Crazy Hong Kong

Couldn't find the inspiration to write for the past few days...have been trying to catch up on my readings and have been quite occupied with thoughts regarding my studies that would probably bore most of you to death. Well, I have finally gotten ahead with my readings over the weekend. Yippee!

The weather was crazy in Hong Kong yesterday. It was almost 34 degrees, then the thunder storms came with winds so strong that it blew a woman diver off her boat in Sai Kung and she got drowned. Also in Fan Ling, hails were reported! Goodness, I sure hope that it will not get any crazier than that! Over in Kowloon where I am staying, it was all calm except that the sky turned suddenly really cloudy at around 2pm yesterday. My colleagues who stay in the New Territories were saying that the thunder storm was quite loud and scary.

Also, today in the news, Nestle workers are out on strike following Vitasoy and Watsons Water, they are asking for 7% increment in pay and 6% increment in commissions. I think they will get their way...the workers at Vitasoy and Watsons Water got their increments after they went on strikes. So after Nestle, who's next?

And the doctors are getting really busy these days as people are getting sick due to the crazy temperature gaps in Hong Kong. Outside in the sun, temperature can rise up to 39 or 40 degrees but indoors at the shopping centers or inside subways, the aircon is set at around 23~24 degrees. So imagine walking in the sun for about 5~10 minutes and then going indoors, your body will be subjected to a temperature difference of up to 17 degrees! No wonder I am getting many sick leaves from my staff...

Decision-Making

My 1st discussion topic for my 1st subject of my MBA program was : " Assuming you are the CEO faced with a prospect to lay off 600 workers, which decision-making model will you use and why." *Yucks!*

I don't believe anyone would like to make a decision like that and I definitely hope that I will not have to make such a decision in real life, especially not when I am the CEO! Anyway, after reading 2 related chapters of the textbook, I realised that there are many models of decision-making and approaches which I actually have been applying at work all the time but had no idea that they have names. For example there is a model called The Garbage Can Model of Decision-Making whereby I must have been using all the time in this company. I have to make decisions under highly ambiguous conditions whereby the goals are not clear, the participants change fast and I also do not have a set of rules to guide me along! So I am actually a Garbage Can decision-maker all along! And the Japanese bosses in my company will always use the Political Model of Decision-Making whereby they use their powers (titles) to affect the decisions...

Most of friends who have done the MBA are telling me that I will have a freshing and enjoyable time doing my MBA. I was at doubts about myself going back to studies after so many years but I am beginning to believe them now. I feel that my time is spent more fulfilling now that I have things to read about and the theories I learnt are actually applicable to my work! It is really a revitalising experience. I am looking forward to starting my next subject next month and then the next

Lunchtime Topic - Miss HK 2008

Today's discussion topic over lunch with my department was on the results of the Miss Hong Kong 2008 held over the weekend. The attendants consisted 2 gals and 2 guys including myself. Both the guys were very disappointed with the results, especially the winner whom they thought really do not deserve to win at all. The other gal in the group confessed that she didn't watch the whole event as she thought it was really poor quality this year, so she played with her son instead. I, on the other hand, had no son to play with, so I watched the whole event while reading my notes and had thought that it was really entertaining. I thought it was entertaining not because I thought the quality of the show or the girls were good but I am just amazed at how hard these girls try to present themselves on stage even though they are being treated like puppets and props. The girls were made up to look like some hardrock bar-top dancers, peacocks, babydolls, beach babes and lastly they had to wear the Chinese Qipao with shoulder-pads so big, it looked like some costumes from Star Wars, now aren't that entertaining? I really admire their courage to pursue their dreams despite it all.

The guys thought that they are just bimbos but I think bimbos or not, these girls are merely trying to pursue their dreams and I think they are better than many bimbos out there who may not even know what they want in life. I think people who have no dream, no goal, no purpose in life are more pathetic. This yearly event is the expressway to stardom for many Hong Kong girls without which they will be just another nobody in this crowded city. Without this beauty pageant, the gossip columns will have 1 event less to write about! We, the normal working class people will have 1 topic less to discuss over lunch. And all the eligible bachelors and rich men will have less "stocks" to choose from!

A Tale of Mari and the Three Puppies

Mari and Aya

Hubby and I watched a very touching movie on DVD late last night. It was "A tale of Mari and the three puppies" (マリと子犬の物語) and I cried so much that my eyes were swollen the whole day today. So glad it's Sunday and we do not have plans to go out anyway.

The movie is based on a true story which happened to a dog named Mari and her 3 puppies during the 2004 earthquake in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The movie version of the story is a little more dramatic with added characters such as a little girl and her elder brother but the fact that Mari helped saved her owner is well depicted in the touching movie. I definitely recommend all dogs lovers to watch this movie!

The movie started out with Ryota and his little sister Aya walking home from school in their village and chance upon Mari when she was a deserted puppy. Aya fell in love with Mari immediately and thus started their owner-pet relationship. A year later, Mari became mother to 3 very cute puppies but then tragedy struck the village. A severe earthquake struck the village, collapsing almost all the houses. Aya and her grandfather was in the bedroom when the earthquake struck, Mari and her puppies were outside. The roof collapsed on Aya and her grandfather immobilising them under. Mari dug at the ruins trying to help them out until her paws bled. She kept licking her owners encouraging them not to give up and also barked for help when the rescuers came. Aya and her grandfather were saved but the rescuers couldn't take Mari and her puppies because of the severe conditions...that was when I cried the most. :(

In the end when the conditions turned better, they went back to find Mari and her puppies. Somehow, they survived and it was a happy ending but the story was really touching, so my tears kept rolling down. Below are some scenes from the movie...Enjoy~!

Mari when she was a puppy

Mari when she is adult with her puppies

Mari's 3 puppies...so cute!

Beauty Pageants

Miss Hong Kong Gallery 2008

I love watching beauty pageants, especially the ones held in Hong Kong yearly, I think there are be at least 3 major pageants. Miss Hong Kong, Miss Asia and Manhunt Hong Kong. This year's Miss Hong Kong was held last night and I watched the live telecast on TV. It was terribly entertaining to watch those girls worked so hard on the stage, trying their best to remember their dance steps, their spots to stand on the stage and not forgetting to smile. They had to walk up and down the stairs on the stage in their ridiculously high heels and outrageous gowns, yet they could still maintain good posture (chests up, butts out) and kept smiling the whole night! Other than the usual dance routine, self introduction, evening gowns parade, swim suits parade and the Q&A sessions, there was a session where the girls had to do the trampoline stunts in clown-like costumes. And I thought that was really terrible for the girls. *Poor things*

I don't know...although I had done some modelling in my teenage years, joining a beauty pageant had never crossed my mind. I guess walking around the stage in a bikini to be judge by people is never my forte. But for these girls, this beauty pageant is their entry ticket to the entertainment business in Hong Kong. Many famous actresses and singers are born this way in Hong Kong. Maggie Cheung, Cherie Chung and Anita Yuen...just to name a few actresses that I really like.

This year's winner is Edelweiss Cheung, 22 years old student and in her own words, her dream is "to be a successful person". 1st runner-up is Skye Chan, an air stewardess who aspires to be a Japanese-language teacher. 2nd runner-up Sire Ma who is also a student and her aspiration is to be a successful actress. The names are special, aren't they? I believe these names are not given by their parents but adopted by themselves for fashion. And I guess these days the fashion is to find a name as rare as possible for themselves?

Nevertheless, the winner this year is definitely not the prettiest one in my opinion but she is definitely the tallest. She towers over all the other contestants and made the 3 male hosts looked like dwarfs! Well, I think it is good that they had chosen a tall girl to represent Hong Kong, at least she will still be able to stand out in the international arena. Good luck, Hong Kong!

My work

Went to an executive reception held by LogLogic last night at the Four Seasons Hotel with my IT manager and met some interesting people in the industry. I had a feeling that most of them were just there for the food and wine provided because there was no presentation on their product at all! There were just 2 speeches introducing the company and then 1 speech on the need for keeping logs. Then we were left to eat and drink with the presentation slides running in the background. Which was really good for me because I really don't enjoy having to sit down and listen to presentations.

We went by invitation by one fellow whom I had totally forgotten about, honestly. He used to work for Verizon (a solution provider) and he had tried to sell me an exchange migration + archiving solution. He quoted us too expensive, so we decided to buy from another vendor in the end. Nevertheless, I thought he is working for LogLogic now but apparently he is not but he knows them. *So what the deal for him?* He introduced us to the VP of LogLogic and we started to discuss J-SOX which is effective from April this year.

I am not sure if any of you know anything about J-SOX, but the criteria for compliance seem not as stringent as SOX and many issues regarding the IT portion are not clearly stated. For example, there is no mention if email archiving is necessary and neither any mention if device logs must be kept. Also, I heard that the Q&A sessions for J-SOX left people with many more questions instead. So we are just guessing here and trying to set our own standards/criteria. This is just so typical of the Japanese. There will never be a clear "YES" or "NO" and neither will there be any clear "RIGHT" or "WRONG". Everything is GREY. *Sigh*

Like the Japanese company that I am working for, there will never be clear directions coming from HQ. There will be mottoes, slogans, targets but there will not be clear instructions on how to go about achieving these targets. I have been swimming in this unknown ocean for more than 6 years now and so far, I am still swimming. I have been given targets and left to find out for myself how to achieve them. Lucky for me, most of the targets have been achieved. Nowadays, I don't even get targets from my bosses anymore. I am left to find targets on my own and achieve them on my own...Is that a good thing?

My study routine

I am suppose to introduce myself to my course professor and my course-mates so that they will be able to get to know me better in the form of a post. I am suppose to give a little background on what I am doing and how I have come to this point of my career. My course-mates will do the same, of course. Base on these introductions, we will choose our course-mates to work as a team for team assignments and projects. So, I need to make an impression!

Also, I have just downloaded some reading materials for the 1st segment topics on Problem Solving and found out that I have 2 chapters, total of 50 A4-size pages of reading to do. On top of that I have a case study from Harvard Business School on "Taran Swan at Nickelodeon Latin America" to read and analyse. There will be 7 segment topics in Organisational Behaviour and they all have plenty of reading up to do! Looks like I will be quite occupied with reading this weekend and many more weekends after...I have calculated, at the rate that I am planning for my studies, I may need 2 years or more to complete my studies. The intensity of this new commitment I have gone into is dawning on me now. I really will not have leisure time to bum around over the weekends anymore!

For the past few days, my daily after work routine went like this:

Dinner with hubby as usual => Go home, watch TV for an hour or 2 => Do exercises with my Wii Fit Instructor => Shower => Skincare routine => Read my textbooks/notes in bed while I use the OSIM uZap on my tummy for an hour => Sleep

I wonder how will my routine be when my study program go into full-swing?

Organisational Behaviour

I am so excited and fired up for my studies! It's finally happening! Although the official start date is next Monday, I can access to all the materials and the assignment questions today. So exciting. I read a short and sweet introduction of my subject professor and also the introduction notes to my 1st subject, MBA601-Organisational Behaviour.

According to the introductory notes, this subject is suppose to help me understand how different people behave in an organisation differently and also how I will learn to solve problems caused by people. Learn how I can work with people more effectively...solve problems systematically...manage change successfully... Sounds like every working individual will need this skill, huh? I am full of anticipation to see how can this help me deal with the issues I have on hand at the moment. :D

My learning style - Enthusiastic

I did a Learning Style Questionnaire at the Students Orientation Program of U21Global and got the below results:

• Logical 8 pts
• Imaginative 7 pts
• Practical 10 pts
• Enthusiastic 11 pts

Which means that my dominant learning style is Enthusiastic followed closely by Practical. Hmm... This is so true...especially some of the disadvantages part of it.

Disadvantages of Enthusiastic learner such as:

• Tend to neglect subjects you are not interested in
• Try too many things at once
• Leave things until the last minute
• You don't plan work in advance

Disadvantages of Practical learner such as:

• You are impatient with others' viewpoints
• Think there is only one way of doing something - your way!
• Lack imagination
• Get pre-occupied with details

So, now that I know my learning style, I am suppose to reflect on it and see if I can come out with a strategy or some strategies to help me make this online study successful.

On this program, we are urged to connect and discuss with our online classmates and professors extensively. We will be graded based on our daily involvement throughout the whole 12 weeks of each subject which will be 75% and the final exams is only 25%. I am already trying out the discussion boards and also the chats. Quite user-friendly. Lucky me!

New Challenge

Today I had a good start because the taxis were waiting downstairs and for once, finally in 2 weeks, it wasn't raining in the morning! Nice~ And the best part was I didn't have to walk a mile from my apartment before I could get a taxi! :D

I take it as a good omen to the start of a new challenge for me. Today, I will begin the 1-week orientation program to my MBA studies with U21Global. And officially, my 1st subject, Organisational Behaviour, will start on 21st July. I have started my "pre-study reading" last night with a book named The Ten Day MBA by Steven A. Silbiger which is suppose to be a step-by-step guide to help me understand and master the skills taught in some of America's top Business Schools. The 1st chapter was on Marketing. It put me to sleep right away! And I slept quite well too! I should be worrying but somehow, I feel weirdly energised today. ??? Hopefully, it can last me through the week! No, it has to last me throughout my studies!

Beijing getting all cleaned up!

Yesterday was a self-declared half day at work for me. Once in awhile doing something unethical actually feels great! :D

Met hubby at Simply Life (our favourite restaurant at Festival Walk) for lunch around 2pm and went home straight to have an afternoon nap. Now that's SIMPLY LIFE!

Anyway, I was reading the South China Morning Post yesterday and there was an article on the Olympics about how many garbage collectors working for small-scale recycling companies are being driven out of the capital because they are thought to be eye-sores. Beijing cannot afford to have foreigners see those shabbily dressed common residents anywhere near the Olympics venues! Those poor souls are driven out without any form of compensation and are told to come back only after the Olympics. Why? It's not good for the image that China wants to portray to the whole world to see. No! China do not have shabbily dressed garbage collectors who have been making their living out of finding recyclable items at the many garbage dumps inside the city. And all the citizens of China are smart-looking, speaks good English and walks graciously with a book on their heads! That's the image they wants to portray and they have been training their people hard! Those who cannot match the image? Out! Out they go, together with pests. That's how China is cleaning up her capital and cities hosting the Olympics.

It's disgusting, isn't it? Get real! Be truthful! The whole world already know what China is like and no matter how "cleaned up" China is for the sake of the Olympics will not change people's perception of China. At least for me, it's true.

Alcohol = Headache?

It is pouring again this morning...I was just 20 feet away from the taxi to the lift lobby and I got drenched. My shoes are still wet...I had an umbrella, you know. But it was POURING down! I hate this weather.

It's less than 1 month to the Olympics whereby Hong Kong will be hosting the horse-riding competitions. I wonder if the horses will be drowned if this kind of weather continue?

I was out last night having dinner with a Japanese colleague who used to be my boss back in Singapore. We were at a little French restaurant inside Sport B by Agnes B at Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong and the food was fabulous. I bought him the set dinner which was a tasting menu while he paid for the wine. It was a good red wine, full bodied and very easy to drink. I had 2 glasses while he finished the rest of the bottle. As with most Japanese men, he is an alcoholic and he needs to drink every night to sleep well. As for me, I am just a social drinker. I drink only when I am having dinner with my Japanese colleagues or bosses. In Japan, it is a social etiquette to drink during dinner with friends or colleagues. At least a beer for the "kanpai!" which means "cheers" is a must. So after working for the Japanese for so many years, I have made a reputation for myself as a relatively good drinker which I have absolutely no idea how. Trust me, I don't drink a lot. Just 3 glasses of any kind of alcohol maximum.

I had a terrible headache last night waking me up at 3am. I thought wine was suppose to be good for health? I had only 2 glasses and I wasn't even feeling a hint of drunkenness! Why is it that I am getting these terrible headaches whenever I drink alcohol recently? The last time I had this terrible headache was when I had dinner with the CEO in April. I was in Kyoto and I didn't have my panadols with me. The headache was so terrible that I thought I needed to get into a hospital. In the end, I had to call the hotel front desk in the middle of the night to ask for help and they gave me some very mild painkiller which relieved me of my headache only for about an hour. In the morning, I still had to get some more painkiller from the pharmacy and you know what, they don't sell panadol in Japan!

Last night I had to take 3 tablets of panadol to help me get rid of my headache. I am feeling OK now but I just can't understand why am I getting these headaches which I never had before if I limited my consumption to just 2 or 3 glasses. Am I getting old? Is there something wrong with my body? It's worrying...do any of you get headache with alcohol consumption?

Is a house an asset or a liability?

I was reading Rich Dad and it has some very interesting points. Basically it is highlighting to us the differences in terms of thinking and outlook of life between a poor man and a rich man. The main difference? The poor man works hard for his money but a rich man has his money work hard for him. How to make money work for you? Apparently it is the difference in the way one thinks that will make one get financially stronger or weaker. The poor man will think that "I cannot afford it." and shut his brain down. The rich man will think "How can I afford it?" and continue to exercise his brain to think of a way to make the money. Another difference, a poor man will think that his house is his asset while the rich dad thinks that a house is a liability. Hmm...interesting isn't it? Why is a house a liability when everybody is investing in properties and getting rich with their properties?

Well, I have 1st hand experience...remember the 1997 crisis when so many people went bankrupt by having properties? Well, when the market is good and the property is being rented out at a higher rent than your mortgage repayment, it can be considered an asset. However, when the market is bad and the property you have on hand is still under mortgage, then it is a big liability. I bought my private apartment in Upper East Coast Road during in 1995 and took a 80% mortgage. By mid 1997 the property has dropped 30%~40% from the price that I bought it for and it remained there at the bottom for 10 years. The rental income was less than my mortgage repayment, so for 10 years, the property was not an asset but a liability to me. I was paying through my nose and if I had no other inome to tide me through, I would be gone. I sold it for 5% higher than my purchase price last year and got out of the crap. I may have sold it a little too early...but I had my reasons and I shall not go into details here. The market has turned around and if I still have my property now, I will be taking in a monthly income of at least SGD500 after paying for the loan repayment from the rental. So, a property can be an asset or a liability depending on the market situation. Right?

Anyway, there is a board game by the name of Cashflow 101 that teaches finance, accounting and investing at the same the fun way! I think I am going to buy this board game and start playing it with my children. It is supposed to be suitable for adults and children above 10 years old. Just nice for my family. Good idea to start the kids young! :D

To know or not to know?

Discussion topic with colleagues during lunch time having Tim Sum today:

Is it better to know when you are going to die or is it better not to know?

Both of them said "Not knowing better! So scary to know!" I wonder why? Everybody has to die anyway, so isn't it better to know how much time you have left so that you can finish whatever you really want to do before you die? But apparently, knowing when one is going to die is the ultimate torture that anyone can ever endure. Especially when the time left is really too short to do anything. I was watching this Japanese drama The Negotiator and it had an episode on a case where a psychotic criminal had set a bomb in a cafe. The bomb worked on a tremor sensor so that any strong movement will trigger the explosion. A bomb expert arrived on site to try to disconnect the bomb, but he accidentally triggered a timer to the bomb instead and it started countdown at 9 seconds. In the end, the bomb was fake but it had caused great distress to the bomb expert. He said he could not have done anything in that 9 seconds and would rather the bomb explode without counting down. In that 9 seconds, he had experienced the worst fear he could ever have experienced and he was totally traumatised. The female negotiator who was the main character in the drama said that the criminal had done it on purpose because it was in that 9 seconds where the criminal had gotten the most pleasure from the crime. So there you are, killing a man spontaneously is not as cruel as telling a man when he is going to be killed. Does it make sense? So the doctor who diagnose you having some fatal illnesses and telling you that you have only so much time left is actually quite cruel too, isn't he?

The reason I brought up the subject was because I just heard that my mum's best friend's husband has just been diagnosed of a brain tumor and has been given 2 years maximum. I feel sorry for this auntie, but apparently she is taking it very well. She has planned to travel the world with her husband and makes the best out of these 2 years as much as they can afford it. He is 60 and he is also taking it very well. So they sort of got me thinking whether it is better to know or not to know. I think I would want to know...what do you think?

Weekend thoughts

The weekend has been non-eventful except that I had finally went for a facial after coming to HK for 3 years. The reason I hadn't gone for a facial earlier was the fact that they will usually ask me to sign a package for 10 or 20 times and I will have to pay up at least HKD4000 in advance to get the "good deal". I have been cheated many times, so I really don't believe in such crap anymore. I go to facials when I think I need a facial and not because I have 9 more times to use so I must use it up before I go back to Singapore or before I forget about it. Furthermore, how would I know that the shop won't be suddenly gone after a couple of months? I have heard enough of such cases. Anyway on Saturday, I got myself a facial at a special trial price which is usually less than half the normal price for 1st time customers. When the facial lady asked me to join a package afterwards, I just said I am not local and I won't be staying in HK for long and rejected her as nicely as I could. I walked out of the beauty salon feeling triumphant because for the 1st time I was able to reject gimmicks like these by my own will. I am usually very weak when subjected to persuasive sales people and will usually end up buying more than I need. This time, I was SAFE. :D I figured I will visit another beauty salon and get myself another facial at trial price when I need a facial next time. There are plenty around for me to choose from anyway. And I think they give better service during the trial facial just so that you will join the package. I have a feeling that I am getting clever. HAHAHA.

Oh there was something else that happened over the weekend. Another long lost friend from NUS found me on Facebook and we started to catch up with each other chatting over MSN. I haven't spoken to her for like 15 years, and we used to hang out together a lot when we were in NUS. She is living in the Netherlands now with her American husband whom she had met online! WOW! I didn't know online match-making really works! So brave of her to try! I could never have tried. She said she started dating foreigners because she thought that most Singaporean men or Asian men will probably not like the fact that she was divorced before. Hmm...is that really true? Asian men will mind about such issues more than the foreigners(gweilo)? I asked my hubby last night about this and he got rather upset. He thinks that the perception is wrong and he thinks that Singaporean women or Asian women ought to give Asian men more chances. I started to wonder is it just him or are all Asian men more open-minded now? Why was there a general perception that Asian men are less open-minded than foreign men in the 1st place anyway? Hmm...

Older Women, Younger Men.

After watching those amazing stories last night about amazing baby deliveries, I am totally inspired about life. Nothing is impossible, isn't it? Like love. Nothing is impossible when it comes to LOVE.

I have finished watching the whole series of Sex And The City and I was really touched with the endings to all the girls. I cried a lot. I cried when Charlotte and Harry finally got their adopted baby from China, I cried even more when Samantha had finally opened her heart to Smith and accepted his love. Smith was the sweetest boy! (And he's so good-looking and sexy!) He stood by Samantha through her fight against breast cancer, through chemotherapy, not forsaking her even when she had lost her hair and her sex drive. Such a darling! See? Older women can find love with younger men, much younger men even! And it doesn't happens only in the movies! Good examples? Demi Moore and her 16 years younger husband! Real life examples? OK. My cousin, who is 9 years older than her husband and they have been happily married for more than 10 years now. And I. My husband is also 9 years younger than me. We have been together for almost 4 years and have been married for 2. And these 4 years have been the happiest time of my life. :) So don't be afraid to fall in love! Even when the man is younger.

I know most people are actually quite cynical about older women and younger men relationships. Older women and younger men relationships only work when the woman happens to be a Hollywood star like Demi Moore who is so damn good-looking and rich, don't everybody think so? Even for Demi Moore, she has not been spared from the gossips columns which are still sort of "predicting" when she will break up with her young husband! After my initial struggle, I figured out that all sorts of relationships have a 50-50 chance of working out or breaking up anyway. Whether it's a older woman with a younger man or the other way round, nobody can predict what will happen in the future. A younger man may after a few years think that his older woman is too old and start cheating with younger women. But older men do cheat for the same reason that their young wives are not young enough, don't they? So when that happens, a woman in a relationship with a younger man can proudly say that she had it good while it lasted but a woman in a relationship with a older man can only feel sorry for the youthful years she had wasted on a old man. Get it?

OK. Then there are 2 more very important plus points for woman to be in a relationship with a younger man:

1) Women usually reach their sexual peaks in their 30s and men in their 20s. See how Samantha enjoyed sex with Smith? Mine has never been better! ;p

2) Women outlive men. So I figured that I will probably die around the same time as my hubby or even earlier. I won't have to be a widow!

There you go! 3 cheers for all women in relationships with younger men! Stop worrying and start enjoying life! :D

Amazing Babies, Amazing Mums!

It's Friday! This week has been quite easy for me. Coming to work on a Monday, rest-day on Tuesday and then coming back for 3 more days of work is wonderful. But I would like it better if they make it a long weekend instead though. I mean those public holidays falling on a Tuesday or a Thursday should just be pulled back or pushed forward a day to round up to a long weekend so that people can rest better and maybe also plan a short trip out of town. Then a public holiday on a Wednesday shall remain as it is. I think some countries are already doing it like the UK? I remember they did not have a day off on Labour Day which was a Thursday but they had the following Monday off instead making the weekend a 3-day weekend. I think it's brilliant! Oh well, I can only wish but I don't think it will ever happen here in HK or Asia.

Anyway, back to today's theme. I have finished the whole series of Sex and the City the night before yesterday's so last night was back to watching Discovery Channels. Hubby was busy downloading songs into his MP3 player, a freebie from HSBC and I was channel-switching the whole night until I found this documentary about amazing stories of babies delivered in amazing ways and their survivals. It was really intense, 10 minutes through the show, hubby finished off whatever he was doing and joined me. Most of it were showing how some women had gone into unpredictably fast labour whereby they had to deliver their babies at home or in the car on the way to the hospital. I was particularly AMAZED with the story of a woman with her 2nd pregnancy carrying twins who had gone into labour at home and had delivered her twins by herself on the toilet floor before the midwife arrived. Her husband took video of the whole process and her young son was there observing the whole process excitedly. It showed her sitting on the toilet bowl moaning with pain about her strong contractions and then when she could feel the 1st baby's head coming out, she went down to kneel on the floor in front of the toilet bowl and delivered her baby into her hands. Her husband then helped to cut the umbilical cord and carry the baby away. 15 minutes after the 1st baby, she felt that she had to deliver her 2nd baby and so she went on to kneel on the floor again. This time it was more complicated, the baby didn't come out head first but was coming out legs first! Her husband was still filming the process and it showed a little leg dangling out of her vaginal. This kind of delivery would have been difficult even with a doctor around but she was there doing it all by herself! It was really amazing, seeing the 1st leg came out, then the 2nd leg and followed by the body. Finally the head of the baby girl with a dark coloured hair came out. I didn't breathe the whole time and could only mutter a sigh of relief when the whole baby came out. It was truly AMAZING!

"Will I be able to do that?" I asked myself.

"Will you be able to keep your cool given the same situation?" I asked my hubby.

"NO" was the answer to both questions...