Mabel is pregnant

After a careful examination of Mabel's tummy, it's not fat... Yeah, Mabel is officially pregnant.  She is not fat, nor big bone, just pregnant~  I guess it is the only time that a female is allowed to gain weight legally in Hong Kong.

So Mabel and I decided to create a new blog account to share with our friends and family:

http://ahbbo.wordpress.com

2008-12-9 Announced

We plan to have another Taiwan trip next week. Mabel and I planned it for a long time already. But we had never thought that it would be a trip for all three of us.

 

I just called and tell Grandma about it. She seemed to be very happy and excited for us. I will have to call Mom about it today.

 

Now I am worry about our trip to Hawaii. Should we stay home because Mabel needs more rest?

 

I know what I need to do now... Open another blog account dedicated for him...

Lazy at home with the Wang's

Lazy at home with the Wang's

Originally uploaded by Clive (a.k.a. - Ah B)

It's been a wonderful weekend hanging out with the Wang's in Taipei. HBO, food, whisky, Taiwan Beer, 小米酒, music, 炸雞排, 老天六, sleep; special thanks to Tom Cruise for Mission Impossible 2 and 3, and Tom Hanks for his 2+ hours of intensive battlefield action. It was a great get away for me and it felt so good to be able to hang out with my buddies. It was just like the good old days when I was in high school during the summer vacation.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween

Originally uploaded by Clive (a.k.a. - Ah B)

It is Halloween today! I guess I can't go anywhere because I am still sick. I am not yet fully recovered from the flu that I got on Tuesday night. It's okay, I guess it will be my excuse to stay home and take more rest.

Hell! I have to pack and move more stuffs back to Grandpa's house this weekend! Oh well.....

Happy Halloween 2008!

Halloween @ Ocean Park (2008-10-19)

DSCF2576

Originally uploaded by Clive (a.k.a. - Ah B)

It's my first time going to 哈佬喂 at Ocean Park. Bessie, Ken, Elsa, Marco, Esther, Francis (who came a little late), Mabel and myself had a lot of fun that night.

We started off having early dinner at 香港仔 and arrived at the gate by 5:15PM. I could not believe that we didn't get to finish with all the haunted houses until 11PM. I am glad that we paid more for the Fast Pass, otherwise we would have waste more time waiting in line and not be able to finish all the haunted houses.

I think it was fun, but I don't think I will go again next year. It was just too tiring and I don't expect much changes every year. $400 well spent!

Mabel's Birthday - Dinner at LaVilla

DSCF2459

Originally uploaded by Clive (a.k.a. - Ah B)

It's Mabel's birthday again. I've made a reservation at LaVilla @ TST. The food was ok, but it has some very good view and services.

So what's after dinner? It's the usual KTV at TST Neway CEO. We ended up hanging out in KTV until 5AM. Who said we were old? (well, I took a nap sometime at 3am)

2002 Lynch Bages

2002 Lynch Bages

Originally uploaded by Clive (a.k.a. - Ah B)


Yes, it is what I am drinking now in the office. I was asked to test and see if the wine was still good, so the rest of the batch can be given out to the customers as a gift.

I love my job!

2008-10-07 It's what I got before boarding!!

2008-10-07 It's what I got before boarding!!

Originally uploaded by Clive (a.k.a. - Ah B)

Yeah, got myself something nice. Glenfiddich 21 Years. It won the gold medal in International Wine & Spirits Competition, so it supposed to be good. Will see...

My second week in the States

It's been a week since I came back to the Bay Area. I didn't do anything special other than meeting up my friends, eating and drinking. It's been very relaxing, but I feel that there are so many changes here. Or it could be just me.

Somehow I started to miss my life in Hong Kong, where I can have friends who keep me company at through the night, weekdays and weekend. I can find something to do regardless what time it is. The night is much longer here especially when I don;t need to work in the morning. I am so tired, but I still can't keep myself sleeping for more than 3 hours. May be I am just jet lagging for the whole week!

One week left before my vacation is over. So, do I want to go back to HK?

2008-09-22 Waiting for boarding at HK Airport Lounge

2008-09-22 Waiting for boarding at HK Airport Lounge

Originally uploaded by Clive (a.k.a. - Ah B)

A trip to SF alone.
I used to travel back to San Francisco to see Mabel. I guess this time is very different.

It is more like a vacation that I am taking alone. I will spend some good time with my best friends in the Bay Area. Seeing Sand and Willard's kids is something I look forward to.... of course, I will enjoy my cars and motorcycle, which I don't have a leisure to do in Hong Kong.

Although it's only a few months since I last went back to the Bay, but mentally it's been a long journey. Things keep changing and moving faster than I could anticipate.

Here I come, only a few more minutes before my vacation... before boarding!!

Stanley

Stanley can be very beautiful when in a right mood.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
From Clive @ King Ludwig Beer Hall

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Got a new toy today!

After searching for three days, I could finally find a Nokia E71 in dark grey. I didn't expect it to be a phone in high demand. I guess I was wrong and I should have reserved one at Broadway or Fortress stores. Well, what can I say. It's one of the best mobile phone I've used so far! It's not as fancy as iPhone, but it serves me much better with my mobile emails need. With its great multimedia bapabilities, it is like a Blackberry with improved fun factors.

I will play with it a little more and see if I found any complaimts about it.

Good to see some old friends... best friends...

Adrian had finally arrived Hong Kong on Sunday. It's so nice to see my best friends gather here in Hong Kong. It is so exciting that we will all meet up in Taiwan in a couple weeks.

I don't know what I am missing here in Hong Kong, may be just some good old friends that I knew for 20 years. Ok, I am really that old. I am proud to say that I have man good friends that I knew for over 20 years, which is very rare for many people. And I am talking MANY friends, not just one or two.

I guess it's the trend and it's how the world evolving. People have to spread apart and travel to different places for their living. People start to work globally, and some even work at global hours. Good thing that we have internet that bring us a little closer. This also means that we spend more time in front of an machine typing than seeing faces and talk. I can't imagine how "real" can human be in twenty years. Will technology bring us closer, or it'll only make us more "imaginary"? I should be still alive and see it changing.

鹽神寶寶-龍戰士

[caption id="attachment_66" align="alignnone" width="210" caption="Kung Fu Panda"][/caption]

Finally I watched Kung Fu Panda with "寶寶龍"... it was ok funny.
And now, she has a "新朵"! 就係...
鹽神寶寶-龍戰士!!!
無錯! 係七個字! ... 所以有D似鹹片名 :D

Rain, again. China trip, again.

in the bus 02

Originally uploaded by Clive (a.k.a. - Ah B)

It's pouring today in China... Yup, another trip for me. I just wish that it won't be flooded in the afternoon so that I could come home.

My birthday dinner at The Racing Club

My birthday dinner at The Racing Club 01

Originally uploaded by Clive (a.k.a. - Ah B)

Mabel celebrated my birthday at The Racing Club. As usual, she had a phone conference at 7PM. We arrived early at the club, so that she could call in while having a drink at the bar before dinner. She had been extremely busy with her job, and I really appreciate her efforts to make some time on my birthday. I certainly didn't even expect a dinner date with her on my birthday because of her recent schedule. It was a little surprise for me when she said that she made a reservation for my birthday.

The dinner was good, Tuna Tartar, Lobster Bisque, Lobster Tail, Risoto, , a bottle of red wine, 2 glasses of champagne, finishing off with a Tiramisu... it's more than fulfilling!

Pre-celebrating my birthday

Pre-celebrating my birthday

Originally uploaded by Clive (a.k.a. - Ah B)

It was a short day at work on Saturday. I had to meet Robert and Maud at Macau Jockey Club for lunch. The food there was ok, just thought that it would be kid-friendly with less people, which is hard to find in HK! Robert's girl was quite talkative now, very nice and friendly. Too bad that his boy did not feel very well, so he was kind of sleepy and quiet.

Pre-celebrating my birthday with my best friends at a dinner was one of the best thing ever happened for the past few weeks. The food was really good! Thanks to Esther and Francis for bringing us to such a fine restaurant! Sorry, we didn't take any pictures until we finished all the great food. For sure it is one restautant that we will return to, so we can take some pictures next time. Elsa and Marco had been really busy for the past week, and they did not hesitate to join us for it even though they were so tired. But hey, six of us promised to visit a new restaurant every month, right? So you can't hide! Oh... I forgot to mention that Hancock celebrated with us at IFC before the dinner too!

So... I will be twenty-six in a couple days, right? :D

Work and get away?

It's another China trip today. Unlike before, I had no hesitation to go to the factory. It feels like a get away for me... well, at least I have a get away physically. Ended up I came home quite early and got home by 4PM, not bad at all.

路盲

又落雨, 好煩! 等巴士又等咗成個鐘!
今日唔知做乜, 有成五個人問我路! 一睇就知我係路盲啦! 佢哋真係唔好彩... 我都好想幫佢哋, 不過真係無能為力!

Rain and storm

It's been raining for days! Typhoon 風神 had come and gone, but it is still a Red Rain Warning this morning. Really don't feel like going to the office.

Marriage and Love

What is marriage and what is love?  
Some say love leads to marriage,
some say marriage needs to love.

In a perfect world they are true
in the real world we can't be sure.

How many couples are perfect matched?
Some breaks up in no time because they just want a change,
some get stuck for lifetime because they don't want to change.

In a perfect world it shouldn't happen,
in the real world, these are frequent.

How many people you know married with their dream partners?
How many couples you know deserve each other?
How many of them are happy together?
How many of them meant to be forever?

You may not be able to control it entirely,
but you are sure the one who should treat the other responsibly.
So what is marriage and what is love?
It can only be answered by you and your other half.

Coffee time, happy hour

I just realized that I only enjoy coffee when I am in a good mood.  I enjoy it even more to make my own expresson drink when I am happy.  What about alcohol?  It's a little complicated.  I do enjoy drink with good friends when I am happy, but I prefer drinking alone when I am upset.

I didnlt know I am a thinker until recently.  May be I was influenced by Henry over the years.  Having alcohol can make me high and more playful when I am with my good friends.  When I am down, it helps me slow down my brain and disable all the thunking process.  I don't get drunk drinking alone, so I won't suffer with the aftermath, which is good.

I miss the time having haapy hour at Starbucks everyday after work.  There was no specific tpics to chat, no luxury chairs, no fancy $7 expresson drinks, but some of my favorite people in life.  That's what I called quality time and true 'happy hour'.  As we grow older, friends are more distanced from each other physically, but closer at hearts.  May be we all know true friendships don't come easily and they don't come overnight.  It is one of the most treasurable thing in the world.  Not everyone have true friends.  Having dozens of good friends can be jealous by many people.  I am one of the lucky ones.

Another Happy Hour at CWB

I had a seminar to attend to today.  It was over by 5:30, so I called Esther for a drink at Inn Side Out.  Got there early, so I thought I could spend some quality time with the Bun Bun... Well, I gave up  :P  I rather pay more attention at the TV, Brasil vs. Argentina.  Boring game... 0-0 at the time I was typing this blog.

I thought the majority here were foreigners, business men, and office ladies, but all I heard was 甚麼媽, 同誰個西... 仲要又小又大, 又能又係, 又貓又狗... 好勁!  好一班西裝狗,食左屎咁! 咦, 我把口都幾得... 都係有D口德好, 害左個仔就唔好啦!

Esther and Elsa came to join me for drink and noodle.  I had a blast!  I love gossips!

Rain and Sunshine

日日都落雨,少少太陽,之後又落雨. 搞到D心情好煩躁! 天氣幾時先至會轉好呢?

最重要是不要再有大地震! 大多天災了.

 

People are moving to their new cube after first phase of renovation was completed.  And I am still sitting in my lovely "storage".  Well, I don't really care about where to sit though, as long as I have access to a company phone.

Moody?

I may be very moody since Friday.  I am not happy for sure, but does it have to do with the uncertainties that I have?

Father Day Weekend 2008

After removing tissues for biopsy, I could barely speak. Well, guess it a good time to take the Sat off work. It's Father's Day weekend, so we treated the family lunch in a vegetarian restaurant.  I could not eat much due to the pain, but the food was actually pretty good!

The highlight of the day was watching Narnia 2 at Element! I think it was even better than the first one, although my beloved 獅子仔 did not play an important part like last time.  So what is the next movie to watch?  I am sure Mabel would love to see Kung Fu Panda, as she keeps saying that I can be a good candidate casting for it if they make a life version of this movie.

Bo is Away Again

Mabel has gone to Manila for a business trip... again.  Yeah, I will be bored for another week or so.

It is Grandpa's 100th day since he passed away.  I will be at his house tonight and have dinner with Mom and Dad.  I haven't seen them for almost 2 weeks!

近來身體越來越差，都唔知做乜。連牙醫都話要做biopsy！真係估佢唔到！又睇下佢又搞邊科。

Rain

Thursday... it rains so hard.  又胃痛，又頭痛，想死。

I went to China yesterday mainly for C-TPAT, Factory Audit, and discussing about setting up a new engineer team for my own projects.  Things were moving along well so far.

Working with 阿輝was so much easier than his brother.  He will listen, absorb my suggestions and listen to my concerns.  Regardless of which company I am working for (mine or my brother in law's), I always try to do my best.  It is my commitments when it comes to work.  It is about responsibility.  And I truely believe that it is a guranteed failure if someone made the rules, and he has his own set of interpretations of the rules, and be the first one to bend the rules.

After being a coordinator of many projects in a small company, I finally realize that I prefer to work in bigger companies like I used to.  I prefer doing things systematically, with a simple but direct policies.  With the EDS project, Working at DMDC in US Department of Defense was a bit boring.  Everything was so slow in my taste.  I am sure that it is the way it has to be working with the government.  Things have to be extra caution and no "creativity" allow.

The environment in HP and Agilent was much more dynamic.  People there were very self motivated, fast paced, and responsible.  It was the kind of working environment that I am after...

Although working in HK is very different than in the States; however, I think it is the company authorities that made it hard for me to deal with.  It's been very hard to get things done here.  Well, I will adapt... I hope.  My wish is to make the working environment more modernized and more liberal... it's only my wish, but there is only so much I can do as it is not my own company.

Esther's Birthday

019

Originally uploaded by Clive (a.k.a. - Ah B)

Another birthday for Esther... Celebating her birthday close to 20 times really mean something. Friendship, and age! Well... did I know Esther when I was just born?! Keke... I guess I can't lie about my age. I am still young at heart though, you know?

Thanks to my best friends here in HK! They've been driving me to places that I wouldn't have gone without a car. We went to a restaurant in 西貢.  The food here is very nice, some real western food without being "Chinese washed".

After the dinner, Francis insisted to pay for it. We've been pushing the money around like the old Chinese folks. We gave up and went to dessert at 滿記 nearby.  We walked to the garage for our cars, and Marco threw the money into Francis' car then we all ran like a high school kid... yeah, so much about 小學雞!! (I love that terms~) We ran and broke away... so where did Elsa go? Was she kidnapped? She had some high heels on! Keke... she was actually hiding and then joined us when she was safe. It was funny!

I love my friends!

P.S. Esther is officially announced to be 25 year old (rolleyes)

2008-05-21 Earthquake in 四川

I used to enjoy going home and watchig TV.  For the past 10 days, it had never been a pleasure experience.   Earthquake in 四川 has been the subject for every shows on TV.  I feel so sorry for the people there and I feel the pain of the survivors who lost their close family and friends.

The clock stopped working at 2:28.  The exact scene showing the clock had been shot 32 years ago in 唐山...  hundred thousands of lifes were killed at this moment.  It demonstrated to me how fragile we are as a human, and how little we can do when the nature decide to turn upside down.

Donation may be the only little thing that I can do to help.  Not like they can do much with this money, but every bit helps.  I hope.

2008-04-25 Home Alone

It is so lazy and quiet being home alone.  I really can't wait till Bo came back home.
So, what to do at home by myself?  Laundry, sweep the floor, cook, and do the dishes.  It's not easy to be an house-husband.

I guess I've been so spoiled all my life.  My Mom had been taking care all these until I was married.  Then Mabel started taking it over.  In Hong Kong when Mabel is not around, there are maids in my sister's house for this job.  Now, Mabel and I moved out to Hung Hom.  So who's there for this job when Ah Bo is on business trip?  ME!  It's not hard, but very tidious and time consuming.  I rather spend hours under the hood with my car, get all greasy and dirty.

It's been very tiring at work these days.  People at work might think that I have a very easy working hours and all.  Yeah, if I only work at the office...  It is like working 24 hours a day, everyday!  I guess no one else knows about it except for Mabel.  I think I need a change sooner or later.

Talk about work, there are so much that I want to change at KM.  With an old fashioned company, rules and policies just can't be changed over night.  Afterall, it is not my company, so I don't have the 'reason' to change it; however, I will still try my best and help making it a more modern company.  No, I don't get extra pay for doing it.

I wish people in different department understands the hardship of the others.  The more experienced people should teach and be patient to tell the youngsters what to do and introduce the best practice and process, just like how they teach me when I asked.  And the newer exployees should ask when they have questions and show respect to the more experienced staffs regardless which department they are with.

Aiy...  I had actually being mean once, just to teach her the importance of being on time.  I know it is hard to be on time when there are so much to do.  But I guess it is not that hard to notify me and suggest a 'work around'... In this case, I just need a word to ask for couple more minutes and giving me a definite time.  I didn't say much afterward, but I hope she gets it... which I highly doubt.  Working hard is important, but being prompt is a requirement.

On the other hand, I think they should learn the meaning of work and life balance.  It is not easy to do.  I can't get a balance myself, but it is different when it is my own business.  They have to understand working long hous is not what the company wants.  There are always unfinished business!  Prioritize, go home and rest, and prepare for another day of work!

I know what they are thinking... I've been there.  Unlike the boss of the conpany, I've been working in many different positions in different industries.  Therefore, I know what it's like as an employee and when there are tons of work waiting for me to complete.  Oh well, I guess it takes time to learn... it is always easier to say.

R.I.P. Grandpa

2007_04 HK Trip 033Originally uploaded by Clive (a.k.a. - Ah B)爺爺, 再見!2008年2月25日， 陰。爺爺在早上七時許決定離開了我們。我很後悔他離開前我沒有趕到醫院, 更後悔沒有趁星期日去探望他多一次。我很累、沒有時間、這些都只是藉口。我的確很掛念爺爺，但是我覺得他的離開對他來說是一個解脫。多年來，爺爺生活的主要環節便是照顧我嫲嫲。自從嫲嫲過身後，爺爺的生活都變得枯燥乏味。一年前，爺爺更中了風，雙腳已再走動不了。喜歡到處去的他，已經不能自由地上街，也不能去公園探望他的朋友。我猜，一直自專心很強的爺爺，便因為這個原因，也不想別人看見他坐在輪椅上街。爺爺在星期六送到醫院，但這個在近幾個月已是經常發生的。但這次是他唯一一次親口說自己會再不能回家。我們還覺得他只是散嬌，因為進院時他精神很好。難道一個人是真的知道自己什麼時候要離開？還是爺爺的離開是因為他已很累，想放棄，好好地去休息一下？也可能是他太掛念嫲嫲，想和她團聚？爺爺，我們會永遠記掛着你。

2008-02-16 Elsa's B-Day at 深丼裕記燒鵝

Elsa's B-Day at 深丼裕記燒鵝Originally uploaded by Clive (a.k.a. - Ah B)The day we moved into our new house was also Elsa's birthday. At her request, we went to 深丼 for 燒鵝. Mabel and I were very excited about it because we had never been to 深丼.I always thought 深丼 was very quiet and there were not many tall building... wrong! It is not much different than Shatin, I think. It is just another city.Even with reservation, we had to wait in line for about 15 minutes, not too bad though. The food was well worth he wait. The famous 深丼燒鵝, 酒釀鵝肝, Garlic Prawns, Sweet & Sour Pork, etc... very tasty!Francis and I were behind the camera in the picture above.

2008/02/16 Moving in

2008/02/16 Moving inOriginally uploaded by Clive (a.k.a. - Ah B) We were moving into our new home in Hung Hom Bay today (2008-02-16). We thought we didn't have too much to move, but we were wrong! We had to make two trips with a big van and it took us 5 hours just for transporting our well packed luggage.The apartment is quite small.  Look at the Kitchen and the dinning area, it's so small!  I wish I have a wide angle lens to make it look bigger.  Keke...And here is the bedroom ...and our studying room...For those of you who plan to be our guest in HK,this room is for you! For couples, it will be tight - very tight :) But if you live in HK and get used to cramping into a tiny restaurant and sharing table with other people, you should be ok with this huge bed!Overall, we are very happy about it though, as it is our new place in HK. And it has some nice ocean view too :) (not ocean front, but I am more than satisfied!)

My new blog...

First of all, I have to say that Yahoo 360 sux big time!  They messed up my blog and were not able to fix it, so I am starting another blog here.  It may be the best time to do so because I just moved back to Hong Kong with Mabel as of January 2008. Being apart with Mabel half of the time for the past two years, my previous blog was written specially for her.  Now we are able to see each other everyday, so I am starting this blog for my friends and family thousands miles away.  I will try my best to update my Flickr and my blog here as much as possible. I miss you all!

2008-02-10 Our first CNY in HK

2008-02-10 Our first CNY in HK原由 Clive (a.k.a. - Ah B) 上載

Sun 2008/02/10 15:37 20080210015 This is officially our first CNY in HK since we moved back. It is very different than the States. Bo took this picture for me in Harbour City.