random grand travel ideas

i) Casual drive down the Romantic Road, Germany/Austria (2 weeks) ==> 3 stars

ii) Eastern Europe Grand Circle (3 -4 weeks) ==> 5 stars
(Munich > Berchtesgaden> Salzburg > Budapest > Bratislava > Krakow > Berlin > Dresden > Prague > Munich)

iii) Laos - HK overland (1 month) ==> 5 stars
(Bangkok > Luang Prabang > Vientianne > Hanoi > Sapa > Nanning > Guang zhou > Shenzhen > Hong Kong

iv) London > Paris > Bordeaux > Barcelona ==> 3 stars

v) Italy & Greece (10 -14 days) ==> 2 stars

vi) Beijing > Tian Jing > Inner Mongolia ==> 2 stars

vii) Tokyo > Nagoya > Kyoto > Osaka ==> 3 stars

break

Break at last (had to clear leftover leave from last year if not they get forfeited)...5-whopping days, 1 and a half of which are gone already.

I was at first hoping to go on a short holiday alone, but ended up giving myself too many excuses for not wanting to get away (air tix too ex la, not worth the money la, quite boring to go to the beach alone la yada yada). If gee can do it, why i cannot leh? (but gee bo bian la...haha)

And it's really damn sad/loser if i tell pple i'm staying at home these 5 days trying to mug my CFA textbooks. But still, a break is a break. It's meant for doing things other than work, things big or small which i usually have no time to do cos of work depleting most of my time and energy.

Sigh, 看來我就得像很多人一樣，平平淡淡過這一生。也許多數人都沒有我這樣有手有腳，有精力有資本，但卻不懂得put them to good use. 有時候想，人生短短幾十年。世界這樣大，天外又有天，我又爲何不出去走走，擴大視野呢？

難道真的要有個伴兒才行嗎？我應該珍惜眼前的所有，沒有負擔的生活。。。抛開那些無路用的雜念，踏出家門去外頭看一看這奇妙的世界，看看人間之情味，更是要體會江湖之險，人心之險。

是時候了。我不管那麽多了。

Where to find the time to read?

I'm reading multiple books at once right now... Murakami's 1Q84 in Chinese, Mark Zuckerman's The World's Greatest Trade about John Paulson and his very successful hedge fund, Sammi Cheng's Worth It, The Great Gatsby, Jonathan Strange & Mr.Norrell by Susan Clark, Malcolm Gladwell's What the Dog Saw, and thinking of starting on Kafka on the Shore.

In my to-read list, i also have

i) Catch 22
ii) Clockwork Orange
iii) One Hundred Years of Solitude
iv) Love in the Time of Cholera
v) A Room with a View
vi) Animal Spirits
vii) Les Miserables
viii) Sherlock Holmes Complete Stories Vol.1
ix) Lord of the Flies
x) Mrs Dalloway

And there's all the CFA books waiting for me to sink my teeth into.....can't seem to focus on any one thing for an extended period of time :(

~

Recent movies

The Hurt Locker
Rating: 9/10
This film will be competing with Avatar for Best Picture at this year's Oscars which will be held tomorrow night. I must say this is no typical war film. Other than the gunfire scenes and the tremendous amount of suspense pumped into the plot via the bomb defuser's role, there is intense emotional sparring among the characters in the film as they struggled to maintain their sanity at the warfront. A great war film with great suspense! Still, i think Avatar is probably more likely to bag Best Picture at tmr nite's Oscars.


No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti (不能沒有你）
Rating: 9/10
This is a Taiwan Indie film that was shot in black&white and won last year's prestigious Golden Horse Award for Best Film of the Year. It's about an unlicensed commercial diver who has to bring up his young daughter without having legal custody to her. He had to be separated from the daughter as a result, and was driven to such desperation that he threatened to commit suicide with his daughter by jumping off a bridge in front of national TV. This is a film that sheds light on the plight of some unprivileged people of our modern society, and probably the failure and apathy of the government in helping these people.


14 Blades (錦衣衛）
Rating: 3/10
I was looking forward to watching this film because of the supposed interesting storyline and the fact that Donnie Yen had already put up 2 very good performances in Ip Man and Bodyguards & Assassins. But the film turned out pretty crappy with lots of drama between Yen and female co-star Vicki Zhao, and a whole slew of pop idols put on large screen. Turns out rather comical than action-packed. This is one Donnie Yen film that's way below my expectation :(


City of Life & Death (南京！南京！)
Rating: 7/10
I actually watched this pretty long ago together with The Hurt Locker since it's also a war flick. This film is shot in b&w and highlights the plight of soldiers defending the city of Nanking against Japanese invasion, as well as the women who were left to be raped by the Japanese soldiers. Good film beyond a mere history lesson, but probably a little dull considering it's the 3rd or 4th film made about the Rape of Nanking.


Amelia
Rating: 6/10
Strong acting by Hilary Swank kept me googling and reading up Amelie Eckhart, a notable female pilot who went missing in one of her round-the-world voyages as she tried to set a world record in the 1930s. The plot was a little draggy and wasn't a particularly great biography in my opinion. But still, this remains a tribute to one of the greatest female pilots of all time whose fate remains unknown to this day.


Treasure Hunter (刺陵)
Rating: 2/10
I watched it half expecting an interesting treasure-hunting archaelogical story of some sort, and half wanting to watch pretty Lin Chi Ling. But this really is one shitty film. You might just be able to catch it on Ch8 as one of those CNY 'blockbuster' movies next year or something. Blockbuster my foot lor. But yea, don't even think about getting the DVD. I don't even think it's worth your time sitting in front of the TV watching it.


Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
Rating: 7/10
Solid acting by Monique who plays the mother of fat girl Claireece "Precious jones (Gabourey Sidibe) who got raped by her own father and was accused by her mom of stealing her guy. Good acting by Mariah Carey too. How often do you catch Mariah Carey starring in movies? Lots of profanity in this film which adds lots of flavor to this sad little tale.


Nine
Rating: not 9/10 for sure....maybe a 5.
I watched this show on my bed when I was half falling asleep. The only thing i remembered about this musical film is probably Penelope Cruz's appearance in her underwear while dancing in her very sexy outfit. Was expecting this to be as good as Moulin Rouge or Chicago but it doesn't even come close despite having a star-studded cast.


An Education
Rating: 6.5/10
I don't really like watching British films but found this coming-of-age one not bad actually. Carey Mulligan put up strong precocious performance in this film, having to struggle with adult issues such as marriage and deceit while still a student. This is a show that can educate girls the importance of education instead of blind pursuit for romance n dependence. It kinda paints a very bad picture of men though.


From Paris With Love
Rating: 5.5/10
Action-packed film starring Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Lots of gunfight and carchasing but not quite as good as any of those Bourne/Bond films. Don't quite get to see enough scenery of Paris also.


Did You Hear About The Morgans?
Rating: 5.5/10
Romantic comedy starring a weird pairup between Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker. I find SJP way more charming than Grant for some reason other than because I'm a guy. A good glimpse of faraway Wyoming and its stark contrast with Chicago/NYC. Very nice soundtrack as well. I think that's pretty much about it.


Valentine's Day
Rating: 6.5/10
This is one Vday film that I really had a good laugh and also a feast for my eyes given so many chiobus starring in the show - Jessica Alba, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Biel, Anne Hathaway etc. Didn't know Taylor Swift can be so bimbo as well. I wonder what kind of show Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus can star together in if we put them together. A good festive film!


Valentine's Day
Rating: 7.5/10
I'm really surprised Jeff Bridges and Colin Farrell can actually sing in this film about a country singer who's broke and has a bad liver for alcohol. When he met a divorced entertainment mag journalist (Mag Gyllenhaal), he got seriously romantic with her but soon turned the woman off because of his bad drinking habits. And when he decided to go on a rehab and start afresh, the woman is not there for him anymore, leaving him with his sad old guitar and a stage that still welcomes him. Seems like life is never easy down the rocky road.


Up In The Air
Rating: 8/10
I actually like this show very much. It's got a pretty simple plot of this guy (George Clooney) who gets flown around the States firing people each time there's a corporate downsizing exercise. He meets a woman on one of his flights, got deeply in love with her, only to find out soon after he clocked his 10millionth freq flyer mile that the woman is actually married and everything was just an episode in his life. I actually thing it's quite a cool, albeit harsh and a little cold hearted, job to be hired by people to fire people.


Let's see how many more movies i can watch...til the next update...

~

Travel ideas pls

I have the entire Good Friday week off...still deciding on a place to go...

Hanoi, Manila, Cebu, Luang Prabang or Kuala Terengganu for golf + Redang beach?

Don't mind going alone really..need to get away for a while, reflect on why i'm so ill-tempered and irritable of late...

But looks like might end up not going anywhere..which i know i'll regret rotting away at home not getting down to mugging for my CFA exam...

CFA exam revision misery is gonna start real soon.......time to brace myself for it. But need to get away for a while first.