Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Fishes part II
OK, further updates on the Discus fishes. As seen in the picture below, one of the pair will 'guard' the eggs in the process. I still can't figure out whether this is the male or female Discus who is very 'on' with the guarding. Accordingly to what I read off the web somewhere, both male and female of the pair will take turns to 'fan' the eggs. I am not sure if this is considered 'fanning', but only this one of the pair is doing all the 'work'.
A closer look at the eggs. Most of them turned white and dropped off the cone! So sad, that means the eggs were not fertilized successfully. In the end, we didnt get frys from the eggs. Procreation failed!
BUT, the good news is that the same pair of fish layed eggs today again! Looks like there's still hope! I can't take any pictures this time round because my dad had covered the fish tank with newspaper ......to give the fishes more privacy? Haha... don't know what my dad had in mind, but probably to avoid scaring the fishes.
11:09 PM
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Fishes!
I used to rear a Luo Han fish at home. The fish was a baby about 2cm in length when I first brought it home in the year 2002. It had since grown to a size of about 12 inches in length! Although it didn't give us any 'numbers' to strike, this Luo Han had brought a lot of joy to us as it behaved like a dog and would response to us each time we go near it. For example, it would swim backwards or round and round the fish tank to entertain you. My mum would call it 'Ben Yu'.
We had to let go off the fish some time late last year, as the fish was growing old. It didn't eat much and would always stare upwards towards 'heaven'. It was also very much less energetic than before. One day, I stood in front of the tank and said to the fish, "if you would like to be released, swim one round in the tank to signify a 'Yes'". Amazingly, it did.
After we released the 'Ben Yu', my parents started rearing Discus fishes. In fact, this is very much a craze now with my parents, my aunt, my uncle and my cousin. There's 4 families with more than one tank of Discus fishes at their house! 
What keeps them so interested in these fishes is that they are beautiful, shy and challenging to rear. In addition, they procreate quite easily, so the interesting part is to see how you can get the fishes to mate and lay eggs. Funnily, though they procreate pretty easily, they are not cheap to buy. So far, 2 families had successfully gotten baby Discus fishes. The next one would be my family as a pair of our Discus fishes just layed eggs! See the eggs below!
And below is the pair of proud Discus parents-to-be. Apparently you need to spend time watching the Discus fishes and seggregate an amiable pair to mate. You will notice that some tend to fight while some live in harmony. So far, we only have this pair that is able to stay in the same tank in harmony. The rest tend to fight by biting each other!
Can't wait for the tiny fishes to break out of their eggs during the next few days. I hope I will be able to capture those moments down in photos in time to share with you! Any of you want to rear Discus fishes please let me know. I can pass some to you. Ursweetlullaby interested?
12:49 PM
花样少年少女(hana-kimi)
Recently, I am mad over this Taiwanese drama called 花样少年少女 (hana-kimi), stared by Wu Zun, Ella (S.H.E), Jiro and JJ Lin. Wu Zun is sooooooooooooooooooooo handsome! He is a prettier version of Wang Lihong and I love Wang Lihong too!
Labels: MTV, Taiwanese Drama, Wu Zun
2:38 AM
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Shashlik Restaurant - Far East Shopping Centre
I went to Shashlik on Thursday with my whole department for dinner. I would highly recommend Shashlik for people looking for great food! Shashlik specialises in Russian and Continental Cuisines. I think some years back I had visited the restaurant with Wah Blogger, Rae's mummy and Minty once for a birthday celebration.
We had Borshch Soup (served with sour cream - yummy!), Shashlik skewered beef on hot plate, Cherry Jubilee, Baked Alaska and Hainanese Coffee! Everything tasted out of this world......we were all on cloud nine......
We were served by a very jovial Uncle Tan, who entertained us with the history of Shashlik and what makes their food tastes so good.....without telling you the recipes of course! You would notice that the restaurant is manned by old folks. They push a cart to your table to serve you your orders, a little bit of the 'tim-sum restaurant' feel. They will also prepare some of the desserts in front of you, like Cherry Jubilee. Uncle Tan says those below 60 need not apply for a job there. As for Uncle Tan himself, he is already 76 years old but he sure didn't look like it!
The restaurant was started by a group of 10 chiefs who were previously with the Troika Team. The biggest share holder is a Hongkonger. Some of the waiters/waitress you see there have a share in the restaurant and they are the chiefs themselves!
The food portion can be big, for example, one soup order can be shared by 2 persons. Some of the desserts' portion are meant for 2 persons too, like Cherry Jubilee and Baked Alaska. Baked Alaska is actually an ice-cream cake - ice cream in the center, cake as the shell and covered in cream. The waitress will light a cup of liquor and pour over the cake, hence the cake looks as it's on fire. Really interesting! According to Uncle Tan, only one chief knows how to make it and he is off on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Hence, Baked Alaska is not available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, or any days that he is on leave!
After desserts, I would suggest that coffee lovers try their Hainanese Coffee. It is served with evaporated milk and it really tastes very good! It is served in mini coffee cups, hence, one cup is not enough!
The prices for the food are reasonable. The soup costs about $7 (if you share then its only $3.50), the prices for beef courses starts from $24. Both Cherry Jubilee and Baked Alaska costs $16 for a portion for 2 persons. I believe they have set lunches at about $12plus, but I am not too sure what is covered in the set. One thing is for sure, you need to make reservations as the restaurant is very popular, even on weekdays!
Labels: food, Restaurant
10:48 PM
Monday, January 08, 2007
Toddlers nowadays
I met up with Cat yesterday evening, together with some of my colleagues and ex-colleague. Cat brought her daughter (Jean) with her this time round. Her daughter is turning 2 years old in a few days' time.
Jean was less shy and in a good mood. At this age, she is able to interact with us and she is very cute! She would coyly play with us and repeat sentences after us. Funnily, she catches and repeats phrases that you wouldn't want her to. She would also blurt out sentences at random...... some to a funny effect. For example, my colleague was saying her goodbyes with Jean as we were leaving. Jean would wave her hand and say "bye bye". She would also give a 'fly kiss'. Then quite suddenly, she said to my colleague:" Be careful, you might fall down." Hahaha, it sounded funny yet creepy! It sounded as if Jean was telling my colleague her fortune.
While interacting with Jean, I was amazed that kids these days learn so much more than our time. She is able to recognise alphabets i.e. A, B, C and A's for Apple, C's for Carrot, etc., and do simple counting, i.e. 1, 2, 3. She is able to recognise from a picture she sees for the first time: butterflies, frogs, birds, etc. Those that she could not recognise or remember, she would point to it and ask: "What's this?" I could only recall that I was first exposed to alphabets and numbers when I was in Kindergarden 1, that was when I was 5 years old! She's 3 years ahead of me!
Labels: Colleagues, Kids
12:40 AM
Sunday, January 07, 2007
It's a new year! WHAT! New year already!
The new year didnt feel like a new year as I was feeling the spillover effects from 2006. The last quarter of 2006 had been terribly busy. The last 2 days of 2006 and the first 2 days of 2007 as rest days are a luxury. When I went back to work on the 3rd day of 2007, I didn't feel like I have rested, as the outstanding workload sort of flushed through the whole brain, causing a panic attack.
Nevertheless, a new year will not feel like a new year if I do not start by setting some 'goals'. It does not matter whether I achieved these goals at the end, but, having set them is already a first step.
So here they are:
1) Read at least one management book for enrichment
2) Read all the books that I have bought or were given since many moons ago
3) Open an investment account and start learning how to invest
4) Stick to an exercise regime
5) Tidy my room once a month instead of once every six month! Hahaha!
So to help myself monitor whether I achieve my goals, I shall put up the list in my blog. Perhaps like goal setting and performance appraisals, I shall revisit my 'goals' during the mid year and see if any adjustment is needed. Hah!
Labels: Goals, New year, Resolutions
11:57 PM
I am The Emperor