Earthquake = no e-mail for two days

7.2 ricter scale earthquake!
Internet congestion!
No connection with the outside world!
Aargh!

But fortunately, we're back, up, and running again.

And so term 1 ends.

^^^ 11 teachers making plain fools of themselves in front of 1029 students and 50 odd staff.

^^^ darling kids, so talented, happy and helpful!

MFL memories....

More memories coming soon.... since there are so many, here's a picture of us higgins household and eliza, backstage, during the second last show!

Memories on top on the priority list:

* this happened on opening night. the battery pack of my radio mic fell out of its pouch and onto the ground, around 30 seconds before my entrance in act 2. i shoved the pack into my undies and held it in place.

* daily mic tests... for sure!

* dressing room 18: writing endless lyrics to the tune of "you did it"; sky's admirable junkfood eating habits; moet after the final show; dressing our live-eliza-doll during her very quick changes; being fumigated by hairspray; cheap hairclips; hair by christine, and makeup by althea; brenda's episode with the maids' costumes and aprons; not being able to stop laughing because of bryan chua... and christine's lovely laugh; r&b adaptation of my fair lady; lecturers who go "errrrrp" while they lecture; lisa's suduku time; getting giggly during act2 scene4 (get me to the church on time); sophie getting stabbed in the foot by althea during act2 scene4... we were just way too giggly then; armpit spray; brenda's wig induced itchy scalp... etc........

* claudia accidentally copping a feel of yours truly's left armpit during act1 scene4 of the final show.

Well, don't good times fly.

a sushi kind of day

(sorry about the formatting)

i had one of the more relaxing days since i started this job.

because one of the teachers was getting married today, even the new teachers got invited to go to the ceremony... so we went. after the lovely ceremony at a church in TST, a couple of us went out to a sushi place nearby. for people like me, it was an occasion to make an acquaitance with raw fish, and for certain others (whose names start with e, l, b and v) to satisfy a craving that had long been ignored since the start of this school year.

in a nutshell, we probably devoured enough seafood to worry the ocean stocks for the rest of the year in just one sitting. i got reacquainted with fish, alright! i saw the power of sushi. i saw someone's eyes light up at the sight of one single plate of seafood that looks like rats' brains, namely sea urchin sushi. i can't imagine what it would taste like and to be honest i don't really want to find out.

i had a bloody good time taking pictures of all the sushi... wish i had a better camera though: salmon (nice as usual), yellow tail (very sweet), scallops (fresh and tastes great with a little lime), vinegared mackerel (dared not try), giant prawns, california rolls (normal but a little bland), avocado roll (well, a little avocadoey), raw squid (dared not try no.2), blowtorch'd salmon (someone elses'), eel (nice... icky little bones all over though), sea urchin (dared not try no.3), and this egg dish (a little sweet. steaming hot. just right!).

good food + good company = nice ar'vo.

afterwards five of us went out for a long, relaxing walk through the shopping centres around TST.

i said goodbye to the girls after we hiked from one end of TST to the other, and rejoined my mum at causeway bay via the star ferry for some more shopping. yes. shopping. it's the female life.

nice day to recharge the batteries before a few big weeks....

go my fair lady!!!!!!!

Picnic day... yum...

1. our vast selection of food for the day. e & i love 1D to bits!

2. e being continually offered food by her students... and being made to eat it all.

3. k&i, both born on the 8/8, just a few years apart.

4. the youngin' form 1 class teachers. to our students, we are all "under twenty five".

run, margaret, run

MISS SINGIN' 'N DANCIN' IN HIBERNATION

Until 10/12/06...

Here's what's happening up 'til then:

* My fair lady from 1/12 - 10/12
* Sports day
* Someone at work's getting married!
* exams...
* PTA BBQ
* more and more rehearsals for EDC...

.....
add oil!!!

finally, a long weekend...

what a month!
* beginning of the SAGC english drama club program: so--- THE program has started. luckily, nothing fell apart! and it was lucky that i actually listened in class and took lots of notes back at the APA, because a lot of what i'm teaching now is from dip 1 APA. "i'm a good gal i am!" the drama club girls are good, and most of them are out of the "i'm girly and shy" phase.
* my 1D student was on tv! go Vicgina! dance away!
* non-stop classes, work and rehearsals starting to take its toll... i caught the latest cold virus got sick for about a week. luckily (again) i didn't lose my voice unlike an unlucky colleague who had fever, sniffles and no voice for about a week and a half... can't afford to lose my voice a month and a half out from showtime!
* another singing gig... fun stuff! i relish the chance to perform, but i really have to keep it to 1 gig a month. otherwise it gets a bit much.

thank god? thank heavens? thank goodness? thank mum and dad? for everything i have. touch wood, i have a good life at the moment.

huuuuuuuge week

* basketball game.... didn't even get one basket, as usual... three months out of the APA and i've become completely unfit!
* taking the piss out of short(er) people :)
* experiencing the combined magic of vitamin c, panadol cold and flu, garlic pearles, and vitamin b complex pills on ridding self of cold or flu, or related illness within 5 days.
* a big week at school so far... "the week stretches out in front of me.... endlessly..."
* "I" making the paper... and being extremely excited about it "i made the paper! i made the paper!"
* after work badminton games...
* playing professional clown, and cheering up one crying student (thanks, E, for depleting my entire month's supply of candy within the space of 2 minutes!)
* sustaining high energy for four consecutive days
* "Ms. S's alphabet workshop"... now being a codeword for "work birthday gathering"
* weird number of people sharing the same birthday in the english department (2 x 20/10, 2 x 8/8, 2 x 7/10<--- one ex-staff member)
* yes, and a bit of soul searching.
* having the lovely feeling of being able to see the surface of my desk again

All this in the space of 6 days.

....

school is like a year long week.
it sure feels like that at the moment. it started last sunday morning at 8:25pm, and it will come to an end at 12:00pm on saturday morning after EDC.
can't wait for the upcoming long weekend..... mmmm..... sleep-ins........

happy b'day, sylvia! :)


started reading "change activist" again. it's a great book that i got ages ago back in australia. i've been asking myself the questions that the author asked me to think about e.g. Are there any moments when you are happy at work? (yes.) When and where are you happiest? (singing.... or with people... or with my kiddies and my colleagues at school......) so.... teaching could well be my thing. the one thing i want to do that i've been trying so hard to find. but it's still tiring... but isn't any job tiring? life is full of these conflicts.

28/10... here i come!!!!

finally.... a sleep in....

but not for long! we start saturday EDC next week so tomorrow will be the last saturday morning sleep in for a long, long while. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......

in other news... i got dragged in to play volleyball for the green house team next tuesday lunch. argh! can i play another sport?? :) i really do hate volleyball with a vengance (because of certain scarring memories from year 10 H&PE) but at least i can hit the ball and make it go forward... wish me luck!

yes, and luckily, it's been another normal friday the 13th. phew!

gaaaaah!

deprived of sleep, nutrition, and playtime.
but i'm still here and am still having fun with this lovely job.

zzzzzzzzzzz

it's going to be a really, really long week... what, with two post 8pm MFL rehearsal calls tonight and on thursday... VAC tomorrow... and EDC today.... and the PTA meeting on sunday mornin'..... paths meeting.... emb meeting..... meeting meeting.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

ganbare, Ms C!!!!!

hmmm....

had a maaaaaajor bridget jones moment today... dunno why, but i did.

& a bit happy b'day to mother dearest!!

not so much fruit to eat, after all

there were just two bananas, an apple, a nashi pear, and no-so-enormous amounts of watermelon to eat. and i had to chow down half a slice of watermelon although i am half allergic to it... all in the spirit of the competition! we came fourth.

afterwards came the most enormous seafood meal that i've eaten ever since i got told to stop eating seafood. we went to lei yue mun, a former fishing village, for a reunion meal with friends we haven't seen in a while.

throwing my anti-acne diet out the window:
s: so what aren't you allowed to eat?
m: everything we've eaten tonight.

it was a lovely night where we went all nostalgic about our past lives in austraila... yes, we had some good times there. on a trip to the snowy mountains near sydney, their car rolled down the side of the road during a snow storm. they were following us and when we looked backwards, they weren't there!! we were really worried but because it was such a horrible storm we had to keep driving. we felt extremely guilty when we went back to the motel and were all ready to ring for the police and the firies... but they showed up a half hour later. they were rescued from their ordeal by a strong bloke who saw skid marks on the road. thank goodness!

A message to my nose:

Hi. I know that you don't like chalk dust or Hong Kong's pollution all that much, but CAN YOU STOP WATERING LIKE THE NIAGARA FALLS?

Thank you for your attention.

No need to bring lunch on Friday.

What did I get myself into?

Some kids from the SU asked Q, Iv & I to join the fruit eating competition as the teachers' contingent. Having lost around 10 million brain cells because of a complete lack of sleep last night, I agreed (on the condition that I can stay off the watermelon), and so did the others in my staffroom. Not wanting to keep the fun all to ourselves, I attempted to persuade almost everyone I knew from the big staffroom to get stuck into it--- K, L & E. E got off easily because of her current state of health (flu), but K & L were not so lucky. They too were roped into doing this mad, crazy thing this Friday lunch, but not without protest and much coaxing! I guess it's a lucky coincidence that I booked my 1CDE group into the computer lab after lunch on friday... I can sit right down at the teacher's desk and feel nauseous for two whole periods in peace .

Ms C

i wanna get a haircut!!!!!!

bus stop conversation... while waiting for --1-- cab or any bus that goes to kwun tong...
M: i wanna get a haircut!!!
E,Q,S: what sort of haircut?
M: dunno. just sort of... you know... cut...
E: you know, it's sort of dangerous going to the hairdresser's when you don't actually know what you want done to your hair.
M: ...... ok....


yeah... just sort of... cut... but i want my hair cut!

more quotes from the schoolyard:

kid: did you cut your hair?
a certain teacher: yes
k: did you get tanned? (<----- getting tanned is a big thing in hong kong.... it's not a thing to do.)
t: yes
k: have you gained weight?
t: ah.... yes
k: did you shrink an inch?
t: are you saying that i got uglier?
kids: ..........

funny how observant the kids are when it comes to your appearance... i bought some new clothes on wednesday night. when i wore one of my new shirts to form class on thursday morning, the kids cheered...

and... I GOT PAID! WOOHOO!

yeah yeah yeah!

「我真係好鍾意唱歌!」
29/9/06

happy

my blogger posts are getting increasingly cryptic, especially with the names of people i work with... sorry!!

SAGC staff development day. things learnt:
K-W-L teaching strategy:
example topic- koalas- group 2 (english department)
K: they live in australia. they are cuddly. they are cute. they eat eucalypt leaves. they sleep a lot. they sleep on trees. they carry their babies in their pouch.
W: questions asked: do koalas have feelings? do they find humans annoying? are they really cute? do they fall off the tree when they sleep? what is their lifespan? do they have a hard or soft nose?

later on....
E: zzzzzzz (in full view of the BB)
trainer: how do students learn about ratios?
Me: we don't.

it's a fact. i feel nauseous whenever i'm sitting in front of a maths problem. how good is it that i'm teaching english, and not a scary subject like maths or chemistry?

more things learnt: the SAGC staff 9.9 sec sign out. after a mere wee wee there was absolutely no-one left but S, Q, and me... or so we'd thought. when we walked past the bigger staffroom we saw E perched in front of one of the computers. M: what are you, crazy? E: I'm just hanging out cos my next thing's not until 3. M, S & Q: lunch? E: cool! so afterwards, lunch with S, Q & E @ APM suzuki... fun stuff... it's nice to have fun colleagues. it's a bit like being @ MPN, where we always have a laugh at work.

cds..... lots of cds......

Ms Cheung is a happier woman with a CD player in her room at home...
Viva a la musica!
recently played: Best of Shirley Bassey, Verve Bar Jazz compilation, Missy Higgins "The sound of White", Badly Drawn Boy "One plus one is one", Lost in Translation OST.

one month gone

i can't believe it! time flies when you're having fun and i definitely am at SAGC. thanks kids and gals for making this experience so much easier on my poor nerves.

i'm lovin' it!

Peter Jordan, I salute you!

I salute you, Peter, for being able to communicate with your students @ the HKAPA!!!
Huzzah!

foodies unite!

eating.... what a beautiful mornin'! carmen and i went to the flying pan for brunch today. what a pleasure to eat with another obsessive foodie... it was quite a yummy brunch!

more stuff from camp

^^^^ courtesy Ms W, our resident fix-it.... we went from 1:4 ratio back to 16:9 in just a matter of seconds by way of an expert karate chop on the top of the telly.

<------ Waterbomb factory girls. Ms N ("so not environmentally friendly!") filling up 150 sandwich bags in one hour. I was the mistress of the tearing out of plastic bags, and used the pockets of my jeans as dispenser of torn out plastic bags. most efficient, we were.

Personality tests

http://keirsey.com/personality/nfej.html

... apparently i'm a "teacher / idealist" ..... i actually have no idea what that means... but anyway!

this is the test: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm

paths memories

Notice to all students of SAGC who read this blog

Hi all,

Can all students sign off with your FULL NAME and your CLASS after you've commented on my blog?

Cheerio,
Ms C

weeeeeeeee!!!!!

back from camp

yo. back! finally....
1. had a great time @ camp.... our little girlie group of 6 staff members had fun in our dorm room, as did our big girlie group of 42 1D students...
2. there are now students @ SAGC who can who can read my blog so i'd better be "disney" about everything (yes, you, simmy :p )

a few things:
* i hit my head on a fan on the first night
* i dropped countless things, including my camera, my new toothbrush (onto the shower floor... ewww) and the social workers' walkie talkie
* i had a "24 hour solo" deja vu while waiting to be "rescued" by my group from the "aliens"
* chucked waterbombs made out of plastic bags and not being very environmentally friendly in the process
* while waiting for the students to walk pass prior to the whole water bomb business,
* i am no longer the biggest germaphobe in the world! i don't even come close.
* 1D is the best!

a few more memorable things:
* k's phoebe-ness
* l's sleepiness
* n's worldliness
* w's strength
* q's resourcefulness

cool!

ninty. ninty. ninty.

i've been correcting all my students' books---- 90, as ninety. anyone who spelt ninty got a big fat cross. a fellow hksinger named claudia alerted this to me at rehearsal tonight. thank you, claudia!!

i swear that i COULD spell before i started this job, but now i can't even spell bloody ninty.

how embarassing!!!!! what a complete brain blank! i'd better start correcting everyone... just like the "febuary" episode :(

ms cheung is off to camp!

signing off for the next few days... we'll be back on friday afternoon. let's hope us teachers will still be alive then! rumour has it that we'll be involved in water gun fights and the younger teachers will be attacked with water at various moments of the days.

meanwhile, my class monitoress pointed out the following to me today: "ms cheung, your undies are showing". quite stunned, i said, "thank you." i'll never wear that witchery light flowery skirt with those lovely M&S hot pink undies ever again...

and to those students and teachers who are still refer to playing basketball as "playing fanny", please stop this practice immediately.

so am i off on two days worth of holidays or two days of hell?

(elaine, being my cool form class teacher partner.)
me: we're doing group marches and stuff.
elaine: argh.
me: and we have to inspect their rooms at 7:30am.
elaine: argh.
me: and--- we have to be in the thursday night water fights.
elaine: arrrrrrgh...

bright eyed and bushy tailed..... raring to go....

blue skies?

We've had a whole week of rain and today it's suddenly sunshine and blue skies?
must be the calm before the storm....
shan shan- stay away!!!!

two weeks down!

teaching is not easy. i had my first teaching "flop" this week. yes, it is indeed possible to "flop" in the arena teaching. role- teacher. audience- students. reaction- snoring. Is it possible to teach grammar in an interesting way? can we perhaps write a pop song to teach our students singulars and plurals?

okay, it's not that bad. everyday, it's the little things that keep me going, even if i had been up the hill at glenaly until 1015pm tearing my vocal cords apart: the smiles i get from the students, the outrageousness of our 215 staffroom, and the kindness of the other staff members. when i almost tripped over my laptop cords for about three times on friday, the little kid in the corner said "be careful, ms cheung!" for the same amount of times. i had kids offer me their fruit from their lunches (hopefully spare and not unwanted!) :p... i had d&ms again with people, not just bullshit (blowing water). us new teachers shared our own little challenges (e.g. flash animations... dreamweaver.... software and hardware... grammar...)

i made an effort to teach without using a microphone these two weeks, but i have decided to give in and start to use my portable mike again. my voice has taken quite a battering this week with all the singing at the singers and although i have never really shouted at my students at school, a lot of people have commented that my voice has sounded decidedly huskier over these few days. it's time to get with the trend, i guess.

oh, oh, oh, WE GET TO GO TO CAMP THIS WEEK!
(fellow form teacher and happy camper) queenie: you're more excited than the students!
me: ya-huh!!!!!
it'll be a fun time cos we'll be camped up at this funky facility at sai kung. fingers crossed, the typhoon won't get to us and make our three days a soaking wet experience.

---- random thoughts 1---- the hong kong cricket girls are in pakistan, training their butts off now. thinking back, mum was probably right about not going to pakistan:
1. i would have missed camp
2. i would have a crap load of work to catch up with the week after, seeing as i'm probably one of the last ones to leave the school every day...
3. i wouldn't have as healthy a relationship with the kids and the other staff at this point in time.
so... everything does happen for a reason.

---- random thoughts 2---- we had an earthquake this week here in hong kong. it was about 3-4 on the ricter scale. i was at the hk singers rehearsal up on the hills of the hong kong island, nearer the epicentre than the rest of hong kong. bloody 'ell, everyone there felt it, and it was really, really freaky. the last time i experienced an earthquake was back when we were still living here full-time. dad was snoozing on the easychair and mum thought he was being rude and having a fun time rocking on the chair. turned out he wasn't being rude after all.

when will it stop?

yes, the rain, that is.
The Hong Kong Observatory sure has some strange standards for their weather warnings.
A few months ago, it was T3, but the whole city felt like it's been put inside a wind tunnel complete with a hose down. The Observatory did not budge and kept with the T3 warning. There was much uproar of course on the next day.
What about today? it's been pouring down for the past few hours and does not look like it's going to stop anytime soon. so at bloody 8:00 am it decides to put up a yellow rainstorm warning! what use is that going to be?

.
..
....

on her "off" day from form class duties, ms cheung is watching the torrential rain from her office....

school piccies

My office & the lovely colleagues who work in the office.

I'm a chalk allergic teacher.

yeh.... the chalk dust makes my eyes water, and my nose run.... it's horrible!! so i'm in the middle of a sentence and all this stuff comes out.... argh... ms lam offers her science lab goggles... i remarked that it'd be interesting to teach the subject of English in laboratory goggles.

my students still cannot spell 30 in ordinals.

goal for next week. to make sure all of my group 1 kids can spell "thirtieth", and not "thirtyth", or "thirdtyth".... "first" and not "fast" or "firth" or "frith".

you can do it, kids!!!!!

so it's autumn!

the winds are here! the rains are here!!! ti's no longer the season for sweaty armpits and backs!!! huzzah!!!!!!

paper... paper... and papers

There's still a whole heap of paper that's lying everything in my house, and I STILL can't get rid of it all!

In other news, I've rediscovered my university days. Why? I just stayed up until 2am correcting my students' composition papers. Some already show encouraging signs while others have to work hard on correcting some bad habits. e.g. "there have three people in my family"

zzzzzzz....

Ms Cheung has marked her first worksheets.

And am madly happy with my drama club team. we have one colleague who's grade 8 piano (and has offered to transpose everything!), one who's taking her jazz dance teaching certificate exams, and another who can write scripts!

:)

oh happy day!

CRIKEY!

(I'm using this saying especially in memory of Steve Irwin...)
CRIKEY! There's too much paper on my desk! So, i set off to the local homeware store to buy myself a $60 HKD 3 tier bookshelf that's on sale at the moment. Do you realise that $60 HKD is around $11 AUD? How cheap's that!?
We're going to camp with my, well counting my co-form teacher it should be "our", class of form 1s very soon... hopefully we'll have a great time, cos i think my form class is the best :) go 1D!!!

!!!!

My kids are cool, my colleagues are very cool, and i'm so far coping with the steep learning curve. because i'm coming into this job with very little teaching experience, what's happening is that i'm actually literally learning on the job. i'm lucky that i like kids and kids (in secondary school, at least) seem to like me... that's the first hurdle, i guess. i can just see this year being a good year.
good luck to soloman and your teaching career!

and then, he's gone...

RIP the crocodile hunter
RIP Steve Irwin

It's a reminder of how our lives can be taken away from us this quickly.

學KIKI話齋

..... 4/9/06 ... 一齊努力.

pics from the youngfriends program

in the name of education...

i have ditched my 129 song collection on my mp3 player and replaced it with 8 tracks of listening tasks.
i have ditched my first national representative opportunity in cricket
i have left the HKAPA, a place of fun and friends.

in return?
My Fair Lady... singing, dancing and being generally merry for three months.
42 lovely kids in my form class
some really cool colleagues
a school musical program to take charge of.

everything in life happens for a reason and should be win-win, if you let it be that way.

dancing!

not sure if i can actually post this picture... but anyways!!!
these sure were happy times.... love it! it took me a long time to find a good picture on their database. as you know, there's no guarantee that i'm caught pretty in a photo unless i pose for a picture. my rather strange and uncontrollable facial features are the cause of the problem.

oh... and apart from the departed...

there were also.....

• aunt amy (who went to both shows!)
• uncle cheung (who i'm sure got dragged along by aunt amy to see the show)
• uncle no2
• moe moe (auntie)
• granddad (who thought my 19 year old mc partner was my boyfriend. no. i'm not ready to become mrs robinson... not quite yet...)
• grandma
• marylin (my grannies' domestic helper)
• ms fung & florence
• sum sum (auntie... so many aunties...), pam, priscilla, and the young one
• ah yee, amy lee, artemis, chauman, kiki, mung... my dear ex-classmates!
• anita & angela ( :p )
• virgo (i know you came to see apple, but i'm claiming you as my audience anyway :) )

MUM & DAD!!!!!! thank you for being there, always :)

thank you carol, gene, judy, bing, frank...

yes, hats off to all of them!
i finally did it. i finally danced in a musical number on stage!!!!!
thank you eve, thank you jamie, thank you mohamad, thank you owen....
especially owen and jamie.... because you gave me the confidence and guidance i needed to be where i am tonight.

and to carol haney, my inspiration: we're at, hernando's hideaway, OLE!!!!!

so it happens again tomorrow at MFL... dancing with a big grin fixed on my face, as if i'm in a gene kelly movie :p

She's now a fair lady in Mr Higgins' household!

Yo... being as energetic as a child on red cordial (i think) has landed me a bit part in MFL, as a woman in the Higgins' household. i wanted to be a maid all along! however, getting a bit part now means that i'll probably have to be at 20-30% more rehearsals than when i was just a chorus member so i'll have to time manage myself extremely well during the first term at SAGC.

oh, by the by, everything's going well so far at SAGC. we had a whole day of meetings today with our subject group and tomorrow i will meet my group of form 1 kiddies for the first time, up close and personal. geez, i hope to (some deity up there) that everything works out well, that they don't bloody well hate me from the get go... i'll even have to go to camp with them for three days in september, which also effectively rules out my participation in the pakistan tour.

so everything has been resolved... albeit in a weird and twisted way.

KRISPY KREME IS NOW IN HONG KONG!!!!!

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And they opened on my birthday :)

They're at:
61-72 Lee Garden Road.
Causeway Bay (next to 7-11)


woohoo!!!!!


in other news, this week we started
a) school meetings
b) rehearsals for MFL

a) i'm lucky because the english department colleagues all seem to be very young and nice and enthusiastic and helpful. so, the colleague part i won't have to worry about, and all i've got left to ponder about now is whether i can actually teach... !?!?

b) HKS are actually quite well organised, contrary to all the bad rep i heard from people. the MD was there and was drilling us thoroughly, taking us through every crevice and harmony of three whole songs tonight. the signs are good- it looks like it's going to be a fun ride.

singing, dancing and teaching.

* first ever MT performance in one week! i'll post clips.
** first ever english department meeting next monday... bright eyed and bushy tailed, i must look.
*** been sitting inside a frigid lecture theatre four days of this week from 9-5 for this new teacher training course i'm doing... i've been falling asleep at regular intervals there, akin to my time in frigid lecture theatres back at QUT.

otherwise...

** i was surprised to see the amount of spit being expelled from my mouth while singing in our rehearsals. a few years ago mum and i went to see grease in brisbane. it was an amazing show, but what's even more amazing is the spitting that's done by the singers in "grease lightening" number. the actors were literally "singin' in the rain".
** pakistan is on and off... at the moment, it's off because mum's rather paranoid about the terrorism situation there (of which there's none at the moment). so i've been told by my coach to do some more convincing and by my mum to "piss off" when i attempt to do said convincing.

aker- aka - jason akermanis

they removed his face from the banner on the brisbane lions website!
guess it is the start of a new era then...

junk food is good good!!

yum.... i like chips, but cannot eat as much as i would do because i worry about my health and the size of my arse, so i'm always on the lookout for slightly healthier chips. i'm trying out some calbee vegetable crisps at the moment and they don't feel as oily as "normal" chips.

the i found this amazing website that reviews and documents thousands of snacks from around the world! it's proving to be great holiday entertainment... or procrastination, cos i should really start to read up for my new job!

otherwise, third day into life as a 22 year old was spent in kowloon, back at training for the hk team. was a bit rusty at the beginning cos i haven't bowled for about two weeks but got better as the session went on. then we did this fielding drill where the coach threw tennis balls from a whole bag of 'em up, and up, and up in different directions for us to catch. my lovely thighs suffered a thorough workout as a result, but it felt good, in a weirdly masochistic way....

three days of sultry weather and three typhoons

CUHK is quite a lovely place which has a lovely coffee shop that serves the cheapest ($12) and best latte that i've so far tasted in hong kong. the same costs ten dollars + more at the more established chains here and is frankly not worth it.

the last three days has been quite an eye opener for a teacher to be like me. i learnt much from our group discussions that were an absolute riot at times (go group 5!). those who went generally had a lot of heart and appear to teach because it'd make a difference to children's lives. i also forced myself to speak three times in front of the lecturn... in cantonese... as they say, practice makes perfect! the wonderful group 5 made spending 8 hours of my birthday in a cold lecture easier to bear. thank you, guys. we even played a party game :) i had fond memories of the feather exercise, where we had to keep a toy feather afloat with nothing but our hands and mouths...

thunder and lightning outside... i'd better turn my computer off.

who doesn't like sesame street?

Kermit the Frog You scored 47% Organization, 46% abstract, and 81% extroverted!

This test measured 3 variables. First, this test measured how organized you are. Some muppets like Cookie Monster make big messes, while others like Bert are quite anal about things being clean. Second, this test measured if you prefer a concrete or an abstract viewpoint. For the purposes of this test, concrete people are considered to gravitate more to mathematical and logical approaches, whereas abstract people are more the dreamers and artistic type. Third, this test measured if you are more of an introvert or an extrovert. By definition, an introvert concentrates more on herself and an extrovert focuses more on others. In this test an introvert was somebody that either tends to spend more time alone or thinks more about herself. You are mostly organized, both concrete and abstract, and more extroverted. Here is why are you Kermit the Frog. You are both somewhat organized. You have a good idea where you put things and you probably keep your place reasonably clean. You aren't totally obsessed with neatness though. Kermit is also reasonably tidy. He'll even dress up for interviews. You both are sometimes concrete and sometimes abstract thinkers. Kermit spends a lot of his time as a reporter collecting facts, but he is also the author of the dreamy song "The Rainbow Connection." You have a good balance in your life. You know when to be logical at times, but you also aren't afraid to explore your dreams and desires... within limits of course. You are both extroverts. Kermit gets along with everyone. Sure a few folks annoy him, but that's just because they are annoying. Kermit likes to meet new people when he does his job as a street reporter. You definitely enjoy the company of others, and you don't have problems meeting new people... in fact you probably look forward to it. You are willing to take charge when necessary or work as part of a team. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Kermit starred on Sesame Street years before The Muppet Show. The other possible characters are Oscar the Grouch Big Bird Snuffleupagus Ernie Elmo Cookie Monster Grover The Count Guy Smiley Bert If you enjoyed this test, I would love the feedback! Also if you want to tell me your favorite Sesame Street character, I can total them up and post them here. Perhaps your choice will win!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 19% on Organization You scored higher than 21% on concrete-abstra You scored higher than 91% on intro-extrovert

Link: The Your SESAME STREET Persona Test written by greencowsgomoo on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

a happy 8th of august b'day to

roger fedrerer
faye wong
keith carradine
esther williams
dustin hoffman
emiliano zapata
john laws


...

and, oh,
cheung kwok wing, margaret: of brisbane, australia and hong kong, china, who turns a joyous 22 on this lovely day! (and will spend 8 hours of this lovely day in a lecture theatre, in training to become a youth program leader at her new school. she will be engulfed with positivity during those 8 hours by the very enthusiastic trainer.)

Affirmative action.

i was talking with mum about how RADA was searching for more talented chinese actors to be trained there, and i was thinking of issues about affirmative action... but i couldn't get the term out of my system... was it... positive something? it was something something... i couldn't rest until i knew the term. reminds me of when i was 16 and wondered at 10pm what the biological term for humans is. it got me so frustrated i headed to the storeroom, pulled out my old science textbooks and looked it up. after i found homo sapiens, i went back to bed, quietly pleased at myself.

interview with one of our APA teachers

link

only for those who can understand cantonese!
mr woo speaks quite candidly about his life as a student at the apa all those years ago.

isaac mizrahi

this guy is hilarious!

Have a better day-
I have one word for you: posture.
Try. Clothes. On. You have to try clothes on, I'm telling you!
Breathe. That's all style is, really: breathing.
A bronzer is a girl's best friend- but if you get the wrong one, you look like a porn star.
The great thing about shopping is that it ends when you want it to end.

living in a dream? you betcha!

two hours of musical singing today.... complete euphoria-- endless repetitions in training, to carol haney's hernando's hideaway and the prologue to the rocky horror picture show.... i'm in musical heaven... i gotta admit- owen's put us through a thorough vocal workout today those Eflats were pretty extreme... especially for a voice that's not done much work in two months.

all this exposure has got be going through my cd collection... and i found my film soundtrack to annie get your gun. judy garland's rendition of this following song is absolutely spine chilling... so much pathos...

-----------------------
they say it's wonderful: annie get your gun (outtakes)

They say that falling in love is wonderful
It's wonderful, so they say.
And with a moon up above it's wonderful
It's wonderful, so they tell me.
I can't recall who said it
I know I never read it
I only know that falling in love is grand
And the thing that's known as romance
Is wonderful, wonderful
In every way
So they say

POTC--- Dead Man's Chest

"As with the "Matrix" pictures, however, public anticipation is such that nothing can stop "Dead Man's Chest" from filling up with B.O. gold; pic is like a slot machine that gobbles up the public's money while giving little back, and, somehow, people don't mind."
...
"These are the odd films that succeed by stirring neither the emotions nor the mind."

- Todd MacCarthy, Variety.

i agree completely, Todd... and i was one of those suckers who caught the first screening today in hong kong. the film was fun up until the 90 min mark. and while summer blockbusters usually end, at around 2hrs, dead man's chest dragged on and on... fight after fight...

there were a few specific things i was disappointed with. i was looking forward to see how well keira knightley uses her opportunity to do proper choreographed swordfights, but her sequences were not well planned or shot. (reaction: "that was it?") even the much anticipated "white sands" fight involving johnny depp, orlando bloom and jack davenport (this man looks much better dirty!) felt rushed, was visually messy, and to be honest, a little disappointing. (reaction: see reaction to prior expectation) the fight sequences failed to showcase the fight itself, and only served to highlight the incompetence of those at the helm. CGI sequences, e.g. slimy octopus thing which leaves icky stuff on humans that looks a bit like the mask i'm putting on my skin every night, left me focusing on wondering about the cost and not the splendour. why so many sea creatures? does it advance the plot? i wanted to see bill nighy snort!

there were some good moments though, the opening, for example, set the tone for the rest. but the best moment for me was the "bone cage" sequence. kudos to hans zimmer for doing what he did then with the music. "oom pah pah" music was completely out of left field (trying not to give too many spoilers here) but it worked to give the scene a comic effect! meanwhile, depp is still amusing as cap'n jack and knightley proves that she can be much more than the part of the damsel in distress bestowed upon her in the first installment.

i'll still gladly hand over my money to disney for a ticket to the third installment, let's hope the next one doesn't get any worse.

-------------------------
through jane and aaron, visitors from down under, i got myself an orlando bloom POTC promotion sticker.... from a Helsinki chip packet! i was very excited.... much like an 11 year old in love with a matinee idol :)
--------------------------

Spoof time---- Barbie POTC: Curse of the Black Pearl

Johnny Depp in Japan

Check out this interview JD has to do in japan! it's like bill murray in lost in translation.

huzzah!!!!

A very happy couple doing the charleston (circa 1920's)

4-6pm of today was one of the happiest two hours of 2006 :) like all the 1 1/2 to 2 hours of dancing lessons i've done this past year....

mohammad drissi came along to give us a guest lecture and class. he's been there, done that, trained under matt mattox, bob rizzo etc etc etc... had amazing stories to tell. we learnt the charleston... got me going!! then the lindy, swing dance, the mambo, and chorus line dancin'. good stuff.... nothing else cheers me up like dancing... especially this sort of dancing :) it's just so... happy.... you cannot dance the charleston with a frown on your face, that's a FACT. mo' even talked about carol haney and bobby fosse and ann reiking and gwen verdon... sends shivers up my spine... i've finally arrived at a place where i can let all my MT obsession out with gusto, without having people stare at me as if i'm a complete weirdo.

No more K-Mart?

Weird stuff.
Coles and Myer divorced.
K-Mart will be renamed as "Coles".
A "Coles" that sells oil of the engine as well as the cooking variety?
This is way, way too weird.

Gilco Bisco!

i'm in love with this box of bikkies... cos lately i'm not allowed to eat anything too rich. yum!!! this is the japanese ad for the biks.

an APA sort of year:

GERD

Mr. GERD is keeping me awake at 4 in the morning.
bloody 'ell.
(Gastro-esophageal-reflux-disease)



Edit: 10:43pm
so apparently it's not Mr. GERD who's causing all the trouble. it's a throat infection that's triggering a spasmic reaction in the esophagus. ??? the doc's put me on antibiotics to take out the intruders. i guess it's gonna make me woozy for the next three days.... here goes....

How to be an artist--- from a picture within a mag i grabbed from muji TST

stay Loose.
learn to watch snails.
plant impossible gardens.
invite someone dangerous to tea.
make little signs that say yes! and post them all over your house.
make friends with freedom and uncertainty.
look forward to dreams.
cry during movies.
swing as high as you can on a swing set, by moonlight.
cultivate moods.
refuse to "be responsible".
do it for love.
take lots of naps.
give money away.
do it now.
the money will follow.
believe in magic.
laugh a lot.
celebrate every gorgeous moment.
take moonbaths.
have wild imaginings, transformative dreams and perfect calm.
draw on the walls.
read everyday.
imagine yourself magic.
giggle with children.
listen to old people.
open up.
dive in.
be free.
bless yourself.
drive away fear.
play with everything.
entertain your inner child. (in my case, it's meryl.)
you are innocent.
build a fort with blankets.
get wet.
hug trees.
write love letters.

changes come so bloody quickly....

say hi to My Fair Lady.
say goodbye to pakistan, and disco inferno.

Marge shall be Lily no more.

AND
may i recommend movies: pure (2002) & the jacket (2005) ? i'm going through Miss Knightley's CV. For a 21 year old she is doing exceedingly well. and also, she's a pretty good actress, for a former dyslexic and someone who's un-classically-trained. an inspiration to us HKAPA kids.

best of luck in the 2006-07 school year, my friends!

apologies for the altogether different look

blogger screwed up.
need i say more?

moo is renovating!

pirates 3

... has an asian theme, so

THERE IS WORK OUT THERE FOR ASIAN ACTORS AND ACTRESSES!!!

and also for Chow Yun Fat. Darn it, I'm a sucker for mainstream flicks, but the prospect of seeing this guy in the pirates trilogy should mean that the third film will do remarkably well in both the Hong Kong and the mainland Chinese market. the second film is guaranteed to do well anyway.

yay! there's only a week before the film comes out! i'd better go and renew my cinema discount card :)

passport piccies

oh. apparently i'm allowed to smile and with "mouth closed"...
"neutral expression".... well, when i take my piccies tomorrow, i hope i won't look stoned instead....

from mr alfred hitchock himself:

"Drama is life with the dull bits cut out"

argh

so much shit to do, and so little time to do it in....

Pakistan in September
Disco Inferno in November

.....

And all the while, working in a school.

how am i supposed to fit this all in?

pirate night....

i did this reception thing (thanks sheena!) for the charity gala opening of the second pirates of the caribbean movie... i expended less NRG than expected, but worked longer than expected. the company was good, and we got to dress up in pirate clothes etc... so it was okay. here's a piccie of us pretending to be famous people in front of the quite impressively sized poster!

i'm looking forward to seeing the movie in august!

the weather here...

"What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of
inelegance." Jane Austen, letter of September 1796.

stuff....

yes, much has happened since the last time i posted... a bit of teaching, developed a fondness for guinness beer, had a thoroughly pirate-ty experience today, had a friend committed into the happy happy asylum that is hong kong disney--- good luck, tak2!

but here's a link for those "see lai" out there like me! ---> http://www.realsimple.com/
for those home makers in all of us....

also, i've recently been addicted to watching the stingers, shown at 1:30am on ABC!

gor gor has left the building, say hello to miss cheung, kids

yep, the contract is signed. i'm teaching english next year at st antonius!!
so much has happened these few weeks and i have so little energy to write about it here...

but here's something i'll always have energy to rant about----
GO QUEENSLAND!!!!!

Quest for the perfect bra

AAP
June 28, 2006
This article from : AAP
THE fastest, the strongest and the most athletic at Australia's Institute of Sport will be enlisted to help develop one of the modern world's most elusive products - the perfect sports bra.
Volunteers will be called among female athletes at the institute to help make breast bounce a thing of the past.

The institute today announced a three-year deal with Berlei that will allow the bra manufacturer to develop its future products in consultation with Australia's gun athletes.

Modern technology is set to meet old-fashioned pain tests as the AIS athletes and Berlei strive for the holy grail of sporting accessories.

AIS director Professor Peter Fricker said the focus on sports bras was a natural progression from high-tech sporting aids such as full-length swimsuits and aerodynamic bicycle helmets.
"At elite levels, events are decided by tenths of hundreds of seconds - having the right equipment can be the difference between an athlete winning a gold medal or missing out all together," he said.

In return for providing the human guinea pigs, the AIS will be given advanced access to Berlei's designs, the idea being that the Aussie athletes will therefore have a competitive advantage.
The three-year deal gives Berlei the green light to subject the AIS sportswomen to the infamous "pain scale".

This involves fitting unreleased bras on the athletes, who perform a range of physical activities like running and jumping before rating the pain (or comfort) of each bra.

The partnership will allow Berlei to access the AIS's biometrics unit, which will allow the company to utilise 3D computer modelling to pinpoint the level of vertical bounce per bra.
Jodie Cochrane, an AIS biomechanist, says an unsupported 12B bust can move up to eight centimetres, and a double-D cup up to 18 cm.

"You want to reduce pain, and you want to reduce movement to prevent permanent damage," she said.

"Performance-wise ... the less movement the better - you're more comfortable, and you're more focused on what you're doing."

Melbourne Commonwealth Games long jump silver medallist Kerrie Taurima said a good bra was as important as top running shoes.

"You need to know that you've done everything possible to achieve your best - part of this is knowing you've go the right gear," she said.

"I wouldn't compromise the quality, fit and comfort in my shoes, and my bra is no different."

i'm sorry, state of origin is next wednesday.

that's not quite the orthordox tackle but it took the man down... yes, mr. croatian defender, state of origin is next wednesday and despite your efforts, you have not been picked on either team to play. thanks for trying though.

to lose to italy 1-0 from a 95th minute penalty is heartbreaking tonight, despite the disappointment, socceroos- I'M PROUD OF YAS ALL!!!!!!

what a day

200- couldn't sleep, afraid that disco inferno might not happen
230- finally asleep
900- awake to head to school for outside job forms
1110- arrive at school
1145- complete outside job forms
1215- told that disco inferno might not happen by suk yi
1245- got told that the job offer to teach english at st tony's is a reality
1330- hands in deferral form!!!!

so yes, call my miss cheung- i'm going to teach form 1 english next year, and get to do my disco inferno stuff... things do work out in the end... i'm going to miss my APA classmates though, but i'll always get the opportunity to see them...

please please please please let me be in disco inferno

with a 80% chance i'll be cast in the lead female role of disco inferno..... please, please.... let me do it!!!! and please please please be understanding and don't cast me in some minnow chorus of next semester's shows!


woke up with a scratchy throat this morning... but luckily i was able to sing the auditions songs surprisingly well- and that's what saved me from being outed after the dance section. i wasn't as goodas i could be, but no excuses, i'm just not practiced as a dancer... so the singing began, and my throat held up okay, and then i was one of the three from six chosen to be seriously considered for the role of jane.. i love singing!!! i wanted a guy to play off when i was doing my version of "i will survive", and a guy responded, it was fun :) but the 20% lies in 1. my height 2. my age 3. my dancing.... the other girl who i thought was also in the running for the role was younger, cuter, and was a better dancer, although she didn't quite have the singing technique to present the song.

tomorrow, i'm going to ask the teachers whether i can do this... ... fingers crossed...

and from a thing i saw tonight-- "never look back, that way you'll fall down the stairs"- Rudolf Nureyev, ballet great. RIP, dude.

time to think...

i really enjoyed today--- my first true day of holidays, i had the time to think about the next three or four months. through the exam and audition process i really had no time to worry about anything other than our work at the APA.... and i made at least 6 or 7 phone calls to catch the final business day to organise myself... i found out that we are touring pakistan in mid-august, mid-bloody-summer on the sub-continent; that we'll be performing at a shopping mall and a studio venue after the musical theatre workshop i enrolled in; helped a few classmates to enrol in the MT program, and that luckily found that the performance dates for disco inferno falls right in the middle of our semester 1 production week (phew... that was a big, big discovery!). i ripped music and planned for a school teaching job i've taken through mum's contacts.... and fixed up my room a little... i still don't quite feel like i'm on holidays, because as a person in my industry, even as an actress-in-training, we're never on holidays... we're ever on the lookout for opportunities to work in the industry. it's a busy life, that's for sure, but i'd rather it be a busy life than a dull life.... cos that's what i asked for when i left australia.

avenue q... and the year ends...

this week was for me, pole dancing, avenue q, chinese dance, aussie aussie aussie, QLD'er, and a lot of work.
we had our school production auditions this week... which meant memorising a lot of chinese words and working out for our movement presentations. i'm surprised what i can do after a year of acrobatics training--- the splits is a big one- if you told me to do the splits a year ago i would've laughed you off!

pole dancing-- because the degree 2 musical theatre students were rehearsing their "hey big spender" number out in the level three foyer. and as the music filters through to the level 1 foyer, where we were quietly chanting our monologues prior to our audition, i got up and danced to it... every bloody time the song came on- i just couldn't concentrate :)

avenue q--- the other song they were rehearsing was 'if you were gay' from avenue q... classic! it was stuck in my head for ages.

chinese dance--i got a recall audition for "back from the journey to the west"... and the chinese dance moves gave me a pain in the butt.

sporting front--- the hong kong women's cricket team are going to pakistan in mid-august to play three qualifying matches for the world cup 2009 qualifiers.... the qualifyers for the qualifyers... australia won 3-1 against japan, and QUEENSLAND BEAT NSW 30-6!!! TAKE THAT!!!!!!

hmm.. it's been a long year, but i'd like to review it.... soon.... i have to rest...

di nu hua.... english style-- from a fellow blogger

Falling flowers cover a thousand miles and ten thousand places
Like the hundred flowers, with weeping eyes thanking the people
The crimson blood of the country is not yet dried, but a lavish banquet aids a good funeral
The blood of a painful heart leads a thousand depths
Remembering the dreams of the last emperor were full of sorrow
The country is fallen, the family is dead, watching the water flowing faraway
Lives lost and curses of death litter the gateways and the poor alleyways
Sai Hin will forever be buried with Cheung Ping, turning the troubles of the country into hope
Only wishing that the great times will be better than the heavens
Beautiful images buried with no regrets forever that the excess love lingers
The light in the tears drowns the light of the moon in the cup
Two hearts know that their end is in the grapes and wine
The emperor's daughter is prepared to die together, borrowing a new grave as the wedding night room
Yet they look and yet they watch each other
The wind has taken them across the three rivers, bringing a hundred experiences and a thousand meetings
Tragedies striking for half of the lifetime, this pair of birds of a feather
The patterned candles reflect their boundless love
Thanking their country, Thanking the last emperor,
Giving their lives to repay the grace of a troubled time for the excess love that lingers

exam tomorrow...

argh!!!!!! we can do it!!!!!!!

a day out with disney

went to the disney vocalist auditions today... didn't expect much but gave my all with my suicidal song--- memory from cats. did okay with the high notes considering i pretty much fucked up all the low notes ("burnt out ends of smoky days"...). thinking back, it's a pretty amazing 16 bars of singing--- encompassing two octaves! going from the low e flat below middle c to a few notes at the high e flat above. after our 16 bars, you either hear "please stay" or the most dreaded words performers hate to hear at auditions --> "thank you". i heard the former, fortunately, and waited with the other three acquaintances from the APA. we were getting quite cosy in there, because it turned out we four, and one other girl, were the only ones left from the 50 or so who turned out for our session. we had another chat, then went back in to learn a disney song (when you wish upon a star)... then we said goodbye to another aspirant... afters, we learnt the rudimentary dance routine (step touch... step touch... passe... step ball change... chasse... outwards turn.... ball change... etc) and finally had to say this really cliche disney spiel into a dv cam, with AS MUCH NRG AS WE CAN MUSTER AT 5 IN THE AFTERNOON!!!!! ENERGY!!!! YOU'RE IN DISNEY!!!! i'm glad to have taken the extra dance lessons because it really trains you to pick up steps faster at auditions.

i don't think i have a chance in a million years to be cast... compared to the voices in the phillipines, i don't think i have the voice to compete with. but pending all the bureaucratic stuff like visas and passports and stuff, it would probably be easier for disney to cast locals immediately who can probably sing just as well. it would be a dream job for me at this moment of my life to grab a role in the lion king... fingers crossed and we'll see what happens :)

hot guy, hot voice

crazy stuff.... this dude has the highest falsetto i've ever heard. he's this russian pop singer. go check the site out and be amazed!

HKCA Women's League Bowler of the Year

Is me. moi. Margaret Cheung Kwok Wing.
How i earned the trophy with 11 wickets for the season i don't know, but it's nice to cap off selection in the hk women's squad with a trophy as well :) funny also that the bowler of the year has no control over every ball she bowls. maybe that's why she's the bowler of the year, because not even the batsmen can predict how the ball's going to come out!
but unfortunately i wasn't there to collect the award... i'm never there when there's an award to collect, unless when notified beforehand like at presentation nights... perhaps that's what will happen if i win a Tony or something... i'll be in the toilet doing a poo when my name gets called out and someone has to brave the horrid smell to tell me about it.
thank you, Western Suburbs District Cricket Club--- Farmer, Megan and you lot in second grade womens, for teaching me how to play cricket, and how to be a cricketer... if i had to dedicate this award to someone, after my parents, i'd dedicate it to you girls back there. thanks for the good times!

Marge Cheung- season 2005-2006
From 28 Overs
11 wickets
Average: 9.18
Economy rate: 3.61
1 5 Wicket Haul---> 10-0-44-5

frenchy munchies

why does the french word for SHIT sound so much more elegant?

'merde!'

it's impossible to say it with a rude tone!

here's a site that has explainations for naughty words in many, many different languages. it's fun to learn... in a way :)

yes, i'm officially a disco lady

hong kong team training was better than i thought... it was a good workout, had a good sweat.

got home... hey! i'm in disco inferno! there's a casting call again in june to find out what roles we end up with. so- my fair lady or disco lady? or neither? since our school auditions will be in june as well??? argh... there'll be tough decisions to make soon.

deja vu

i was woken to my phone ringtone this morning... i didn't bother to look at the caller indicator but only at my alarm clock, which indicated that it was 840 in the morning... i answered... there was this familiar indian voice... so i said: "david?"... that's david gonsalves, my former employer in australia... he must have called from his office during morning tea or something and forgot the time difference... but alas, no, it was the hong kong women cricket team coach, nasir, telling me that there will be training, come rain or come shine.

ah... australia...

then dad called fifteen minutes later asking me my ID card number... he's another one who asks strange questions at strange hours of the night. he once came into my room at 7 in the morning (when i was still working at shaws, on the afternoon shift) and asked me how to pronounce some obscure name of some obscure figure in french history...

and i finally finished tinkering with the cultural salon post.... it's obvious that i put very little effort in the layout, but there's not much i can do. playing around with indesign and illustrator is fun!! it came in this package ReadyMadeMagazine sent me for being a member of their magazine... the Cd had all the macromedia family (cos they merged with adobe) as well as the programs for print & graphic design in the adobe family. yay! i have toys to play with for the summer!

the two audreys & rediscovering france

beautiful paris... there's even art inside the metro!

god, did i hate junior french... i could find no purpose then for studying the language, and everything taught to me was boring, blah blah blah... un de trois quartre...

but just like lost in translation made me want to go to japan two years ago, seeing amelie and other associated french films are making me want to go to paris, and france. there's off jazz dance centre, and two for the road as well. two weeks ago, our french guest director's show, le sword de mon pere, premiered, and whenever i saw him (jean!) in the corridor i'd speak some of what little french i still had in my system to him: e.g. moi: bonjour monseiur! jean: bonjour mademosille! moi: comment cava? jean: bon! bon! merci!... at which point i stopped because i couldn't carry on the conversation... then our dance instructor, henry, who'd been to off jazz, started counting our beats in french, un-deux-trois-quartre-cinq-six-sept-huit... ! i could NOT stop giggling. it seemed all of my surrounding world had succombed to france fever.

it's so romantic, i just want to go into a cosy little cafe and drink coffee and eat pain du chocolat (is this right?) and listen to french people conversing in french. with the holidays being so close, this dream could become a reality, but there is a chance that i'll be there in august... where apparently it's hellish hot for europe. school starts hellishly early as well next semester so we only have from july to mid august to travel. fingers crossed!

how strange

i got pulled up twice by these promotional people asking me if i wanted to be something in the lines of a fitting model, and another saying he's from a "magazine" (he didn't specify... maybe he's an intern :p) that news stalls sell... getting pulled up by these people is not a strange occurance in causeway bay, and i've been asked before, actually... but twice in the space of five metres and ten seconds? very strange indeed...

fun fun!

happy times. a pic from our last day of our dip1 lives, after our last test and our last lesson- cantonese articulation. (carmen-- if you're reading this... notice the headband i'm wearing? it's my ganbare headband for the exam :p)

'tis the season of rain, rain and... more rain

we're about to hit summer and i'm getting a reminder of last year.
it DOES NOT stop raining during summer here.

bloody hell! the hong kong women's cricket team are supposed to tour pakistan later this year and we are consequently supposed to be in the middle of some intensive training. however, due to the horrid weather we haven't trained at all this week... we are to train about three times next week--- i wonder whether we'll get to train at all.

i was removed from my cultural salon commitments for an excursion to IKEA today... we bought home three storage sets... how we got home via MTR i never understand but we did it... again... cos we've been through the whole "getting-home-from-telford-IKEA-with-our-fucking-hands-full" thing before. argh...

and i'm trailing firefox :) let's see if it's better than IE.

back to the future

class photo day--- the diploma 1 "kids"

we had our last ever acrobatics lesson yesterday up at studio 14. we had our rigorous final presentation dress rehearsal, then we basically had all hour to mess around in the empty studio. it was so much fun--- we had all the gym mats out and were playing... everyone doing cartwheels, handstands, flips and flops.... like kids. yes, like what we were supposed to be doing when we were 7, and couldn't because hong kong's education sucks ass. i couldn't use the playground equipment downstairs when i was 7 because i was up until 12 studying for the weekly tests--- one for each day of the week: chinese dictation on monday; english comprehension on tuesday; english dictation on wednesday; chinese composition on thursday; english composition on friday... the next week, we had maths and other subjects crammed into our already full schedule... looking back, i was put under less stress as a 19 year old university student than at 7, in primary school, for fuck's sake.

it's definitely nice to be a kid again. thank you, HKAPA, for letting me relive my childhood, 13 years late.

the good & the bad.

bad news first!
queensland lost by a point... and although i knew NSW deserved the victory a whole lot more than QLD b/c of their commanding display, i was still awful crushed.... to lose by a point!!! to get so close!!!! so dramatic!!!! johnathan thurston converting that steve bell try at the 75th minute! and we fucking lost....
sigh....
ah well... there's always the next game...

the good...
i saw amelie after the game, in hope that it will cheer me up. and cheer me up it did. what a delightful movie. it's the first movie since "only yesterday" (the japanese anime film) where i got weepy eyes in a.......... i won't give the ending away.... well, yes, i got weepy eyes, but it made me a little happy, even! and i'm always grumpy after a queeensland loss. thank you, amelie, for cheering me up!
p.s. anyone who's not seen this film---- for those who have a penchant for fairytales/fairyfloss light films.... amelie's for you.... the last scenes gave me not only a warm fuzzy feeling... it gave me the same feeling i got when i found out (years ago) that the person i once liked actually liked me back. that.... shiver up your spine... and it's a good shiver...

no posts until the end of this week....

there's so much shit happening this week in the lead up to our exams... i spent the whole fucking weekend translating 600 words worth of crap that i'd written for public speaking... again cementing the fact that i have ''zero'' writing skills in chinese. argh.

okay marg.... one more week until two weeks of rest and more prep....

all for one day:::::: 8 june 2006 :::::::: 9:30am to 6:00pm... seven and a half hours of drama and related stuff....

shit, i hate mondays..........

pulp fiction... and other stuff

no, i'm not going back for semester 2... i've gotten over my yips.
music and dance cheers me up, yet again... funnily, i've enjoyed acting this week... we played this "rave party" game right, and i had to "strip"... it's forced me to be more comfortable with my body than i've previously been. makes me sound twisted, heh, but i did find the game to be fun!
half a month to go until exams................. add oil!!!!

otherwise, i'm loving the pulp fiction soundtrack that i bought today... it's quite a classic.

fun!

You fit in with: Spiritualism Your ideals are mostly spiritual, but in an individualistic way. While spirituality is very important in your life, organized religion itself may not be for you. It is best for you to seek these things on your own terms. 60% spiritual. 40% reason-oriented.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

shit.

HKAPA, i'm having an affair.
i'm having an affair with QUT.
i'm thinking of going to QUT.

or was i actually having an affair with HKAPA,
and thinking of going back to QUT?

or was i having an affair with Hong Kong,
and thinking of going back to Australia????


shit. this can't come at a worst time, 1 month from our exams, but i also have 1 month to lodge my QUT R form... shit...


am i at the apa to smell the roses that aren't there or a bohemian destiny?

sight of the day

jason akermanis "bitch slaps" jarrad crouch in frustration of giving away a free kick.

fun day!

did the lindsey mcalister thing in the afternoon... fun fun... discovering the triple threat in me... but the successful afternoon put my schedule in great conflict with the my fair lady gig... yes, i got a spot in the chorus in MFL but poop i have to ask my teachers whether i can take part in it... if there's a part for me in disco inferno i'd probably take that instead of MFL... who knows?

tonight? it's a sssssh thing cos of school... but i sang in front of people and it was fun :) and got flowers...

what the?

i have mixed feelings about this...

Muslim leader welcomes citizenship test
Friday Apr 28 17:46 AEST
A Muslim leader has welcomed a federal government proposal to introduce compulsory citizenship tests for Australian migrants.
Under the proposal by immigration parliamentary secretary Andrew Robb, prospective immigrants would have to take a test to demonstrate their English language skills and knowledge of Australia's values, customs, laws and history.
Muslim leader Mustapha Kara-Ali, a member of the prime minister's hand-picked Muslim community reference group, said a basic level of language skills and understanding of Australian culture could be a useful tool for new citizens.
"A basic understanding of Australian culture and a practical knowledge of the English language will go a long way in laying the foundation for a new mindset in the Muslim community," Mr Kara-Ali said.
"It's stifled minds that are opposing outright this draft blueprint by Mr Robb - it's in the Muslim community's best interest to set such citizenship requirements."
Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock, a former immigration minister, said it was important new citizens understood their obligations to Australia.
"The process that Andrew is foreshadowing may require some additional commitment of funds, of resources and they're matters that the government will look at," Mr Ruddock told reporters.
But the Australian Greens and the Australian Democrats questioned how fluency in English and an understanding of so-called Australian values would make someone a better Australian.
Greens senator Kerry Nettle said not all native Australians were fluent in English, while not all ministers epitomised Australian values.
"A fluent grasp of English is not a prerequisite of being Australian," Senator Nettle said.
"Has Mr Robb forgotten that many indigenous Australians do not speak fluent English? Is he suggesting that they are less Australian?"
The Australian Democrats echoed these concerns by arguing that if the government was serious about the citizenship test it should make everyone take it, not just migrants.
"If Andrew Robb is serious about a compulsory citizenship test on Australian history, customs and values, he should have the courage to require all Australians to take the test," Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett said.
"Clearly many existing Australians have little understanding of the history and heritage in this country."
Labor has backed the government's proposal, subject to a discussion of what constitutes Australian values.
"We would need to look at who is going to decide what would be in the test, what consultation there would be and how the test would be assessed," Labor immigration spokeswoman Annette Hurley said.
Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia chair Voula Messimeri said citizenship should not be a matter of passing or failing a test.
"Australia has a very long and very proud tradition of accepting people from all around the world and that, by necessity, means that there will be people that arrive, and arrive to the door now, that speak no English now," she told ABC radio.
Sikh Council of Australia secretary Bawa Singh Jagdev said the Sikh community would oppose a compulsory English test.
Meanwhile, Mr Kara-Ali said the government's proposal to set up an institute to teach moderate Islam could backfire.
Mr Robb said he was still seriously considering establishing an institute for Islamic studies in Australia, attached to a prominent university.
It would be run by moderate Islamic scholars.
Mr Kara-Ali said such an institute would need to be implemented carefully.
"The university would need to get selective and go for those leaders that are moderate, those for integration," Mr Kara-Ali told AAP.
Otherwise, the institute may further entrench the "old boy's club" of Australian Islamic leaders, many of whom preach a "ghetto mentality", he said.
"But with the right circumstances, I think it could be a very important milestone in community history," he said.
"I think it could go a long way and set a precedent for other western nations as well."

亡命飛撲... shit......... cricket style...

and so i dived to be safe from being run out... but that extra run didn't matter because we lost anyway. it was such a pretty dive, and same as the 亡命飛撲 dives i dove head first onto the bloody pitch which soon became a little bloody with my very own blood. ick. but this will take longer to recover than the stuff without blood because the graze is a little bit deeper... i was quite pleased with the way we played today. although neither betty, natatsha or i took a string of wickets, the most important thing was that the other, younger girls did. they stepped up to the challenge instead of moping around whinging about the whole situation. the fielding was marginally better. had we fielded like we usually do, we would have let in about 50 more runs than lamma got today, so congrats team, for that! it was somewhat disappointing though not to send tash off to england with a win... but we did our best, and if our best didn't get us a win than that to me is okay. just as long as we gave 110%.

so... obviously i didn't have the time or energy to head to dance this afternoon, but we kicked the footy around for half an hour... and i found that hong kong is a small world: kylie knott--- tasmanian--- works as the feature writer for SCMP / bethan greaves--- heave ho batter--- works as the chorus tutor at the APA school of MT dance.. which explains my bethan sighting about half a month ago in an APA lift... i was putting stuff into my locker, and i turned around, the lift door opened, and i thought i saw bethan... when i acertained that it was bethan, i said hi, and the lift door closed again... turns out she's this super dooper soprano singer and singing teacher! small world, small world... and down down sam mcillwraith (south australian) for supporting port power! it was a bittersweet afternoon.

good news today- mum allowed me to train with the HK squad... but only if i put on SPF100+ and put on mask when i get home... ahhh the price one pays to play cricket...

here's to sport!

sad news...

RIP Mr. Brazier... though i never experienced your teaching i loved your kindness and your bond with us as a teacher and friend...

sending lots of love your way ------------>

100th post!

hmm... 1-0-0 anniversary... i've lasted 100 posts here, and i have to thank blogger for its cool features.

music of the week:
Stereophonics "Performance and Cocktails"
Annie Lennox "Medusa" (a lighter shade of pale, take me to the river)
David Gray "A Century Ends"
Seal "Seal" (crazy!)

all from the HKAPA library, thank you very much!

got auditions here, there and everywhere... i've applied to do this lindsey mcallister thing called "disco inferno" next saturday... and the my fair lady thing tomorrow night... fingers cross i get something in the chorus but let's not get too optimistic... or too pessimistic...

i feel that i've shaken off the shakles somewhat at school now... i don't get afraid of doing an improvisation or an exercise or get too disappointed if i fuck up... i haven't fucked up, actually, in two months... i've finally learnt how to learn, and that, i reckon, is the greatest skill to learn when attending any education institution.

but i am getting more and more tired by the day... and i got sick again... it's the change of weather!

and so it's time for bed.

i swear ken alan-- ex.dance captain of the broadway show fosse, is a dead ringer for brett lee!
http://www.gatewayplayhouse.com/2004/fosse.html

a hot day to fall in love with fosse.

melted marge... clinging on to the pocari sweat and not about to let go... ever...

it so hot today at po kong village road! i bowled three overs at the beginning and took 1/7.... it was okay, there were a few nicks dropped, but at least the keeper didn't give any byes away. afterwards it was a most enjoyable hour at CCDC... sorry henry, but the teacher taught us "take off with us" from all that jazz today... i felt like 1% of carol haney and by the end most of my joints were hurting but it didnt' matter!!! we did all the fosse moves and i was completely stoked.


and----- the broncos won!!!! bonus!!!!!

stuff...

^^^^^ proud to be a tourist, still!


^^^^^ yes soloman, hong kong's egg tarts do taste better.


^^^^^ soloman finds the taste of durian rather hard to forget.

^^^^^ hong kong's central, hustle and bustle


^^^^^ this bowl of chinese "ramen" looks and smells like death.

soloman lam is a guy i met through an exchange program called dragon100we went for a little day out on hong kong island, walking from causeway bay to central, where we looked at the archecture of the old style residentials in causeway bay, showed my friend the APA, and gave him a taste of egg tarts --- the hong kong way.

this paris photoblog is a recommendation from soloman, who's a bit of a photography nut:
http://www.unjouraparis.com/photos-paris/index.php

marge cheung: travelling.

What a way to travel around asia & europe!
http://www.seat61.com/Trans-Siberian.htm

it looks like an interesting trip.... when i have enough money to do it!

in fact, check out this site for information on how to travel by train in many different countries: http://www.seat61.com/index.html

fuck.

is it time to leave when the first thought that comes in your mind when you get home is
"fuck, not again." ??

pondering

looking back at some piccies from the past few years...
why do i have good skin when i have no real need for it?
i want good skin.... NOW!

oh wouldn't it be loverly?

... to get a role in my fair lady with the hong kong singers?
i'm auditioning for a role in the chorus next thursday at the APA... despite everything annie told me about the hong kong singers, my fair lady is one of my absolute favourite musicals from my childhood and i'm going to have a shot at it no matter what! i remember those ironbark days where a classmate and i would sing songs from MFL here there and everywhere- on our way to woodchop, while cooking, while tending the fire (and getting burnt in the process), while scrubbing the toilet floor. wish me luck!

broken links

the following is what you see when you click on a broken link @ lomography.com:

/ppp/index_links.php?sub=links&cid=883763
file notnotnot found
file notnotnot found
file not not found
file file not not found found
file file not not found found
filefilefilefile not not foundfoundfound
filefilefilefile not not foundfoundfound
file not not found
file not not found
file not not found
file notnotnot found
file notnotnot found

Sometimes its hard for us to accept that there are links on the internet without a destination - hypertext links to nothing. Many of us question why this happens? how can it be that there is nothing to link to? who is responsible for this? It saddens us to think that the children of tomorrow will inherit a virtual world of broken links and missing content. I received a phone call from master today and he asked me to share his thoughts on this matter. He was very sad at the start of the phone call - he repeated what he said in his previous message that he wants us to meditate for 2 hours or more so that we can move from darkness to light. He also said that we should initiate more people to this cause and help others to find the links that link together. Finally master said we can do this with or without a lomographic picture - what's important he said is that we find all the missing links together and eradicate the world from the evil terror of the 404 error.

to tak tak....

if you're currently reading this blog....


can you turn your phone on and answer it??
:)

charade titles

i love these titles by maurice binder--- cool, stylish, sophisticated.

thursday dare

if ya lose, ya get this:

two for the road

loved audrey, loved albert, loved stanley, loved henry.
great work.
i'd been searching for this movie all over and waited for TCM to show it for yonks back in australia, so it was a pleasant surprise to see it on the shelf at HMV yesterday. i couldn't wait to watch it, and it lived up to all my expectations. plus +++++ it has audrey hepburn playing cricket with albert finney :) bonus bonus bonus!
stanley donen is really a marvellously talented guy-- some of his other movies are my favourite too, like the pajama game and charade. his movies are always witty and sophsticated, with this undoubtedly "cool" martini sipping tone to it. henry mancini's score adds to the mood too.
then there are the uber cool titles done by maurice binder, who also did the titles for the 007 films, as well as charade. here's an article about his titles for 007///
such a romantic movie, and makes one think about marriage and love, because it's not a "happily ever after" with smug marrieds abound.

other events happened today (esp. at cricket training) which really made me appreciate my relationship with my parents. thanks for looking after me, and i hope that i can in turn look after you two as well.

welcome home!

lol!