My hair's been tortured beyond recognition with my perm last year and repeated colourings. So I sought the advice of Pris who now has straight shiny hair, and she recommended the Aesop Rose Hair & Scalp Moisturising Masque which I bought right away yesterday while in Hong Kong.



Started on it last night and the scent was so familiar that it brought back instant memories of the huge tub of henna hair mask that my friends and I would buy from Watson's when we were in JC. It smelt and felt exactly the same, and was just as effective for one-eighth of the price of Aesop's.

Well. Haven't seen that tub in Watson's for a long time, and honestly, I've also forgotten about it. Not complaining. But which just goes to prove that the more I earn, the more I spend. Which brings me to the same end sum as in schooldays. That, I'm lamenting.

Labels: well-being

Saturday night, and I'm working OT in the office with the guys as we prepare for the final leg of the site revamp.

Coincidence or not, with me dreaming about Beijing and my ex-colleagues just last night, that we should end up having Tsingtao beer and Beijing jiaozi for dinner in the office

Labels: macau

It's one thing to be busy, and quite another to be challenged.

Over the last days, the realization has been dawning upon me with ever more clarity. Problem is, it's just a matter of time before it's "been there, done that" for any other thing.

So how? What does this mean?

Labels: hmmm

Tickets for the highly hyped Sampras vs Federer tennis match at the to-be-opened Venetian Macao went on sale early Friday morning.

Within a couple of hours, at least half the tickets were sold out while their website and credit card payment gateway collapsed. As of 7.30pm that day, the website still gave me a "server overload" message whenever I try to book tickets.

Well, since the website wasn't going to work, I decided to call the hotline instead. I started calling at around 11am on Friday and only got through late afternoon after listening to the operator recite "the venetian macao is the largest blah blah blah... more than blah blah square meters or something and blah blah blah" for hours, and by then only the cheapest tickets were available.

Fine, but what really takes the cake is that their back-end credit card system went down too! Goodness. Isn't that a back-end system that can be accessed only by the customer service officers? Given it's a limited number of people accessing the system, how does it go down too?

Anyway, they had to take my credit card details and said that they will call me with the confirmation number on Monday but reassured me that my seats have been confirmed.

Ooooph, what an ordeal.

Not that I'm a tennis fan, but I just thought that I shouldn't miss it since this is happening in my own backyard, even if I'm gonna be struggling to see the ongoings with my cheap seats and squashed by the enormous crowds. At least, it will be just a 15-minute walk home from Venetian Macao.

And hopefully, they would have learned their lesson from this and do not repeat the same mistake when the NBA tickets go on sale at the end of this month.

Labels: macau

First, it was scorching humidly hot. Made me wish I was on a beach, sipping a nice cold drink while lazing under a huge shady tree.

Then, the rains came, thanks to the monsoons and typhoons. No umbrellas could stop me from being drenched as the rain strike horizontally with the wind so strong.

And then, scorchingly hot again.

And then, stormily rainy again.

And then, scorchingly hot again.

And then, stormily rainy again.

And then, scorchingly hot again.

And then, stormily rainy again.

Argh. And I thought Beijing was bad!

Labels: macau

Pork chop bun.

Never heard of it till I was coming to Macau, and at least two Singaporean friends raved to me, on separate occasions, about this one famous 45-minute queue stall.

So when Pegs said that she wanted to eat pork chop bun on her Macau trip last weekend, I asked my colleague about this 45-minute queue stall. But he surprised me with his reply -- "no no, that is over-rated, the best is at Hac Sa beach in Coloane". Oh. Ok. Must be the local insight vs tourist herd instinct.

And so, last Sunday, us 3 Singaporean girls went in search of the popular pork chop buns at Hac Sa beach, and found this.



...

Story to be continued. Very hungry now, no brainpower to think...

[ posted 11 Aug 2007, 10.52am]


...


Now days after, I'm so consumed by work that my brain still has no capacity to continue this story. But I do not give up. I try, and here's the rest of it!



Cabbie dropped us in front of this store, right beside the famous Fernando's. It was the only store that proclaimed "Pork Chop Bun". Darn, aren't there supposed to be many? Did a quick look around, nothing. Unsure whether we got to the right place but we were hot and tired, and decided to just eat here.



Silly boo boo. Didn't know that pork chop buns were so huge!!! I thought they were like our white-skinned pork buns. So kia-su me ordered two as Pegs stared at me in wonder. I was very sure and insistent to her "are you sure?"s. Until the buns came and I nearly fell off my chair at how huge they were. Hello, it's a full sandwich! What bun???

Anyway, thought of giving the extra to one of the nearby dogs but was scolded by Cheryl and Pegs for being wasteful, so the three of us split that extra among us.

And then we saw this!



Aiyaya! We saw this row of stalls barbequing pork chop buns only when we walked to the beach after stuffing ourselves full of pork chop buns and chicken wings (plus noodles for Cheryl and Pegs). Right! So this must be where my colleague was talking about. I was too full to eat anymore but Cheryl insisted that we must try at least one. Couldn't persuade her and so we bought one more to share.

Five pork chop buns between us 3. OK lah, actually, Cheryl ate most of it. :p

And finally, the Black Sand beach that Macau is famous for. Really black.

Labels: eats, macau

Finally made it to Pegs' apartment in Hong Kong. The ferry ride from Macau was so choppy and I felt so seasick that I almost threw up. Didn't help that I was still recovering from feeling ill in the middle of last night from an OD of red wine. And then... I run into traffic jam...

But all is good now. Recovering while staring out into the misty mountain in the distance as raindrops trickle down the window.

Rain. Wind. Will they stop us from shopping?

NO!

Labels: hong kong, macau

Little uproars of excitement in the office now as thunder rumbles and the sky darkens over Nam Wan Lake outside our office.

The typhoon that hit Taiwan over the past couple of days has changed direction and is now heading our way.

Having lived in safe ole Singapore for 20 over years and not felt any of the shakes when the effects of Indonesia earthquakes spill over, this is a little exciting!

Labels: macau

Carry a Gucci sling pouch like this?

Much as I do not understand the Chinese men's collective tendency (mostly Wenzhou folks, I hear) to cradle a man pouch under their arm pit everywhere they go, I think this is worse. At least those are simple black pouches, but a Gucci pouch is so ...

Anyway, I'm sure you've guessed by now that I spotted a Chinese guy carrying this in one of the casinos. And no, he definitely was not carrying it on behalf of his wife/girlfriend.

Labels: hmmm, macau

Discovered beautiful Cheoc Van at Coloane Friday night. There are just a few dining spots at this out-of-the-way stretch by the sea, which I would never have discovered on my own. It was so lovely to drink and eat with the waves of the sea for music.



Halfway through dinner, we spotted this man strolling 100% naked on the beach, which surprised me. Is this even allowed in Macau!?!? Well, the answer is yes! As my colleague explained to me, Cheoc Van is frequented more by foreigners as the locals prefer the other safer beaches; Cheoc Van has sudden dips and not gradual sandbeds leading out to the sea. And so, no one cares if anyone decides to go nude at Cheoc Van beach 'cos they figured, well, they are foreigners. Very interesting.

Labels: macau

Pretty surprised that I would find this same lack of check in Macau. First, the contractors brought a door that was too small for our new office. So, we had to delay the move further and wait for them to bring another door.

You would think that they would take care and bring the right sized door the second time round. But no. They brought a door that was too big.

So how?

Drill the floor to make the opening wider so that the door can fit.

Seriously.

Labels: macau

Dinner at Antica, tucked in one of many streets behind Wynn Macau and Galaxy. I would never had found this place if not for my boss' housemate who recommended this restaurant. Nice food -- except the ribs -- and ambience. Also heard a little story regarding the lady boss that I shall not repeat here but it got me thinking... A woman who stands up for herself, from her perspective. Some call her a bitch but I say "admirable!".

Labels: eats, macau

Living out of a suitcase is not easy.

Worse, I had to go break the end of the spike of my only pair of heels somewhere along the rough and uneven streets of Macau on the walk home from Taipa Village after dinner on Sunday night.



So, in desperation, I bought the one and only presentable pair available in the few shops here although they are killing my feet right now. But I do not have a choice because I have gone through almost all my pairs of pants, meaning I have only skirts and they hardly go with my other pair of shoes -- ankle high boots.

Can't wait for my boxes to arrive, hopfefully by end of this week.

And can't wait to go shopping in Hong Kong next weekend!

Labels: macau