My Hello Kitty Bowling Ball

My Hello Kitty bowling ball (10lbs), the prettiest ball in the whole shop!

Hubby brought me to Causeway Bay after work today in search of my 10lbs Hello Kitty bowling ball and after a long walk from the MTR station, I was a little skeptical about finding the shop on Haven Street. Hubby had searched for this shop on the web and it would not be surprising to me that the website may not have been updated. But we found it somehow and the best thing about it was that they had the exact weight I wanted. I was ecstatic! The very first bowling ball of my own and it's a Hello Kitty! Hubby bought his 3rd ball there too and he can't wait to try out his new ball tomorrow. :)

My Hello Kitty ball at the drill...

Ouch!

My Hello Kitty ball sitting proudly at home!

Somehow, I feel that the ball is too pretty to be thrown onto the bowling lane...

My new addiction...

I am addicted to bowling now...have played consecutively for the past 3 days, 12 games in total and even scored my own personal best at 153. :) It all started about 2 weeks ago when hubby and I decided we ought to do some sports after work everyday, to help me loose weight precisely. So far, other than going for golf practices, we hardly do any other sports. We hate going to the gym, hubby doesn't like yoga and I can't play basketball, so it didn't take us long to decide that bowling will be good for the both of us. Golf practice is boring if we don't go to the green and it's too expensive and time consuming to go to the green often. We can only go once in a month at best? Bowling is different, we have 2 bowling alleys within walking distance from our place and we can also bring D when he comes over during his school holidays.

In order to play a good game, I have sort of perfected my 4-steps but still have to work on the throw. I have decided that I will need a bowling ball of my own and I want to have a Hello Kitty one. ;) We went hunting for the ball yesterday but have no luck. I guess I may have to settle for just anything available at the pro shop and place an order for the Hello Kitty one as a 2nd ball. Whatever it is, I think playing some games everyday is working for me. I am wearing a pair of pants which I couldn't zip up 2 weeks ago...still a little tight though but I think I am getting there.

Talk about loosing weight, I just received a call from one of the slimming centers telling me that they are looking for "slimming ambassadors" from the public as part of their promotional programs. The slimming package will be given to me for free but in return, I will need to attend their promotional events at least 4 times in a year. In the event, I can choose to be filmed or not to be filmed. For eligibility, the lady asked me if I am over 110lbs and told me that I will need to go to one of their slimming centers for assessment with the slimming consultants. Just the other day when I was inside the MTR station, I was checking out the slimming advertisment billboards and was wondering if I would need to go to one of them to help me loose weight. Coincidence? Should I really go for it? Will it be a scam?

Hmm...

Random Thoughts...

Spent Sunday at home cleaning up the kitchen in preparation for the arrival of my personal cook...yes, my mum will be arriving this coming Saturday and she will be using the kitchen a lot to cook some wonderful home-cooked dinners for us. My mum is not that great a cook, to be honest, she just makes good soup but that is good enough for me. Eating out for all meals everyday for most of the year really makes me long for simple home-cooked food, even if it's just steam fish and stir-fried vegetables...

While I was cleaning the kitchen, I kept thinking of how I would like to buy the next door unit to our new place so that I can have a dry kitchen there for baking and have a counter top for coffee. Then it will be great to have a Nespresso coffee machine to make the perfect latte every morning. However, I received a sms this morning from S and she was telling me that the property market is moving up in Singapore. I wonder if the economy is really recovering or is it just a technical adjustment? Will I be able to get that unit? Should I pay whatever the seller want or should I wait and see? Hubby was saying that he doesn't want the anxiety but mum-in-law is confident that the prices will fall after lunar 7th month and I am still in the state of wait and see...

The Other Woman...

Went out with my god-brother C and his girlfriend S yesterday. C is married, his wife and son are in Singapore...yes, S is the other woman. Apparently, they have been having this on and off affair for the past 10 years at least and 2 years ago, C decided to buy an apartment in Hong Kong and live in with S. I have heard about their relationship from my godmother who was very upset about it. As a wife myself, I am of course disapproving of C and S but I was curious to meet S. I wanted to know what kind of woman would an established man like C fall for. I had thought that she must be a very sophisticated career woman who could assist C in his business or something but it turned out that she is just a very simple woman. She is better looking than C's wife though, but she was from mainland China and she cannot understand English. We had to converse in Cantonese the whole time when we were together so that she wouldn't feel out of place.

S has come from Chengdu 20 years ago, was once married and has a daughter who is studying in L.A. She is working as a stock broker and is helping C with his investments. The whole time we were together, C held her hand, served her food, referred to her as his wife to the waitress and looked really happy. He also praised her culinary skills and said they will invite us to have dinner at their home sometime. I couldn't help but wondered how would his wife feel if she finds out. Or does she care anymore? I am sure she must know something! Although I do not know her very well, I feel sympathetic towards her...but I think she has herself to blame. How can she let her husband stay oversea alone? Men can't take loneliness and they won't stay lonely, not especially when they are rich.

After saying our goodbyes for the night, hubby and I couldn't help but analysed S. We both agreed that she was quite different from C's wife who is a teacher. So, what makes S attractive to C? Her looks? Her culinary skills? I think it's because they have similar interests which is the stock market and also because she can accompany C on his business trips. I think it is very important for couples to have common interests and also to be together as much as possible. If not, be prepared to have a broken marriage...

Diamonds again

image source : www.debeersgroup.com

I have completed my 4th subject (Managing International Business) yesterday after working 15+ hours for the final exams. 4 down, 14 more to go...The task was to write up a report for De Beers' global business with recommendations on how the company should move forward from now. Last quarter results for De Beers had been badly hit by the on-going economic crisis, the demand for diamond roughs had dropped, pushing the prices down. De Beers had closed the Botswana mine for 50 days and laid off more than half of its staff in UK...So how should De Beers move forward from here? De Beers is involve with the whole value chain of the diamond business from exploration, mining, sorting, cutting, manufacturing to retailing. Each process add value to the diamonds with the mining and retailing being most lucrative for the company.

It was interesting reading up on diamonds, so much to learn about diamonds. It was my 2nd case relating to diamonds, the 1st was Gem Diamonds, a diamond mining company for the Marketing Management's final exams. Did you know that diamonds are at least 990 million years old? And some are even 4 billion years old! So they exist on earth even before life began? And most of the diamonds can be found in South Africa. Before polishing and cutting, a diamond is just a piece of rock but with remarkable craftsmanship, diamonds can become so brilliant! I know most guys will think that diamonds are over-rated but most girls love diamonds. Why? I think it's the famous slogan by De Beers, "A Diamond is Forever" and their concept of the diamond engagement ring that have made diamonds a symbol of love and fidelity. That was great marketing. But anyway, precious gems including diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds have been used to adorn jewellery and all sorts of accessories by royalties and the wealthy for centuries. So, in times like this current economic crisis we are facing, how do you market a luxury item like diamonds?

4 Steps

Just came back from bowling with hubby at the bowling alley in our condominium. There are just 4 lanes and the house balls are crappy, so not many people play there. We had the whole place to ourselves which was good because hubby was able to teach me how many steps I should take before I throw the ball out. I never knew how many steps to take and how to throw the ball out. Bowling to me was just a game I play for fun but today I broke out a little sweat trying to perfect my 4 steps and throw. It is a sport indeed. :)

There is a problem though, I think I strained the back of my left thigh muscle...it is quite painful now.

17 Again?

Watched "17 Again" with hubby last Friday after work. It was quite a funny and interesting movie...the male character of the movie was a heart-throb and a very promising basketball player who was attempting to go to college on a basketball scholarship when his girlfriend disclosed to him that she was pregnant. He gave up college and married her instead but felt that he had made a bad mistake and his life sucks and was hoping that he could "re-live" his life again. Miraculously, he became 17 again! In the end, he found out that he regretted regretting his life and tried to win his wife back. Heart-warming ending. :)

The movie made hubby and I asked each other what we would do if we have the chance to "re-live" our lives again from 17. Hmm...interesting, isn't it? Hubby said that he would probably choose not to give up bowling for basketball. As for myself, I think I would have chosen to go into show business instead. I had a brief encounter with that opportunity and I let it go, opted for the "safer", conventional choice of study and then get a "normal" job. Anyway, I think my life would have turned out very different if I had chosen to go on that path. I may even regret it more then? Some people say that it is all pre-destined, everything happens at God's will but I am one that choose to believe that the decisions I make at each point of my life somehow shaped my life until this day. I have many choices and each choice leads to something different...there will always be many "what if" but it really makes no sense to think about them as what is done can never be undone.

Anyway, although I honestly do not regret what I did, I think it would be great to be 17 again. For one, I didn't have to struggle with my weight at that age. I didn't have to watch what I eat, I didn't have to worry about what to wear because I looked fabulous in anything I threw on my body and even more fabulous wearing nothing! ;p