2004.

28 days into the year.

7 days into the lunar year.

It's supposed to be a better year?

Bullshit.

'Overall, the coming year is a good one for the Rat person. The year will start with many positive indications and continue in this manner, save for minor setbacks during the course of the year. Luckily for you, the stars this year are very much in your favour, and the only problems that your less lucky months bring are trivial mishaps. Afflictions through the year are insignificant and obstacles are easily overcome. Perhaps your motto this year should be "Don't sweat the small stuff" because getting bogged down in petty difficulties will only cloud the bigger picture and prevent you from forging ahead with your own greater purpose.

Much of your success this year will stem from your own concealed abilities. For some people, luck comes in the form of helpful people, for others, it comes in the form of being at the right place at the right time. But your luck this year will come from your own doing and from being your own person. You have plenty of ability to make yourself rich, successful and desirable to the opposite sex. This is the year where you need to grasp deep within yourself to use all the shrewdness and cunning that is second nature to the Rat to get where you want to be.

Unless you seize the many opportunities that come your way this year, you would be wasting a great deal of the good fortune that is in your horoscope chart in 2004.'

That's supposedly the gist of my feng shui and fortune for the Year of the Monkey.

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Be proactive.

Seize opportunities.

Lets hope I can remember all that when the right moments come along.

Gong Xi Fa Cai to all!

May the Year of the Monkey bring change in the form of peace, love and understanding. May there be abundance of wealth, health and happiness.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Maybe I should stop drinking.

Maybe I'm just delirious.

Alcohol takes you way up there and then you come crashing all the way down. It's like a drug. Wait a minute, it is a drug. One minute you're all high and bubbly and the next, you're down down down.

Can't believe I broke down the other night. After 3 bottles (1 champagne, 2 reds), I was being all righteous and honest and totally not in control of my emotions. Why should I let people who don't matter upset me? Rather silly really. 'Cos there I was trying to explain to my best friend and her partner that I'm not going to let unimportant people upset me and there I was being upset about the whole thing. Yea, *roll eyes*.

Then another night after a few drinks, a wave of depression suddenly hit me as I was driving home. What was going on with me? Where's my life going to? Am I really happy with how my life is at the moment?

I need a change.

I need to meet more people.

I need to widen my circle of friends.

I need to take control of my life once again.

Maybe I should start with losing all this weight...

...

...

...after Chinese New Year.

Off. On.

Up. Down.

There. Not there.

And that's in reference to my blog comments host, BlogSpeak. I know it's not the host's fault and that I am using the free service, but hell, it does get mighty annoying whenever it decides to just *pop* disappear. This is not the first time, either. Checked the host page and apparently the host's host has suspended his account indefinitely, until further notice. So, what is that supposed to mean? Are we supposed to just sit around and wait for our comments to appear again? Hello, I need to be acknowledged here. I need to know that there are people out there, that I'm loved, that I'm wanted. Comments are my therapy. I need my comments.

Fed up.

Even if the host does reactivate the account, all previous comments would probably have been purged. Oh well.

Open another account. Change blog comments host.

Thus the one you see now at the bottom of this post is from HaloScan. I'm hoping these buggers are more reliable than BlogSpeak.

Bye bye BlogSpeak.

Hello HaloScan.

Yesterday they laid a superstar to rest.

Hong Kong's Queen of Pop can finally be at peace.

Yesterday I worked till 1am. 17 hours, with an hour break for lunch. Exhausted would be an understatement. It's going to be another long day today.

A friend shared an interesting story with me last night...

When God created the cow, he told the cow, you'll have to sweat, toil and work all day under the sun to make sure that there's food on the table for yourself and your family. For such a life, God gave the cow a lifespan of 50 years. The cow protested. If it had to endure such a life, he'd rather it was only 20 years and thus, returned the extra 30 years to God.

Then God created the dog. He told the dog that it was to sit all day at the door of its house and bark at anybody who comes in. God gave the dog a lifespan of 20 years. The dog objected. If it had to sit all day long by the door, it'd rather only 10 years and so, returned the other 10 years to God.

After that, God created the monkey. He said to the monkey that it had to entertain people with monkey tricks. For that, God gave it a lifespan of 20 years. The monkey too objected. If it had to make a fool of itself the whole time, it'd rather only 10 years. So God kept the extra 10 years.

Finally, God created man. He said to man, "Your job is to sleep, eat and play. All you need to do is to enjoy your life and do nothing. For this kind of life, I'll give you a 20 year lifespan."

The man obviously objected. How could he only get 20 years for such a good life? He wanted more. So he made a deal with God. The man asked for the 30 years that the cow had returned, the 10 years that the dog had returned and the 10 years that the monkey had returned. That would give him a lifespan of 70 years. God agreed to his request.

And that's why...

In our first 20 years, we eat, sleep, play, enjoy the best and do nothing much. For the next 30 years, we work all day long, suffer and get to support the family. For the next 10 years, we stay at home, sit by the front door and bark at people. And for the last 10 years, we entertain our grandchildren by making monkey faces and monkey tricks!

Thus the reason I worked till 1am this morning and why I'll be working late again tonight. LOL.

I've been meaning to lose weight too. Have packed on a helluva lot of pounds lately. One would think that with all the late hours put in, I'd be losing weight but argh, no, I just can't seem to stop eating! Can't fit into most of my clothes, my face has gone so much rounder, my bottom sticks out and boy, my belly looks like its 3 months pregnant! I seriously need to lose some weight. And what with Chinese New Year coming up, it's going to be another eating binge. Helppppppp!

Maybe losing weight should be my resolution for 2004. Problem with me is that I'm too lazy and undisciplined to do any exercise and I just looooove to eat! It's the worst combination anyone could have.

And if drastic measures need drastic solutions, maybe I'll just take the easy way out and pop into a Marie France. Then I'll probably get depressed at the sight of how much it's going to cost me. Which will cause me to go on another eating binge to drown my sorrows. So much for losing weight.

But I must, I must, I must.

Must get back into my clothes.

Must feel pretty again.

Must, must, must lose weight.

Been listening to quite a lot of canto-pop lately.

I figured I might as well list out the ten albums I thought were the best for 2003. Not that I've listened to every single album that's been released in HK in 2003... So this list comes with a disclaimer. If you thought an album was great and it's not here, it's probably because I haven't listened to it. Or our tastes are just totally different.

Anyway, here's my taste in music. And I'm not afraid to admit anymore that I actually listen to Twins and think their album deserves a mention here too. LOL.

My top ten albums of 2003 (in no particular order):

No.10 - Edmond Leong
Evolution - Twins
Dress Me Up - Denise Ho
Kiss Kiss Kiss - at17
Show Up - Joey Yung
My Pride - Joey Yung
Custom Made - Hacken Lee
Candy's Airline - Candy Lo
My 21st Century (Special Release) - Anthony Wong
Music Odyssey 2002-2003 Concert - Jacky Cheung

Happy New Year.

Here's to a happier, heathier and more peaceful 2004!

Resolutions?

Why make things that I'm bound to break?

Instead here are some of my new year wishes.

I wish...

That my family and friends be healthy.

That all I know be happy.

That people would stop squabbling over little things.

That people won't resort to war when they can't come to an agreement on certain matters.

That brains get used a little more.

That mouths are fed.

That everyone has a roof over their heads.

That our country continues to grow and prosper.

That the people of our country are wise to choose a leader that would lead us into the next century.

That I have someone special to cuddle to and wake up with each morning.