This HK post is late! #4

As expected, fewer people turned up on the last day of the conference.


When it appeared to us that the keynote speaker was somewhat rambling, we left for J's paper presentation.

The highlight of the day was a school visit to the HK IEd Jockey Club Primary School. Interestingly, the school is within the compound of the Institute of Education. We found out that the primary school gets the best cut from the teacher training institution. This in turn means the school is quite sought after by parents.

The kids were really cheery, probably because it was the week before the Christmas break. I approached several children to pose for my camera and all of them willingly did so!

Lower primary kids are ever so happy!

Then we met a bunch of primary 6 kids who had drama lessons earlier in the day and hence the face painting.

This chap is made for the camera! He spotted me with my camera standing outside the classroom and waved. Later when I entered the room, he looked at me relentlessly until I pointed the camera at him and he gave me this the 'double victory' pose.



I have taught several batches of Primary 6 children but hell I don't remember my kids being so relaxed with strangers!


The students who led the school tour spoke fluent English although they were most comfortable with Cantonese and used that with their peers and teachers.


This has got to be my favourite picture. Look at the boy's hair! He has grown a tiny 'tail' and best of all he happily goes to school like that.

Shouldn't this be the way in our local schools too? Who cares what hair style you spot or what colour your hair is as long as you come to school and go away learning something. Oh well, at least this is how I feel. ;)

This HK post is late! #3

On our way home, I had HKD150 left in my wallet. Still itching to shop, I was determined to spend every cent at the airport! So this was what I bought for HKD120!


Initially, I got it with the intention of giving it to my Mil who likes Hello Kitty. But after I'd unpacked it from my luggage, I found it so cute that I decided to give it a permanent place on the TV console. Terrible me! ;)

And in case you are wondering what on earth this is, it is one of those things that uses solar energy and makes the toy figure move its head left and right.

This HK post is late! #2

Spotted outside our hotel in Kowloon...


I thought the bears in traditional Chinese wedding costumes were so cute!

December must be an auspicious month for weddings. We spotted wedding cars daily outside our hotel. :)

This time, we chose the Novotel Nathan. It's not as near Jordan MTR station as we'd like but it was a good choice. Clean, modern and not tiny. Standard hotel rooms in Hong Kong are never spacious unless you get one from Hyatt Regency Shatin. But if you were there for shopping, you won't want to stay at Shatin in New Territories!

This HK post is late! #1

agnes b. in Hong Kong does not just sell bags but also food among other stuff!

I LOVE HK!

It seems like I've disappeared from the Internet! But really I had gone shopping on a work trip. :)

We went away for a conference on 14 Dec though I must admit that throughout the trip all that was on my mind was the shopping and eating. So don't ask me how my presentation went, it was a blur. :) I can however tell you that J did really well. He read 2 papers and like always people went up to talk to him about his research. He's a real magnet I tell you! I'm resigned to forever remain in his shadow. :)

I haven't had time to sort the pictures. Actually I didn't take too many because I was too busy preparing for my presentation the first few days and for the rest of the trip I was too busy shopping. So here's a quick peek.

After day 1

After day 2

(New boots and shoes not included, they were already on our feet!)

We only had 2 days to shop. NOT enough! If only we had more time and the weather wasn't so cold, we could have gone on forever.

Days leading up to Christmas...#4

Before Picnik

After Picnik

The third present I received early this Christmas is from sister #4. Oh yeah, I have many sisters! She got me these magnets because she felt one of them was screaming of me.

This one

According to her, my ego is so immensely huge, nobody can deflate it. I beg to defer but she won't hear a word of it.

Then J had to join in the debate and declared that we were both wrong! He says the magnet that screams of me is this one. Well that does it, you know which two people are NOT getting any Christmas presents from me this year!

Days leading up to Christmas...#3

After watching Despicable Me, I told J I wanted to get a copy of the book which Margo, Edith and Agnes made Gru read to them as a bedtime story. It was said in half jest but J took me quite seriously.

So guess what came in the mail the other day??

Sleepy Kittens as seen in the film, 'Despicable Me'!

And yes it comes with the finger puppets!

It's such a funny present, isn't it? I so LOVE it!

Swa Garden

is a Teochew restaurant along MacPherson Road and about the only one I go to because it's near my parents' place. Not that I dislike Teochew food but I'm really not familiar with it.


I like this restaurant because it's so quaint, so 1980s. Plus the food's really good!

The prices however are not cheap. Among the food we ordered were the Teochew braised goose, steamed pomfret and cold crab. I didn't take pictures of the food because I wasn't quick enough! Everyone dug into the dishes before I could even position my camera.


I did get a shot of the all famous Teochew dessert, the orh-nee. If you don't already know, it's yam paste with pumpkin and gingko nuts. The reason this photo exists was by then everyone was quite full and had slowed down in their eating. That plus the observant waitress who saw me with my camera in hand had asked if I'd like to take a snapshot before she served the dish.

It's one of the few times I ate orh-nee, I'm really not a fan. It's pretty good I have to say! Not too sweet at all.

Working on a Sunday

is definitely not by choice.



It's what happens when we get so swamped with work during the weekdays that we have to spend the weekend preparing for our conference presentations. Actually for me it's not so bad because I only have one paper to present. J has two!

Seriously, we need all of God's favour and blessing at the conference next week!

Please let it turn warmer!

We are leaving for HK next week and it freaks me out when J sends me a photo like this. Look at the weather for Wednesday and Thursday! I am positive I will freeze!

Right now I am trying my hardest not to let this dampen my spirit because I have been SO looking forward to this trip for weeks! Although it's partly a work trip, I love HK so much, I can't wait to be there. In HK, J and I are totally indulgent. Shopping and eating is all we do. So please PLEASE let it not be freezing cold! I don't want to be holed up indoors!

My worst fear is that I'll come down with flu which so far has happened each time I go to HK at the end of the year. :(

Days leading up to Christmas...#2

Present for two very dear people. May the spirit of peace and love be with you both. :)

Faceless

Ondine finds some of my pictures funny. So here's 1 more for her amusement!

I realised I sometimes take pictures of J without showing his face. This one was taken at the Takashimaya sale last week. Now that Ondine's said it, the picture does remind me of Home Improvement where you can never see the face of Wilson, the neighbour. Hee hee...

Days leading up to Christmas...#1

I'm in love!

My first present this Christmas is from myself! :) A Beantown Charlie from kate spade. It was love at first sight! I love how it looks like a winter coat! I love its big black buttons! I love that it came with a 'less 30%' price tag! And of course I am not waiting till Christmas! Just look at its fall/winter look, there is no better time than now to carry it.

Today's special

Whenever J has to go out on a Saturday morning, he will wake earlier and buy me breakfast, then leave for his appointment. He knows that left to my own devices, it will just be endless cups of coffee for breakfast.

This morning's takeaway is pork porridge with century egg. My absolute favourite! :)

First copy!

My magazine finally came! 6-month subscription starts this Dec. :)