of them every night :P

There's also one time when my sis was still a baby (really a baby, those that don't know how to speak yet), Aunt 7 gave her oranges. She had one piece of orange per hand, one in her mouth and eyed on the fourth. This was how my sis ate 20+ years ago.

And this is also stories of the Tse Family about oranges.

P.S. I remember this when I saw "thick skin" oranges in grocery store tonight. Why "thick skin"? It's because unless you are very "skillful", your orange will become orange juice if you choose a thin skin one. So, I only eat "thick skin" oranges :>

Recess + Burma Protests

I would like to call a break for The Facts and the Myths of the Tse Family this week, as I am too busy lately to write something good and also starting to run out of topics. I need some times to gather more information.

In the mean time, we may switch our attention to the protests and democratic movement in Burma. As part of the international community, I believe it is something that worths our attention. It is especially the case when China plays a rather crucial role in the development.

BBC Special Report on Burma Protest:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/asia_pacific/2007/burma/default.stm

Asian Human Rights Commission's Page on Burma People's Protest:
http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/burmaprotests/

The Odd Number Kids VS the Even Number Kids

There's some magic related to the Tse Numbering System.

Somehow, for some unknown reason, the "odd number" uncles/aunts look like Grandpa, while the "even number" uncles/aunts look like Grandma. It won't work if you try to number the siblings by the conventional numbering system, and you have to see "zero" (Goo Ma) in the Tse System as "even" number and "da" (my dad) as "odd" number. (Hey, another difference between the two numbering systems!)

Even when I was a kid, I noticed that Aunts 7 and 9 looked more or less the same, while Aunt 8 looked completely different from the two sisters. Uncles 4 and 10 also looked like twins, especially with their relatively "big" sizes comparing to the other brothers.

The magic passes to our generation as well (except those who look like their mom or dad originally not in the family). I (belong to the odd number group) looks like Aunt 7. Grandma and Mom even say we share the same personality. The younger twin of Uncle 5 looks like Aunt 9. She looks like Aunt 9 even more than the twin sisters look like each other, or Aunt 9's daughter to Aunt 9! I remember when I last saw the twins (when they were 4!), the younger twin was as quiet as Aunt 9 while the older twin was a super talkative baby :)

The magic doesn't just stop there. Daughter of Aunt 7 looked very like me when she was a toddler. Our "degree of resemblance" was to the level that I was so shocked when I first saw her picture. Mom would keep saying that she looked EXACTLY like me when I was a baby if Mom saw her. Even cousins who have only seen Baby Ida in pictures would say, "Wa! Aunt 7's daughter looks the same as Da Kar Jie."

When my sis saw Goo Ma's wedding picture, she commented that Aunt 7 looked the same as we did when we were around the same age. I answered, "Of course. We are all Odd Numbers Kids!"

So this is the magic of the Tse Family.

Quiz 5
The picture this time was taken at around my parents' wedding (1971). Every one should be easily identified by then. Can you figure out who're the Odd Number Kids and who're the Even Number onces?

The Tse Family Numbering System

The Tse Family has our own numbering system.

The System

My father has nine brothers and sisters. Including himself, that makes up 10.

The eldest in the line is my Aunt (姑媽 or "Goo Ma"), and the siblings call her "Gar Jei" (家姐 or "big sister"). Goo Ma moved to Australia since she's married, and I have only seen her twice, one at Uncles 2 and 4's wedding, and the second time was at Uncle 5's wedding. Goo Ma is not a frequently show up character in the family. One time she called my house from Australia and my dad picked up the call. Goo Ma said, "Kwok Sui (國穗, my father's name)? It's Gar Jei." Then my dad replied, "Gar Jei? What Gar Jei?" He had seemingly forgotten that he had a bigger sister.

Next is my dad. The younger brothers and sisters called him "Lo Da" or "Da Gor" (老大 and 大哥 respectively, meaning the eldest brother), and the nieces and nephews called him "Da Bor" or "Da Kor Kor" (大伯 and 大舅舅 respectively).

Then, it came Uncles 2, 3, 4 and 5.

After having five sons in a row, Grandma wanted a girl and her dream soon became true. We then have Aunts 7, 8 and 9. The last sibling is a brother, our Uncle 10.

Quiz 4
Comparing to the "conventional" numbering system, why is the Tse Family Numbering System so special?
...
...
...
Yes, number 6 is missing. (The answer is already included in the previous comments so I reveal it right away.)

But you are only partly right. According to my sis, there are at least two more differentiations. She said, for other kids, they count "1, 2, 3, ..., 10". But for the Tse Family kids, we count "zero (for Goo Ma), 'da' (大, or big, or the eldest, for my dad), 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10"!

The Hypothesis

Consultant of The Facts and the Myths of the Tse Family (i.e. my mom) tried to hypothesize the Tse Family Numbering System. She said the System was actually invented and first used by those who worked and knew my dad (i.e. outside the family). Cause they knew my dad is the eldest son in the family, they called him "lo da" (老大, or the big brother). Later on, they knew our Uncles 2 -5 from work as well, so the numbering continued. It was only later that we also adopted the numbering system to the family.

It sounds quite reasonable, and matches some of my fading childhood memory. However, when I "cornered" the Consultant and asked "then why Aunt 7 isn't Aunt 6 or Aunt 2 (with the boys and girls in different lines)? She also worked at dad's factory.", she got stuck.

So the Tse Family Number System remains a mystery.

The Fall

The Tse Family Numbering System had tried to survive another generation but failed. The reason behind is quite obvious as we are scattered in different places at different times. We can't even figure out who's who sometimes, not to mention our birth dates.

The only one in my generation who carries a "number" is probably me. Like my father, others in the line called me "Da Kar Jie" (大家姐, or the eldest sister, used by my brother, sister and cousins of the Uncles) or "Da Biao Jie" (大表姐, or the eldest girl cousin, used by cousins of the Aunts). Also like my father, strictly speaking, I am not the eldest in the generation. There are 19 of us and I am only the third in the generation, with children of Goo Ma both older than me :)

So, this is a very unique characteristic of our family.

P.S. One of my former colleague was "college-mate" of my sis, same faculty, same department, same programme, same class. The fact was quite well-known in the office. One time, another colleague asked how many sisters I had. I said, without much thinking, "one, with the same parents."

I fell the silence in the air.

Then I added, "the others are 'tong sai mui' (堂細妹, younger female cousins of the uncles)". I thought I heard a deep breath.

For me, as they all call me "Da Kar Jie" since they know how to speak, it comes quite natural to me that they are all my younger sisters and brothers rather than cousins!

Answer of Quiz 3

Before we proceed, let's find out who's who in "the quest for your mom or dad......in the picture".

On the front row from left, they were Uncle 4, Aunt 8, Aunt 7, Uncle 5 and Uncle 3.

On the middle row, starting from the third person from left, they were Grandma, Grandpa, my dad and Uncle 2. Grandma's holding Baby Uncle 10 and on Grandpa's lap was Aunt 9.

On the back was Goo Mar and father of Cousins Polly and Arthur. (When my sis first saw the picture, her first remarked was "Goo Mar was not in the picture". It's only after she identified from dad to Uncle 10 that she figured out it's Goo Mar's wedding.)

All of the contestants got the younger ones right as you can easily differentiate them from their sizes :> One of them got assistance from someone in the picture and hence got everyone right! Not only that, she even challenged us with a new question -- name of the restaurant in the picture.

From the picture, you can see that Uncle 2 was almost identical to his son now. Uncle 4 looked almost exactly the same all his life, and Aunt 9 in the picture also resembled herself nowadays very much. My sis said when we two were kids, we looked very like Aunt 7 in the picture (I will explain why later), and of course, daughter of Aunt 7 looked very like her mom and also me and my sis at around the same age.

The iron workers strike had finally come to an end... ...

... ...tonight, after 36 days in the picket line.

The ironworkers had finally gotten their eight-hour work days. However, instead of a salary of HK$950 per day, they only won a salary of HK$860. Workers and employers are far from standing on a level playing field.

Here's a record of what happened:
http://strikers.wordpress.com/

P.S. It's only because of the strike that I had finally known how the steel reinforcements were put inside the concrete. It's an art, and lots of experiences, skills, and intelligences in it.

Elmo loves the earth!

Presents from my two lovely cousins. They are of different sizes, fitting me at any time :)

The quest for your mom or dad ... ... in the picture

First thing first. The answer for Quiz 2 of the previous post is Uncle 3 was missing. Mom said Uncle and Aunt 3 were in Edmonton and didn't return for the wedding. Others might supplement more information. That was year 1976 :) Other people in the picture are pretty easily identified so I won't repeat here.

I didn't mention in the previous post that the last time the siblings were all together was at my parents wedding! 36 years ago!

Here comes the (may be) most challenging question in "The Facts and the Myths of the Tse Family" series.

Quiz 3
Again, can you find your mom or dad in the picture?

Other not in the family might take a wild guess to see who's my father. (It should be easier after I write about the Tse Family Numbering System next week.)

Hints: The two in the left of the middle row should not be in our family. The two in the middle were of course Grandma and Grandpa.

Not very useful hints: I have to say I am not 100% confident that the 10 siblings were all there. Some were not that "recognizable", while some looked almost identical to their sons!

P.S. I think I will try to post on "The Facts and the Myths of the Tse Family" once every week and around weekend. That will be easier for the interested readers to follow and give myself less pressure to keep writing. Next week will be on the long waited "Tse Family Numbering System".

P.P.S. May be I should advertise in Facebook :)

The Facts and the Myths of the Tse Family

This is getting more and more interesting (or "mo-liu", I should say). One of my cousins put up a Tse Family Trivia to challenge us about the "facts" of our parents.

Well, I initiated all these things and I have to confess that I also screwed up first.

I had mentioned the last time the ten brothers and sisters were together were at Uncles 2 and 4's wedding. I found out the wedding pictures tonight, but oops, one of them was missing!

Quiz 2 --
This is the picture of the "wedding of the century". See if you can find out who's missing and if you can find your mom or dad.

To give you some tips. I was the girl wearing red dress in the middle, and Nobel was the baby in blue on the right. Cousin Polly was the beautiful girl standing on the left end and Cousin Arthur was the boy to the right of Baby Nobel. This was the first and last time I met Polly and Arthur. (I wanted to write "the only time in my whole life", but well, never says never.)

The Tse Family Re-union 2007

There's no need to look for me in the picture. I wasn't there.

This was the Tse Family Re-union 2007 in Edmonton couple of weeks ago, with representatives from seven of the ten children of my grandparents. This was the biggest event in the Tse Family history since my cousin Rosanna's wedding a few years ago. Last time when all ten of my grandparents' children were together, it was my Uncles 2 and 4's wedding, which was before my sis (who ranked the fifth among the 19 in my generation) was born.

My family is scattered around HK (HK Island, Kowloon and New Territories, to be precise), Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Melbourne, and also Beijing after mid-September, with the biggest number in Edmonton. It is not easy to have so many of us together all at once, and interesting enough, there's no special reason this time (in the sense of something to celebrate). I think the next big turnout should be at one of our weddings.

Quiz -- for those not in the Tse, Lam and Anderson families
Two of the people in the picture are twins. See if you can find them.

P.S. I plan to launch "The Tse Family" series in my blog. Stay tune.

支援紮鐵工人基金

紮鐵工人大罷工已經進入第十四日，抗爭仍然持續，因資方仍然不肯 重開談判之門．地盤工人很多都是”手停口停”，他們都有家庭及子女需要照顧，罷工對他們已構成沉重的經濟負擔．但他們卻沒有退縮，仍然堅持跟大財團抗爭到底。

我們呼籲各位市民出一分力，支持基層工人爭取合理工資及工時，爭取有尊嚴的工作條件。

現在我們已正式成立了”支援紮鐵工人基金”，希望向公眾籌款支持罷工行動，所有款項將用作資助紮鐵工人罷工的開支．包括1)膳食及交通的部份開支;及2)是次罷工之活動開支(如宣傳，推廣及行動物資等)。

所捐款項請傳入戶口號碼： 004 031 208846 001

或寄支票到”九龍彌敦道557-559號永旺行7樓”

抬頭：建築地盤職工總會

"支援紮鐵工人基金"管理委員會負責監察此基金之運作，委員會 成員由八人組成，包括馮偉華博士（城大高級講師）、杜耀明博士（浸大副教授）、黃瑞紅大律師、胡露茜女士、李卓人議員、梁耀忠議員、黃標先生 （工友代表）及吳冠君先生（建築地盤職工總會）。紮鐵工人需要您的支持！

聯絡人：吳冠君 90115256 蒙兆達 90996193 麥德正 90209388

The 12th day of ironworkers strike

Today is the 12th day of the ironworkers strike, and news said they will continue tomorrow with a protest ending at the government headquarters. Many construction site workers join in the strike, making 1/4 of the sites not in operation. (Well, it also keeps raining in HK these two weeks.)

The ironworkers' demand is simple -- reasonable wage and working hours.

To date, daily wage of ironworkers have dropped from around HK$1200 to HK$1300 before 1997 to around HK$600 since SARS in 2003. Workers of racial minority are even earning as low as HK$300 per day. With inflation and the "best economy in 20 years", there's no sight of any "increase" of salary of the ironworkers. (I am very hesitated to use the word "increase" as the ironworkers are only asking a daily wage of HK$950, still lower than the highest point.)

On the other side, the business association refuses to give in, making the negotiation almost a mission impossible. (Oh, forgot to note, there's no such thing as "collective bargaining" for workers in HK. International labour rights groups and trade unions describe HK as an "uncivilized society".) Many workers of course are facing financial problems now, and the unions are planning to set up a fund to support their living in the time being.

Here's the ironworkers' strike statement:

忍了十年，扎鐵佬實在忍不下去，今天要企出來爭取尊嚴，爭取公道。

經濟復甦，物價 上升，但少數扎鐵商壟斷整個市場，不斷壓低扎鐵工資。我們的人工已經跌了一半，只有600多元；工時增長了一小時至9小時。我們不是工作奴隸，不要再受老 闆剝削，我們要爭取合理工資、合理工時！另外，統計處指我們每日有1131元，為何我們實質只有五六百？我們要求政府徹查中間是否有人食價，是否有人剝削 工人血汗工資！

過去多年，老闆不斷欺壓我們：拖欠薪金、欠供強積金、剝削假期、剝削休息時間、隱暪工傷。為了養家，我們只好啞忍。但我們越沉默，奸商就吸越多的血！我們的憤怒已經不能遏止，今天要向奸商清算舊帳！政府必須正視建築行業的問題，嚴懲無良僱主！

罷工了十二天，扎鐵佬團結一致，爭取合理的權益。我們要求政府協助斡旋，重開勞資談判，解決今次勞資糾紛。如果政府拒絕繼續斡旋，就是失職！就是不負責任！

十二天顯示出我們的堅忍及毅力，我們會堅持到底，直到爭取合理工資、合理工時！工人團結必勝！

Hope you can support a very minimal wish as well.

Salmon Bagel -- From a different perspective

Lately, people have been asking me what's going wrong, cause they had read the previous post.

Well, thanks. I am quite OK except a little bit exhausted from work, and practicing Chinese calligraphy again and the evening walk make me sort of relax from the tight schedule.

However, when I wrote the previous post, my real intention was to share my happiness (of eating fresh onion when there's no expectation :) and show how easy it could be to stay happy.

I can be happy quite easily, to my and many of your surprise. I am fueled with energy every morning when I walk pass the HK Park to work, seeing all the people working on the trees, the flowers and the fishes despite the heat or the rain. I feel warm when I see kids giving up seats to elderly in the train. I am delighted when I hear the sound of some real musical instruments from a Canto-pop CD.

It all depends on how you look at one thing.

P.S. I think I have to improve my writing skill.

Salmon Bagel

I walked pass the HK Park to Pacific Place and grabbed a salmon bagel for lunch just now. When I opened the wrapping, I saw there were some fresh onion in it, and I suddenly felt a strong sense of happiness during a rather depressed period of time lately.

It's not that difficult to feel good sometimes.

P.S. Fresh onion is my favorite veggie, among a handful that I eat :)

Everbody safely home?

Typhoon Pabuk turned away from HK on Wednesday, but suddenly returned again this morning. In just a few hours, it goes on from Typhoon No.1, 3 and then 8 at about 2:30pm.

This was how we crowded at the entrance of the Admiralty MTR station:














Before we passed the gate:














On the platform:














I should have gone for a drink first!

P.S. I would like to thank a group of young people who looked like a group of HKU students in an orientation camp.

While I was still waiting on the platform, the train came and they were inside. There were around ten to twenty of them, all wearing dark green polo shirts, and they wanted to get out of the train.

For those who have a taste of the HK MTR system during peak hours, you should have expected that those on the platform (excluding me) would try to push into the train although it's all packed with people and quite a number of them tried to get off.

With this group of young people on the train, they kept shouting together "let people get off first; let us get off; you can only get on board if we are off", etc., and they united and pushed...... Yes! They were off the train and left a lot of space inside, making me safely on the train finally :)

3/8 (three out of eight)

一朝驚醒已在目前　怎麼走了這麼遠
屈指一算突然發現　很多好戲已上演
離原本想的有些遠　好比揀選歌舞的路線
但拍了一齣打鬥片

由這裡　行過去
行過去　下一區
誠實地　無懼地
隨遇地　行過去
彈指間　第幾關
原來都走到這裡
別說出發以後習慣失去
鮮花開過掌心裡

把握青春最後十年
珍惜中午的光線
很多支票未曾兌現
只因長大了看穿
成名得獎一概不算
不可更改的最佳路線
何謂幸福秒秒在變

由這裡　行過去
行過去　下一區
誠實地　無懼地
隨遇地　行過去
彈指間　第幾關
原來都走到這裡
但我高興繼續漫遊於這裡
寫好這刻這一句

掌握青春經歷老死中間不免有唏噓
今天這一家用至少不只可以談空虛

行過去　行過去
行過去　下一區
華麗地　懷舊地
前衛地　行過去
路彎彎　共深山
由無知走到這裡
但我高興繼續漫遊多幾歲

由這裡　行過去
行過去　下一區
成熟地　緩慢地
回味地　行過去
彈指間　又一關
誰要劃時代創舉
只想懂得慶賀目前
不早不晚的一歲
平常心境中探取
沿路的風裡

***** *****

Pretty tired lately, and can't quite feel that positive. I think I need a break, but then I think it would be difficult to pick up the works again. Difficult decision.

十二金釵眾生花

I haven't listened a CD through a CD player for a while. First, it's because my CD player is half broken. It can't detect some of my CDs. The most frustrated case is it can only detect Disc 1 of Chet Lam's dual-CD album The Private Life of Chet Lam, which I think both have to be listened together continuously......

Then, it's also because I subscribed MOOV. While I turned on my computer, which means most of my time except while I am sleeping, I use MOOV to listen to tonnes of new CDs, which I seldom register at all. Otherwise, I rely on my iPod Nano while I am travelling, but this usually means I can't quite listen to the music clearly under a rather noisy environment, and not to mention I always have a book handy.

But then I got Keith Chan's 12 Faces of Women yesterday. For some unknown reasons, I put it in my CD player, instead of my computer, and it plays. All the real musical instruments make it difficult not to be played in a real CD player. It sure is nicer from there than from a computer.

The CD+DVD was first performed at this year's Hong Kong Arts Festival, and I watched that too. I have to say I am not those "visual kind of people", and was not quite interested in the 12 short films accompanying the 12 pieces of music. However, the music sure is attractive, and it's worth all the trouble of putting the CD into a proper CD player.

Sometimes, when you are trying to communicate or be communicated, it's important to concentrate and listen carefully.

Sometimes, going the more traditional way is the mean to move forward.

暗戀桃花園

I watched the HKREP's Secret Love - Peach Blossom Land tonight.





















Twelve years ago, some of my friends also produced the same drama in Edmonton. I was part of the production as well, but I was the Deputy Stage Manager for another smaller scale production -- Night and Day -- which was on stage the same night:




























After so many years, I have to say that some of them I couldn't even remember their faces now. But some have also marked a place in my heart, even though we had lost contacts since then.

P.S. I still remember the first cue I made at the performance was a wrong cue! And I kept asking the producer about the script (since I didn't find it logical at all) during rehearsals, and finally he couldn't stand it any more, and asked me to concentrate on my cues and props and costumes, etc. He said a DSM was not there to understand the play :P

All you really need to know, you learned it in kindergarten......Part 2

(This issue is also known as "All You Really Need to Know, You Learned It in Harry Potter")

1. Love
2. Friendship; no one should be alone
   
3. Trust
4. Confidence in oneself and others
5. Courage, and courage to stand up for yourself, stand up for things you believe or value, and stand up against things you believe it's wrong
   
6. There's no unrecognized talent. It's either because opportunity hasn't come yet or you unfortunately have missed it. Or, you are not as talent as you think.
   

Long time to post

It has been a long time since the last time I blogged. I have been very busy lately and still am.

With the Putonghua Shuiping Ceshi done on the previous Sunday, my Mandarin study will be on hold for a while. It had absorbed quite a lot of my time in the last couple of years, and I think it's time to do something else. However, I still plan to spend a little bit of time daily to practice.

Well, may be after HP7.

Right after the Mandarin exam on 22 July, I was busy every moment while I am not at work nor sleeping on HP7. Anyone finished it yet? I still have less than 200 pages to go. It's so sad the Mad-eye died at the beginning of the book, while Dobby died almost immediately after his appearance.

After HP7, there would be a lot of things waiting for me to do as well. For example, cleaning up my room and bookshelves, following up some personal and financial issues, lots and lots of reading, knitting and cross stitching, visiting museums, etc. Oh yes, I will need to make some updating to this blog as well. Many of my friends' links are not yet added. Also, anyone have Facebook? I need quite sometimes to make it looks "professional".

P.S. I use "ismtse@ualberta.net" in Facebook. Make sure you add me :P

Green Paper on Constitutional Development

So, the Green Paper on Constitutional Development was finally released yesterday.

From the "direct election in 1988" campaign to now, longer than 20 years has been passed. I think we have "gradually and orderly progressed" long enough to deserve universal and equal suffrage.

From what I have learned from the media, there are still some important elements missing in the Green Paper (e.g. what's a "democratic procedure" to nominate a Chief Executive election candidate?), making the rather complicated and wide spectrum of proposals very trivial. However, I do think it's time to act up and express yourself.

Public consultation will end on 10 October 2007. It should be now or never.

All you really need to know, you learned it in kindergarten......Part 1

On health,

1. Sleep early
2. Don't forget your balance diet
3. Exercise, exercise, and exercise
4. Sit back and relax
5. Stay happy :)
   

P.S. Sometimes ago, I thought of making a list of "all you really need to know, you learned it in kindergarten", something simple, but something we always forget. Let's start with health. This is something my Chinese doctor asked me to do. She's more concerned about my "sleeping problem" than my "hair problem" :P

隨機應變，隨遇而安

To be continued...

堅持‧爭普選‧香港精神

網上掛絲帶行動「堅持‧爭普選‧香港精神」

http://www.hiradio.net/?p=297

請協助廣傳!

髮線越向後，人要越向前看

This is my friend's greeting line at g-talk, and it seems written for me :P

So my hair problem continues. I had a hair cut and a hair treatment, changed shampoo, etc., and I am going to visit Chinese doctor tomorrow!

Everyone asked if I am too stressed. I think I might not be before, but I am extremely stressed now. The more I read from the Internet, the more I am worried. I think everything I do now is more to clam myself down.

When I am used to my "little" problem of my knee, I have a new problem!

Home Impovement

I took this picture while having my evening walk tonight. I find this kind of bamboo structure quite amazing, good for the whole building and also good for some small home improvement. If you look at it closely, it is only supported by some triangles (I know they should have a more proper name, but I have to say I give everything back to my Structural professors. I feel sorry for them :( I stood underneath for about a minute, examining it for a while, and decided to take a picture.

Although I am not in the field, I still have the appetite for any kind of construction, from event set-up to real construction sites. (Oops! I forgot I was supposed to be a transportation engineer!)

Today, I had had my Putonghua class exam. After another Putonghua Shuiping Ceshi on 22 July, my study on Putonghua comes to the end, for the time being. I will take a break (don't know how long) and try something else. Lots of books and halfway through knitted sweaters are waiting for me!

My hair

For all my life, I am being complained for having too much hair. There's plenty of it, and it's never quite "manageable". But today, I notice that my hair is getting quite thin, too thin even to an alarming stage.

......

My goodness!

I can't tell you how shocked and worried I am today. I know there's should be something else that I should worry about (e.g. mandarin exam again coming Sunday), but my hair sure is issue no. 1 today.

I know it sounds very stupid, but can't help.

......

My friend reminded me that I had changed shampoo, which doesn't seem very good, lately, and suggested me to change a milder one. So I will. Hope it will get better soon. Maybe it's some unavoidable things for being old :(

P.S. Rose, anything good from Adamant Eve?

...簷前滴雨...殘留幻影...

So Jerry talked about the Paradox in his blog.

I used to be a super fans at the time. My dream college was CUHK studying journalism and philosophy (needless to say I was a bigger fans of Erica Li). I had all of their cassettes (also Yvonne Lau's) and I even had a Paradox wall calendar! (I think that was 1990. My secondary school friend sent it to Canada for me.) I had a tape recording some of their long radio interviews and the moment they won the gold award of new singers at the Commercial Radio's music award ceremony! (Unbelievable!) These were all precious treasures until I somehow lost these things when I returned from Edmonton. (So sad.) I now only have two CDs of theirs :(

Will I see you tomorrow night?

The Society for Truth and Light

I was totally not aware that the Pearl Report had done a "report" on my beloved The Society for Truth and Light last year. It's on Youtube right now. Hope that it can stay there longer so more people can watch the missed episode.

Pearl Report on the Society of Truth and Light:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0gCOLWyjKo

Official website of The Society for Truth and Light (be careful, the content can be very scary):
http://www.truth-light.org.hk/index.jsp

Putonghua Shuiping Ceshi

I passed! Although I only got the lowest grade, it's still a miracle. I had to say my mandarin was a mess that day.

Bye-bye Super Sandwiches

Today is the last day of the Super Sandwiches downstairs from office. We are going to miss it :( Well, not exactly because of the food they served, but because of the lack of places for lunch! Very soon, I am afraid there would be no place for lunch in the surrounding area!

Elmo Wanted!

I've been collecting Circle K Sesame Street figures lately. From the picture, you can see that I am not very successful in finding Elmo. Most of the time I see either Oscar or Big Bird.

Anyone has spare to trade?

A chocolate dip donut, please

Date: I think is 1995

Time: Can't remember, I think is between lunch and dinner

Venue: A room in CAB, U of A

People: Ida, GGG

GGG: I am going to the cafe(teria). Do you want to have anything?

Ida: ...... get me a chocolate donut then.

GGG: What kind of chocolate donut?

Ida (a bit frustrated): What different kind of chocolate donuts I can have then?

GGG: A lot -- chocolate donut, chocolate dip donut, chocolate sprinkle donut, chocolate-chocolate donut...

Ida (cutting in): OK, OK. A chocolate dip donut then.

P.S. This box of delicious donuts makes me think of something in the last century.

In search of a comfortable cushion

Lately, I am having some difficulty sitting up still as my back gets tired very easily. So, I have been looking around for a suitable cushion that can fit the gap between my back and the chair's.

I tried using the one my colleague gave me, but it seems too hard. I tried bringing the one at home to the office, but it seems to "thick".

So, you should now kind what're the main criteria for the right one -- soft and thin.

I spent quite a while at the IKEA several nights ago, touching and pushing every single cushion. Finally, I found this one in the kids' section (again!) -- it's thin and soft, and I think there's an elephant on it. Unfortunately, the original cover was made up of fabric that attracted dust very easily, which is bad for my nose. So I got this red one, cheapest in the section :P

We seem to get along very good these few days, which is very very good :)

Every year around this time...

... they will close and clean the "lake" in HK Park. But this year, they seem to changing the landscape as well. Managing a park (even not a theme park) is a difficult issue.

No milk?

Just watched a TV programme about the down side of milk consumption (it happened that the producer is the one I worked with for the corporate video on CEDAW and HK women development two years ago). My first thought was "what would happen to the farmers due to this 'no milk campaign'"? Second image flashed across my mind was those "drink milk" commercials a decade ago across the US and Canada to encourage the youngsters to drink milk (they were shown mainly during cartoon time in Saturday morning). Third thing I remembered was the sudden drop of milk prices after Canada joined some free trade pact (WTO?) and the Canadian government had to remove its control to safeguard milk prices.

Very random thoughts.

Lately, I seem not quite comfortable with any types of coffee served at the Starbucks and Pacific Coffee, and very often I have a cup of hot milk instead.

Still very random thoughts... ...

Ching-ming and Easter Long Weekend

It's almost the end of the second day of the five-day Ching-ming and Easter long weekend. Before the holiday, you will be looking for it. When it's starting to leave, you are feeling very very sad.

May be I shouldn't have any holiday at all.

P.S. Feeling a bit moody after long walk from Arts Centre to the MTR station tonight.

"Colourful Lives of Women" TV Series

I suddenly remember that I haven't mentioned anything about the TV series I am sort of involved during the last several months. It's a series of 5-minuters on the contribution of local women's groups in women empowerment. Make sure you check out the archive:

http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/tv/colourfullivesofwomen/

Marathon Hot-pot

I had hot pot at a friend's place last night, from 7pm to 3am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had a fun time and talked about a lot of things. It sure worths the time and lack of sleep.

三月二十五日宜投票 一字記之曰：投

三月二十五日

忌：小圈，小則向商界傾斜，忌由八百人代辦，不穩。

宜：大眾，大則普及平等，宜親力親為，趨吉避凶。

吉時：上午十時至下午六時出門，往「全民投票實踐計劃」票站，化厄解困。

一字記之曰：投

投票日期：2007年3 月25日 ( 星期日，特首選舉同日 )
投票時間：上午10時至下午6 時

議題：
(1) 表決行政長官選舉候選人
(2) 支持或反對不遲於2012年由普及而平等選舉產生行政長官
(3) 支持或反對立法制定最低工資

選民資格：凡滿十八歲或以上香港永久性居民均可就每一議題投票一次；十一至十七歲香港永久性居民、十一歲或以上香港居民可就每一議題投一次意向票。

投票須知：請攜同身份證或特區護照或永久性居民身份證明文件到投票站領取選票，工作人員將在選民左手蓋上二十四小時內不褪色記印，以防止重覆投票，故此，工作人員在發出選票前亦須檢查選民左手。

香港島投票站：
香港大學 Assembly Hall 簿扶林沙宣道六號
高主教書院 香港羅便臣道二號
聖貞德中學 香港北角寶馬山道五十五號
香港教育專業人員協會 銅鑼灣堅拿道西十五號永德大廈閣樓
明愛莫張瑞勤社區中心　香港堅尼地城蒲飛路二十七號
柴灣翡翠道30號1LG 箤文道入，文理書院對面

九龍西投票站：
英華書院 深水埗英華街一號
麥花臣籃球場 旺角洗衣街五十九號
鴉打街籃球場 油麻地鴉打街與眾坊街交界
香港兆基創意書院 紅磡青州街二號
新婦女協進會 長沙灣李鄭屋村禮讓樓一百二十號地下
深水埗社區協會 大坑東村東成樓地下十號
中華基督教會深愛堂 石硤尾窩仔街八十號

九龍東投票站：
天主教伍華中學 新蒲崗彩虹道五號
明愛牛頭角社區中心 牛頭角安德道一號
慈雲山中央遊樂場(籃球場) 慈雲山中央遊樂場
康寧道五人足球場 觀塘康寧道
牛頭角八號足球場 牛頭角下邨第八座側

新界西投票站：
天水圍循道衛理中學 天水圍天富苑一○二區
迦密唐賓南紀念中學 屯門湖景邨
天主教母佑會蕭明中學 葵涌葵業街六號
明愛荃灣社區中心 荃灣眾安街一百四十六號
天水圍職工盟 天水圍天瑞路八十八號俊宏軒商場地下十號鋪
元朗安興街足球場 元朗安興街

新界東投票站：
台山商會中學 沙田圓洲角路十號
賽馬會體藝中學 火炭樂景街五至七號
Culture Shock 大埔舊墟直街四至二十號
上水石湖墟足球場 上水寶運路六號


全民投票實踐計劃　Project Civil Referendum
電話：2850 4060
傳真：2851 0874
電郵：info@civilreferendum.org
網址：www.civilreferendum.org
地址：香港上環孖沙街二十號金德樓四樓

贊助全民投票
支票抬頭：香港人權監察或直接存入渣打銀行戶口：317-0-012353-4

「全民投票實踐計劃」流動投票站宣傳活動

「全民投票實踐計劃」與21間中學，十多位學者及區議員攜手合作，訂定於2007年3月25日舉辦一個民間投票活動，對象是全港的市民，而是 次民間投票的議題為「行政長官候選人」、「2012 年由普選產生行政長官」及「立法制訂最低工資」。市民當天可於全港各區共25個票站進行投票。

為了鼓勵更多市民參加今次的全民投票，我們特別租用了一流開篷巴士作為「流動投票站」，於投票日當天駛往未有設置投票站的地區讓走上巴士內投票。

另外，我們亦會於投票日前一天(3月24日)，安排「流動投票站」巡遊全港多個地點作宣傳，故特邀各傳媒朋友出席，詳情如下︰

日期：2007年3月24日(星期六)
時間：中午12時45分
地點：中環愛丁堡廣場

Watch Out!

Welcome to Ida's News Updates! Make sure you scroll down for more updated news, as from now till 25 March, I will put posts related to the CE election and the civil referendum on the top. And of course, please scroll down and say hi to my blog pet "Ida" and feed her ice-cream!

3月25 日人人要投票

「全民投票實踐計劃」

3月25 日人人要投票

政府在3月25日於機場會展舉行特首選舉，市民不能入去投票， 800選委亦無問過你選邊個好。「全民投票實踐計劃」聯同21間中學，社會服務團體提供公平、公正、獨立的平台，在港九新界準備25 個投票站！邀請市民一齊投票，由公民社會選舉行政長官，及表達對政治民生政策的期望。我們的票站一定無機場咁遠，更接近民主。

投票日期：2007年3 月25日 ( 星期日，特首選舉同日 )

投票時間：上午10時至下午6 時

票站：遍佈全港各區25個票站的位置，在 3月15日於「全民投票實踐計劃」網站公佈

議題：

(1) 表決行政長官選舉候選人

(2) 支持或反對不遲於2012年由普及而平等選舉產生行政長官

(3) 支持或反對立法制定最低工資

選民資格：凡滿18歲或以上香港永久性居民均可就每一議題投票一次 ;11-17歲香港永久性居民、11歲或以上香港居民可就每一議題投一次意向票。

投票須知：請攜同身份證或特區護照或永久性居民身份證明文件到投票站領取選票，工作人員將在選民左手蓋上24 小時內不褪色記印，以防止重覆投票，故此，工作人員在發出選票前亦須檢查選民左手。

Fatigue... ...

Good old friends

Except dinner with my family, I still haven't had any b-day meals with anyone this year as I was so terribly busy last couple of weeks.

***** *****

This afternoon, I had this g-talk:

XXX: wei wei...eat what Weds?

Ida: if you are not buying me dinner, i would like to go Nambantei of Tokyo. we can then ask YYY to buy us ice cream :P

XXX: i think we should be buying you dinner...together with ZZZ...3 of us can share the cost...should be OK

***** *****

A similar conversation went more than 10 years ago, during university time:

XXX: where do you want to have b-day dinner this year?

Ida: Spaghetti Factory

YYY: (yelling from the back of XXX) if you want to save money, let's go to your place to have pork-chop pasta with cream source!

***** *****

Sometimes it's good to be seen through.

136 exhibition boards

I am going to set up an exhibition of 136 exhibition boards this coming Thursday on 8 March, and I only started proof reading last Friday...

So you can imagine how I am going to achieve this -- stayed in the office till 2:30am on Friday and 1:10am on Saturday (not to mention I stepped into the lift lobby of the office building at 8:57am on a Saturday, and only sneaked out for two hours for an Arts Fest show)...

There are still thirty something boards not ready for output on Saturday mid-night, but I am glad that colleagues came back to offer a hand, or I would still be in the office now.

But now, when I can go to bed early, I don't want to sleep! May be due to the two-hour nap in the afternoon.

P.S. Watched the drama version of 1984 tonight. Don't really like it. I don't like the presentation style. I find the book is more dramatic and shocking.

Sunny Sunday

After being cloudy for quite some times, we finally saw some sun shines today. When I walked into the Arts Museum this afternoon, the sun shine simply went straight through the big windows, and you could feel the warmth and the happiness inside your heart.

B-day month is shopping month

Because of different kinds of credit card promotions during my b-day month, I went crazy shopping these few days, and this afternoon with my sis. I think I have already stocked up all the clothes I need for summer and all the beauty products I need for the whole year!!!!!!

Bye-bye holiday :~

The four-day Chinese New Year holiday is coming to the end. It's a holiday I was long looking for, not because of the festive season, but because of the many days away from office.

Unfortunately, I was stuck with work and study. I only squeezed some time to do some meaningless things (like watching a not very good movie and knitting) till this afternoon, and I am back to work now.

The next long weekend is Easter. Two months away. Something to look forward to.

Wishing You a Meaningful Piggy Year!