Weekend Update ~ Typhoon Nuri, Get Smart and the Olympics Closing Ceremony

Had a long weekend thanks to Typhoon Nuri which hit Hong Kong directly on Friday. The Observatory issued signal 8 from 7:40am, and then a signal 9 in the late afternoon. It was rather scary actually when the rain and the wind came slapping my window and I felt my flat moved! A wave of nausea swept over me as I was studying by the window and I had to lie down. Many damage buildings and fallen trees were reported and a man went missing at sea. He had gone surfing with his wife despite the warnings and was taken away by the enormous waves. The wife was fine...And the most interesting part was that the wife didn't stop him from doing such a stupidly dangerous thing! What were the both of them thinking? I would definitely have stopped my hubby! Not unless I want him to die...

Saturday was a beautiful day. The typhoon had washed away all the pollutants and the sky became exceptionally blue. The air was fresh too! I wish I had a car to drive to the suburbs...it would have been such a fine day for a long drive out of the city. We went for a movie instead at the Grand Cinema @Elements again. This time we watched Get Smart, totally a no-brain comedy which was just the kind of entertainment I needed. Oh yah, we found out that all the seats at the Grand Cinema are vibrating seats! I guess we won't be watching movies anywhere else from now.

The Beijing Olympics is finally over and the closing ceremony was rather disappointing. David Beckham was part of the cast from London but all he did was just came out from the top of a double-decker bus and kicked a soccer ball which was handed to him by a young Indian-looking girl. Then an excited Chinese worker from the ground rushed to picked up the ball and hugged on to it for dear life. *Roll my eyes*

After 16 days of hype and excitement about the Beijing Olympics, it has come to an end and I really wonder what has China gained from organising this game? 51 gold medals, their best game ever but is China a better place now? Do I want to stay in China? The answer from me is still NO. 40 billion dollars have been spent just for this Olympics Games and I personally think that it is not the way to show China's affluence and power to the world. I may be wrong but so much more could have been done with that money for the massive rural poor people in China. Why are we donating to China when she has that kind of money to spend on the Olympics Games? If China wants to show its affluence and power to the world, she should concentrate to raise the standard of living for all its citizens.

Looking forward to London 2012!

Living in Hong Kong

I have become a fan of Sex and the City since watching the movie on Saturday. Well, not actually a real fan but I enjoyed the movie so much that I decided I wanted to watch the series from the beginning and I am wondering why I have not watched the HBO series last time. Oh well, I am now watching the series starting from season 1 and have reached the last few episodes of season 3 now. Looking forward to finishing season 3 tonight and then maybe move on to season 4. At this rate, I may be able to finish the whole series by the end of the week! Hubby has been real sweet, downloading the series for me and also watching it with me in bed. ;) He loves the sex talks among the girls...
Initially I think I don't have anything in common with any of the main female characters in personality but just enjoyed watching their fashion. A new dress for every date or every party, designer shoes, fanciful accessories and beautiful handbags...that's every women's dream, no? Now after 3 seasons, I think I can relate a little to each and every one of them afterall! That explains the tremendous popularity and success of the series clearly to me now. *Where have I been all these years?*

Last night, we watched season 3 when Typhoon Fengshen hit Hong Kong and hubby was especially excited about it. It was the 1st jackpot hit for us in 3 years and he was really hopeful to get a day off. He's disappointed now that he still has to go back to the office for the afternoon half of the day though...

Things at the warehouse are getting messy, the goods that arrived last night at the airport could not be taken out of the terminal yet and thus could not be delivered to us. And the goods that were suppose to go out to customers this morning could not be delivered. I start to think how can Hong Kong ever be a reliable logistics hub when there are natural disasters like typhoons and black rain and landslides and floods? I never have to worry about such incidents in Singapore! I am sure many other industries out there are struggling with the aftermath effects of the typhoon. Stock exchange had to be closed for half the day, I wonder how many millions are lost there. Schools are closed for the day, so what happen to the parents? Trees are blown down, many construction sites are destroyed, mud from the landslides are choking the drains...floods are inevitable. So that's what a vibrant city like Hong Kong offer you folks!

Golf in the rain

Went to play golf at Palm Island Resorts over the weekend with another couple. Had a fabulous time despite the heavy rain on Saturday due to the passing typhoon. Playing golf in the typhoon rain can be quite an experience, something to remember for a long time...

I had played golf while it rained before, but it was no way compared to what we had been through this weekend. Other than the rain, there was no lightning, so it was relatively safe to continue and all 4 of us were good sport even though we were drenched through before the end of the 1st 9 holes. W's wife was really a good sport, quite unlike my previous female golf partner who will never have agreed to play because she would say, "my makeup would be ruined and my shirt will stick to my skin and it would be uncomfortable!" and blah blah blah. -_-
I have always like playing golf as I think golf is such an enjoyable and interesting game. The players are constantly exposed to the natural elements and the results of the game is always quite unpredictable (at least for my case).

I particularly like being away from all the hassle of the urban city and play my golf leisurely, admiring the beautiful greenery, enjoying the natural aroma emitted from the plants and trees. The rain on Saturday gave the course another atmospheric feel which was surprisingly beautiful to me and made me feel romantic.

The typhoon was at its full force that night bringing more strong wind and rain to the resort...but the next morning, it was clear and we had another round of golf before leaving in the afternoon. And when I expect myself to play better, I actually played worse in the clear weather... Maybe I should only play when it rains?