Say "Yes"...

What would it take for you to say "Yes"?

100 red roses?

1 carat diamond ring?

A romantic marriage proposal on top of Eiffel Tower?

This is a video clip of a very touching proposal. Give yourself 10 min to finish the clip, I hope you will enjoy it. Ming(冠佑)is the drummer of 五月天 and the proposal took place during the band's concert in Beijing. His wife is really a lucky woman.

Then, after the most perfect marriage proposal and the grandest wedding, what lies ahead is a long and diffcult journey that no one can foretell. Like I always say, marriage is a lifelong battle, I have never thought it to be easy, yet I did not imagine it could be so tough at times. At the altar, when you say "I do", do you really understand what you have got yourself into? And this sacred vow that has been broken time and time again by so many, does it still count? Well, doesn't matter what I think, life is a struggle anyway. Nothing is easy in life.

你给我一个秘密

让我触摸到星星

在一个夏日夜里

走入了你的森林

聆听着你的呼吸

世界就睡在梦里

孤单都已经离去

只留下天和地

我和你永远在一起

看着我的眼睛

为什么要哭泣

那幸福太容易

让我不敢相信

勾勾手盖手印

这一刻有约定

那爱情变美丽

因为我开始相信

A summer's night Christmas

I have a friend who lives in Shanghai and she has always requested for her friends to send her pictures of the Christmas lightings at home. This year, to pre-empt her request, I went down to Orchard yesterday and took these photos. However, what I did not expect is that I will be hand delivering these to her over the weekend.

It is a warm summer's night, no different from the other 364 days in the year. Some may think it is a blessing to have weather like this all year round but yet at times, the heat and humidity can really drive people mad. Just 1 hour roaming the streets of Orchard, I think I have sweat as much as one morning at the beach.















In this night, there are no snowflakes, no sign of frosty the snowman (with a pipe), no chimneys churning out smoke from the warm fire place. But there are angels, who sing the familiar tunes of the Christmas carols and stars, which decorated the busy streets of Orchard. Though I do not believe that this is the best Christmas lightings we ever had, but I am just as thrilled and delighted to see them. Maybe, it is the festive atmosphere that makes all these more beautiful than what they appear to be to the naked eyes.

I like Christmas because it is a season of joy, hope and love. While we are cracking our brains choosing gifts for family and friends, selecting the best menu for Christmas dinners and busy decorating the Christmas trees at the comfort of our own home, there are others who do not share the same good fortune that you and I enjoy. Beneath the same dark sky, while I can hear the angels' sing and watch the stars glow so bright, someone out there maybe looking at the same sky, only that what he/she can see are hunger and destitution. I wonder, how many hungry children are falling asleep tonight, with no idea when they are going to have their next meal or how many sleepless soldiers are there, holding on to their rifles, ready to protect a home that is so dear to them? If this is the season of hope, let joy and love spread to where they are needed most. And all I could do is continue to pray......

This Christmas, I have given a winter jacket and pair of boots to 2 kids in Mongolia, donated through World Vision. Have you thought about what you will be giving to the needys this Christmas too?

Manila, swiftly there and back

Was on a 3 day business trip to Manila.

Finally, I have found another city which I dislike, after Paris. I've never thought Philippines is so backward and most part of Manila is congested and messy. Probably only Makati city is somewhat close to what we have at home.

The only thing I have enjoyed during this trip is probably the journey flying into Manila.


Blue sky, fancy clouds, I love them!




There are 4,000 islands in this country. Here's a sneak peek.


The city looks so grey and congested


I stayed in a junior suite in Hotel Richmonde. It has everything I don't need, a big sitting area, toaster and microwave. And what I needed most, it did not have... the internet!

It is a strange hotel anyway. For some reason, the "Do not Disturb" light did not get switched off even after I pulled out my card key and cut the power supply! And for that reason, no one made my room for a day because I forgot to turn the D&D off when I left for work. I'm speechless....


See how "dark" the city is? You can barely see anything in this photo.


The same view from the hotel in the morning. Everything is so grey.

Glad to be home!

Drawing

Sharing a drawing I received only this morning from my sponsored child in Sri Lanka. That feeling of eagerness when opening a mail, I have found it back again!

She is now in grade 5, my, how time flies! I remembered when I first received her profile from World Vision she was still in pre-school. That only goes to show how much older I have become.

Though this is no Picasso or Monet, to me, it is just as valuable as a piece of expensive painting.

Linkin Park in concert (13 Nov 2007)

"Up your volume by 3 notch." That's what I told people I met after I came out of Linkin Park's concert yesterday. For many hours I couldn't hear properly as I was almost deafen by the loud music from LP. They were great and it's incredible to watch them perform live!


Chester, lead singer. Great voice, lousy attitude. Haha... but he's still my favourite LP!


Oh Mike, oh my, looking great with his guitar. I love his rapping too.


Chester and Mike are my favourites.

The organiser of the concert suck big time though. Entrance to the stadium was not properly managed and there were little or no signage to indicate the directions. The queue was horrible (I think admission started too late) and fans were only fully admitted by 9pm, when the concert was scheduled to start at 8pm. Is that why the concert was so short?

It was the shortest concert I have ever been to, only lasted for 1.5 hours. By 10.30pm, LP was already done. And I couldn't believe they only sang 1 encore song (though it was my recent favourite, "Bleed it out" from Minutes to Midnight)!

In comparison, Mayday's concert was so much more value for money. They sang for 3 hours and there were 2 guest appearances (actually I rather not have them if the band can sing more songs). And fans of Mayday were civilised, unlike LP's who pushed and knocked others a lot.

Ok, ok, here's the mathematics. Mayday has 6 albums, LP has 3. That's why the concert time is reduced by half. Logical? Bull shit!


Linkin Park! Are they not cool?? Drool....

I am truly amazed that LP has so many fans here and many of them were so wild! They could sing to LP's every song and had the energy to jump all night... so very very high! Erm, but that also reminded me of myself several weeks ago when I was standing on the chair in Shanghai Stadium. No wonder at that time I kept feeling that the other fans around me were so "un-high". Actually that's how normal people would behave, I was the crazy one haha!

After yesterday, it is clear that I will be the most ardent fan only to Mayday, and LP, unfortunately, will always remain second.

Having said all that, I still think LP is a great band! They are less "angry" as compared to the other rock bands. That's what I love about them... come on, we are all civilised people, don't have to swear all the time.


P.S. Photos are downloaded from this website and not taken by me... don't you know you are not suppose to bring cameras into concerts? Flashes distract the performers! And respect IP please!