6th day of CNY

Day 6 of the Chinese New Year. Was caught up with watching Survivor Palau last night, and didn’t sleep until the wee hours. Finally finished the series by late afternoon. Comparing the Survivor Australian Outback and Survivor Palau, there were interesting bits about both. The Australian ones had more interesting and likable characters, but Palau can hold its own. Initially, Palau did not seem as interesting, but there were some characters out there which shone. Palau’s game was more cut-throat, and when it got to final four, it was so intense. I think Tina and Tom both deservedly won, and the key was the way they answered the juries’ questions towards the last tribal council. They had different strategies, but both came out tops in the end. Survivor for me, remains one of my favourite series to watch. It’s how people adapt and change things around to suit their game. Some take it purely as a game, and can be extremely ruthless by backstabbing others. Others take it on as a challenge to hold on to their honour and integrity, and play it as how they would live an everyday life. For quite a few I think, it was a very life changing experience, to show that in desperation, what would you do, and in some cases, wouldn’t do, for a million dollars. Been following up on these two series, as the Malaysian TV did not show Australia (I think), and skipped Palau for whatever reasons.

Palau was very intense in that one team (Koror) totally dominated the immunity challenges, and one man (Tom) won five out of the seven individual immunity challenges, and it was one of the most cut-throat series I have ever seen in Survivor (even among alliances) and the redemption at the end. I think who stood out most for me, were four characters, Stephanie and Bobby Jon from Ulong, and Ian and Tom from Koror. Stephanie because she was so strong as a woman, in terms of physical strength (and stronger than most guys physically) as well as mentally. She knew what she was doing, but luck was not with her in the game. Bobby Jon, well, because he was another likable character, who was extremely hard working, and was very intense when it came to the various competitions. He stayed humble to the very end. Ian (the dolphin trainer) initially played the game by forming a strong alliance, but was found out to be lying and flip-flopping towards the final stages. When confronted, he tried to hedge his way out. During the final immunity challenge, when he stood at the buoy for over 11 hours, he thought through how he had played the game, and I guess guilt overcame him. He redeemed himself by giving up the chance of a million dollars, so that he could leave the game emotionally stronger, with better maturity on the outlook of life. What more can I say, but a very good series.

Today, went out for a bit to buy some grocery stuff with my mum and sister to the main town. So, what is Chinese New Year without some lion dances? Saw two different troupes of lion dances going around the various shops for additional “angpow”. Tried to take some pictures, but it’s pretty hard, when they only did their bits for a short period of time, and I couldn’t get the angle I wanted for the shots. However, it was subsequently pointed out to me that one of the troupes comprised completely of people of Indian heritage. It’s pretty interesting in that I had never expected it, and had unrightfully assumed that it would be Chinese guys (or girls) doing the prancing around, etc. It was also a bummer that I was not observant enough to notice it.

Have not started my new trilogy yet, having been following the entire two survivor series these past days. Will be looking to catch up on other things later tonight.

Tried out our home DIY foot-spa. Quite cool! A bit of hot water here, put a dab or two of the Aromatherapy Treatment (I used Gentle Lavender + Vitamin E) for relaxing and moisturising, sit back and chill in the comfort of my own room! Didn’t know we had this until I saw my younger sister using it in her room. Thought I would try it out at least once during this trip home. As for the round thingy near my ankle? When I press it down with my foot, it acts as a massager. Cool! Was wondering what it was for initially. There were three other options available as well (i.e. brush, “file”?, and another type of massager I think). Any negative thing? Well, after the whole thing, as per any DIY home stuff, need to tidy up for myself, as opposed to having someone pamper me by cleaning up after. Oh well, at least I don’t have a time limit and can use different settings (like the bubbly bits or the gentle tremour like sensation for a “quieter” feel, and even a combination of both). I remember going to Singapore with some friends for a holiday towards the end of last year, and we soaked our feet in the tub with hot water after all the walking. I can only hope that one day, hotels would include this foot massage thingy as part of their room service, after all, the hotel I stayed in previously already included a free massage chair in the room. Hey, you never know, it may come true one day!