Goodbye 2007, Welcome 2008!

Today is the very last day of 2007.

There have been many ups & downs throughout the entire year and looking back, it is an interesting and eventful year for me.

1. I fell down and broke my Achilles tendon, and then I went thru a surgery to fix the tendon. I've learned to use the crutches, manual & automated wheel chairs. And from this experience, I've gained better understanding towards the feelings of the disables.

2. From the above, it has opened my eyes & my mind and I now have a different perception in life. I've learned to love & pamper myself more coz surely I deserved to dress better & look better and feel good about myself. Hence, I stopped to be so petty when comes to buying things for myself and I've did couple of things that I've wanted to do in my 20's but was too stingy and afraid to do. :)

3. I've got myself a tattoo as a remembrance for my transformation this year.

4. I've proved myself to be worthy and capable at work & other areas even when I was injured and less mobile.

5. My relationship with Keith continues to grow stronger each day. He has given me many surprises this year and I love every moment of it. (Hands off ladies, he is mine! :P)

6. My company is going through an integration process now and my fate is still unknown, but no worries, I'd just pray for the best!

7. I've visited 3 different countries during the last 2 months of 2007, first, Singapore in Nov, then ShenZhen & Hong Kong in Dec. :) what more could I asked for, right?

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my loved ones for loving me and be there for me all these while. Thanks for sharing my joy when I'm happy and thanks for sharing my pain when I'm down. Thanks for all the loving memories you all have given me and I'm looking forward to share every moment of joy and pain (life is full of ups & downs) in my life with you guys for many more years to come.

I want to thank my hubby for all his Tender Loving Care (TLC) given to me for these 5 years. On 10th Jan '08, we will be officially married for 5 years! WOW! I am confident we will have many more happy years together. It has not been a smooth & silky road but we have gone through so much and make it together. I truly cherish every second of us being together and I thank God for him!

Last but not least, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and may you have a great year ahead. Do not be afraid to take up any challenge or fight against obstacles coz those are the things that would make us stronger & better.

Let's welcome 2008 together and truly live our lives to its full, coz once you missed the moment, you can never turn back!

Let's PARTY!!!

P/S: I'll be having my count down at Velvet, so see you guys there!!! (Feel free to approach me if you can recognize me though, Hahaha...)

Double Happiness

On Christmas Day, we had a small gathering for family, relatives and close friends at my in-laws’ place.

Jaime: Merry Christmas, Liz! This is for you. (Jaime handed a bag of present to me)
Liz: Oh! Thanks a lot! (I then placed the present upstairs)

Half an hour later when I joined Jaime & Daniel…

Jaime: Liz, why don’t you bring the present down and open it now?
Liz: Errr…..open now?
Jaime: Ya, bring down and open it ler…
Liz: Okie!

After half a minute, I was surrounded by a few friends while opening the gift from Jaime.

When the gift’s unwrapped, the first thing I saw was a box printed with ‘Nokia 6120 Classic’

Caroline & Joyce: Wow, it’s a phone! It’s a phone!

At this moment, I still haven’t react coz I thought it was just a box Jaime used to wrap the gift she bought me.

So, when I opened the cover, there it was, a white colour Nokia hand phone sitting in the box.

I was stoned and just utter: “Oh! It’s a phone” and stared at Jaime blankly (I was stoned mah)

Jaime: I know your phone got problem already so I bought you a phone loh. Hehehe…

Then suddenly I was so excited and I hugged Jaime so tight and thanked her & Daniel furiously!

Jaime & Daniel: Actually, we are just the messengers; the real person behind this is standing right behind you.

That’s when I turned my head sharply to the back & saw Keith standing there.

Keith: (with both his hands on his hip) Haiyo! Where got ppl so stupid?! You really think Jaime would buy you a phone ah?!?!

Liz: (that’s when I realized how silly and naïve I was) Oh! Thank you darling! Muaks!

Keith: You really think Jaime would buy you a phone as Christmas present ah?

Liz: How I know, maybe, why not? :P……………@@! Sei Ler (means Die in Cantonese)

Keith: HAHAHA…do you all know why she suddenly says that? Coz, yesterday I told her I don’t know what to get for her for Christmas, so she asked me to get her the Ferragamo perfume. That’s why now she says ‘Die!’
Both the hand phone plus perfume, it cost me RM1000/-

Liz: …………… (I bought him a Billabong shirt cost only RM100) T_T


Then only I recalled, no wonder from the day I came back from ShenZhen, he kept asking me if I want a new phone and I told him no and just get me a new battery good enough coz I think it’s the old battery that causing all the problems.

Apparently, he has started sourcing for a new phone for me the week before I leave for my China trip.

And this was how the funny but sweet story came about. I ended up with 2 Christmas presents from my darling this year!



























How sweet it is to be love by you, baby! And I love you too!

My thoughts & experience in ShenZhen & Hong Kong

Hmmm…. What can I say about ShenZhen? Well, it is totally different from what I’ve expected or imagined in the first place. I expected to be welcomed by nice sceneries and would be able to enjoy the cold fresh air (something like Genting Highlands) as it supposedly winter over there.

But, it was so hot when I was there. It was almost like Malaysia except when there were cold breeze off and on. During the last day there, I decided to just put on my halted-neck top and go around and I sweated like a pig.

It was very hazy from the day one I touched down till the day I left. In ShenZhen itself, there are so many developments going on and there are factories everywhere. Thus, the pollution level there is extremely high.

In the bus on the way to our hotel for company event, with my colleague, Angeline.

Looking out from the bus. the entire ShenZhen is so hazy.

Finally get to meet up with my Hong Kong colleague, Elcote, again after 1 year apart! Love ya, babe!

Cute lovely panda bear given by my company as souvenir









































See how they did the direct translation. It was sponsored by Amway and as an international company, i think it is an unforgivable error. Basically it should be translated as 'Lets protect the greens together'


























Our 'Guardian' pharmacy, apparently is called 'Manning' in China, which simply translated as 'Everything works'


























We were all excited (for no reason) when we spotted the KFC Delivery Bicycles in China!

These are the only foods I ate in ShenZhen worth mentioning. The seafood was really fresh!

People in ShenZhen are okay in the sense that they are quite polite and good manner but the way they talk suggests otherwise, coz it sounded very rough & loud, it almost like they are having some arguments when they are merely making conversation and they can be mistaken as rude if you can’t catch what they say.

People there like to spit everywhere. Men & women, young & old. I think to them it is a norm as they have been brought up that way, but for us, we were so disgusted when we saw all the spits on the road. I practically stared at the ground when I walk the whole time so that I don’t step on anyone’s spit. YUCKS! Yet, the overall cleanliness in ShenZhen is quite satisfactory. You don’t really see much rubbish around compare to Malaysia.

What frightened me the most is that, there seems to have NO traffic rules in ShenZhen. First, their roads do not have any arrows painted so it’s hard for us to tell which direction the cars are coming from. Second, just when we thought we’ve figured it all out, suddenly there are cars coming from all directions. Third, not only we have to watch out for cars, the bicycles’ are as dangerous. Fourth, the ways their bus drivers drive are ruthless. Fifth, even when the pedestrian green-light is on, most drivers there still continue to drive thru and fight their way against the people who are crossing the road.

And talk about the shopping. I do not like to shop in ShenZhen. If the sellers/retailers are all the same in other parts of China, I would like to declare that I do not like to shop in China. They are all out to con people and if you are not good in bargaining, you might end up paying so much more. Frankly speaking, things there aren’t really that cheap, well, at least not all things are cheap. With the low air fares and business globalization these days, anyone can import products from China, Hong Kong, Korea easily and sell at a very reasonable price here. For example, a plain spaghetti straps top cost RM10 a piece and in ShenZhen it cost me RMB20. So it actually cost more or less the same.

We managed to cross over to Hong Kong for a day trip and did some shopping at the ‘Lui Yan Gai’ (Women Street) and bought a few accessories. People there are quite polite and the foods are generally nicer than ShenZhen. Oh I forgot to mentioned about the food in ShenZhen, one word, TASTELESS.

I bought some imitation branded T-shirts from Women Street and dumped in to my washing machine and washed with ‘Hand Wash’ setting. When I took out the shirts, the printing all shattered and now Keith can’t wear it anymore. Wasted my money!!! I’ll never buy any imitation shirt with printings anymore. Oh well, what did I expect anyway? Sigh…

Again I felt so cheated when I unpacked a long sleeve working shirt I bought for Keith. You see when I buy the shirt, it was suppose to be ‘Nautica’ brand, but when I unpacked the shirt, I found out it was actually ‘Hugo Boss’. They stick a Nautica’s sticker to cover the Hugo Boss’s label. Hmm… I wonder why they did that, coz Hugo Boss also not bad what.

Following are some shots in HK






















In the train to Hong Kong with my colleagues.













































The first thing we did was headed to the local 'Char Chan Teng' for breakfast.

Their 'Yao Char Koay' was really good. Even when it is cold, it is crispy and soft, unlike ours, once cold it would turned rubbery. I also love their 'Century Eggs Porridge'. Can't find the same in M'sia. :(

We walked pass the wet market and all seafood are alive. But most fish we saw already turned upside down though.


Some shots on the street in Hong Kong. It's a very busy and NOISY place from morning till late night.

After walking the whole day, everyone was so exhausted and we settled down in our of the restaurant for our dinner. We had our dinner real slow coz we were trying to rest as long as we can.

This is the most prestiges hotel (7 stars) in Hong Kong and according to my colleague a cup of coffee cost abt few hundred HK dollars. It is a common hang out place for all the celebrities so if you wish to bump in to your idol, this is a good place to go to.

Night views of the signboards

I was so fascinated by the lights on this bulding coz the lights could form different designs and wording, it looks really awesome!

One of the subway we went thru and the wall was painted with all these sort of paintings. It looks more like an Art Gallery instead of a subway.

Looking across from Hong Kong to ShenZhen.

Also took some pics at the Hong Kong's 'Walk of Fame'

Statue of late Bruce Lee

Hands print of Tony Leung

A lot of people sent their wishes to late Anita Mui. She is surely missed by many.


All in all, it was quite an experience and I would like to visit Hong Kong again with Keith in the near future but China….go sight seeing enough lah….I rather go shopping in Bangkok. Trust me, Bangkok is a better place to shop especially for people like me who am not good in bargaining, so that you won’t get cheated by those cunning people in China.

And one more thing, foods in Malaysia are still da BEST!

Back Home

I'm BACK!!

Been really busy and lazy ever since the day I came back from ShenZhen trip last Saturday. I was so tired, I even missed my facial appointment in the afternoon coz I fell asleep in the afternoon.

I was hoping to get all the Christmas presents from ShenZhen & Hong Kong but there weren't much to buy as it is winter season there. Hence, I ended up getting all presents in M'sia. Needless to say, I had to dragged Keith for last minute shopping on Sunday. Sigh....

But then, everyone in the family was busy with the cupcakes orders till the very last minute so basically my entire family members also shopped at the very last minute, and yet, we still managed to get nice gifts for one another.

I've expected so much from ShenZhen but only came back with much disappoiment (I'll share more in my next post though).

Anyway, had a family Christmas Party on Christmas Day for only family, relatives & close friends.

I'll share more about my trip in ShenZhen n HK and also all the happy and fun incidents after I came back.

Cheers!

Going to ShenZhen

I'll be catching the 0650 hours flight from LCCT tomorrow, thus have to leave my house as early as 0400 hours.

Hope I'll get to take a short rest on the plane though. Got to sleep early and get as much rest as possible before I fly.

My darling will send me to the airport. So sweet. :)

I'll post about the trip when I'm back.

See ya!

Sleepless

I always have this problem. Whenever Keith needs to travel for work and be away from me, I would have problem sleeping.

There is no exception even when I'm the one who need to travel and be away from him.

Guess I'm just so used to his presence, his smell, his warmth and the closeness we shared in our relationship.

I already have problem falling asleep since last night. :(

Hopefully with my busy meeting schedule and shopping sessions in ShenZhen and Hong Kong the whole week will really be able to exhausts me so that I can sleep like a piggy.

I don't want to end up looking like a Panda Bear when I'm in China...wait they put me in the zoo. Must not forget to bring my eye essence along!

Missing you already, darling!

HP, You've Made my Day

I received a parcel yesterday afternoon when I was in office.

Since I wasn't expecting any parcel, thus it seemed rather suspicious. However, my first guess was, 'Could it be some surprise gift from Keith?', because he always buys me flowers n little gifts on special occasions and whenever he travels overseas.

I opened the wrapping slowly thinking that maybe someone sent me a bomb to kill me (too imaginative). After I took out the wrapper, the first thing I saw was this,

This is the top view of the box

This was the front view of the box, which looks like the front panel of a CPU

When I turned to the back of the box, this was the graphics printed.

At this point I was like wondering, hmm...why HP sent me a box that looks like a CPU????

But, when I pulled out the inserts of the box, TADA!!!! These are the contents inside. There are 8 items all together and its absolutely adorable as all came in mini size.





















Only then I read the brochures that came along with this goodies, Ohhh... apparently, HP is promoting their new HP Compaq dc7822 series. Well, if the actual CPU is at the identical size as the box HP sent me, then it is really very compact for a desktop PC.

Well, as you can see there are 8 items in the box and each of them represent the 8 Key Reasons for choosing HP PCs & Notebooks.



1. Speed & Convenience

Ya ya...this is a Touch 'n Go card with RM40 ringgit credits inside. Cool right? ;o)

2. Stays Cool Always

A miniature Coke can

3. Environmental Friendly

A bag ( I won't use lah coz it looks very AH-Ma-ish) :P

4. Saves Energy

An energy saving light-bulb (good good coz we uses a lot of this at home)

5. Performance & Reliability

A miniature mini-coupe

6. Security

A tiny little lock & key set ( I thought want to use it for my luggage when I go to ShenZhen next week but then this is just for show lah....the lock is not secure at all, hehehe...)

7. Scalable & Productive

A key-chain with retractable measuring tape

8. Superior Service & Support

This is a mini screw-driver set. It comes with 8 little different screw-heads yoh. Absolutely love it!

I was so happy & I told Keith immediately. I brought home and Keith was really impressed too when he saw the package.

Hmmm...I should give this idea to my Marketing Manager when we make door gifts for our next events. Should do something different once in a while otherwise every time also give key-chain, pen, name card-holder, YAWN...how boring is that!

Oh right, lastly, not forgetting to thank HP for the cute little surprise.

Hope I'll ge tmore nice surprises from now onwards... hehehe