We look like some celebs...

I had uploaded my (obviously, the nicest one) to this website http://myheritage.com/ which has a face recognition engine that will match my photo to a celebrity. And of course, I am pleased with the results, which included (hehe) Hillary Swank, Anastacia & Kylie Minogue respectively. I uploaded D's photo too and the results were a wee bit mixed. Celebs/famous people whom supposedly have D's features include Ichiro Suzuki (so cute), Enrique Iglesias, Choi Ji-Woo (so this is how D looks like in drag) & Sun Yat Sen (huh?).

Sergeant Chicken Rice @ Food Republic, Cityplaza Tai Koo Shing

Heard from a fellow S'porean that another S'porean has opened an authentic Hainanese Chicken Rice Stall @ Food Republic, Cityplaza, Tai Koo Shing. The food court is very similar to those back in S'pore, and I believe it is opened by the guy who owns BreadTalk, cos there is also a BreadTalk outlet within the food court. Finally, I get to buy the famous floss bread - the normal, spicy and extremely spicy ones.

D had patronised the stall first and was so happy to inform me that the stall serves roasted chicken (something HK so-called chicken rice stalls don't serve), thick black sauce and most importantly the authentic chicken rice chili. Well, we have been there ever since, and especially this evening, after a long day at Tung Lung Chau. We had expended our energy successfully climbing routes which we didn't manage to last year, and needed to reward ourselves. A set meal for two (HK$80 which is about S$17, additional bowl of rice costs HK$5) includes the following:

(a) 2 bowls of rice

(b) 2 bowls of soup

(c) a plate of blanched caixin with oyster sauce

(d) the very important roasted and hainanese chicken

You can have both of the same kind, but D loves his roasted chicken and I love my hainanese chicken. And of course, I helped myself to the lovely chilli and black sauce. Yeah, it's expensive compared to chicken rice stalls in S'pore, but there is really no point in comparisons since we are not in S'pore.

Spring Has Begun

I suppose last week's freaky, frigid and late winter days were the last ones we experienced for the year, and temperatures have been going up. Still, it is not too humid yet (July and Aug are the worst) and you know that Spring has arrived when the stores have put up the latest Spring/Summer collection. Pay day next week, and I already have a few items in mind.

Tomorrow, D & I will be going to Tung Lung Chau and climbing for the whole day. This will be our 2nd trip there (the maiden trip was done last year), and is organised by the YMCA Gecko Club. I had signed up for the both of us just a day before the deadline, and asked the lady how many people had signed up, and her reply was "Two", that is D & I. Oh ok... I told D later that the trip could be cancelled since it's just the 2 of us. So it's a nice surprise to know that the trip is on, cos I have fond memories of Tung Lung Chau. I am wondering where the guide will take us, cos if it's that wall near the raging waves, it will be quite an obstacle course to get there. I remember how clumsy I was negotiating the huge boulders, jagged and slippery at times, climbing up and down on my flip flops and fearing a slip would result in a sprained ankle or worst, a broken one.

D is currently packing our gear and preparing his 20D to take some shots while we are there tomorrow. I had just completed preparing tomorrow's lunch (sausage & mushroom sandwiches) that we will be taking along with us (cost at HKD100 pax doesn't include lunch).

Dragon Boat season is starting again, and some of us are rowing again... it is probably going to be a all-girl's team this year. Some of our previous rowers aren't taking part this year whilst we have new ones joining us. I doubt we will win anything, it is just for fun.

Got to snooze soon, and praying hard for good weather, clear blue skies, cool breeze and generally a safe climb.

The Big Three-Oh

I was looking at the calendar earlier and realised that it will be just a couple of months before I reach the big three-oh. I remember when I was much younger, I had looked forward to the years of liberation and freedom (or so I thought) once I turned 21. But when that happened, I looked back fondly on those carefree and me-myself-and-I days, as I handled new responsiblities (life, finances, family etc) each day. The paradox of life...

Still I think that I have lived much better, more enjoyable, exciting and experienced a different type of freedom since I was married to D. I used to defer to my dad for counsel and decisions, and being the absolute "paranoid" dad that he is, there were lots of things which I couldn't do (not even do the girls' thing like stay overnight at my good friends' place or go clubbing). I suppose the most exciting thing I did while living in his house was to learn swimming, and forged his signature so that I could donate blood during the annual blood donation drive in my college days. Although I do respect him for all the things he has done for the family, living in those days was just a routine thing. I reckon there were lots of times I wished I could break out of his control, but didn't dare or perhaps I didn't want to go through all that anger, argument and trouble. In those days, I had looked at my friends' experiences and felt unhappy, envy and told myself, "When I grow up..."

These last four years, I have been trying to do as many stuff as I can, try as many things/activities, and most importantly travel as much as possible (particularly dependent on the dollars and cents). And I am glad that I have done them with D. I can't imagine doing it with anyone else, and it has been a wonderful ride. So in part, I am catching up on lost time (what have I been doing all those years?) and now, I am creating memories and stories that D and I could tell our children and grandchildren.

The Oscars 06

Just want to put on record my predictions since it's like 10 minutes before the start of this year's Oscars... If I was still studying, I would have "pontang" (i.e. not attend lessons) to stay home and watch the proceedings.

Anyway, here's my predictions for the major awards:

1. Best Picture: Brokeback Mountain

2. Best Director: Ang Lee

3. Best Actress: Felicity Huffman

4. Best Actor: can't remember the name, but it's the lead in Capote

5. Best Supporting Actor: Jake Gyllanhael (will check the spelling later)

6. Best Supporting Actress: ???