Huan Zhe Ge Ge/Pearl Princess (New Version) Info

Finally someone's had the time to translate some plot information regarding the New Huan Zhu Ge Ge
Check out this blog:

http://therainhouse.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/the-new-huan-zhu-ge-ge-faq

It explains the reason for the remake, how the actors/actresses were selected and the plot.
Instead of 1 big series, it is actually a 3 part series....see how misleading some information are.
And it leaves a big cliff hanger ending at the third part. Even after reading it, I felt said. Poor Xiao Yan Zi and Yong Qi. 

If you want more info, pictures, etc: You can check out the following links:

http://s1117.photobucket.com/home/fling215
http://blog.sina.com.cn/qiongyao
http://yule.sohu.com/s2009/xinhzgg/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/xin-hai-zhu-ge-ge/124609574229254

It is expected to be out early 2011!!!

The New York Job Fair on November. 9th 2010

NYCHires hosts the Worst Job Fair In The World!!!!!

I've been to quite of few of job fairs since High Schools....and this one I can say by far is the worst!!!
I arrived at Radisson Hotel at 32nd Street about noon and waited in line for about 30+ minutes. Since, there was such a long line, I expected the job fair to be pretty good. Boy was I wrong. It was a complete waste of time!

First of all, I heard about this job fair from my sister who read it on the newspaper. When I tried to look it up online, I was unable to find it. Until I enter the specific date, good job on marketing guys. When I finally found it, it suggests that I sign up at http://nyc.localhires.com in order to register for the fair and see the employer list. After doing so, I saw a list of about 15 which includes Family Health Plus,U.S Coastal Guard, and New York Life. ( I would post it but it is no longer available on it's website)

So what was wrong with it?
1. All of the positions that each company was hiring for is Sales, Sales, and more Sales. (Or it was the army)
2. Several desks were empty.
3. Space was limited. Was held inside a small conference room.
4. Line moved very slowly because they only let in about 15-20 people at a time.
5. For such a big city...we only had about 15 companies show up? (My college's hospitality job fair in our tiny restaurant was a better success.)

I tried to warn people who was still on the line when I came out that they offer offer sales positions. But no one budge. Guess they want to see for themselves.

Let's hope the next job fair I'll be attending will be up to some standard... Or I'll be forced to remained home-bound forever.

Need a new job!!!

So yea due to hiring too many ppl in the customer service department, me, being the least experience gets a kick on the ass and fired in the spot on Thursday night right at 6:00pm. All they told me was".... I'm sorry to say this but, your services will be terminated as of tonight. Our company is going through some changes and we decided to allocate some of our expenses. " YEAH RIGHT!!!! I started the job at 9/27 and it was 'terminated' on 10/28.

I guess I kinda saw it coming because I never had much to do since I got started and when they hired one more person...I knew one of us had to go. The management is really gay there, but the people working there are relatively cool. They told  me the turnover rate was very high and they've seen many come and go within weeks and months. Those who had work there are either very new(months) or very old (years).

On Friday, I contacted the job agency I've worked with and the person there didn't seem too enthusiastic to help me. Apparently, asking for $30,000  annually is just too much I guess.  I've gone outta state to let loose of this upsetting fact and thanks to a friend, it really helped. So Once again, my job search has just resumed!

NC Soft: Fan Meet And Greet 2010

I'm quite of a gamer, an mmorpg gamer. Although not a very good one, I've been gaming for about 6 years. At the moment, I'm playing a game called Aion. And when I heard about NCsoft's Fan Meet and Greet in NYC, I was pretty excited.

After work today, I went across midtown to Hudson Hotel and waited online to get it (didn't know there was a line). My first impression is not that good...... The hotel was quite shady because you can barely see the entrance. I walk past it before I realize where the entrance was. When I went inside, there was a security check point that asked you for your ID (18 and over only). Apart from the normal line, there was a VIP line (you had to email or contact a gm for that....which I didn't know about until the event) and they were let in first. When I went to line up for the 'normal' line, I saw about 30 ppl online, most of them looked like students and typical gamers (if you know what I mean).

At exactly 7, we were let in and I got the following:

1. One Raffle Ticket
2. One drink voucher/ticket for a free drink


And one the table they had a variety of free items for each game from NCsoft:
But I got the following:

1. an Aion figurine (made in china i supposed)

2. Aion pc dvd-rom online software (awesome right?)

3. Aion stickers (very appropriate...don't you think?)

4. Aion laptop sticker

5. Aion Assault on Balaurea 15-day time card , Aion Energy Boost Pack

6. Limited Edition Aion Poster

7. Aion T-shirts (M size, they only had M and X-large)

8. Lineage T-shirt (was given to me from someone who won the prize of aion bookbag with t-shirts)

9. Aion key holder thingy (don't know the real name)

They gave out prizes such as
1. 4-5 Aion bookbags with couple of random t-shirts inside
2. 5-10 mouses
3. 3-5 mousepads
5. 5 awesome graphic cards

And of course I didn't win anything.

During the mingling, they had waiters serve some appetizers such as spring rolls, and little hotdog thingys and chicken fingers. They also had computers from Alienwares for players to try and they were separated from game to game by sections.

I got to meet some people who played Aion, some who didn't play anymore, some elyos and very few people that I actually know. Most of the around 200ish people there played other games....which I thought was upsetting!!!! LOL  I got to speak to two of the GMs briefly. I actually thought they would be making some announcements and have the event more like a seminar where we can ask questions and they answer.

I didn't stay for the after-party because I was tired and didn't have to get home late?

All and all, I enjoyed the event. It was better than I expected actually. Hope they come again next year.

Thanks NCsoft!

Koumpounophobia: Fear of buttons

he fear of buttons on clothing, known as button phobia or koumpounophobia, is an irrational phobia which is, perhaps surprisingly, a fairly common fear.
Most people who suffer from this phobia are convinced that they are the only ones in the world to suffer from such a strange fear, and they are often teased or taunted by others who do not understand or believe that they are telling the truth.
Irrational fears may be evoked due to traumatic happenings in early childhood, however, most people who do suffer from button phobia seem to admit that they have been afraid of buttons for as long as they can remember. For some people, the fear can also extend to all button-like objects, such as small coins, sequins and other small discs.
Types of buttons
Some people find that plastic buttons are worse than metal ones (like the ones on jeans) or that buttons with four holes are more fear or panic-inducing than those with two.
Degrees of severity
There are several degrees of severity to the phobia, ranging from cringing when others wear buttons and chosing not to wear buttons yourself to not wanting to breathe next to buttons in fear of inhaling one or washing your hands with soap for an extended period of time after any (accidental) contact with buttons. In some people, the sight of buttons may induce vomiting.
Some patients have found that hypnotherapy has been of help to overcome or make their button-suffering less severe.

source: http://dipsolect.com/koumpounophobia-fear-of-buttons/

What does this have to do with me? I have Koumpounophobia since as far as I can remember.
As a young child, I have no choice on what clothes to wear and was forced to wear clothes with all sorts of buttons. But as I grow older, I believe I've gotten even worse due to the lack of wearing buttons. The only types of buttons I wear are those with jeans. They are about the only ones I would be able to stand.

It's a button-filled world out there and I'm only limited to clothes that don't have buttons (which isn't much).
Especially now, that I'm working....... Have you ever tried to look for business casual to formal clothes that doesn't have buttons? Very rare!!!! Almost impossible. There was several instances I bought clothes slacks with buttons and had to ask my sisters to help me cut it off.

How did this irrational fear came to be? I have no idea. Why is there such a fear? We, as human beings are so weird. It isn't like other fears such as fear of heights, or fear of spiders, where there are somewhat of an explanation of why there may be a fear. That's why I've chose to keep this fear to myself. Only my family and close friends knows of this. As kids, there were even instances that my sisters try to touch me with buttons and chase me around the room.

How bad do I hate buttons? If there's a loose buttons somewhere around the house? I would throw it out using a napkin to hold it while throwing it out. If it was near food, I will not have the appetite. If I touched it by accident, I would wipe my hands on something or wash it right after. I want to kill the person who evented  buttons!!! Why can't we just use zippers?

In recent years, I've discover that there's a lot of people who also have this same fear. I'm glad I'm not the only one. XD

There's even a facebook group for it:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/kuompounophobiathe-fear-of-buttons/441529010439#!/pages/kuompounophobiathe-fear-of-buttons/441529010439?v=wall

New Job

Yay, I've finally founded a job. It is signed for in contract form just yesterday. And I will be starting Monday. I was going to give up and I was so happy when I got the offer. 

The pay isn't all that great but it is viable and as I said " beggars can't be choosers". Many companies will take advantage of those who are seeking jobs in this economy especially those who are small and  privately owned. They are well aware of the unemployment rate and will get the best for the least amount of money.

But this company that hire me is a mid-size company that is located in mid town Manhattan. I will be working in the customer service/marketing aspect of it and what I found attractive is the potential in growth both for me and the company.

However, I will be on probation for 90 days much like many other jobs. I really hope I won't wake up late or mess it up badly. Another thing is that I found to be stupid is that after accepting the offer, I've received three calls for interviews from past jobs I've applied to. A part of me wonder if accepting is a good choice, could I have gotten a better one if I've waited. But another part of me is very excited about the job.

New Job Scams - Using Your Last Name Part 2

Usually scammers don't give you a follow-up email....usually......
But apparently this Marsha does. Today (a Saturday) I received an email from her and it said the following:

(My name) I sent you an email yesterday about a
possible position with our company. But I have not
heard back from you.

If you are still available please go to http://airpcs.com/
to schedule an interview and to receive additional
information on our company.

I look forward to discussing this with you further.

Marsha (My last name)
http://airpcs.com/



At first I just stared at it....thinking wow....then i got angry and decided to respond:


Hi Ms. (my last name) AKA scammer,

Stop emailing me!!!!!!!

And go f*** yourself!
 

Now hopefully, they'll stop emailing me. XD

New Job Scams - Using Your Last Name

I tried applying through Yahoo hotjobs last night and I received a new and smart job scam.

The email is from 'office@edmisongroup.com' and it read the following:

______(my first name) I read your resume and would like to interview you for a possible position with our company.

If you are still available please go to http://airpcs.com/ to schedule an interview and to receive additional information on our company.

I look forward to discussing this with you further.

Marsha ______ (same last name as me)
http://airpcs.com/

Due to the lack of details, I was a skeptical but I decided to check out it's website and in truth it did have a form for you to schedule and nothing else. So I decided to google it and found a forum of people talking about this scam: http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/8013100437. 

Apparently, the name of the contact is always Marsha but the last name is changed to fit the emailee's last name. So for my email, they used my last name. 

I think it was something different from the usual scams and is quite clever simply because the use of your last name seems to lure you into thinking this person is real. (Especially with a Chinese last name as mine.)

All you scammers out there... do you spend like hours thinking up this stuff?

Huan Zhe Ge Ge/Pearl Princess (New Version) Character Pictures Part 2

I founds some pictures of the new cast, check it out:

Sai Ya 
Name: Chai Bi Yun
DoB: 7/3/1989

Xin Rong
Name: Kan Qing Zi
DoB: 4/15/1988
Note: She is the third party in XYZ and YQ

Yu Fei (Yong Qi's mother)
Yong Qi mention the original HZGG that his mother was dead, but this series will include her.  

Meng Dan

Cai  Xia

Ming Yue

Rong Mo Mo

Fu Lun

Ji Xiao Lan

Fu Heng

Chang Shou
Imperial Doctor

Lang Shi Ning
Benjamin's teacher 

Huan Zhu Ge Ge/Pearl Princess (New Version) My say on the characters

All the main actress such as Qian Long, XYZ, ZiWei, YongQi, and ErKang are all new in my eyes. I understand some of them might have acted in small roles and/or music videos. But I've never seen them in any major productions.

XYZ:
She is oldest of the four (even older than me wahahahha XP). She has been in many music videos and some small productions. Many people see a similarity between her and Vicki Zhao due to her big eyes. But there was also criticisms online saying that she looks old and like a man.

My feelings is that she basically has the looks (even though Vicki is way prettier) but it's the personality and acting that she has to bring on. Vicki set an unprecedented goal for the role of Xiao Yan Zi, which definitely wasn't met by Huang Yi (I love her though). I really do hope she can step up and bring alive Xiao Yan Zi like Vicki did.

Zi Wei:
There was criticisms online saying she is cross-eyed, has big ears and has a sad look to her. Many viewers dislike her and believe that she is no match for Ruby Lin.

I can't say that I totally disagree with the criticisms of others especially the 'crossed-eye' part. But I don't believe she is bad looking. The role of Zi Wei has a certain outer softness but inner strength. Through the pictures I've seen from the new Zi Wei, she seems to have the soft and gentleness. Now it's up to her acting.

Yong Qi:
There wasn't much criticisms online regarding him except that they think he has a long face.

I really don't see a problem with a long face as long as it is overly long. He seems to be pretty good looking in my opinion. The only thing I have to say is that he looks overly pale on his pictures of HZGG. I'm not sure if it's the make up that they put on him or something else. Another thing is that he is much younger than the original Yong Qis that we've seen in the past. But it can be a plus because the character of Yong Qi is meant to have to display a certain level of stubbornness, playfulness, and of course maturity.

Er Kang:
The criticisms for Er Kang is that he looks like he's on drugs and he doesn't have an "upper class" look to him.

I don't agree with the criticisms because I really don't see it. In terms of "upper class" look, I don't think he lacks it at all. (But then again I don't see an "upper class" look to one of the F4s Ken Wu and nobody seems to agree with me.) I've always seen Er Kang as a very mature and masculine man, and he does display this in his pictures so far. He's just a little big young for my taste for this role because Er Kang is suppose to be several years older than the rest of the three.


Out of the whole cast, I'm only familiar with the characters playing Tai Ho (king's mother) and Huang Ho (queen).

Tai Ho has starred in many of Qiong Yao's production since her 20s and is very well known actress from Taiwan. I saw a talk show in China where she was a guest star and she was able to cry at will. Now that's impressive. Her acting skills should surpass those of the old Tai Ho.

Huang Ho is another well-known actress from Hong Kong. She's starred in many roles in Hong Kong drama series and many knows of her impressive acting skills. This is the first time, I've seen her in a non Hong Kong show. This should be very interesting.


Also, the addition of  Ruby Lin playing Xia Yu He (Zi Wei's Mother) and Qin Lan Yin playing Xue Yin (Xiao Yan Zi's mother) will be a great addition to look for.

Huan Zhu Ge Ge/Pearl Princess (New Version) Intro

One of the most popular Chinese drama series is Huan Zhu Ge Ge. Since it came out in 1998, there has been many viewers and fans. All in all, there was three parts to this series.

Huan Zhu Ge Ge I, II

Now, 12 years later, a whole new cast is in the process of filming for the long awaited New Huan Zhu Ge Ge.

New Huan Zhe Ge Ge

They've already started filming around the beginning of summer 2010 and it is expected to come out sometime 2011. The remake is by HuNan TV and will be 30 episodes.

My thoughts:

When I heard that there was going to be a remake of Huan Zhu Ge Ge, I was very excited. For me the original is my all time favorite show. I watch the original when I was attending Middle School. I'm about twice that age now but I still go back to watch the series all over again. I used to collect all the HZGG pictures I can find online and organized them into folders. Unfortunately, old habits die hard and I've started collecting pictures again. Let's cross our fingers and hope this remake will be able to match up to the original.

Huan Zhu Ge Ge/Pearl Princess (New Version) Character Pictures

New Huan Zhu Ge Ge Casting:

Emperor Qian Long 乾隆
Name: 邱心志 Qiu Xin Zhi
DoB: 3/31/1968

Xiao Yan Zi 小燕子

Name: 李晟 Li Sheng

DoB: 9/10/85

Height: 162cm

Weight: 45kg

Blood Type: A

Hobbies: graphic design, music

Zi Wei 紫薇

Name: 海陆 Hai Lu
DoB:  10/15/1987
Height: 169cm
Weight: 48kg
Blood Type: O

Yong Qi 永琪
Name: 张睿/张航睿 Zhang Hangrui (original name)
DoB: 4/7/1987
Height: 178cm
Hobbies: music, dance, writing, football, swimming

Fu Er Kang 福尔康
Name: 李佳航 Li Jia Hang
DoB: 3/8/1987
Height: 180cm
Weight: 72kg
Blood Type: O

Fu Er Tai 福尔泰 
Name: 路宏 Lu Hong
DoB: 1/11/91
Height: 185cm
Weight: 68kg

Qing Er 晴儿
Name: 赵丽颖 Zhao Li Ying
DoB: 10/16/1987
Height: 163cm
Weight: 41kg

Xiao Jian 箫剑
Name: 高梓淇 Gao Ziqi
DoB: 4/30/1981
Height: 182cm
Weight: 70kg

Jing Suo 金锁
Name: 孙耀琦 Sun Yaoqi
DoB: 3/29/1987
Height: 172cm
Blood Type: AB
Hobbies: swimming, playing piano

Liu Qing 柳青
Name: 王今铎 Wang Jin Duo
Liu Hong 柳红
Name:  周放 Zhou Fang

Xia Yu He 夏雨荷 Zi Wei's Mom
Name: 林心如 Ruby Lin
DoB: 1/27/1976
Height: 167cm
Weight: 46kg 

Xue Yin 雪吟 Xiao Yan Zi's Mom
Name: 秦岚 Qin Lan (Also played Zi Hua in HZGG III)
DoB: 7/17/1981
Height: 165cm
Blood Type: B

Ling Fei 令妃
Name: 刘晓晔 Liu Xiaoye

 Han Xiang 含香/香妃
Name: 买地娜.买买提 Madina Maimaiti

Benjamin 班杰明
Name: 潘杰明 Benji
DoB: 6/6/1982
Height: 188cm
Weight: 89kg
Nationality: American

Lao Fo Ye 老佛爷

Name:刘雪华 Liu Xue Hua

DoB: 11/12/1959

Huang Ho 皇后

Name: 邓萃雯 Sheren Tang

DoB:  3/22/1966

Left to Right  辛新 - 小蚊子      张倬闻 - 小桌子     瞿澳辉 - 小凳子      陈木易 - 小 虫子

Desperate Housewives

I've never seen the all popular Desperate Housewives on ABC since their premier few years ago. I do remember hearing about it from my friends in college. And since I've been very bored, I decided to try it. I've finished my last episode of Desperate Housewives today and it was better than I had expected. It was entertaining with all the different issues that had with each other families.

However, there are several things I do dislike about it. The series had a bit too much of sleeping around along with the different pairing of the same people. For example, couples will constantly break up and get back together , son sleeps with mom's boyfriend, a women dates and sleeps with the ex/husbands of her friends. Yet they are able to let go of their past and just embrace the happiness to come. But I guess that's how they get the many viewers that they do.

To me, 3 of the 4 main women in this series are too promiscuous for my taste. The one person that stands out for me is Lynette. Unlike the others, she had remain faithful to her husband throughout the series and did not take on any lovers. She is also one of the most strong-minded women out of the 4. Not only is she a successful mother of 4 (5 now), she was also a successful business women, and a very supportive wife. I hope she remains this way for Season 7.

I may not be the biggest fan, but I am looking forward to watching the next season (season 7). I would recommend it to those who are looking for something to watch and have a lot of time on their hands.

Interview 8/20/10

After two weeks of nothing....

Today I had my 13th interview of the summer. The interview was with a small marketing company in Brooklyn.
I was interviewed by two ladies (hate it when they have two) feel like I have double the pressure. The office environment was very casual which is what I like but I expected the company to be bigger. But hey beggars can't be choosers. Right after the interview, I was told I should be expecting a call tonight or Monday (the latest) if they want me to go in for some testing (Microsoft Office, etc). But I still haven't receive a call from them, so hopefully I'll get a call from them on Monday.

The funny thing is that no matter how many interviews I've been in, it never gets easier. Of course it is much better than one first few interviews I've had in my life time. But if I was playing a mmorpg game, I'll be in the same level and not leveling up. 

Right after the interview, I called the staff agency which I work with ( I work with 3, only 1 of them is reliable).
My contact at the agency, let's call him P told me of a job opportunity for a European Bank as Office Assistant or something of that sorts. He will try to set me up with an interview early next week. He also got me set up with a one-day job with an event in Bryant Park on Friday. The good thing is there is no interview required and I'll get a free pair of Levi's jeans.

After two weeks of nothing, I got like three things at once. Last time this happened, I found my last job. Wish me luck!!!!

Craigslist.org: Job Listing 101

After about 2-3 months of job hunting mainly on Craigslist.org (I know it's not the best site for jobs but I feel most comfortable with it and it was where I found my last job), I've learned a few tricks:

1. Any listing with salary that is above what is expected is a scam!!!! I can tell you for a fact that 20% to 40% of the job listings are not really job listings. For example:  They're offering $25 per hour for an Administrative Assistant position. It will be a dream come true.... if it were real..... 
2. Ignore the job listings one the first page and the last page of each day. The reason is because those listings are posted during the A.Ms or non typical office hours. Majority are scams as well. 
3. I tend to not click on job listings that are listed 3 times in three different categories. I'm unsure if they're scams, but I don't think companies are that desperate to pay for 3 listings 1 after another. I've never actually tested the theory. Perhaps they are job agencies. 
4. When employers receive emails from applicants, they usually receive it in list which show the most recent email first. In the midst of tons of applicants applying for the same job, you'll want to be one of the first that they look at. So try to send it in the early A.M hours, so you'll be one of the first. I do it usually around 2-3 am because I'm unable to get up at 6:00am while jobless.

My goal is to ensure I use the least amount of time looking through jobs.
However, these are just the things I've learned. But I'm unsure if it is 100% true, so please don't take my word for it.

Also, what do I mean by scams? Usually, they are false job listings to get information from everyday people. You might receive an email that has about 5 paragraphs of information regarding the details of the job. Many of them are very detail with numbers and company names. But do not get tricked. If an employer is interested in you, they would contact you for an interview first through your email or phone. These emails will ask you for your name, address, phone number and sometimes it'll ask you for follow a link to do a credit report of some sort.

This is a copy of an email I got after emailing one of the scams. 

This is an email I received after applying for "File Clerk" As you can see, they ask for a credit report. Why would a job need your credit report?