solitude

When you can't help feeling like an alien on familiar ground, it is a nagging feeling within telling you to move on.

my secret love

I have never and will never try Glue sniffing

So I am not too sure whether it will make me Happy

But I do know that

These smells make me Happy (:

1) Freshly Brewed Coffee

2) Air freshener at the Esplanade

3) Air Freshener at the Airport

my secret love

I am a "Sales Girl"

I secretly love sniffing out good bargains during sales

10 mins in a Mini

I managed to hitch a ride from a neighbour, in my favourite car yesterday - Mini Cooper (: other than that nothing out of the ordinary happened in my life:(

what's next

Over the weekend, I experienced 20 - 30 hours of the life of being a Producer. It was very stressful and challenging yet it brought me to an exhilarating high - my masterpiece was completed at 10.20pm on Mon. The draft proposal has been submitted. We shall see whether a door opens from here.

Trust

Stupid Me

I wasted a month submitting my XXXXXX filled with errors

I know I am out of my mind to submit an application for a programme which I have almost zero chance of getting in. I will be a laughing stock, if I post up the picture of what programme I attempted for! Yes, I was a brainless fool to even try ... considering I didn't even get a second upper and I do not have a power packed resume!

Crazily, I submitted an application to be an english teacher in a foreign land

Sometimes when I embark on such decisions, I don't really know what is the state of my mind.

All I know is that He knows and I got to trust,

I believe everything will be perfect and beautiful in his timing (:

I can't bake BUT she can

You won't know how much you can achieve, until you encounter a challenge! You will be surprised at how capable and creative you can be(:

Task 1 : Oct 2006 : A girl cake

Thumbs Up!

2009: Nov 2009: A Horse Cake

Triple Thumbs up!!!!

it is now

It Is Time to uproot and move along!

***

I feel you slipping out of my life and I am not doing anything about it!

my soul is dead

Princess Stunning

Office Junk

A.K and I have been trying to figure out what is the feminine version of

Prince Charming

Princess "what"????

So I came up with

Princess Stunning

Since my favourite word is Stunning!

The Magic of Make Up

I asked Sa this question: Why should Ladies use Eye Liner?





After thinking for a while her reply was, remember when we were younger we used to outline our art pieces with a black outline pencil? That resulted in our drawing becoming more striking and attractive.





A face is like a canvas which needs to be filled with a little bit of colour to brighten and highlight our features. A young lady usually looks more attractive with make up than without! With the exception when she over does it :)

6 working adults

After being grounded in Singapore for the past five months, I finally left on a jet plane. I was part of a 6 working adults team heading to Siem Reap for the much needed Rest and Relaxation! Other than the nasty air bubbles in the ears and ear ache, it was quite comfy travelling on Jetstar. Leather seats was a consolation for the lack of leg room!

Once you land in Siem Reap International Airport, you will be welcome by a villa looking structure, which sets you in the right mood for a laid back time in the city. The hands of clock felt like it was crawling slower than normal.

For 3 nights, Molly Malone's Guest House provided the roof on top of our heads. The Link -
http://www.mollymalonescambodia.com/guesthouse.html

Thumbs up to the Location, Room & Fresh Towers every day

*If you are not a cat fan, be wary of the house cat, as it has a tendency to follow you into your room! It didn't jump onto our beds but there is not guarantee that it won't jump onto yours!

* You can arrange with the Guest Inn for a mini van to take you to and fro from the airport and to the tourist destinations for a fee.

It is highly advisable to catch the sunrise at Ankor Wat however in order to do so, you need to purchase the ticket for that day the evening before. To those sleepy head out there, I will let the pictures speak to you so you can decide whether sacrificing those few hours of sleep is worth it :)

The many stone faces at the Bayon Temple

Most people recognise Ta Prohm Temple from 2001 Lara Croft Movie Tomb Raider. Unlike the other two temples above, this temple has not be restored and it was surrounded by massive trees which enveloped the structure. The temple ground is strewn with weathered rocks from the crumbling structure.

Watching the sunset is equally beautiful as watching the sunrise and the perfect spot to catch the sunset is on the top of Bak Heng mountain. One piece of advice: Bak Heng mountain is not just a spot to catch the sunset but also a spot for perverts! So ladies do not wear short skirt or dresses to climb the structure.

Here is a highly recommended activity to do in Siem Reap, even if you are on a shoe string budget - Quad Bike Riding! Being Quad Bike amateurs we opted for the easiest route which was a 17km stretch. The route consisted of dirt tracks which was fairly smooth aside from the occasional pot holes! With our bikes we travelled through the country side, past padi fields and even sped down the highway. It was an Adrenaline Rushing affair speeding down the highway, with the roaring of the engine and the wind sweeping our skin!

http://www.quad-adventure-cambodia.com/tours.aspx

One advice, skip the fanciful restaurants along pub street & skip the roadside stalls opposite Molly Malone. Instead go for food loaded with salt, msg, germs and dirt sold by vendors with pushcarts along the road side. Yummy! However don't expect the food to come cheap, we paid $0.75 usd for this plate of noodles!

An Awesome Article

This is Adrian Tan's speech at the convocation of students (class of 2008) at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (NTU).Adrian Tan is a litigation partner at Drew & Napier LLC.


LIFE AND HOW TO SURVIVE IT

I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address.It's a wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation.


I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband.


My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one.She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living.She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly by practising at home during conversations between her and me.


On the other hand, I am a litigator.Essentially, I spend my day telling people how wrong they are.I make my living being disagreeable.
Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home.That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument, the one who triumphs is always the wife.


And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men:when you've already won her heart, you don't need to win every argument.
Marriage is considered one milestone of life.Some of you may already be married.Some of you may never be married.Some of you will be married.Some of you will enjoy the experience so much, you will be married many, many times. Good for you.


The next big milestone in your life is today: your graduation. The end of education. You're done learning.


You've probably been told the big lie that "Learning is a lifelong process"and that therefore you will continue studying and taking masters' degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on.You know the sort of people who tell you that? Teachers.Don't you think there is some measure of conflict of interest?They are in the business of learning, after all.Where would they be without you? They need you to be repeat customers.


The good news is that they're wrong.


The bad news is that you don't need further education because your entire life is over. It is gone.That may come as a shock to some of you. You're in your teens or early twenties.People may tell you that you will live to be 70, 80, 90 years old. That is your life expectancy.


I love that term: life expectancy. We all understand the term to mean the average life span of a group of people.But I'm here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what you expect from your life.


You may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy.We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino. It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long.We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless.There's very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup.


Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap.
Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years.Singapore men live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more than five years longer, probably to take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom.


So here you are, in your twenties, thinking that you'll have another 40 years to go.Four decades in which to live long and prosper.
Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they're 50, 40, 30 years old.Or quite possibly just after finishing their convocation.They would be very disappointed that they didn't meet their life expectancy.


I'm here to tell you this.Forget about your life expectancy.
After all, it's calculated based on an average.And you never, ever want to expect being average.


Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family.You are told that, as graduates,you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much.


That is what is expected of you.And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste.


If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people.I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them.


And you don't need years of education by the best minds in Singapore to prepare you to be average.


What you should prepare for is mess. Life's a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it.Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it.Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment.Your degree is a poor armour against fate. * Exactly.


Don't expect anything. Erase all life expectancies.Just live. Your life is over as of today.At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look.This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.
What does this mean for you?It is good that your life is over.


Since your life is over, you are free.
Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free.


The most important is this: do not work.


Work is anything that you are compelled to do.
By its very nature, it is undesirable.

Work kills.The Japanese have a term "Karoshi", which means death from overwork.That's the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill you in more subtle ways.If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there's nothing left.A rock has been ground into sand and dust.


*** There's a common misconception that work is necessary.You will meet people working at miserable jobs.They tell you they are "making a living". No, they're not.They're dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful. ***


People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a certain dignity. Work makes you free.The slogan "Arbeit macht frei" was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps.Utter nonsense.


** Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort.You may never reach that end anyway.


*** Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play.Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again.You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often.Soon, that will have value in itself.


*** I am enjoying my job.. not 100% of the time, but most of the time.. as compared to office work.. I think I would be much happier continuing this job.....


I like arguing, and I love language. So, I became a litigator.I enjoy it and I would do it for free.If I didn't do that, I would've been in some other type of work that still involved writing fiction - probably a sports journalist.
So what should you do?


You will find your own niche. I don't imagine you will need to look very hard.By this time in your life, you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do.In fact, I'll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions.By this time you should know what your obsessions are.If you enjoy showing off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher.
Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession.


Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm.If you don't, you are working.


Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication.To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth.I'm not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things.The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth.Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating.


There is also great skill.Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences.It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.


In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it.That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror. *


I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth.I now say this to you: be hated.


It's not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you?Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many.That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.


One does not have to be evil to be hated.In fact, it's often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one's own convictions.It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions.Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average.That cannot be your role.There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself.

Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.


The other side of the coin is this: fall in love.


I didn't say "be loved".That requires too much compromise.If one changes one's looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone.
Rather, I exhort you to love another human being.It may seem odd for me to tell you this.You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false.


Modern society is anti-love. We've taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings.It far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise.Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance.It is hard work - the only kind of work that I find palatable.


Loving someone has great benefits.There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness.In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way.We learn the true worthlessness of material things.We celebrate being human.


Loving is good for the soul.


Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person.Despite popular culture, love doesn't happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor.It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming.It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm.


You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.
You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated.You are not doing it to be loved back.Its value is to inspire you.


Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone.You either don't, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology.It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.


Don't work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.


You're going to have a busy life.Thank goodness there's no life expectancy.

ktv

After my first attempt at KTV with my colleagues, during my internship in 2007. I decided never to step into the lounge again as I can't hold a tune. I found the whole episode a waste of money and time. However never say never as I found myself in a KTV Lounge for the second time! Two years have passed since my last attempt at the mike, however nothing has changed. I can't sing and if possible I rather not hold the mike! They tried everything to hear me sing, 1) more alcohol, in hope that I could relax 2) Singing with me and then stopping 3) Playing old schools songs... blah blah. I tried to sing, but even though the song was a familiar one, I always forgot the tune midway! *Blame it on my goldfish memory! It didn't help being uber self conscious as the three girls had beautiful voices! Through the years I realised friendship is about accomodating, I love their company and that made up for the not so enjoyable experience with the mike! Young ladies and a gentleman shall we go dancing next time???

Revelation

Suddenly it occured to me

Education is the only route out of my poverty!

reflections

I often ask myself, if this glass is my job will I see it as half empty or half filled? The day that I start seeing it as half empty, is the day I ought to leave. That is when I have reached the peak of my learning curve. Now I see it as a filled glass of dry Lemonade! A thirst quencher!

YOU + ME = ACQUAINTANCE

I guess I was right from the start, both of us will be no more than acquaintances. C made this comment - friends have the tendency to take an interest in each other, however we seem to have developed mutual indifference towards one another. There are people who I meet who will only remain hi-by friends and you just so happen to be one of them.

Running your own race

A reminder to self:


V1:
When one is caught in constant struggle
And Life seems to be spiraling down and endless dark tunnel
It is difficult to remain hopeful,
With pressure and expectations unmet
A challenge to believe one can overcome, the battles in our path
Often we do not realise
That those who overcame their circumstances
Are ordinary Men and Women like us

V2:
As we fix our eyes, on other's lives
Jealousy consumes us like fire
A seemingly perfect life is what they have
It makes us green with envy!
Could it be just face value?
So do not judge the world with rose tinted lenses!
As each of us are unique and special,
We can be winners in our own ways!

V3:
Dreams are building blocks to greater heights
So cling onto your dreams with all your might
Work on your dreams even during the test of time
Even when all odds are against you
Do not give up!
Take a leap of faith and keep believing
In a possibility,
that your dreams will become a reality!

Chorus:
So do not compare, do not despair
As each of us have our own struggles
We can be victorious in our own ways
Just as long as we run our race
And not someone else's race!

if only a kind soul out there can do the melody for me (:

Blue Sky Day

Duvet Day maybe a little tedious to implement in the Company so how about Blue Sky Day? This means allowing your employees to leave the office around 5.30-6pm, so that they can see the Blue Sky! Therefore at least once a week, they will be able to have dinner with their families. I am thankful that it is Blue Sky Day everyday in my company!

Tame Tongue

F and A made this comment

Whenever you ask Him for Patience

He won't give you patience

He will give you ample OPPORTUNITIES to practice patience.

Last night I asked Him for a tame tongue

And I was given the opportunity to mind my language

HOWEVER

When I was behind the wheel, profanity just kept spilling out!

Incredibly disgraceful, I need to wash my mouth with soap!

D Day

The coolest leave which I heard some employees in certain companies are entitled is called Duvet Day! so out of curiosity I goggled that term and I found this:

Just for laughter: A periodic table duvet. BTW laughter is good because it is free of preservatives!

What is a duvet day?

duvet day means taking a day off work when you ‘just don’t feel up to it’. You are not ill, you don’t want to lie to the boss; you just need a day in bed!!

By having a duvet day every leap year, starting from “29th February 2008”. http://www.duveyday.org/ has been encouraging employers to allow their employees to stay at home, as this could help the environment by reducing Carbon emissions for that day by up to 80%!

As of today, there is only 1028 days left to the 2nd Annual Duvet Day! Bosses and HR Practitioners, take the hint, you don't have to wait until the next Duvet Day to implement such a policy in your company!

a visit to two museums in two days

While my peers were MUgging, I spent friday and saturday at the MUseum with my MUm! I bought a joint ticket which enabled us to view the Asian Civilisations Museum and Peranakan Museum!


'Peranakan' means "child of" and it is used to refer to people of mixed ethnic origins. The museum clarified my misconception of that term. There are other communities of Peranakans other than Peranakan Chinese, such as Jawi Peranakan and the Chitty Melaka!


I enjoyed the museum in Hong Kong, which provided a rich audio and visual feast for visitors both young and old! Many of the exhibitions were interactive and therefore it made learning enjoyable.


I was quite disappointed with the ACM as there was a lack of interactive exhibitions! There were many articles on display however many of the exhibitions had lengthy text explanations, which not only bore me to death with its dryness but made my eyes super tired! My Mum is a history lover and she found that museum pretty alright! So to each his own! The Peranakan Museum was somewhat like the museum in Hong Kong, therefore I enjoyed myself inside it! Even though I am not a true blue Peranakan however having the privilege of being part of SCGS has made me love their culture. The beautiful peranakan designed tiles along the walk ways, which made our school unique! The spice garden, dancers/girls in kebayas to celebrate festivals, peranakan dishes being taught during home econs... simply beautiful!

a poem

The world of the Nonyas

I enjoyed this poem!

SCGS taught us to be KIM GEKs, a pity I have lost that quality!

I have become too babaric!

The Elusive Son

I love this

even though it is behind a glass panel

A picture speaks a thousand words

Kudos to the artist!

"It has in its theme the once common desire among peranakans for sons to carry on the family name. The awkward plight of the mother is echoed in the stiffness of the composition"

[caption from the peranakan museum ]

celest, this picture is for you! You should buy a book stand somewhat similiar to this one. It should have adjustable angles so it can hold and support soft cover books too! You can put it on your lap so you can rest your book, turn the pages with one hand and eat with the other :P

Miniture Qu'ran Cases which is used to store the Qu'ran and worn for protection and blessing

This brought a smile to my face! Found this slogan stuck on the monitor screen in the museum!



Guess what are these?
The answer:

This is a picture of a Karo woman wearing heavy silver Padung Padung earrings. Note how one end is secured to the headress and the other is threaded through the ear.

[text from the acm]

Ouch

I won't want to put that through my ear holes!

You + Me = Friends For Life

Whenever I hang up the phone, I always end up feeling worst than before, cause it makes me miss you even more.

Thanks for lighting up my Life

Leave Increment

A random comment made by my colleague on the Ways to increase my leave:

(1) Get Married this year + (2) Get Pregnant this year

choices

" There are many people living heaven on this earth and they call it marriage and many people living hell on this earth and they call it marriage." [Choices]


may you date with discernment and find contentment and happiness in whatever you choose.

Life

"To live a life dictated by the pay check is not exactly a life"

[Rich Dad Poor Dad]

So do not limit your life to the dollars and cents of your pay check

It is not worth it being a slave to the rat race

as we will never be contented with our pay check

May you live a life of no regret

One of my Short Term Goals:

To sign up for Japanese Lessons.

considering that I am a mega procastinator

I feel so accomplished to strike that off my goal list :D

work

I was "baptised" into the working world, by being bitten by my new pair of heels on the first day of work! Just a random thought: A year has 52 weeks and if I minus the public holidays, sick leave & annual leave, I would have at least 46 weeks of work! I wonder how many cycle of 46 weeks must I work in my lifetime? Dreadful Thought! I am taking my first baby steps into the workforce and I am childishly thinking of when can I retire! I realised that I am no longer a super woman! I cannot survive 5 consecutive late nights! I am growing old and I need at least 8 hours of sleep!!

"Root" Pet

A Ginger Rabbit

naturally formed by nature

I am going back to School

Just 2 more weeks and I will be a productive member of society!

At least that will curb my sleepy head routine

It feels like I am going back to the days as a student

Dreadful early morning wake up calls!

I will be attending the "School of Hard Knocks"

will be going down tomorrow to sign on the dotted line

Being a Klutz,

I really need all the wisdom & favour to keep the job for at least a year

Friends out there do send a flower basket or card to Wish me Luck!

My Address is :

X XXXXXX XXXXX

Singapore XXXXXX

just kidding

家

I am currently reading a book about an analysis of Japanese Culture and Society titled Japan - through the looking glass by Alan Macfarlane.



Some excerpts from the book from the section People:
"The full period of full adulthood, attained very late according to the Japanese ideas, is short."
"A child is only half an adult at 15, 80% an adult at 20, and becomes fully responsible at about 28."
"Having gone through 5 of the 12 year cycles of life, at 60 you retire and become a child again, with all the freedom that implies."
"Childhood is wild, loose; the middle part is contained and restrained and selfless. In old age and retirement you are free and unconstrained again."




My Household contains of A Child, A Soon to be Child and a Soon to be Adult :P

what will your choice be?

sakura tea

I missed the Cherry Blossom Season both in BJ and Japan yet I managed to catch sight of a blooming cherry blossom!

Not on a tree but in my cup:p

Awfully Gorgeous

Life is a "Beach"

Life is a "Beach" - stealing this off Mr S's nick!

It carries with it dreary and grey moments

Life is a Gamble

I do not know whether I can afford the stakes I am playing?

I do not know whether I can bear the consequences I am taking?

Yet I am giving the Game of Life a chance!

i shot my golden chance

I wanted the job so badly

But I made a mess during the interview

What The Heck !

so now I am waiting patiently for the email

to tell me I am not IN!

怀念北京

My encounter with Beijing was like Alice in Wonderland! A cultural city, a gem for this cultural junkie!

There is a saying "不到长城非好汉" which can be translated as He who does not reach the Great Wall is not a true Man!

the water cube and bird's nest

About a month after christmas and during CNY. It was a queer sight to see decorated christmas trees still lining the road which seperated the water cube and bird's nest! It was more weird to see a string of firecracker hanging down from the christmas tree! I wonder was the tree purposely left there to create an art piece of fusion where East meets West? hmm...

I wonder how the Emperors of both the Ming and Qing Dynasty reacted in their graves when they found out that the ground of the Altar where they used to worship the Sun God has been defaced and turned into badminton courts!

Goldfish hidding Spots in a pond which was excavated in Yuan Ming Yuan (Old Summer Palace)
Much of Yuan Ming Yuan has been destroyed and the originial splendor and grandeur of the palace is mostly left to the power of your vivid imagination as you stare at a blank piece of land!

I assumed that all chinese mansions were all single storey. My perception was changed when I entered Prince Gong's Mansion!

The top of the Hill in Jing Shan Park gave us an Bird's Eye view of the Forbidden City!

Lama Temple

When we think of the type of buildings in the Forbidden City, Ancient Chinese Architecture comes to mind! Well this building is an exception (:

I found it extremely cool when I discovered that the Forbidden City,Drum Tower, Bell Tower and Jing Shan Park were build along the same axis!

The White Dagoba

北京

My friends and family members have asked me how I spent CNY this year. Though a little late, the answer can be found in this post!

Headed for the busiest temple fair (庙会) held at Ditan on the first day of CNY!

I spotted this and I felt that it was worth mentioning! When I looked at it, the term peseverance came to mind! It was awesome seeing children only 1/3 of my height, attempting to scale the 'mountain' to reach the submit in order to retrieve a toy!

A performance at the Temple of Heaven. It showed how the Emperor used to worship the Heaven to ensure good harvest in the upcoming year. I couldn't help but over hearing on-lookers commenting that the 'Emperor' looked ugly! A check using google of Emperor Qianlong's and Emperor Kangxi's younger day's pictures showed that they were NOT drop dead gorgeous! So if a handsome actor was used, wouldn't that have compromised the accurate reflection of the practise? Anyway Beauty is in the eye's of the beholder and to me he looks alright!

Fireworks set off by civillians! For four nights (including new year's eve) I feel asleep and was woken up by the bombing sound of fireworks! In the beginning I was awe struck! I was captivated by the fancy designs! Then like a child who became tired of her new toy, the novety wore off! A quick change of emotions to annoyance! I do not fancy being awaken by bombing sounds at 6 am in the morning!!!!

哈尔滨

Yabuli（亚布力）





Paid 180rmb to take the cable car and chair lift to the top of the mountain!


snow bed

the wonder of colour that brightens up a dull and dreary world!

Nature's Beauty and Splendor that can never be replicated by Men!