Romantic Korean Dramas to Recommend

I'm into these three romantic Korean dramas lately...

1. 为我着迷/ You've Fallen for Me

Episodes: 15
Genre: Romance, Music
Casts: Jung Yong Hwa, Park Shin Hye
Synopsis: Lee Shin is a university student majoring in modern music. He is also the vocalist and guitarist of the band “The Stupid.” Shin is known for his good looks and strong passion for music, but in reality he is cold, lacks interest in anything unrelated to music and has neither dreams nor plans for the future. He initially likes Jung Yoon Soo, a dance professor at university, but this all changes when he meets Lee Kyu Won.
Review: School life seems so far away. I find myself too old to watch such shows now... however, I do find the music and songs pleasant to the ears. :)


2. 最佳爱情/ The Greatest Love

Episodes: 16
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Casts: Gong Hyo Jin, Cha Seung Won, Yoo In Na, Yoon Kye Sang
Synopsis: Ae Jung was once the most popular member of girl band The National Treasure Girls. However 10 years ago the band broke up and she received most of the blame. Despite her warm personality her career has suffered ever since and she now spends her time fighting for air time on variety shows. Dokko Jin is a top movie star at the height of his career. The two meet and become involved in each other’s careers. Yoon Pil Joo is a doctor of oriental medicine who has no interest in the entertainment industry but agrees to make a dating show. Dokko Jin helps get Ae Jung a role on a new reality show called Couple Making. Pil Joo is the bachelor being set up on Couple Making. Both men fall for Ae Jung both off and on the screen.
Review: Love this! I recommend this. It's funny, the actor is cool and the ending is good!


3. 49日/ 49 Days

Episodes: 20
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Casts: Lee Yo Won, Nam Gyu Ri, Jo Hyun Jae, Bae Soo Bin, Jung Il Woo, Seo Ji Hye
Synopsis: Shin Ji Hyun was enjoying absolute bliss as she was about to marry her fiancé, Kang Min Ho, but her perfect life is shattered when she gets into a car accident that leaves her in a coma. She is given a second chance at life by a reaper, but it comes with a condition: she has to find three people outside of her family who would cry genuine tears for her. In order to do this, she borrows the body of Yi Kyung, a part-time employee at a convenience store for 49 days.
Review: Now watching


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It's all about Remote Control

Toshiba DVD recorder is not working ... actually it's the remote control. Without it, I cannot select channels, modify recordings and copy to DVDs. A small little rectangular bar, that remote control but it is the commander behind almost all electronics devices nowadays. Called Toshiba but they don't manufacture or keep spares of the remote control unit. Thank you very much, Toshiba. I will most certainly not buy any of your products in future!

With no choice, I settle for a new DVD recorder, LG RH387DW. Well, the price is certainly cheaper at $288, compared with the $600 that I paid previously. There isn't a lot of choice out there, it seems no one records TV shows anymore. Maybe they are all using the Starhub hubstation, which can do recording as well, only not to external DVDs.



Ok, now I can record those TV shows for my parents :)

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A is 26 months old

That's A peeking into a binoculars at a playground.

At 26 months, he clearly knows his routine very well and knows what to do without you telling him what to do. Some examples:

1. When we were in the lift and he saw people inside, he smiled at them and waved bye to them automatically when we left the lift.
2. When we arrived at his grandparents' house, he knew that we would be going off to work and waved bye to us automatically.
3. When we came back for dinner, he pointed to the kitchen and told us to go "Mum Mum" (eat).
4. When we were on the road, he seemed to be able to recognize the way home and would point to the correct direction and kept exclaiming "There! There!" as his Daddy drove back home.
5. When it's time to drink milk, he knew the procedures and asked for the things to be laid out before he drank his milk.

He also develops his sleep routine - sleeps early between 8:30am and 9:30am and wakes up early at 7am.

He says "Hump", "到家了", "Apple" (Perfectly), "Diaper" (which sounds a little like his Apple), "Door", "Car" (just today!). Otherwise, he's just happy pointing at places and objects that he wants to go to or to get. He loves to play in playgrounds (esp play house and steering wheels) and hide-and-seek (you hide, he seek). I love it when he laughed out loud when he found us! :)

A new skill: I caught him picking things up with his toes instead of bending himself down to pick up with his fingers. I knew he must have seen either his grandpa or myself doing this! Ha!

I must say he's pretty playful at this age. When we put on his one of his socks, he'll playfully shrink his other foot away and purposely make it difficult for you to wear the other pair of sock on. He laughs and giggles while we are trying to catch hold of his leg! Since his room change (we swapped his bedroom with the study room), he has access to the volume control of the hi-fi in his room and every night, he'll had his fun dialing the volume to the loudest and had a good laugh before he's willing to lie down and sleep. :D

When we put on his jacket to keep him warm one day at NTUC, we suddenly realised that he has really grown up! His jacket is now too small. Also with his jacket, he has also outgrown his socks, swimming suit and some Pajamas. Time to go shopping!

He was sick for twice in the past month! He had flu and a viral attack that lasted quite long and he passed the virus to me. DC and I felt so heart-pained to see him sick and restless!

After he recovered, we resumed our weekly outdoor outings. This month, we went Underwater World to see dolphin and fishes, East Coast Park (twice) to play sand and Swimming at his grandaunt's place. He also had his weekly playground sessions at his childcare centre, enrichment schools and church.

He also played with lantern (but he doesn't like lantern walking - I wonder why?) and ate lots of mooncakes during the lantern festival.

Oh, how fun it is to be a toddler! :)


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Long or Short?

Two years ago when I was pregnant with A, I cut my hair short. Well, not quite short... slightly above shoulder length.

Now that my hair has gone out of shape, I was considering whether I should cut it short or leave it long. When I did my confinement two years ago, I was always sweating and feeling hot. My colleague, who is also pregnant also advised that long hair is better as you could tie up the hair and that would take the heat off better. Hmm...

Today during lunch, I went to my hairstylist and as expected, he suggested to just trim 2-3 inches. Somehow, he doesn't think that I'm suitable to have short hair. I gave in and let him decide what to do.

Back in the office, my colleague was telling she's seen me in the different hairstyles - long hair, short hair, permed hair, straight hair, long fringe, short fringe, coloured and non-coloured hair. Come to think of it, I was quite adventurous... I even inspired a vendor to cut her fringe short! Ha!

A thought arose... I dug out all my different hairstyles that I had these few years to recap and share. Some of them looked so funny now! :)

2008 Jan: Curly hair with short straight fringe


2008 Dec: Trimmed long and straight hair with long fringe


2009 Jun: Short hair with trimmed fringe with parting


2010 Sep: Long hair with short straight fringe


2011 Jan: Long coloured hair with long fringe


The above hairstyles all eventually evolved into this long straight with long fringe, my usual look until I go for another haircut:


I actually secretly thinking maybe one day I could give this red and short hairstyle another try! :P



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Viral Attack

On Fri afternoon at work, when I returned to my desk, I heard my desk phone ring. When I picked it up I heard the angry voice of DC questioning why I was unreachable by mobile phone!

When I looked at my mobile phone, I got a shock! There were 11 missed calls! He called to let me know that Baby vomited 3 times and was at his parent's place.

We rushed back to bring him to his PD at Mt A. PD gave him a suppository and some probiotics powder and told us to feed him porridge water, clear soup, barley drink or milk every 4 hourly but not to let him consume any solids. That day, he vomited 6 times.

The next day, he vomited 3 times and had diarrhea for 4 times.

On the 3rd day, he vomited once and had diarrhea for 3 times. I caught his virus and vomited 5 times! We decided to bring him and myself to see another doctor. It was a Sun and the clinics were closed. So, we walked into the A&E clinic at Mt A.

For the next 2 days, we were both on MC and stayed at home. We fed only on fish porridge. He had slight fever, probably due to dehydration and runny nose. I had watery stools. Always felt hungry and my gastric problem acted up! So, at night I had a piece of nutty chocolate and suffered from breathlessness! :(

Today, Baby and me went back to school and work respectively. We've recovered! :)


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16 Sep 2011, 5:00 PM, DC: Cameras prepared, external flash unit checked, beautiful wines ... then got a call that Aaron vomited 3 times ... poor Aaron.
16 Sep 2011, 5:25 PM, DC: My baby vomited 5 times ... breaks my heart to see him so tired out ... :(
17 Sep 2011, 10:04 PM, CP: Baby vomited 6 times yesterday, 3 times today n diarrhea followed, 4 times! Now asleep, let's pray he'll get well when he wakes up tomorrow!
18 Sep 2011, 9:00 PM, CP: Now it's my tun to be sick. Vomited 5 times today!


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Chalk Art

A saw the box of colored chalks on my table and kept wanting to play with them!


I couldn't stop him and didn't manage to dig out the chalk board from the basket full of things stacked packed during the room shift, so I took out black papers for him to scribble on.


The results not too bad I must say. A enjoyed it! :)

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Hearty News

We brought A for his heart checkup today, an appointment that was arranged a few months ago.

We were told that there is an extra sound (or "murmur") during one of the checkups in KKH and were quite worried about it. I was puzzled why this was not discovered from birth?!

Anyways, the results came out well. He was so normal that it was not even consider any heart condition, not even heart murmur! There's no cause for concern and A can carry on normal activities. :)

We heaved a huge sigh of relief when we heard that great news!

Baby wasn't too happy during the scan actually and was making a fuss when he was asked to lie down. We had to use sweets to calm him down. Here's a picture of him during the scan.



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I'm a Drama Queen

Not that I'm emotional dysfunctional, want to seek attention or like to blow things out of proportion. I just love to watch dramas (though I can't beat my two sisters and brother in that). My recent pastime is to watch them on my iPhone! :) Love Hong Kong and Korean dramas and am thinking of downloading japanese anime, hehe...

Recently watched dramas:

1. 怒火街头 Ghetto Justice

Episodes:20
Genre: Suspense, Legal (Hong Kong)
Casts: Kevin Cheng, Myolie Wu, Sam Lee, Eddie Kwan, Jazz Lam, Shek Sau, Joyce Tang, Sharon Chan
Synopsis: Law Lik-ah (aka LA Law) (Kevin Cheng) is a Barrister who used to practice law for personal fame and glory but after setting up a Legal Advice Centre with his cousin George Mike (Jazz Lam) and his good friend Tin Ka-fu (aka Nail) (Sam Lee) in Sham Shui Po, LA changes his mind and realizes that legal representation is not only a privilege of the rich. Eventually LA becomes the Peoples’ Hero of Sham Shui Po, helping grassroots groups fight against injustice with unconventional tactics.
On the other hand, Barrister Kris Wong Si-fu (Myolie Wu), who used to admire LA for his invincible performances, starts to disdain him for downgrading to a ghetto lawyer. However, after a few court cases with him, the two start to appreciate each other and fall in love.
Besides succeeding in her relationship, Kris tries to become an elite practitioner in town. In order to gain advancement, she seizes every chance to get close to the renowned barrister Spencer Cheung Pak-kei (Shek Sau). As Spencer enjoys getting people into trouble, he makes sure Kris is accidentally embroiled in a lawsuit.
In order to save Kris, LA has no choice but to challenge the law.
Review: Love how Kevin Cheng protrays his role as an indifferent Barrister! In fact, I think he is an excellent actor! :) A different ending, depends on how you look at it, I don't really like the ending.


2. 团圆 Wax and Wane

Episodes:30
Genre: Family (Hong Kong)
Casts: Roger Kwok, Sunny Chan, Ron Ng, Kate Tsui, Derek Kok, Florence Kwok, Toby Leung, Him Law
Synopsis: Yung Shing-fun (Lau Siu-ming) and his cousin Man Wing-cheong (Chow Chung) have been at odds for years, over the trade name rights of their family's noodle shop.
Eugene (Roger Kwok), Fun's eldest son engages in a property development project in order to solve the problem. Unwillingly, he offers to buy out the location of Cheong's noodle shop with his company's shares. He also invites Cheong and his son, Fung (Sunny Chan), to join the company's management.
Eugene actually has ulterior motives for doing this, as he hates Fung to the core for marrying his girlfriend Ko Wai-ting (Florence Kwok). On top of this, Eugene's younger brother, Gary (Ron Ng), is going out with Cheong's second daughter, Peace (Kate Tsui), regardless of his family's opposition.
Now, Eugene is at his wits' end as he has to handle his family issues single-handedly. He never understood what family ties really meant, nor had he the courage to try to find it out, until now.
Review: A family drama, can be dramatic and draggy at times. Look out for Roger Kwok's character, the baddie doesn't turn out that bad in the end.


3. 我的公主 My Princess

Episodes:16
Genre: Romance, Comedy (Korean)
Casts: Kim Tae Hee, Song Seung Hun, Ryu Soo Young, Park Ye Jin
Synopsis: An ordinary college student, Lee Seol, finds out she's a princess. The grandson of Daehan Group, Park Hae Young, is put in charge of educating Seol on proper etiquette. However, Hae Young is put in a precarious situation when he finds himself drawn to Seol, the girl who will take away his inheritance if the monarchy is restored.
Review: Nice cast, nice costume. I love how Song Seung Hun looks now!


4. 潜行狙击 Lives of Omission

Episodes: 30
Genre: Action, Police (Hong Kong)
Casts: Michael Tse, Bosco Wong, Damian Lau, Fala Chen, Kate Tsui
Synopsis: Working as an undercover for many years, Laughing (Michael Tse) escapes from all calamity. Two years ago, he underwent special training to become a mute and worked in mainland China as an undercover. Closely working with the mainland Chinese police, Laughing successfully busts an illegal armed weaponry organisation and resumes his identity as a police officer in Hong Kong. He is appointed as head instructor of the Criminal Intelligence Bureau (CIB), specialising in seeking and training CIB recruits in undercover work.
Laughing, however, is unable to adapt to the stress in the discipline of police life and becomes a rogue cop. To get his jobs done quicker, he hires the gangster Michael So (Bosco Wong) as his informant. On the surface, Laughing and Michael appear to be good brothers, but in fact both have their own purpose, mutually taking advantage of one another. Feeling as if Laughing is holding him back from "moving up" in the triad, Michael betrays Laughing and decides to work alone. To tackle down the triad's crimes, Laughing applies to be an undercover once again.
Review: Laughing Sir Strikes again! Love him but not the ending.


5. 雷普利小姐 Miss Ripley

Episodes: 16
Genre: Melodrama, romance (Korean)
Casts: Lee Da Hae, Micky Yoochun, Kim Seung Woo, Kang Hye Jung
Synopsis: Two very different men fall in love with Jang Mi Ri, a woman whose life is a complicated web of lies, propelled by her greedy desires that stem from an unfortunate childhood. Jang Myung Hoon is an ambitious hotelier who maintains perfect control of himself and his life, while Yutaka is the warm and gentle heir of a Korean-Japanese hotel conglomerate. Their love for Mi Ri and her tragic ambition eventually leads them down the path of destruction.
Review: I was quite attracted by the female lead in the first few episodes, then I got really put off by her. Towards the end, I actually fast forwarded it. Watch only if you like Lee Da Hae (a beauty, and she looks sooo different in My Girl!).


6. 城市猎人 City Hunter (Now watching)

Episodes: 20
Genre: Action, Suspense, Romance (Korean)
Casts: Lee Min Ho, Park Min Young, Lee Joon Hyuk
Synopsis: The story takes place in Seoul, 2011. Lee Yoon Sung is a talented MIT-graduate who works on the international communications team in the Blue House. He plans revenge on five politicians who caused his father's death with his surrogate father Lee Jin Pyo and eventually becomes a "City Hunter."
Review: In the midst of watching Ep 5. So far, I'm loving the plot and the male lead! ;D


7. 女拳 Grace Under Fire (Now watching by DC)

Episodes: 32
Genre: Martial Arts, Period Drama
Casts: Liu Xuan, Kenneth Ma, Fala Chen, Bosco Wong, Dominic Lam, John Chiang, Elliot Ngok, Eddie Kwan
Synopsis: Grace Under Fire is a 2011 Hong Kong martial arts television drama. It takes place in the early 1920s in Foshan and Guangzhou during the Republic of China era, and follows a fictional account of Mok Kwai-lan (portrayed by Liu Xuan), the last wife of Chinese martial arts folk hero Wong Fei-hung (portrayed by John Chiang).


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Energy Savers - Solar-powered keyboard and marathon mouse

Cool inventions, a Logitech solar-powered wireless keyboard and a mouse that is able to run up to 3 years on one set of batteries. Nice because I don't need to worry about changing batteries now.

The keyboard is really thin and silent. It's the nicest keyboard I have come across so far, even better than my prized Apple keyboard. Price: $129.



Let's face it, Apple mice are real bad for the hands. I only go for Logitech nowadays. The two Logitech MX518 mice I used at home and at work were great, with the "Back" and "Forward" buttons for easy web navigation. However, I wished I could do with less cables around the computer. All wireless mice that I used need a battery change every 2 to 3 months. So it's real cool that Logitech has a mouse now that supposedly last up to 3 yrs!

So comes the M705 mouse. I would have love it to be bigger to fit my palm though. The battery compartment feels a bit flimsy but if it can really last for up to 3 yrs, or even 1 yr on one set of batteries, I would be very satisfied. Price: $79.



The best thing is, both the keyboard and mouse share the same usb receiver. Nice.


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A day at grandparent's house

Since it's a taboo for a pregnant woman and dangerous for a toddler to be at home where the shifting of rooms will be carried out, we decided to take shelter at my parents' place while DC did the move. :)

We were there at 10am till 9pm. It was a long day but full of fun for A.

He played with his cousin.


He saw a tree cutter trimming tree.


He had yummy porridge and had non-stop supply of food brought to his mouth. And, I had yummy steamboat, fried chicken wings, bee hoon and many mooncakes!


He had a long nap in a good rainy weather.


He played lantern with his parents, aunts, uncle and cousin.

He had so much fun that when he went back home and found his room swapped, he spent much time exploring the new environment. Fortunately, he slept pretty soon after. :)

17 year old dairy

While I was tidying up my table, I found a dairy of mine. It was written in 1994, some 17 years ago...

Was browsing through the pages of the book - probably the only dairy remaining - and I was so fascinated by what I experienced in my teens. I've forgotten most of the details! I was only 15 years old then and spent almost every day documenting my day-to-day encounters in the dairies. In that volume, I wrote about my first love (how it started and ended), about my 3 days in camp (the new friends I've made and how things unfold), about my school life and about my family (how my dad kept scolding me for using the phone for long hours and how my brother always disturb my phone calls) and about many names of friends that I totally have no recollection of!

Life seems so carefree then compared to now. I seemed to spend time making friends and talking on the phone that year and I was noting down things that seems naive and trivial now.

Well, it does feel good to look back at the past, refresh faded memories and laugh at those moments once in a while, isn't it? :)


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Network Attached Once More - COMEX

Actually I wanted to buy SD cards ... I happened to chance across this booth selling Synology NAS. Ohh la la, Synology is the mother of all consumer NAS! I was always put off by their high prices. However, after the not so happy experience with Buffalo's products, I think it's time to invest in a good one. Despite the purported support for Time Machine, the Buffalo Linkstation doesn't work well with Mac at all.

I didn't need a lot of convincing to take out cash of $380 for the 2-bay DS211j model (harddisks not included). Although if the Apple Time Machine compatibility remains an unknown, Synology's products had a lot of good reviews and support many models of IP surveillance cameras. Let's hope it doesn't disappoint :)


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