Attended Sunday church early this morning. The service was going to be broadcasted. It's going be my first broadcast, lucky not a solo. Got up at around 7am, took taxi and got to the Church by around 8:40am. We were to meet at 8:45am so I was early. When I got there, I was the only one there, except Diana - one of the staffs at Church. My teacher was probably around but I didn't see her, probably busy with the broadcast's arrangement. In fact, I wasn't so surprised. I noticed that people are habitually late for 10/15 minutes, whether social gathering, practice for the choir, church, and so on. I'm sure there's good reason. But sometimes I thought well, even I, someone's who's not baptised yet, is punctual ... Anyway, that's not my business and it doesn't bother me. I usually busy myself with little things like putting the hymn books and liturgy books out for the choir, or read the verses of hymns softly to myself, humming or singing softly to myself of those hymns. They are wonderful. This morning, I took the chance to pray.

Choir practice started at around 9am. Before that, I already received two lai sees from one of the couples ! I enjoyed the practice; people were serious. A different Father came and spoke to us. He's good. His speech was a little dramatic. My teacher did the commentary, played the role as the chairlady. It went well. Everything. The choir deserves a particular mention. I really enjoyed today's service. When I got home, I listened to the service from the radio on internet. It's great. As of now, I heard the whole service again twice, and the hymns about 4 times. I know I'll ask for more of that. In particular, it has one of my favourite hymns - Like a Shepard, Grant to us O Lord and Thank you Lord. I feel privileged to be at the service and be a part of the team. Listening to the broadcast brings me back the moments I was at the service and the teaching I learnt today. I hope I will keep this up, that this will not be heat for 3 minutes only, and if possible, I would follow this for the rest of my life.

My teacher treated us with a very nice cake today. It's Malaysian. She said it's from God. She explained that when she got in, the cake was already on her desk. She didn't know whom from. So it was from God. She meant it. What lovely and adorable sense of humour she has!

Other people gave me lai sees too. Together I got 10, even one from the staff at the church mentioned earlier in this entry.

Watched a bit of tv, after I had a Korean instant noodle and fish that mum prepared for me yesterday. Then I napped. I was so tired, and I think I really looked like a panda - big black circle round my eyes! Went to CNY fair with bb last night, and didn't sleep until after 3am. I was drooling before that. Finally, I slept on the couch. It's sunny today and I think temperature went up to about 20 degrees. I just let the very warm sunshine flow on me. That was nice.

sf sent me an sms and we had a few exchanges of that. He's still in NY, returning on Wednesday.

bb came over last night. We got up "early" (around 10/11am?) and started off early. Went to the local covent garden. Walked around once, decided what we wanted, and when we got back to get them, the street was packed already! It was only around 4pn. Wow! But we got what we wanted :)

Got bb's pre-ordered bedding packs and got home to leave the shopping and took a rest before we went off again. bb was meeting her friends who she hasn't seen for a long time, one came back from Singapore. me? I attended dinner with my family. Haven't seen Dad for a long time and he's back tonight. I was soooooo happy to see him. Dinner went well, although my elder brother and his family were away on holiday. Mum brought a bottle of red wine and we finished it, no problem !

It was around 10pm when we finished dinner. Wanted to go to CNY fair. Although I wanted to go with bb, but didn't want to push her as bb didn't like crowds, and that kind of fair is usually packed like sardine. We agreed that I'll give her a call when I've finished. So I did. bb was having dessert with her friends. So my younger brother, his wife and I took a stroll. We walked from Central to Wanchai/Cuaseway Bay. They went to join their friends for karaoke - $300 per head ! I strolled to a department store and bought a lip gloss that my sister in law and I were talking about during dinner. I bought a different colour. More bright red as I have darker lips and I'd be wearing it without make-up.

Whilst I was about to go into the fair, bb called. Then she took a cab. We met up and went together ! I was thrilled. I know it's a lot of effort from bb. Oh, bb is so nice.

Didn't get anything but it was nice. We had fun commenting on the silly but pretty creative/ innovative toys people came up with. And because it's so sardined, bb hugged me all the way. :)

It was getting late, or very late, and we decided not to do the whole fair. By the time we showered and got to bed, it was after 3am already. I've got to get up early tomorrow - Church service would be broadcasted tomorrow and we need to be there by 8:45am for practice. Oops.

NB This entry was written on 31 Jan 2006 but was back-dated

mm didn't left the office until 1:30am last night (or this morning?!) Got in the office by around 9:15am this morning. superwoman ! It was difficult to get out of bed this morning, but I did. The stupid boss kept saying ask for an extension to file and serve the documents. I said nothing. Worked very hard today. We (Colleague and I) were ready by around 3pm, so there should be ample time to deal with filing and servie. That stupid boss only started reviewing it the final time around lunch and kept amending them. If the amendments were worth it, that's fine. But he got very bogged down on one thing and didn't know how to let go. In the end, the documents left our office around 4:10pm and our colleague had to make it to the court in 10 minutes before it closes at 5pm. But we made it - yeah!

I was very tired but very excited because we made it ! I left office around 6:15pm, and went to UNI. Picked up the shirt that I bought over last weekend. Then shopped for new bras - and I bought 4 - ha ha ha :D I also rewarded myself with sushi and sashmi - yum - although bought a bit too much.

I also feel lucky because I got an email from Maisie - we met in school when I was around 15, I think - and her family (including her son) is coming back at the end of Feb for 2 weeks - hurry!

Made enquiry re CNY cakes from bbmm's favourite store - they are open until this Saturday. So worse come to worse, bbmm could go on that day, which is a public holiday - hurray - although it makes no difference to bb as she has a 5-day week job. That makes me envious.

mm has ordered a large sirloin steak and 2 packs of rack of lamb to share with bb. We'll probably do it over the coming weekend. Only if that starts tomorrow.

mm has been working on two documents with London counsel and colleague, that need to be given to the other side tomorrow the latest. They have worked hard on those documents and from their perspective are ready. Just when mm thinks that she could go home earlier tonight, her boss and local counsel - 2 imbeciles - said they have comments and their comments are extensive and self-serving ! mm and "her team" thought the documents read well and our case is strong. But the boss said to mm that he didn't want to include a lot of the details because they may be used against us in another case ! And, he is going to make a strong case weak because of that !! The sad thing is that from day one, mm and her colleague have been saying to the boss that there is 99% chance of losing the other case and advised the boss not to fight, or it would be a waste of time and money. He won't listen. The case was heard recently. The judge was not with us at all. The boss blames the judge being biased - can you beat this??!

Lucky mm got out of that case earlier and didn't have to go through the pain and lose face in court.

Further, their comments are stylistic. Only one or two points have substances. Sad.

Because of the 2 imbeciles, it's more than likely that mm won't go home until late and would have to come in early tomorrow. All these are unnecessary. The 2 imbeciles should have given us their comments 2 months ago - yes 2 months!

mm is writing this post because she's waiting for the boss to discuss his comments with her before she could take the matter forward. And the boss had the audacity to ask if she had started the amendment. mm gave it to me there and then - told him "no" because she didn't know the boss's comments and didn't know if he would agree with any of the other imbecile's comments. Dude.

If I were the boss, that counsel would have been fired long ago.

I feel happier today and more at ease at work. Could it be because bb came over last night?

Met up with two friends I met only last year. The girl and I used to be colleagues - she worked in the Commercial Department - and we worked on the same transaction. We become very good friends. Then I came to know her bf. He's spanish. Very nice guy, obviously very much in love with my ex-colleague. You can tell by the way they interact. You should see how he dotes on her.

And because of that, and because I too am a very nice and adorable person (!), he is very nice to me too. We three met up for lunch today and we talked about using Mac. They chased me for photos and clips of NZ. I said I didn't know how. He talked me through it and when he got back to office, he sent me this email:

"Seeing as you already have iLife 05 (which is iPhoto, iDVD and Garageband) on your laptop I thought I would mention iLife 06 to you at lunch since its only 790 HKD and gives you some cool new features. You can buy it online from the Apple store at www.apple.com (remember to change your location to "Hong Kong").

Here's some iDVD tutorials!
http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/idvd/id2-4.html"

Although I am stuck here, I'm comforted by those around me. May be this is how I will learn and treasure those around me.

I don't know what's wrong with me in the last few days and today. I'm just not in the mood of working. I know I know, that's probably the norm for the general working population. And for me, it's probably true ever since I grow to dislike this company. But the negative emotion has struck me particularly hard in the last few days and today. Take this morning for example, It's now coming up to 12 noon. What did I do this morning? I came in around 9:20am, had my breakfast and coffee, went through a few administrative emails, and then been searching for the relevant documents in order to prepare a draft reply to a letter. I have some idea as to what goes into the draft reply, but I'm just soooooooo demotivated. I really want to get out of here. I've been feeling so since March last year. Friends persuaded me to stay a bit longer and see (I joined this company January last year), and so I did. No bonus, and my salary was only increased modestly. ok, salaries tend to get plateau when you get to my level, but something is just lacking. I find I'm not interested in the work I get given. I'm bored out of my mind. It's not intellectually stimulating and the stupid partner always has imaginery and wishful vision - but I guess he is just being himself !

All these sounds negative, frustrated and depressing, I know. I have been speaking to recruitment agents, have gone ahead with 2 companies, and have been waiting to hear from them. I got a call from one of them saying that they found my CV very interesting, but there's a change of their business strategy in that they now want a mid-level person, not someone of my level, and may re-visit my CV if they want someone senior. Sad.

I've been praying to God to get me out of here asap. I've also said to myself that this is God's plan. I'm only human and therefore I don't understand why I'm here and why I'm still here. I say to myself that I need to have more faith in God and whilst I don't understand His work now, I'll do some day later. It's a bit like the book I'm reading now, although it says that your life would be explained to you when you go to heaven. Things don't happen by co-incident. They happen for a reason. Just that I don't understand now and I desperately hope that I'll move on soon.

Went to church yesterday as usual. After the regular mass, we had dim sum lunch and held "sharing" after that.

For lunch, we went to the nearby restaurant.

What I didn't know if that dim sum lunch at Saturdays and Sundays are half-price ! As one of them said, the restaurant made money out of us on weekdays!

When we were walking back to the centre where "sharing" will be held, the conductor for our Sunday church came and said to me "I think your mum and my mum are having dim sum lunch together now." I was shocked, whilst trying to understand what he had just said ! I only joined their group October/November last year and only see them once a week when we attend mass and practice hymns. Plus I don't speak that much in our group. I cold-called my teacher in the first place, enquiring if there were doctrine classes. Now, you can see how shock I was. Really !

Then he said he's auntie Cecillia's son. Then my phone rang and my mum verify. Apparently, my mum bumped into auntie Cecillia when they attended Sunday church yesterday. They decided to lunch together. Auntie then suggested to mum to ask me to join them too. Then my mum told her I was not available because I was attending Sunday church at another church. Then auntie said her son goes to that church too. Then you can guess what happened next. Small World !

I was still in shock when I met bb later for dinner. So shock that I kept babbling about this, and about auntie and her son, etc.

The shock is probably over, but I still couldn't believe it. As I said to bb, I wanted to remain "anonymous."

That reminds me of what's said in the book I'm reading - Five People that you meet in Heaven. It says that those who cross your path do so for a reason, just that it may not be apparent to us. It also says, "Strangers are just family you have yet to come to know." I'm enjoying that book. It's very inspiring and really touches me and makes me reflect on what I do and how I do things.

bb is such a good listener. :)

PS you might ask why I'm still here, in the office, not going home. I'd love to but my stupid boss is out but he has asked me to wait for his return. I plan to go and pick up my free sample of facial cream of a brand I have always wanted to try. It's very expensive and I may be allergic to it so samples are good. I also want to get some new underwear for CNY. Stupid said he'll be back 7-ish. Fingers-crossed.

We found a nice vineyard in Central Otago when we were in NZ last December 2005. It's called Olssens. We tried samples of their wines, b.s. a bit and bought 2 bottles of Jackson Barry 2002 or 2003 (I can't remember) (NZ 37.50 each), 2 bottles of Riesling (or was it Gurtzetraminer?) and 2 bottles of Verjuice (about NZ 10). The Jackson Barry were so nice that even a non-alcholic like me enjoyed it very much and would pour for myself ! The Verjuice is basically vinegar for salads or as marinades.

The lady who served us was very nice too. The lady told us they also export their wines including here. I just tried the number she gave me for the local wine seller but was told that they don't have it. They might have it before but not anymore. So I dropped the vineyard an email to ask about $$$ to buy from them directly e.g. shipping cost, tax, etc. Hope the price is tempting enough for me/us to go ahead. If so, I may get a few boxes. They are nice to drink ourselves and are good as gifts when visiting friends. :)

There were scrulptures in their garden and we spent some time there, taking pictures.

Just met with sf outside a cake shop at the tube station. He gave me a book he just finished - Five People. He said it's very good and insisted on lending it to me to read.

I've got it. It's now in my bag.

I'll start tonight on my way home. :)

mm's tummy was a little funny this morning, may be because of deadline.

mm has a short hearing this morning before a judge known for her temperament at 9:30am. mm got up early and went into the office early, attended the internal breakfast meeting for a short while and excused herself to attend the court. when she got there and made herself known to the judge's clerk, it was 9:20am. so, ample time before the hearing.

so she went to the bathroom. she was conscious of the time. when she went into the court, the hearing had already started ! The judge wasn't pleased and just when she was about to had a go at mm for being late for hearing, smart mm looked at the clock on the wall, and the Judge followed mm and turned her head to read the clock. It said exactly 9:30am! yes! The judge then just asked mm to take her seat. Phew. That was close.

The judge gave mm the order she asked for. mm got lucky! :)

bb got her evaluation yesterday and she sent it to me. I read it - she got very high marks, and got marks higher than her peers! She got particularly high marks for intellectual abilities!

mm is very proud of her! :)

went home and had din din with mum tonight. excellent food, always guaranteed! had chicken and potato curry, beancurd and fish balls with veg in soup, and Chinese sausages. yum yum.

when I got out of the tube station, I got a call from mum. she asked if I have keys to home. I said no. Then she told me that she and the maid was locked in in the kitchen! That's right, in the kitchen, not simply locked in! I can't imagine how they managed that. I felt sorry for them, and was worried - what if they wanted to go to the washroom? So I jumped onto a mini van, got the keys from my flat, took a taxi and ran back home, and "rescue" them. what a relief when I saw them. phew.

I noticed that a new furniture shop has opened in North Point. It looks nice and large. Would bb be interested to go with me say, this weekend? We could then get mini van no. 56 home. :)

I've sent the dolphins photos available on this site to a few of my friends: little gordon, uncle leather, sam and raf, and sf. The response are all complimentary. 3 if not all 4 of those photos were taken by bb.

sf said, "The photos are fabulous. Awesome!!!! Wowwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!"

I'm very happy and very proud ! :D

I've called mum. Hopefully I can have din din with her. It's been a while since we have din din together and since I see her !

PS yeah, deadline today.

The people at Sunday Church publish monthly newsletter. I have been asked to write something about myself. Below is a first draft. bb, what do you think?

PS bb is not well today. She has a headache. She called me around noon from home. poor bb. hope she feels better now.

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The classroom was quiet but with one voice. Sister Mary had just shared the bible story of a lady who was caught committing adultery, had been dragged to the courtyard and people were yelling “Stone her to death.” (John 8:1) Sister Mary then asked the students and said, “Can anyone tell me in real life, who is this woman?” A voice answered, “We are.” And the whole class laughed, jeering at the student who had just uttered those words, for her open acknowledgement to be the lady who had committed adultery. That student blushed, feeling a little embarrassed, whilst trying to understand what was so funny. She thought we have all sinned against God, just like that lady. "What's wrong with that?"

That was me, the one who made the blunder. That happened when I was in my first year of Secondary School. There is obviously more to (in?) that bible story.

I have always studied in convent schools until I finished my O’levels/GCSEs and joined a girl school. I know therefore payers like Our Father, Hail Mary, Angels of God – the lot - ever since I was little. It was part of our routine and lives: The whole school would say prayers together at The Assembly every morning, and Religious Studies is a subject that was part of our curriculum and that we have to pass before we could move onto the next grade. Although that was some time ago, those words have never faded from my memory.

My parents are very protective of us. They firmly believe that "students must not fall in love" ( ). So much so that when it came to the choice of boarding schools, they went to the extreme and sent us (my sister and I) to a convent. (What they did not know, however, was that an Abbey school was just 5 minutes down the road ... !) Since then, Sunday Church was a must. On top, there were various other masses, in celebration of this and that. I was also in the chapel choir. That was voluntary. I love that, the lyrics and the melody. I always feel moved, loved and inspired afterwards.

I have always had a keen interest in Religious Studies. I enjoy reading. [ ], bible story and its teachings, or books which my friend categorise them as "emotionally manipulative" were among my favourites when I was young. I always get high marks for Religious Studies, and got an “A” for my GCSE, although I must shy away from mentioning other subjects in any detail. In short, I am pretty lucky with my study – I always get enough to allow me to move on. No more, no less! I read somewhere that says statistics show that it is more difficult to get a pass than 80s and 90s! I am a genius. :D

I am a curious kid and I like to get to the bottom of things, if I can. I remember in the early days of my attendance at Sunday Church, although I know what should be said at when, and when I should sit, stand or kneel, there were times when the Father would mutter something to himself. That's when he was washing his hands. I did not know what he was saying to himself. I was curious. I wanted to know, but my friends could not tell me. It soon got on my nerves so much that I searched through various books that talked about procedures at masses, and I was happy after I found the answer. :)

One part of the mass is for the Catholics to receive the Holy Communion. At that time, the Holy Communion (before they were blessed by the Father) was placed at the entrance of the Church and if you want to receive Holy Communion, you need to put one in the cup before you go into the Church, and the Father would bless those in the cup. If there is surplus, he would store them away in the cupboard behind the alter.

Although I am not a Catholic, I always put one into the cup.

After a while, I wondered what they tasted like. I asked my Catholic friends. They said they were tasteless. They said like the red wine or ribena better. I wasn't convinced. One day, I took one that was sitting at the entrance of the Church and tried it myself. It really was tasteless. I can confirm that now. I did not queue up for the Holy Communion during the mass as I knew they came from the same plate of the one I just tried, only that mine had not been blessed. In terms of the ingredient hence their taste, logically, they should be the same.

When I was asked if I believe in God, I always say "I do" although I am not a Catholic. When I am pressed, I would say, “I believe in God. Whether I am baptised or not is merely a matter of formalities. My beliefs come from the heart, not from the piece of paper that says you are a Catholic."

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Funny enough, against that background, it never occurred to me that I should get myself baptised.

I formally started reading doctrine about 2 years ago. I was led by Sister Catherine with St. Clare’s Girls’ School, following my mum’s footsteps. (She was baptised in Easter 2005.) The classes were one-to-one, Sister Catherine and I, as my mum is a few years ahead of me. We followed "Catechism of the Catholic Church," paragraph by paragraph. That continued until around summer last year (2005) when work got in the way.

One day in autumn, I mentioned this issue with my mum. I told her I intended to speak to the Churches nearby and see if they run any doctrine classes. My mum then told me about Catholic Centre. She told me Uncle X and Uncle Y go there too. It was not until then that I knew there is a chapel on the floor above The Catholic Centre. I'm so ignorant and felt like an idiot.

The following week, I got the number from 1083 and called up the Catholic Centre and enquired if it runs any doctrine classes. I was told that I needed to speak to Ms. Chu, and I left a message for her to return my call.

After I had a chat with Ms. Chu on the telephone, we arranged to meet the following Monday at lunch time. That's where I started.

I feel very relaxed with Ms. Chu and am not afraid to ask even daft questions. She is always very patient and understanding. She is open-minded and doesn't mind that I'm not articulate. I love her good sense of humour and admire her faith in God and dedication to the Church. I am privileged to be her student.

I am also privileged to be able to join the chapel choir, and have met many new friends. Friends who are warm, true, honest and fun! They feel like fresh air.

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I finished Harry Potter, the Goblet of Fire, this Christmas. (Yes, I am two behind.) Ever since then, I have been looking for my next book and could not quite decide on which one. Nothing seems to grab me. About a week later, it dawned to me that I should start reading the world’s best selling book – The Bible. I have a long way to go. I hope that God would help me to shake off my “3-minute passion” syndrome.

P.S. (1) Sister Mary is not called Sister Mary, but I couldn't remember her name. (2) As for Harry Potter, I saw the film too. It's not as good as the book, but it's funny and worth watching.

I was just tidying my desk in the office and one of the yellow posted note said this:

"Revenge is a fish best eaten cold."

sf told me this some time before, but I don't know where he got is from. I quite like it and want to record it before it went astray.