Thursday, February 28, 2008
Detox Results
Ta-dah! As expected by me, my detox diet is failing. I'm dropping it.I hereby announce the termination of QueenPig's detox diet!
Unlike the many extreme detox diets others are following, I merely followed what I felt was moderate and right. I took my rice as usual, but abstain from meat (which I usually don't really touch anyway). I had extra servings of fruits. I took aloe pills that are supposed to help me go to the toilet. I abstained from preserved and processed food like bread. I kept away from coffee (ah... my coffee and bubble tea!) and I did not touch any snacks (like chocolates, biscuits etc).
The weird thing is, I'm not experiencing whatever detox is promising. Although I do feel less bloated, I'm still not going to the toilet to *ahem* regularly! How?! I will need laxatives to clear the system already! Either that, or I must be very healthy with very little toxins. Hee! :D
Never mind! Her Majesty will try again next month! Maybe should find some better detox supplements! ^^
posted by QueenPig @ 5:30 PM
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Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Things that brightened up my day
1. My boots making 'click-click-click' against the ground when I walk.2. The Sun (tsk tsk) shining brightly to wake me up, instead of my alarm ringing.
3. The metro officer scrunching his face, preparing to blow the whistle when the train door closes, but no sound came out. He laughed to his colleauge, heartily.
4. Losing my potato salad and finding it back.
5. Reading a book while waiting for the train.
6. Eating a nice apple during lunch.
7. Having work to do.
8. Having something to look forward to after work.
9. Missing the people I love and care for.
10. Finding out that your friends are in love. :P
11. Feeling the wind on my nape.
12. Listening to nice songs on my mp3.
13. Wearing a skirt out, and have someone call me 美女, while another uncle gave me a 185RMB invoice when I spent 88.90RMB only.
14. Realising that I am smiling to myself.
15. Have someone give way to let me into the sardine-packed train, and someone to give way to let you pass.
16. Talking to friends you usually don't talk to on MSN.
17. Appreciating the efforts of others.
18. A heart-to-heart talk.
19. Skyping.
20. Wanting to end the list at 2, but ending up with 20, and having loads more to add.
posted by QueenPig @ 1:30 PM
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Monday, February 25, 2008
Shanghai Museum I (中国少数民族工艺馆、中国历代钱币馆、中国明清家具馆)
Part 1 of Shanghai Museum!To get there, you can take the metro to 人民广场, People's Square and exit by Exit 1. From there, walk straight ahead till you see this BIG BUILDING. :)
The museum is four-storeys high and rather grand. Expect to find a mini crowd there. You wouldn't miss the place.
Symmetry! Weird that nobody took the stairs, 'cos I did. ^^
Looks like a flower!
Directly opposite the stairs, equally symmetrical elevators. People, don't be lazy, WALK THE STAIRS!
First up, 中国少数民族工艺馆.
I love the costumes displayed! Although I can't remember nor understand their culture, most of the attires you thought would appear only long ago! But no, they actually belonged to the late 20th century!
Ta-dah! Simple cutting, with weird headgear. Don't be deceived by the skirt, this is meant for a man.
Solid colours. The bottom of the skirt reminds me of curtains though. Anyway, black really has a slimming effect!
Another costume for the lady. This is less colourful, with white and red tones. The decorations on the chest must weigh a ton!
Ah-ha! This look like a quilt patchwork my granny used to make. Don't belittle this, the details on each patch and hem is enough work to last months.
A not-so-manly man. I think it's the bright pink at work. The material used is beautiful though.^^
I'm pretty confused leh... 'cos this woman actually looked pretty MANLY to me. :x The things at her waist include her purse and other necessities.
Ta-dah! Grand robe! Look at the dragons. If you can recall from those movies/dramas, dragons are only entitled to the royalties!
If you think Chinese are conservative, think again. Even I don't wear such short skirts! (Tsk, I like the belt/sash thingy!)
A more monochrome outfit. Probably reminds you of funerals and wake, but no! This outfit is worn during festivals!
Ah... Finally a very manly man! I suppose the fur is made from the animals he killed. Maybe the more animals you kill, the more fur you have. So if the man is darn good at hunting, he can go be a polar bear!
Heh, these beaded necklaces are like those you can find in Chinatown etc! But the point of this picture is THE EARRING. It's worn on one side, freaking long, and seems to have more beads than the necklace!
I though batik is a very Malay tradition/culture. But no... batik dyeing was in China too! Globalisation happened earlier than I thought.
Hats so small my baby can't fit them.
The picture doesn't justify the beauty of the design. This is a freaking TABLECLOTH! Even their tablecloth is so nice! Arghz...
A myriad of objects to add to the clothes already worn, including dagger case, neck adornment, purse etc...
Did I say I like snuff bottles? They give me this ancient princessy feel.
Casing for DINNER KNIFE. Why do they need that?!
Figures of gods and demons. Right beside one another. -_-
Guess what is this! It's the super long horn/trumpet! My camera can't take in the full length, but this pair of instrument nearly touched the ceiling!
Silver headgear. Definite neck-shrink er.
HA! You will never get this right!
These are TOOTHBRUSHES! 原来古代的牙刷看起来像我们的牙签！
Fishing boat of the villagers. So nicely engraved. But I wonder if it is as functional?
Dragon head that would have appeared on bigger ships.
Next up: MASKS!
Some of the masks have multiple heads. In fact, a lot of the masks have multiple heads.
One... Reminds me of Hollow Man.
Two... Paiseh Janus, I have no idea why this reminds me of you. :x
Three!
Four! The leave adornments are supposed to look like flames, I think.
Five and six! *ROAR*
And the hair of the masks come out in tufts! I think they need to go Yunnan (健发中心)... or Beijing (101). :P
One!
Two! Even the eye brows come out in tufts!
Three! I thought the two tufts came out of the nostrils!
Four! The eyes are scary! Popping out!
Haha... This bears resemblance to... me (in some of my photos). Sheesh... Lucky it has a nice name, 笑嘻嘻. :P
Next gallery: 中国历代钱币馆.
As you may already know, the history of money comes from barter trading (the exchanging of goods). What comes after that? Seashells! Obviously, there's not much point placing seashells in the museum.
So, after seashell, some very smart people in China decided to make COINS. The first coins are not round. They are not even square or rectangular.
They are shaped like SPADES. Not the spades in your poker cards, but the type you use to dig.
If you can see from the above picture, there are two types of spade-coins, one with blunt, squarish ends, another with round, pointy ends.
And the appearing of dagger-shaped coins! Can you imagine? When you pay someone, it's almost like you are going to poke him/her to death!
Anyway, the round coins are too small to see in the pictures. There's the normal shaped ones we usually see, round with a square hollow center. There's another type with a round hollow center. I wonder what called for the change. *ponders*
These coins are really tiny. The boy looks like 蜡笔小新!
The Chinese are really into details. They even have inscriptions on coins (right) and shape their coins into head-shapes (left).
Ha. Horse-shoe gold, usually what the emperor bestows to reward his subordinates!
The first gold and silver bars look like bones. The doggies in my block (in Shanghai) will love then!
So big! How to bring out to pay! If I'm paying cash to buy a house, I'll need horse carriages!
Summary of inscriptions found on coins. If you can see, most of the inscriptions in this period look like scribblings.
And now, some work! Referring to the above guide, can you make out what the inscriptions on these coins are?
Big coins again. Some people need to use their brains more often, although big coins should be easier to engrave.
Yea! Silver ingots! How come there isn't a hump-like thingy at the center?
What can I say? This is the inspiration for the gold coins chocolate we have during CNY!
The ancient people suddenly became smarter and started printing notes. Despite being as BIG, at least they are made of paper and have more information on them.
The moulds to make the coins. Look like ice-cube trays.
How coins were made... It seems similar to the porcelain processes in Shanghai Museum II.
The minting machine! Super big! Looks like a gigantic steering wheel!
Dragons and more dragons. Dragons are prestigious symbols, only on gold coins!
Heh, can't see clearly in this picture, but these are Hong Kong coins during the British colonial period. There's the inscription of the Queen's head. :)
Just when I said they made the coins too big, they decided to become dwarfs and use mini coins.
For comparison, just look at the size relative to the tags.
Shanghai Museum should really put the dimensions down or use a regular gauge.
Finally, 中国明清家具馆. This is one of my favourity gallery. When you enter, you can SMELL the musky wood smell like any other old furniture shop.
This is the classic Chinese study room! The following is the museum's explanation:
'The study was an important part of an ancient Chinese house. it was used as a room to read books, practise painting and calligraphy as well as for meeting friends or relaxation. Inside the study the furniture often consisted of a bed, cabinets and cloth racks as well as painting tables, book shelves, chairs and stools and objects for the scholar's desk. The Ming and Qing literati were fond of collecting antiques and displaying their collection in the study. Scrolls of painting and calligraphy, classic lutes, censers, armrests, paper weights, tea wares and etc. could also be found in the study. This was often built with a dark blue brick floor and white painted walls. Freen pine or cypress trees and bamboo planted outside the room created a peaceful and serene effect.'
Ignore the command of English here. Bed in the study? Sounds like my room. :P
This is the canopy bed. Similar to those you can find at IKEA, minus the elaborate carvings.
Chinese-style daybed! I loooooove daybeds!
But I prefer the European, Victorian styles. :D
Tralala... You don't know what this is!
It's a basin holder cum towels rack. I thought we can put a round table top and have a feast!
Simple display cabinet. Whatever in the display cabinets sure couldn't be displayed with all the bars.
This is the reception hall.
'The reception hall was an important part of an ancient Chinese house and was the largest and most elaborately decorated area. Various functions were held in the hall as sacrificial, wedding and funeral ceremonies as well as a reception area for greeting friends. The setting of the furniture in the hall varied according to the social function. Usually a long narrow table with recessed legs was placed in front of a central movable wooden wall. A folding chair and some armchairs were placed in front of the narrow table. Family members or relatives would be palced according to their respective positions in the family hierarchy. A solemn atmosphere usually pervaded this reception hall.'
So weird. My living room is always bustling, noisy and hyped up. Definitely no funerals in the living room!
Models of a wedding procession. Can you see the sedan in the background?
Oooh... Preparing for 洞房花烛夜!
Wah seh! I was stunned okay! This is a bookshelf! But the design is soooooo ELABORATE! Even the insides are painted!
I didn't know the saying 'the early bird gets the worm' comes from China.
Peaches for longevity for sale!
This is the THRONE. I'm considering getting a Chinese style one like this, or an European style one for myself. *wink*
This set of tables and stools gave me a headache okay! The carvings are so detailed and tiny and symmetrical and pig knows what. It's like staring at a tessellation!
That's all for the pictures. There was another gallery with embroideries. SUPER BEAUTIFUL okay! There are so many different kinds of stitches, for different animals, objects, humans. The different stitches are to imitate different scenes! *falls in love* ^^
Too bad photography wasn't allowed. Even it was, the photos wouldn't be able to justify the beautiful. Take a look for yourself if you go to the Shanghai Museum!
Labels: China, GIP, Shanghai, travel
posted by QueenPig @ 1:42 PM
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