project makeover

so here goes for 2008 - resolution 1 - makeover

i just had a windfall of HKD4,000 and since it was unexpected (don't ask , i will use the money for a makeover

i plan to do the following:

1. tailor a nice suit
2. take some cool profile shots (better now or never) by a professional photographer
3. seek professional treatment for my dark circles
4. sign up for a slimming package to reduce my belly and hit the gym to maintain
5. maybe a new watch if i can sneak it in

i already have a new hairstyle, a new pair of specs and the coolest gadget in the world - the iphone

i'll update you on how far the HKD4,000 stretches and i'm open for new ideas, comments...

another year

happy new year and welcome to 2008

another year has passed by and I can't believe 2007 went by so quickly. its good to look back and reflect on the year that was

2007 was a turbulent year for me. moving to a new city, a new job, made a bad investment, losing the love of my life after 7 long years and starting a new life all over again wasn't easy (it's still tough)

i was lucky to have a great family and a bunch of good friends (old and new) to help me through these trying times. maybe it is true, you only truly appreciate things that you have lost

during the last 7 months in hong kong i had plenty of time to reflect on what happened in my past few years. i could have done many things better, in terms of personal, relationship, financial and career development. but what has happened has happened. in a Wong Kar Wai movie, there is a quote, loosely translated as " we humans are so troubled by the past because we have such a good memory ".

my greatest regret was the ending of my relationship with my love. its been a year since my breakup, and it has taken me just as long to recover. there's really no point of discussing whose fault it was, and probably in retrospect, we did take each other for granted. my heart still aches when i see familiar scene, smell a distinct fragrance or hear a unique laughter that reminds me of her. i'm trying really hard to not think of the past and move forward, but i don't know if i could ever love someone as deep again. if you are reading this, i am truly sorry for the hurt i caused, you will always have a special place in my heart

being alone in hong kong has also made me more independent. though i appreciate my alone time, its kinda lonely when you have no one to connect with. during my 1 week x'mas break back in malaysia, i truly comprehended the importance of connecting with people (not a nokia ad).

so look around youselves, appreciate the loved ones/friends/family around you. accept them as they are, as they have accepted you as who you are, and show them you love them

may you have a happy love filled new year...

Radiohead - High and Dry

Radiohead - How To Disappear Completely

Radiohead - Street Spirit

Radiohead - Creap

Radiohead - Knives out

Radiohead - There There

Radiohead - You and Whose Army

Radiohead - Just

Radiohead - Fake Plastic Tree

Radiohead - No Surprises

Radiohead - Karma Police

Radiohead - Paranoid Android

Lan Kwai Fong Festival

been pretty busy the last few weeks, finally had time to update the blog

anyway, last saturday I managed to go to the annual LKF festival, as you can see from the 2 smashing models:



okay not the above 2, but these 2:



we proceeded to a bakery, no really, a bakery called La Barguet which served reasonalby priced Hoegaarden beer at HKD46 per pint, thats 500ml.

Check out the beet to human ratio:


"mom, i'm scared!"

of course there were also some really hot beer babes:



and happy drunk people








scenes from outside






of course there was a street dancing


and i went to check out what it was all about, and i was sorry i went there











eewwww.... almost vomitted all my beer.... and not from beeing drunk

on positive note, had my picture taken with homer and bart simpson. bossini had a promotion where you buy a simpsons t-shirt (HKD49) and you get to take a picture with homer and bart for free

beach day

finally went to the beach yesterday!

since meng yip came to hong kong for a conference and extended his stay, i thought it was a good idea to finally go to the beach, which i had wanted to go for weeks

it so happened to be the warmest day of the year, which it was. kara, law, meng yip and myself took a trip to repulse bay, which is on the south side of the hong kong island

reached the beach at about 4pm and it was already crowded. plonked our stuff down, slap on some some block and of course, rented 2 big umbrellas, and off we went.

had a great time, though i think my back is hurting from some sun burn, hahahah

the hong kong peopel really love the beach, and the bikini was the standard outfit for most gals, really a feast for the eyes! the water was not really pristine, but overall it was bearable. can't wait to go visit the other beaches around hong kong...

The Four Hour Workweek

I've been reading a bit more than I did before I came to Hong Kong, and I think its a good thing. Sometimes being alone in a big city allows one to spend more quite time and reflect.

Anyway, I picked up this book, The 4-Hour Workweek and I must say it is revolutionary. I've read plenty of reviews on this book and decided to give it a read and I was impressed. The book basically explains that we do not have to follow the tried and tested life path of study/work/retire/travel. It takes a very radical approach, as you can see from the title, on how he pushes the limit on work and life.

Working in a professional firm or having friends working in a professional firm, you would appreciate that its almost impossible to even get a 40 hour workweek, the figure is most likely to be a 60 or something like a mind boggling 80 hour workweek during the busy season. So what have I got to lose even if I can shave a few hours of work and a bit more life?

So before I step into an in depth review of the book, consider the following:

• Do you want to work for yourself or have others working for you?
• Do you want to work when you want to or just to work the minimum to produce maximum results?
• Do you want to retire early or have mini retirements throughout life on a regular basis?
• Do you want to buy all the things you want or do all the things you want to do and be all the things you want to be (this includes owning the thing that you want)?
• Do you want to be a boss or the owner that lets the boss runs his business?
• Do you want to make a ton of money or make a ton of money with specific reasons, dreams, ambitions?
• Do you want to have more or have more quality in life?
• Do you want to have a jackpot or have cash flow coming in everyday on autopilot?
• Do you want to have freedom from doing what you dislike or having the freedom from doing what you dislike and also the freedom to do what you like without reverting to work for work's sake?

have a think about it, more to follow

cashback

just finished watching the movie cashback with kara, and in line with my new motto of don't wait, just do it, i had to blog about it before i forget/delay/never get around doing it.

The synopsis from wikipedia:

"After a painful break up with his first girlfriend Suzy, Ben, an aspiring artist, develops insomnia. To take his mind off his problem he spends his nights working at a local supermarket, where he meets colorful characters. He falls in love with his colleague Sharon.

He lets his imagination run wild. In particular, he imagines that he can stop time for others, so that he can walk around in a world that is "frozen" like in pause mode of a film. He imagines Sharon and female clients standing naked in the supermarket, so that he can watch and draw them.

We see in flashback, with Ben's voice-over explaining how he always has been impressed by the beauty of the female body, how he, as a young boy, could see a Swedish boarder naked while she was going to and coming from the shower; being Swedish she did not believe this situation required modesty. Also we see little Ben's friend Sean Higgins showing Ben his parents' adult magazines. Furthermore we see Ben paying a girl for showing him her genitals.

Sharon is Ben's date when they go the birthday party of their boss. Ben meets Suzy who wants to continue their relationship. Ben refuses, but Sharon gets a negative impression seeing Ben with Suzy for a moment, and gets angry.

As a practical joke colleagues Barry and Matt phone him, one of them pretending to be an art gallery owner who is interested in his drawings, and an appointment is made. It turns out well: the gallery owner, seeing Ben's work, is interested, and an exhibition follows. Sharon also visits it and is impressed not only by Ben's success, but also by the many paintings portraying her; she is not angry anymore."

The original movie was actually a short film that won numerous awards. The full feature film includes the 18 minute Oscar-nominated short film of the same title.

Watching the film actually made me think of the subtle messages within the movie.

In one scene, we see Sharon desperately trying to avoid watching her watch/clock. It is said the more you watch time past, the longer it takes. I can certainly vouch for that. Any thoughts?

I also reflected on how Ben on his colleagues tried to distract themselves over their 8 hour shift, as though they were trapped within their job/work hour. It made me think, do I want to work in this line for the next 10, 20 years of my life? Can I keep on doing what I'm doing? The answer is a resounding no, and I have got to get out as soon as I can.

one of the memorable quotes i like from the movie :

"Once upon a time, I wanted to know what love was. You just have to see that it's wrapped in beauty and hidden away in between the seconds of your life. If you don't stop for a minute, you might miss it."

Think about the above phrase. Are we too busy with our work to neglect the people around you? Are we chasing love and yet be unaware that it is always around us? Are we moving too fast and chasing life when life quietly passes by?

Ben said in the movie that he could stop time, pause time and even fast forward time. But what he cannot do was to reverse time correct what he did wrong.

I've always thought of what I would do if I could reverse time, to go back in time and change the past, to undo the things I did wrong, to make better choices. I’m sure you have too. We all have our own regrets, big or small.

In truth, we cannot go back in time to change the past. What we have is hindsight. We can only learn from our mistakes and move forward. Everything we are today is a product of some mistake we did in the past. The choice to linger on the past or to move on is entirely up to you.

Reflect, learn and improve. That’s all we can do...

things you must know about hong kong

dear all, if you plan to come to hong kong for work/travel, there a few things you must know:

1. if you have a hsbc credit card, you must bring it to hk. there are just so many outlets giving discounts specifically for hsbc credit card. don't leave home without it, or is that ad for american express? as a matter of fact, bring a few card. if you like to shop, hong kong is the shopping heaven for you!

2. once you reach hong kong, definitely get the octopus card. there are fantastic deals at the airport express where you get a unlimited mtr rides for 3 days and 2 single journeys for HKD300. check it out here. Any unspent value is refunded along with the HKD50 deposit, minus HKD7 handling fees if you surrender the card in less than 3 months. but overall, all your fares are cheaper than paying cash each time. you can reload/pay in all Circle K, 7-11, MTR stations and most grocery shops like Wellcome and Park and Save. i say keep the card, you could be back in hk very soon!

3. bring a pair of good shoes and be prepared to walk! everybody walks in HK, especially tourists! better still, wear a pair of old shoes, drop by "sneaker street" in mong kok and pickup a pair of sneakers and give your old pair to the nice lady picking up garbage by the street. be sneaker neutral!

4. if you are here long term / working in hk, be prepared to prepay everything! your rent is 2 months deposit + 1 month current, mobile phone charges are prepaid 24 months in advance (if you signup with a plan), your gym membership is prepaid, so is your broadband/cable tv services. i don't quite like the way this is done, but when in rome, do what the romans do!

5. be prepared for the space shock. most shops, apartments and hotels are pretty small. especially your local diners. you would most likely share small table with 3-4 strangers, and somemore breathing down your neck waiting for your seat during lunch. haahahah

6. food is rather expensive at first glance. a simple mcdonalds value meal could set you back HKD25, about the same price of a char siew rice and a drink at a small diner. you could still find bargains of HKD10 buck wan tan noodles, so be wise. but please remember, don't convert to your local currency, if not you wont eat anything all day!

so much for this post, i welcome any more insights. please leave it in the comments and i will put it in my next post.

my crib

at long last, my crib pictures are up! the apartment was nicely and tastefully renovated by the owner, i'd like to think i put in the finishing touches. most of the stuff came from ikea, the rest were various additions by the inhouse interior designer (aka myself), muahahaahh

its a modest 1 room apartment, but there is a sofa bet for visitors, plus a enthusiastic host, you are all welcome to visit me!

my ikea bed



my laptop on my computer table, ikea as well


the inbuilt cabinets and wardrobe

sofa bed




my side table, and drinking utensils


my dining table, excuse the mess


my tv and stereo (currently showing prison break)



my wall clock, look familiar?


my prized photowall, can you see yourself?


now moving on to my kitchen/bathroom, yes its so small is connected :)














thats all folks, for bigger better resolution, please visit the photostream:

http://s208.photobucket.com/albums/bb7/muzzdang/mycrib/

today's post was brought to you by "ikea - affordable solutions for better living"