Monday, May 26, 2003
Another bank holiday Monday comes and goes and we have a lovely long wait until the end of August until the next one comes along... had a good day with my folks though, although I didn't buy anything after wandering around the shops at the Trafford Centre for a couple of hours. Wonder what's happening to me - not like me to come home empty handed, maybe it's just because I am totally skint at the moment. Going to yum cha was nice though and we even get all the leftovers for dinner this evening! How come we always end up ordering so much more than we can eat? Not that I'm complaining... hee hee
Watched the Matrix Reloaded on Saturday - okay, some parts were a bit cheesy, but I liked it. And yes, I am a geek so I did actually understand the confusing parts of the script as well as the philosophical bits. For fear of launching into a fully fledged review, I'd say there's some fantastic action, nice deep storyline, a fair amount of cheesy scenes and plenty of eye candy for both men and women. Definitely worth seeing. Oh, and I absolutely love Neo's long coat!!!!
Procrastination is taking over my life at the moment, I have had three whole days to start my assignment, but my books are still sitting on my desk earnestly calling me to start looking at them. Agh! There is always something more interesting and "pressing"... (eg. watching TV, playing Zelda, posting, updating my sites.... the list goes on.)
I foresee a "monkey with a typewriter" job next weekend as I just randomly pick the answers from the multiple choice questions.
Watched the Matrix Reloaded on Saturday - okay, some parts were a bit cheesy, but I liked it. And yes, I am a geek so I did actually understand the confusing parts of the script as well as the philosophical bits. For fear of launching into a fully fledged review, I'd say there's some fantastic action, nice deep storyline, a fair amount of cheesy scenes and plenty of eye candy for both men and women. Definitely worth seeing. Oh, and I absolutely love Neo's long coat!!!!
Procrastination is taking over my life at the moment, I have had three whole days to start my assignment, but my books are still sitting on my desk earnestly calling me to start looking at them. Agh! There is always something more interesting and "pressing"... (eg. watching TV, playing Zelda, posting, updating my sites.... the list goes on.)
I foresee a "monkey with a typewriter" job next weekend as I just randomly pick the answers from the multiple choice questions.
Thursday, May 22, 2003
First of all - a quick plug for "Different Worlds" - one of my latest creations, in conjunction with a few other writers from spcnet.
Different Worlds
It's still in progress, but go and read it anyway!
Talking of spcnet, after a week offline, my second home on the internet (the first of course being my dearly beloved emspace) has been restored to its former glory and I now have somewhere to post again apart from here. It still amazes me how much we depend on the internet nowadays and how we can even grow so fond of an internet site. The age old question continues to baffle me: what did we do in the dark ages before technology kicked in and began ruling our lives?
Just for the record, here is a quick link to spcnet if you've never been there before: spcnet reviews
And yes, I have learned another line of html - useful this blog because I can blabber to my heart's content and also finally give myself an excuse to actually learn some of the geeky stuff behind this internet lark instead of cheating and using someone else's software to build. Maybe in about ten years time I'll actually have some flashy stuff on my site instead of just plain backgrounds, pictures and buttons.
Now I should go and indulge in some mindless posting... I have a week to catch up on....
One more link though before I sign off for the day: TVBspace News Roundup
Muahahahaha....
Toodle pip!
Different Worlds
It's still in progress, but go and read it anyway!
Talking of spcnet, after a week offline, my second home on the internet (the first of course being my dearly beloved emspace) has been restored to its former glory and I now have somewhere to post again apart from here. It still amazes me how much we depend on the internet nowadays and how we can even grow so fond of an internet site. The age old question continues to baffle me: what did we do in the dark ages before technology kicked in and began ruling our lives?
Just for the record, here is a quick link to spcnet if you've never been there before: spcnet reviews
And yes, I have learned another line of html - useful this blog because I can blabber to my heart's content and also finally give myself an excuse to actually learn some of the geeky stuff behind this internet lark instead of cheating and using someone else's software to build. Maybe in about ten years time I'll actually have some flashy stuff on my site instead of just plain backgrounds, pictures and buttons.
Now I should go and indulge in some mindless posting... I have a week to catch up on....
One more link though before I sign off for the day: TVBspace News Roundup
Muahahahaha....
Toodle pip!
Monday, May 19, 2003
Aaaaaaaaargh.................................
Stupid little green-clad impish, yet so cute and addictive being!
I gave in to the taunts of the little purple dice today and spent about an hour trying to fathom how to jump whilst carrying a bomb to throw into a vase whilst teetering over a lava pit. Okay, next time I will read the instructions first. I gave up after another hour when I got to yet another lava pit with a fire breathing scorpion and some disappearing floating lava pads... I'll get my other half to sort that one out for me! Men are useful to have around when you get stuck on the skilful parts of computer games. I totally concur, when they say that men have a greater dexterity than women, but I stand by my observation that women have a greater spatial awareness of the wider perspective than men who seem to have tunnel vision most of the time.
Just in case you have read thus far and still don't have a clue who I keep rambling on about and think that Em has finally gone bonkers, this is "Link" or whatever you decide to call him:
Stupid little green-clad impish, yet so cute and addictive being!
I gave in to the taunts of the little purple dice today and spent about an hour trying to fathom how to jump whilst carrying a bomb to throw into a vase whilst teetering over a lava pit. Okay, next time I will read the instructions first. I gave up after another hour when I got to yet another lava pit with a fire breathing scorpion and some disappearing floating lava pads... I'll get my other half to sort that one out for me! Men are useful to have around when you get stuck on the skilful parts of computer games. I totally concur, when they say that men have a greater dexterity than women, but I stand by my observation that women have a greater spatial awareness of the wider perspective than men who seem to have tunnel vision most of the time.
Just in case you have read thus far and still don't have a clue who I keep rambling on about and think that Em has finally gone bonkers, this is "Link" or whatever you decide to call him:
Sunday, May 18, 2003
I had a point to prove to my other half today, so I spent most of the evening making fish soup... and very nice it was too, if I say so myself. So just for the record and in case I should suffer amnesia, here is my fish soup recipe - note that I am no Delia Smith and this is a very typical Chinese recipe where everything is guessed:
1. Boil a pan of hot water.
2. Clean and de-skin the fish. I used monkfish tails, but any white fish that won't fall apart too easily will do.
3. If there are any large chunks of flesh, remove these from the bone roughly (ie leave a bit of flesh on the bone) and keep to one side.
4. Chop the stalks off three or four spring onion sprigs and slice them in half lengthways, finely chop the green part into small pieces.
5. Peel and chop a fair amount of ginger into the same size as the spring onion stalks and bash them a bit to release the flavour
6. Find some meat: I used a couple of chicken drumsticks as that was all I had, but anything with a bone in such as pork ribs will do. (This is necessary to bring out the flavour of the soup.)
7. Place the fish, spring onion stalks, ginger and the meat into the water and bring to the boil.
8. Simmer on a low heat for about 2 hours until the fish and meat have disintegrated slightly into the water. Keep checking to make sure that the water hasn't boiled dry or boiled over! If the water level is running a bit low, add some boiling water from the kettle.
9. About 20 minutes before serving, bring back to the boil and add the fish flesh you kept behind and the green spring onion pieces. Bring this back to the boil and allow to simmer on a medium heat for about 5-10 minutes until the fish is just about cooked.
10. Flavour with pepper, dried coriander and salt to taste.
At this point, being Chinese, we would just drink it as it is, taking care with the bones. However, if you are worried, you can "fish out" (no pun intended) the fish pieces and the meat and filter out the bones though a sieve if you're concerned about them (eg for kids)
There you go! However, if you decide to try this, you do so at your own risk - if it doesn't turn out right, Em cannot be held responsible. Hee hee.....
Apart from food shopping, cooking and hoovering, the only other thing I did today was watch a couple of VCDs. Andy Lau and Cecilia Cheung in "Cat and Mouse" was so-so, nothing special very run of the mill silly love story that has been done so many times recently, although the scenery and costumes were very nice. Then we watched "Killers from Beijing" - film from 2000 that I have heard and read about but never got round to watching. As usual with HK action films, it was very graphic and very gory but the storyline was pretty good with some nice touches of where the characters deaths were connected with what they enjoyed the most, some very well defined character personalities and it was refreshing to see some stars of the small screen such as Patrick Tam, Chin Ka Lok, Michael Tong, Joe Ma and Annie Man doing pretty well on the big screen action as well. Recommend this one if you not averse to a bit of fake blood splashing around.
1. Boil a pan of hot water.
2. Clean and de-skin the fish. I used monkfish tails, but any white fish that won't fall apart too easily will do.
3. If there are any large chunks of flesh, remove these from the bone roughly (ie leave a bit of flesh on the bone) and keep to one side.
4. Chop the stalks off three or four spring onion sprigs and slice them in half lengthways, finely chop the green part into small pieces.
5. Peel and chop a fair amount of ginger into the same size as the spring onion stalks and bash them a bit to release the flavour
6. Find some meat: I used a couple of chicken drumsticks as that was all I had, but anything with a bone in such as pork ribs will do. (This is necessary to bring out the flavour of the soup.)
7. Place the fish, spring onion stalks, ginger and the meat into the water and bring to the boil.
8. Simmer on a low heat for about 2 hours until the fish and meat have disintegrated slightly into the water. Keep checking to make sure that the water hasn't boiled dry or boiled over! If the water level is running a bit low, add some boiling water from the kettle.
9. About 20 minutes before serving, bring back to the boil and add the fish flesh you kept behind and the green spring onion pieces. Bring this back to the boil and allow to simmer on a medium heat for about 5-10 minutes until the fish is just about cooked.
10. Flavour with pepper, dried coriander and salt to taste.
At this point, being Chinese, we would just drink it as it is, taking care with the bones. However, if you are worried, you can "fish out" (no pun intended) the fish pieces and the meat and filter out the bones though a sieve if you're concerned about them (eg for kids)
There you go! However, if you decide to try this, you do so at your own risk - if it doesn't turn out right, Em cannot be held responsible. Hee hee.....
Apart from food shopping, cooking and hoovering, the only other thing I did today was watch a couple of VCDs. Andy Lau and Cecilia Cheung in "Cat and Mouse" was so-so, nothing special very run of the mill silly love story that has been done so many times recently, although the scenery and costumes were very nice. Then we watched "Killers from Beijing" - film from 2000 that I have heard and read about but never got round to watching. As usual with HK action films, it was very graphic and very gory but the storyline was pretty good with some nice touches of where the characters deaths were connected with what they enjoyed the most, some very well defined character personalities and it was refreshing to see some stars of the small screen such as Patrick Tam, Chin Ka Lok, Michael Tong, Joe Ma and Annie Man doing pretty well on the big screen action as well. Recommend this one if you not averse to a bit of fake blood splashing around.
Labels: food
Saturday, May 17, 2003
Housework is pants - I think I've just bleached half the skin off my right hand... hope it doesn't affect my typing too much!
I've also gone and mixed the bleach-based cleaner with another one, despite "Do not mix with bleach-based cleaners" being written in bold letters on the instructions, so my toilet is probably emitting noxious fumes as I write this, so if I don't get to the end, you'll know why.
It's a shame that good intentions never get me anywhere...
There I was, revising for my mid-course examinations, thinking: "Yes! I've finally gotten into this studying lark..." and vowing to myself that I would get my ass into gear and actually spend less time on the PC and more time actually doing my course. Two weeks down the line and my books are still inside my bag untouched and I am still non the wiser about Mathematical Analysis of Statistics. Roll on the end of the month when I will be frantically scrabbling and speed reading to try and get my assignments sorted out... sigh! It is surprising I have managed to get this far without failing miserably. Maybe it's the thought of how much this course has cost me, or maybe I am just a flukey git.
Bought myself an extension lead for my Gamecube pad so I can finally play the game from the comfort of my settee without dragging the cube along the living room floor or rearranging my furniture. Legend of Zelda - here I come.... NO NO NO .... must study.... (temptation of the purple cuboid) "Play me.... play me....." AAAAARRGGGGHHHH!!!!!
Such a cool game! Such a frustrating game!
Been doing some more work on my site recently and it is so nice to get some appreciative feedback, especially from folks who refer to themselves as my "fans"! That is so sweet.. never thought of myself as a celebrity before 'cos I am just "ickle ol' Em". Hee hee.
Here's a chance to live out that fantasy: "To all my fans out there: Thanks for your support - I love you all!" Mwah mwah!
Hahahahahaha........
Seriously though, I love to hear from you and as long as you keep reading, then I will keep writing, even if my hands are being eaten away by a strong alkali.... I will type with my nose or something!
I've also gone and mixed the bleach-based cleaner with another one, despite "Do not mix with bleach-based cleaners" being written in bold letters on the instructions, so my toilet is probably emitting noxious fumes as I write this, so if I don't get to the end, you'll know why.
It's a shame that good intentions never get me anywhere...
There I was, revising for my mid-course examinations, thinking: "Yes! I've finally gotten into this studying lark..." and vowing to myself that I would get my ass into gear and actually spend less time on the PC and more time actually doing my course. Two weeks down the line and my books are still inside my bag untouched and I am still non the wiser about Mathematical Analysis of Statistics. Roll on the end of the month when I will be frantically scrabbling and speed reading to try and get my assignments sorted out... sigh! It is surprising I have managed to get this far without failing miserably. Maybe it's the thought of how much this course has cost me, or maybe I am just a flukey git.
Bought myself an extension lead for my Gamecube pad so I can finally play the game from the comfort of my settee without dragging the cube along the living room floor or rearranging my furniture. Legend of Zelda - here I come.... NO NO NO .... must study.... (temptation of the purple cuboid) "Play me.... play me....." AAAAARRGGGGHHHH!!!!!
Such a cool game! Such a frustrating game!
Been doing some more work on my site recently and it is so nice to get some appreciative feedback, especially from folks who refer to themselves as my "fans"! That is so sweet.. never thought of myself as a celebrity before 'cos I am just "ickle ol' Em". Hee hee.
Here's a chance to live out that fantasy: "To all my fans out there: Thanks for your support - I love you all!" Mwah mwah!
Hahahahahaha........
Seriously though, I love to hear from you and as long as you keep reading, then I will keep writing, even if my hands are being eaten away by a strong alkali.... I will type with my nose or something!
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
I don't buy a CD for months and months and then I get two at once, so I've been listening to Miriam's Music Box whilst surfing and Jacky Cheung whilst cooking. Not bad, but I am so out of touch with the HK music scene now. Then again, I think I have outgrown the likes of Twins, Boyz and Cookies (crushed into little pieces now I believe...) so I am quite content to dig through my old collection and relive the classics of Cass Phang, Ekin Cheng and Jacky Cheung who will be the most influential artists during my lifetime. Even one hit wonder Halina Tam sings better than some of the new junk being churned out nowadays.
Juventus won the match today, but my other half is surprisingly chilled out - maybe he tired himself out whilst screaming during the game. I'm sure our neighbours wonder what the hell is going on whenever they play. I think I'll dig myself a bunker or disappear for a couple of hours when they play the final of the European Champions League in two weeks time. They're playing down the road at Old Trafford as well - so I'd better steer clear of town as well, unless I want to run into a bunch of crazed Italian footy freaks ... ack!
Came across some really sad news before whilst trawling through the HK papers about the death of a young doctor who dedicated herself to treating SARS patients before succumbing to the illness herself. I really do admire those people in the healthcare profession because although I probably have the intelligence to have done it, I certainly don't have that commitment and that sense of selflessness that they possess.... I admit I am a chicken and my hat goes off to those with the courage and beautiful heart to help other people, no matter how ungrateful, sickly, revolting, dangerous or just plain horrible they are.
I'll end on a lighter note ... I learned my first piece of html code today - I can now post pictures here!
Good eh.... next I conquer the world. OK maybe not...
Juventus won the match today, but my other half is surprisingly chilled out - maybe he tired himself out whilst screaming during the game. I'm sure our neighbours wonder what the hell is going on whenever they play. I think I'll dig myself a bunker or disappear for a couple of hours when they play the final of the European Champions League in two weeks time. They're playing down the road at Old Trafford as well - so I'd better steer clear of town as well, unless I want to run into a bunch of crazed Italian footy freaks ... ack!
Came across some really sad news before whilst trawling through the HK papers about the death of a young doctor who dedicated herself to treating SARS patients before succumbing to the illness herself. I really do admire those people in the healthcare profession because although I probably have the intelligence to have done it, I certainly don't have that commitment and that sense of selflessness that they possess.... I admit I am a chicken and my hat goes off to those with the courage and beautiful heart to help other people, no matter how ungrateful, sickly, revolting, dangerous or just plain horrible they are.
I'll end on a lighter note ... I learned my first piece of html code today - I can now post pictures here!
Good eh.... next I conquer the world. OK maybe not...
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
With my usual haunt at spcnet having bandwidth problems at the moment, I have decided to stay away for most of tonight and update the stuff on my own site - which is here ---> http://emspace.homestead.com - just in case you have stumbled upon this blog from another source. Put up some stuff on Mimi Lo, my latest translation project (geeky stuff) as my bro would refer to it as and some more stuff from my archives. I amaze myself by the amount of work I have done for my fellow TV fans, it shows how much time I could have spent doing something more constructive. I guess that's why I get riled when people nick my work without crediting me for it or start accusing me of "copying" my work from elsewhere. Grr...
Anyway, rant over.
It is the middle of May - so why is it raining and hailing and why is it so bloody cold?
... but then I still get hay fever! Such a crazy country that I live in - everything is so illogical.
Oh well, just have to hope I buy that winning lottery ticket this weekend, so then I can afford to move somewhere where it is warmer and has no irritating pollen blowing around in the wind. I wish....
At least my boiler was working tonight so I could have a nice long hot shower to warm me up a bit...
Managed to steer clear of playing Zelda tonight as well - mustn't let myself get too addicted to that game!
Anyway, rant over.
It is the middle of May - so why is it raining and hailing and why is it so bloody cold?
... but then I still get hay fever! Such a crazy country that I live in - everything is so illogical.
Oh well, just have to hope I buy that winning lottery ticket this weekend, so then I can afford to move somewhere where it is warmer and has no irritating pollen blowing around in the wind. I wish....
At least my boiler was working tonight so I could have a nice long hot shower to warm me up a bit...
Managed to steer clear of playing Zelda tonight as well - mustn't let myself get too addicted to that game!
Well, I have finally got round to getting myself a diary extension to my website.
That's another thing off my list of a thousand and one things to do before the next millenium I suppose - now I can ramble on to my heart's content in the hope that someone might actually read this and fulfil my egotistical psychological disorder of wanting to share my boring old life with other people who I don't even know.
Who or what am I?
Well according to some of these rather daft but compulsive tests on the internet, my psyche is a mixture of Professor Frink in the Simpsons, Psylocke from the X-men, I have an IQ of 131 and I will be damned to the fifth level of Dante's inferno. Couple that with the fact I am an Aquarian born in the year of the Dragon and there you have it - I am an alien. And one that likes chocolate.... and Ribena.
That's another thing off my list of a thousand and one things to do before the next millenium I suppose - now I can ramble on to my heart's content in the hope that someone might actually read this and fulfil my egotistical psychological disorder of wanting to share my boring old life with other people who I don't even know.
Who or what am I?
Well according to some of these rather daft but compulsive tests on the internet, my psyche is a mixture of Professor Frink in the Simpsons, Psylocke from the X-men, I have an IQ of 131 and I will be damned to the fifth level of Dante's inferno. Couple that with the fact I am an Aquarian born in the year of the Dragon and there you have it - I am an alien. And one that likes chocolate.... and Ribena.