Sweet Battle

I had dinner today at Celestial Court with the staffs of HSBC Br#332.  It is a farewell dinner for me, since yesterday was my last day with the bank.  I am so happy that I don’t have to work there anymore; got real tired of it.  Had been with the bank for 4 years.  This 4 years went by so quickly, with no regrets, since I did make a lot of friends along the way.  I guess there are some people that I really have to thank since they made these 4 years memorable.  First, of course, there is Francis Wong; who was the one that hired me.  If not for him I would have resigned a few years back.  Then there’re the staffs from #022 (the ones I had dinner with about a week ago); some of them had taught me so much.  And the ones from #192 (Pat, Jenny, Steph, …) who I will always be friends with.  And the ones I had never worked with but had became friends with.  I truly hope we will keep in touch.

At the dinner, the branch gave some gifts which I really do appreciate.  I’ve received "The Catcher In The Rye", which is recommended by Patrick; a Chapters gift card, which I bought "Lucky" with; and a crystal ‘Fook’.  Also, Natalie made my an apple with beads and Annaleah made me a lovely bookmark.  It is really nice of them.  As well, with Sam’s Chapters gift card, I bought "A Complicated Kindness".  Hopefully I will get through them soon.

This book is by Jeffrey Eugenides.  It is different from the other books I have read.  I think it was alright; but not something I can relate to.  It is a story about five sisters; all of them committing suicide.  While reading, you really want to reach out to help them.  I do feel sorry for them, since it is obvious that they are suffering from depression with no one there to help.  However, the truth is there are many who wanted to help them and loved them dearly; just that they weren’t aware of it.  It was their isolation that let them to such a tragic ending.

Received a keychain today (from a nice co-worker), with the name ‘Sandra’ on it and a description of what the name means.  Here is what it says:

Sandra

From the Greek meaning "defender of mankind".

She is energetic, intelligent, sensible and in control of her life.

Will fight for what she believes in.

I am not sure about energetic but I am definitely intelligent =).  I guess the name does suit me, as I will truly fight for what I believe in.

Happy Easter! 復活節快樂﹗

今天留在家中看電影。看了《喜馬拉亞星》和《2046》。兩部戲都比我想像中一樣。《喜馬拉亞星》是真的很無聊。還有我一直都不懂得欣賞印度的文化﹐所以不懂得欣賞這部戲﹐但是張柏芝是真的是很漂亮。《2046》是幾悶﹐但是都幾好睇﹐有時間都值得睇睇。梁朝偉說了一句話『只要你不放棄﹐你就永遠有機會』﹐我很喜歡這句話。

王菀之在四月份將會推出她第一隻諜﹐我很期待。在這張新碟裡其中一首新歌叫《想飛》﹐現在已經上了很多個流行榜。我聽過幾首她作的歌都覺得很好聽﹐其中的歌有薛凱琪的《小黑與我》和《冬眠》﹐鄭秀文的《戀上你的床》﹐容祖兒的《呼天不應》﹐還有張學友的《我真的受傷了》。另外﹐找到一首她早兩年出的歌叫臉紅,你們可以試試聽。

My name is Sadako Akutagawa.  Came across this site, Rum and Monkey,  where you can translate your name into Japanese.  Take a look and see what your Japanese name is!

This book is by Alice Sebold.  I chose to read this book because of its cover.  Yep, I judge a book by its cover.  It looked nice and made me wanted to read it.  This took me longer to read than the other books since, the past few days, I wasn’t in a mood to read.  Also, I think the story is a bit over stretched; not that it wasn’t good.  I liked the story and the way it was told.  It was narrated by a girl who was murdered and is now in heaven.  It was interesting and made me wanted to keep on reading; to find out what will happen next.  In the book, the girl had the chance to come back to earth; but there, she chose to spend it with the person she love, rather than on catching her killer.  What else needs to be said.

Went out for dinner today with the original Agincourt staffs, according to my time.  Working with them was probably the happiest time of my HSBC career.  It was kind of like a farewell dinner for me, but I saw it as a gathering.  It was great seeing everyone again.  I will never forget these people: Rachel, Alan, Sam, Spencer, Dave, Michael, Victor, Esther, Simon, Virginia and Joana.  Too bad Francis is no longer in Toronto, and Ben and Joan cannot join us, since they belonged to this group.  Also, want to thank Audrey, who got me a bracelet.  It was really nice of her.  As well as a special thank you to Sam, who got me a card and a  gift card from Chapters.  What he wrote was really nice and thoughtful, and the gift card is perfect for the reading trend I am in.  Hope we will all keep in touch and have the opportunity to sit down altogether again in the future.

Love that lives in the heart

cannot be terminated by time

Even though the encounter is brief

The impression shall last a lifetime

No one can change the way of

Love that lives in the heart

If you have loved

That is the answer

Read another book! "Big Fish" by Daniel Wallace.  The story was narrated from the son’s point of view of what a man his father was.  It was interesting and I enjoyed reading it.  Some of the jokes in the book are actually quite funny.  I haven’t watched the movie yet, but I will if I get the chance.