Pointless Sentiments

Sabbatical - Quick Comment

2012-01-01T10:54:00.000-06:00

My sabbatical trip to Australia is coming to the end. Looking back over the whole trip, there are many gains and losses. Perhaps I shouldn't say losses, but more like realizations. Many of these things I think I've known for some time, but after this trip, they solidified. Let just say I'm a bit tired of the status quo; however, I don't really like drastic changes either. So I will have to see how things go. There will definitely be some small changes in the near future, with much bigger ones on the horizons (1-3 yrs) that I need prep time for.

Upcoming Purchases

2011-10-15T19:08:00.000-05:00

Paid off last month's credit card bills, definitely burned a hole in my wallet from all the hotel and air ticket purchases (still got a small payment due next month for the Melbourne nights).

At the same time, I just realized that in additional to the Aus/HK trip in December, there are tons of stuff that I am planning to get... It would be great if company can start sending out bonuses now instead of the end of year. XD

So far, my list contains:
* New phone - Nexus maybe? I'll find out on the 19th I guess.
* New camera - I think I'll settle for a 5N instead of 7 just for the sake of my bank account
* 3DS
* Kindle - I still need to figure out whether I should get the Touch for now and wait and see if they'll have a 10" version of the Fire later
* iPod - A bit disappointed that the Shuffle wasn't updated since I'll be using it mainly for gym, so a shuffle probably would be enough. On the other hand, I should be grateful that they didn't kill off the shuffle... hahaha
* Wii/DS games - Kirby Wii, LoZ: Skyward Sword, Mario Kart and Super Mario 3D Land for sure.

"Yikes" is the word that came to mind when I looked at the list... :p

So I made it to the 100th...

2011-04-16T21:28:00.000-05:00

This kinda came up during one of our team game nights. The original topic was on laundry and how often do one do laundry. Thinking about how many tees/polos I owned, I casually said that shirt-wise, I probably can go on for about 2 months.

Boy did I underestimated myself. It turned out that for short-sleeves, I actually had 99 of them hanging in my closet. Admittedly, there are a handful that I haven't wear for a while (say a year or two), and a bunch that I bought but haven't got a chance to wear them (after all, I do live in the Midwest where it's not always warm and toasty)... but even excluding them I probably would still have 80+ (Note to self: find a time to donate those).

Honestly, I really should cut down on the buying... but reality? I just bought #100 and #101 today.

Um... an interesting combination in front of me right now....

2011-03-01T00:18:00.002-06:00

Since with the sub-zero temperature, I have no mood going to the gym tonight, I decide to stay home and do nothing (again! 2nd night in a row.... Gosh, i love the days after a deadline). So in front of me right now on the left is a peanut butter sandwich... on the right is a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Yeah - not your typical pairing... but heck I am hungry and i need to finish off the bottle of wine I opened on Saturday. I even considered microwaving some edamame, I'll see whether I am still hungry after I devour the PB sandwich.

On the topic of wine, I opened a bottle of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Prosecco this weekend (it's with a bunch of friends). To my utmost disappointment, I like none of them. The chardonnay was okay (but definitely not as good as the one I tried in Napa from the same vineyard). The Sauvignon Blanc was forgettable. And the prosecco... oh the prosecco... It's just too "oaky" and does not have the crisp taste and aroma that I was hoping for. :( I know I should have gotten a bottle the vinho verde instead. Silly me of wanting to try something new.

On a totally different note, some have noticed the increase in number of blog post I wrote this year (for those folks reading from FB, I don't actually write these in FB... I just have FB automatically import from my blog). I guess this is mainly due to the fact that my desktop died a couple weeks ago. Sitting on a couch with a laptop apparently makes it easier to blogs. I'll see how long these updates will last. :p

This Past Saturday...

2011-02-27T15:45:00.004-06:00

definitely an activity-packed Saturday. The most exciting part, of course, was finally getting my hair cut - something that has been bothering me since like the beginning of February (Wait, is it normal for someone to be excited about an haircut? Oh well, I never claimed I am normal anyway). However, with the deadline on 2/17 and things were kind of behind schedule, taking a trip down to Chicago for my haircut really wasn't an option. So finally the deadline had past and the weather was somewhat decent (or so I thought), I decide to pay a visit to my hair stylist - No more getting frustrated trying to gel my hair in the morning!!! I also have my hair colored this time to a copper-ish color. Since the "brownish-red/reddish-brown" I did last time was too subtle, I decided to go for something that's "easier to see the difference". I remembered I tried similar color in 06 or 07 and really liked it, and so far I'm loving this one as well.

Oh... might as well do an advertisement for my stylist here then: Headquarter Hair (Norris: will I get reimbursed for this? Hahahaha....)

Also met up with the Chen's for lunch... the little kiddo is definitely growing fast. At 6 months, I felt okay to hold him now as chances of me accidentally dropping him has receded. Hahahaha.. Also went to the MS store afterward at Oak Brook. I guess that's MS's response to the Apple store, but honestly I wasn't very impressed. It's definitely lacking something but I can't exactly pinpoint what it is. To me, it's not much different than simply walking into a Best Buy.

All the above happened in Chicago, which means a 2.5hr drive each way. To Chicago, it was an okay trip but definitely not a good one. I knew this pretty much as soon as I got on the Belt line and I started yawning... 945am? Definitely too early for me to function on a Saturday (And I already head to bed early the night before... at 2:15am)

On the way back it was much worse. Besides the constant need for caffeine to keep me awake, there was also the freezing drizzle which forced to me to stop from time to time to clean up the ice on the wiper blades and the wind shields. Yikes!

Fun continued when I got back to Madison with another night of "Bang!" with the team. In our last two team game nights, it has replaced Settlers of Catan and became the game of choice.

Like I said in the beginning, it was definitely an event-packed Saturday.

差啲唔記得 blog 底...

2011-02-23T04:03:00.002-06:00

12 月返 HK 時近距離見到林一𡶶... e+ 諗番真係應該走埋去搵佢影番張相都好... Oh well, too late now~
佢真係真係唔係太高，另外佢個樣，真係睇足咁多年都係差唔多，一樣都係咁 baby face... 直頭係無言啦...

btw, 唔知佢幾時會開 “個人” 演唱會? 好强調係個人因為我對佢個妹冇乜興趣．我成日都話佢真係開嘅話我係會極力撲返黎睇嘅... XDDDDD

有啲歌，係唔可以亂咁聽嘅...

2011-02-23T03:49:00.002-06:00

完全係 mood changers...

[Edit: 咁又呃咗一個 blog post... 哈哈哈...]

It's been a long week...

2011-02-19T20:07:00.003-06:00

It's been a long week at work due to the development deadline on Thursday. Well, it's been busy ever since I came back from vacation already, but this past week is simply hectic. Basically all my time was split between work and home, with a heavy majority being at work. So it is definitely a relief that I now have my life back... Ha ha ha... Most of the stuff made it into the QA with a few remaining. Considering the state of all the projects on Monday and how many projects made it in, I'd say the whole team did some really crazy job this week. Hopefully this is not happening with every deadline.

Weather

2011-02-13T04:04:00.003-06:00

Earlier tonight I was looking at the thermometer and saw that the outside temperature was 30 degrees. My first thought was "Oh, it's so warm tonight". But a second later, my senses came back to me and I was like "What's wrong with me!?" It was still below freezing point and I was calling the weather warm!?!? To my defense, comparing to a few nights ago when the thermometer was constantly displaying temperatures below 0F, tonight is indeed much warmer.

Looking ahead, the weather forecast for the upcoming week is excellent (with high of 52 on Friday). Unfortunately, I'll have to survive the Thursday deadline before I can enjoy any of this...

And so I took a step...

2011-02-08T23:59:00.002-06:00

While I think this probably is the right choice, but part of me isn't totally convinced yet. Hopefully this will turn out to be something interesting, otherwise I will have to plan for something else (though that too might not be too bad)~

Like Last Year, I Have a Team to Root for in the SuperBowl

2011-01-24T02:37:00.003-06:00

Since Green Bay made it to the Super Bowl this year, this makes my decision very easy. :D

On the other hand, I just realized today that I really don't have much love (like ever) for the Chicago Bears. This is quite puzzling to me. I mean, supposedly, Chicago is the city that I've known/have connection for longest ever since I moved to the States: it was my port of entry when I first moved here; I studied 2 years of middle school in a Chicago suburb before moving back to HK to continue my high school; and then again for 12th grade before I head to college in Indiana; another year after college before I started working in Madison... Yet I was quite indifferent to all the Chicago-based sports team (I was never a sports guy).

My current theory is that probably because I knew nothing about football during those time. Actually the football that I grew up with, you actually kick the ball (hey, I grew up in a British colony). It wasn't until college that I started watching "American football" (courtesy of my dorm-mates/roommates). But of course by then, the team that I cared most about was our college football team. And since I went to Purdue, the NFL team to root for would be the Indianapolis Colts.

So here's my NFL team allegiance at the moment:
1. Any team that Drew Brees plays. Purely for sentimental reasons. Did I not mention that I learn the rules of football by watching him play at Purdue? I also remembered rushing down the field (twice) in the year he led us to the Rose Bowl - once against Michigan or Ohio State and the other against IU (Great memories - but surprising my football watching roommates didn't go to any game that season even though they have the season ticket).
2. Packers - I do live in Wisconsin now
3. Indy - I did go to a school in Indiana for 5.5 years after all

There's tequila in it? Even Better

2011-01-16T15:17:00.003-06:00

Ever since the cupcake place opened in Hilldale, it's always hard for me to not stop in after a Saturday/Sunday lunch at HK Wok to pick up a few. The problem? They're not cheap at $3 apiece. However, since I haven't had them for a while (as I was not in the States last month), I figured I'll pick up a few today and bring them to work for snacking purpose.

Baker: So how many of them would you like?
Me: Um... 3
Baker: Alright. Are they for here or to go.
Me: To go
Baker: So you said you want the Strawberry Margarita, right?
Me: Yes
Baker: There's tequila in it, you know?
Me: Even better.

Definitely looking forward to it. On the other hand, I am still waiting to try their lemon one.

Vacation Planning for this Year

2011-01-15T16:27:00.002-06:00

This past vacation, a number of people were surprised that I still haven't took my sabbatical yet (since I've been telling them about it for like a couple years). Well, people shouldn't be surprised. After all, it's me and it usually takes forever for me to decide on anything.

Anyway, the sabbatical is probably going to happen this year. One main reason is that I've been working at the same company for 7+ years, and that means my 2nd sabbatical opportunity would be coming up. Need to use up the first one first. :p

So the option right now is either July to Europe or December to Australia. December in Aus has a certain appeal - summer in December! And that would also mean that my annual trip back home would like be in July. So two summer vacation in a year - that's definitely a big plus.

There will be a gathering in Chicago in August with buddies from college. We'll be celebrating a cutie's 1 year old birthday as well as meeting another new baby for the first time. Since it's only in Chicago, chances are that I probably don't have too much planning to do for that.

Another benefit of taking my sabbatical in December is that I can use my flex holiday (or is it floating holiday) on the Friday after Thanksgiving. That would give me a long weekend in November. Since my parents most likely won't be in the States this year during that time, I probably will be free to travel. Current plan - Orlando. Earlier today it was Hawaii, but Orlando might be a better fit right now.

So all these trips are back-loaded: July, August, November and December. Now I just need to find something after Feb 17th. :)

P.S. And this makes post #3 this year. Hey I'm not too far from meeting my New Year resolution!

Blog

2011-01-15T16:22:00.002-06:00

Looking back, I really didn't blog that much last year - a mere 3 posts for the whole year. Hopefully this year will be different and there will be more posts (shouldn't be too difficult considering that this is already post #2 for this year).

I really think that i need a quicker method of blogging. There were numerous occasions where I had something that I want to blog about, but when I finally have the time to sit in front of a computer and log into Blogger, I no longer what to write about whatever I wanted to blog about earlier. Maybe I should switch over to twitter... Mwahahahaha...

Anyway, let me make blogging more often one of this year's resolution. Let see how long before I give up. :P

新一年就挑戰!?!?

2011-01-15T15:41:00.002-06:00

邊本星座運程書批我今年工作上會有轉變？如果有咁批嘅話就中了（雖然唔係轉工咁大件事）。

A curve ball is definitely thrown my way this past Friday and I'll need some time to think about this. 感覺上會係一個幾大嘅轉變, 尤其係要放低做咗咁多年嘅 product。與止同時，我亦唔可以否認佢係一個非常吸引我嘅 proposition ﹣ 尤其係當依家做緊嘅野基本上上咗軌道，人手上亦唔似以前得我一個人事咁。

難以取捨嘅選擇，等我再慢慢諗諗...

P.S. 睇得明嘅朋友唔好係非死不可留 comments... 基本上咁大篇都係中文係有原因嘅... XD

Team grows by another 33%

2010-07-05T20:49:00.005-05:00

Today, another developer joined the team. Looking back, I gotta admit how much the team has grown in the past couple years - and the drastic difference from when I started 6.5 years ago.

Thinking back, it was quite funny - Erica and I being the newly hired QA/developer, plus Michael our main TS. That's pretty much our whole team (neither Erica and Michael is 100%, and I wasn't suppose to be full time on this team as well). I still remember calling our team one of the smallest team (if not *the* smallest team) in the whole company. Deadlines are especially *fun* of course, since we always have to scramble for PQA resources. I am still puzzled how we manage to pull several releases with such level of resources.... hahaha...

When Brian joined in 2006, which made things a bit better. Unfortunately with the departure of Konphused and the moving of our team to another division, we were back to square one with me being the only developer again. At the same time, things really got hectic as the dashboard was starting to take off. Fortunately, Ru joined the team late 2008/early 2009 - but it was still a crazy dev cycle.

The golden triangle was formed mid-2009 when Chris joined. After 6 years, we finally have enough people so our projects are "self sufficient" in terms of PQA. Well... Almost. Now that we have another member, that should give us a bit more wiggle room and our future project plans a bit smoother.

I just hope that we don't scare him away.

Overall, It was a Great Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-01T01:51:00.003-05:00

Bars on Friday night
Met some new friends on Saturday
Caught up with old friends on Sunday
And of course being a "workaholic", I did throw in a couple hours of work here and there as well. =P

Just like the title said, overall it was a pretty good weekend. Oh - and I got my hair dyed. It's been a while since I last had my hair colored, I decided to change things up a bit - also an early present for myself. Right now, it's brown with some hint of red in it. I wasn't too sure how red it will turn out when i picked the color, so I opted for the safer route. Next time, I think I should try the one that has a bit more red in it. (And if I could convince my stylist to move up to Madison - and then it will be blue!) I don't think anyone from work (at least my "current" team) have seen the last "copper" color, so this should be something new to them. The cost wasn't as high as I originally thought, so I probably will keep my hair colored in the foreseeable future.

Morning Meetings

2010-03-02T00:33:00.002-06:00

I had a 830 meeting this morning... and it really has been a while since the last time I had a meeting earlier than 9. Those who work with me on a regular basis know that I am definitely not a morning person (thank goodness work hour is not too strict here). As a matter of fact, meetings at 6 or 7pm is much more preferable to me, but I digress.

The meeting actually wasn't too bad - other than the fact that it added some small projects/investigations on my plate. My main problem with coming to work early is that I don't get to leave early. It seems like regardless of when I come into work, I end up leaving around 730 - 8 (830 today). Even with an hour of lunch break, and taking a sanity break, that's still a pretty long work day when it's not around deadlines.

Hopefully the rest of the week will be better, but somehow I have the feeling that I won't get much of my own stuff done. :P

Is it too early to plan for vacation... in December?

2009-05-25T21:44:00.003-05:00

Since it's been all work so far this year (see previous post), I am really looking forward to a nice, long, uninterrupted, disconnected (from work that is) vacation. I don't think i can skip going back home (HK) - after all, that is where i do my main shopping, but perhaps I will venture out a bit this year and pack a 3-4 day trip to some other places. I'll see how that go.

On the other hand, my sabbatical most likely will not happen this year. For those who don't know, my company offers a 4-weeks sabbatical leave for every 5-years of service (Sometimes, i can't imagine having worked here, the same company, for 5+ years already. Many college/high-schools friends have switched jobs, even multiple times. In certain sense, I think I'm quite lucky that I found a company that matched quite well with me. Oh, back to sabbatical). They would also pay for airfare (include a companion) and up to 20-days (or 21... forgot the exact number) of lodging cost (i think it's 150/day). England is a front-runner for me at the moment, but not 100% sure yet.

I could also break the 4-wk into two 2-wk trips (taken 18-months apart). So that's another question i have to think about. Should i take it all at once, or two mini-trips instead? Um...

Finally another blog entry in 2+ months

2009-05-25T21:10:00.004-05:00

Well, blogging definitely took a back seat so far this year. This is like, the 3rd/4th post of the year.

First off, let's blog about work - since the work/lift balance scale is heaviliy tilted toward the work side. Things have been extremely busy in the previous months. Endless requests + Limited resources = Lots of OTs. Hopefully as this development cycles in wrapping up (still got couple more issues to fix), and new ones won't start until mid-summer/fall (please, no "surprise" in between), things should start to get better (finger-crossed).

Another exciting news from work is having a new developer on the team. For a loooooong time, I've been the only full-time developer on my product (and i do claim the title of THE XXXXXX developer in the company... hahaha). With the re-org late last year, my team had to give up the other half-time developer, but luckily got a full-time in exchange (can't imagine developing on my own for this release - well, actually I could, but i don't want to think about it). That brought the number up to 2. Still means I had to scramble for resources for each of our projects - which always causes headaches and frustrations.

On May 4th, another developer joined our team. I think the whole was pretty excited. As for me, not having to worry about finding additional resources is always a plus (well, my TL actually should be happier - since she wouldn't have to hear me complaining... XD). I could definitely see projects flow a lot smoother and quicker in the next cycle. Might be a headache for QA; but for now R&D is happy. :D

YouTube and work

2009-03-04T00:23:00.002-06:00

I just realized YouTube plays such an important role in my OT work hours. Though i have a decent collection of songs on my computer, sometimes you just want something different. The only functionality i would like to see is an auto-loop function so i don't have to click "Play All" when all the items on my playlist have been played. Here's my current playlist:

Finally some decent weather today

2009-01-31T23:29:00.002-06:00

Though i got up waaaaaaaaaaaay too late (like 5pm...Mwahaha...) to enjoy any of it. Ever since Jan 4th, weather in Madison wasn't too pleasant. Although there wasn't many snow days (thank goodness), but we haven't had a day where the temperature is above freezing point. In fact, on the 16th, the low was -16F! So today is definitely a pleasant change - with the high finally breaking the 32F barrier. Hopefully the temperature will continue to climb as we move into Feb/Mar.

New Year... New Beginning

2009-01-12T02:26:00.004-06:00

Oh well, looking at the number of blog post last year, i definitely didn't do so well on one of my 2008 resolutions (which is to post more than 2007). Let's make that same resolution this year - since it'll be much easier to reach. XD

Things are going well I guess... and it'll definitely be getting busier at work (which i don't mind actually - but ask me again in a week or two). I moved back to the Madison (or Fitchburg campus) at the end of last year, so now looking toward the completion of the new buildings in Campus 2.

This weekend I got these two songs stuck in my head (I blame GoNintendo.com for linking the video). The sad thing is that I can totally see myself singing and yelling along.... "Ka~~~mo ne Hai!" How Sad! :P

Animal Crossing in Progress

2008-12-03T01:49:00.007-06:00

Tuna! Took me quite a while to catch this fish. :D

12/6 Update -

Today i caught my 2nd Pike! PSYCHED. XD

What a drastic change...

2008-10-28T05:34:00.003-05:00

Couple days ago i was enjoying weather in the mid-80s back home... today I saw snow flurries and the high was only 39. Yikes~

Um...snacking at work...

2008-08-05T18:58:00.004-05:00

Did I ever mention that there are Haagen Dazs ice-cream bars for sale at work? They're a buck each and I've been getting one every day since last week for my afternoon snack. Costly...yet so delicious...

Today is one of those days...

2008-07-25T03:05:00.003-05:00

where i was mentally exhausted (technically it was yesterday since it's 3a now). It is funny because I didn't do too much "intensive" programming or designing today. I guess the trouble-shooting was just too frustrating - especially when you're relying on other team to get some of the issues fixed, before you can do anything. Anyway, hopefully tomorrow will be a better day - and I have a build for my product. :P

崖の上のポニョ

2008-07-21T22:18:00.006-05:00

宫崎駿新片~!

Let us sing along~~~ But be careful not to let this song get into your head. XDDDDD

Hopefully it will be shown in HK during the Chinese New Year holiday next Jan.

Also, I got to have the puppet that this guy's holding - it's just too cute ^o^:

More in action

Upcoming Toysrus Deal

2008-06-19T01:52:00.005-05:00

Hold off your DS game purchases till next week... at least according to this site. It looks like Toysrus is doing the buy two get one deal again. Unfortunately, I have 4 games that i want to get. Fortunately, I think Toysrus only carries 3 of them.

So..

In case you didn't notice, let's take a look at the publisher, should we? It's SquareEnix, SquareEnix and SquareEnix. What can i say - i'm a big fan. :D

The game which was not sold by Toysrus:

The game's from Atlus, which only means that I have to get it now (though I might not have time to play it once Tactics comes out) otherwise it will be out of stock. :P

And yet more RPG coming this summer (also from SquareEnix):

Hence why my Wii probably won't be getting much play time this summer... kakakaka

FireFox 3 this coming Tuesday

2008-06-15T20:23:00.003-05:00

Let me do my part to spread the word around.. ;)

http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/

Rare article about my company

2008-06-09T02:45:00.003-05:00

Yeah my company is a bit mysterious, so it was quite a surprise when I found this article: Behind the Curtain

It's decent read - plus some photo of our Verona campus (they should have taken some photo of our Campus 2's construction site - especially the big hole for the 4-level underground parking garage).

We found ourselve a dessert wine

2008-06-09T02:10:00.005-05:00

Was planning to have dinner at Lombardino's Friday night but they are fully booked except for the 5:30 or 9:00 spots. So instead, we went on Saturday. We have 6 people (Chris B. was planning to join us as well, but apparently he overspent on our Friday night dinner - XD). Well, I don't know about the others but it's definitely one of my favorite Italian restaurant here in town. However, parking was horrible as Lombardino's is located close to the campus area on a tiny corner lot.

The restaurant was really packed this time. Last time Konphused and I went there, it was rather empty. I think the service was above average. The waitress was quite nice and friendly. The food is good. I originally thought about ordering the Linguine di Mare, but had a change of heart and ordered the summer linguine from their special menu instead. I have to say this was indeed a smart choice. Konphused ordered linguine di mare and it turned out to be a heavy tomato-based pasta. Mine was more of a wine/cream-based, which suited my taste better. For the record, Lombardino's changes their menu throughout the year, and according to the waitress, the Summer Linguine I ordered will be on their regular menu starting next week.

While I've been dining out with these folks for like three to four years now, Saturday night was the first time we ordered a full bottle of wine split 4 ways (since I picked, so i stick with Chardonnay. wakaka) WeAlfred and I probably could have ordered a 2nd bottle, but I don't think Konphused and King Snort were that much of a wine drinker so we just ordered a follow-up Prosecco by glass instead. In hindsight, i should have ordered the Prosecco first with the lighter appetizer and the Chardonnay with the meal. Anyway...

Tiramisu is a standard with an Italian meal, but we also ordered a bottle (it's only of those smaller, 375mL bottles) of Moscato D'Asti. Man that Moscato was some good dessert wine. It's definitely sweet, but not too sweet like the other D'Asti I bought earlier. I would prefer the alcohol content to be a bit higher, but nonetheless it was a great wine. For those curious, it's a 2006 Saracco Moscato D'Asti. According to many wine selling site, we definitely got ripped off (we paid like $18 for 375mL, internet sites have the 750mL bottle listed for $13 - 16) - but hey, it's the experience that matters right? Will definitely again buy in the future.

So 3 glasses of wine + pasta + appetizer + dessert came out to $50, a pretty good deal to me. =D

People on the move

2008-06-02T02:35:00.002-05:00

Have heard from a few people switching jobs or planning to switch jobs/move to different place. I guess summer season IS the time to move. My team at work was hit hard, there are a few people leaving or has left. Considering the fact that my team is a small team to start out with, i expect things will get worse before it gets better. Yikes!

On similar note, my brother also got an offer with some company north of Chicago. Since his new salary is much more in tune with his necessary expenses, I am foreseeing that my days at supporting him might be coming to an end - which of course is fabulous news for me. To put it in perspective, I can pretty much get a new Dell 27" monitor each month with the money i am lending him, or buy a new MacBook Air every quarter. XD

I just have to share this...

2008-06-02T02:33:00.002-05:00

I bought a tasty watermelon this weekend - sweet & juicy =D Hopefully, it's a good indication that the melons i picked this summer will be great. Hohohoho...

罪過罪過

2008-05-12T03:33:00.002-05:00

岩岩先話今個 weekend 駛o左唔少錢係 dining 方面... 但今日我又走o左去買o左兩件衫~ Oh well... 支持美國經濟!

[Edited]
Memorial weekend... 又執多兩件... 一一"

Pricey Weekend

2008-05-11T03:24:00.005-05:00

Good news - I tried a new restaurant this weekend
Bad news - I spent $75+ on Friday/Saturday dinners

Seriously, if I don't think the US would be in a recession if everyone is spending like King Snort, MyEvilInsideMe, Alfred and I did this weekend. XD

MyEvilInsideMe found a Brazilian grill place last week, but King Snort wasn't up for it (since it's a buffet style) so we decided to do it this week instead. Originally we thought it would be our regular Friday night dinner, but that place is booked this Friday & Saturday, as well as next Saturday during normally dinner hours. So instead of doing it on Friday, we decided to make a reservation on Saturday at 9 instead.

Since we knew the price range of the new place would be a bit above our normal (it's $33 but all-you-can-eat), we thought we would have something cheap on Friday night... or so we thought. The place we ended up in? Olive Garden. We did consider going to the mall's food court at one point. We just didn't end up there. :P Despite my best effort (I skipped the Tiramisu), I still ended up with a $24 - ordered a glass of Prosecco - it was better last time. I think my glass was the last glass in the bottle so the waitress just emptied it out, but it also meant that a lot of the bubbles are gone already :(

Saturday night's dinner, well, what can I say. The whole experience was neat - having the people bring you the meat and slice it off the skewer is nice. However, I do think the price is a little too high. A $28 tab would make me go back more often. At $33, it will be one of those once is 6 months place. Alfred and I ordered drinks (Mango Mojito for him and a Sangria for me). Comments? I've had better Sangria. We even ordered dessert (they have a very good hazelnut gelato). To my surprise, King Snort even ordered a dessert wine (so did Alfred) - it's a surprise because he always says wine at restaurants are over-priced. I think they liked the D'Asti and I am tempted to buy a bottle next time I get wine. So how much does a Sangria + Main course + dessert cost? $52 - definitely one of the more, if not the most, expensive dinner I've had at Madison.

Mario Kart Wii

2008-05-04T03:21:00.004-05:00

After skipping out on a few other games (Okami, The World Ends with You, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates - don't worry my little games, someday, i'll get to you guys), I picked up Mario Kart Wii last week and is currently having a blast with the same. I actually picked up another SRPG game, Rondo of Swords, a week or two before MK:Wii came out, but i'll leave that to another post.

Overall, I would give the game a solid 8. It's Mario Kart so you should know all the mechanics to it. The game tries to refreshen up a bit by adding bikes to the mix - which at times were quite fun but sometimes frustrates me because I uses light bikes that get knock off pretty easily.

Races are sometimes crazy/hectic - getting hit by a red shell, followed by a blue shell and then a bomb probably would drive you crazy. But hey, if you get a Bullet Bill, that should make up for it.

Online game play is phenomenal. There is essentially no lag at all even when I am playing a worldwide match (unfortunately can't say the same for Smash Bros. That's why I mainly stick to offline mode for that game). Although I did get disconnected from the Nintendo WFC network for a couple times, it's a smooth sail most of the time. In fact, other than the time it takes to prepare the match, I can't really tell between an on-line and off-line game. People online aren't too bad either - I've had my wins/losses, but they were all fun. It's also nice that you can join games in which your friends are playing. One of my friends in HK and I are trying to see if we can get enough people to create our own 12-player room (so far we have 4).

If you're a Wii owner, I don't see the reason not to get this game. And when you do, leave me a message in this post with your Friend Code so I can add you. Mine is 3866-8414-7951

Weekend Recap

2008-04-07T02:33:00.004-05:00

In short, there was lots of traveling involved. I mean, 4.5 hr drive isn't something I would normally do myself. =D

The whole thing started when my friend told me last Monday that there will be a soccer tournament between the various HKSA around the Midwest region. He was hoping to get a ride from local UW's HKSA to go down and meet his UMich friends (he graduated from there), but it turned out that the UW actually asked him to help with the car-pool. And since he will be driving down, I tagged along to visit W. Lafayette.

The soccer tournament didn't interest me much - mostly because most people that I knew already graduated last year, and i would need a miracle to find Ronald. XD Just introduced myself to this year's P and have some brief chats. I believed i actually talked more to the UMich undergrads than Purdue's. XD

Since I didn't stay to watch the tournament, I took off and walk around campus. There are new buildings and constructions everywhere. However, i think it still manage to retain the same ol' atmosphere (which is a good thing). On a side note, I still think the new Discovery Park is "too modern" to blend with the rest of the campus. The Union definitely underwent some major remodeling. There are now multiple restaurants replacing the old "food vendor" (well, image you walk into the union from the south entrance close to Heavilon...once you get it, you used to get food from the place on your left...that area's what got axed and replaced). I kinda missed my standard "Quarter dark chicken with 2 sides" lunch (especially since one of the newer vendor is Mexican food). There's also a StarBucks in the Union now - fortunately there wasn't one when I was at Purdue - Can't imagine what much my lunch would cost each day. XD

I did a lot of walking as well. Basically back and forth between the soccer field outside of the Purdue Airport (so basically a bit further than Purdue West) and Chauncey. And i did that twice since the soccer tournament took forever with 7 teams participating (they were supposed to have 8 teams, but ND didn't make it). Even lounge a bit at Vienna on the 2nd trip. Good old times...

OK now, I remember someone told me that Harry's and Village Coffee shop both went out of business? Both seems to be opened yesterday. My friend and I actually drove around the campus on Friday night before we went back to the motel. There was this huge crowd outside Harry's. Though i don't go to bars, I am still happy to see it "re-open" (can anyone confirmed whether it really went out of business?) I do know that Boiler Room is out though - that spot is now occupied by a tattoo shop.

Here's the Flickr photo set from my trip. Let see if I can try to get people to go back in the fall for football games. =)

Long Day

2008-04-06T01:37:00.004-05:00

but quite fun just walking around the campus. Too tired to write up anything now, but I'll part you with my newest wallpaper on my desktop:

Let me know if you want the full 2.5M version.

An unexpected trip

2008-04-05T00:55:00.013-05:00

Location:
2030 Northgate Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47906

The HKSA is having a soccer tournament tomorrow (today). One of firneds at work is going down to cheer for his UMich friends, so I decided to tag along. So here I am in one of the motels in West Lafayette.

It's also funny that the UMich and IU teams are also in the same motel. The U-Wisc (two of their members rode with us) team actually is staying on the east side close to Meijer. There are a few more schools participating, but just don't know where they're staying.

We drove past Lafayette/West Lafayette/campus a bit (since we didn't arrive till like midnight). I couldn't imagine how many things have changed. There are new buildings everywhere, and a lot of places where we used to go closed down.

I probably will be a fun day tomorrow - ain't planning to stay at the tourney at all, but kinda walk around instead. Borrowed King Snort's camera for the purpose, so let see if I can get some photos. :)

The Purdue stadium has been renamed!?

2008-03-31T23:03:00.005-05:00

From one of the HKSA photo galleries (dated back to 2005), I found this rather funny - especially with the choice of words. On the other hand, I was quite disappointed that the current HKSA did not take the time to update the site.

Oh... I just found out that a friend of mine at work know one of the guys in the picture. Small world~

Okay...that was a weird phone call...

2008-03-16T22:08:00.002-05:00

Guess who just called? HKBN! Yeah, HKBN just called me asking me whether I want to join their $24/month unlimited call plan. First of all, how did they get my number? Are they that desperate to sign up new customers that they're willing to call internationally?

Anyway, I never called that much anyway (I think i used about $5 - 10 per 3 months with my calling card). If it were something like $5, i might be interested, but at $25, definitely no deal for me!

My weekend schedule is a wreck!

2008-03-16T16:54:00.002-05:00

Fortunately, it's just that schedule that's wacky - the weekend itself is fine. Hohoho!
Since I stayed my pretty late on both Friday and Saturday, it wasn't until like 3 or 3:30 before I got up. On Saturday, that didn't leave me much time to do my weekly grocery. As for today, I was planning to go back to my office to wrap several things up and get a head start for next week. Now I have to rearrange my plans. :P

Part of the messed up schedule was contributed by the following:

The 14th Wii game in my collection (who says the Wii has a low attach ratio! ha ha ha). King Snort and I went over to Dinj's place & played a couple hours (those guys are good and King Snort obviously couldn't divide his attention between SSBB and FFCC:RoF) before having dinner at a burger place in the UW campus. (Side note 1: It really has been a while since I last went to the campus area; note 2: Dotty's Dumpling has a decent steak burger - wouldn't mind going back more often; note 3: lucky that we found a parking this time). Afterward I went back to my place and pretty much just played the game till like 4 or 4:30. And since i tend to sleep for at least 10 - 12 hrs on the weekend to catch up with all the missed sleep time during the week. No surprise that it was 3 when i woke up (Actually King Snort called for lunch around that time. Otherwise, I think i probably would stay in bed for another hr or so).

For those who own SSBB, my friend code is 0860-2925-8328

Give me back my hour!

2008-03-09T04:49:00.001-05:00

It's that time of the year again. Spring - forward = an hour loss. Not pleasant when you thought it's only three in the morning but realize that it's 4 already.

I missed my hour...

Professor Layton and the Curious Village

2008-02-24T19:27:00.003-06:00

Professor Layton is the 17th DS game in my collection. I finished the games in about 4 - 5 days (but i did stay up till like 4am one night), totally about 13hrs of game play. In my opinion, I think it's kind of short and wish it would be more like a 20hr game. But at least we know it's a trilogy so there are two more Layton games coming (the 2nd, titled Professor Layton and the Devil's Box, is already out in Japan. Hopefully it can make it to the stateside this year).

It's a collection of puzzles and brain teasers string today with a fairly good story. With the hint coin system, i didn't have too much trouble figuring out all the puzzles. Though at times it got frustrating because you've used 3 hints coins (the max per puzzle) but none of them give you really useful tips. Fortunately that wasn't always the case.

The art style is exceptional and i really dig it - absolutely loving the cute cartoonish look. The cut scenes are pretty neat, though i do think some of the voice acting could be better. All in all, Professor Layton is definitely the type of games where you keep telling yourself "Just one more puzzle, just one more" and finally realize that you've spent an awful amount of time in it. Well, in my opinion, that might not be a bad thing. =)

Lastly, I will be patiently waiting for the release date of Professor Layton and the Devil's Box.

P.S. I actually remembered seeing a couple playing this game (the "unofficially-translated" Chinese version) in the MTR once during my vacation.

A typical weekend

2008-02-24T19:17:00.002-06:00

My normally weekend finally returned! Ever since I came back from my vacation, my weekends were either spend at work, or something unexpected happened.

So it was nice sitting in my favorites Starbucks for an afternoon yesterday (despite it was a 15 minutes drive, and there are other Starbucks close by), taking my time to do grocery, and sleep-in on Sunday (didn't get up till like 3:30p today...Mwahahaha).

Second week in a row I made soup. Last week I made 雪耳 + 紅蘿蔔, and this week is 西洋菜 + 紅蘿蔔. Since I still have some 紅蘿蔔 left over (I use about 2/3 bags each time), probably next week will be 青紅蘿蔔 or 妅蘿蔔 + 蘋果. By then I'll be sick of 煲-ing 紅蘿蔔 and switch to something else. :P

There Goes Another Weekend...

2008-02-04T02:30:00.000-06:00

But the good thing is that, this was a relaxing weekend (well, not really relaxing) and not one of those "wake up at 3p, grab something to eat and head straight to work till mid-night" weekends I had couple weeks ago. We are at the tail end of our release cycle, so in terms of development, things pretty much quiet down a little. There probably will be some fixes here and there, plus a lot of catch up with reviewing documentation, but "shouldn't" be too hectic.

So back to this weekend. Saturday was a trip to Chicago for haircut. I figured it probably would be nice to get one before the Chinese New Year. Normally if I am going to Chicago for a haircut, most likely it would just be me since it's difficult to convince King Snort and MyEvilInsideYou to come along (let just say oriental food is not their type of cuisine). However, this time, I actually had a travel companion. He started at my company in January, also from HK, and driving 2.5hr to Chicago for a haircut totally make sense to him. Perfect match for me. Ha ha ha. So that was what we did on Saturday: Dim Sum > haircut > Mitsuwa > WoodField > Bowl House (dinner). I think we were seriously short on time - didn't even get a chance to hit Ikea. Maybe we'll need to cut WoodField next time.

Sunday of course was the Super Bowl Sunday. Jamie once again organized a Super Bowl party at his place. Like he mentioned in his invitation e-mail, it was the 3rd year he organized the party (can't remember whether I was at the first one though). See Faith running around was cute - it always amazes me how quickly she grew up. :P There were a bunch of no shows, so we even ended up with packed sandwiches to take home. So let me take this opportunity to thank Jamie once more for the hospitality.

The game was quite fun to watch. I seriously thought that the Giants would be dominated by the Patriots, but apparently that wasn't the case. Tom Brady really couldn't do much throughout the whole game. And the last quarter was absolutely amazing.

2:45a already? Definitely my regular time to head to bed. :P

MacBook Air is Nice...Real Nice

2008-02-03T03:17:00.000-06:00

I've been to the Apple store last Thursday AND Friday, hoping to find the MacBook Air on display but to no avail. Well, small town in Wisconsin, not much hope anyway.

But today it was a different story. I finally got my hands on a MacBook Air at Woodfield's Apple Store. And it sure is lovely, and definitely has the "Wow" factor that I am looking for. It was so tempting to see if they have one in stock and just hand over that little plastic card (XD). Luckily (Unfortunately) I haven't done my tax refund yet so I really don't have the extra cash laying around, otherwise, I might be an owner of a Mac today.

I was debating between the MBA and MBP earlier, but after holding one, the scale's leaning towards MBA. Well, it's rumored that MBP is going to get a update soon, so maybe i'll just wait a bit longer. Like I said earlier, the computer budget is still with the IRS now. :)

SVN

2008-01-28T02:37:00.000-06:00

Why is TortoiseSVN called TortoiseSVN?
Because it makes your system crawl!

Merging stuff into QA and running web Wilma should not be done at the same time. My computer was totally locked up for an hour or so. Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

又無緣

2008-01-21T02:08:00.001-06:00

發覺同某 d 人同某 d 事真係好冇緣嘅... 今次又冇我份~~~

如果今年10月或者下年2月再有就好喇~~~

btw, 一峰隻新 EP 值得買架 (雖然係國語! 我未買...因為佢個 payment processing system 好似唔收 foreign 發咭銀行咁啵~) 同時佢亦都好似好耐冇出過廣東碟~~~

P.S. 搵o左好耐嘅歌詞...

起點

我生命裡第一次感到遺憾
是我和你擁有不同的起點
所以今天牽著你的手開始
我會努力追回失去的時間

我會努力嘗試忘記你的缺點
直到發現它們本來是優點
如果我不能為你改變我的缺點
就請你笑一笑　親一親我的臉

路很遙遠　躲不過雨天
當雨水打在我們的臉上
快樂　不快樂　卻由我們來選

我們也許會忘記玫瑰的顏色
香檳的甜　還有淚的鹹
長路盡處我仍會　牽著你的手
微笑看著同一個終點

微笑看著一起的終點

New monitor at work

2008-01-19T22:37:00.000-06:00

Yeah! Someone from CaTS (I think the acronym stands for Computer and Technical Services, but not very sure. Anyway, it's our internal IT team here) knocked on my door the other day and left me with my new monitor. I didn't get one with their last batch so I am quite excited.

It's a 20" wide screen monitor from HP (model L2045w). I got used to my Dell wide screen at home so this is definitely a welcomed upgrade. I think I can also tilt the monitor to have it display it portrait mode (vertical) - should make it easier when going through pages of codes. =)

Midwest in Janauary ...

2008-01-19T22:28:00.000-06:00

See how "lovely" it is...

Luckily there isn't any snow or wind chill. For those living in a metric country:

Light at the End of Tunnel

2008-01-14T01:24:00.000-06:00

With a bit help from the IRS, I should be able to achieve one of my financial goals this year, which is also one of the prerequisites if I were to move back to HK (this is getting more tempting the more often I go back for vacation). It took me almost five years but hey, at least now the end should be near. =)

Since we are talking about prerequisites, another one would be becoming a US citizens. I think I already fulfilled all the necessary residency requirements, it's just that I don't feel like paying several hundred bucks right now. I was going to naturalize a few years back when i was searching for a job - since some of the job openings required a security clearance. Since I don't think I'll be leaving Madison for some time, getting my U.S. citizenship becomes less urgent. Though the only downside is that I'm still not able to vote. :P

Brief HK Trip Recap

2008-01-14T00:32:00.000-06:00

I will keep better track next time with my new MacBook! Bwahahaha... Until then...

* Definitely not enough time this time around. Last year (2006) I was back for 4 weeks and was bored for a week or so. This time I thought 3 weeks should be okay but apparently that wasn't the case. I didn't have time to meet up with all my friends - considering the fact that: i. Vincent wasn't in HK ii. Big Den also wasn't in HK iii. 老大要陪阿嫂 iv. Richard went to 深圳. Why didn't I have enough time (Though I was sick for a few days)!!!! So when people asked me how was my vacation, my answer? Two weeks too short. >_<

* Since no need to get any electronics this time, my shopping list was mainly clothing. Similar to above, I think I did not get all my target items at well. I should have go shopping alone in the afternoon of 29th (the day before I came back) instead of having a family day. Having mom right next to me slightly affected my "shopping mindset" (Really should have bought that tee and shirt from Zara). I think many sales people would be very happy to see me in my last week of vacation - since basically it went like this: "Well, let me try it on. Well I guess it's okay, keep it at the counter for me while i shop around for more"

* More on clothing. Biggest disappointment this time: French Connection. Number of items I like: 0. Biggest Winner: Izzue & Muji. Muji was really a big surprise. Never thought I could get like 5 - 6 items there. The rest was pretty average (2%, 5cm, etc), a couple items here, several items there. In general, the style this year was average.

* Newsgroup friends: A house warming party at Pak's and a CWB dinner. Had a great time in both occasions. Only hope that we can meet more often.

* Christmas Eve at Jasper's: Is it becoming a tradition? Well, I won't be back next (this) year during Christmas though. Maybe Vincent can pick up slack. XD

* Yuen Long: Since Jasper mentioned it in her latest blog. One of my conclusions in this HK trip is that normal dim sum restaurants no longer have 蓮蓉飽 - I'm not even talking about 白蓮蓉飽. Apparently they all switched to selling 流沙飽 instead. What a shame! I had to go to Yuen Long's 大榮華 for my 白蓮蓉飽 (but they were good - Yum). On the other hand, i definitely had enough 碗仔翅. =9

* Speaking of Dim Sum, I think there were only 3 days in my whole vacation where we didn't have dim sum. For those who are surprise, my parents do go to have dim sum almost every day since I was little (my dad's work schedule was rather atypical). So to me, daily dim sum breakfast/brunch/lunch was pretty normal. Oh, those couple days I missed? It's because I stayed up all night the night before. XD

* It was nice not having to drive. Considering the fact that I live in Fanling, a normal trip to Kowloon would at least take an hour. However, it felt much more enjoyable since there wasn't any need to pay attention to the road condition etc. Only need to remember to get off.

* Getting Back Home after mid-night. Not having to drive was nice, but finding public transportation back home was a pain once past midnight. However, I did figure out how to get home from CWB and Kowloon Bay via red/green van. I think i've seen signs for over-night green vans in MongKok. I'll try to figure that one out next next time.

* Gift for folks at work: another snack pack from 奇華 but don't know how they fared with last year's 鳳梨酥. Next trip might be tricky. Um...

That's it for now~

Return to the Blogosphere

2008-01-14T00:07:00.000-06:00

Dev deadline? Over
Trip to HK? Over
Year 2007? Over

Well, finally have time AND mood to start blogging again! XD

Things finally settled down from my HK trip. My work schedule is back to normally and my sleep schedule is getting there as well (actually it's a bit healthier as is right now - comparing to going to bed around 3 before).

This year, my blogging resolution will be having more post than last year, which was 68. This should be a modest goal - let see whether i can achieve that or not. Speaking of blogging, Apple is rumored to announce a slim/ultra compact MacBook this coming Tuesday at MacWorld. I am extremely interested. Hopefully it's be in the right price range for me. Wondering what this has to do with blogging? Having a MacBook = able to blog in wifi-available cafes = definitely more blog post since I like hanging out at coffee shops on weekends anyway. My company does offer interest free computer loans, but i need to pay off my current PC first (since you can only do one at a time and i have ~$600 remaining with my current one).

And the gaming blog continues....

2007-11-07T03:19:00.000-06:00

Really nothing much to update otherwise... Probably will return to blogging world next year since the deadline's coming up at the end of this month and I'll be on vacation in December.

Anyway... Considering the fact that it's not even a year since I bought my Wii, I realized tonight that I pretty much buy a game per month (that's not even counting the DS ones). Here's Game #11 in my collection:

Luckily, I did manage to finish the main story mode in Zack and Wiki (by the way, it's a great game. For only $40, every Wii owner should get a copy...kakakaka) so I can actually start FE right away. Probably go back to Z&W from time to time to do more treasure hunts and try getting to 100% completion.

Game #12 will be coming next week; follow by Game #13 and perhaps #14... November is definite not a good month. :P

Update on Vacation Plan

2007-10-28T04:05:00.000-05:00

It looks like I got lucky this year. Originally my itinerary was something like this: MSN > ORD > SFO > HKG > ORD > MSN. It wasn't my ideal plan, but since all the other dates/flights are fully booked, I decided to buy the ticket anyway.

I purchased the ticket last Saturday (20th), and this past Monday, I got a call from the travel agent saying that he was able to find a direct ORD-HKG flight on the 7th as well. Even better, he was also able to find me a seat on the 30th (the original date was 29th) as well. At $1155, i think it's a good deal and i am very impressed with their customer service.

More proof this is becoming a gaming blog...

2007-10-28T03:37:00.000-05:00

Nowadays it feels like I only blog when there's something related to either Wii or DS. Hahaha...

Anyway, after looking around for several days, I finally got my hands on Capcom's newest Wii game - Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure. The game supposedly shipped this past Tuesday. Knowing that this is Madison, I wait a day before checking the major outlets for the game. So on Wednesday after work...BestBuy - nope; Toysrus - nope; GameStop - nope; Target - nope; Wal-Mart - nope... and then I gave up. I pretty much repeated the same "shopping" (more like searching) trip Thursday and Friday. Finally this ~~morning~~ afternoon after I woke up, GameStop's site said that they have copies in store (finally!) Rushed over, hand over credit card, game GEEEEEETTTTT!

The guy who works there says that the game is flying off the shelf, I was like.."Yeah, tell me about it"

Anyway, the verdict is this: If you have a Wii, you should not miss this game. In fact, go buy it now! Wait, you should call the stores first to make sure they have it in stock to avoid my fun experience

* Yeah, that stage with the frog bomb? Died 3 times... >_<

Next question: should i rely on local retailers for the 11/5 release of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn? Or should I buy it online? Decision, decision...

Notice anything unusual?

2007-10-12T00:08:00.000-05:00

Below is the search result I got when from UAL for ticket prices between Madison and Hong Kong. Notice anything unusual?

Totally forgot...

2007-10-10T04:15:00.000-05:00

that Nintendo was doing there fall conference tonight (in Japan). Hence the blogs are flooded with new Nintendo news... From what I've read so far, it was quite an impressive event with a lot of new information on new games and release dates.

For those who are keeping an eye out for WiiFit, it will be released in Japan on December 1st for roughly $75.

Oh... SquareEnix has a new WiiWare game (think of them as XBox Arcade or Playstation Network) that is a spin-off from the Crystal Chronicles line - Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: The Small King and the Promised Country. Being a big SquareEnix and FF fan, no complaint there (well, maybe a release date for FFCC:Crystal Bearer would be nice. Also wouldn't mind getting the main FF line back to Nintendo...XD)

P.S. Fire Emblem DS was also announced during the conference. I guess my game lineup for next year will be as packed as this year. Mwahahaha...

Not enough sleep... it's all Link's fault

2007-10-08T04:16:00.000-05:00

Bought the newest Zelda game last Friday and have been playing it since. It's the first Zelda game on the DS (which increased my DS game collection to 15) and I have nothing but praise for it. The game is controlled totally using the stylus and yet it feels so natural. I don't think I can actually go back to the old scheme any more.

And with the stylus, some of the puzzles were extremely entertaining. The puzzle on the island with no maps was definitely an amusing one. Without the touch screen input, I don't know how Nintendo could pull off such genius trick. =) There are tons of jokes/funny scenes sprinkled throughout the game. The story is very compelling and not to mention I totally dig Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass's art direction (cell-shaded cutesy figures). I guess my only concern is that it might be a short adventure (comparing to the 60 - 70 hours I put into Twilight Princess). Now only if Nintendo would let us know when we can expect the true Wii version of Zelda...

Game buying season starts...

2007-09-24T00:48:00.001-05:00

with a tiny droplet of water call Dewy. My 9th Wii game:

I think I'll enjoy the game - it's kinda like Kororinpa but with a story and platforming elements. You basically use the remote sensing functionality to navigate Dewy through the various stages and fight bosses. It's definitely not the *greatest* game, but one that definitely fits my gaming styles so it's a nice welcome to my game collection.

Looking at all the game boxes on my desk, it's kinda surprise to see that the number of Wii games I owned is getting close to the number of DS games (Right now, DS collection sits at 14 - but I haven't bought Luminous Arc yet and Zelda DS is coming out October 1st). Apparently I do spend a lot of money into games. XD

Well, I have till late October for Dewy (and i should be fine) before Zack and Wiki comes out.

UGM is finally over

2007-09-20T23:57:00.001-05:00

My company's annual Users' Group Meeting is finally over. With the completion of Campus 2 Phase 1, we are hosting almost every single event (except one) in our Verona campus. This means we have around 5000 people around the campus every day this week - pretty crazy. On one hand, it's quite nice to be able to simply walk to the educational sessions instead of taking a bus to the Alliant Energy Center/Monona Terrace; on the other, parking is painful, no excruciating. There are currently around 1500 underground parking spot in Campus 1 - and since we have to accommodate customers who drive, they make some temporary parking spot in the Campus 2 construction site. Parking on gravel (and then walking back to my office) is definitely no fun - especially you are dressed up (Yup - it's the only 3 day in the whole year where the attire is business casual). They definitely need to bring the ice-cream back during breaks. I can do without the lunches, but no snacks, yikes!

We also completed the two final landscaping projects in Campus One: our corporate tree house and the waterfall between Cassiopeia and Deneb. Haven't actually gone up the tree house yet, but the waterfall is quite neat. Here's the Flickr photo set.

Have to Resist the Urge...

2007-08-28T02:28:00.000-05:00

Gee... Shooters are not my genre of game, but I am kind of getting hyped up by all the internal media regarding Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. So far the game's getting good reviews and has a strong single player story (key to me as I am not a big fan of online multi-player). The only drawback is that I haven't play Prime or Prime 2 so I might not understand the storyline fully.

Um... decision decision...

Currently listening to...

2007-08-27T01:42:00.000-05:00

[This post probably means nothing to my coworkers other than Konphused...kaka]

Leo Koo's Moments
Miriam Yeung's Meridian
Hocc's What Really Matters

Of the 3, I think the least enjoyable is Miriam's. Some of the songs are just too old-style. Leo's good because a lot of the songs are K-able. Hocc's kind of in the middle. Though I have to say 木紋 is my favorite song in all three albums.

歌手：何韻詩作曲：張繼聰填詞：黃偉文編曲：

如果　一手鋸開枯樹　木不會發現痛
不過　日日澆水的我　覺得被挖空
如果　必須結束關係　難扮成從未栽種
讓我　數著年輪　這些年輪　我的心會痛 wo~

畢竟那段如沐春風
早刻進百年長的信
在信中　圈圈緊扣　情感多深厚
前因　非因　錯種

分開簡單　抹去往事極難
幾多溫馨　燭光晚餐
難以用　斧頭一劈　叫畫面飛散
伴侶沒了　記憶會為患
倚星細語　抱月夜談
歷歷在目　錄下年鑑
來年樹倒　身影孤　煙花散
年輪未可推翻　化不~淡
（情長未可推翻　化不~淡）

緣慳　但是人非草木　並不會太易慣
刻個　木造的心給我　痛苦未會減
情願　舊事連根一拔　忘滅如燃盡的炭
但我　數著年輪幾圈年輪　已經濕了眼 wo~

分手與又平復之間
少不過百年零一晚
就怕翻風的一晚　回首貪一眼
回憶急速擴散

就怕新婚的一晚　臨終貪一眼
徒添幾分慨嘆

[Edited] Just noticed it's Wyman's lyrics - no wonder 咁到肉...XD

Do You Have a Friend Looking to Become a Software Developer?

2007-08-27T01:06:00.000-05:00

My company recently vastly increased the referral bonus - let say 3 - 5 times more. The catch is that I'll have to refer 3 before 11/30. So if you or your friends interested, let me know. Hohoho~

Vacation Plans...

2007-08-25T02:40:00.000-05:00

For the next 3 years... ha ha ha...

For some unknown reason I suddenly figured out the months I want to take vacation for the next couple years (till 2009). Of course that's assuming I am with the same company. So here's the plan:

Dec 2007 - Most likely around the Dec 12th or 13th and till Jan 5th, 2008.
Aug/Sept 2008 - 2 to 3 weeks. It's summer so I can pick up a new set of summer clothes
Chinese New Year 2009 - Haven't been back for new year for a while so this would be nice
Late 2009 - Sabbatical Leave for the win! Haven't quite figure out where I want to go for the extra 4 weeks of vacation. Since company is paying for travel/lodging to a country I've never been to (min 12 days; max 20 days), I probably won't spend all my time in HK.

Am i think way too ahead?

Etridan Odyssey - Done!

2007-08-23T21:06:00.000-05:00

At least for now - I can't even remember how many hours I've put into this game. Old school dungeon crawler ftw. XD I think I still need to go back and tie up a couple loose knots but the main quest/post game is definitely done. Though I remember others were saying that there is supposedly a 2nd credit but I didn't see it last night when I been the "final" boss. Something fishy is going on...

Anyway, I have a feeling that this will become a gaming blog for some time... Bwahahaha... Now I need to go and buy Luminous Arc this weekend. Hohohoho...

Side note: Also bought Trauma Center: Second Opinion from a co-worker for half its original price. He said that I am literally the only person who played that game, so it's like new anyway. Um... an almost new game for half the price, I need more bargain like this one.

Mario Striker: Charged

2007-08-11T22:07:00.001-05:00

Hard to believe this is my 7th Wii game already. Bought this game last week (I think) and so far it's quite fun. It's the 2nd Wii game that supports Wi-Fi (the first being Pokemon Stadium). I am still playing locally for most of the time to hone my skills - definitely don't want to get pwned when I play against others. I don't have to win every game, just not something like 0 win and 50 losses (well, i wouldn't mind a winning record either). I think I can pull off many of the tricks - but still needs some practices with dekes.

The game is a bit hectic in nature - as in any other Mario sports games/Mario Kart - but in a fun way. Many blogs/forums mentioned that the single player mode is lacking, but I found it just fine. I did play 2 games online - 1W 1L. I think I actually need to do some homework to counter some of the more commonly used tricks (my first opponent exploited on the teleport into the goal trick couple times... Lame. The 2nd opponent i think was a newbie like me so the game was more evenly matched).

Most importantly, if you also bought this game, leave me a comment and let me know your Friend Code (for the game... well, wouldn't mind your Wii FC as well). Here's my info:

Wii Friend Code: 3195-7945-8157-9195
Mario Strikers Charged Friend Code: 365179-336423

List of Upcoming Wii and DS Games that Interest Me

2007-08-06T01:24:00.000-05:00

Got a couple e-mails earlier about upcoming Wii games so I figured I might as well assemble my own list for the rest of 2007. At least then I can "try" budgeting for them. =D

First up - Wii! At $50 a piece, we have the following must-buy titles (in no particular order...well except for Mario Galaxy and Fire Emblem):

1. Super Mario Galaxy - 11/12
2. Fire Emblem: Goddess of Dawn - 11/5
3. Trauma Center: First Blood - 11/15
4. Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 - 11/15
5. Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition - Released ($30 only)
6. Dewy's Adventure - 9/6
7. Bleach - Shattered Blade - 10/11
8. Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaro's Treasure 10/18

And the following list for highly-likely titles:
1. Super Smash Brothers: Brawl - 12/3
2. Mercury Meltdown Revolution - 9/26 (should be a budget title)

And the following for "when I have the cash":
1. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - 8/27
2. MySims - 9/20 (unless Animal Crossing comes out first)
3. Simpsons - To lazy to lookup the date

Gosh - 8 games on the must-buy list!? I am definitely contributing big part to the gaming industry. And what's up with November? Galaxy, Fire Emblem, Trauma Center AND Rayman all coming out in the same month!?

Back to the DS side. The good thing is that DQ IV,V,VI and IX won't be ready until next year, as well as FF IV, FF Tactics A2 and FFCC. The bad thing is that there are still a few games to buy. Here's my A list:

1. Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - 10/1
2. Luminous Arc - 8/14
3. FF XII: Revenant Wings - Nov
4. Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village - Dec

Tier 2 in the DS Group:
1. Bleach: Blade of Fate - 10/9
2. Heroes of Mana - 8/14
3. Brain Age 2 - 8/20

For DS, everything other than Zelda is contingent on me finishing up Etrian Odyssey. That game is a perfect gift for RPG grinder like me. Hohohoho...

So overall, roughly $700 would cover my gaming expenses for 2007... :P

Such a rare sight...

2007-07-23T03:46:00.000-05:00

Look what I spot in Target earlier today - this is like the 2nd time since last November where I actually see them in stock...

Harry Potter 7 - Done!

2007-07-22T02:00:00.000-05:00

Yup - done.

Finished the book in a single reading, and it took me approximately nine and a half hour. I think the book is really good, better than the Half Blood Prince - the plot is fast-pace and tense, not too many dull moments throughout the book. I think mainly because there are a lot of grounds to cover in the book. It would also make a very good movie even if they only cover the major battles. There were couple times when I caught myself thinking that I'd love to see this scene in the movie.

Quite a few characters died and i will spare you from any spoiler (at this moment...ka ka ka) Many of them i felt indifferent actually, but when one of the characters died toward the end I was quite sad to see he/she/it/whatever go.

Knowing that there will be no more Potter coming kinda saddens me, but if that's what Rowling planned, I guess we'll have to be content with it. It's been like, 10 years (?) of Harry Potter, like many reviews out there, I too felt that the Deathly Hallow is indeed a good closure.

P.S. Now I just have to find my Book 5 and 6. I know I bought them, but just couldn't find them.

P.P.S. I kinda feel sorry for the Starbucks - for less than $6, I pretty much sat there all afternoon/evening (230 - 9). XD

What a laundry day...

2007-07-08T03:33:00.000-05:00

Four loads of laundry and still one left to go - totally not energy efficient :P

I actually don't have a lot of clothes that needs to be washed. The problem is that I separate them out into pretty small loads. I think I am one of the few people that actually uses all the care cycle available with the washer: delicate for my tees; color for my jeans and other shirts; white for linens... also after the "discoloring" fiasco I had last year (or the year before), I really make the point of separating out the colors: brown can go with black, but absolutely not blue; depending on the shades of blue, it could go with off white tees but not the nicer white ones; if it's a new shirt, it's either going with the black ones (unless it's a lighter color) or it's going to be washed by itself (see how energy "inefficient" i am...XD)

Anyway, one more load to go for tomorrow (just because I run out of space to hang dry them - and yes, my tees don't go into dryers)

Got my life back!

2007-07-07T02:01:00.000-05:00

Finally have time to blog!

The phase 1 deadline was over earlier this week so I can finally have a life again. Things got pretty "intense" starting last weekend. Pretty much all I did was work and sleep. Well, a lot of work and not enough sleep. I logged at least 10 to 14 hours a day in the past week, but the actual time I stayed in my office was actually much longer (since i didn't count my sanity breaks...kakaka) One reason for all the madness was because the deadline was on the 5th (our deadline is always at 8am). Since the 4th is a public holiday, it pretty much meant that we have to get everything into QA by the 3rd. Yikes. Fortunately all my projects went into QA on time so that's a relief. Yesterday (or Thursday) was the first time in a week that I can see the sun setting instead of rising when I got off work - such a beautiful scene. XD

Easy to spend a day, especially when...

2007-06-02T23:17:00.000-05:00

you didn't get up until 4:15... in the afternoon... wakaka

Even though last week was only a 4-workday week, it still felt exhausting by Friday: Helped my TS troubleshoot a customer problem (which probably means more work for me next week), helped another group with the dashboard project (at least this should be live to a few pilot users), my own projects which are due July 5th...

DNA was planning to come up to Chicago this weekend. I was to drive down to Chicago to meet up with him. Unfortunately the plan was called off due to the high gas price. I was a bit surprised when I heard the gas price in Indy was 3.69/3.79/3.89. I think locally the gas prices are around 3.35/3.45/3.55 - 34 cents cheaper! Anyway, I guess we'll just have to meet up later the month then.

Memorial Day Weekend

2007-05-29T01:02:00.000-05:00

Nothing really special happened - pretty much like any other weekend. However, the extra day off is rather nice since I really can relax on Sunday (instead of shopping around for grocery, tidy things up, etc).

We tried a new Italian restaurant, Tutto Pasta Trattoria, in Middleton Friday night. We chose to sat outside which might not be the best idea (at least for me). It was still okay when we sat down, but as time went by it got a bit chilly. The food was good and wasn't too pricey (except for MyEvilInsideYou and Karthik who ordered a 5.95 side salad and a 6.95 "special" soup). Overall I will definitely put it in my restaurant list for Friday night dinners.

Also came across the Cafe/Wine bar right across from Tutto, Barriques. King Snort and I bought a bottle of white for the night - pretty much because the bottle's label is funny (note to self/King Snort: I am keeping the bottle!) Apparently they do wine tasting every Friday/Saturday night. Something I am interested in. From their online site, they also have a chocolate club - how intriguing.

On Sunday I went to an outlet close to Wisconsin Dells, hoping to pick up some Memorial Day deals there. Unfortunately there wasn't any eye-popping deals. A lot of shops does have some specials going on, but nothing really interested me. I did pick a pair of running shoe from Adidas and a shirt from Old Navy, but that's pretty much about it.

Comparing between this outlet mall with the one I normally go to (Johnson Creek), this one is well covered, kinda like an indoor mall; the one in Johnson Creek feels a bit bigger (but I don't think there's really that much difference). It has both A&F and Hollister, but lacks CK and Aeropostale (which has became one of my favorite outlet stores recently). So I guess right now, they are tied in my book.

Working Holiday Program in.....Singapore?

2007-05-20T03:17:00.000-05:00

雙城記又一章星向港人招手
(明報) 05月 20日星期日 05:05AM

【明報專訊】新加坡政府昨日公布一個吸納人才計劃─「工作假期計劃」，由今年12月起，澳洲、法國、德國、日本、新西蘭、英國、美國、香港等8個國家及地區，年齡介乎17至30歲的大學準畢業生及畢業生，可以在新加坡旅遊半年期間，找工做掙錢，之後可以選擇是否繼續留在新加坡。

Full post from Yahoo! News HK

One of my friends has been doing a "Working Holiday" in Australia and New Zealand. I never thought Singapore would implement a similar program as well. If I don't need to worry about my financial responsibilities, a "Working Holiday" program does sound very intriguing. However, would I pick Singapore? Probably not. Perhaps because of all the "competition" between Singapore and HK throughout these years which each city tries to edge the other, I never have a very good impression on Singapore. I know it's a nice place, but it just doesn't feel as vibrant as HK. :P

Should have bought the game...

2007-05-20T02:58:00.000-05:00

when I saw it in the store at the mall. *Sigh*

Originally planning to buy DS Game #14 today. It's an old-style RPG dungeon crawler called Etrian Odyssey. I saw it at the mall the other day (I think Wednesday or Thursday, can't remember) but didn't buy it at the time. The main reason being I don't like GameStop/EB Games/Software Etc (same parent company) that much and was hoping to get my copy from BestBuy (not to mention trying to get more points for my BestBuy Rewards). Yesterday after work, I went to all the "big" electronic/toy stores in town (BestBuy, Circuit City, Toysrus...) and none of them carry them game. So I gave in and hope to get my copy from GameStop. I was kinda in shock when the guy told me that he sold the last copied yesterday! I thought old style RPG weren't that popular these days. Do people know what they are buying really???

I guess it's Amazon next then.

Go Liverpool

2007-05-01T02:20:00.000-05:00

Though I am not an Liverpool fans, but I dislike Chelsea more. So I have to root for the lesser of two evils - Go Reds! They are down 0-1 from the previous leg so they need to do some catchup. Hopefully they can make it. Otherwise, it would be interesting to see Man United playing against Chelsea in both FA Cup and Champions League. Also add to that the Premiership race between the two. By the way, you should root for Arsenal on May 6th to drive the nail in the coffin. In short, cheer for red teams, not blue if you can't figure out between Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United (all reds).

上表! 上表呀!

2007-04-29T03:06:00.001-05:00

I finally found it, albeit it's only mp3 and not a movie file, the seventh act in the Chinese opera 帝女花 - 上表. I remembered seeing this act (probably on TV from one of its re-runs) when I was small. However, in recent years, the 帝女花 that I've seen didn't include this act (even in the DVD that I got from someone, this scene's been cut). I am suspecting maybe it doesn't fit the 2-hr slot if the full version is broadcast? Or all 8 acts won't fit on a single DVD? If something has to go, I have to agree that 上表 is the only act that can be cut without affecting the story line (In case you are curious, the acts are 樹盟, 香劫, 乞屍, 庵遇, 相認, 迎鳳, 上表 and 香夭). I mean, you really can't jump from getting married in 樹盟 to finding the princess's dead body in 乞屍. =P

Although it's not as well known as 香夭, in my opinion, it's still a very fun act to watch and contains a feisty act between 周世顯/長平 and 清帝.

上表

（周鍾，寶倫「著明裝」分邊上相對顧盼自豪介）

（周鍾台口詩白）彩鳳門前新面目。

（寶倫詩白）眾官齊集御酒房。

（周鍾寶倫白）有請皇上。

（御扇宮燈伴清帝上介中板下句）開基創業話興亡，北望煤山微有哭聲響。不悼崇禎悼海棠，安民未掛招賢榜，懷柔先借個一朵帝花香。（滾花）筵開百酌買人心，好待新官舊爵同觀看。（埋位介）

（眾白）萬歲萬萬歲。

（清帝白）平身。

（眾白）謝。

（清帝口古）周老卿家，何以不見宮主與駙馬還朝，有累百官在御階盼望。

（周鍾口古）皇上，駙馬持有宮主嘅親筆表章，候旨在午朝門外，至於長平宮主，而家仲住響紫玉山房。

（清帝不歡介口古）唏，我叫你去請鸞鳳還巢，並不是叫你去請宮主寫表，今日鸞鳳和鳴，重有什麼表章可上呢。

（寶倫口古）嘻嘻...皇上，我想宮主上表，無非係拜謝皇上再生之德，此乃先朝嘅沿例，宮主對宮規儀範都未敢稍忘。

（清帝轉怒為善介白）內侍臣，傳前朝駙馬周世顯上殿。

（內侍臣白）皇上有旨，傳前朝駙馬周世顯上殿。

（世顯「駙馬身」捧表章上白）來呀。（滾花下句唱）藺相如能保連城璧，周駙馬能保帝花香。拼教頸血濺龍庭，衝冠壯志凌霄漢。（入並不跪半揖白）前朝駙馬周世顯向皇上請安。

（清帝見世顯不跪怒介望群臣轉回笑容介白）平身。

（世顯白）謝。

（清帝口古）周駙馬，試問歷代興亡有幾多個新君能夠體恤前朝帝女呢，我好想知道如果你地宮主見到香車迎接嘅時候，相信佢一定喜從天降啦卦。

（世顯冷笑口古）皇上，歷史上雖無體恤前朝帝女之君，卻有假意賣弄慈悲之主，難怪宮主見香車驚喜交集。

（清帝起身問白）下，此話怎解。

（世顯續口古）無錯，宮主所喜者，乃是福從天降，所驚者，乃是驚皇上借帝女花沽名釣譽，騙取民安。

（周鍾寶倫大矛介）

（清帝冷笑口古）周駙馬，孤王有覆滅一朝之力，豈無安民之策，小小一個前朝帝女，重不過百，試問能有幾多力量。

（世顯口古）皇上，所謂取一杯之水，不能分潤天下萬民，借帝女之花，可以把全國遺民收服，宮主雖然弱質纖纖，年方十六，若果論佢權衡輕重，可以抵得十萬師干。

（清帝不能言介白）哎呀...

（周鍾插白）你說話要小心呀...

（清帝喝白）周駙馬。（開拉大滾花下句）你出言縱有千斤重，好在我有容人海量都未能量。你見否殿前百酌鳳凰筵，後有刀槍和斧杖。

（世顯大滾花下句）唏，你殺人不在金鸞殿，可以一張蘆蓆把屍藏。倘若殺身恰在鳳凰台，銀廓金棺難慰民怨暢。

（周鍾眾人白）皇上開恩...皇上仁慈...

（清帝不敢發作埋位口古）周駙馬，你既然持有長平宮主嘅表章，內侍臣，你快些要他速呈龍書案。

（太監上前跪向世顯欲接表章介）

（世顯捧住表章退後一步口古）且慢，皇上，我想宮主表章究竟都是女兒文墨，恐怕有污龍目，佢再三囑咐，要我遞表之時，為佢朗誦於朝房。

（清帝怒介口古）嘿，我雖身為清帝，未懂漢例，唯是翻開漢史，又幾曾聽聞過表章用口朗誦得咁怪狀。

（世顯口古）皇上，你睇你朝中嘅大臣，多半是宮主舊臣，皇上以仁慈取天下，佢所寫者，不過都係感恩之語唧，皇上既無虧德處，那怕遺臣誦表章。（內場起暗湧聲）

（清帝怒至手震震指住世顯白）周駙馬...你...你...你一字一字你要謹慎的念來。

（世顯白）好呀...

（周鍾一路震長滾花下句）一字繫安危，禍福憑汝降，勸君莫惹下泉台浪，莫向陰司叫無常，我一心欲把紅鸞傍，哎呀誰知傍錯你個少年亡。

（寶倫長滾花）一字重千斤，人命輕三兩，縱使你有心毀碎齊眉案，須防寶殿有刀藏，一命難銷故國讎，恐怕累到三百遺臣同落網。

（世顯冷笑詩白）六代繁華三日散，一杯心血字七行。（反線中板唸表章下句唱）臣不可佔君先，父不能居女後，此乃倫理綱常。既念帝女花，何不念先帝遺骸，尚寄在茶庵，未入皇陵葬。帝女縱堪憐，太子是前朝骨肉，問清帝何以重女薄兒郎。我欲受皇恩，哭君父流浪泉台，憎見舊宮廷，掛上鴛鴦榜。我欲謝隆情，痛骨肉仍歸臣虜，羞牽鸞鳳帶，怕對合歡床。（催快）新帝慈悲人間罕，劈開金鎖放弟郎。（滾花）佢話先安泉台父，後釋在囚人，然後百拜入朝共舉齊眉案。

（清帝震怒介）

（周鍾寶倫級低紗帽一味震介）

（清帝開位搶表章欲撕介「內場食住暗湧」連聲收埋表章滾花下句）孤都未作捕蛇人，點知雙蛇蟠棍上，休說女兒筆墨無斤兩，內有千軍萬馬藏，鳳未來儀先作浪，帝女機謀還比我強。強顏騙取鳳還巢，重新再露慈悲相，哈哈...

（周鍾白）皇上仁慈...

（清帝奸悲白）孤有主意。周駙馬，好啦，孤皇惟有准宮主所奏，佢縱使要取天邊月，為皇都替她摘下來，我從宮主所求就是。

（世顯口古）皇上，你何不速頒下詔書，先把先帝安葬皇陵，再把太子在宮主婚前釋放。

（清帝口古）唏，你請宮主先入朝，再行下詔，庶民都尚可以一言九鼎，何況我是一國嘅君王呢。（白）駙馬，你代傳口諭，快傳宮主上殿。

（世顯白）領命。（台口傳旨）呔，皇上有旨，長平宮主衣冠朝見。

（長平「鳳冠霞珮」上介台口引白）珠冠猶似殮時妝，萬春亭畔病海棠，怕到乾清尋血跡，風雨經年尚帶黃。（拉腔入拜白）前朝帝女長平宮主向皇上請安。

（清帝重一才仄才關目白）平身。

（長平白）謝。（用目一掃前朝舊臣，舊臣俱俯首自愧介）（長平放寬面口突然露齒一笑介）

（清帝覺奇介口古）宮主，駙馬入朝之時，面帶愁容，眼中有淚，何以宮主入朝，反會一笑嫣然，未有些微嘅悲創。

（長平口古）皇上，我在未入朝之前，曾與駙馬相約，我話若不能先安泉台父，釋放在囚人，帝女今生都永無還朝之日，適才聞駙馬代傳口諭，可見皇上你都有憐惜之心，帝女亦寧無感激之意呢，想今日在五百群臣之中，屬於哀家舊臣，都總在三百以上，如果佢地見到哀家笑，就會對皇上你心悅誠服，但如果見到哀家喊呢，就會對皇上心懷怨對，想長平一生善解人意，寧敢不以笑面報君王。（向群臣露齒而笑介）（舊臣俱強笑介）

（清帝暗驚長平之詞令奸笑介口古）宮主，你聰明即是聰明，你與呢個憨駙馬都大有天淵之別，難怪崇禎在生對你痛愛。好啦，孤王願替崇禎將你終身撫養。

（長平強笑白）謝皇上。（故意關目口古）噯，皇上，我都經已拜上金階，何以未見你頒下詔書，更未見你劈開金鎖呢，哎呀皇上，我而家不禁悲從中起，我的眼淚都忍唔住咯，我一喊親，怕只怕會震朝房。（欲哭介）

（清帝愕然略驚向長平搖手介）

（周鍾口古）皇上，係呀...係呀...我地宮主真係笑緊都可以喊架，你何不頒下詔書，以慰的遺臣所望呢。

（寶倫口古）係囉，皇上，想太子年方十二，縱使潛龍出海，亦未必會騰達飛翔。

（清帝快滾花下句）今朝莫說前朝事，只求撮合鳳諧凰。

（世顯大滾花下句）先皇未葬弟霸囚，宮主呀你何妨悲聲放。

（長平哭白）罷了先王，君父，母后呀。（快中板分邊向群臣哭著下句唱）哀聲放，帝女哭朝房，血淚如潮腮邊降，且向乾清再悼亡，憶舊讎翻血賬，遺臣三百聽端詳，當日賜紅羅擲在金階上，母后與袁妃痛懸樑，劍橫揮，血濺黃金帳，殺得個昭仁宮主怨父王。（滾花）你地莫戀新朝棄舊朝，我再哭鳳台聲響亮。（執世顯哭叫白）罷了先王，母后，駙馬。（當長平唱時，內場有沉痛反應暗湧介）

（世顯白）宮主...

（清帝向向周鍾寶茅介白）拉開佢地...（周鍾寶倫分邊拉開長平世顯介）

（清帝白）好啦。（滾花下句）我忙忙寫下安陵詔。（交太監，太監即下）我怕你哭聲向外揚，宮主一哭撼帝城，我忙把前朝世子放。

（太監帶上太子上介長平世顯分邊跪擁太子，太子亦居中跪下快哭相思）

（長平痛哭滾花下句）弟郎你投懷莫聚倫常愛，且去杭州會福王，自有香魂一縷暗追隨，你在離懷莫向宮庭望。

（清帝白）沈卿家，你帶前朝世子去上駟院吩咐兵部派人馬，護送此子杭州便了。

（昌齡攜太子什邊下，太子下時一路哭叫王姊）　

（清帝口古）嘻嘻...長平宮主，你所要求嘅事我都同你做完叻，你應該與駙馬立刻成婚，免負兩旁嘅儀杖。

（長平口古）唉，長平仲焉敢再逆皇上諭旨呢，難得你答允我，將花燭筵設在月華宮外，個處雖是花無並蒂，但係樹有含樟。

（清帝點頭答應白）孤皇自當准奏，吩咐動樂。

P.S. I think Google just gave me the answer! The one I saw when I was young probably was the 76 version by 龍劍笙 and 梅雪詩. And the ones I saw in recent years were the 59 version by 任白.

The DS game you should get in May

2007-04-16T01:15:00.000-05:00

Oops - totally forgot that I was talking about the BEST DS game in my last post. Its sequel is coming on May 17th. MUST...IMPORT...GAME...

Stick Stick Chicken

2007-04-16T00:56:00.000-05:00

*I giggle every time I say this in my head*

In preparation of the TRUE sequel to one of the best DS games (if not THE best), I was surfing YouTube for various Japanese MTVs. One of the songs is Tentai Kansoku (天体観測) by the JRock band Bump of Chicken. It is a nice song and you can find its MTV here: Bump Of Chicken - Tentai Kansoku

I was looking for more info about the band and such. It was then when I came across the creative translation by our Taiwanese friends: 棒棒雞 (stick stick chicken)!? I got this when I follow up with a search:

棒棒雞

介紹
“棒棒雞”原為四川樂山地區的傳統風味小吃﹐二十年代傳入成都﹐已入名饌冷碟之列。因樂山古稱“嘉定” 故此菜多以“嘉定棒棒雞”聞名于世。

原料
1. 嫩雞一只﹐
2. 蔥白絲適量。
3. 芝麻醬﹑紅油辣椒﹑糖﹑麻醬油﹑花椒粉等各適量。

烹飪方法
1. 將淨雞以繩纏住腿翅﹐肉厚處以竹扦打眼﹐下湯鍋中煮熟﹐撈起晾涼。
2. 用特制的小木棒將雞脯肉﹑雞腿肉輕輕拍松﹐撕成絲入盤﹐外圍以蔥白絲。
3. 將調料和勻調成味汁﹐澆在雞絲上即成。

棒棒雞的烹制技巧
　　棒棒雞美味的烹制確別有技巧。
1. 首先妙在煮雞。煮前要用麻繩纏上腿翅厚處用竹扦打眼﹐使湯水充分滲透﹐以文火徐徐煮沸﹔
2. 二是以特制的木棒將煮熟的雞肉拍松﹐撕成粗絲入盤﹐利于調料入味﹔
3. 三是以眾多調料調成的味汁﹐澆于雞絲上﹐使雞絲分外鮮美香嫩﹐有濃郁的香甜﹑麻辣味。

Food & JRock? I didn't think combining those would be possible... =.=
Anyway, the song really is good and for those interested in knowing the lyrics, the following's from LyricsWiki.org. Chinese lyrics from a random blog I searched up:

淩晨兩點平交道前我扛著望遠鏡
緊在皮帶上的收音機看來不會下雨
兩分鐘後你來了背著誇張的一堆行李
開始吧天體觀測來尋找慧星

努力不讓自已被吞噬進深深的黑暗

那一天我想要握你顫抖的手
為了看見看不到的東西窺向望遠鏡裏
撕開寂靜產生了好多聲音縱使明日呼喚著我們
也不曾認真回應我和你兩人在追逐著

那顆名叫”現在”的慧星不知不覺裏

總是在一心尋覓著某些東西它或許是幸福的定義
或許是存放傷心的地方從誕生的一該到死亡
始終在尋覓來開始吧天體觀測來尋找慧星
至今曾經找到過的東西我全都沒忘記
包括沒能握到你那顫抖的手的痛心

為了看見看不到的東西窺向望遠鏡裏

尋找著微弱的光芒彷佛可以把黑暗照亮

當時因此認識的痛至今我依舊記得
如今我依然在獨自追逐那顆名叫”現在”的慧星

隨著個子長高有更多事情想要傳達給你知道
沒有收信人的信感覺也有如崩潰般的沈重

我現在過得很好需要擔心的事情也少只是有件事
至今依然會想起在天氣預報沒有預測到的雨中

你那泫然欲泣一雙顫抖的手那一天我沒能握到
看漏了看得見的事情再次扛起了望遠鏡穿過了

寂靜與黑暗的歸途當時所認識的痛

至今依舊是我的支柱如今我依然在獨自追逐

那顆名叫”現在”的慧星想要再次見到你
再次扛起了望遠鏡和以前一樣淩晨兩點
來到平交道前開始吧天體觀測即使兩分鐘後你沒來
那顆叫”現在”的慧星我也要和你兩人一起追逐

Trip to Indy

2007-04-16T00:21:00.000-05:00

Just got back from a weekend get away to Indy - wasn't for any special occasion or anything, but I haven't been there for a while (since I graduated) and since my brother is working in Indy, I figured I'd pay him a visit.

Although the drive is considered manageable for many, a 6-hr drive is definitely not in my book. Instead, I chose to fly - I tried Midwest Airlines this time and I think my impression is mixed. I think I'll try flying to Kansas City with them next time to get a better idea. Kansas City is another Midwest hub - so the flight from Milwaukee to Kansas City is one of their Signature flights. I've heard good things so I will be looking forward.

Back to this trip.

It didn't start out too well when my flight leaving Madison departs at 525p Friday afternoon and I didn't get to the airport until like 455p. Fortunately/unfortunately (depending on how you see it), my flight from Milwaukee to Indy got canceled and they have to re-book me to NWA which departs at 630p. I also got "selected" by the airline to do additional screening (also my first time to get selected). I didn't have much carry-on luggage with me (just a couple set of clothes since I didn't want to check my bag) so the experience wasn't too bad. Strangely speaking, if I were going to HK, I wouldn't even have any carry-on luggage. Um...

Nothing exciting happened while in Indy beside hanging out with my brother and DNA. So I'll fast forward...XDD

DNA and I were meeting up for lunch Sunday afternoon at Circle Center. Just as my brother and I arrived at Circle, I got a call from Midwest asking if I can postpone my flight to Monday morning instead. Apparently they got a plane "downgrade" and the new plane can't accommodate all the bookings. They were willing to offer a free round-trip ticket in return. I have to admit it was pretty tempting (hey, the ticket to Indy cost me $300; I wouldn't mind using the free ticket for places like San Fran). Unfortunately the Monday flight departs at 730a, which means by the time I get back to Madison, it'll probably be 9:30 or 10:00. Since I don't feel like taking half a day off, I turned down the offer. If the flight was something later the day, I'd probably take the offer.

Next he asked me if I could check in online because the available seats will be on a first-come-first-serve basis. Well, let see, I probably could check in online, if you call me AN HOUR earlier! Bad! He finally advised me to get to the airport at 4 (when the counter opens for check-in) to make sure I get my seat. At that point, I did ask myself maybe it's better to stick with United :P (Note to self: Need to get a 3G plan so at least I can surf with my phone)

Eventually I gave in and called Konphused back in Madison to help me check in. When I got to the airport, the couple who checked in after me took the last two spots. The ground staff was saying that there were probably 8 or 9 people who can't make it. Lucky me! ;)

Oh one last note, I flew in a non-jet plane - which was also my first time. An interesting experience indeed. My brother is thinking about moving back to Chicago and DNA will be leaving Indy as well, this might be my last trip to Indy? Time will tell. :P

Dinner at Ginza

2007-04-01T02:01:00.000-05:00

The name should be obvious enough what kind of restaurant it is, but just in case, it's Japanese restaurant in Madison (with 3 different branches!). It's pretty much the only Japanese restaurant that King Snort and MyEvilInsideYou will go to. And that's only because they have hibachi dinners which to them don't look/taste like other Japanese food.

Having dined there for a couple times, I would say that I didn't enjoy tonight's dinner at all. The food is okay, but the service pretty much was non-existent. It took the waiter forever to take our orders, Sahana's orders were mixed/messed up, he didn't check with us often enough during our meal, we didn't get our steam rice until all the hibachi food were served up (though the other group whom we sat with got their rice right away), etc. In short, nothing felt right. If the tip was not split between the waiter and the cook, I don't know if I would leave a tip at all.

Hopefully the next time we eat there, the service would be better.

Oh - before and after dinner we played Mahjong. I think they are much better at how to score points now (King Snort did erred once and thought he had enough point to win. He had two but unfortunately our minimum is at 3). Soon enough I'll have them playing the Taiwanese style... Bwa ha ha ha ha ha...

Trip to Indy postponed

2007-03-26T00:17:00.000-05:00

Probably for one weekend. I was looking at the different options and none is really appealing. I probably could still go on the Easter weekend but it doesn't feel like "budget friendly" enough. So the current plan is to go on the 4/13 weekend instead. Tickets are cheaper (since it's not a holiday weekend) and there are more options (i could fly out from Madison directly, and there are more time slots to choose from on the return trip). Though I'll pretty much won't get to Indy until Friday night, but I think that should still work out okay.

Errrr.... How did I spend...

2007-03-26T00:15:00.000-05:00

$150 this weekend!?

Though I did buy a Wii game, that's only $40 bucks. I even held back on getting a couple DS games from Target today. Pay day needs to come sooner!!!

Good Weather - Nice and warm

2007-03-25T23:49:00.000-05:00

The weather was pretty nice for the past couple days. I think it's safe to say that the winter is finally over. This past winter wasn't too bad, except for one or two weeks when the temperature was sub-zero (Fahrenheit). Also got a couple blizzard but I wouldn't say it was anything out of ordinary. Anyway, with this warmer weather approaching, I really should start doing inventory on my summer clothings and see if I need to do any shopping (ho ho ho...more excuses...XD)

The only problem with the warmer temperature is that my skin type changes from normal to oily - and takes a lot more time to manage. The current oil control lotion I got from L'OReal does a decent job the first couple hours. However, its effect definitely doesn't last long enough. :P Probably have to find something more long lasting. I am pretty satisfy with the LabSeries scrub I got the other day, maybe I'll give their oil control product a try and see.

Wii Game #4: Kororinpa Marble Mania

2007-03-25T01:16:00.000-05:00

This weekend started out with a new Wii game - Kororinpa is now the 4th Wii game I owned. The concept of the is simple - basically you use the Wiimote to roll a marble from the starting point to the goal, getting past obstacles along the way. No button pressing - just tilting the Wiimote.

King Snort, MyEvilInsideYou and I killed a couple hours on Saturday on with this game. I think at the end, we pretty much agreed we had too much Kororinpa (hahaha). It's a good game to play if you have an hour or two to kill, and don't want to invest too much time into the game (like Zelda). Though each stage is short, it doesn't have the mini-game feel to it. At $39.99 ($10 cheaper than normal Wii games), it's a good deal.

I also almost picked up Red Steel or Pangya Super Swing Golf on Friday as well because they were on sale for $29.99. I am kind of interested in Pangya (cute golfing game), and average on Red Steel (I want to give it a shot some time but FPS is still not my type of game). Consider the fact that there are several Wii games coming out next month, I opted out from getting either of them. Hopefully they'll be on sale some time in the future as well.

Spotted Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance in Hollywood Video - didn't rent it because I don't think I can finish the game in a week. Couldn't find any store in town that carries the game - Sigh! I guess there's always eBay.

Oh also beat Lunar Knights Friday night as well - now playing it again to unlock all the secrets. It really is a better Action RPG game than Children of Mana. For those who loves A-RPGs, I'd recommend it.

Wii Games to Get-
* Cooking Mama: Cook Off
* Bust-A-Move: Bash (Yeah! My favorite puzzle game coming to Wii)
* Super Paper Mario

DS Games to Get -
* Hotel Dusk: Rm 215

Credit Reports

2007-03-18T03:22:00.000-05:00

Finally got the credit reports from Transunion earlier. I've had no problem getting the reports from Experian and Equifax online. However, Transunion for some reason won't let me recover my password (their online help really really sucked) and I had to order it by mail. They weren't able to locate my credit report the first time so I have to send it my W2 to "prove my identity". So...Much...Work...

Despite all the trouble, Tranunion is the only company that did not mess up my record. Since my brother's name and mine are identical (we both decided to just use the 2nd word in our Chinese name as our first name and the 3rd word as our middle name. Just coincident that our middle initial is the same as well) and our social security number only differs in one digit, both Experian and Equifax somehow decided that we are the same person and merged our records together. So kudos to TransUnion for getting this right.

Although Experian screwed up my credit report, I am still happy with them because their online and phone service was excellent. I was able to make some simple changes online (no problem locating my file - though the questions they asked to verify my identity were all about my brothers. But hey, when you paid for your brother's car payment, you would know how much you're paying each month...kakaka). I do need to call them up to clean up the rest of my records, but the process wasn't too painful and the CS representative was courteous and helpful. I even got an e-mail notification letting me know that the changes are available for viewing. Good job!

Equifax, on the other hand, was horrible. Though I managed to get my report online, I still haven't figure out how to contact them to correct my record (yeah - it got merged again with my brother's). I think I need to print out a form and send in the necessary documentation, but the form is only for disputing a particular item in the report and didn't mention anything on what needs to be done in my scenario. I also tried looking at the various website for information but couldn't get very far. So at this point, my credit report with Equifax is still horribly erroneous. Sigh!

Overall, looking at my credit reports, I think I am doing much better than a couple years ago. I think only 1 - 2 years more before it becomes feasible for me to move back home. Hopefully by then, my brother's financial situation would approve (crossing fingers) so that I don't have to worry about him as much. :P

300

2007-03-18T03:17:00.000-05:00

Watched 300 with co-workers on Friday night. It turned out much better than I anticipated. But perhaps I already know how the story will turn out so there isn't much surprise. One of the movie reviews I've read mentioned the lack of character development and I think I'll have to agree on that. The cinematic and special effects were good. This definitely is a movie I would recommend seeing in the theaters. =)

Afterward we tried to go to UNO's for snack but unfortunately they were closed already. We ended up hanging out in King Snort's place, but really didn't do anything at all. XD

Oh... FPS is definitely not my genre of video game. :P

重演八場都冇我份!

2007-03-16T00:29:00.000-05:00

.\ /.

唔公平呀~ 點解佢唔可以揀年尾架~ 四月 Part 1 已經冇可能啦, 點知連重演時都冇機! Yikes!

東亞娛樂 x 林一峰 x W 創作社 - 一期一會
http://www.wtheatre.org.hk/onceinalifetime/

年尾...一峰你年尾開 concert 咁唯有... wakakaka~~~

Fly All the Way? Half Way? Drive?

2007-03-12T00:56:00.000-05:00

Planning to go down to Indy in the Easter weekend since I have half day off on Good Friday. It's a 6-hrs drive which far exceeded my self-set maximum of 3.5 hrs. Looking at flying to Indy from Madison, the price's approximately $350. There are other lower fares but the problem is that the return trip is early Sunday morning. Since I planned to go back to Purdue on Saturday, I preferred to stay in Indy for the morning/afternoon on Sunday.

The other options is to fly from another city than Madison - but that means I'll have to drive to whatever airport I choose. The candidates are: O'Hare, Midway and Milwaukee. Midway's further but Southwest does have flights to Indy from Midway so it will be the cheapest. If I pick O'Hare, most likely I'll stick with UA (which a price of ~$184, once again because I want to come back Sunday evening). Milwaukee actually is the leading choice right now. There is this airline called "Midwest" that I'd like to try previously; but while I was at Chicago/W. Lafayette it really wasn't to feasible as their hub is at Milwaukee. It's about an hour drive from Madison to Milwaukee so it's not too long. The ticket price is at $220 but it's a non-stop flight. It's a good pick I think.

And of course I can always try driving to Indy - probably most economical but I'll have to really ask myself if I want to drive that far. :P

My First Purchase @ Madison's Macy's

2007-03-12T00:11:00.000-05:00

To be honest, I still like the brand "Marshall Fields" better - probably because of the Chicago sentiments. Macy's doesn't quite cut it for me. :P

Anyway, couple of my jeans are wearing down and it's time to replenish the stock. After getting my car fixed on Saturday morning, I was planning to take a trip to Johnson Creeks (an outlet close by - approximately 45 minutes drive) to see if I can find any. Before that, however, I needed to grab something to eat first. It's been a while since I last wandered into Hilldale's Hong Kong Wok (it's a little Chinese restaurant inside a mall, quite authentic, and they served congee on weekends) and since I finally managed to get up before 3 on a weekend, congee for lunch definitely sounded good. I ordered 生滾牛肉粥, 炒米粉, 油炸鬼 and 豆漿 for a hefty $7.70 lunch. Quality of course is not good as back home, but it'll have to suffice until I go back to HK later this year.

Since I was at the "mall" already, I decided to do some browsing at Macy's before taking off for Johnson Creek's. The location of this Macy's always baffle me - there really isn't anything else at Hilldale except Macy's (well, and a grocery store Sentry). The rest of the stores in the mall are just so...uninteresting. I would be quite happy if one day Macy's would move to West Towne, which is a shorter drive for me (unless I moved to the campus area next year). Anyway, nothing really interested me at first as I walk around the store. I remembered they have CK and Levi's in their Chicago store (I was at the Old Orchard Macy's on the 2nd) but I just couldn't find them. Not too disappointed as I don't have high hopes coming in anyway. But as I was leaving, on the left hand side of the exit/entrance, in the "Young Man" section, are those two brands. "Young Man" huh?

Nothing interested at CK, Levi's a bit challenging since there were a number of styles. "Sits at waist/regular fit/straight leg" - next; "Sits at waist/regular fit/boot cut" - next; "Sits at waist/loose fit/boot cut" - hello!? do you have anything that's not "Sits at waist". Finally I located a style which has the perfect combination (in case you are curious - it's a pair of 514 which is "sits below waist/slim fit/straight leg"). Then comes my horrible realization that American sizes are not my size... 34/30, 36/32, 38/34, 32/30... Err...seriously, people really needs to go on diet or something (wakakaka). After going through like 3 or 4 piles I was finally able to find a pair of 30 waist, 32 inseam. So...much...work... At $30, it looks like a good deal to me, and I don't have to drive out of town. Bought!

Looks like my trip to Johnson Creek's could wait a bit.

P.S. Macy's has UGLY plastic bag!!! I missed the nice little paper/plastic bags I got while shopping in HK.

Missing my sleep T_T

2007-03-10T23:31:00.000-06:00

The day started extremely early today - even earlier than my normal weekdays. I had an appointment with Honda Service for an oil change and check up (my SRS light came on recently)...at 8:30am! I have no idea why I would agree to this time when they suggested this time; Normally I wouldn't even be at work yet (typical hours 900 to 1800/1830). Sigh!

It turned out that the SRS light is on because of a controller failure with the seat belt. Apparently this is covered under my warranty and I don't have to pay a dime for it! I was a bit surprised because my car was bought in Jan 2001 and I thought the warranty would probably only be a 5-year one. Well, I guess I can't complain saving a hundred bucks. The bad news was that they didn't have the parts in store and have to order it, so I'll have to bring my car in once the part arrives. The worse news (not really "news" since I was told last May already) is that the struts in my cars are leaking. Replacing it would cost me about $600 - Ouch! Perhaps I should think about whether I want to get a new car or keep maintaining this one. This Civic has served me well - no problem except normal wear and tear throughout these years. However, I do foresee it'll need some maintenance work if I were to keep it for a few more years. Um... tough decision.

Oh I also got new wind shield wipers and blades - now I can finally see when driving in the rain. Wakakaka...

What should you do when you have too many eggs sitting in your fridge?

2007-03-06T00:58:00.000-06:00

Make dessert of course. I've been making these for a while since I desperately need to get rid of the eggs before they go bad. =P

This one's from last night, but I did make one tonight as well

One of the simplest Chinese dessert:

Egg - 1 large size
Milk - 3/4 cup
Sugar - 2 table spoons

Mix together. Put in bowl. Cover with cling wrap. Steam (should be 燉 - but what's the English word for 燉?) for 8 minutes. Done!

For better result, use a strainer when pouring the mixed ingredients into the bowl. DO NOT OVER COOK!!! Let me say it again - DO NOT OVER COOK!!! This is supposed to be a dessert, you don't want it to come out like a breakfast dish.

Children of Mana - Done!

2007-03-06T00:45:00.000-06:00

Leveled up too much - the final boss was like "meh - that's it!?" But it's a game finished nonetheless. Onward with Lunar Knights!

Eye High Hand Low

2007-03-05T23:58:00.000-06:00

I can't keep smiling as I am typing the title - some definitely will be clueless... Ho ho ho...

Anyway, while doing grocery in China town, I decided to buy ingredients to make soup on Sunday. The grocery store did have 紅蘿白 so I settled on 青紅蘿白煲雞 (normally i would use carrots as substitute). Picking out the 紅蘿白 was easy enough because they were smaller and it wasn't too difficult to find a package of the right amount. The packages for the 青蘿白, on the other hand, were either too big or too small. I think I actually spent at least 5 minutes picking up each package and tried to determine if it was too few/enough/too many.

Apparently my instinct cannot be trusted - or perhaps it's been a while since i make soup? This is what I ended up with:

Unfortunately, I totally forgot about one "kind" of ingredient - can you guess?

After adding 2/3 of the 青紅蘿白, I was like "Oh crap!" because the pot was almost filled up (with an inch or so left). And I haven't even add the chicken into the pot yet! (by the way, the chicken was those frozen Cornish hen you can find in the supermarket - what you see in the plastic container is the whole hen). Decision, desicion...I could either 1) Throw away the extra stuff, which seems like a waste 2) Find another pot and make extra 3) Put them extra stuff back to the fridge and make more the next day, since I can't "freeze" them. (Side note: for those who don't know, making these type of soups takes time. You want to let the whole pot boils at a low - medium heat for at least a couple hours) (Side note #2: I actually had to call back home to ask my mom what's the minimum time I need since I don't want to wait all evening :P)

I finally opted for #3 - so there's another pot of soup sitting in my kitchen right now. I've never had that much soup in two consecutive days (I had left over from yesterday plus some from today. I think I still have half pot sitting on the stove now cooling down). I grew up with lots of 湯水 (三日一小煲, 五日一大煲 is a frequent term I used to described my mom. That doesn't count the 滾湯 which took place on the days she did not "煲湯") so a bit extra doesn't bother me much. But two pots in two days by myself - that's definitely something.

Now answer to my missing ingredient: I forgot to add 蜜棗! 失策!

DS Game #12

2007-03-05T01:19:00.000-06:00

Lunar Knight - Got!

In hindsight, I probably shouldn't pick this one up until next month or so. Lunar Knight is an Action RPG game similar to Children of Mana (but better according to the reviews - which are quite favorable). For the past two weeks I've been trying to finish off Children of Mana (wrapping up side-quests, leveling up the characters, etc) and I've put in a lot of hours. I have roughly a hour or so of main story before finishing the game (which brings the total to approximately 40hrs - pretty amazing considering the fact that FF3 took up about the same amount of time too). I'll see how tired I am with the genre afterward. However, I did open up the package and try it out early tonight - the first impression is that I have to "unlearn" my Children of Mana control scheme. "Can't they share the same control scheme?" is the #1 question on my mind right now.

The was another possible candidate - Hotel Dusk: Rm 215. Sadly I couldn't find it in either Best Buy or Target. I guess I'll have to pick that up later.

Side note: Cooking Mama for the Wii is coming out later this month too!

Side note 2: Need to find a copy of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (a GameCube game) before Fire Emblem: Goddess of Dawn comes out in the States.

Spendy Weekend

2007-03-05T01:10:00.000-06:00

Yeah - I think I over-spent this weekend. T_T

Friday night dinner
Tony Roma's $21 (Only finished half and FORGOT to bring the rest home!)

Saturday trip to Chicago -
Gas $40 (though I still have half a tank left in my car)
Lunch $11
Haircut $30
Dinner $30
Grocery $20

Luckily my brother is not in-town this weekend so i just had grab a quick lunch. Phew~

Sunday
DS Game #12 $32
LabSeries Facial Scrub $18
Grocery $32 (What did I buy!? Since I do grocery every week this is a lot for one week's worth...@@)

Yikes! A $250 weekend...can't afford too many of these (Sadly speaking, I think I'll need to do some shopping for jeans...Sigh! There goes the tax refund)

Saturday Night Dinner

2007-03-05T00:40:00.000-06:00

Japanese at Akai Hana in Wilmette, IL. It really has been a while since I had Japanese (since I got back?) since both King Snort and MyEvilInsideYou are too fond of Asian cuisines (and yet they are okay with Teppanyakki. =.=" In return, I eliminated Mexican from the list of restaurants we would go to for dinners... Muahaha)

Though Jasper couldn't make it, I still want to meet up with Vicky to see how's everything going for her. Her big day's coming up in 3 months and she will be the first one in my closest circle from Purdue to get married - Congratulations! She and her fiancé were in the northern suburb that afternoon so I picked some place up north (Wilmette) for dinner. Peter also managed to show up with Linda as well. And of course throughout the night we recalled funny stories of Peter and the various "adventures" we had with his little red car (that has no heat). I think he's getting Realtor license (or something like that) soon. So if you are planning to buy real estate in the Chicago area, he would like to talk to you (Alright, I've done my part). Meanwhile, if you would like to order delivery for Thai food in the Chicago area, you might run into him as well. Apparently he made a delivery to some unit in Vicky's condo building Friday night (he didn't know Vicky is living there then) - small world.

Lastly Chun-ho also showed up. I don't remember when was the last time I saw this guy - it must be quite a few years. I faintly remembered seeing him the first year I started working in Madison (I went down to NW to see the basketball tournament), but not 100% sure. I MSN him on Friday night to try my luck, didn't expect much. He managed to leave me a message early Saturday morning (while I was asleep) and I gave him my number before I took off for Chicago (while he was asleep - I assumed). Little by little we have a full table for the night. =)

It was a good thing that they gave us the table all the way in the back - I laughed quite loudly for a couple times and it definitely would draw some attention if we were sitting in the front part of the store. Lots of "Peter stories" came up throughout the night (a good thing since I start to forget some of them - it would only be better if DNA and Richard are here as well) and we pretty much did a status update. Hopefully this time, it won't be another 2-3 years before we meet again - after all, there is a wedding in June!