Travel

This year is actually not a good year for traveling.. the stock market is bad, we probably wouldn't be able to get any bonus, oil surcharge keeps going up, inflation pressure everywhere, hkd/usd depreciating, basically our purchasing power is becoming worse and worse and can't afford to go anywhere now.

Yet, as I missed all the fun that everybody had last year, I am planning my traveling plans for this 2H no matter how expensive it gets. My plans go back to back and visiting places where I haven't been before...not particularly exotic places, but with a purpose to enjoy life and experience local delicacy.

Guess where I am heading off next.. just a month away and I will be soaked in cream and natural perfume.

Girls/boys at age 30

HK is a wicked place. The society turns all individuals to value everything in monetary terms and become even more selfish and self-centered than their natural being.

Parents put their kids into intensive education to help them better position themselves in the job market in the future, hoping their kids to make it big in their respective career paths. Of course, it all pays off when the kids enroll into prestigious schools, getting a medical degree or MBA or any sort of professional degree, working in top firms in the world, earning big pay checks at early age. Most parents didn't get the privilege to experience the luxurious education when they were young, and they know the importance of education in order to stay competitive and make a comfortable living. However, does it mean their maturity and personality will age faster as they develop the complexity of logical and analytical thinking with intensive education?

It seems to me quite the opposite. Although our parents didn't get the same education as we did, they were earlier in the society and started making money at age 18. They experienced the cruel reality and understood family values at much younger age than we did. Looking at our generation who are turning 30, no doubt that many of them are making decent money and have successful career, many of them still act like kids and think immaturely. Putting work/career aside, is education destroying or delaying our moral progression?

If you look around, guys at age 30.. is basically the new 20s, like to experience and be surrounded with numerous girls, unwilling to settle down, lack of financial planning, unreasonably exploiting time because they think they are still young, basically they are like babies without a single oz of father quality, like to be taken care of instead of taking care of others.

Girls at age 30, also like to hang out with numerous guys, hoping to find one to settle down with, very high and sometimes irrational expectation on guys.. because they also have good education and career, making decision based on practicality and calculation, like to measure how much to receive before contributing, also don't have a single oz of mother quality and like to be taken care of rather than taking care of others

Of course not all girls and guys at age 30s suffer the abovementioned symptoms, there are plenty of others develop virtuous and rational beliefs at age 30, probably because education is making our minds more complicated, we are becoming more self-protective and loving ourselves excessively up to a point where sacrifice and compromise is a sin rather than a virtue.

Lackadaisical me

Central at 12pm

Is it because of HK or is it because of the working in finance, why do we constantly feel running out of time? It seems like the deadline is always unrealistically tight, there's no such thing as complete research because you can always do more, when you are done with A you are then being asked why you are not done with B as well.

Working mood is extremely low lately mainly because the weather has been disgusting for the past few days, I am eager for the sunshine to return.

Sex and the city

Since every single person is talking about this, I guess I have to write something to prove that I did go see the movie as well....

But I don't really like the movie.

I think it is a good closure, it has entertainment value, it is colorful and full of beautiful things that I am obsessed with...Probably I haven't yet to reach 40 and I wouldn't be able to understand their mentality, are 40 yrs old people still constantly chasing for love, or more for comfort?

If we are constantly chasing for love, by the time we turn 50 but still true love is nowhere to be found, does it mean that we should live alone and be hopeful that we are able to find the significant other some years down the road?

The whole idea seem nonsense to me because as people grow older and are becoming more mature, what they desire is not just firework and romance, but respect, family and stability. It seem to me that there's a delusive message in the movie that love can last forever and you can feel it everyday...yeah.. i am sure your dad loves your mom but it's just not the same love anymore after certain period of time, does it mean you should dump your boyfriend/husband because you are dissatisfied with the relationship and there's no butterfly in the stomach anymore?

It seems to me that the main characters are more in love with themselves than with their boyfriends, making all the decisions based on how they feel and what they want. I thought if you truly love that person, you will do anything to make the other half happy, isn't that what all couples should do to sustain a relationship?

I like the tv drama because the lines are witty, the screenwriter likes to play with words to make you laugh. The movie doesn't have the witty lines anymore.. which make the whole thing looks dull and lack of character..

And what's up with Mr. Big all of a sudden becoming so caring? I remembered he was constantly full of himself and dominating in the tv series, but now he is sentimental and accommodating, hum..I thought guys would never change....

And then the movie ends with the fabulous 50... really? is 50 yrs old with wrinkled face fabulous? I am sure they are fabulous with successful career, but they just can't act like 20 sth yrs old girls who constantly hunt for guys anymore, because we all know guys at all ages would only be interested in 20 sth yrs old chicks for or not for a fling.

Madeleines

Madeleines are the cutest french cake on earth, it is the cake pan/mould that gives their shell shapes. They are fluffier and less buttery than pound cake, with the extra honey flavor that gives them the attitude. I really like how they look which remind me of kids' tea party. Different from the regular madeleines which are as big as your palms, I created these with my mini-madeleine pans and are perfect for nimbly snacks.

These madeleines are infused with honey and tea leaves, and mixed with beurre noisette, the purified butter that gives them the nutty flavor..... to make beurre noisette is to boil the butter until it turns dark golden brown and strain the residue to get the purified butter. The batter needs to be made a few hours ahead, or sit in the fridge overnight to solidify its structure.

The pan needs to be nicely buttered and dusted with flour to prevent sticking.

Before they went into the oven...
WALA.. all baked up.


Nicely packed for my best friends!!

The X-files

Being an analyst, our job is to analyze one company's corporate strategy and its financial operation, to determine whether it is a good investment and can enhance shareholders' value. We like to drill deep into a company's past in order to understand its present, how this company's business model evolves over time, how the management implement the strategy, what is the company's track record on delivering the results. This is a common practice as to thoroughly dissect one company's organs and look for the hidden diseased cells. But does it mean that this prudent practice can lead to a guaranteed success, or would it lead to a possible failure?

Every coin has two faces, so as every event and every decision you make with your analysis. History may not always repeat itself because the present can learn from the past. A company with crappy track record can manage to turnaround by restructuring, so as a company with good track record can spiral down into disaster if operating in a comfort zone for too long. We may likely be making a mistake if the past is not representative of the present. This also relates to the basis of trust. We build up our trust with specific companies over time, depending on how they deliver what they have promised and how well they manage our expectation. We tend to give more credit for companies which consistently deliver while discredit those which have disappointed us in the past.

When it comes to relationship, is it necessary to open the x-files to look into one's past and failures before deciding whether it is a buy or sell? Every person is curious enough to dig into the details to find out what's wrong with the other person...would it lead to a disappointment or surprise? Even if you do your own due diligence, that may not necessary mean that a complete picture is laying flat in front of you since people tend to lie and self-sympathize. By understanding more may deviate your judgment from your instinct. Should we all have a little faith and confidence in ourselves and focus on the present instead of the past? Or is there a limit on how much you should know before passing the line of knowing too much?