July 1st was a holiday in Hong Kong. We went to Shenzhen after work and went to Queen's Spa and Dining Resort, where we enjoyed 4 hours of reflexology and aromatherapy massage. Has anyone else gone to this place? We then stayed the night there. In the morning, we went for dim sum before returning to Hong Kong. It felt like a WEEKEND in the middle of the week.


The entrance leading to the main foyer of the spa/ resort...


Can you guess where this is (photo below)? I felt like I was somewhere on the West coast (North America)... But I was actually in Shenzhen, on my way back to Hong Kong! The beautiful weather in this photo easily throws one off...


For those of you who've frequented Hong Kong, I'm sure you've ran into CITYSUPER (supermarket) at Times Square... Well, have you seen the AUGUSTIN'S WAFFLES booth? The mouthwatering aroma of Belgian waffles brought me to this little booth situated inside CITYSUPER. I couldn't help buying one- not only because I was basically thinking with my appetite but also because Augustin(e) is my brother's name.  I made the right choice- The waffle was simply DELICIOUS!



Tonight's dinner at RICE PAPER, a Vietnamese restaurant in Causeway Bay...
Green curry chicken, a sampler platter (calamari, shrimp on sugar cane, satay chicken, vegetarian spring rolls), and veggies... The nice thing was, it was all HALF-PRICE (Yes, it's another one of those "Pay-with-American-Express-Platinum-and-get-your-meal-for-two-for half-the-price". I had thought this offer took effect only on Fridays. I was wrong! )

I watched the final episode of FORENSIC HEROES 2 yesterday (which HappyBunny blogged about as well). I cried. Haha... I really liked this TVB series (Yes, I can be such a SEE LAI sometimes).  This series actually had very good ratings!
HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU RECOGNIZE???


On a sad note, yesterday, in Wan Chai, a lady was just walking on the street when a large wooden advertising sign fell on her- She was killed instantly. I'm ALWAYS wary of the MANY advertising signs which hover above pedestrians. Poor lady and her family...
And today, a tour bus (coach) carrying 50 people lost control while going downhill on a street in Central, ramming into 8 cars and killing a 13-year-old pedestrian before slamming into a government building. SOOOO sad... The story: http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200806/29/P200806290240.htm

Both Wan Chai and Central are crowded places (districts of Hong Kong, I guess you can call 'em). I just had dinner in Wan Chai on Friday night with some of my cousins... And I basically work in Central, so I'm there during the week.

On a HAPPIER note, I went to watch KUNG FU PANDA tonight. I wasn't expecting much. It was surprisingly entertaining and there were a few good lessons to be learned in that one. Angelina Jolie has such a sexy voice (She was the voice of Tigress in the movie)!!!...

Alright. The typhoon #8 warning has now officially been downgraded to a #3.

Howling winds woke me up in the middle of the night! They pounded my bedroom windows and prevented me from falling back asleep. This morning, I got up and turned on the TV-

OK, so no yoga class and no work! I went back to sleep.

Some trees were uprooted and are blocking roads. Construction sites are a MESS... But I don't think anyone was hurt...

On another note...
My parents gave MrAC this watch as a wedding gift:



I was on the MTR and saw this ad:

It's the same watch but with a different faceplate colour and different straps!

A few weeks ago, I had dinner at MISO restaurant, a restaurant offering a 50% discount to all American Express cardholders every Friday night for a table of two.



The jumbo shrimp meat was taken out, marinated, cooked and stuffed back into the jumbo shrimp.


For dessert: fruit mocchi with raspberry sorbet, gingered creme brulee with vanilla bean icecream.

I went to Discovery Bay last Saturday. We walked around the beach area and had an afternoon meal on the patio overlooking the beach and sea- Spectacular views!
We also went to check out some model suites at the new CHIANTI building complex. Here are some photos of the master bedroom:


The master bedroom was HUGE. So was the ensuite. As you can see, the ensuite leads into the back, where there is a SPACIOUS walk-in closet.  You can also see the reflection on the glass- The master bedroom view composes of the sea/ harbour and beautiful hills...


In another model suite, the lower and upper floors were connected. So you've got this condo that's TWO FLOORS of the entire building!!!... The sizes were comparable to 3000 sq ft houses in North America. All very tastefully decorated...

I wouldn't mind living here!!!

On Sunday, a bunch of friends and I went to Choi Sai Woo park for a BBQ in the evening. It was great... The food was all marinated and prepared by the restaurant. We didn't hafta worry about cleaning up afterwards. The good thing was there was a balance of meat and veggies.

Here I am that afternoon at the restaurant (we booked ahead for the BBQ).



And... this morning, the tropical cyclone signal #1 was issued. I went to work. After work, when I got home, a #3 was issued... I logged onto the Hong Kong weather observatory and this is what I saw:

THE TROPICAL CYCLONE SIGNAL NO. 3 HAS BEEN ISSUED.
THE OBSERVATORY ANNOUNCES THAT THE TROPICAL CYCLONE WARNING
SIGNAL NUMBER 8 IS EXPECTED TO BE ISSUED AT OR BEFORE 11:00
P.M. TODAY.

Hmmmmm.... Haven't experienced a #8 before (just like I hadn't experienced a black rain warning until several weeks ago)...
Anyone ever walked outside during a tropical cyclone warning signal #8 before?...

I can't sleep because I cannot get over the fact that my mother is HOLDING ME ACCOUNTABLE for my uncle's flight ticket!

The story:

Last November, my parents asked me when the Hong Kong wedding will be. I told them I wasn't sure, perhaps in the fall/ autumn of 2008. I told them I would know by December, since MrAC and I would be in a better position to plan out our finances, etc., after his MBA at INSEAD. I TOLD THEM TO WAIT UNTIL AFTER DECEMBER TO BUY THE TICKETS.

The next thing I know, my parents AND my uncle (who resides in CANADA) bought tickets to go to Hong Kong- FOR SEPT 2008. Hmmmm... Why didn't they listen to me, I wonder...
Then in December, upon the downward spiral of our grandparents' health, we decided to have both weddings as soon as we could- the Toronto one as well as the Hong Kong one (Mind you- We basically paid for both. 2 FRICKIN' "GRAND, ALL-OUT" WEDDINGS half a world apart, just to satisfy family and relatives. And some of you may remember- My grandmother and MrAC's grandfather were unfortunately unable to make it...  NOTE TO ALL YOU UNMARRIED FOLKS OUT THERE: Just elope.  NO one appreciates what you do and at the end of the day, it's only about the two of you. I should've listened to MrAC who suggested just one big wedding- forget the people who can't come-, but unfortunately, at that time, I was still trying to be the "daughter who pleases her parents".). Hence, I got married in the spring (just less than 2 months ago).

Anyway, it turns out that my parents were able to change their ticket dates, but my uncle couldn't.

My mother called me tonight to inform me that my uncle was coming to Hong Kong this fall/ autumn and she basically ordered me and MrAC to take my uncle to dinner because "it's our fault" that he needs to come to Hong Kong (because he bought that ticket in hopes to attend our Hong Kong wedding, which I told him to hold off doing until I confirmed the dates)...

Isn't it HIS frickin' fault he didn't wait for me to confirm the dates???
WHY IN THE WORLD DID HE BUY THE TICKET??? The reason I had two weddings was because I had relatives from all over the world, and we wanted to make things easier for them.... SO WHY DID HE BUY THE TICKET WHEN HE COULD'VE JUST ATTENDED THE WEDDING IN CANADA? AND WHY DIDN'T HE WAIT FOR ME TO CONFIRM THE DATES???

Anyway, to avoid further conflict, I basically just said, "OK"...

My mother has already caused me much grief. I cannot believe she's doing it halfway around the world.

Alright. DEEP BREATHS.

I cannot control what others think or say. What I can control is how I respond to them.
Time to put those stress management techniques into good use.