will be heading to hong kong tonight and returning sunday night.
need to head there to visit the few temples that i usually visit. need to give thanks to gods for blessing me with a smooth career change. i had asked to be blessed with a smooth career change when i was there previously and now that i have secured a new job, i will need to give thanks. and since i'm there, i might as well do another hike. but lets see the weather. if it gets too cold, i might just do some shopping instead.
this is such a superbly produced show. was attracted to it when i first saw the trailer and watched it over the weekend. i was so totally wowed by the production and the storytelling. you can google the story and i shall not write too much about it. despite the english title, there was really nothing about madame bovary, which was french by origin. this story was about a chinese lady call li xuelian and chronicled her attempts to clear herself after her husband called her "pan jinlian".
this is a definite must watch movie for anyone who enjoys chinese culture, chinese art, chinese music, chinese stories, and of cos, the art of story-telling where criticism about politicians, politics and political systems are so smoothly done, it actually felt refreshing. and it is so interesting to see how the production was done within a small circle, suggesting how the life of a lowly commoner, could only be interpreted via a small lens... and how this circle changed to a square, when she visited beijing to see a redress for her grievances, beijing being a place where everything is well defined, organised, supposedly rule of law...
you see, i had been coaching a few colleagues on job search for a while and for one particular colleague, things developed so fast she literally went from second interview, to negotiation, to offer, to finally signing the contract all within the week! and for each single stage, i had to literally go into very specific details with her, down to things like how to craft emails, resignation letters, etc. i had to do so as she had not had a job change for the past 8-9 years and thus was totally unsure how to go through one. thus, the process was as exciting for her as it was for me. yesterday, it starting with me rehearsing with her how to negotiate the package and we had to rehearse different scenarios. and wallah! everything that i went through with her happened to the dot! even the amount that i told her she could expect to be quoted. it was just that accurate and she was totally prepared for it! the day ended with her finally accepting the offer and signing the contract!
heh heh... after a few successful career coaching attempts, i do seriously think i have what it takes to be a career coach. hahaha... (pat on my own back). and what better way to end the day then to be able to sit down with 2 ex-colleagues for dinner treat. and of cos, the treat was due to their successful job applications too.
i was quite tired when i walked into the cinema and because of that, i almost dozed off during the first half of the show. it was a little disjointed and confusing as the show attempted to provide sneak views of the different weird critters and at the same time, showing a parallel story about a family who is against witches. frankly, it was interesting to see the variety of weird critters, many of the critters reminded me of pokemons! lol! and oh, i need to mention that there was one that looked like real-life minions, and another a real-life "sid" from ice age. and with all these happening at the same time, the pace of the first half was rather uneven. thankfully, the second half of the movie picked up. things became a lot more bearable and coherent and the storyline flowed better.
go watch... but don't expect any young harry porter kinda feel. this movie was clearly made for people who grew up with harry porter, and of course are at least in their 20s now.
it was kinda odd to walk in the forest path (that was relatively narrow) and have a jogger jog pass you, and he let off little bursts of farts with every step he took. yup, that was what happened to me this morning when i went for my routine walk at the macritchie reservoir.
darned. then again, thinking about it, it was a little funny.
decided to take a night walk at the east coast towards the marina barrage and took this shot of the marina reservoir. very pretty right? first time i visit the place at 10-plus at night.
and frankly, i felt very mixed, and more relieved than happy when i did it. on one hand, i felt very uneasy and sad that i will be leaving many of my colleagues whom i have gotten rather close to over the last few years. yet, on the other hand, i felt relieved for the fact that this whole uneasy period of unauthentic relationships with my reporting manager and department head is coming to an end. i supposed i was also a little apprehensive about the new job. anyway, looking at how my department head smiled, it seemed quite certain that she was quite pleased with my resignation.
oh, ok, ok, you wanna talk about it? was the first question she asked (and smile as she tried hard to look surprise at the same time) before we proceeded out of the office to "chat". frankly, there was nothing much to talk about. and it was so since six months ago when it was made very clear that the decision to appoint someone junior and much less experienced to be my reporting manager was purely because "they are good friends who went back a long time" and that "she'd perfectly understand if i choose to leave". but i thought a chat would be most useful. on one hand, it would reflect maturity on my part and to allow me to take control of the conversation, and on the other hand, it would allow me an opportunity to seek a waiver of notice period. i reckoned there was no harm asking.
after some initial discussions, it seemed like they are open to let me leave by 31 dec. that, to me, is a good start. i have asked if it can be brought earlier as december is usually a low-peak period. let's wait for their final answer. looks like i will be able to meet my 2016 resolution to leave my current company by year-end after all.
:-)
post-note: the last day has been fixed at 31 dec 2016. fitting end to 2016 i guess...
i caught a glimpse of this clip in youtube last evening. the title clearly indicated it was a song by "pink" (that i know) and the picture showed a gay couple. i thought it was interesting, considering such open portrayal of gay men are not commonly seen in mtvs. naturally, i clicked on it and woohhh... what i saw made me uncomfortable enough to read the comments and do further research about the background of the clip. and yup, what i read confirmed my suspicion.
this mtv showed clips of the show "from beginning to end", a controversial production that dealt with the themes of homosexual love and incest. admittedly, i felt a little uncomfortable when i saw it, but thinking about it, well, i supposed such things do happen. i mean, there are just all sorts of people in this world right? and on a very very superficial note, i thought the two actors in the mtv (show) are really cute and their chemistry was really good.
a new president has been elected. and everyone is reeling from the shock of the result.
this result, together with brexit, perhaps are indications of a broader dissatisfaction of people (usually the less engaged, unconvinced and perhaps less informed) against current institutions and, i believe, are casualties of globalisation - jobs, identity, livelihood, identity, etc...
looks like we will be heading back to the times when the world will be more fragmented and where protectionist policies will be the order of the day. and it is during such times that i think lesser democratic ways of electing governments are more effective. but of cos, my thoughts are with the assumption that the government elected is a responsible one that looks after its citizens well, and this assumption may not hold true all the time. does this also mark the start of the end of democracy as we know it? ok, too many thoughts at this point in time.
whatever the case may be, we have to brace ourselves for interesting times ahead.
it's hard not to fall in love with this song, and of cos, the ever so cute elvis! certainly brought me back to my childhood.
:-)
"wooden heart (muss i denn)"
can't you see
i love you
please don't break my heart in two
that's not hard to do
'cause i don't have a wooden heart
and if you say goodbye
then i know that i would cry
maybe i would die
'cause i don't have a wooden heart
there's no strings upon this love of mine
it was always you from the start
treat me nice
treat me good
treat me like you really should
'cause i'm not made of wood
and i don't have a wooden heart
**
muss i denn, muss i denn
zum stadtele hinaus
stadtele hinaus
und du, mein schat, bleibst hier?
(repeat **)
there's no strings upon this love of mine
it was always you from the start
sei mir gut
sei mir gut
sei mir wie du wirklich sollst
wie du wirklich sollst
'cause i don't have a wooden heart
did some research and found this clip in youtube. apparently, the song was a german folk song and was shot to fame after elvis adapted it for his hit song "wooden heart". enjoy!
you see, i had just crossed a traffic junction and driving on the outermost lane when a tipper truck (that was filtering in from a minor road) attempted to filter into my lane. i kept at my speed as i had expected the tipper truck to let me have the right of way but the driver did not. he emerged from the filter lane, cut across the inner lane and moved into my lane without slowing down. in order to avoid a crash, i had to apply my emergency brake. the rear of my car swerved as i applied my brake and loud screeching sounds could be heard. but it was too late. my car continued moving forward as the truck's front entered my lane. i visualised a head-on crash and held on to the steering wheel tight. thankfully, the truck driver applied his brake in time and his truck slowed down sufficiently for my car to squeeze through (between the truck and the kerb). it was a nerve-wrecking moment.
it's minus 3 days to the us elections (minus 4 us time).
i really look forward to the conclusion of this election. been a wild roller coaster-ride since the start of the primaries many months back. i must say i am kinda sick of the constant news that kept focusing on the mud-slinging and the personal attacks between the two candidates. the constant bombshells that appeared suddenly added to the already stressful process. regretfully, i can only use 3 words to describe this election - sex, corruption & lies... such politics are never seen locally where policies take center-stage. perhaps this is only special to this election but it is wearing everyone down big time.
i really look forward to 9 nov, the day after. and hopefully, the more qualified candidate wins.
completed the pre-employment medical check on monday and when i left, i noted the doctor cleared me for every thing listed in the medical review checklist. there were 2 other things that needed clearance before i am considered cleared - the chest x-ray and the blood haemoglobin count results. i think they should be fine but still couldn't help but feel a little unsettled.
called the company today to check if they have received the report and had been told they will possibly get it this coming monday as the medical center had send it out. in the meantime, there's nothing much i can do except to wait for their call.
for 4 consecutive days, there were celebrations and commemorations to mark the two different ends of the lives of my loved ones. let's list them here
1 nov - bee's lunar calendar birthday
2 nov - bee's gregorian calendar birthday
3 nov - sapphie's 16th birthday (if she was still alive)
4 nov - mum's lunar calendar death anniversary
usually for sapphie's birthday, i would bring her to the beach to swim. it had been a routine for the 15 years of her life. and this year, i had earlier planned to throw her ashes into the sea at the location where she usually swam on her birthday. but i decided against it for sentimental reasons. tomorrow will be mum's first death anniversary. to taoists (or chinese in general), the first anniversary is significant for it officially marks the end of the mourning period. but i don't intend to engage any monks to do any prayers. i thought it'll be meaningful to just head to the columbarium to reflect and to pay my respects to her. i will head down early in the morning. i suspect my brother will do the same and so i want to avoid meeting him. no point meeting and possibly get into a fight.
