que pasa

So, I don't do this often but here are some pictures that I took in New Zealand.  I feel like I don't have to put up many pictures of the sights because you can easily google them, but here are a few which I thought were nice.

And I got a chance to get pretty darn close to some animals too.  I like how they look me in the eye. 

And here's two exotic creatures that I bet you didn't know could be found in New Zealand if you're really lucky...

















Update: You can see all my pictures here

New Zealand IS beautiful.

Will write more another time and try to get some pics in here too.

Sorry, haven't had much to blog about despite the fact that it's Chinese New Year.  So here are some little bits to keep you occupied for 1 minute.

The familiar and comforting sights and sounds of home. 
I was walking around my neighborhood the other evening and I realized that I live in a pretty nice area.  I saw 1 of those 2 monkey boys (because they used to hang from tree branches right round the corner just for fun) from number 4… he's grown up now and doesn't recognize me.  But I recognize him because I saw him hanging off the neighbor's gate…

Then there were the dog walkers along the linear park.  And the cute little kids who get taken on walks with their moms, maids or grandmothers.  There was this particularly adorable sight of a small cute girl who was with her mom, their big dog, and her little toy rabbit.  Aww...

And as much as I don't like the persistent yapping of dogs, it has become a rather reassuring sound that at least someone/something/somebody is around keeping an eye on strangers for us. 

Blonde moment
My bro and I were at the airport yesterday and I commented that the airport would shut down on Malay and Indian public holidays.  This was in response to the fact that all the staff manning the check-in counters were Malays and Indians. 

Came the reply, "Don’t be silly.  It's Chinese New Year, of course all the Chinese staff are on leave and the Malays and Indians have to be on duty!"

I think my bro probably rolled his eyes but I couldn't tell.  I swear, this doesn’t happen often…  I'm normally smarter than this.

Happy holidays
So some of you know we are going on a family vacation.  You guys would also know the Europe holiday fiasco which ended up in the holiday not happening.  So you can imagine how I feel going into this one.  I hear New Zealand is beautiful and I'll really enjoy it, so I'm hoping that’s exactly how it'll be.

Anyway, for those of you who celebrated Chinese New Year, I hope you had a good time, if not at least a nice break from work... 

Over and out for now.

I’m here in Shenzhen now at Mr. P’s place, about to leave soon though to head back home.

We’re still getting this freak weather in China. Freakin’ cold, that is. Shenzhen air-conditioners generally aren’t equipped to provide warm air, and that’s a problem… Mr. P graciously gave up his bed to sleep on the couch, but since the only air-conditioner in the apartment that does provide warm air is in the bedroom, the poor guy had to sleep in his ski pants too, that’s how cold it was.

I’m glad that I’m already in Shenzhen because there won’t be a problem of planes not being able to take off since it’s not cold enough to snow and ice up the runway and stuff. My Singaporean friend in Nanjing though, he’s stuck, that area isn’t equipped to deal with snow…

In other news, I wrote a letter of complaint yesterday at this café I was having lunch at. I waited 40 minutes for my set lunch only to realize that the waitress never placed my order. I was reading my book while waiting so I didn’t quite realize the time until my stomach started to growl.

I was not a happy camper. I think I must have all this pent up angst in me that made cumulated in me being so intolerant yesterday. I suppose normally I would be upset, but I wouldn’t get to the point of writing a letter of complaint. I wonder if it’s because of the crap I’ve been getting lately from the various government departments and bank and I just needed to vent. Or maybe it’s just side effect of 2.5 years of frustration in China. (Anyway, the manager called me in the evening to apologize.)

Anyway, I’m glad I did this stopover thing because it was good to catch up with Mr. P. And as we all know, chatting in person beats talking over the phone anytime.

Alright, gotta go. Singapore, here I come. Gonna check out the new Terminal 3 when I land...