cold

the temperature here in guangzhou has fallen to 10 degrees today. this week, china faces the sudden temperature drop as it enters the spring season. as reported by ann, shanghai is down to 4 degrees now, and my smarty-pants boss assumed it was spring and didn't bring any jacket. freezing herself up in shanghai, she decided to call our client for help and managed to get herself a sweater and a vest. how nice.... as in being able to get some nice apparels from a good sports brand. we want too. (i am speaking on ann's behalf as well coz i know she wants them too!)

my nose lost all sensation as i walked out of the hotel and took the 5-7 minute walk under the expressway to my client's office. literally lost ALL sensation. my nose was dripping and i couldn't even sniff because i couldn't feel anything. (okay, i admit. i didn't expect the temperature change as well, so all i have it my topshop sweater. and i am so tempted to get an adi jacket from them. they are simply very nicely designed. booo!)

in such a weather, i'm finding warmth and comfort in 7-11s and cafes where i have my meals. you know, when it's so cold out there, the last thing you want to do is to leave the place. hence, i actually spent more than15 minutes walking around this local convenience store because it was warm and cozy. yes, i know that's pathetic.

but then again, i'll be back to hot-hot singapore tonight and probably will be complaining about the heat by the time i walk out of the plane. so i can't complain as i sniff (when my nose is not frozen) in the cool air.

brrrrr……

p.s. blogger is now in chinese format for me and i can't find the right buttons to click! ahhhh!

lost in translation

this trip to guangzhou has been quite fruitful for me. although expectations and reality was a vast difference, but at least it gives a clear roadmap on where the clients are heading towards and how we should get people moving as well. i have not done more interpretation in my whole career as much as i have in these 2 days. having to translate everything my german client was saying into mandarin (and my grasp of the language is definitely way off as compared to ann's) and making sure everyone knows what is going on is such a mean feat!

it has been quite a long 2 days so far, and there hasn't been many photos but nevertheless, there are still some to show.


another clear reason why i don't like the cz meals...
the bun is cold, even the dessert taste weird!


my mandatory hotel room photo
nothing great to boast of, but it is across the road from the adidas office


to boost the declining birth rate, they are selling storks at discount rates!


a wonderful girl i met on this trip - monica (who is my age).
a short dinner date with her became a 5-hour chat session over dinner and coffee.

livejournal blocked in china

the last time this happened, it was back in 2004 during our mattel trip when ann and i found out that blogspot was blocked in china. that was when we switched over to livejournal and stayed there for good.

two and a half years later, we are faced with the same problem. this time, the tables are turned and it is livejournal that is blocked. so i find myself back on my old blogspot account (temporary measure). but what is mind-boggling is that now blogspot is not blocked here. sigh.

google results showed that lj has also been blocked in russia and saudi arabia too. double sigh.

so i will be putting up here for the next 3 days. and i'm suffering from "friends' entries" withdrawal symptoms already.

moved on.

i have finally decided to move on to my lj.

i am still figuring out how to beautify it like this blog.

see everyone there!

continue to leave me comments over there okie???

piccies

check out the piccies we took on the train to the airport last sun (wink to chris) and the sun-burnt me.
it's all on my livejournal.

moving on...

once again, i have posted on my livejournal and did not post the same entry here.

not sure if i am really moving on yet... feeling less attached to my blogspot already. hmm. it's the comments system. i like the idea that i get alerted in my email. makes checking comments less tiring.

perhaps. perhaps. perhaps.

how fleeting can life be

i mourn with jon, as his paternal grandpa has gone on to be with the Lord this morning.

it came as a shock. but once again, a reminder that life is so short and unexpected.

we heard that he was admitted into icu for a weak heart last night during dinner. when his parents came back in the night, they said he was getting better and might be discharged soon. apparently, the family were packed off to the hospital in the middle of the night and grandpa was in critcal condition.

i woke up and was starting to work when i received an sms from pastor irene to inform us of his passing.

may the peace and comfort of our King reign in their household during their time of grief.

we can be gone anytime. but are we sure where we are heading off to?


When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down,
but even in death the righteous have a refuge.
Proverbs 14:32

[udpate] for those concerned, jon and the family are taking it strongly. but his grandma is very affected.

a mindless random

i just added a mindless random on my lj.

go and do what it says.

keep me entertained.

birthdays and love

it was raining the whole afternoon yesterday. this is when i miss the hk weather. cool, sunny yet no sight of rain. rain makes the whole day gloomy and uneventful. you just don't feel like leaving the house when it rains. it's so irritating to get your shoes wet (especially after spending 20 minutes wondering which pair is the safest to wear in that weather).

but i battled the strong winds and rain to go over to a client's place. finished my business there and headed for suntec. i was meeting the jH gang for dinner at 8. it was 5 and i decided that i didn't want to fight the rain home and out again, although i didn't want to lug my laptop around. so i plopped myself at cedele, armed with a brownie and hot lemon tea, and started working on my laptop.

yong was supposed to come early to give me the low-down on roy's ROM which i was shockingly informed a few days ago. laptop batt went from full to 2%. he is nowhere in sight. almost time to meet them. left cedele and bumped into a blur qunyu.

met joa and aL as they were queueing for kenny rogers. they filled me in on some of the happenings lately. had a good talk and yong bounced his way in. had more good talk and happy laughter. we were still clueless about roy's ROM. but he is definitely in love. mental note: gotta drill him the next time i meet him.

sat around, waiting for mike to pick them up for china bar. we went our separate ways after exchanging hugs. i headed for auntie ann's place for mel's birtday. on the bus, i remembered the reason we met for dinner was for aL's belated birthday. hmm... *knocks head*

never mind, what's more important is that we still hold on to the friendship we cherished so much. despite differences, there are some things we cannot change. there is still a special place in our hearts for one another.

* * * * * * * *

on a different note, i'm down with a bad sore throat now. the type that hurts even when you are not doing anything to it. only on the right side of my throat. grr....