Gary Chang, an architect in Hong Kong has designed the coolest multi-room flat ever with 24 rooms in all of 344 sq. ft!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Little Bee
I picked up Chris Cleave's Little Bee at a Target in Washington state when I visited my sister in Vancouver last month and finished it early this morning.
It was a really good read since it was engaging and enlightening. For example, I didn't know anything about the conflicts in Nigeria over oil, nor did I know much about immigration in Britain. The ending seemed a little rushed though.
I don't want to spoil the story so I'll just reiterate the spare description on the back cover:
This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again - the story starts there...
Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is how the story unfolds.
And there you have it - you've been told. :)
It was a really good read since it was engaging and enlightening. For example, I didn't know anything about the conflicts in Nigeria over oil, nor did I know much about immigration in Britain. The ending seemed a little rushed though.
I don't want to spoil the story so I'll just reiterate the spare description on the back cover:This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again - the story starts there...
Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is how the story unfolds.
And there you have it - you've been told. :)
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Working Weekend
It's a working weekend for me. I spent a few hours in the office this afternoon and then made myself a yummy healthy dinner of baked salmon with black bean salsa and quick corn saute. The meal's a quick and easy recipe out of Clean Eating magazine. I got a subscription with my personal training package and had been meaning to try a recipe out of it forever now. So glad I did because it was so tasty!
Now, back to work!
Now, back to work!
Retail Therapy
I got my hair cut this morning and got bangs! Honest to goodness bangs, which was a spontaneous decision on my part after flipping through May's Cosmo while I was waiting and happening upon a picture of Jessica Alba with bangs. It was time for a change.
I'm not yet sure how I feel about having hair on my forehead - it'll take some getting used to. The next test is to style them myself which may be tricky but we'll see. I'm comforted by the speed at which my hair grows though so if I decide I hate them, then it'll just be irksome for a couple months.
Anyway, my appointment ended with 30 minutes left on my parking meter so I decided to drop by Anthropologie for a quick browse and left with this pretty top, as well as a couple others that were on sale.
Yes, I am weak.
I'm not yet sure how I feel about having hair on my forehead - it'll take some getting used to. The next test is to style them myself which may be tricky but we'll see. I'm comforted by the speed at which my hair grows though so if I decide I hate them, then it'll just be irksome for a couple months.
Anyway, my appointment ended with 30 minutes left on my parking meter so I decided to drop by Anthropologie for a quick browse and left with this pretty top, as well as a couple others that were on sale.
Yes, I am weak.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
30 hrs in Sao Paulo
I found out last Thursday afternoon that I would be flying back to Sao Paulo Sunday night to spend a day and a half in meetings before leaving Tuesday evening to return to Toronto. Given that it's a 10+ hour flight one-way, I was gone for 3 nights - 2 of which were spent in-flight.
Now, I never really imagined that I would be jetting off at such short notice - I used to think that it sounded rather glamorous but it's not really....although I must admit that I did enjoy flying Executive Class to and fro.
It was the same crew on the plane for both flights and the attendants remembered me which was rather nice. I got my champagne at the start of the flight and my port with dessert. Yum. I shouldn't have given my training and diet but I decided to throw caution to the wind and indulge because when next I fly on my own dime, there certainly won't be a choice of wines with my choice of entrees for the in-flight meal!
We landed around 5:30AM and after cabbing it home, I unpacked and took an hour-long nap to make up for the very light sleep I had on the plane - despite ear plugs, the roar of the engines is deafeningly loud. I managed to haul my butt into the office around 9:15 and then spent a fairly productive day, though I hit the wall around 3:30. I stuck it out until 6:30 though and was rather proud of myself for that. I don't know how people who travel regularly for business do it.
Alright then. Time for bed! Early morning meeting tomorrow! G'night.
Now, I never really imagined that I would be jetting off at such short notice - I used to think that it sounded rather glamorous but it's not really....although I must admit that I did enjoy flying Executive Class to and fro.
It was the same crew on the plane for both flights and the attendants remembered me which was rather nice. I got my champagne at the start of the flight and my port with dessert. Yum. I shouldn't have given my training and diet but I decided to throw caution to the wind and indulge because when next I fly on my own dime, there certainly won't be a choice of wines with my choice of entrees for the in-flight meal!
We landed around 5:30AM and after cabbing it home, I unpacked and took an hour-long nap to make up for the very light sleep I had on the plane - despite ear plugs, the roar of the engines is deafeningly loud. I managed to haul my butt into the office around 9:15 and then spent a fairly productive day, though I hit the wall around 3:30. I stuck it out until 6:30 though and was rather proud of myself for that. I don't know how people who travel regularly for business do it.
Alright then. Time for bed! Early morning meeting tomorrow! G'night.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Library District
For a bibliophile, Library District Condos, much like Library Hotel in Manhattan, has got to be the place to be, right?
You can bet your clothbound Penguin Classics that I registered to check it out! :)
You can bet your clothbound Penguin Classics that I registered to check it out! :)
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
I first heard of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies from Adrienne over at Bookmark My Heart about a year ago and was reminded of it again late in the year when I read that Natalie Portman was connected to the film adaptation.
R: the original cover, L: the cute post-it I used to cover up the zombie because I'm a chicken and it freaked me out to look at it (no joke.)
I finally got around to reading it and finished it a couple nights ago. Yes, it was campy and fun but I was also annoyed.
Why? First of all, it was poorly copy-edited with the odd transposed word, extraneous article, and "coy pond" on the grounds of Pemberley which should have been a "koi pond." But the absolute worst for me was this glaring factual error in chapter 43:
The housekeeper came; a respectable-looking English woman, dressed in a kimono and shuffling about on bound feet.
For the record, the Japanese never bound their feet so don't go mixing up the "Oriental" cultures - that's just ignorant - never mind that training in China was considered inferior to that in Japan - I'll let that go.
Anyway, despite it all, it was amusing and I'm mostly glad I read it, though I don't think I'll be checking out Quirk Classics' subsequent title, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters:
R: the original cover, L: the cute post-it I used to cover up the zombie because I'm a chicken and it freaked me out to look at it (no joke.)I finally got around to reading it and finished it a couple nights ago. Yes, it was campy and fun but I was also annoyed.
Why? First of all, it was poorly copy-edited with the odd transposed word, extraneous article, and "coy pond" on the grounds of Pemberley which should have been a "koi pond." But the absolute worst for me was this glaring factual error in chapter 43:
The housekeeper came; a respectable-looking English woman, dressed in a kimono and shuffling about on bound feet.
For the record, the Japanese never bound their feet so don't go mixing up the "Oriental" cultures - that's just ignorant - never mind that training in China was considered inferior to that in Japan - I'll let that go.
Anyway, despite it all, it was amusing and I'm mostly glad I read it, though I don't think I'll be checking out Quirk Classics' subsequent title, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters:
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Long Weekend Update!
It was the Easter long weekend and I'm happy to report that I didn't get up to much. It was a short work week with Good Friday off but it seemed like the longest short week ever because I was in meetings for, oh, something like 80% of the time.
The problem with meetings is that there's usually work that comes out of them but because I'm not at my desk to do the work during the day, I have to be there later to do it. Incidentally, my trainer was stricken with the stomach flu all week so going to the gym didn't conflict with work.
Anyway, I spent Friday with my family. It was Qing Ming this weekend so we went to visit my father's grave. After dim sum, I stayed in and watched Season 2 of Bones on DVD while browsing new condo development websites for my brother who is thinking about getting into the real estate market.
Saturday was another day spent loafing. I made it out for a 6.5K run in the morning down by the waterfront after being woken up by my aunt and couldn't get myself to head out again despite the good weather. Typically I'd head out for a stroll along Queen West to browse the shops but since my preliminary tax prep suggests that I actually OWE money this year, I decided to avoid temptation altogether and stay in to watch some more Bones. So begins my spending fast...
Today? Dim sum with my aunt and cousins, grocery shopping with my mom, and then home to chill and prepare for the work week ahead.
I lead quite the exciting life, right?
Here's a pic my sister posted to FB yesterday of Piglet "reading" a book to herself. She never, ever fails to make my smile. I love her chubby little feet. :)
The problem with meetings is that there's usually work that comes out of them but because I'm not at my desk to do the work during the day, I have to be there later to do it. Incidentally, my trainer was stricken with the stomach flu all week so going to the gym didn't conflict with work.
Anyway, I spent Friday with my family. It was Qing Ming this weekend so we went to visit my father's grave. After dim sum, I stayed in and watched Season 2 of Bones on DVD while browsing new condo development websites for my brother who is thinking about getting into the real estate market.
Saturday was another day spent loafing. I made it out for a 6.5K run in the morning down by the waterfront after being woken up by my aunt and couldn't get myself to head out again despite the good weather. Typically I'd head out for a stroll along Queen West to browse the shops but since my preliminary tax prep suggests that I actually OWE money this year, I decided to avoid temptation altogether and stay in to watch some more Bones. So begins my spending fast...
Today? Dim sum with my aunt and cousins, grocery shopping with my mom, and then home to chill and prepare for the work week ahead.
I lead quite the exciting life, right?
Here's a pic my sister posted to FB yesterday of Piglet "reading" a book to herself. She never, ever fails to make my smile. I love her chubby little feet. :)
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