em goi

Today was the day I woke up in a different place, a different moment, a different society. My senses were all perked up to explore.

Landing the day before onto Hong Kong island, quickly and briefly scanning the new atmosphere, the strangeness of unfamiliarity and the mixed feeling of excitement and anxiety.

The place i would be, for the next five months.

And today, looking back a year ago, i can only smile :)

The awesome people that turned up.
(Family included!)

My treasured items from home :)

Our first dinner, when all the shops were closed.
7-11 was our saviour.

Our immediate buy at the airport, which erm lasted us three days I think

Our toilets!! I know, tell me about it.

Also met the boys' boss, Marge on the day of some Fire Dragon festival

Gor gor Kok Wee brought us to The Peak!

yummy yummy mango dessert

our scout to our workplaces

ah-ha, MY company and its paper

where we stayed for five months

experiencing our first typhoon
(which somehow was a '6', so it was just like SG's windier storms)

along the walkway from the midlevels escalator towards the MTR

My (in)famous daily vege box in its original mix

Variation 2 - with cherry tomatoes now!

Variation 3 - with yellow peppers
(when I've got the time with the knife in the morning)

Our trip to Ngong Ping

Radio interview with generous Mdm Chee!

National Day fireworks!

the cheap and favourite ferry rides

Uncle Yee Sang brought us to Stanley Market

the msg-thick but HUGE prawn wanton noodles

my room at the hostel

Peter's fighting fish

Ruiming's fighting fish

my favourite ice cream

the all-day breakfast place we usually bring our visitors to

my beloved grendene sandals put to rest.

Peter's mom visited!

the photoshoot we humoured ourselves with
over our weekend stay at the PENTHOUSE of V Apartments

frightening ourselves at ocean park's halloween night

halloween squeeze at lan kwai fong

evening boat trip to peng chau

the nightlights of the city, seen from tsim sha tsui

ladies' market at kowloon

cat/housesitting for Charlotte - no curfew!

the big christmas tree at central

christmas with parents and relatives
that included a trip to macau

happy new year!

the mad new year crowd to watch the fireworks
(okay, the crowd's massive on most holidays)

super yummy lambshank on lantau island
(restaurant's desserts were yummy too!)

by now, i'm sure you know HK likes fireworks alot

the tram

Pair of black leather zara boots
(which took me three visits to view, wear and deliberate over)

on my last day, the boys of multimedia

weekend stay at jen hotel for review

lovely fat cat, ding dong!, at a local stationary store

I liked you alot, Hong Kong. :)

But i definitely enjoyed it much more, with Ruiming and Peter, and of course, the many others who came up, met us, brought us around.

Definitely including the family and everyone else back here.

Really, you all made it happen. thank you :)

For laughs.

Presenting to you, the summary of word searches (as of Sept 1, 2009) people have used that had led them to this blog.


Haha, "peter keith rajendran" ;)

And as I reiterate again, knee high boots and ah lians do not necessarily happen together. They can very well be mutually exclusive.

Really.

I will take it that the silence was an agreement between that very true and possible statement.

Why, hello.

Well oh well, I haven't been here in a long time. And it's hardly expected for anyone to even come by here anymore.

But I am refusing to delete this blog and its contents, simply because it served me five months as my point of contact to the bright, sunny, hot island back home, where I am now.

The Hong Kong trip was an amazing five-months trip. Alot of things happened in that five months as well; surprising myself, loving others, with many moments filled with love and laughter. Also things that I could control, yet others which I fail to understand why I didn't and look back and wonder.

That five months away, was quite a bundle mix of things, which I really puzzle myself with.

Yet, it's a period which I will hardly ever forget, and don't wish to.

So you see, this place, while it stays stagnant and maybe even stale, it will not rot or grow green. Cos it'll be here and it won't go away. Very much like the memories that come with it.


Thank you.

our soil

Okay, I am six hours behind time, but well: Guys, I'm back! :)

It's a pretty warm feeling to be sitting at the back of a Singapore-registered car, with the usual tropical rain hitting the windscreens, coming down the AYE.

Familiarity hits you back when you see loads of acronyms, the usual ugly-printed carpets that welcome you when you step out of the airplane and down right to the usual blue taxis.

When sitting by the window seat of the airplane, you just smile when you can see Singapore Changi Airport tower from a distance and even better, the many many trees and greenery that weren't so lush where I was just 10 hours ago.

Ruiming and I were just ticking off the list of local food items we haven't eaten since five months ago: nasi lemak, roti prata, proper usual Hainanese chicken rice, laksa, bundung, chee kueh, chee cheong fan, rojak, etc.

We felt like tourists when we passed by the rising Marina Sands Resort, wondering what are those green buildings just by the Singapore Eye, hearing updates on the demise of Jurong Entertainment Centre and the popping up of an apparently, Clementi Shopping Mall.

While Hong Kong cannot be missed, it's a pretty great feeling to be back :)


Once we touched down at the airport, Ruiming and I looked around at all the rather-suspicious-not-Singaporean rushing to get their hand luggage from the above compartments, and whispered: "HA. You guys are the tourists now. Take that!"


I've said this dozens of times, but pictures on past entries will come in, trust me.

Ok after I unpacked my overweight luggage bag and everything else I could bring back :)

in transition

It is currently 3.30am and all three of us are still up.

I had to get both the boys to sit (forcefully) on my main luggage bag to try to close it. I am awfully sure it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over the 20kg limit that brilliant JetStar had come up with.

And well, erm, this is after I had given two earlier packages to be brought home by two aunts and maybe another two for my parents when they dropped over for Christmas. Annnnd after Ruiming and I packed in a 20kg box to be sent back to my place by Hong Kong Post.

We hope the box is doing well, over the South China Sea. Till we meet the next time, in about a month.

It is not fun to pack when some imaginary silent Hong Kong local is whispering in your ear: "20kg. 20kg. 20kg. 20kg. 20kg. 20kg..."

More importantly, I am pretty stunned that I can accumulate so many things in five months. I am amazing.

Today's mission: Ruiming and I to stay awake till we bail out of this hostel at 8am. Flight is at 11am. He reckons that having that amount of time should be enough to drag our goooodknowshowheavy bags to wherever we have to be.

See you all sooon! :)

Oh smell it!

This is my final hour in the office!

Every other interning Ngee Ann student: we're gonna be reaching the end soon! Who would've thought we'd survive FIVE months being the lowest lifeform in any company.

Will update with pictures on what was given to my colleagues :)

showing symptoms of a singaporean

AW! The five-day holiday is over! It was fun while it lasted. Psst! Especially when half of it was spent in a hotel ;) will have an entry on that one soon enough :)

I'll be picking up my final company assessment tomorrow from my boss' drawer as well!

And there's only two working days left before I end the Hong Kong stint!

Haha just the other day, we noticed something quite funny. Our minds have kinda acknowledged our going-home-soon by proof of unintentional slip of the tongue moments like: "I need to top up my EZ Link card" (Here: Octopus card) and "Just take the MRT la, faster." (Here: MTR)

It's speeding up so quickly! Less than a week before I am gonna be home! Everyone, beware! :)

P.S. I realise that this is probably the only entry that has so many exclamation marks!

just a few more days

It's quite hard to believe that there's only slightly more than a week left before I return back to Singapore. Much harder to believe that I have only two official working days left at SCMP.

*Well, accept it: Hong Kong has threeeeeee official days of Chinese New Year holidays :) so that makes it a daaaamn long holiday plus the weekend :) though family's back home at such an important period :/

Just not too long ago were we getting settled it, getting used to the usual Saturday morning exercise (which I admit, hasn't been happening cos it's just too cold la hehe) and the after-work weekday dinners and the wandering of different parts of Hong Kong.

Plus me trying to frantically keep updating this blog with pictures and words to keep everyone (those interested at least) on what's happening to my stint here.

That last paragraph hasn't been happening because there's barely enough time by the time we get back from work, wonky internet at the hostel and the piling entries (which already have pictures in them, just lacking text by the way) all labelled as 'draft'. Sorry :/ do be prepared to see more of a photo essay instead though, so less of me talking :)

It kinda hit me when I had to print out the Company Assessment form for Students for my boss (which is sitting at my boss' office table now as I speak because he's on leave next week) and the reminder that the Final Report soft copy is due in about a week.

Well, while everyone hurries to prepare for the Lunar New Year, it's hard not to remember home and how it's like during this period of time :) Also, everyone (okay, some) is also trying to grab us for dinners/lunches cos they realise that their stinking greenhorn-in-the-industry intern of five months is already leaving.

Like today, the boys' colleague - who gives them a lift to work every morning - kindly invited them and me for dinner with their boss at her house. Last week, it was at one of their boss' place as well. I think it's their office enviornment (cosy) that allows for such breaking corporate roles that enables weekend socialising with each other (even after seeing each other so many days a week) unlike the environment (many many many people) i work in.

Now there's actually the feeling that I should soak up whatever I am used to in currenly cold, dry and windy Hong Kong before I fly back to sunny, wet and humid Singapore. You know the feeling that time is running out (as Ruiming calls it) and you can hear this soft 'clicking' of the seconds-hand on the timer.

It's a trip that was (and still considered as a 'is' till I get back) a learning experience - in almost all forms. :)


Oh and the chance to get my boots and use them regularly ;)

While I have my chance, Happy Chinese New Year all of you :) Grab all the angpows you can get while you're not married :)

P.S. look out for pictorial entries (especially since I've got four more days of holiday!) if I can :)

it's just not logical

One of the most amazing, puzzling things that I can encounter here sometimes is the attire of some locals.

I've already grown accustomed to the fact that most Hong Kong people dress up pretty well, on a daily basis. For both women and men.

I would think there's many explanations, though it's hard to distinguish if which creates the causal effect of either force.

1. The four seasons (though it really is a 'pseudo' one, as everyone calls it) allow for experimenting of various materials, designs and styles
2. People here are exposed to the variety of ways to dress up and are actually willing to try
3. Designers see it as opportunity to bring in more designs and more fashion-forward pieces, to suit all four seasons

And basically that's it, that's where you get this bunch of people wearing sometimes the most outrageous, the most gorgeous or one of the most refreshing change of fashion tastes.

On the other hand, Singapore is just hot, warm, wet and the same. And it doesn't help that we are all (okay, most) are in a very pragmatic environment, breeding us as practical people.

So you see, spags, shorts, bermudas and slippers are really the staples of our all-year round dressing.

You can really understand why our fashion industry has a steeper gradient to go against. Designers have to find even more ways to turn summer clothes exciting, for every 'season'. Such a challenge! Or could be our bane.

But back to the point, one of the things that still puzzle me, is that some locals would be decked in berms, slippers and a thin cotton T-shirt with THIS weather.

Okay definitely body's not used to the cold, but even at single digit weather - is that even possible?! That's testing the body's tolerance not to just turn your toes purple and drop them off into the South China Sea.

They are impressive, but no, thank you, I won't want to try that out.

Most of you know that I can kiiiinda tolerate cold (okay, maybe it's the hereditary hair coat) but it's hot-humid that i donnn't really fancy. Thus, the many convenient wears of spag, shorts, skirts.

Well, I have no idea what I am going to do with all the warm-inducing-containing stuff I have now.

• Long-sleeved tops (mostly cotton though)
• Opaque black tights (NEVER in my mind would I ever thought of wearing them back in SGP, it's JUST too warm and impractical!)
• Knee-high socks (seriously, I don't even wear closed-toed shoes back in SGP)
• Jackets (sigh, okay fine, cold lecture theatres)

I mean, I can always find ways to wear the knee-high boots, so that's not really a problem at all :)

Have a good weekend all! :)

P.S. The marketing stint has been cancelled cos they got caught up with other stuff and didn't have anything planned for me sooooo I am back in the news production team, occasionally helping Multimedia and being teased about how Singaporeans get canned if we ate chewing gum. Terrible right! Tsk! Haha

Edit (on Saturday, 12.47am): Internet's quite konky, but let me say this quick and only once - DAD! Guess what my friend (who is also on overseas attachment, in Philippines) placed on her blog!

"pps. i could really use some of huitze’s dad’s serious strepsils now."

It's one of your quotable quotes now! :)

in (the warm) office

Hehe okay, here's just to drop a note before anyone is in at office.

Okay, fine, my direct mentor kinda just arrived at work, but nevermind.

The weather has gone realllllly quite chilly and windy on this side, that it is hardly believable it's just 12 degrees. And I'm already decked in long jeans, boots, a thick jacket with a hood and a scarf.

Today's said to be between 11 to 17 degrees, with fresh and strong northerly winds.

Tomorrow will be the exciting bit: 9 to 15 degrees.

I almost grimace what happens when we're back in Singapore, where temperatures are more than double of what Hong Kong is currently having.

Not like I'm detesting to go home, but: uh-oh.

Edit (at 11:25pm): Ruiming says that I should just make HK Observatory my homepage. But really, can't help it if what you have to brace yourself for the weather so that it won't give you a horrid surprise right! Anyway, it has changed - it's currently 13 degrees and tomorrow is going to be 8 to 14 degrees instead! (takes a deep breath) It's war (Okay, unless it gets lower!).

if this happens too many times, it will not be good for my health

Okay, while being too early at a Sony press conference at JW Marriott Hotel, I had some time to spare and wandered into one of the many many (okay, it's like the number of plankton in the ocean) stores with huge 'Final Sale', 'Seasonal Sale', 'Clearance Sale' signs in Pacific Place.

Oh trust me, they had loads of those enchanting mesmerising chants of '50% off', '70% off' all clouding my eyes as well.

Very, very, extremely hard to pull away from that involuntarily, spell-like draw and attraction of those stores. Must be some sort of scent they use as part of their retail decor.

Anyway.

Whhhhy does this seem too much of a deja vu to me! SIGH.

Zara black boots, leather, on sale

I'm sure this same feeling will be felt by the family, and the "Not again?!" exasperation moment from each family member (That makes it seven exclamations, since the three kids won't know of previous encounters of such). Sorry you lovely all back home, I had to show you how it looks like. :) See, at least you know I haven't changed (that much) while being so long away from home :)

Thinking, thinking, thinking, thinking, etc. And still thinking. BAH.

what the intern reeeally does at work

Hmm I realise that I don't really explain what my job scope is really like at work here.

Okay so if you're interested, then carry on reading. Nooo I'm not (really) slacking at work at all :)

Well, the last few times, as you notice me talking about the typhoons and bird flu issues, it's because I was working for the news production section of the scmp.com team. So I help write max 800-word articles for the website, find pictures to sometimes accompany the leading stories and upload them on the Internet. That's when if you were to search for 'Angela Seet' in the search engine box of scmp.com, you would be able to find the articles (abstracts that is, unless you subscribe to the paper).

But that was months ago already, and each article is only up for seven days before it somehow disappears. Don't ask me why, I tried to ask one of my colleagues and he just said he wasn't sure, but that it would "disappear".

Almost as though while the Internet is our main source of communication and information now, it also has a bad habit of being hungry.

So that was news production. After that, I moved over to help the multimedia section of scmp.com. The multimedia team produces videocasts and podcasts for that section on the online platform. We usually accompany some reporters for their stories (if they are interesting) to film the interview or story. So the podcasts/videos would be published on the site on the same day as the story.

Admittedly, these last few weeks are more hands-on, I get to move around, meet more people and get out of the office - though the previous stint did help to polish and give practice to my writing. Here, I have to switch to writing for viewers or listeners instead.

Hmm a matter of fact, I almost could get a chance to help film a high-profile interview that the film editor would be doing today. It's the leading actors of the movie Red Cliff, for the sequel that is coming out soon. Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Chang Chen - imagine how exciting that would be :) but weeeeell, apparently the A-list actors are slightly fussy and have declined to be on camera (such an irony) so only the reporter can be there.

The videos are really very straight forward and nothing too fancy, just to accompany the print version of the story. Here are some examples:

The Garcia Thrill Riders - a family of motorcycle stunt performers



Hong Kong martial arts actor Donnie Yen - for the movie Ip Man



Taiwanese girl band S.H.E - during the New Year countdown I think



Asian Games Show 2008 - Exhibition sponsored by Sony



Bill Clinton - at the closing of the Clinton Global Initiative 2008



Okay that's some of the videos that I've helped out with. Can't say they are stunning, but they are pretty adequate just for that three minutes to make some online presence for the paper I guess! Haha

Other than that, I help to do podcasts. Mainly helping to produce the paper's daily news podcast, SCMP Today - which has to be ready by the night before the actual paper is printed in the morning. That's why the late(r) nights when on the audio shift.

There's the choosing of music, writing up of the news summary, recording two interviews with reporters for two segments and one for the international news, editing of all the bits and mixing them into one podcast.

Here's one usual SCMP Today news podcast.

And as the year came to an end, I was tasked to pick out songs that we have used on the podcasts. We use 30 seconds of each of the four songs in one podcast and because it's five days a week - imagine how many I had to listen to. I had to pick out five for each of the ten music shows we were going to have.

Here's one of the SCMP Today music shows.

Other times, it's just doing voiceovers for some podcasts.

This is one which we did for the Clinton Global Initiative, it's the dialogue between former President Bill Clinton and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

So there, that's roughly the summary of what my job really is about. I'm due to go over to the Marketing department but there's only three/four weeks left (SUPER FAST EH) so not sure how that is going to go.

Meanwhile Multimedia is babysitting me.

Yes yes yes, there are loads of undone posts, but those really would come up soon, just that with pictures and all that, I really shouldn't be doing those at work :)

Hope all had a great new year and well, hopefully 2009 treats us well :)

one of his moments

This is showcasing one of the classic noteworthy moments my father has, when it combines his obession with over-excessiveness and kuah khang zhang-ness.

As my parents made their trip over to my side of HK island to see the hostel and view Charlotte's apartment, they also helped to bring back some of our 'growing' purchases from this land (Well, my parents apparently checked-in six bags - of course including their own!).

With Peter not feeling so well with a raw throat, Ruiming and I accompanied my parents back to help carry everything back to where they were staying (THANKS Gor Gor Kok Wee!).

My father, who has the tendency to care even for people he only recently knew, was going to attempt to find Strepsils for us two to bring back for Peter.

Dad: "Ahya. Do you mind waiting a bit more? I want to try and find my Strepsils so that you can give it to Peter. We're leaving soon anyway, so you all can keep the rest."

Me:"But Peter already has his Fishermen's Friend, dad. So it's okay."

Dad (insistently while digging his bag): "No, no, no, no. Mine is the serious one."

Edit (my sister says that there is no ending): So yes, in the end, the father of mine managed to pull out not the usual six-piece pack, but a whole 24-piece pack of Strepsils, with a face of satisfaction and glee. I was made to bring that packet (when I didn't even bring a bag) allll the way back from North Point to Central.


As Ruiming said, that last line said by my father, can actually be part of a Strepsils advertisement.

See the reason why it's hard not to laugh when my father is around :)

not much a utopia, but it will do for now

Hi all!

Sorry this place has been turning out not too well this couple of times cos work has been quite in the way and where we three are, we do not have Internet that's why.

Last few instances, we also have been having visitors - thus, many of our weekends/free time is to bring these lovely people all about HK (or rather, where we have been at least) for coming by! :) As cliche as it sounds, when they come by, it really makes me miss home a teeny bit more ;)

Anyway, three of us are currently staying at an apartment, cos we are cat-sitting for the boys' colleague who is away for two weeks for the year-end holiday. Annnd reason why we have no internet: the owners who have stayed in the place for more than seven years have already forgotten the password.

Ah-HA. As silly as it sounds, but it feels like civilisation all together (which we will miss dearly in one week when we have to return back to the bzz-hostel). We actually have:

• A television with cable
• A dining area
• Full-length mirrors
• A kitchen of proper utencils
• Proper shower curtain
• More importantly, NO CURFEW that I have to rush back like a mad dog for :)

So yes, all this while we have to feed the two cats (one that is really playful and the other that is really spiteful for some reason), change their litter, pick out the slippers/sock that have found their way into the litter box, etc. Fun, I must say :)

There are loads of other blog entries due I know, sorry. But will get onto them as soon as possible ok? Especially since I can only access this at work.

Oh oh, but it is absolute heaven to have four days of holiday: Christmas, Boxing Day and weekend! This week also has New Year's. Oh oh and HK has THREE days off for Chinese New Year :)

Sigh, the simple things an intern looks forward to. :)

Still, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all (to cover the times I may or may not be able to put up an entry!) :)

senior intern, it is.

That's the title that my colleagues have knighted me with, since there is a three-day-old intern (getting her Masters in Visual Comm in Hong Kong University I think) here who is only going to get work experience for eight working days (well, she did turn up durin the Christmas break).

And there's other titles that has been created, such as next level, Master Intern and Intern-in-Chief.

Probably one way to keep the youngest (*AHEM) in the team, occupied.


Oh yes, I also guess that the heavens and the lucky stars have their ways of taking pity on and showing their appreciation for the not-so-financially-provided intern.

That on top of the many many lucky bits I have been getting. Well, thank you :)


Hmm I guess taking a quick glance behind, I admit that it does make things more challenging, in a way. :)

Summary of backdated entries (in order of appearance on blog):

• 5: "armed with guns and our senses" (6 Nov) - WIP
  
• 4: "walking & cycling weekend (23 & 24 Nov)" - WIP
  
• 3: "weekend wonders (and goes away in a blink) (15 & 16 Nov)" - WIP
  
• 2: "i spent (for good reasons!!) again (9 Nov)" - WIP
• 1: "as the (stronger) cold wind blows (8 Nov)" - WIP