我们21世纪的首10年

2009 年的最后一分种，我和朋友一起倒数，也分享了彼此的21世纪首10年的过程。以下是我的:

2000 - 傻女孩开始第一份工作，充满梦想和希望
2001 - 精彩的 NYC 之旅，遇上911
2002 - 爬了东南亚最高峰 - Mount Kinabalu - 得了黑脚指
2003 - 非常伤心，遗憾，后悔的一年，没有见到奶奶最后一面
2004 - 离职第一份工作，太累了，想多陪爸爸，妈妈，做自己想做的事，学开车
2005 - 考到驾驶执照了！
2006 - 开始学当 Design Researcher, 找到自己最爱的工作
2007 - 一年走 11 国家。很开心。去了黄山，什么都没看着，要再去！上海多雾，没有雪，失望死了
2008 - 换工作，加入ASUS
2009 - 认识 你，很 开心

Last day of the first decade of the the 21st century

Wow. What a decade. I'm breathless.
But it's always the case.
Always.
On the last day, the dawn of a new day.
A new year.
I'm breathless.
With thanks.
For family, for friends, for good health.
For the ability to do what I love.
For people I've come to love.
For people I've loved, but lost.
For lost love, for love I've yet to find.
For these final quiet moments.
To reflect and reminisce.
Some heartbreaking moments.
Many happy days.
Lots of warmth, oh yes, thanks Singapore.
Lots of cool, I need not another chore.
What a bore.
What, life?
Hahaha, check out what the new year brings.
Life.
And I thank YOU. And YOU. And YOU.

Gray Christmas

Reflections.2009 (to be cont.)

Nadolig Llawen

The Welsh say
Merry Christmas, Nadolig Llawen
be safe, be wonderful
I can be
be happy and joyful
I will be
in days to come
But this eve
I grieve
albeit not too long
because
The Welsh say
Merry Christmas, Nadolig Llawen
grab each day with both hands,
spread your light across the land
This spirit shall not bend.

Deafening

At times, 1
goes deaf, on Christmas Eve
No, no, no jingling bells,
This time, 1
goes deaf, the Lady weeps
Yah, yah, yah sh-at-ter-ing h<3rt

McAVATAR

Hehe ... created my very own AVATAR (with my own face superimposed!) using an application courtesy of McDonald's.

Get yours too!

And the male side of me ^___^* Errr ... I mean, of my AVATAR.

Dusk

As I stepped out of the office building, I was greeted with this sight, at the very spot of the rainbow this morning. As I've lent my camera to my sis, I whipped out my Samsung F480 to capture this. Not bad!

(^___^*) O happy day!

R.I.P. Roy Edward Disney

He's the third celebrity whom I care about who has passed on this year, the other two being Yasmin Ahmad and Frank McCourt.

Roy E. Disney, Uncle Walt's nephew, passed away on Wed 16 December, after a year-long battle with cancer.

R.I.P. Mr. Disney. I guess Roy Disney's the last in a short line of illustrious Disneys. In his wake, I hope the magic of Disney continues to prevail and dazzle for many more years, and generations, to come.

The real Singapore weather

Yes, Google's finally fixed its weather gadget.
I must say, though, 31 d. Celsius, although that's what it really is right now right here in Singapore, is very uncharacteristic of December weather here. All thanks to global warming. It is scary.

Winter wonderland ... in Singapore?!

Now it's really (supposed to be) snowing!

15 d.Celsius in Singapore?

Hur hur ... screen cap of my iGoogle weather gadget at 12:22.
18 degrees, and plunging to 15 in the next 3 days?! I sure hope so cuz it now feels like 35.

Value of design research

I think I'm becoming Daniel. Everytime I see the same flow of thought in a famous person that I myself have been contemplating, or even better, practising, I get somewhat high. Hehe ... in response to a recent controversial argument by Don Norman that design research is useless when it comes to innovation, someone wrote:

Roberto Verganti in Design-driven Innovation outlines three innovation strategies: 1) technology-based; 2) analysis of user’s needs (user-centred design); 3) Design-driven (radical innovation of meaning).

Both Norman and Verganti define user-centred design as an incremental innovation strategy. But what Norman misses is design-driven innovation or innovation of meaning. To achieve design-driven innovation, Verganti argues for the need of interpreters who conduct research into how people give meaning to things. While some in the UXD community would argue this is what they do, Verganti says the problem of UXD is its focus on users instead of people:

"When a company gets close to a user, it sees him changing a light bulb and loses the cognitive and sociocultural context – the fact that he has children, a job, and, most of all, aspirations and dreams.” Refocusing on people and meanings means asking different types of questions, questions like “How can we make a person feel better when she comes home after work at seven at night?” This question led to Metamorfosi, a system that emits a “human” light, a light that made people feel better and socialize better.

To radically innovate meanings, Verganti argues we need to step back and “investigate the evolution of society, economy, culture, art, science, and technology.”

Changing the Rules of Competition by Radically Innovating What Things Mean.

Yes, yes, yes, and absolutely. I've always advocated this as a practising design researcher, but many times, the company or even some colleagues don't see this. But true value will show in time.

My original thoughts on the subject on reading DN's piece last Tue:

Hmmm ... while I agree that design research can probably add the most value to product improvement (that means fast innovations), I disagree that it does not play a part at all in radical innovations, or that needs necessarily come last.

I will see design research as 2: the formal (ethno, focus groups, etc) and the informal (when we observe, think, dream and create everyday in our heads possible scenarios of what it might be in future). I think the informal sort of design research is the trigger for technologists and innovators to create, not simply to prove that they can do it.

I also believe that technology and needs run parallel, and when one outruns the other, that's when a product fails because either the technology or the user is not ready for it. So it takes time to realign and product improvement, through rapid innovation driven by design research, kicks in.

Glad to find that Frog's Adam Richardson shared some of the thoughts:

... the reason these ones took off was because someone recognized a user need, and shaped the technologies to address that need, adjusting the form of the technologies as the need evolved. So it was not formal design research, but it certainly was an attentiveness to understanding how the technology would be used, which is a key element of design research.

And I find these points that Adam raised thought-provoking:

The seductiveness of evidence and insight that comes from design research can push inspiration, intuition, hypotheses, hunches and nonlinear thinking to the sidelines. Analysis overwhelms creativity.

Design research can be, and should be, much more than user research. It should include research into technologies, brands, macro trends, retail settings, competitors and comparatives, and a company's own IP and capabilities. I refer to this as multivector research--where we examine multiple vectors of data types simultaneously, and seek insights by finding the patterns across the vectors, not just within a single vector (e.g. user research).

Just another girl

Looking at the photos of Johnson and Laura's proposal honeymoon in the Maldives, the broad smiles of the happy couple against the azure blue sea and sky with hardly a thin line of horizon separating the two ... hah ... somewhat like Laura's pretty 3-tier blue skirt ...

I'm thinking.

Marriage may not be a bad thing. For me.

Maybe it's time.

Maybe I can handle a life for two. Maybe three.

Maybe I can be less precise with my morning routines, less calculative with the exact minutes I spend on washing up, dressing up just so I could sneak in a few more minutes of beauty sleep.

Maybe it's just the magic of Christmas sprinkling over me. It must be the 'kissing under the mistletoe' crap.

Maybe I'm finally tired of being alone, not especially when NSYNC sing 'You Don't Have To Be Alone (this Christmas)'.

Maybe ... or not? ... I'll be ready to trade in this freedom of packing my bags and sprinting off into a distant land of beautiful strangers. But maybe I can share it with someone dear.

Hah ... maybe I'm just another girl.

Crab feast Nov!

Haha ... long overdue update. CS gathered at Jeffrey's home for a feast of crabs in 4 tastebud busting flavours - (fried) butter, black pepper, white pepper and spicy curry!

Christmas@Orchard snaps

Reindeer outside Centrepoint.

Just 2 of the many reindeer-ladies along Orchard Road, each wearing her own style.

My favourite trees in Takashimaya Shopping Centre! They look like ice creams and chocolates, don't they? As if being fully made up of teddies ain't sweet enough! (^___^*)

I remember shaking Santa's hand and receiving pressies from him when I was little, but have I sat on his lap before? Hehe ... gcheow says she can imagine a hum-sap male posing as Santa for free lappies! LOL.

Right, I've said that Orchard Road is like a massive money-sucking machine (especially during Christmas!) and I'll say it again. Sure, Prada and LV had crowd control measures to ensure that their privileged clientele could shop in peace, so there were small lines forming outside the stores when I walked past them at ION Orchard. But this Uniqlo Singapore flagship store at 313 Somerset had a meandering line waiting to get into the store too! Can't say such crowd control measures are a common sight, or even necessary, at fast fashion stores (not even at Zara and Mango). Uniqlo is really something, getting Singaporeans ga-ga over its clothes, which IMHO, are neither exceptionally stylish nor downright affordable.

Transformers in Chengdu!

Hehe ... folks in Chengdu made a 10-metre tall Transformer model out of auto parts. Nice effort, but this doesn't quite look like Optimus Prime ... hmmm ...

My grown-up Christmas list

Inside the tree

Standing INSIDE the giant Christmas tree outside ION Orchard, I was beginning to feel the magic of Christmas for the first time this year. It was a universe of stars and constellations, it's almost WALL-E. Haha, to me, that's MAGIC.

It's high time someone realised that giant trees take up a lot of footprint, so why not make that space part of the enchanting Christmas experience as well?

Good job, you guys at ION Orchard! (^___*)

12.3 [4]

It's a special day, December 3rd on a Thursday. So I'll treat you to a special song of the same numerical pattern :) Maybe it's cuz of my recent, and truly sudden, addiction to sudoku (thanks to Google Wave, maydayer and gcheow, haha), I see patterns in numbers. So I guess that while Daniel has his "highly developed Brazillian mind", I have my "exceptionally beautiful Malaysian mind" that sees floating numbers ... hehe ...
(^___^*)

Durian Star for World Expo

Hmm ... I'm really not too sure about durian kid either ... surely there could be more imaginative mascots to represent Singapore?

:: sometimes ::

Santa's 5 @ Causeway Point

Will the HugPlushies be tucked warm in their Christmas trees, or out in the cold snow fields?

Visit the Serangoon Gardens School Christmas booth to find out! Don't forget to bring home some cute handmade pouches and balloon art for your loved ones too:

Date: 21 November 2009

Venue: Causeway Point

Look out for these posters to guide you there!

November

No, V, ember
will soon be gone
Snow flakes fall.

First snow in Beijing today.
Source: gadgetdan on Flickr

H^PPY H^ll*w >.< n

Great way to round off October and Halloween Day.

Thunderstorms bashed Singapore these two evenings at around 6 - 7 pm.

Yesterday, I was almost drenched battling the strong winds and rain making my way to the bus stop at Pasir Ris. Fortunately, when the bus arrived at Sengkang, the downpour had subsided to a drizzle.

Today, when I made my way to The Arts House for a free screening of Japanese film "The Most Beautiful Times" which was part of the Singapore Writers Festival, the sun nearly melted me to a pulp. I almost regretted coming out in the heat. But later, I realised that I would have regretted it more had I missed the beautiful film.

It's a very simple story, and yet so engaging, simply because it managed to put forth the most natural human nuances on-screen, so much so that many times, I knew exactly what the character was gonna do next because it's so natural but yet so subtle that I couldn't help wondering how the writer managed to have such a keen grasp on what makes people human.

Oh, haha, I realise I've just written an entire paragraph with no full stops. I've been using a lot of commas in my sentences lately, no thanks to prolonged chat sessions in Chinese where commas seem to be easier to use, especially on the mobile phone.

I digress.

So the film finished around 5.30 pm, thunder was rolling outside, but I decided to stay for the dialogue session with the writer. It's always enlightening sitting through these sessions, listening in and observing how different people have viewed the same film in different light and what sparked the most curious curiousity. Some perspectives were really interesting, though the writer (not to blame him) couldn't really answer: "are the spots where the Singapore audience laughed the same as the ones the Japanese audience laughed at?" The exploration of cultural differences was at the core of the lively discussion, which lasted another 30 minutes.

It was already raining as I stepped out onto the porch of The Arts House. The thunder was loud, but what was more boisterous was the crowd of fans queuing up for the autograph session with Neil Gaiman. I caught a glimpse of the man, whose only work I know is Stardust (and that, the movie version), so there was no point of me hanging around. I wanted to get to the MRT station before the downpour descended upon me. Sure enough, it did just moments before I reached the overhead bridge that led to The Central and to the MRT station. By the time I reached Sengkang, it was still pouring, but miraculously I wasn't very wet. The night was cool, and I was extremely thankful for that.

No trick or treat, just a chilly Halloween night.
v(^___^*)v

MFA

Hmmm ... for the first time in possibly 10 years that I'm seriously contemplating further education (I did roll it in my mind for a bit after I graduated and the economy wasn't doing too well). Perhaps I've been hanging around too many people with such thoughts lately.

Earlier this year, a colleague left to further her studies in Chicago. Then, a friend accompanied her husband to Chicago for his post-grad studies right after their wedding. Now, another friend in Shanghai is mugging for the admission exams to the masters programme at a prestigious university, after which he hopes to further his studies in the US, likely to be Chicago too. An old friend from back in university days who is now doing well in Hong Kong wants to get a PhD degree "before it's too late".

Most importantly, a professor from the Department of Design of the Ohio State University had been sitting next to me in the office for the past 2 days. It's one of the best universities in the US for design-related courses (comparable to Ivy League schools). The faculty is comprised of some of the most well-known names in design research like Liz Sanders.

Today, I found out that I could join the programme as a research fellow or something ... meaning I assist the professors in research work while undergoing my masters course. In return, my course fees would be fully covered and on top of that, I'd be paid a reasonable amount that should cover my living expenses plus occasional leisure travel. Whoa ... Daniel's encouraging me to take this up for he was one of the recipients and today, he's the UX/Design Research practitioner I admire the most.

So I'm certainly going to give it some very serious thought. I've even come up with my pitch for the Statement of Intent. It's a goal I wanna achieve as a design researcher, and this MFA might give me just that. And I'll be fulfilling my dream of studying in the US, and living in a foreign environment for an extended period.

(^___^*)

Besides, since there may never be snow in my life, I might as well head over there to experience the bitter winter of Columbus.

Portraits

I absolutely adore them. They are the easiest to capture, they are also the hardest. They are emotions to the brim, or they could be completely void of them. But somehow, they are never confusing. There is always one unique story that each one of them tells.

However hard I try to my hand at the art of photography, and particularly that of portraits, my own pictures always pale in comparison to what I find on National Geographic. Like this one, I feel so compelled to write about it just by virtue of the picture, as it resonates with my own memories of what I've seen in the poorest parts of China, India, Bangladesh, Egypt. And it reminds me that if happiness can be built on so little, why do I need so much?

Enjoy.

Photo and caption by Leslie Alsheimer

October 19, 2009

It is the light, it is the curl in the corners of the mouth, the sparkle in the eyes, and the unedited and untainted laughter. It is a child that does not yet understand the meaning of poverty. It is the child that has not yet seen the violence and destruction so prevalent in the world. It is the child that lost their mother to AIDS or child birthing complications, yet remains joyous and youthful despite the suffering. Dignity: The quality or state of being worthy of esteem or respect.

独生子

Seafood on the Sea (17 Oct 09)

Last Saturday, I went on a most amazing foodie trip with some Couchsurfers, organised by the friendliest CSer I've met thus far, Jeffrey. He's especially nice to me because I'm his shifu (and he keeps calling me that) because when he first started out on CS 2 years back and the site did not yet have too many from Singapore, he approached me for help and I got him started and he got himself hooked :) He's the one that's most endowed with the CS spirit!

Well, so ...

We set off at 5.30 am in 3 cars to JB. First stop, chee cheong fun and pancakes, then, dou hua with gingko nuts, then, bak kut teh, then, ice cream, then, prawn sashimi and crabs, then, go fishing for dinner, then, Kota Tinggi waterfalls, no chendol cuz the stall owner's Indian and it's Deepavali, then, dinner at a hawker centre where our sea catches got a royal treatment that agreed with all our tastebuds very much, till we were all so full to the brim and the poor car had to be fed more petrol and a good wash before we headed back to Singapore. I reached home approximately 11.30 pm, and only thanks to Jeffrey who sent us all home.

Ok, nuff said, I'll let the pictures do the talking (^___^*)

A measure of time

Strange how one can know someone for only 3 months and feel like they've known each other for life. And yet, with someone else, one who is more dear whom they have known for years, one feels like they hardly know each other very much at all.

Is it a matter of taking things too much for granted, or everything just boils down to affinity and destiny? That one has been pre-destined to be more in touch with one compared to the other, and that regardless of how much time and effort, and in some instances, tears and heartache, is invested, that all may in the end be in vain?

Like it's useless looking at the sky for a drop of rain during a drought. For in just one fine night, a storm may awaken, and the fertile land in its aftermath may be the most anticipated, yet a most unexpected pleasure and joy of all that one can receive in a lifetime.

Random thought

Tis the wedding season. Friends getting married, friends' friends getting married. And I wonder.

How many women actually (get to) marry the men they love the most?

Challenge

What happens when a challenge is thrown at you?
Grab it! And be glad that it's another step forward in your development as a person.
v(^___^*)v

梦想，岁月

An old granny having an early afternoon nap at her old house in an older part of Chengdu, a pretty nice rare find :) - Makes me think: While we're sleeping, what happen to dreams? And not forgetting that dreams happen while we're sleeping.

漫长的相思路

The smallness of man against machine ... and time ... as the steam powered train rumbles along its tracks ever so slowly, delivering passengers, parcels and pockets of love from one end to the other.

我的最爱就在成都

My absolute love in Chengdu. Teahouses, and the serenity that ensues. This is a strange paradox, for the best teahouses are raucous. Yet, I find peace in the ruckus.

中国未来又是个什么样的故事呢？

Chairman Mao paraphernalia in the custody of his ex-staff, Wang Anting. Mr. Wang's private collection is now open to visitors in his home, now called Wang Anting Mao Museum.

成都：地下摇滚小酒吧

Underground rock performances, chill ambience, art books @ Little Bar. Average age of audience, 20. Oops, think I bumped it up a little that night..

三星堆: 古属文化

You are staring at a 5,000 year old relic. Believe it.

成都: 等候巴士的那几刻 ...

I missed the bus to the Chengdu panda reserve, waited for half an hour in frustration for a bus that never showed (well, I gave up waiting after that). But in the meanwhile, I fiddled with my camera and shot this. Yes, there's a silver lining in every dark cloud. This picture is one of my personal favourites from this trip, I'm 'feeling' it.

RMB349 = SGD74 = ?

A quick morning chat with Cindy (and Jan Chipchase's post) reminded me of something. Cindy asked if I bought anything for myself from Chengdu. Well, actually I hardly buy anything because I go there quite often so it's like going back to Melaka, or just chilling in Singapore, so the natural reaction of not buying anything like tourists would.

Nor even out of pure temptation. Which I was pretty close to yielding to once, with a pretty knit cardigan from Vero Moda. It's RMB349. It's SGD74. Even a friend in Shanghai said it's only RMB349, it's only SGD74. But I didn't buy.

Because the context didn't allow me to. Because it's not just SGD74 in Chengdu. If I were in Singapore, yes, there's almost no question I'd gladly part with SGD74 for that nice piece of clothing. But RMB349 in the context of Chengdu ... it's too much for me. Especially when I enjoy so much that delicious bowl of 杂浆面 from the tiny store run by a laid-off worker that cost only RMB2.50 (pictured below). How many bowls of 杂浆面 will he need to sell to make RMB349?

Again, the value of a dollar across economies and cultures, or even within them, astounds me.

Google Question ... ?

Today, Google is a barcode. Everywhere in the world, from the mother site in the US, to the smallest nation of Liechtenstein, Google is a barcode. (I also Google-d Malaysia, Laos, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Colombia, Brazil, Germany, Morocco, even Afghanistan ... , they're all barcodes)

All but China. Google is Google 谷歌. And Korea too. Why?

中秋节快乐！

没有特别的月饼送给各位朋友，
就为你们做了一份WALL-E便当，
呵呵 ... 希望喜欢哦！

我今天最开心的
就是收到雪的祝福，
"花好月圆人团圆，
寄去相思和祝愿，
幸福快乐好梦圆。
中秋节快乐!"
(^___^*)

也在观音庙求了
一枝上签，
和两年前的一摸一样，
到底什么意思呢？
虽然不大理解，
还是感到安乐。

2016 Rio!

I didn't know it was yesterday that they'd announce the host city for the 2016 Olympic Games. A friend who was watching the live telecast in China alerted me to it. He was disappointed that Chicago crashed out in the first round. I told him, "It'll be Rio. Beijing had her turn, now it'll be Rio."

This win has far deeper significance for me. And for the world today. The winds are changing, the world order is changing. Emerging economies are slowly but steadily creeping into the limelight, getting the long overdue recognition from the global community. And me, the "emerging nations design researcher" is extremely happy. Will make my case of "let's design for the consumers of tomorrow - those from emerging nations!" easier.

See, Seoul hosted the Games in 1988 (I remember because I collected a bunch of Seoul Games pins that Dad received in the mail - don't ask me how cuz I still have no idea where or who he got them from), and see where Seoul is today.

China will get there. Brazil will get there. Bet your last cents on it. Oh, that signals an impending meeting with my financial advisor for a relook at my portfolio, high time for some emerging markets equities since even the GIC is increasing that portion in their basket.

Singapore now ... sianz ...

Back to this ridiculous 29-degree-Celsius night. Need I say more, wish I had more leave, wish the Krisflyer promo was till October, not September, wish I could've stayed in the City of Pandas at least till this weekend to experience the Chinese National Day, to meet that super super super busy friend I've failed to see this time, who will only be back in Chengdu in 2 days, to celebrate mooncake festival in style at Dufu Cottage.

Wish, wish, wish. Wish AirAsia expands its CTU flight path to Singapore.

Reasons to go back next year are aplenty.

Chengdu now!

Super awesome. At Terminal 2 Changi Airport waiting for my flight to Chengdu. Will be back on 30 Sep, and someone just contacted me about going to Tibet together, so I may very well head there this time. Otherwise, there's still plenty to do in Chengdu and around, lotsa couchsurfing, meeting lotsa new people.

Nice nice nice (^___^*)

See you soon ... and if blogger has been unblocked in China, see you here.

Selamat Hari Malaysia!

Happy 52nd birthday Malaysia! Walaupun saya tidak dapat bersamamu pada harijadimu, tetapi kamu tetap berada di dalam hatiku, kamu tetap negaraku yang tercinta (^___^*)

SIN-CTU road trip

Bing says I can drive from Singapore to Chengdu. The road trip will take less than 5 days, with continuous driving and barring traffic conditions of course. But taking into account all that, it'll probably take about a week getting to Chengdu from Singapore on wheels.

Okay, given the circumstances, I choose to fly. I'm excited. Cannot wait. Chengdu 6 Sep, this Sunday, I'll be there!

Which chord did this film strike UP?

Yesterday, I finally bucked UP and saw the latest Pixar masterpiece. It was very UP to expectation, though it didn't manage to strike UP that unusual chord with me that WALL-E did. But it's still very very good, with a few memorable, thought provoking scenes and lines, which are the defining marks of quality in films and stories, at least as far as I'm concerned.

How inspired was this film by Dumbo? Well, the opening short was definitely so. The clouds and the storks ... why didn't the animators sneak in a cloud or two that made Dumbo babies, and Nemo babies, and Mickey babies? Hehe ... that'd be kinda fun.

Pixar excels in time lapse. The sequence after Eve clamped up and WALL-E spent seasons by her side is replayed once more in UP when Ellie grew old changing Carl's ties every morning. Was Ellie older than Carl? It seemed to me so, and that made me smile.

"It's the boring things that I remember," Russell said. It's really the little things that give so much pleasure, aren't they? The most boring things, when done together with people we love, can be spectacular. These are the things that we wanna do again and again. And again. The little everyday things, when executed ernestly, can be magnificent. 平凡的傻事用了心变成经典.

By the way, is Russell Chinese?

可怜的牛郎!

Was talking to C and J about 七夕节 yesterday. C thought the story was romantic but sad that the lovers can only see each other once a year. J said, well, actually Cowherd's the pitiful one. C and I wondered why. J said, "A year on earth is a day in heaven! So Weaver Girl actually gets to see Cowherd everyday but he only gets to see her once a year!" LOL.

Oh well, there are some real people who only meet once a year. Maybe even more years in future ... sigh ...

七夕节 快乐!

Today is 七夕节, Chinese Valentine's Day (well, the Chinese have many because Chap Goh Meh and Mid-Autumn Festival are also widely regarded as Valentine's Day ... the Chinese are romantic, aren't we?). The festival commemorates the annual meeting of the heavenly Weaver Girl and her mortal lover the Cowherd, who are separated because they belong to different worlds but are allowed to see each other every year on the 7th day of the 7th Chinese lunar month. A bridge of magpie form to bring the lovers together, and tears flow freely as they embrace each other and a full year of 思念 flow. Therefore, it is believed that it will rain this night every year, without fail. Well, it did seem like it would rain earlier but now the signs seem to have disappeared ... but we'll wait and see.

Two years ago, Mediacorp ran a drama based on this legend but a modernised version. It's kinda wacky but not entirely bad. Funny spins on the characters and story. Plus it starred my favourite Mediacorp actor Elvin Ng as Cowherd so I had to attempt to catch it almost every night! Hehe ...

Hah ... this is on Dict.cn. Cute (^___^*)

AirAsia goes to Chengdu in Oct!

Even cheaper flights beginning Oct 20, 2009 to my favourite city. Nice! (^___^*)

How I know Bing's a good search engine

Hehe ... okay, this is kinda lame but I was pleasantly surprised by this Bing homepage, preferring to think "how did they know I love pandas?!" - the very first time I logged onto it, this was the homepage. Nice.

Can't attach image, can't blog. Pissed.

(>.<*)

平凡的傻事用了心变成经典

平凡的傻事用了心变成经典. 收集感动给以后怀念.

觉得很有意思, 就把它抄上来, 避免忘记 (^___^*)

6 years later ...

Daniel asked if I'd thought about what would happen 6 years later, approaching 40, turning 40.

Haha ... should I start to 'worry' about that now? But honestly ... I do have some ideas ... though I'm not quite sure how it might happen ... yet.

What will I be doing on 09.09.09.09.09? What will YOU be doing?

6 years ago ...

Grandma passed away 6 years ago at this time :(

我的小红木屐，妈妈的一番心意

我的一句,　"好可爱! 我喜欢!"　妈妈就把它买下来送给我。妈妈有多莫地明白我的心意，但往往我却忽略了妈妈的感受。真该死 >.<*