(Copied over from Facebook notes...)
Postcard from Bangkok - No 1

Sawasdee kaaa.....

Monday evening and accidentally located a rather posh internet cafe overlooking a food court in one of Bangkok's shopping malls, so have paid my pound to get myself an internet fix.

Journey was tiring, but the A380 leg from Dubai to Bangkok was great. Pretty amazing how that pot-bellied plane manages to get into the sky. Watched four films and barely got any sleep, so was glad to get to our hotel.

Had first massage yesterday morning, which was greatly welcome, even if it brought out a couple of sore muscles from the flight and completely knocked me out for a couple of hours. Then spent the afternoon and evening checking out the largest shopping centre in Bangkok at CentralWorld - 7 floors that puts the Trafford Centre to shame!!

Took a tour to the Royal Palace this morning and it's very grand and sparkly there. Went onto check out some more shopping malls again this afternoon - MBK, Siam Discovery, Siam Centre and Siam Paragon, where we are now....

Getting in some decent shopping, having loads of laughs with Tony and of course making the most of the vast array of food!!

Pics will come later - there is no SD card slot on this PC.

Laters!!

Labels: holidays, shopping

Still Shopping Through the Recession

With the recession looming and everyone tightening their belts, I haven't been in the shopping mood for a while, especially after being disappointed by some of the sales earlier in the year. Even with the mid-season sales in full swing, I couldn't muster enough energy together to go for my after-work jaunts in town. Thanks to my old friends at Debenhams, who sent me a free voucher that ran out today; a generous 20% discount voucher from Dorothy Perkins and a long day at work, I finally dragged myself into town this evening for some retail therapy and came back with quite a haul.



Among the wonderful things that my parents bestowed upon me were a pair of chunky calves, so I have pretty much resigned to the fact that most tall boots will not fit me. Even so, I still keep trying and when I checked out the boots that were in the DP sale, they had a pair of black leather boots that were discounted from £60 down to £25 (plus an extra 20% off with my "VIP" voucher). I tried them on and was amazed that they fit snugly and were quite comfortable to walk in as they were just the right height heel. Unfortunately, when I asked for the other boot, the salesgirl came out all apologetic and said that it seemed to have gone "walkabout" (pardon the pun). Then she suggested I try the brown pair that she'd found as they were cheaper. I was actually made up when I saw them, because I already have a black pair of ankle boots that I wear for work, so I much preferred the brown ones and with the amazing £16 price point, I couldn't go wrong really! Joy!! I had a gift card (Christmas pressie from sis-in-law), so I decided to capitalise on the discount and picked up a frilly top for work as well (£12 from £25). No cash spent, I left the store happily with £85 worth of stuff and £2 left on my gift card.

The Debenhams voucher was only valid against non-sales items, so after much hunting around for something worth getting, I ended up spending it on a £5 vest top, which meant I effectively got it for free. I did take a look through the sales stuff, but there wasn't anything I really wanted aside from a pretty John Rocha party dress (£45 from £90) and I didn't buy that because I have nothing to wear it to just yet. So I just got a supersoft pink jumper (half price at £6) to wear to work on Pink Thursdays, but I'm not 100% sure if it's actually pink or peach. Dodgy eyesight.

Yay another great spree, but I'm not really helping the economy by spending just £6 of real money. Oh well, even the thrifty have to cut back a bit in this climate...

Labels: shopping

Holiday at home & Halloween



With the onset of the economic slowdown and other reasons, we decided not to go away on holiday this year and came up with an idea of a 'holiday at home'. Whilst trawling around on the net, I came across an offer for a 'two-for-one' offer on a one-day spa day at Rookery Hall in Nantwich. A full-hour massage and full use of the spa and gym facilities at the luxury hotel's leisure centre for what worked out as just £40 each - not bad eh? The place was quite tucked away and Tony had some fun whizzing down the country lanes and flying over the bumps getting there. It was well worth the trip though and after a couple of hours by the pool and relaxing in one of the best spa pools I have seen, featuring 3 different types of jets (a 'tap' jet for the shoulders, a back jet and a pebble jet where you lie down), then we were nicely tenderised by the therapists.

After we got back, we toyed with the idea of going to Jersey for a spa weekend, but when we checked that the offer at Rookery was still on, we decided to save some money and go back there for another day! And it was just as good as the first time....... aah! Thinking about it makes me want to go back again!!

Other things we got up to... we each spent a few days with our families, especially our sisters and we had a day trip to the Designer Outlet at York to start our Christmas shopping. Actually, we did a lot of shopping and eating out and I got a couple more bargain hoodies and a new Kipling bag for my collection for half price!

It looks a bit like this, but without the side pockets. Kipling bags don't go into the sales very often, so I was quite pleased with this find for £19!


Have also been whizzing through plenty of TVB series lately, although "Moonlight Resonance" was a bit poo. After sticking it out with "Your Class Or Mine", I finally have my hands on something decent. Currently enjoying the eye candy of a buffed-up Kevin Cheng and scheming Roger Kwok in "Last One Standing" that I've been looking forward to for ages. My neighbour dropped by this evening with some packages that our postie had dropped off and among them was my "The Four" DVD's. Yay! Finally some good series to while away the winter nights with. I'm also re-watching "Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion" because it's one of those series where I love every single character.



The build up to Halloween was quite fun this year, thanks to the many hours whiled away playing the trick or treat game on Facebook's (fluff)friends and some pumpkin decoration at work. However, we decided to be spoilsports and went out on Friday, after picking up some cheap Katie Melua tickets on ebay for just £6 each. It was a good concert and she has a beautiful voice, so I really enjoyed myself. The only thing that spoiled it a bit was that we were left waiting for her to get onto the stage. We had arrived at the MEN Arena at 6:45 pm, but with the support band and everything else, Katie didn't get onto the stage until 8:45 pm!! Maybe she was too busy carving her pumpkin...

Labels: holidays, shopping, TVB

Mid-season Sales & Bargain Hoodie Heaven




The Debenhams mid-season sale was on this week and as usual, I headed down there brandishing my extra 10% off sale prices discount card and all my vouchers for freebies that I'd been sent. I've been really tired after some really long, busy days at work recently though, so I didn't hang about as long or do as many circuits of the store as I normally do. Maybe because of the dreaded credit crunch as well, the items in the sale just weren't that appealing. In the end, I came away with two necklaces from the Jon Richard Simply Silver range - one was a crystal heart drop and the other was a diddy star shape with a small crystal embedded in it - for £4.50 each. Well, it qualified me to get my free Green & Blacks chocolates and free samples of the new Christine Aguilera perfume, so it wasn't a bad hoard for £9.

Then, today whilst walking off a mini-celebratory dinner at Yo! Sushi, Tony and I wandered down to check out the sale at House of Fraser. We weren't really going in to buy anything, but we saw that the storecard holders got an extra 10% off sale prices, I had a little root around and dug out and dusted down my Recognition card that I hadn't used for about 6 years. As it happened, they had closed down my account, but the nice Chinese saleslady was more than happy to re-open my account (and claim the commission!). Then after a bit of a delay and a computer crash and then a pricing error, re-key and a little more discount for having to wait, we finally ended up getting a Ralph Lauren polo hoodie for Tony that was down from £110 to just £25! Then Tony insisted I bought something for myself too, so we headed up to the ladies section, where I acquired my second Bench hoodie that was down from £45to a cool £20.50 (see pic).

It's a grey zip up that is plain on one side, but reverses to a yellow print with loads of little doodles in the pattern. I do quite like a lot of Bench stuff, but as you know, I can't justify paying the designer premium, so this was a real chance find, especially as it fit me too! My first Bench hoodie (white with brown/pink design) has received a lot of compliments, so I hope this new one will be well-received as well!! Anyway, I think it's cool and it's even cooler that play.com are still selling said hoodie for £39.99! hahaha.....

Labels: shopping

Another Day... Another Dress



I don't need a good excuse to go shopping, especially as I work in town. However, I got one this week. Looks like red is my lucky colour, because at the ball last week, wearing the dress in the last post, I somehow came away from the mock casino with the highest number of chips for the night (I was playing roulette whilst the other people at the party were dancing and drinking - neither of which interest me too much). My prize was a £50 Debenhams voucher, and as I had an invite to a colleague's wedding reception, I decided it was time for another dress. Even with some free money to spend though, I stuck by my principles and set out on another quest to find a bargain.

Sifting through the remaining dregs of the Debenhams sale, I was highly tempted to buy the apple-coloured version of the Minuet dress that I'd got last week. However, it was priced at £10 higher than the red one and they didn't have my size in, so that went out of the window. After about 45 minutes, I didn't really find anything that fit or I liked, so I started resigning to just getting a nice cerise floaty top (£7 (was £25) Dorothy Perkins) and pairing it up to a pretty skirt or some smart pants instead. So I headed back to the DP concession to see if there were any decent skirts in the Petite section. There weren't any, but what I did find was a black satin dress that had fallen off its hanger and was stuffed in between the rails. I pulled it out and it looked ok and was pleasantly surprised that it was in my size! Then I checked the price and it was just £12, reduced from £35. I wasn't really keen on getting a black dress for the occasion, but when you get a find like this, then I didn't want to miss out.

I got another £2 off when I got to the till and found that the floaty top was down to just £5. Don't you just love pricing errors in your favour? Another successful shopping trip and still another £33 to spend next time!

There were a couple of gaudy black flowers on the waistline of the dress, so again following the advice of Gok, I took them off to make the dress a bit simpler. Then married it to my little pink Coast shrug (that cost twice as much as the dress!!) to lift the tone of the dress a bit. Sorted!!

Labels: shopping

Gok Would Be Proud!



I've been shopping again!!
This time, I had an excuse as I have been invited to a work event tomorrow evening, where the dress code is on a black, red and gold theme. As the only red dress I currently own is from about 10 years ago when I was just a slender size 8 and the black dress that fits was worn for the last work event, I felt that this justified a visit to the shops... and anyway Debenhams has a sale on.

I checked out all my regular haunts on the first floor, but didn't spot anything, so I did a round of the other part of the floor that I usually skip, because the dresses there are either for old women, or they are designer stuff that is way way out of my price bracket. There I came across the Minuet Petite section, one of the more expensive labels, and there was a pretty red dress that was on the end of the sale rack that caught my eye. The design was quite simple, but I felt the material and it was a beautifully soft and slinky silk linen. A bit posh, but I checked the price label anyway and found that it had been reduced several times, from £120 all the way down to £29 - bargain! When I tried it on, it fit too! Wuhoo... dress sorted!

I also found a black cardigan from Principles (one of my favourite shops, when they have a sale on) for £15.50, reduced from £35. The cardi had a ribbon belt on it, which I thought looked a bit odd on the cardi, but would be ideal to jazz up the dress a bit, so it planted an idea in my head. (Yes, I have been watching too much of Gok Wan's TV series...) Then I nipped over to Primark to look for a little black flower brooch to really make the dress a bit different. I didn't manage to find a black one, but there was a perfectly matched red flower for just £1.50! Jackpot!! Also picked up some sparkly and jangly Indian bangles in red, black and gold - £3 for 30 of them!! Don't worry, I don't plan to wear them all to the ball.

Anyway, here's my final creation - and in true Gok style, total outfit cost £49!

Labels: shopping

Yet another new toy...



Dearest hubby bought me another new toy today as my birthday/Christmas pressie for the next three years or something like that. I wasn't really too bothered about getting it on day of launch, but that's one great thing about working in the city centre, I can go out on speculative jaunts during my lunch hour and stumble across chance finds of things on launch day. I managed to get a Wii fit when it first came out in a similar way.

I visited the Arndale Centre O2 shop to start with and there was even an official queuing system in place. About six people were there filling out their forms and when I asked one of the promo girls how long the wait was, she told me it was over an hour. As I only had an hour and I knew there were two other O2 stores in town, I decided to try my luck at Market Street instead. It's amazing what a few spots of rain can do to people - when I got to the other store, there was no queue and three assistants were stood having a bit of a chat. Jumped in and picked myself up an 8GB iPhone (the 16GB versions had run out in the first hour). Wuhoo and no queues!!
*Em gloats annoyingly in the faces of those people who queued for hours*

As the usual lack of foresight of my former employers meant the connection systems had crashed, the phone function is still not connected up, but I have managed to sync the rest of the phone and have hooked it up to my Wi-fi to start having a good ol' play with it and it's pretty cool. My faves so far are watching Super Trio on the Youtube application and downloading a load of applications, even a Mandarin phrasebook. So far, I have only got the freebies, but knowing my impulsive nature, I'm gonna have to be really careful not to go too nuts on games and other stuff.

Labels: shopping

Manchester City Centre Still Best For Shopping



In an attempt to stop myself from going mouldy in the house or spending time looking fruitlessly for a dream house, we decided to go to Liverpool to check out the latest venue where people can go and spend their hard-earned cash. The Liverpool One shopping centre in Paradise Street opened its doors last week with a visit from the Queen herself, so we thought we'd go and have a look.

Landing in Scouseland at around lunchtime, we dropped by on my folks and then had some great food at the Tea House in Bold Street. The food quality there had gone downhill last time I went, but it looks like they have a new chef and the portions have gotten significantly larger. Tony was impressed with his massive dish of Curry Beef Brisket Rice. I had Char Siu Wan Tan Ho Fun, but could have done without the Wan Tan, which were a bit cardboardy. Char Siu was lovely though.

The new shopping centre was okay - kind of like the Trafford Centre, but without the marble and the roof. It was a lovely day, so the open air feel wasn't too bad, but I can imagine it being pretty miserable if it was raining. Definitely a design flaw having the seating area out in the open. Also like the TC, there is a John Lewis at one end and a Debenhams at the other. I set out looking for a present for my Grandma and a Fathers Day present for my dad, plus a little treat for myself as it was pay day last week. Things didn't go too well though - apart from the money for the meal, I spent a total of £2.80 that afternoon on 2 ice creams and a bottle of water. Don't know why, but the shopping formula just didn't work out that day.

The shopping trip continued in the evening, when we actually went to the Trafford Centre to try and track down some Yardley stuff I wanted to get for my Grandma. Another hour or so, no joy either and migraine had set in, so we went for a steak (courtesy of Tesco clubcard) and went home.

Then yesterday afternoon, I was feeling quite spritely after work, so I decided to wander straight on past the bus stop to go and see if I could get my Grandma's pressie from the Arndale Centre. In the space of an hour and a bit, I'd tracked down the 2 presents and even picked up something for myself. Just goes to show that you don't have to go to very far for the things that you want. Manchester City Centre is still THE BEST place to go shopping in the North West.



My treat for myself (has to be a bargain!!) was a pair of Caterpillar boots (since my old pair are still caked in Derbyshire mud) for £35 (pic above) and a yellow egg cup £1.24. Good eh?

Labels: shopping

Em's Christmas Wish List 2007

As usual, for the benefit of those people who ask me what I would like and get the response of "*shrug* I dunno" ...


Shed
I want a shed to put all the junk in from my conservatory, but my hubby won't let me get one just yet.


USB Cassette Deck and MP3 converter
This is one of those things that seems like a good idea so I can rescue all the songs from the 90's that are festering away on cassettes, but I'm having second thoughts about it because it's so bloomin' bulky and maybe some things are best left in the past. Hmm...


Guitar Hero III for the Wii
This looks soooooo cool, but the £60 price tag is pretty hefty so maybe Santa can be generous and bring it to me.


Another Kipling bag - a bit smaller than my current one.
Okay, this a bit frivolous, but a girl can never have too many bags!


Bench hoodie from play.com
Ties in with my recent love of brown clothes and it looks really snug and long enough to keep my back and bum warm.


Plane ticket to Hong Kong
Haha ... only joking!

This list might grow... I don't really want for much this year, so I am a little indecisive!

Labels: shopping

New Toys

Felt a sudden urge to buy something this weekend - I think it was because I haven't been shopping properly since I got back from my hols and I needed some respite from a week of shittyhormones. So, despite the rainy weather, I ventured out yesterday and came home with a couple of new jumpers and a pair of trousers for work and this:



The game is great fun and as I'd been pondering whether or not to get a PS2 just to play Singstar on it, now I don't need to. I hope they release more songs on this in the future - I'll definitely be in the queue for it! After a couple of hours playing this game, it confirmed that I am much better at singing than I am at dancing! My highest score is on 80's songs such as "Stars" and "Karma Chameleon"... showing my age here!!

Then after going for dim sum with hubby and mum-in-law today, we ventured down to the phone shop to see what I should get for my upgrade this year. I had actually already decided and would have got it yesterday if the shop in Bury was not out of stock. So I came home with this:



... and what was even better was that it was FREE! Now I don't need to get a new camera either! My gadget genes are truly satisfied this weekend!!

Labels: shopping

Packing it all in...



In the words of Russell Grant on my horoscope today:
"A breeze of change is starting to waft through your life and it will help to keep abreast of developments."
I don't know where this guy got his crystal ball from but it's definitely top of the range. Since the beginning of June, my life has been through so many changes; new job, new working hours, renewed interest in reading, daily reflection in my morning bus journeys and my latest venture - closing down TVBspace and launching my evening commitment into the pages of the new site. (Not sure if I can mention the name of it yet, so I won't just yet.) The last few days have been getting my head round the writing style of said publication and having to digest and assimilate the electronic version of the blue pencil all over my work. It's quite different from the informal banter of TVBspace, but I guess it's good training for me, so when the day comes for me to hang up my numbers head and make a living out of tapping away on a keyboard to create words instead of data tables, I will be well-[repared. Incidentally, the guy who vacated my current job for me to come in left the job to become a full time writer - is that an omen?

The salivary gland problem I had at Easter came back this week, so I was suffering from swollen gums all week. It's settled down a lot now, but that coupled with hay fever has zapped my energy, so in the past few days at work, especially just after lunch, I have been doing Homer impressions at my desk (okay, not with my feet up, but snoozing all the same) and then suffering severe paranoia about my colleagues seeing me dropping off.



Talking of new stuff - here is a shopping update that is a bit late. I bought myself a new bag as a reward for getting a new job. I'm not really one to spend a lot of money on handbags - my last few bags were all around the £10 mark - but I do like the design and practicality of Kipling bags, so after a lot of umming and aahing, I decided to go and take a look. I came across this one in the shop and it was perfect for carrying my stuff to work and back and after about half an hour in the shop trying to convince myself it is worth the £49 price tag, I finally treated myself to the most expensive handbag I have bought for myself. My justification was that if I am using it every day, then I'll get good value from it. That, and I have the monkey to keep me company on the bus.



In need of some stimulation during my bus journey, apart from reading my books (currently reading spy novel "Good News Bad News" by David Wolstenholme), I have made a few observations:

1. The 135 is a social animal. It moves in shoals of at least three or in the case of this afternoon, there were five of them within 10 minutes of each other... shame they were in the opposite direction.

2. The 135 also doubles as a sardine can as the drivers have a sadistic game that they play called 'pack-as-many-passengers-into-the-bus-as-you-can-then-drive-slowly-so-that-the-empty-bus-behind-can-drive-past-and-taunt-all-the-sweaty-people'.

3. The 135 cleaners don't use detergent or air fresheners. Instead, they spray a special odour on the bus that enhances body odour and attracts every insect possible through the small gap in the window to agitate further the already heavily agitated passengers.

4. The very loud bell does not tell the driver to stop because he seems oblivious to it until you ring it a few times and he curses you by shouting: "Stop p*ssing about with the bell!" It is merely very loud to annoy people and wake you up when you want to take a nap.

5. Copies of the Metro are provided for passengers to use as a sign to other passengers that they are not interested in chatting randomly. If you don't use it, you run the risk of being targeted by the random-chat brigade who insist on moaning to you about the weather/the bus/the time/global warming/life in general*
*delete as appropriate.

My study continues... I will post further findings here later.



TVB-wise, I have been watching "The Family Link". Well-written, light-hearted and some superbly convincing acting as ever from Sheren Tang and Kiki Sheung. I haven't really watched any of Cecilia Yip's other series - now I know why. Still, Derek and Kenneth made up for things and seeing Michael dressed in that negligee was interesting!

Labels: buses, life, shopping, TVB

One for the girls...

Bernie showed me this today, so I thought I'd share it with my female readers... thanks Bernie!! Roll on Mr Hong Kong 2007!!



New job means I have to get up early to get a seat on the bus, so I've been adjusting my body clock to try and go to sleep earlier. Well, that's my excuse for not blogging. The early rise and early nights seem to be doing wonders with my health though, that and the daily dash to the bus stop and playing Frogger with the traffic... and I am getting much more fresh (well, as fresh as it gets in the city) air on my lunchtime strolls.

Have been pretty good at resisting the urge to go shopping in my lunch hour, so far only buying a brown jumper from New Look, which was a bargain at a fiver. I think the fact that I am still getting used to wearing heels every day again deters me from venturing too far on the hard floors of the shopping mall that is 5 mins from my office.



It was my Grandma's 80th birthday yesterday, so the family went out for a meal on Saturday. As well as the usual lobster, scallops, duck, chicken, fish etc, we were also served these really cute (and tasty) Coconut Jelly Koi Carp. Pretty cool eh? Had to post the pic up as my blog is rapidly turning into a food blog! Hahaha!!

Labels: buses, family, food, hk celebs, shopping

Move Aside Natwest Pigs...






I had a conversation with my bro today about buying a vacuum cleaner for my mum and dad's shop and it led quite naturally onto my suggestion of buying something a bit more industrial strength, like a Henry. At this point, the conversation turned a little surreal as we talked about Henry's mates, so being in the highly deluded state I am in after developments over the past few days, I looked them up and found George, Charles and James. When I was young, people collected Natwest piggy banks (although we were dedicated Midland Bank Griffin Savers - and I still have the dictionary to prove it) - maybe someone out there is trying to collect a full set of industrial strength vacuum cleaners now.

A few very good things have happened to me recently, but when they all come together, then they start interfering with each other and I am feeling a mixture of being overwhelmed and overly worried about things. I really hope I don't have to face a decision between work and family, because I would be totally torn apart. Oh well, I'll just have to see what other challenges life is going to throw at me. Why are things never so simple?

Labels: family, life, shopping

My Environmentally Sound Birthday Wishlist

I watched a report on the news that said environmentalists are calling for people to make lists of what they want for birthdays and Christmas to avoid the millions of pounds and tonnes of environmental resources wasted on unwanted gifts every year. So, here is mine (and it should also help those of you who are trying to think about what to get me for my birthday! hahaha!)... ok, that's my excuse, now just to indulge myself on some stuff I would like to get my hands on!


A nice, spacious double-fronted house... I'm not greedy, I don't need a mansion, just more space to dump my clutter in.


Wario Smooth Moves for Wii - I think my bro is getting this for me! (Cheers, bro!!)


To make up my set, I need one more Wii-mote and two more nunchuks. Then four of us can play together in games like Rayman and tennis, but I think I might need to get the above house first to make sure I have enough space to avoid some serious injuries. Oh and some Wii points would be nice, so that we can download some Nintendo classics!!


Sony Ericsson w810i in WHITE - I was gonna get this today for myself, but the launch date has been delayed until 22nd Jan. Patience..... argh!


Some Czech money will come in handy for my Prague trip...


Toyota Yaris - This should give me the motivation to get back on the road. It can wait until 2008 though, so I can get myself an '08' registration plate. Hey, I am Chinese so superstition runs in my veins.


O2 XDA Orbit - OK, now I am just being frivolous, but I have heard so many great things about this device that I want one just to see if it really is so great. Shame they haven't got any decent staff deals on it.

Oh well, I can always pin my hopes on tonight's lottery numbers.

Labels: birthday, shopping

2 days to go...



And to mark the occasion, my bro pointed me in the direction of this funny article:

http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-entertainment/the-japanese-wii-safety-manual-is-crazy-219119.php

Had me chuckling away...

I have 99% decided that I will keep my Wii and start using it as part of my drive to move more instead of sitting around after work wondering why I am so bloomin' tired. Hopefully a couple of games of Wii tennis every night will get my heart pumping a bit more. (Which isn't hard considering my current level of activity...)



Trying to get into the Christmas spirit at work, but it's difficult when everyone around you is so apathetic. Picked up our £20 budget to decorate our area of the office today, so maybe after the tinsel and baubles go up, then people will start being a bit cheerier. There has been a lot of stress kicking around recently and even the men are all suffering from PMS. Also organised this year's Secret Santa and Christmas lunchtime party for the team... I guess this is as fun as management gets!

At least they are not making us stick to corporate colours this year. Even though blue and silver tinsel is quite pleasing on the eye, when the whole place looks the same then it gets a bit boring! I think the girl organising the decorations this year is planning to get the new trendy lilac tinsel. The guys will complain about it looking girly, but hey if they are so bothered, then they can put their own decorations up!

I will be going to three Christmas do's this year - that's a whole three more than last year! Woohoo...

Labels: shopping, wii

Thinking of Gran, Christmas Shopping and Old Friends

Visited my gran in hospital on Friday, she's had a pretty bad setback and is coming to terms with not being able to live as active a lifestyle as she has been over the years. She was telling me about how she won't be able to sing Cantonese opera any more or go shopping in the market for the best cuts of beef and pork and I felt a lump in my throat, but didn't want to show her how sad I felt. She seems so weak at the moment - a far cry from the strong independent woman who looked after me as a child. I am glad that I managed to take her on holiday earlier on in the year, but I am sad that we won't be able to do it again. I hope that she will regain some strength soon and my grandad will look down from heaven and protect her.

Then yesterday I got dragged out by hubby to go Christmas shopping. I really wanted to just stay in and sleep, but I guess it's better to get the inevitable out of the way. Picked up some toys for the kids and wandered around Ikea after stopping for lunch there - we like the meatballs and the ice cream there. I wasn't really in the right frame of mind for shopping though because I wasn't in a spending mood, so I left all the spending to my hubby and kinda just wandered around in a bit of a daze. I perked up a bit in the evening when we visited another shopping centre and my credit card finally came out to get a couple of presents for people. In the evening I wrote out a load of Christmas cards for my mother-in-law to people who I don't really know, so I just kinda guessed what to write in them and hoped for the best.

I started writing my own cards today and I realised how rubbish I am at keeping in touch with old friends who don't email or go on MSN. Sending them a card once a year with a few lines scribbled inside is about all the contact we have nowadays, but I guess that is better than not having any contact at all, which is the case with 99% of my primary and secondary schoolfriends. Sad, but true. I also finally got round to physically writing a reply to one of my old penpals who still sends me the odd letter once in a blue moon because she says it's nice to receive an old fashioned snail mail letter once in a while. Have to admit though that it took an awful lot of effort to pick up a pen and rack my brains on how to express myself with pen and paper and in Chinese too. Evolution in action - soon I will forget completely how to write and depend totally on this keyboard to express myself.

The Hong Kong press have been keeping me busy recently with the whole 'Gay Affairs' piece and surprisingly the other hot topic at the moment is who the traitor is who sold out on Sammul Chan and caused him so much bitterness that he has had to let it out as soon as he leaves TVB. All fun and games, but personally, I think he is being quite petty and childish about it all. He may feel justified in airing his views and he probably feels bad that TVB haven't even considered him for any awards this year, but to stamp his feet and throw his dummy out of the pram is not really the best way to build up your own image. The spearhead is pointed at Kenneth Ma, but I think that even though Kenneth isn't quite the innocent that he portrays, at least he is playing the game right, keeping to the rules and this in itself is deserving of an award. Face it Sammul, everything in this society is all about politics. You can't beat 'em, so if you don't join 'em, then you're out of the game. Same with any workplace really... including mine.

TVB-wise been watching 'To Grow with Love' and 'Dicey Business and am three-quarters into rewatching 'A Step into the Past'. Gotta take my hat off to Raymond Lam, even five years ago, his portrayal of the young First Emperor was exemplary. Raymond Lam, Louis Koo, Derek Kwok, Jimmy Au all in one series... what more could I ask for? Hahaha!!

Wii arrives in 5 days - to sell or not to sell, that is the question!

Labels: family, hk celebs, life, shopping, TVB

Bargain of the Week 3 - Well I have plenty of cupboards to fill with stuff


Motto tableware - 19p per piece at Ikea

Dropped by at Ikea recently primarily to have lunch (Swedish meatballs £3.75 per portion with potatoes and gravy) but we took a look around anyway and I came across this week's bargain. Rice bowls, serving dishes and plates for just 19p a piece! So for less than a fiver, you can get a full set for 8 people. Not bad at all. We'll be doing some entertaining over Christmas, so I bought some rice bowls and some serving dishes. Nice size too - good for serving when there are only two or three of us and the portions aren't so big.

Other great things on sale at Ikea - soft ice cream cone 35p, plastic bag dispenser £1.25, footstool £9, leather sofa £300...

Labels: shopping

Bargain of the Week 2 - Justifying my Earlier Foolish Purchase



I bought 'The Movies' PC game as a Christmas present for myself last year and I think I paid near enough the full asking price for it, which is around £19.99 at the time. I don't think I have played it enough to justify that, but after buying my new PC, the speed that it runs at is much more enjoyable, so I might just try getting my money's worth out of it when I break for Christmas.

Anyway, the reason why this game is here for Bargain of the Week is thanks to a post on the MSE site, where an eagle-eyed moneysaver has spotted that PC World is selling this game for the unbelievable price of just 97p. When there is a bargain as good as this, I am always up for it, so I checked out my local branch, put my order in off the internet and managed to get my hands on the last four in my nearest store. When I picked them up, they still had the £19.99 price label on them and the sales assistant's eyes nearly popped out when the 97p price came up on his till. He seemed so gutted! Hahaha! I don't need them as such, but they'll do as Christmas presents for my cousins or something to throw into the Secret Santa at work, or I could even make a couple of quid by chucking them onto ebay.

Maybe I will go around and take a tour of my local PC World branches to see if there are any more 97p offers to be had!

Labels: shopping

Em's Bargain of the Week - Part 1 - Getting overexcited about Shower Gel

If you're like me and working hard for the ultimate goal of a mortgage-free life, you'll know that every penny saved is a little step towards your ambition. Unfortunately, living in the world of 'Ripoff Britain', saving money isn't always easy, not that I'm gonna compete with the excellent Money Saving Expert site, but I'll share any money-saving snippets I come across here with everyone and let myself get overexcited with my penny pinching schemes! Hahaha...

Anyway, the first item to make it onto the list of "Em's Economies" is this one:


Boots Basics Shower Gel - 35p (plus you even get 2p back on your advantage card!)

We came across this in our local Boots store, which isn't really known for bargains as even the BOGOF offers can work out more expensive than your supermarket for most things, but this and the rest of the Boots Basics range is a find! Unless you have special skin, then a shower gel is a shower gel really and this clear blue gel smells quite fresh, the scent isn't overpowering and foams up as well as the standard Boots shower gels. Okay so it doesn't claim to help you to de-stress or have aromatherapy properties, but hey it gets you clean and it all still gets washed down the plughole anyway. If this doesn't interest you, other products in the range include 2 toothbrushes for just 28p, toothpaste 29p a tube and for the ladies 30 panty liners for 29p! Can't get fairer than that!

Shoppers away!! 'Til next time...

Labels: shopping

Hibernation Mode



I am sure I was a reptile or a bear in a former life. That's why when winter sets in, I go into 'Hibernation Mode' and all I want to do is sleep or stay under my duvet all day. Unfortunately, Christmas and the New Year are always the busiest time for me and with the "No leave in January" rule firmly in place for our team, I can only wish away the days and hope that February comes sooner than later.

The news site is currently firmly wedged at the back of my mind, as I enjoy "Life Made Simple", wrapping Christmas presents, writing annual letters and Christmas cards, making some Christmas cash on ebay and taking my power naps. I wrote a two-page letter to an old friend in Malaysia last night and it made me realise once again how long it has been since I actually picked up pen and paper and put my thoughts down. My Chinese language skills have just gone completely down the pan and it took an awfully long time to string my sentences together. To think that when I was about 15, I could write about 3 of these letters in a night as well as do my homework, watch "Star Trek: TNG" AND have a power nap. As the big 3-0 draws closer and closer, I am starting to feel my age now...



Got another new toy last weekend - a Kenwood Frothie drinks maker. Just put all your ingredients into the machine, hit the button and 9 minutes later (worth the wait), you get a sweet, hot, frothy and scrumptious hot chocolate drink made for you. All you have to do is put your cup underneath and flick the dispenser. If only everything in life could be so simple!

Labels: life, shopping, TVB