A week after Valentine

It's almost a week after Valentine. And guess what is the hottest news in town and is on every major newspaper. General Election. Basically all the news now is about the election. Not that I'm against election or politics. Everytime election is around the corner, everything seems to be like a circus. Buntings everywhere. Flags everywhere. Posters everywhere. Politician calls their counterparts names. And when I said names, it's NAMES and it's humourous. Then you begin to wonder. How can they shake hands and smile at each other when they start calling each other names behind their back? Funny but true.

This year is going to be my 1st year of election away from home. I wonder how is the election fever here. Is it going to be a big hu ha like back home?

Also this week will be Chap Goh Mei, which means Chinese New Year is OVER. And it will come again next year with another animal.

The Tudors

I'm back learning the English history. The Tudors. You know it's really interesting to study other country's history apart from our own country's history. Although it's not as colourful as other country's history. I used to hate History when I was in school. Hate the teacher as well. Can't help it if she superbly boring. To be in her class seemed endless. The click felt like it's moving slowly. Or not, it completely stop.

I came across this show when I was browsing through the list of shows that I like. And I immediately got it and watched it. Put aside the nudity and sex and lust, the story is a whole new way of telling us the story about a King who once ruled England. It's like learning history is a whole new way. It's a bit funny to have all sorts of royal family rule 1 country. They have Tudors, Normans and some other royal house. But seriously, put aside all those hanky panky issues, the show is a new way to know the history about King Henry VIII.

Like what you will hear in the beginning of the show before it starts, "You think you know the story but you only know how it ends. To get to the heart of the story, you have to go back to the beginning." I must say this. This is a brave attempt by the production and hopefully more will follow suit.


Picture taken from http://thetudorsonshowtime.blogspot.com

Smallville Season 7

Clark Kent and Superman. Lana Lang and Lois Lane. Sounds familiar to you? I was watching Smallville Season 7 these days and guess what. There are more surprises than just the homecoming of Lex Luthor.

1st, we saw the appearance of Supergirl. I bet it sounds yummy to some guys out there. Then, the plot becomes a bit boring. Possibly due to the writer's strike in the States. But, like they said...The show must go on. And then as the show went on, we see the other Justice League's characters doing their appearance. But the most interesting appearance ever was .... Dean Cain. Imagine this. The previous Superman doing a scene with the current Superman. How awesome is that. Adding to the spice, Dean Cain's character's initial was also CK. Ironic as it sounds but it's really cool.

Being a huge fan of DC Comics, it's really fun to see them together again. I've been growing up watching the Justice League and it'll be fun to see all of them again in human figures rather than just cartoon or inside comics.

Back to Smallville. Previous season we saw the appearance of Flashman .... Aquaman. This season will see Green Arrow and The Raven. Cool or not? Bet they are going to show more of the Justice League. I'm waiting for them to show Captain America. Wonder when will be the day for the production to show all the Justice League character.


Picture taken from http://bpaty22.gametrailers.com

The meaning of Stacy

I just had to write this down. I found out something interesting on the net yesterday. The meaning of my name. Imagine that. All this while, I thought my name has no meaning at all. That my name is just a glamourous name since I share my name with so many people.

Stacy - a 2 syllable name means; one who shall rise again; resurrection. Look at that. I shall rise again.... Hmmm....It's a bit scary, isn't it? Origin of my name is from Greek. Out of the name Anastacia. Never mind about the origin. But the meaning is just so amazing. Resurrection... the one who shall rise again ... Not that I don't like it. I feel so blessed. At least I know now that my name is not just a name. Now I could feel like the Lord.

Love is in the air

Love is in the air. Love is everywhere. Everywhere you turn, you'll see flower stalls or people with flowers. It's a lovey dovey week. Everything is in pink.... Everything is about flowers and chocolates. Again, I'm going to have a lonely Valentine. In fact, I never had a Valentine. So, why should I even bother about celebrating. Nothing's changed. Since this is a Valentine's week, yours truly is dedicating this song to everybody.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR (John Paul Young)

Love is in the air
Everywhere I look around
Love is in the air
Every sight and every sound

And I don't know if I'm being foolish
Don't know if I'm being wise
But it's something that I must believe in
And it's there when I look in your eyes

Love is in the air
In the whisper of the trees
Love is in the air
In the thunder of the sea

And I don't know if I'm just dreaming
Don't know if I feel sane
But it's something that I must believe in
And it's there when you call out my name

(Chorus)
Love is in the air
Love is in the air
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh

Love is in the air
In the rising of the sun
Love is in the air
When the day is nearly done

And I don't know if you're an illusion
Don't know if I see it true
But you're something that I must believe in
And you're there when I reach out for you

Love is in the air
Every sight and every sound
And I don't know if I'm being foolish
Don't know if I'm being wise

But it's something that I must believe in
And it's there when I look in your eyes

(Repeat Chorus 4X)

Wonder Woman speaking

What a way to begin my Monday after a superbly long weekend. People chasing me for things like mad. The phone started ringing non-stop. People asking me about things non-stop. Every year I had to do the same thing over and over again during this time of the year. Collecting and doing other people's work when noone is actually helping me do my own. Am I super nice to everyone until everyone seemed to be taking advantage of me?

When I change to another dept, I thought that I would be free from all the havoc and hassles and that I could go back home and enjoy my Chinese New Year. In the end, what did I get? Nothing. All I got was people asking me to do their job. Now, this is very frustrating. Just because I'm the only soul who knows about how the things work and I'm not going on holiday, they are taking full advantage of me. I'm feeling like a vacuum cleaner here. I suck everybody's work and my own.... God knows who is going to help me do it. I'm really done here. My patience has been tested to the limit and it's time to do what I'm suppose to do. Everything in me has been tested to the limit and it's time for me to explode.

Where to go this year?

Where to go for my next holiday? Last year the both of us went to Bali and it was superb. Despite the bombing, the place still remains pure.

The beautiful garden of our hotel taken from our room


The Mount Kintamani. We had our lunch there as well and the air..... the air was cool and unpolluted at all


Memorial of the bombing

Now that MATTA Fair is coming up next month, the both of us will have to think of where to go fast. I was thinking of going to Phuket. He seemed to agree with the idea. But all that again will have to depend on our friend's wedding. Phuket seems a nice place to relax. Since I've heard a lot about it, perhaps it's time to go there and experience it myself. And to add to the adventure, maybe instead of flying there, we'll take the bus and backpack. Sounds like a good idea, isn't it? Well, that all depends.

I'll update about where we'll be going after everything is confirm especially the wedding. Can't believe that lady haven't make up her mind whether she wants to get married or not.

A holiday trip to Russia?

Candy-striped Chesma Church, built by Catherine the Great

When the entire office was in Hong Kong, I did not feel disappointed about me not going and joining them. Not at all. Then I saw my Russian system admin and my other colleagues were asking him why didn't he join the Hong Kong trip. I replied my colleagues and said "why would he want to go to Hong Kong when he can go much further than Hong Kong?" And that was when suddenly I feel like going to Russia for a holiday. Russia. The home of KGB. Seriously, put aside all of the politics, Russia is a nice place. Don't get me wrong. Just because I used to admire all the Russian athletes (Alexander Popov and all the Russian tennis babes), I wanted to go to Russia instead. I mean, Russia is a nice place to visit. And again, building's architecture attracted me especially the churches. The architecture of the churches are completely different from any of the churches in Europe.

Not only the architecture captured my interest, I've heard a lot about the Tsar and Tsarina. And I used to watch that cartoon about the last surviving Tsar family, Anastacia. I'm not sure if they ever found the much talked about Anastacia. Also, I remember watching this tv show called 'Catherine The Great'. That is like a Russian version of Elizabeth I. A strong willed queen. If anyone said that woman don't rule, they are indeed wrong. Woman does rule and they rule equally well like men.

Well, let's see if I can have a trip to Russia for a holiday.


© Photographer: Jonathon Smith. All images Lonely Planet Images.

Grey's Anatomy

Friends always ask me why on earth would I want to watch this show. It's like doctors with issues. Who cares if they are a bunch of doctors with issues. Doctors are human as well and they have problems like us. Doesn't mean doctors are God and they are not allowed to have problems. I think doctors are a bunch of really strong human beings. Why would I say that? Well, 1st they are ALWAYS on standby. Regardless it's in the middle of the night or wee in the morning, they dedicate their life to save other people's live. 2nd, they have to fight their own emotion if their patient dies and they will have to tell the family members. It may sound easy to do that, but imagine if you were already bonded with your patient?

There is only 1 reason why I kept watching this show. Because it's about life. Although, not real, we may relate our own situation into that situation. Life is not a bed of roses. That is very true. I like this quote from Meredith Grey "I can't think of a single reason why I should be a surgeon, but I can think of a thousand reasons why I should quit. They make it hard on purpose... there are lives in our hands. There comes a moment when it's more than just a game, and you either take that step forward or turn around and walk away. I could quit but here's the thing, I love the playing field." And this quote as well.

"At the end of the day faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don't really expect it. Its like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed. The castle, well, it may not be a castle. And its not so important happy ever after, just that its happy right now. See once in a while, once in a blue moon, people will surprise you , and once in a while people may even take your breath away."

See now why I name my blog Stacy's Anatomy? Because like Meredith Grey and her friends, I do have issues of my own. There is always something to keep us going in life. And mine .... I don't know. I'm still searching.

Season of Lent

The season of self denial is here. It has always been a test for everyone during this season. The question is how far can we go for the self denial and what is actually 'Self Denial'?

I've googled for the meaning of 'Self Denial' and this is what I got.

Luke 9:23: "He said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."

So, what does the Scripture really means? The a whole string of explanation follows the Scripture. But the main point of Lent, God wants His people to repent, pray a lot more and think of the things that are above and not of things that are on the earth. Although the latter would be very hard for people of this century, but if there is a will, there is always a way, isn't it? Besides, not everything involves dollars and cents. You certainly don't need dollars and cents to pray to the Lord.

Every year during Lent, we'll be reciting the Rosary and read the Bible and read the 10 Commandments. And the question that kept coming back, how far can we follow what we read and recite? I don't want to hear any sorts of answers from anyone. All I would like to do for Lent this year is to purify myself. Do more good. Remember the things that are above and not on the things that are the earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent. This is for further reading.

Prague

Church of St Francis, amidst the rooftops and towers of the Old Town

They said that Prague is the next romantic city after Paris. It is very very very true. I think I'd prefer Prague to Paris. No offense to the French. But the 1st time I saw the pictures of Prague on Lonely Planet, I fell in love with Prague immediately. The buildings, the scenery is just breath taking. The old castles are just like in the fairytale. Not only the castles, the churches architecture are just breathtaking especially the altar. Something about the European churches and our churches here. The way the old European churches does their altar are so much different from us.

I told myself if I were to travel, I definitely won't want to go to places with skyscrapers. If I were to go to a city with skyscrapers, I might as well just stay in KL. I just need to look out from my window and I can see lots of skyscrapers. Talking about scenery, isn't it? I mean, what's the point?

I'd really really really like to go there if I have a chance. Prague, Athens, Venice, Budapest, Vienna, Barcelona...I wish someday I can go there.

Tyn church peeks from behind houses in the Old Town

© Photographer: Jonathan Smith. All images Lonely Planet Images.

Year of the Rat

It's that time of year again. Ang pows, lion dance, honey orange and everything is red. If anyone would like to see a city painted in red, now this is the time. Everywhere is red. Everywhere you turn, you will be able to listen to Chinese New Year songs and anything that is red. Even the boutiques are taking out their red clothes. Everything must be in red.

I was hanging out at 1U yesterday all by myself and I was very lucky because they had this lion dance show there. They do have it every year, but this year I must pen it down. So I took out my expensive phone and start taking pictures. The lion was superbly adorable. Talking about showmanship, I think the lion is a good actor. It took everybody's heart who were watching the show without fail. Young and old. Local and foreigners. All stopped to watch the show. I guess that is just one of the Chinese tradition that never fades. Hopefully it will never fades even if everyone's mind is set on MONEY and earthly wealth.

The lion looking at the people around him


I'm scared...don't these people know that I'm afraid of height?? I want my mummy!!!

I can do this.... I can do this .....Just watch me...


Yes! I made it. But this is scary.....

I know I'm cute and adorable and I rock!! Would you like to it again?


Girls and boys, meet my two friends...Friends...meet girls and boys...


"Gong Xi Fatt Cai everyone. May the year of the rat bring prosperity to each and everyone of you." From the Cat family....* This year I will have to let all the rats go.....