失眠

我昨晚失眠了，因为有件事令我特别的开心。哈哈，好奇怪哦。我一开心起来反而会睡不着觉。相反的，伤心或心里烦躁的是时候会睡得更甜！这就是我的特色吧！v(~_~)v

Somehow feels like I should blog this ...

Can't leave?

Despite having so many days of leave, I have a feeling they won't let me clear those, especially since the project I've been in charge of has now received a go-ahead. But what's the point really ... I should be doing a proper handover to whoever's taking over that responsibility and help that person ease into the role rather than being involved in the project myself. Hope they see it this way and LET ME GO!

Ughh ... really can't wait to leave. Oh well, at least I should be thankful for the perfect timing of my new job offer and the approval of the project. If the project had kicked start according to its original schedule, I'd have been stuck because this project requires tremendous commitment from the team involved and as the project leader, there'd be no way I could extricate myself from it. Just like I had to stick with AA last year. I would have then missed this wonderful new job offer. Oh gosh. I thank God for the impeccable timing! Everything DOES happen for a reason!

Can't wait to spend some leisurely days in and around Chengdu. Must definitely head out to Leshan and Emei Shan. Think Tibet would be quite out of the question this time if I had to serve till the very last day. Hmmm ... think on the bright side! That means more spending money for the trip ... and maybe I can also help out the earthquake refugees who might still be temporarily housed in Chengdu!

Really need to see my friend too. Hope he's coping better with the situation ... wonder when he can resume work though. The tourism industry in Sichuan seems to be still in the dumps cuz the favourite tourist spots lie along the quake lines ...

9.5 days leave!

I have that many days leave! That means I can leave as early as 4 Aug! Yippie!! More time to travel ... must plan quickly!

我成功了！

呵呵。好，现在可以开始计划我的西藏/成都/四川游了！不过因为奥运会的元素，办签证可能会比较麻烦些。让我先试试看吧。真的不行的话，可能会转移目标去日本。或纽约。

我的大日子

明天是一个非常重要的日子。如果一切顺利的话，它将会开始一系列令我开心的好事—我的西藏之旅会更有希望，也有可能到四川大地震灾区走一趟。

更重要的是我可以去探望在成都的朋友。地震对他造成的伤害不浅，希望他现在比两个月前快乐多了。让他请我吃他亲自做的四川小菜。特别是麻婆豆腐，还有他的拿手菜—辣子鸡！说到口水都快流出来了！呵呵。

希望这一切都能够成真。一切都要看明天啦。

祝我好运哦!

PET PEEVES

TOP 3 HATES
PEOPLE CUT MY QUEUE
PEOPLE DENY THEY ARE AT FAULT
IDIOTS. SO I WON'T ARGUE WITH THEM CUZ HE WHO ARGUES WITH AN IDIOT IS AN IDIOT HIMSELF.

爱情占线 Alternate Ending

Some people in the forums are saying that there's an alternate ending to this series. The version shown in China is the ending that I'd have wanted. That Beibei gives fate another chance and it finds its way to Yunfei.

The Singapore version, on the other hand and but of course, she stops where it seems as though 缘分已尽between her and Yunfei, and so she returns to Lizhong. It's sorta open-ended here but one would assume that she ends up with Lizhong (Christopher Lee's character) ... yawnzzzzzzz ...

A Mobile Love Story

I ploughed through the final 10 episodes of this free Mobtv series today. I was excited to find that all the episodes were up on the website late last night but since I could hardly open my eyes already, I had to leave the marathon to today.

I started early, right after Doraemon which finished at 10 am. And I've just finished. Thankfully, it was a rainy afternoon so I stayed in and completed the series.

It's a pretty awesome show. Much better than most of what's been showing on Channel 8 these days. Well, apart from the over product placement of Sony Ericsson phones and the excessive "reflections" shots. I think they mean something ... couldn't be just for aesthetics.

The script's well-written, the photography's well done and the actors' performances were great. I'm glad I gave it a chance. When I first found out about the free first 10 episodes, I wasn't so keen since it's basically a Chinese show plus it features Christopher Lee (eww). But I had seen Wallace Huo in Sound of Colours previously on Sunday mornings. I liked him in that show so I didn't mind checking him out in this new drama.

Seriously, the first episode got me hooked. The story is well-paced and the characters are well-developed. The lead female, Han Xue, is also an excellent young actress and complements Wallace's character well. Christopher's character is really annoying in the first half of the story but with time, his character slowly becomes endearing. I think that is one of the strengths of this drama; that the people and stories involved seem real, like they could have been you or me, like the events could have happened to anyone of us, and how would we have dealt with the issues and dilemmas then.

True enough, as the story develops, it hit more of my soft points. There are a number of similarities between the stories and my own experiences, I could've written the script. He he ...

Do check it out (it's free after all! Only requires a free registration with the Mobtv website). The concept on the surface is really quite cheesy - Girlfriend leaves Boyfriend at the altar after finding out that she is terminally ill. Boyfriend falls into endless despair trying to locate his runaway bride. Girlfriend loses her mobile phone at the subway station. Another Girl picks it up and begins a SMS relationship with Boyfriend. Girl finds a job at Boyfriend's company with neither realising they have been SMS buddies for a year. They gradually fall for each other. Girlfriend resurfaces.

But once you begin watching it, you'll find no cheese in it. The ending is not quite the way I'd have liked it but on hindsight, I'm glad they didn't make it the way I'd have liked it because it'd have been far too predictable. Instead, it has been beautifully executed to the extent of philosophical sometimes ... or maybe it's just me who wants to believe that a digital relationship can exist.

雨天

好难得可以在这多雨的星期六，过着休闲的下午。看看书，听听歌，看看戏。

正在看mobtv的免费电视剧《爱情占线》。觉得这部戏真的很不错。故事发展的很自然，也让我想起跟知己人生有关的点点滴滴。说出了我的喜怒哀乐。尤其关于感情的事，令我特别有感触。

好啦。继续看戏吧！

Being alive.

It was end of the day and we were just goofing around. It struck me that we had only 8 hours left of the first half of 2008.

So I asked, "What have you achieved in the first half of this year?"

Selena's reply took the breath out of me.

"Being alive."

Such simple words, such deep meaning. Especially this year that is fraught with so many unfortunate incidents. Hundreds of thousands have not the chance to say these words today. Thousands more wonder if they can say these words by the next half of this year if aid does not get to them soon. And millions more wonder when their livelihood can be reinstated, including my friend in Chengdu.

I'm just happy I'm able to take a moment and reflect on those words today. To be able to chat and laugh with dear friends even when we had to stay back at the office to complete a task.

If being alive was the biggest achievement of all of the first half, here's to an even better second half of 08! TO LIVE!