Business Trip

I'm gonna take my first business trip for my current job next week. It is not the first time that I take this kind of trip. I've done that many times before in my job before my previous job. Certainly, I'm not really excited about this, cos unlike gonna on vacation, you feel pressure to perform, because others have expectations on me, so I need to meet those expectations. Nonetheless, the rundown a typical business trip is pretty routine:
- Prepare everything that's need for the trip, docs, file, contact, etc
- Exchange some local currency as pocket cash
- Packing luggage the night before
- set alarm clock to wake up earlier than normal
- wake up, wash up, get dress and hop out
- check-in at airport, take breakfast or skip it there
- get on the plane with bunch of strangers and read newspaper
- have breakfast for whatever they give you, then take a nap
- get off the plane, pass the customs, then grab a taxi
- get to destination office, shaking hands with strangers, and yadi yada....
- when the day is done, check in at hotel (or before that if time allows)
- have a decent dinner (alone or with strangers if they treat you one)
- get back to hotel, wash up, flip the remote to get a glimp of the TV, then set the alarm again or arrange morning call
- then go to bed
- Tomorrow is just another day - wash up, breakfast, taxi, work , work, work..... then back to hotel....
- By the time that I can check out the hotel and go to airport, I'll happy and relax
- then I grab some sovenior at airport
- get on the plane, have dinner with strangers again
- get off the plane, wait for my luggages, hop on subway, taxi
- get home, wash up and go to bed.

So routine and predictable....if things goes smoothly without delays, etc.

What tipbits are circling on top of my head today?

Not in any logical order:

SuperBowl on Feb 3, Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, My son, my wife, my domestic helper, my dad, my grandmom, my son's doctor, my friends: Daniel, Nelson, Wilson, Sandy, Internet, iPhone, iPod, Triple O burgers, Tuna Sushi, Taiwan Trip, RFP, hotpot, Asia Transition Project plan, Cloverfield, La Sa, Steve Jobs, downloads, DVDRom Backup, my wife's Shanghai trip, my wife's Tokyo trip, my dad, new office in Taikoo Shing, wikipedia, bear stock market and recovery, Chinese new year visits to aunt and uncle, preparing red pocket money, sleeping....

Luxury handbags

The original meaning of carrying a luxury handbag is an indication of few things about its owner (carrier):
1. She can afford it.
2. She somehow know this brand, not just the name, but also the story of the company, its founder, or the designer. So, she will know…
3. what and how to appreciate the design, the materials, the cutting of the bag.
4. She has the taste to match the bag to herself for the right occasion.

Cos, a luxury bag is not just for carrying things, as a matter of fact, some of them I would deem as ‘ugly’ and can’t perform the most fundamental role of carrying things. Like some that I saw before which cost ten of thousands, but it looks like a ‘shinny’ minibus or a ship. Man, they are ‘ugly’, but ok, you can say that it is a piece of ‘art’ through other’s eyes, though to me, the distinction of a piece of ‘art’ and a piece of ‘shit’ is just a fine line.

Anyway, these days in the society that I’m living in, luxury bags can only barely meet the first indication. Cos, many carriers actually can barely afford the bag that they carry. Those officegirls who makes $12,000 a month carry a Louis Vutton bag which costs $9,000 a month. That happens regardless where she is just out of school with student loans, or older with kids and a mortgage. That doesn’t matter to them. They want a Gucci, they want a Louis Vutton. Why the want them?...... It is because their friends have them, their coworkers carry them, their moms wish to have them, their idols in showbiz have many of them, shopping/gossip magazines report the latest versions of them. So, all or some of those reasons above make them feel like they need those bags….sadly just like everyone else. So, she could ‘fit in’ in the society. Certainly, those who sell the bags love it, are those buyers really happy after they bought them. Yes, they do, but perhaps only for 3 days for the first bag that she bought. The margin of satisfaction for each additional one just goes down. Yes, there is second-hand market for these bags, but we all know that those bags depreciate, with only few exceptions - certainly not for most that got carried around on the street.

Some carriers doesn't know shit about the story behind the bags, the designer, the brand, and some of them can't pronounce or spell the brand. The just buy what is selling in the store. If the price is the highest, they think that is the best. So after they bought the bags, they just care them to everywhere they go, to work, to supermarket, to the park, to go hiking, to go fishing...u name it. Have you seen gals taken a LV with muds on her shoes while getting off the mountain?

So, it almost all come that to only the first point....show that they can afford it.....but wait, that's not the worst. The worst are certainly those who can't afford it and resort to buy the pirate goods. That's so sad! What is the point? Well, I think that actually it is fine for them, can't accept that fact that you can't afford it but still go for fake goods, all coming from a person with a low confidence, self-esteem and IQ. That's the perfect match.

般若波羅密多心經

觀自在菩薩，行深般若波羅密多時，照見五蘊皆空，度一切苦厄。舍利子！色不異空，空不異色，色即是空，空即是色；受想行識，亦復如是。舍利子！是諸法空相：不生不滅，不垢不淨，不增不減。是故空中無色，無受想行識。無眼耳鼻舌身意；無色聲香味觸法。無眼界，乃至無意識界。無無明，亦無無明盡；乃至無老死，亦無老死盡。無苦集滅道。無智，亦無得。以無所得故！菩提薩埵，依般若波羅密多故，心無罣礙，無罣礙故，無有恐怖，遠離顛倒、夢想，究竟涅槃。三世諸佛，依般若波羅密多故，得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提！故知般若波羅密多，是大神咒，是大明咒，是無上咒，是無等等咒。能除一切苦！真實不虛！

故說般若波羅密多咒，即說咒曰：揭諦，揭諦，波羅揭諦，波羅僧揭諦，菩提娑婆訶！

Parenting 1

Every parent has his/her own philosophy on how to bring up his/her kid. In the old days, big family has rules. Nowadays, families are getting smaller with few or no brother/sister, and many of them have maids. So, the structure of families is a bit different.

I don’t believe in molding my son to be this or that. I mean, I won’t wish my son to be a doctor, lawyer, getting rich and all that. Rather, I will try to provide as many exposures or opportunities as I can to him, so he can see what fit him and develop himself naturally to become something he wants to be. Though I’m worried about whether that might give him too much freedom that he may turns something good into bad, I think having too much freedom is better than no freedom at all. The key is to discipline, monitor, and manage. It is all about how much time and effort that I want to spend on my kid. I don’t know if my briefs contradict with my wife’s or not, cos we really haven’t begin any serious and details discussion on this subject. However, I’m quite confident and comfortable with my briefs. Hopefully, things will turn out alright in the long run.

Sleepwalking in daily life

Recently, I think I'm in a very strange mode that I don't remember I've experienced before in my life. I feel like I'm sleepwalking all day long, doing things without much thinking. Certainly, that doesn't happen at work, thank God!...But when I got home, weeknights and weekend, I just feel that way. Cos, things become so predictable, routine, and sometimes tedious. Well, I can't help it. Cos, it just happens that way. Do I enjoy it? Largely no, the only good thing is that it fit a small part of my character - laziness. Cos, I don't need to think what to do next. However, I would prefer that I can choose some times. If people don't understand what I mean, then you can go to watch Adam Sander's file 'Click'. When Adam Sander got that magic control of his life, one of the function is fast forwarding certain part of his daily routine, in which he runs in auto-mode. Just eat, sleep and shit. It was funny in the movie, but it wasn't in real life. Don't get me wrong that I'm stuck in something horrible, I just wanna let some steam out. I think I will be back to ok. Cos, simply taking a chance to think about how I feel now is already a reflection itself. I think I will be fine. Just need to take some initiatives to organize things better, that's all.