成都成为亚洲首个世界“美食之都”

太棒了！Chengdu has entered UNESCO's Network of Creative Cities in the category of Gastronomy, meaning it's Asia's first World Food City by UNESCO standards! Yippie! It's only the second Chinese city to be entered into the UNESCO Creative Cities list behind Shanghai. Way to go, Chengdu! That's why you're my favourite city! ^___^*

这标志着成都成为亚洲第一个世界“美食之都”，它也是继上海之后，第二个加入“全球创意城市网络”的中国城市。这不仅有利于成都美食文化和创意文化进一步走向世界，还有利于提高成都自身的城市创新能力和国际影响力。

中广网北京2月28日消息（记者王誉颖）记者从今天召开的新闻发布会上了解到，联合国教科文组织正式批准成都加入“全球创意城市网络”，并授予成都“美食之都”称号。这标志着成都成为亚洲第一个世界“美食之都”，它也是继上海之后，第二个加入“全球创意城市网络”的中国城市。这不仅有利于成都美食文化和创意文化进一步走向世界，还有利于提高成都自身的城市创新能力和国际影响力。

独自等待

刚刚看完电影 "独自等待"。很少看大陆制作，只有电影节才会去瞧瞧。是朋友推荐看的。他先让我听电影里面的一首插曲，花儿乐队的 "Miss You"，挺不错的，所以我觉得电影应该也值得看吧。朋友还是个李冰冰迷呢。然后我查了一下，发现今天居然是她生日，就告诉了我朋友，惊讶他一下！哈哈，什么粉丝嘛，偶像生日都不知道。

话说回来，还可以哦，这部电影。把暗恋，等待，盼望的感受描述得很好。每个剧情好像我自己也曾经历过的。

人本来活着就很辛苦，所以要活的快乐。我们都会找到合适自己的另一半，也不比太刻意的去强求。但是，直到那天的到来，我们还是得忍耐的独自等待。

NATAS Fair

Woo hoo! Happy that I've finally got my travel arrangements for both Shanghai and Hong Kong settled now. Without NATAS, hehe.

Went to make my payment for the Shanghai ticket last Saturday *yawn* couldn't sleep in but what to do ... the deadline was Mon, 22 Feb. I was also worried that the price might have changed since my booking because now, the same ticket would cost $760! I got it at $605. Phew ^___^*

And today, after a long wait (cuz neither Tiger nor Jetstar offered what I thought was fair price for budget airlines, and their fares kept increasing past $400!), yesterday, I found United Airlines for only $440! Cool! That'd add more points to my account, extending my mileage expiry beyond November this year. And if I made another trip to San Francisco at least next year before my US visa expires too, haha! I'll have another free trip to Japan, in time for fall ... ^___^* SUPER ENTICING!

I was quite set for that already but thought I'd wait for Cindy. We'd planned on going to NATAS to check out free and easy package pricings, but she was caught up in a meeting till 7 pm, and she must be quite tired by then. In the meantime, I scoured Zuji for F&E packages and found them quite reasonable at $600 plus per person (flight on UA + hotel). We can book right away online without battling the crowd at NATAS. No guarantee that it'll be cheaper there, though I must say we'll have to forgo the freebies in exchange for comfort.

But I couldn't shake off the nagging feeling of how much I could save if we just stayed in a hostel! So I browsed for hostels, shortlisted those I've stayed before at Mongkok again, bypassing those in Chungking Mansion cuz it does sound pretty sleazy. But I chanced upon one there that's owned by a German, has great reviews, and from the pictures, seems very new and clean. So, I showed Cindy my choices, and luckily we're on the same wavelength! ?Haha ... she said, it's quite a difference between hotel and hostel, I'd rather save the money for the good food we're going to have. Haha! My sentiments exactly! How cool is that?

So that's it. SETTLED. Now just waiting for April, and then May. I'm beginning to feel excited for HK now cuz for a couple of months, nothing was happening and I was beginning to fear if we're going to go at all. So, finally going! S90, here I come!!! Yee haa!!!!!

I went to check on NATAS anyway. Of course I didn't pay to go in. It's $4 entrance fee this year, for crying out loud! Thought the economy's bad! Well, I had wanted to get some brochures for reference, you know, maybe the family's gonna take a trip somewhere if there're some worthwhile deals. Previously, they'd give out flyers to the queue (and there's still a very long queue at 8PM) but no one gave out anything today. Perhaps it's too late already and they'd run out of today's flyers, or they can't be bothered to give anything today cuz they're expecting bigger crowds tomorrow and Sunday. So anyway, I made a wasted trip.

Not entirely wasted though, cuz I made an observation which I think is quite interesting. We can tell what sort of package people signed up for, and what type of credit cards they're using, just by looking at the size and quality of the free suitcases that people walk away with. The big and good ones, must be some pricey America or Europe packages. The small, cabin baggage style, popular Southeast Asia or China destinations.

Haha, suitcases as status symbols at the NATAS Fair. I couldn't help smiling.

It's not the fall, it's how quick you pick up

I tripped up and fell flat, luckily not on my nose, on the way to work this morning.

Then, I picked my bag up, and walked my usual brisk steps like nothing had just happened maybe a split second ago.

Haha. The nerve! Well, it's really not the fall, it's just how quick you pick up and return to normal (or better) that matters. Really, that happens a lot in life.

Internet 2020

Reading an article on The New York Times citing a research by Pew Internet. One expert's observation is extremely agreeable:

"When I was a boy, homework consisted of writing a paragraph. Now, youth writing paragraphs in a blink of an eye. They are mastering language only to reinvent it. They are using it in new forms. Tags. Labels. Acronyms. And the game becomes a written game of who can use written word most effectively. Reading, writing, and communicating will become much more fluid as youth are more engaged in the practice of these skills, and have a greater motivation to practice their skills." - Robert Cannon, senior counsel for internet law at Federal Communications Commission

As a student, I, too, used to wonder why we were penalised for using short forms. Why do teachers insist on spelling out long, frequently used, insignificant words like "walau bagaimanapun", "dengan", "demikian" (all my subjects in school, except English of course, were in Malay) when much time and energy can be saved and channeled towards better and deeper thinking that yields more insightful and creative arguments for the essay?

Especially for quick-witted, smart students whose thoughts move faster than their fingers, a great idea may have come and gone in the minutes spent spelling out those excruciatingly long pointless words. Can't deny that I've had some of those frustrating moments myself :P

So finally, in the age of the Internet, some people agree that the purpose of the word is to communicate, and if an abbreviation communicates well enough, so be it. Leave the spelling to English majors (still, I'd really like to study English literature and read the classics, but that's quite a different use of the English alphabet).

倒数100天

今天开工大吉

我也开始倒数

去上海世博会

一百天，五二八

我将抵达上海

期待，等待。

That's it. Back to work.

And so is everyone else, it seems.

Today's the final day of a 4-day long Chinese New Year weekend which is over in the blink of an eye. Poof! Considering that we were moving along ever so slowly towards the Tuas checkpoint for under an hour, I suppose that isn't too bad.

So, happy first day of work in the new year tomorrow! Have a blast!

CNY at Daniel's and HH's

Woo hoo! Had a great time with great people, great food and great games at Daniel's and HH's. Great atmosphere!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

新年快乐, 万事如意, 心想事成!

Hehe ... I'm predicting limited Internet access when I go back to Melaka for the Chinese New Year from tomorrow till Tuesday.

So!

Here's wishing all of you an abundant new year of the Tiger, filled with good health , happiness and prosperity!

献上我衷心的祝福, 也是我最喜欢的两句话:
万事如意 心想事成
新年快乐!

$8.88

Have a balance of $8.88 on my ez-link card today. Yippie!

The Year of the Tiger prediction for Dragons is that the star of fortune is shining while the others are kinda not too fantastic. I hope this is a sign of larger fortunes coming, and not the fortune the experts were predicting!

Haha ... though, I'd also wish for my other stars to brighten up a little bit more yah! Like the travel star, the love star, the career star ... heh heh ...

女人就是另类

我买了
(掉你胃口)
     他: 买了啥, milestone, 哈哈
(机票啦, 这边没有milestone呢)
机票
(你兴奋吗？)
     他: 哦，好的呀! 到时候会去机场接你的
(好的呢！真有我的心)
你到maglev站就行了
(你坚持来机场吧)
     他: 你是想try一下maglev吧
(也不是很想啦，傻瓜，没有抓到我心意)
你都不知道我几点到呢
(问我啊，问我什么航班啊)
     他: 随便你呢
(啊?!)
     他: 到时候再说，希望我不要紧急出差哦
     他: 哈哈
(希望老天不要耍我哦!)
推掉吧！
哈哈
(不好笑! 请老天爷保佑你不用出差)
     他: 恩
(算你乖)
我要去这里: 田子坊
还有，虬江路
你记好哦
(其实也无所谓啦，有你带，去哪里都好)
     他: 我会请假带你去的
(幸福!)
呵呵，倒不比请假啦
(白痴! 怎么不让他陪你!)
我三点多飞机下降，我就等你下班
(希望你能早走)
     他: 你住我这里吧，沙发客
(^___^*)
(难怪人家说，女人想一套，说一套，做的又是另一套)

Y I

Chris Gardner is furious that Mrs. Chu misspelled "happiness" with a 'Y', not an 'I'.

That's probably his motto. That's probably the sign to how he could dig himself out of that pitch black pit he had plunged into. That 'I' is central to real happiness.

That's probably me always reading too much into things. But is that what The Pursuit of Happyness is trying to tell us? I love it when films have this extra layer beneath the obvious truth waiting for the audience to intrepret from their own perspective.

The pursuit of happyness in the line of 'Y' will lead nowhere. The pursuit of happiness in the line of 'I', will.

Questioning 'Y' everything turns out the way they have and lamenting 'Y' is it you who has to go through all this shit will lead nowhere, for there may never be an answer to the 'Y'. Quote Chris Gardner: "When I was young and I'd get an A on a history test or whatever, I get this good feeling about all the things that I could be. And then I never became any of them."

Never once has Chris lamented. Even when he's down and out and $5 meant the world to him, he lent it to Mr. Frohm who had to get to Cal Bank by 4 and he's desperately running late. Now, whose problem is bigger here? But Chris lent Mr. Frohm the money. Which was duly returned the day he appointed Chris to the staff of the brokerage.

It all has to come from within. It all comes from the 'I'. The kindness, the attitude, the drive, the ambition, the passion, the will.

I said to my friend who came from a village in rural Huangshan but is now working at an American MNC in Shanghai after being headhunted from Guangzhou, how much I admired him for coming so far, it must not have been easy, especially with the vast difference in opportunity of any sorts between rural and urban China. He said he's fortunate because there were people willing to help him along the way. But I believe it still has a lot to do with that positive attitude that makes people reciprocate with kindness.

It all has to come from within. If things have not turned out the way you thought they should, be patient and keep working on that kindness, attitude, drive, ambition, passion and will. And if you have it in you, things as you envision it will come someday.

So that is why 'happiness' is spelt with an 'I', and that 'I' is right at the centre of happIness.

Sade

Doing my research as usual, and came across this comment as a response to an article about all-woman trains in India.

"I once accidentally go onto a second class train in France when I was traveling alone as a young woman. I thought nothing of it, I was kind of embarrassed to be traveling first class with my Eurail pass. All of the other passengers were Algerian men. Many of them were staring at me and I was getting a little uneasy. Then one of them stood up, walked over to me, and sat in the empty seart next to me. He announced ( in oretty good English) that he was going to protect me. He did note that my parents were very foolish to allow me to travel alone ( in France! And I was almost 30, although I suspect he thought I was younger than that). In any case he did protect me, and I even fell asleep for awhile, waking up to his fierce eyes staring about, in case anyone tried to take any liberties with me. I'd like to say that I could have handles myself perfectly well, but I was outnumbered and this wasn't a movie where Angelina or someone could kick the butts of a hundred men, He gave me a little silver bracelet, which I still have. This was before 9/11, and I barely knew what a Muslin was, but I'll never forget this experience."

Her experience reminds me of that very nice Lebanese-American guy who sat beside me on the Greyhound from Orlando to Boston. He boarded at Jacksonville and got off at NY. I had meant to say goodbye at the Port Authority terminal where I had to change bus to Boston, but we simply missed each other. I never saw him again.

It was before 9/11. He was to stay in NY for a week before leaving for Lebanon to teach kids there English. He was full of hope for the children's future. I wonder if he ever got to leave NY, and what life has become for him post-9/11. What happened to Tarek in The Visitor made me sick in the stomach. Have these good people who only want to do their thing no right to live their dreams and lives just like non-Muslims?

He is one of the most soft-spoken, sweetest men I’ve met. Like the Algerian man who ‘protected’ this lady traveller, he was looking out for me too during that 30-hour commute. We shared some chocolates and music. I was putting Sade into my player, when the CD cover caught his eye.

“Sade, that’s my name. But Sa-day, not Sha-day.”
“No kidding?!” I was incredulous.
“No, no, I love her too.”

New York, New York

I've been doing a study on people's lives in large cities for a month now. I guess this could be why I've been unwittingly, or subconsciously, drawn to films about, or set in New York lately. Just yesterday, I saw three: New York, I Love You, The Visitor and Precious.

The first gives glimpses of love in the city, the other two discuss the hopes and dreams of New York's marginalised illegal immigrants and minorities. All have an ephemeral quality to them, which makes me very sad.

New York is a city of impermanence. Family is not permanent, but poverty creates troubles in places once sacred. Troubles are not permanent, but the road leading to the exit is treacherous, the only guiding light is one's own strong will. Like Precious'. Maybe the dire conditions she's been born into, psychological more than physical, have given her strength to clear her own path.

Love is not permanent. Neither is hate, loneliness, life. Everything comes and goes at will. It will be very easy to meet people and make friends in the Big Apple, just as easy as it is to lose them. That is why there is this constant dynamism that is the shifting undercurrent of the city's social fabric. Always nudging, pushing, shoving. Like the loom. In and out in a rhythm of beats that ease coloured threads of any make and quality, this way and that, to form and reform complex patterns on this giant piece of fabric that is New York City.

This outsider remains intrigued. For all the impermanence that it offers, she hopes to satiate this permanent dream of return to the City since that fine September day in 2001. This October.

The flitting presence, that permanent void

To the film-maker and her audience, the characters had only a flitting existence on screen, in their own roles of that certain brief moment in their lives. For some of the characters, those moments and everyone that existed in them were random marks left on an otherwise unmemorable life.

Random and flitting, nonetheless meaningful. They happened for a reason none can ever comprehend.

That's life, isn't it? People come and go in our lives. Some have a mere flitting presence, but oh, they are the ones who have managed to touch our very souls. They lift us from our sorrow. They bestow on us, laughter, happiness, love, anticipation, hope. And then, they leave. Like a mission accomplished.

The void again. Until it's filled again.

Unexpected birthday tea

Haha. I'd never have thought the girls - Pauline and Fauzie - would spring me some birthday surprises this early. But they say February is a short month. Hur hur.

The very pretty pink retro-style bag is just what I need. I'm sick of lugging my big bag around on my weekends out. The Good Earth is a Pulitzer Prize winning historical fiction set in the aftermath of China's Last Emperor and before the 1949 Revolution, chronicling some of the biggest events that shaped modern China. Sounds like an extremely good read, especially when it's highly recommended by Fauzie the avid reader, and given my newfound fascination with China, her culture and people as a personal interest and research subject.

Thank you girls!

A green spider-looking insect wanted a share of my yummy traditional home-made New York cheesecake. Oooh ... my obsession with New York. It's been planned, and I really mean to get there this year.

Hope For Haiti Now

It's so much worse than I'd thought. Please help.

International donations: Hope For Haiti Now

Vacation 2010

Hehe ... I've got my vacation dates for this year roughly figured out.

Hong Kong: Apr 2 - 5
Shanghai: May 28 - Jun 6
New York: Sep 10 - 19 or Oct 9 - 17
Family trip: Sometime in Dec, putting aside 5 - 6 days leave for it

(^___^*) Mid-day motivation on a work day.

Relativity of time

A friend who just turned 28 last month is having a bout of anxiety about approaching 30. What does he have to worry about?! He's still two years too far. Early anxiety is gonna make him an old man sooner than he can say thirty.

But then again, maybe it's good to have some sort of anxiety in order to get one fired up about life's goals and achievements. Unlike me, I've always been relaxed about my age, alway believing in young at heart: feeling young, looking young. How much longer can the hawker aunties call me 小妹?

Still the sands of time flow relentlessly. And days are flying past at accelerated rate now. Maybe it's time I felt that long overdue sense of anxiety and start worrying about getting on in years. Begin doing things people my age should be doing. Before 3-0 becomes 4-0 in the blink of an eye.

Update 23 Jan: I've figured out. He'll be 30 this Chinese New Year, by the Lunar calendar. LOL. That's why I refuse to let mom define my age by that calendar. Anxious for nothing.

幸福

I like the fondness in Daniel's voice everytime he speaks of Maria.

I hope one day, there will be someone, somewhere, who will speak of me like that.

Daniel also confides that sometimes in the middle of the day, in the middle of something, he suddenly misses her.

这就是幸福.