cny around the corner

everywhere you go is a sea of red now i bet. red lanterns, cherry blossoms, god of prosperity, red packets, you name it you have it!!! the malls are crowded with ppl of all races and ages buying and basking in the festive air. these are what i saw during one of the visits to the malls. the god of prosperity was a favourite among the crowd. he was distributing red packets filled with sweets. the crowd really pushed their way to get their hands on one. i was busy clicking away and the 'choi san' headed towards me go give me one. hahaha...i dun even have to shove and push.

no new is good news

it pained my heart to read in the newspaper this morning news of riots and curfews again in this mythical and mystical country called nepal. since my visit there in 04, i have harboured hope to make return trip but the political situation there does not seem to encourage return of tourists. it is really a beautiful place and the people are really friendly and hospitable. if you guys out there has a chance for a visit, do drop by. it is highly recommended. it will enrich your life and make it more complete than it already is.

escapism in 2007

travel plans for escape 2 in 2007
1. first stop: beijing in march
tickets are already booked...but still not paid yet. i am still hoping to get cheaper tickets. heard mas virtual ticket fair that is coming soon. dunno whether i can get cheap tickets online. it will be a free and easy thingy in beijing. a housemate's sister is studying there...so accomodation is settled. i have an aunt there too...a 100% local...shopping for local goods will depend on her. i hope the weather will not be cold. people say it is already the beginning of spring, so maybe flowers are starting to bloom and light springy steps will lead the path. aahh..how ideal and romantic.
2. next stop in may/june: langkawi island?? maybe
3. third stop or last: cambodia in august
this is confirmed as well....blame air asia for making me plan this so well ahead. 1,000,000 free tickets to give away....well, i only got one!! what giveaway..my foot!!! i only got 1 way free...but it is still the cheapest way to fly to cambodia i guess...less than 400. only another gal dare to follow me on this less trodden path. the others have been filling me in with stories of visit to the police station. not one story mind u, a few which ended up in the police station. these are people who travelled on their own without a guide. i plan to get a hotel online and then explore on my own, but after hearing the stories, am in a rut. there is still ample time to go ask around and seek advice. maybe hiring a local guide will ease the scare. well, if anyone has any advice, please drop them. or anyone wants to join this trip?? flight is going to land in phnom penh and angkor wat is not to be missed in siam reap.
4. err...still got money left ah???.........

shopaholic dilemma

aiyoh....bad news for shopaholic!!! an aunt is coming back from germany via dubai!!! red alert!!!
dubai duty free!! dubai shopping carnival!!! aaaaahhhh!!!
;(((((((((((((((
no money, no talk. sigh.
anyone stopped in dubai before or heard of any exciting things about the duty free at the airport?? naa...i am not buying but maybe whatever information i can get hold of, can tantalise my aunt to buy a thing or two. hahaa
a friend who went to the states via dubai last time, bought lots on the way to and on the way back. is it really that good???
what is cheap there?? i have heard of perfume, and most recently watches. aaah....watches...hmmm...yes that is what i want. dun worry, i will hold my horses and wait till i have hit the jackpot. so wish me luck.

cough...cough...

i bet you guys have never seen anyone who is happy to be coughing away. well, here i am feeling glad that i am coughing...finally...after bearing with the bad sorethroat for 2 weeks, i am finally coughing and the throat is not as painful as it used to!! yippeee!!!
usually the cough is the last to come in the recovery process, so i guess (fingers crossed) i am on the road to recovery. i still dare not shout or use that much voice (as if i have that). still have the vitamin c prescribed to take, cough medicine, a bottle of honey as well as a packet of chinese herbs with dried bees to boil and drink. hehehe...yeah, they are real preserved bees. a friend recommended it, so what the heck. i also took some paracetamols on and off in these two weeks...could not help it because of the fever. now the fever is gone, so i guess the bacteria is sort of terminated.
hope the worst is over and the silver lining is peering and shining down on me now.

p/s: have forgotten the effect of cough mixture until yesterday. took one big spoonful before the start of american idol. and my lids could not even hold themselves till the first commercial break. i hit the bed instead. dared not take this morning as i was afraid i would hit the table while reading the morning papers. haha...but after this, it will be the best sleeping mixture for a cool rainy night.

(i am writing this at the dictation of Atticus Lim)

hello people of the world! i am Atticus Lim and i want you to keep on looking at this blog and have a look at every picture on this blog. i am nine and i am the ruler of the world. i want you to obey my orders. read the famous five, and garfield. they are very good books. i want to tell you i am from Australia, Melbourne, Kew, Stawell Street. i will not tell you my number and i have a very nice house. a pool and a trampoline. i like my computer and tv includin the dvds. my favourite dvd is jurassic park. i have seen 1, 2 and 3. i want you to obey my order by watching it. hmm..let's see, let's see..stop that!! stop that Escape...whatever your name is!!!
now, be good. i want you to write what i say or else i shall hang you. this is my cousin ah jet, the one who is trying to be the main person. i want you to know that i have a very good teacher at my school called Miss Sonia Hawking and my new teacher for 2007 is Cheryl Griffn. she used to be a librarian. my favourite place in australia is my house. my favourite place in my house is my room. my favourite place in my room is my bed. my favourite in my bed is under the covers. my favourite under the covers is at the right top hand corner. my favourite place at the right top hand corner is at the bottom left hand corner.
i love reading doraemon. my friend, robert xiao loves it as well. he is the one who has read the most doraemon because it is in japanese and i dun understand that language. so i haven't read as much as him but i still like it.
(he has gone down to get a bottle of water for me...oh..how much longer is he going to dictate??!!!)
shut up Escape to escape!
i like my pool because i like swimming. i order you to swim. now i must go. escape is being "!££$%&*£$£!!!!

stay put

When you are at the top spot, don't let anyone grab it away from you.
Donald Trump

what a motivation. it would seem embarassing isn't it if your top spot is grabbed away? it is almost like being demoted. i would not like to face this fate. so after all those whining i have done regarding my tonnes of responsibilities and tasks this year, those words by mr trump have set me back on track again. i will not fail and be sorry for what i know i could have done.

gosh, i think i am down with strep throat. too much information overload on the internet is not necessary a good thing huh. all the symptoms of strep throat are in me. i did not get any flu or cough. i had mild fever few days ago. hm....and it is contagious. so i better not stay too close to ppl. ok and rest is important plus a lot of fluid...so rest drink rest drink...and lots of toilet breaks!!

thank you

what a saturday it was!! been staying idle and quiet as planned and managed to get some work done.
i finished reading a book too. the title is the finer points of sausage dogs by alexander mccall smith. man, it is really bone tickling. that main character is really like a mr bean character reincarnated in word form. i hope to get his other best seller too: the no 1 ladies' detective agency. i heard it is even funnier.
i finished catching up the korean series my delighful girl chun hyang as well!! waaaa..i sat in front of the computer for about 8 hours!! i laughed, i cried, i wanted to kick the bad guy, etc. so yes, i am a sucker for funny romantic korean series.and why do they always have good looking protagonist??!!!!!
here, i would like to take the opportunity to those who have shown care and concern for me regarding the bad throat. thank you all!! some even promised to bring me medicine...ooo...i am touched. thank you from the bottom of my heart. i promise not to scream, yell, bawl, chatter, throw a fit, and others that will harm my thoat!!!

sob! sob!

sigh, what a start to 07. it is only the 5th day of the new year and i have already made my first visit to the clinic!!!
i have lost my voice!! came out from the clinice with cough mixture, vitamin c, flu pills, and antibiotic. was supposed to get a bottle of saline gargle too but they ran out of stock! horror!! so these few days i am going to be really passive and keep my mouth zipped...how sad.
my second resolution seems to be having some obstacles here. how can i work and get the money i want if i cannot even utter a sound??!!!!!
i woke up in the middle of last night and had trouble even swallowing saliva. the throat inflammation must be really bad...waaa......!
i want to cry...i want to get my voice! can't even cry because it will make things worse!

resolutions

goodbye 2006, welcome 2007.
hmm..how does it feel? one year has gone just in a blink of an eye. i do not have any reflection of 06 because i dun recall doing anything at all in those 365 days. i did not even make any resolutions for 06 in 05 because i know i will forget them the next day.
oh well, now that i am blogging it, i hope they can be achieved. here goes the resolutions for 07:

1. stay healthy, stay fit
2. work hard, earn more money
3. enjoy life, do more travelling
4. stay happy, wish everyone else is happy as well
5. not doing something that i will regret
6. stay cool, clear and focused
7. last but not least, get a boyfriend? (GULP_i can't believe i am spelling this out) ;)

now, are they enough to last me for the whole year, i guess they do. so anyone who is interested to help me make those resolutions stay, be kind enough and do so.
warning: spoilers stay away!!