London and CNY

Have a last minute trip to London, UK planned for next week. Will be going for 4 weeks, so that means CNY will be spent in UK. Got an uneasy feeling leaving all the responsibilities of my current project to others on such a short notice.

Sigh... I do wish this trip was managed in a more orderly fashion. But will soldier on anyway. Have to take a long hard look at where I'm at now with my colleages and workplace.

^.^ sounds like a review and appraisal process!

Secret and Glasses

“Secret”
“Follow the notes upon the journey
At first sight marks one's destiny
Once the voyage comes to an end
Return lies within hasty keys”

Mr Chou's movie directorial debut

Recently had the chance to watch this movie directed and acted by Jay Chou himself. I am very impressed with the story and the music. It is about two young pianists of different times, chancing upon each other via a very special piece of music, and of course, falling in love. I've always had a soft spot for movies about music (The Red Violin, The Legend of 1900 etc.). I really like the story and the heart tugging moments of the film. Chou's pronunciation sucks as always, but the acting is more belivable than in his other movies (e.g. Initial-D, Curse of the Golden Flower). Must be highly attributed to the fact this is a movie about pianists ho ho ho... The time travel arc has been done many times, but this one's take is fresh and some scenes like the liquid paper on the desk was just genius.

Mr Jay Chou, I applaud and salute your movie. This was highly romantic and enjoyable! I'm trying to learn the movie songs on my piano now.

On a side note, I picked up a new pair of glasses today. Had my eyes tested the week before, and I'm shocked that my astigmatism went up so much! I used to have just a little on my right eye, now I have it in both. I am also very shocked at how much a pair of new glasses cost these days. Heck even the frames can be in the excess of RM1000. Why is this possible? Is inflation to blame? Money, money, money.... it's a rich man's world. So for the poor man like me, I was only able to bring myself to fork out RM500 (including lenses). Sigh... hope this pair lasts me a good while! What do they look like, you ask? See below for a tiny picture. Why tiny? Because currently got a lot of pimples... so I'm shy to post a bigger one ho ho ho ^.^

Most people say I need rectangular frames, so I went with it

2008 and 2007

Well, well.... 2008 has come at last. 2007 ended just a few hours ago. How did I end the year?

Christmas time was nice and quiet, and had a homecooked dinner with family. I actually made the salad of pea sprouts and cherry tomatoes, dressed with olive oil, lemon zest and honey. Also made the mash potatoes. I left the patatoes boiling in water till the water dried up, so they started roasting instead! I caught it before it burnt though. Made the mash anyway, and it had a lovely roasted smell & taste, and it was a hit! Cooking is really all about experimentation I guess. Forgot camera, so no pics though... you have to take my word for it :)


Attended a good friend's wedding at Hilton Hotel, PJ on 30th Dec. Congratulations to Zijin and Eu Gin again! They gave some milk chocolates in cute tin containers as a token of remembrance.

Inside of me is chocolate

One of the dishes served was fried prawns in oats. I've heard of this dish being served in weddings sometimes, I think this is my first time tasting it. Oats help to flush cholesterol out from the body, and prawns are supposed to be high in cholesterol. Therefore the pairing is meant to make the dish healthier.

Prawns with Oats - Guilt Reduced

Got to meet up with old classmates Khee Ven and Chun Yian. Khee Ven, your weight loss is scary. But you must be cash loaded by now, so you can buy all the nice rich food anytime you wish I guess. Just remember to take care of your body. Still... I think I'm skinnier than you by far.

We adjourned for a drink at Starbucks. My friends were sweet enough to get me a cake slice and sing me happy birthday. Thanks guys... appreciate the gesture. I didn't do anything special on the birthday itself. There's a lot of stress at the workplace even now at the year end. I just took it easy at home and relaxed.

Chocolate cake from the gang

Spent New Year's eve at my project manager's house in Bukit Jelutong. Will blog about that next time.

I must say that my personal new year's resolution will only be 2 things:

• Excercise to put on weight. Thiru, you are my inspiration! But to do this, I first have to...
• Learn how to work smarter and less hours! I really have to sort this out this year. I'm not getting any younger, and my health profile just sucks. I guess since I'm not a superman in talent or looks, I probably have to take a pay cut, less responsibilities or make some other change in career and lifestyle to achive this goals.

To all in cyberspace... Happy and Healthy Year 2008 to all! World peace, world peace and less global warming I hope!