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?

Interviews

Job search has been hard since I've graduated in 2008 and it is still just as hard. I've had about 12 interviews so far (includes about 4 agencies interviews) since the beginning of June 2010. Two had actually offered me the position but....I rejected them because I wanted better. Now, I'm unsure if it was the right choice or not.

1st job that accepted me:
Position: Office/Admin Assistant
Pay: $30,000 annually (14.4 hourly), 12 day vacation (includes sick and personal days)
Con: Very small and unorganized office.
I accepted it after a few days of thinking about it. But when the recruiter ( I got it through a job agency) called the company, the executive assistant keep saying that the boss is traveling and she isn't able to get in contact with him. After 1 week or 2 of this and seeing their Ad on Craigslist.org (offering less than they offered me), I decided that they no longer want me. VErY PrOFeSsIONaL COmPaNY!!!! -.-

2nd job accepted me right on the spot (they liked me very much):
Position: Receptionist
Pay: $14.00 hourly.
Cons: Have to be standing all day, hours 11-7pm, they only covered half for medical insurance, I have to wear their uniform.
When they couldn't increase the salary and will not give me time to think about it, I turned it down. I was also waiting for two jobs that pay better.

I'm still applying for jobs though. I'm not giving up.