lunch at lippo with gus

A group of 14. Both boss & YF will leave in July.

Keeping fast pace in work. Justina asked me to think about the increase of salary & then accept the load. I agree.

Judy wants to resume work one week earlier. That is fine.

Today's Jason's 4th birthday. I gave him laisee. Margar, too. I also bought him a Nike knapsack. Blue & yellow. Jeff likes it & wants to have it. Up to him.

Pa still in Haven of Hope.

Lorraine will come back from 16 to 23 June with Wenjun & Wenxi. Longing to be together.

Bruno Magli

I wore a pr of grey suede Bruno Magli today - about 2 inches high heels.

Very comfortable & stylish. It is the luxury that keeps me going.

Lunch at Marriott - noodles bar, the part buffet.

Min bought some doughnuts from Krispy Kreme. I ate one custard & half strawsberry jam.

Help! I want relaxation from the tight schedules of work.

i luv me

Me is strong, diligent, forgiving & optimistic ..... Therefore, I luv me.

Lunch at Lippo with James, Peggy, Ken & YM.

Gungung is transferred to Haven of Hope, Tseung Kwan O. Talked to him on phone.

2 girls want to learn tennis.

I am busy yet OK la.

Chicken korma. Delicious but too watery. Should let it evaporate longer and add yoghurt.

stormy & rainy Sunday

I could still get a morning of sunshine between 10 - 11:15 am. Another enjoyable walk in the big park. By myself. Solitude. Went to Chee Kei in Telford and ate wonton/shui jiao noodles in soup w/soy radish and yeemai water - barley drink. Brought home pork liver congee for Min. Noodles not so good as that in Mak Man Kee or Mak Ngan Kee.

Met Martha. She lives in Blk 14. She told me about Tsui Ka-po's family.


Met Ng Wo-keung outside McDonald's. Chatted for a few minutes.

Had a facial in Flora's by Ah Yee.

Bought 2 prs of pants for walk & leisure from Columbia - one creamy white & one brown. Marga, Kevin & I went to buy bags of food in Taste, Festival Walk. Nobody likes Rice with Mango ice-cream from Gelato. Then, dined at Porpor's home. Gungung feels boring in hospital. No visitors today.

Van was out the whole day.

King worked & things went smoothly.

Karin came to watch DVD with Min & made her a cheese cake.

sweaty in the sun & breeze

I love brisk walks in the big big playground with shades of trees and green grass around & small flowers - red, pink & yellow. Few people. Fresh air. Some doing mowing. Some sweeping the ground without dipping up the dried leaves and sands. She just swept them back to the soiled areas. In tee and shorts from Columbia - my favourite brand. Want to buy one more pair as all the jeans are thick for walks. Not light and & airy.

Min's blog is real fantastic & enriched. Mine is just a piece of e-paper. No music, no video, no nothiing. She is a genius. I love genius.

Ingrid Bergman and The Six Happiness Inn.

Visited Gungung in UCH. Lots of grumbling. Bought him a cheese & ham sandwich. Marga, Kevin & Porpor had dinner at my home.

Busy Friday

Lunch box with Pauline. Piles of order and always urgent keep rolling down.

Marga came to my office and we had dinner at Zen. Prawn salad, roast pork, abalone mushroom + sea cucumber + goose webs. Desserts: double-boiled egg white & milk, custard tarts, sweet dumplings & bean puddings.

I worked today & yesterday, both of which are holidays. Over flowing vacation leave.

I will walk in Sai Tso Wan Playground tomorrow morning. Long time no walk due to rainy weather.

it is entertainment

Pirates of the Caribbean 3 is real entertainment. Min likes Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley. I like J Depp & Yolando Bloom.

Everybody needs a few tricks to survive. Storms and enemies are daily events. Love may turn sour or even hatred. Love while you can. No surprise if you are chased & attacked. Equip yourself & prepare for fights or runs for life.

Tao Jie is right. Chinese woman stars go to bed with white men or Jap in Hollywood films as a matter of course. White actresses will not even kiss Chinese men actors. Keira kisses several whites, but she bit Chow Yun-fat. Could that be a good cause for a war between China & US?

Went back to office to work from 10:15 am to 2:45 pm. Completed the notes for Big Boss. Found 2 typos while taking rice. Will amend early tomorrow morning. I took leave but have to go back both morning and afternoon. Gus went back, too.

Bought a black wind-breaker with pale-blue stripes as details. Went to Zen with Min after movie. Forgot about Hou's lesson.

James said I am analogue. Don't know what he means.

Buddha's Festival

Today is Buddha' s Festival. All religions lead people to be kind and to look for a spiritual peace and comfort, endurance towards pains and sufferings.

It is very strange to talk to Kwongloi. I can't imagine he knows so much about me despite we have been quite apart for so many years.

I must pull myself together & stop indulging in the who likes me & who don't etc. Very silly. Easier said than done though.

Feeling better since yesterday - I mean the headache, stomach ache ....

Arthur Li said in the hearing that he likes childen certainly but not so sure about adults. I would have laughed if I were there. A good laugh.

A young fireman died in a fire. God has planned for each of us. No need to worry and no use to worry. Just live for love & happiness. Time never waits.

challenges

I never grow up. I am always the irritable & easily agitated person. Not calm, not detached, not cool.
Excited, affected by words, too over-reactive and sensitive.
These are the challenges I face but little progress is achieved.

Regular lunch at Wanchai with Edmund & SK .... retirees.

I care how people look at me, talk about me and think of me. Not mature.

Booked 2 tickets for Pirates of the Caribbean 3. I like Johnny Depp, Yolando Bloom. Keira Knightly & Chow Yun-fat ...... Must see.

Will go back to work tomorrow morning. I am hard working.

Sang Kee Restaurant Wanchai

Min joined me at Wanchai MTR station. We went to enroll in Alliance France. She will study French from mid June to kid July - 5 days a week - 2-4 pm.

She also wants to learn playing tennies with Van. See if the Club has it.

Dinner at Sang Kee - previous Chui Wu in Hennessy Road. We had "nai mang" congee and 1/2 baked/salted chicken. Delicious. A pity that I was not feeling well.

yellow croakers

Told Nita to buy yellow croakers from the market. She bought 2 @ $18.00. Not cheap. Deep fried. But not that dry & crispy as those sold at restaurants.

Bought 2 rice boxes from Great - one with ham & one with roast chick. One box of vege. Shared with James.

I saw Justina last Friday but did not talk to her. Too occupied.

Spiderman 3

Harry & Eddie are more handsome than Peter. I like Harry especially. So cute. I don't want him to die. Many say the same on internet.

Kristen Dunst acted Queen Mary. Gwen is just so so.

AMC at PP at terrific. I like it despite it is expensive.

Bought Min some skin products & powder. Bought Marga an Armani lipstick.

Dined at KT. Pa won some money.

Bought a HP hard disc from Broadway as Van's is dying.

I find that Chi Kee wonton has operated in Telford. I will go later.

tennis

A & Paus played tennis in the Club downstairs.
Then lunch at Telford Imperial Kitchen.
Shopped around for some time with Marga.
Went to Taliana to have pedicure & shampoo + set.
Bao Fu Ling for Porpor.
Dined at home with Min.
Thunderstorm - I bought a blue Giordano umbrella from Central MTR. I bought a cardigan from Michel Renee and a tee from Judy House, Central.

If Wenxi reads this, he will think my life is so easy. I work hard to earn this, dear Lewis.

I will see "The Spiderman 3" in AMC, Pacific Place, at 3 pm tomorrow with Min. She can appreciate Wang Ka-wai. I can't.

Friday night farewell Martin

Dinner at 18th Brook Cantonese Cuisine. Martin retires.
3 tables. Juliet, Kingman and KM came.

Lost $140 in mj with YM, Agnes & Patrick.

Lunch with Maggie, Joanne & Germaine to farewell Chau Kang for retirement also.

King has come back.

good news

A few colleagues will benefit from increase of salary. New recruits will receive higher entry point.

Scaling down the service of hotline.

Dan Ryan with J & K. Papaya salad w/prawns, spaghetti Bolognese and beef steak sandiwch.

Busy but as a whole OK.

Dinner with 2 girls. Putonghua later.

Kwongloi is very knowledgeable about books/movies. Glad to email him. Taught Kevin about fleet at Cathay.

farewell chau keng

A good-tempered fat colleague.
Lunch at Lippo.
Roger had his birthday yesterday.
Agnes is a bit worried about her exam papers.
Min is out.
Too much Parma ham. Could not eat much at one time.

Marga came to PP. I shared with her a Triple O original hamburger, oj & french fries. I bought 3 pcs of macarons - coconut, black currant & citreon. We bought Jap organic sweet potatoes.

Package to Sing is too expensive. We would not go at holidays. Perhaps, later, when Min is in UK. She came back for dinner. She wants to learn French.

Josephine's daughter came back, disliking UK. Children!

a heavy lunch

Glad that YM has resumed working, well.
Allen was crazy to have ordered such a heavy lunch while the whole world is pro light healthy food.
Talked to Iris by emails. Good that I can communicate with her. Once, I found her a terrible character. Nasty & unreasonable.
J says he does not understand I can wine & dine with people who have not been kind to me as if nothing had ever taken place.
I don't, either. Perhaps, there is one piece lacking in my brain to recall the bitterness. I quite remember but do not feel too bad. Everything fades.
I choose to retain the better time of my life.
Bought 3 small bottles of bird's nest home.
I can't complain. Can I?

blue Monday

Pa has returned home.
Lunch at Jiang Shan Xiao with J & P.
Quite shocked when I learnt that B has suffered for such a long time. Life is so deceptive.
Dined with Min. She is lovely.
No trace of Van yet.
Chu e a photo of Burma - very terrifying. I was scared.
Where is my Listener. Could not even spare 3 minutes.

precious moments

Pa still in Haven of Hope.
We 12 at Xiao Nan Guo, TST East. Then ToysRus for Jeff - a car park with many cars. Then Croco kids - a tee + pants from Marga - beige & white, very smart. Marga bought a white K-gold necklace from Chow Tai Fook.
Dinner at KT. Porpor was so keen to cook for us.
Van bought me a card + Godiva orange sticks, Italian ham, olives, brie with herbs and earl grey tea-bags.
I received some carnations and forget-me-not.
I carried the new leSportsac, very refreshing.
Min can eat better today.

Thankful. :)

Saturday - rest, relax & re-charge

Must take a good rest. Meditation & slow walks. Going to supermarket. Reading leisure books.

Went to Dr Tong. Informed about QEH - Dr Lui. Hope everything goes fine.

Lunch at Shanghai Garden, Hutchison House, with Min. Took a bowl of noodles with tomatoes & beef slices in soup. Very un-Shanghai.

School Cert results will be released on 8th August.

Now go to Stella/Chrystal. Both girls will dine out.

Quite lonely. Invited Porpor to come to dinner as Mike + family would dine out. Gungung will be discharged on Monday.

Thanksgiving ceremonies some distance away.

Treasure chicken

Lunch with Jackie at Jiang Shan Xiao. Expensive. Cold chicken meat rolls with wine sauce + scallops & angular luffa in soup. Dessert - soft pudding with osmanthus flowers.

B & E brought me to Electric Road to have dinner in a restaurant operated by Ah Yat's assistant. The chicken was stewed with abalone & mushroom. Yummy yummy! Goose's webs & dried fish maw. Stir fried bitter gourd with garlic & fried beef cubes. Dessert was almond cream with eggwhite.

Min has finished her last subject of written exam. Quite relieved. Sent her to the exam centre this morning.

Will bring her to Dr Tong tomorrow morning to fix the braces & replace the mislaid rubber band.

The Registrar of Bethany is very caring & responsive.

Van has not come home yet.

Too busy to respond to off-shore message.

Will bring DVD "84 Charing Cross Road" for Florence on Monday.

amusing film - 84 Charing Cross Road

We went to QEH. Dr Lui was persuaded to take her for surgery. Min will come back on 15th December & have 4 wisdom teeth pulled out on 18th December. I am consulting the Registrar of Bethany for whether she can leave immediately after exam instead of waiting for the end of term. Checking the last day for exam.

Not easy to be a mother, harder to be a good mother.

We will celebrate Mother's Day on Sunday in Xiao Nan Guo, TST East.

See if James can submit a satisfactory report.

Triple O again

Lunch - hambugher, chicken fillet & french fries. I bought a big leSportsac bag during lunch time. However, I changed my mind and returned it for 2 smaller ones - both shoulder bags. One with stamps pattern & one with floral pattern.

Min is confident with today's exam on Bible. Ch Lit on Friday.

Gungung is transferred from United Christian Hospital to Haven of Hope. I talked to him on phone. He is very understanding by asking me not to visit him. He knows I am busy & tired. I love him very much.

I will take one day off tomorrow & bring Min to QEH to meet the orthodentists in the afternoon.

A came to dinner.

Daddy-Long-Legs

It is my cup of tea - just like Daddy-Long-Legs - an orphan writing letters to her benefactor and building a bond of love.

I have started reading 84 Charing Cross Road. Very amusing, lively & sentimental.

Glad that Wenxi read my blog and found that about Jeffrey's hamster very funny. In fact, it was not fun. It involved how much I should step in to teach the son of my brother & sis-in-law, how I protected my mother from handling something she was scared of and how I maintained reasons with a boy of 10. Of course, it ended by my buying him a toy - was it a bribe?

Lunch at ICAC canteen with Tsinghua pals. HK Li could not turn up at the last minute cos he was stuck in an overrun meeting and then his small son got an injury on the forehead. Casualty needed 2 hrs to attend to him. So, with his money & his wife, they sent the boy to private hospital. How could I retire if I intend to keep up the present standard of livelihood?

Min is very tired. 2 more subjects to go - Religious Studies tomorrow & Ch Lit on Friday. Then oral exams in June.

Marga seems better today.

projection

Chinese C = 3 English C = 3
Maths E = 1 Ch. Lit D = 2
Ch. Hist D = 2 Art D = 2
Econ C = 3 R.S. C = 3

See if it is accurate.
I have had breakfast & lunch - very contented. Dinner at home with 2 girls.
Porpor & Jeffrey had come with herb jellies for us.
I got the book "84 Charing Cross Road" from Commercial Press - $128.00.
Van is doing all the planning for the trip to bring Min to study.

Tai Wing Wah - rice with lard

We went there for lunch. So only dim sums were plenty. Some dishes were not available. We urged the captain several times before he brought out a bottle of lard from the kitchen. We bought the soy sauce & some noodles for home-cooking. Then we went to eat the famous grass-jelly dessert which was a big bowl with mixed fruits & carnation milk.

Min was delighted to eat the plain rice with lard + soy sauce. She heard about it for years & fancied taking it.

Porpor likes the pyjamas I bought her as present for Mother's Day. She is always contented with even little things. That is the source of happiness, I think.

Jeffrey bought a hamster without adults' consent. I was so worried about the germs that it will bring along. We spent the whole evening to persuade him to send it away. He cried. At last, I gave him money to buy a toy bowling set from ToyRus. Maria will bring it to her friend upstairs.

Gungung has been admitted into United Christian Hospital. Old age & sickness are there awaiting everybody.

Xiao Nan Ngo again

Accompanied Min to exam, then went back to office to read some emails. Workaholic? Not exactly. But I am grateful for the livelihood resulted by my employment. Lorraine is right. We work hard & gain pride & satisfaction. The steady income keeps me warm & fed. The attainment brings me dignity.

Joined Marga & Pau for lunch at Xiao Nan Guo, TST East, again.

Pau went to work. We shopped around in Wing On, the old Department Store. It is nice to see her become better. I bought 2 tops - made in Italy. I can't help it. Buying is gratifying.

Min seems to be doing well in the HKCEE. Challenges are to be met during our whole lifetime.

What happens to Tony Blair? He lost & will make big monies by writing and giving talks, I believe.

Le Gouter

I bought a box of macarons from Le Gouter, a box of olives, cold cut ham & cured ham - just to compensate my exhausted body.

Lunch at Shanghai Garden for a table of 12, co-hosted with YM. He is not feeling well. He is over-working, too.

Roger is angry these 2 days.

I want to sleep now. What will I receive as present(s) for Mother's Day?

I have bought the DVD. Will see it tomorrow. Too tired today.

Will accompany Min to exam tomorrow.

From Pioneer Centre to Gasgoine Rd

I was working under tension. I must find more ways to relieve myself.

Danny seems to like me as a team member. He proposed to put me on the list for another board. A bit flattered. A bit heavy. One after the other.

Lunch at Central. A class of somebody.

Meeting in the afternoon smooth.

Met CY & his friend. Perhaps that was his boy friend. Saw them in Festival Walk before.

Bought a Gerry Weber t-shirt & a pink knit. Can't resist the temptation of buying.

Lorraine tel twice without finding me.

The book 84 Charing Cross Road will come next week. DVD available in HMV, Central.

Triple O hamburger

J treated me with a juicy hamburger which he likes so much. After work in the food court, with orange juice, french fries & beef gravy. Like a pub. It is good to have some snacks and drinks and blah blah blah before one goes home.

Louisa will be posted in Beijing. We will bid her farewell on 8th in ICAC canteen. A table of 10. We are a happy bunch.

Chau Kang will retire end of this month. We will buy him a lunch at Zen on 18th.

Getting used to retirement. Years ago, migration. Sometimes, even separation by death.

Lunch at Kikuzen with Van. Wanchai is too far away as I had a meeting at 2 pm though it was postponed to 2:15 pm at last.

Marga seems a bit better today.

Porpor went to Ah Tuen for treatment.

The grey jacket from Su K suits me. The skirt goes to Agnes.

84 Charing Cross Road

Kwongloi recommended the captioned title - either book or movie is fine. A true story of the author Helene Hanff - a New Yorker. Her letters with Frank Doel, owner of a bookstore at 84 Charing Cross Road, London. After 20 years of correspondence, she went there to visit the shop. Frank had died and the bookstore was closed. Anne Bancroft & Anthony Hopkins. Lots to be found online about this story.

I will look for the book.

Spent the whole morning with Marga. Helped her to complete some reports and had lunch with her at Ye Shanghai. Trying my best to cure her. Little yellow croakers again + yunnan ham.

Bought Min a bowl of fish balls noodles in soup + 2 xiao loong bao.

Will have tea for relaxation.

I know this minute will pass away. So, I must treasure it.

I bought from Deli Viet a bowl of beef pho in soup + a pomelo salad for Min.

Ordered the book from Commercial Press. Available next week.