下一站。。。

又是香港！

It's good to be back again (as part of my annual pilgrimage). This time round just for Mike and of course to take a final break before a long drought of holidays over the next few months.

This time round visited some places I have never been to previously (Knutsford Terrace, Saikong, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon City, Wong Tai Sin, Sheungwan) and also just kept eating and eating (5 meals a day!)

Sheungwan has lots of hidden treasures (food).


獅子山 and Wong Tai Sin

Halal beef cakes at Kowloon City



Seafood @ Saikung (took a one hour bus ride there from Kowloon City!)





Old school 茶餐廳 food at Central




Excellent Porridge near 永樂街 at 上環

~

Recent movies

Have been watching many recent movies. Here's how I would score them:


Bodyguards & Assassins (十月圍城）
Rating: 8.5/10
Star-studded and lots of cameo. Most of the fighting scenes choreographed by Donnie Yen himself which explains why his own fighting scenes only came in towards the end and can't compare to Ip Man. Nevertheless, this has an interesting plot and characters are pretty well developed around the plot.



Sherlock Holmes
Rating: 7/10
This story is brand new and never part of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's books. Good performance by Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law. Was quite appalled when i heard Jude Law's gonna play Dr Watson, but his performance turns out not too bad after all. The CGI in the show was quite wtf imo.



This Is It
Rating: 9 / 10
I'm amazed by how quickly they can produce this movie just shortly after MJ's death. Then again, it's basically putting together all the backstage rehearsal scenes for his 2009 concert. Amazing way to have a look at how 'Sir Michael Jackson' manages people behind the scenes (let's put aside his f-ed up personal life). I think just the dance scenes and music alone would keep you glued to watching this. And it will keep you thinking how the concert would've turned out if he lived to perform his last show.



Avatar
Rating: 9.5 /10
Probably the most solid film in 2009 and together with Inglourious Basterds, this is one of the best films I've watched last year. James Cameron's 10-year effort at last and at least didn't disappoint. Definitely must go for the 3D experience. Many of the scenes just simply remind you of Vietnam War, The Last of the Mohicans, Star Wars, Hayao Miyazaki's floating mountains and Pocahontas! Still i find the plot pretty original.



It's Complicated
Rating: 5.5 / 10
I only just watched this yesterday with Theo after our golf session. It's supposed to be darn funny but I only found it a bit funny. It's one of those productions that allow old faces like Meryl Streep (who appeared in the recent Julie and Julia), Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin to show face on big screens again with simpler roles that allow them to simply be themselves. This is one show i should have saved the weekend $10.50 ticket and download and watch at home. Generally not my genre of films, but for a relaxing weekend, okay lah.


The Blind Side
Rating: 7.5/10
I got excited when i heard that this film is actually based on the one written by Mike Lewis. Never known anything about American football myself, perhaps I would've appreciated the story a little more if I had read up abit more about Michael Oher. Still, it's quite unbelievable how a rich white family woman can just pick up an african-american kid from the ghettos and raise him like her own child. Nevertheless, Sandra Bullock won the Golden Globe Best Actress award based on her role in this film. Although it is supposed to be a powerful role, I find her performance okay-only and wasn't as inspirational as I would've imagined. I mean this is a sports-based movie, but there's probably too much drama to contain within the 2 hour screening time of this film.


The Lovely Bones
Rating: 6/10
I heard the book was way better and also a lot more emotionally draining. Halfway through the show, this seems like a film that would appeal to many children and teenagers. Pretty good performance by Mark Wahlberg who played the Dad of the murdered daughter who was still able to witness from afar how her family's coping with her death. Plenty of metaphors and symbols in the film which would be good for literature studies. Still, despite the horrific murder part of the show, i still find it a bit too adolescent for my liking.


The Informant!
Rating: 6.5/10
This is a show about corporate whistleblowing go wrong. I watched this on the plane on my way to Hong Kong. Was too sleepy to really appreciate this political dark comedy that stars Matt Damon who plays a bipolar whistleblower reporting his employer’s price-fixing tactics through a 3-year surveillance by the FBI. Nevertheless it's interesting to see the multi-faceted Damon in a very different role again. Still, this is the kinda show you have to read the book b4 watching to fully appreciate. And you have to watch attentively. Unfortunately, it falls under one of those overly-intellectual genres that are my least-preferred.



2012
Rating: 6/10
Yet another disaster film literally, about the world coming to an end in the year 2012 and only a handful of people get rescued based on the Noah's Ark concept. And indeed, boats were constructed to save people and these boats were made in china. So i suspected there was some political message in the film - that these days, not only almost every damn thing is made in china, our lives will eventually depend and be saved by China. Like WTF rite? Anyways, i personally find this film lacks originality big time, probably cos all the natural disaster-related ideas have all been used up. I think only people who already have an apocalyptic view of life will enjoy this movie.


Brothers
Rating: 7 / 10
A pity i found out a tad too early this emotionally draining movie is a remake of the original Danish film with the same title, so naturally I thought i was gonna be in for some disappointment. Still, it's Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhal and Spiderman Tobey Maguire so it can't be too bad. Tobey Maguire plays a dehumanized U.S. marine captured by Taliban in Afghanistan, rescued and sent home while Gyllenhal plays his younger brother who just got out of jail and ready to face life again. That's what I liked about the plot - one brother turning from strong to weak after the trauma he's gone thru (he was made to kill one of his own men by the taliban), while the other grew out of his wilfulness and mischief and was filling his elder bro's shoes as the family man taking care of his bro's wife and children. And just as expected, the younger bro drew too close to the beautiful sister-in-law (Natalie Portman) and everything became complicated and the half-psychotic marine came back and accused his brother of screwing his own wife while he's away. Too cliche this part. Tobey Maguire acted pretty well as the deranged psychotic brother scarred from war. I think he's got the potential to act in other more sinister roles other than Spiderman of course.



My Sister's Keeper
Rating: 6 / 10
Again, heard this was a far cry and kind of a very different plot from the original book by Jodi Picoult. Too emotionally draining and too adolescent for my liking as always. The plot wasn't well developed especially how the younger sister was made to lie about demanding medical emancipation. Even though i didn't read the book, i know that's not how it's supposed to turn out. Surprisingly, Cameron Diaz put up a fairly good performance.


Invictus
Rating: 7.5 / 10
I was excited when I heard Clint Eastwood directed another movie - his last Gran Torino was damn good. But it's of a slightly different genre this time round but still has some political/social innuendos. It's a great film with a great story - something most people won't expect, that is how the leader of a country and its rugby team captain come together to deliver a strong message to unify its people. But 2 things i can't stand about the film - Morgan Freeman trying too hard to imitate President Mandela's way of talking, dragging his words as a wise old man; Matt Damon's faked South African accent was another pain to the ears. Overall, just like most other recent movies I've watched, this is only slightly above mediocre imo, unfortunately.

Looking forward to this year's Oscar titles. Hope there's one that is at least gonna stay impressionable a few years down the road from now.

~

49th day

Yesterday was the 49th day since my God Grandma passed.

In Chinese customs, we would have to commemorate every 7th day up to the 49th day of the relative's passing, thereafter officially move the relative's altar from a secondary (lower) position in the house to the main (higher) altar deck, signifying that the deceased has completed his/her journey to the other world. Once rested on the altar deck, God Grandma's altar would be resting alongside her demised husband who passed away some 31 years ago, and also with the ancestral altars at the same level.

The ceremony was a simple yet traditional one. We made our offerings of some vegetarian food, fruits and candy bars, lighted joss sticks and burnt incense paper and bade farewell to our well-respected God Grandma (once again).

Before we left, mom and pap had a chat with God Grandma's immediate son and grandson, talking about God Grandma in her younger days. My uncle took out an old chocolate tin that contained many old photographs of God Grandma together with random people, including my uncle himself, my dad and my late great grandfather. And then they started raking up the old memories just by talking through these photographs, many of the stories driving at how my God Grandma was like as a woman back then. I can't help but to take out my iPhone and took a few pictures of these photographs. These precious photographs of which many stories were told.

This is a priceless picture taken some 55 years ago. A family portrait that was an important part of every decent household's living room decors, when children symbolized hope and prosperity of the Chinese. Sitting in the middle are God Grandma and her late husband, both of whom I heard were very ill-tempered people. The kid on the left is my dad while the fatter boy on the right is my uncle. Sadly, both boys weren't the flesh and blood of the couple sitting in the middle. After God Grandma had a miscarriage, for some reason, they just stopped trying for kids. Uncle pointed out to me how intimately God Grandma was holding my Dad's hand in the picture. He said it spoke a lot about their relationship back then. My mom said that when a kid isn't your own flesh and blood, no matter what the kid wouldn't accept you wholeheartedly as his/her own parent. I think this is quite true.





This very unfriendly looking man is my great grandfather. This was part of a picture of him and a little boy with a typical mainland chinese kid's hairstyle. It was this picture that successfully allowed my Uncle to enter Singapore. In those post-WW2 days when the old British government was extremely cautious with the influx of Chinese immigrants, they set strict laws that only allowed children whose relatives are in Singapore already to be able to come into the country. Great Grandpa had shown this photograph to the authorities and had to tell a lie or something because Uncle's natural parents are still back in China and there's no such thing as adoption or whatsoever. Naturally, birth certificates didn't seem to be a useful form of verification. So photographs were probably the best things to bring children from China into Singapore. Thereafter, Uncle was placed under the care of God Grandma and has lived with her since then.



I was often told God Grandma was a righteous and fearless (and therefore naturally ill-tempered) person. She was also adventurous, having lived through the times knowing that inventions had come about and that people are no longer stuck in their own silos in this big big world. So she traveled as much as she could. She had gone back to mainland China many times, something that showed where her heart really belongs to. In this picture, she was already at least in her late 70s but had no fear of doing things like crossing a bamboo bridge. Surely, it is her sense of adventure that allowed her to live such a long life. Truly admirable.


And then before we left, i took a walk around the spacious 4-room HDB flat as though tracing God Grandma's footsteps while she was still living in the flat. And then i stepped into the room she once occupied. It was spacious and rather empty except for the bed she once slept on and an old-school dressing table that was kept in more or less the same condition as when God Grandma was still around.


A phone with giant buttons for the elderly who can't see properly


God Grandma's room. It's sad walking into the room.


God Grandma's dressing table, pretty much still in its original state

I am sure God Grandma has moved onto a very much nicer place and is able to see all of us from up there. And now that she knows all the things about my dad's health that we have been trying to hide from her, I hope she has forgiven us for doing that and will continue to bless us with good health.

~

Tegami

(Background music) Kanji Tegami ~Haikei Juugo No Kimi E~ (Minna No Uta Ver.) 手紙 ～拝啓 十五の君へ～ アンジェラ·アキ 拝啓　この手紙読んでいるあなたは　どこで何をしているのだろう 十五の僕には誰にも話せない　悩みの種があるのです 未来の自分に宛てて書く手紙なら きっと素直に打ち明けられるだろう 今　負けそうで　泣きそうで　消えてしまいそうな僕は 誰の言葉を信じ歩けばいいの？ ひとつしかないこの胸が何度もばらばらに割れて 苦しい中で今を生きている 今を生きている 拝啓　ありがとう　十五のあなたに伝えたい事があるのです 自分とは何でどこへ向かうべきか　問い続ければ見えてくる 荒れた青春の海は厳しいけれど 明日の岸辺へと　夢の舟よ進め 今　負けないで　泣かないで　消えてしまいそうな時は 自分の声を信じ歩けばいいの 大人の僕も傷ついて眠れない夜はあるけど 苦くて甘い今を生きている 人生の全てに意味があるから　恐れずにあなたの夢を育てて Keep on beliving 負けそうで　泣きそうで　消えてしまいそうな僕は 誰の言葉を信じ歩けばいいの？ ああ　負けないで　泣かないで　消えてしまいそうな時は 自分の声を信じ歩けばいいの いつの時代も悲しみを避けては通れないけれど 笑顔を見せて　今を生きていこう 今を生きていこう 拝啓　この手紙読んでいるあなたが 幸せな事を願います ~ Romaji Tegami ~Haikei Juugo No Kimi E~ Haikei kono tegami yondeiru anata wa Doko de nani wo shiteiru no darou Juugo no boku ni wa dare ni mo hanasenai Nayami no kanae ga aru no desu Mirai no jibun ni atete kaku tegami nara Kitto sunao ni uchiake rareru darou Ima makesou de nakisou de Kieteshimaisou na boku wa Dare no kotoba wo Shinji arukeba ii no? Hitotsu shika nai kono mune ga nando mo barabara ni warete Kurushii naka de ima wo ikiteiru Ima wo ikiteiru Haikei arigatou juugo no anata ni Tsutaetai koto ga aru no desu Jibun to wa nani de doko e mukau beki ka Toitsu dzukereeba mietekuru Areta seishun no umi wa kibishii keredo Asu no kishibe e to yume no fune yo susume Ima makenai de nakanai de Kieteshimaisou na toki wa Jibun no koe wo shinjiaru keba ii no? Otona no boku mo kizutsuite Nemurenai yoru wa aru kedo Nigakute amai ima ikiteiru Jinsei no subete ni imi ga aru kara Osorezu ni anata no yume wo sodatete La la la, la la la, la la la Keep on believing La la la, la la la, la la la Keep on believing, keep on believing, keep on believing Makesou de nakisou de Kieteshimaisou boku wa Dare no kotoba wo shinji arukeba ii no? Aa Makenaii de nakanai de Kieteshimaisou na toki wa Jibun no koe wo shinjiarukeba ii no Itsu no jidai mo kanashimi mo Sakete wa torenai keredo Egao wo misete ima wo ikite yukou Ima wo ikite yukou Haikei kono tegami yondeiru anata ga Shiawase na koto wo negaimasu... ~ English title: Letter Dear you, Who's reading this letter Where are you and what are you doing now? For me who's 15 years old There are seeds of worries I can't tell anyone If it's a letter addressed to my future self, Surely I can confide truly to myself Now, it seems that I'm about to be defeated and cry For someone who's seemingly about to disappear Whose words should I believe in? This one-and-only heart has been broken so many times In the midst of this pain, I live the present Dear you, Thank you I have something to tell the 15-year-old you If you continue asking what and where you should be going You'll be able to see the answer The rough seas of youth may be tough But row your boat of dreams on Towards the shores of tomorrow Now, please don't be defeated and please don't shed a tear During these times when you're seemingly about to disappear Just believe in your own voice For me as an adult, there are sleepless nights when I'm hurt But I'm living the bittersweet present There's meaning to everything in life So build your dreams without fear Keep on believing Seems like I'm about to be defeated and cry For someone who's seemingly about to disappear Whose words should I believe in? Please don't be defeated and please don't shed a tear During these times when you're seemingly about to disappear Just believe in your own voice No matter era we're in There's no running away from sorrow So show your smile, and go on living the present Go on living the present Dear you, Who's reading this letter I wish you happiness.. ~

Cash is king

I have never felt so poor in my entire life before. My current combined bank account balances now total up to less than what I used to get each month during my NS days.

And then i think about the upcoming large ticket items on my spending list and the multiple cash advances I have to make, it's difficult not to be frugal.

Looks like I not just made bad investments, but also over-invested pretty badly. Such are times when I learn my lessons about liquidity.

When I finally getta turn around, I swear I will never have to feel this way again.

~

Naked Walls

Came home from holiday to find that my mom has removed all the stuffs on my walls and brushed the walls clean.

Feels weird having such naked bedroom walls now. But looking into my room from the door, the room does feel a little more spacious somehow...



~

職業病

Can't believe i repeatedly typed 'Temple' as 'Templeton'.

職業病...confirm!

~

Annual 'pilgrimage'

It's HK again - 9-12 Jan. Must think of what to do when i get there. I wouldn't have gone if not for SIA's fare promotion and Mike happens to be in HK then (it's really hard to catch him in HK, and just nice he's gg back to the States on the 12th)

This would be my 5th time in HK since 2003, seems like I've been there every year except 05 and 06. Trying to recap what I did in HK during my last few visits.

Dec 2002-Jan 2003 - first time in HK. This was like a JC grad trip. I was in HK for a whopping 9 days and was staying at FKC's place in Shatin. Had a taste of residential neighborhood life in HK. I remembered FKC's place was at the foot of a mountain and it was winter time, so it was fugging cold. We went to various places like Cheung Chau Island and Shenzhen. And i met up with JC classmate Gordon and went to Ocean Park with him - we took the rollercoaster at least 4 or 5 times just to get to sit at the front of the car. And soon after, I got back to Singapore and began by National Service.




Dec 2003 - Did a Taiwan-HK combined trip with FKC and Ivan Huang, and then met up with Mike in HK. FKC had already started uni at HKUST. I can't rem if FKC and Finn were together already or not, but I think i met her and Ah Shan at the HKUST hostel. We had many drinks and I was drinking for Ivan huang cos he was down with a fever after a massive diarrhoea from a spicy meal in Taipei. I rem running along the beach at HKUST yelling "I wasn't drunk!" and then crashing into a bush puking away. Went to Mike's house the following day and crashed for a large part of the day. Went to Stanley Beach with Mike, FKC and Ivan Huang and played soccer there with a bunch of kids beside the beach. I rem the kids were damn pissed cos we kept scoring goals against them.



Dec 2004 - Both Mike and FKC were in HK and I visited them days before my ORD. I couldn't rem if Mike and Ah Shan got together alr or not - probably not, if not Mike wouldn't have time to accompany me this time round. But FKC and Finn were already together for more than a year. FKC, Finn, Mike and myself did a 2D1N in Macau. We tried our luck at the casinoes and it was an eyeopener. We rem getting conned by a taxi driver who brought us to this restaurant called 海盜船. There was no one in there and we felt cheated! Golden Sands was ready by then but many parts of Macau were visibly still under development. Another memorable thing on this trip was the BBQ outing at Stanley Beach where we rented a kerosene lamp and sat by the chilly waters and BBQ the meats we bought from Wanchai i think. Other places i visited included the Big Buddha at Lantau Island. The cable car wasn't ready then so Mike and I took a very long bus ride from Tung Chung. I rem that was where we had a vegetarian meal and i took a free copy of the Guan Yin script that i later accidentally burnt it during the BBQ at Stanley Beach.



May 2007 - It was some 2.5 years later that I visited HK again. Was there with Joshua, Serene and Serene's friend and we caught Sammi Cheng live in concert at the HK Coliseum. It was my first and only concert experience in HK. The coliseum looks run-down but the acoustics were good. Sammi had a fantastic performance that I will always remember. Places we went..hmm..we ate at Yong Kee which was touted to be the best restaurant in HK but we were damn disgusted by their level of service. A waitress broke Josh's camera and they didn't offer immediate compensation. FKC and Finn both had started work for more than a year already, and we took the NgongPing cable car up to see the Big Buddha at Lantau Island. It was foggy like hell and we quickly left.


Jul 2008 - HK again after my internship at Merrill. This time I went with JX and met up with Evan who was doing a one-month exchange programme in HK. Everywhere in HK, there were Beijing Olympic decorations. The weather was gloomy in the months leading up to Lehman collapse. In the financial district, i could feel an ominous atmosphere everywhere and that was perhaps just the beginning of what's worse to come. Just like any of the previous trip, I went up the Peak but this time round decided to go visit the Madame Tussauds Museum at the Peak Galleria. Had quite a lot of fun photowhoring with JX. It was also one of the first times I didn't take a single picture on the trip at all, cos my camera was spoilt. So JX did all the phototaking, and for the first time I have so many pictures of myself enjoying the holiday! Met up with FKC and Finn again of course. FKC seemed to have grown rounder than ever. JX and I went to check out more food places on our own this time round. Hing Kee claypot rice and Yau Ma Tei!!! I will be back for more next week! We also did a trip with Evan to Macau and visited the newly-opened (ok not that new by then) Venetian. We had excellent Portuguese Macau food too! JX and I went to Ocean Park and was caught in bad weather and also crowds of Mainland tourists - Yucks! That was also where i received a phonecall from my boss telling me I got a job offer with Merrill! Kept me happy the whole time!


I don't think i really have had the ultimate tourist experience in HK yet despite going to HK several times. But FKC always discourages me from doin' all the touristy stuffs cos they are either expensive or boring. I have no particular interest in HK Disneyland though. Other things i would like to do though is to visit Wong Tai Sin temple, have seafood at Saikung, check out drinking areas at Knutsford terrace, chiong the factory outlets at Southern Horizons, have BBQ again at Stanley Beach! Again, the purpose of this coming trip is mainly to meet up with Mike since it's not easy to catch him in HK. And now that there's a new member in the EXk club - Mike's got a new gf for close to a year already, it would be sort of a different travel experience again, especially in the absence of FKC and Finn, both are in Shanghai for work.

Let's see how the trip goes. It will be the last of my many holidays in Dec/Jan before I get super busy at work again. Let's hope i getta check out new things in HK this time round.

~

My impatience

Today I was at Jurong East MRT station Popular Bookstore queuing up to pay for my stuffs. I was kinda in a hurry cos Mom & Dad were waiting for me at the supermarket to go back together.

And then I realized the queue wasn't moving - a couple at the cashier counter with a kid was holding everyone up as they were filling up membership forms and fiddling into their purses looking for coins. And that's where i was cursing under my breath until i figured the husband was a deaf and he had trouble making himself understood to the cashier.

And then i saw how nonchalant the two ladies in front of me were - they were waiting patiently in the queue as they figured the deaf husband and his family needed more time to settle the bill.

I stared blankly and thought about how impatient i was until the cashier called out to me to move forward. I can't really put in words what exactly is the lesson i shld be learning from this little observation of myself. Has it got something to do with my impatience or my becoming coldhearted?

~

Book-shopping on New Year's Eve

Somehow, I can really feel myself immersed in the ubiquitous consumer-spending culture during this festive sale period.

I was spending like a mad man! but things really seem quite cheap - got myself a PUMA Ducati jacket for only 85 dollars, and then saw a couple of books going on discounts yesterday.

Here are the books i bought:











~

Goodbye, 2009.

Happy New Year!

It's amazing how 2009 zoomed past just like that, with a couple of holidays and parties to mark the end of a year of unexpected events for myself.

I remember just 10 months ago, i was still sitting in the SMU seminar room listening attentively to the prof and fighting hard for class part just like what I had done over the past 4 yrs. In my graduating sem, I was determined to shore up as much knowledge as I could with the school fees i paid, so I did things like Urban Econs & Real Estate Finance which led me to conclude that I am really no economist and that my 4 yrs in SMU masquerading as an intelligent being in the sch of econs was really quite a shame on myself. In that semester, I did a creative writing course where I rediscovered my love for literature and fiction - something that keeps me sane amidst the number-crunching routines in my current daily work.

And then that same period proved to be a tough one for me and my family as Dad suffered a relapse of his cancer that had the whole family plunge into another depression. It was a 9-month battle before he was eventually liberated again. This episode made me see things from a very different perspective - now as an adult versus how i see it a few years back when I just turned 21. I regretted my wilfulness back then. And it felt strange how I start seeing myself replacing some of the roles that used to be undertaken by my Dad.

And with the family crisis goes all my grad trip plans whatsoever. I was, however, able to make a trip to Shanghai to witness for myself the changing landscape of the fastgrowing country of China. It kept me thinking about the path I should be taking down the road in a few years' time. Somewhere, sometime, it had to be China. It was also a good get-together with FKC and Finn, keeping up our good old friendships in a land we never once did expect ourselves to be. I have plans to go back to China again for a backpacking cum history trip across various ancient cities.

More shocking news as the year moved towards the halfway mark. Just when things are all set for me to join Merrill Lynch, i received a call from my boss that he has left to join Standchart and is offering me a job at the new place. I had to settle for a pay cut, but on hindsight, it was a blessing to have the opportunity to learn how things work in a shop that just started out. Tough but satisfying. I can't say with great conviction now, but I will know sooner or later. I am fortunate to be working for the same boss still and also having the company of lovely and amiable colleagues.

And the moment i came back from Shanghai, i was told by Dad to accompany my ill Sis to Germany for her research attachment over there. It would be my first time in Europe and it turned out to be a fantastic eyeopener after staying there for 6 weeks or so and travellin' to some 5 countries and 10 cities. Paris was very memorable. And i had my first road trip in Sardinia, Italy. My first attempt at driving a manual car after obtaining my driving license 5 yrs ago, wasn't too bad after all. A pity I couldn't go to more places because I wasn't spending my own money and my primary duty is to help out with my Sis in the first place. I will go back very soon for London, Spain and France for sure!

Michael Jackson died on the eve of my return to Singapore. I remember seeing many people standing in front of a large screen at Frankfurt airport crying as they watched the news about MJ's death.

A few days later, work started...zoom zoom....very quickly, a few months went by. Amidst the heavy work, i found myself committed to taking golf lessons, business mandarin classes and mugging for CFA. Again, there was quite a bit of stretch over there. CFA revision was really painful after taking a break from studying for more than half a year. Getting the golf proficiency certificate was a good way to go on holiday trips over weekends. I'm glad a couple of close uni friends share the same interest in this. It's an uber heavy maintenance hobby, but I hope it will sustain for at least quite sometime. I have gone on one golf trip to batam, and I still haven't bought my clubs! Business mandarin was an additional step to me fulfilling my career-in-China dream. I never knew my Chinese was so bad until I did the course. It's a very good course I must say, especially the part on doing presentations in Chinese. I am contemplating whether to do a business translation course starting next week. Again, I could be stretching myself too much.

December was an extremely lazy and sluggish month. All my plans for December didn't seem to work out somehow other than going on my holidays. I had great inertia lugging my ass to the gym and getting some work out. Dad's godmother passed away this month at the age of 95. That episode made me realize my generation of people have quickly been swept into the next and replacing our fathers and mothers.

Zoom..zoom....and that brings me to the end of 2009. I have also found myself starting to invest actively in the markets, learning more ropes, more lessons and understanding the psychology of investing through my personal experiences. But seriously, I think this year and next are probably the best years for making money and I am glad I am participating in this global recovery.

Today is 1st day of 2010. Seriously haven't thought about what I really wanna do for this year. I wanna get fit again, that's for sure. I wanna go on a few self-financed holidays. I wanna continue to ride the waves in this global economic recovery, which means I probably should expand my investment scope to beyond the Sg market. I wanna get promoted and move on to other responsibilities at work. I wanna get a decent handicap in golf and be able to enjoy the sport sustainably with my good friends. I wanna go U.S to visit Michael. I wanna do a trip in the Kansai area in Japan, which is a good reason for me to pick up my Japanese again. I wanna finish my CFA Level 2 in style (need to pass level 1 first).

Will probably do quarterly checks to see how much of the above i can actually achieve realistically.

Let's see how it goes.

~