On Being Chinesey

I know this will sound ridiculous, but sometimes I'm amazed at how "Chinese-y" this city is. Of course it's in China, hence the Chinesey-ness, but when you're in the midst of this city and it's full of people bustling about, taxis swerving in and out of traffic, and really, REALLY tall buildings all about, it's easy to forget that this mecca of international finance and world commerce happens to be located in China. But then I wander past a corner snack stand selling fried octopus legs and stinky tofu and it all comes flooding back to me. I live in China. Period. And it's very, very Chinesy here.

It's completely normal to pass a parked truck full of squids--live ones, at that--and to see the frazzled delivery guy snatch an escaping one up off the dirty street by it's tentacles and plunk it right back into the crates, dashing all it's hopes of ever seeing the ocean again. There's no doubt the local restaurants serve fresh seafood.

A fisherman selling his catches of the day.
Take a close look at what's lying next to his feet.
Yikes!

A local seafood joint specializing in this long, eel-like
ocean creature. I have no idea what it is.
Matt calls it a Luck Dragon.
(The heads are always missing.)

Our particular neighborhood has quite a "local" vibe to it and the Chinesey-ness is hard to miss. It's when I'm (window) shopping in the more upscale parts of town or running errands out and about that I momentarily forget where I am. But then, bam!, I almost get run over by a shirtless man on a bike full of dead chickens, and it all comes rushing back to me. I live in China. It's a strange experience every time it happens.

Hong Kong is both a fishing village and an emerging financial powerhouse. It is a city of such phenomenal contrast. And to see those forces collide everyday makes me believe there's no other city like it in the whole world. It's really incredible. And, yes, it's very, very Chinese-y.

Introducing: The Tilted Tulip

Just a quick message to let all you good folks out there on the world-wide-web know that I (finally!) got my act together and started an online craft store on Etsy.com. Thanks, Matt, for giving me a proper kick in the pants.

You can buy everything I made at:

www.thetiltedtulip.etsy.com



I'll be adding more items over the next few days, and I'd love any feedback (good or bad) you might have to offer. So, what are you waiting for?!? Let's go shopping!

Hair Raising

Before

I've always admired women who have the fortitude to wear their long hair down on hot, steamy days. I rarely have the patience. I know that regardless of how long I spend primping, curling, or straigtening my hair, the minute I step outside into the sunlight, it goes right up into a ponytail. In Hong Kong especially, the women always wear their hair down, so every now and then I make a determined effort to do the same. If they can do it, why can't I? Today was one off those days. Moments ago I walked into our apartment, took a quick look in the mirror, and nearly screamed in fright at the fuzzy rat's nest that had settled on my head over the past few hours. Why do I torture myself? I've just got to admit that I'm not one of those women who can look fresh as a daisy in any situation.

After*

Oh, today I did, however, discover an efficient way to keep the crowds at bay in the busy subway and on the streets. Neglecting to put deoderant on in the morning works like a charm. Have no fear, my lovely readers, tonight I will definitely be taking a shower.



*Professional reenactment. Do not attempt this at home.

Lazy Weekend

It rained all weekend so Matt and I stayed indoors and lazed about the apartment and happily wallowed in a mess of cookie crumbs, cat hair, taco salad, and scrabble pieces for two straight days. It was heavenly.

I beat Matt soundly.

We broke down and bought all our favorite taco salad fixings at the expensive Western grocery store in our neighborhood. Oh, except for the fabulous Mama Lupe Tortillas, which came hand delivered last week all the way from Moundridge, KS (Thanks, Mom! Oh, and Brad and Amy!).

And just when we thought we were too bored to stay indoors a minute longer, Quincy began a little dance routine for us. It was riveting.

PS Sorry about the cat video. Really I am. I know you will never have those 27 seconds back again. I promise to curb my enthusiasm for lame cat videos. Um, for at least a month. Or so.

On Being Useful

Tonight Matt looked down at the cat sitting peacefully on his chest and said:

"Quincy, I wish we could teach you how to be useful. It sure would be helpful if you could hold my beer."

I hope this isn't any indication of what "useful" things he might someday try to teach our children.

Blik of an Eye

I always meant to show this off. For Christmas every year, on top of the normal gifts, Matt's parents graciously offer to splurge on one gift per kid/couple. Matt and I ask usually ask for something frivilous and artsy that we would love to own but probably wouldn't shell out the cash for ourselves. This year we asked for a set of Blik wall graphics. They offer a really unique way to spruce our tiny living space filled with colorless, concrete walls (meaning no pictures can be hung). We were thrilled to put ours up. Here's a little glance at what we chose:

(There's my husband in all his bearded glory)

And a close up:

I just LOVE them. Really help to brighten up the place and bring a little county life into the dreariness of big city living. Thanks so much, Doug and Angie!



PS Last year we chose this beautiful little lamp. Wish we had it with us in Hong Kong.

Helter Swelter

It's so hot.

I've been dreading the onslaught of the summer heat and humidity ever since we moved here and it's finally reached the boiling point. It's the kind of suffocating heat that makes my glasses fog up every time I leave the confines of an air conditioned building and step outside. I'm just miserably sticky all the time. And for a girl who doesn't like to shower, this is pure torture. (Um, I guess I've probably never mentioned before that I don't like to shower. Once I'm actually clean again, I feel great, but there is always some sort of mental road block that keeps me from showering as often as I should. And I really, really prefer to sleep in. Maybe I should have kept that little secret of mine under wraps. Oh well. You know how this blog-thing of mine makes me eager to reveal humiliating bits and pieces of my everyday behavior.)

It's just so icky, sticky outside. Some days it just makes me crabby. But usually it just makes me thirsty. Good thing there are more than 400 7-11s in this city. Practically one on every corner. Too bad the slushy machine craze hasn't made it across the pond yet.


In other news, my very funny mother sent me this brilliant hat to go with my eye patch. She's such a hoot!




Also, we had a GREAT time with Brad and Amy last week. They are moving to Santiago, Chile in just over a week to begin their own international adventures. Can't wait to visit them!



And wherever you are right now, breath in some cool, stale air-conditioned air and think of me.

Oops

It could have been the classic set-up for some serious wailing and gnashing of teeth, but conveniently BOTH of us forgot today was our anniversary. Our 4th anniversary, to be exact.


Let me explain.

Our bestest friends in the whole wide world are landing on Chinese soil in just a few short hours. Matt and I had already agreed to officially celebrate after they leave next week. Needless to say we were a bit distracted today in anticipation of their visit. But regardless, we're both pitiful. Good thing we love each other so much. We treat everyday like our anniversary.

So, Happy Anniversary to the Dingbats who forgot their own anniversary:

A Big Ol' ThankYou

Thanks to all my loyal readers out there. Your support and advice for my goobered eye came rolling in from all corners of the world wide web, and for that I am grateful. I bypassed a trip to the doctor after all and am feeling good about my decision. I took heart in the words from my personal nurse (my mother) who told me to "quit overreacting" or "stop being so tragic." [The actual words were written in German so a bit of the meaning lost in translation, but I think you get the point.]
So again, thank you all for your kind words. I know I'm on the road to recovery.

Dr Google

This morning I woke up with this on my eyeball:



YIKES! Freaked me out, let me tell you. In fact, as I write this post, I'm having trouble looking at it. Need to write alot and quickly so the picture scoots up the page and I can stop staring at it. Oh, so gross.










Ok, that's better. [I very much doubt that when I actually post this sucker my little joke is going to translate onto the actual blog page, but whatever. For what it's worth, the image is no longer visible on the page I'm working on, and I'm in charge here and I say the joke stays.]

After flipping out for a few minutes (which including some high-pitched shrieking and dancing around, in between bouts of near fainting spells 'caused by looking at my little bloody eyeball patch which I sadistically couldn't keep from staring at even though it nearly made me collapse each time), my bleary-eyed husband (ha! he was bleary-eyed and I was bloody-eyed) stumbled out of bed and went straight to the computer to look up my symptoms (after looking at my eye first, of course).*

I'd never seen anything like this before in my life, especially not on my set of eyeballs. I just woke up with it. Weird. I immediately called my boss and told her I would be a little late to work, made my husband pull out the map and find the nearest hospital, and then I set about to self-diagnose myself.

We think I have this.

We eventually came to the conclusion that I was not dying, nor had a brain hemorrhage, nor did I need an immediate emergency eyeball transplant. I just needed to wait for it to go away. It doesn't affect my eyesight and I'm not in pain, so no big deal. I think. I did try several times today to go see my doctor, but he wasn't available. I might go tomorrow.

I sound very sane now, which is a good thing, but usually I give myself a MUCH, MUCH bleaker outlook. Which brings me to a little confession. I LOVE to roam the internet world anytime I feel even the slightest bit ill, scouring google for the answers to what ails me. Most of the time my diagnoses are terrible. (Oh, I can't believe I'm admitting this all to you folks on the world wide web, but keeping a blog somehow makes you want to be brutally and humiliatingly honest. It's a curse.) Over the years I've been one very sick girl, virtually speaking. This afternoon I delved a little deeper into my symptoms and, for about 5 minutes, was pretty sure I had bleeding peptic ulcers, the kind with few noticeable symptoms. I know it's a bit of a stretch to go from bleeding eyeballs to ulcers, but with google anything is possible. Perhaps the worst example was when I once decided the pain in my neck was a sure sign I had bacterial meningitis, when in reality I just needed a new pillow.

They aren't kidding when they tell you the internet is dangerous. One of these days I really will contract some crazy disease, realize the truth after an appointment with Dr Google, second-guess myself and think maybe I'm actually fine, and then wake up dead. You'll all be so sorry then, won't you?









*The most parentheses I've ever used in 1 sentence, and quite possibly my whole life. Sorry.

Ding Dong

Growing up my mom never let us make phone calls after 10pm at night. Or answer them. She just didn't think it was proper to call that late. I don't blame her. She did have 4 daughters, after all. It's likely with several teenagers and a couple of tweens in the house at once, the phone lines are bound to be tied up. To this day I'm still paranoid about calling people after 10pm--even if I know them to be night owls. And I would definitely never dream of knocking on someone's door that late. Well, unless they were expecting me, or if it were an emergency, or if there was going to be a beauty pageant starting shortly on some obscure cable channel and I had stupidly cancelled our cable package a few months earlier. (That's never actually happened, but it's got the potential to occur sometime during my life time. I have ever told you how much I love pageants? Um, of course I have.)

So when we get a knock on our door at 10:26pm on Sunday night (a sacred-never-leave-the- house- except-to-go-to- church-kind- of-day, according to my mother) it's a bit unusual. Not too mention that we don't really know many people in this city, so who could it be?!

It's the cable guy, of course. This is the third late-night house call we've gotten in a couple of months. I know that Hong Kong is an all-hours kind of city, but seriously, folks, who wants to upgrade their internet/cable service at 10:45 at night? Usually the conversation is pretty quick because a) we don't speak Cantonese, b) we don't have a TV, and c) we don't have a phone line. It's all over in a minute or two and Mr or Ms Cable-Guy is off to ding-dong our neighbors. But still, it's weird huh? Maybe there are only a few reps to cover the whole city and 7 million people can't be reached between the hours of 8-5. Or maybe word got out that we don't have a TV, so they keep sending reps at odd hours of the night in hopes of pulling off an intervention. It's still a shocker to the locals when I tell them we don't own a television. Who knows.

Sometimes this city just baffles me.

CPK

Last week TGI Fridays, this week Californial Pizza Kitchen. I think I could get used to this. I think I could also get fat. Don't know why most of my posts are about food. Maybe it's because I'm ALWAYS hungry.

T.G.I. Fantastic

A few night ago Matt and I went to TGI Friday's (yes, there is a TGI Friday's in HK) to celebrate our 9 month anniversary of moving to HK. Actually, before going, we debated whether or not we've been living here long enough to justify a trip to one of the most ridiculous bits of "Americana" found in HK. We decided we had. We were both craving American food too much to resist. It wasn't until after we sat down that we realized we'd been living here for 9 whole months. Wow. Time flies!

So far, so good. This city has treated us well. It hasn't always been a piece of cake [on a complete unrelated side note---some of my Chinese co-workers don't understand much of what I say, so when I speak, I speak very slowly and clearly, using simple English. The other day I tried to explain what it means to say something is a "piece of cake"--it was a disaster. First I tried to explain the word cake, which is impossible to do unless you try to explain other weird words like flour or muffin, or something similar. I think they thought I was an idiot...] living here, but I'm definitely not regretting the move whatsoever.

The only thing that is noticeably missing from our lives are alot of friends. Don't get me wrong, we've met some wonderful people here and are in the process of forging great friendships, but it's a slow process. I'm such a social person that it's been weird for me to not have a full list of girls to go shopping with or hang out with at any given moment. Even friendships with co-workers don't happen quickly. (Part of that is because of the aforementioned language barrier.) Often I just feel like an awkward foreign-exchange student who can't speak the language and doesn't know how to respond to cultural differences, when deep down inside I know I'm a social-caterpillar just waiting to blossom into a butterfly. Honestly, guys, I'm cool! Look at me! Please hang out with me. Errr...Nevermind.

But like I said, we're working on that. I just hope that my new HK friends don't read this and decide that I'm too big of a nerd to hang out with.

Anyway--I didn't mean for this to escalate the way it did. Mostly I just wanted to mention that I went to TGI Friday's and tell you that even though I went there, it doesn't mean I'm one of those silly Americans who craves ridiculous American food like potato chips, macaroni and cheese, nachos, corn dogs, etc. all the time. Those people are just not cool.

Cat-ittude

Did I ever tell you about the time I tried to take my cat to the vet in a large grocery bag on wheels? Well, it didn't work.

Filler

I'm just writing this post as a filler so that my crabby rangoon homepage fills up and I don't see that Chicken Fried Steak taunting me from a few posts below every time I login. The more I write, the sooner it will pop off into the oblivion of the next page. Oh, it makes me sooooo hungry.

Skates and Popcorn

Today the subway smelled just like a skating rink---like sweaty bodies, popcorn, and jolly ranchers. I can account for the sweaty bodies, but I'm not sure where the popcorn and candy smells originated. I'm sure it would be a janitor's worst nightmare, but being able to buy popcorn in the subway would be fantastic! Especially if it tasted like what you get at the movie theaters. I have to admit that I'm the kind of person who will splurge and go see a movie, just so I can sit in the theater and munch on warm, tasty, salty, buttery magnificence. At most HK theaters, they sell salty and sweet popcorn (the sweet is kind of like a mix between kettle corn and carmel corn), and they even let you order a mixed bag of both. Oh, it's delightful. Who knew Asians were such popcorn practitioners? On a related note, I don't think I've eaten a jolly rancher in several years. How can that be?

And I digress. Sorry it's been 11 days since I last wrote. I'm back and more full of nonsense than ever.

Back in the HKSAR

Matt and I made it safe and sound back to Hong Kong yesterday. We were meant to arrive on Tuesday night, but ended up spending the night in Tokyo after missing our connecting flight. Six hours into our Detroit-Tokyo flight, the captain announced we would be making a short stop in Anchorage, Alaska. Within minutes of landing, two armed police men boarded the plane to arrest a man sitting one row behind us. It was weird. My instant reaction was to internally curse Homeland Security--I just can't help myself. Matt suggested the man might have snuck 4 oz. of liquid on board, blatantly ignoring the 3 oz. liquid/gel/toothpaste/deoderant/complete nonsense rule. Regardless of his supposed crime, I felt pretty sorry for the guy. Who knows how long he'll be stuck in Alaska.

Rumors circulated later that he'd had some sort of altercation with one of the female flight attendants, but who knows. Matt and I got some flight vouchers, a 1 night stay at the Raddison, and a couple of trips to the buffet out the deal. Not bad, all in all. I'm a total sucker for free food.

For those of you we saw during our trip, we miss you already. And for those of you we didn't see this time around, we still miss you.

On the Road Again

The biddy old lady at the gas station register in Boonville, Missouri did not like the looks of us. I don't know if it was my new white plastic superhero glasses and matt's black skinny jeans ("girl jeans" as his little sister calls them), or perhaps it was because we kept buying $1 lottery tickets and losing, or maybe she was peeved that Matt used the women's restroom because the line for the men's room was under siege by a group of geriatrics---Regardless, to her we were "out-off-towners" and she wasn't having it. She had an utter look of disdain strewn on her face from the moment we walked into her little slice of heaven to the moment we waltzed out of her life forever. I'm usually good at charming the locals, but I think maybe I've been gone too long--the big city has gotten in my blood, I suppose. Didn't stop us from heading half a mile down the road to get ourselves a couple of corndogs at Sonic. Now that's what I call a little slice of heaven in Boonville, Mo.

Super-Sized

Matt and I are having a fantastic time on our tour of the Mid-West. I've been enjoying the unseasonably cold weather and the wide open spaces. Oh, and the fresh air is nice, too. And boy have we eaten ALOT of tasty food. We're calling it our "Fat American Food Tour." We're indulging every ridiculous food craving we encounter, knowing that soon enough we'll be back in the land of chopsticks and rice. I'm very happy to report that I got my very own Chili's Chicken Fried Steak within hours of landing on American soil. Mmmmmm.....so tasty. And breakfast. We've eaten ALOT of breakfast food. Eating all this food should be illegal. Those teeny-tiny airplane seats will seem even more daunting now that we've been super-sized, but it's all been worth it.

Breezy Business

There's nothing quite so awkward as climbing over someone in those itty bitty airplane seats only to hear a large ripping noise and to suddenly realize that the breeze you're feeling isn't coming from the fan above, but rather from the fresh hole in the seat of your pants, my pants specifically. Somehow I'd manage to catch the pocket of my favorite pair of green cargo pants (which had admittedly seen better days prior to this most unfortunate incident) on the corner of the arm rest as I clambered back to my seat. Fortunately for me it was Matt I was climbing over, not a stranger. Of course I thought of packing an extra pair of socks and undies should retrieving our luggage fail to coincide with our arrival in Kansas City, but an extra pair of pants was not something I had planned for. But after some quick maneuvering and the assistance of the nearest flight attendant (who most certainly was from the Dallas area based on the number of times she called me "hon"), I patched up my new breezy bits with a bit of masking tape and a whole lot of finesse. Glad I have a proper reason to do some serious shopping now.

Happy Easter!

Meet and Greet

To anyone who might have been missed on the email invite, I'm sorry you got skipped. One of our friends is hosting a "howdy-do" for Matt and I this weekend, so if you want details, shoot us an email and we'll send them out to you pronto. I would just publish all the info right here on this blog but I thought I'd best not do that just in case any of you internet crazies out there get the idea into your hair-brained heads to crash our little shindig. Don't mind the Kansas twang in my voice--I'm just gearing up to be with my people again. Less than 36 hours 'til we depart the Far East...

A Quick Hello

I know I've been a little distant lately, so I just wanted to pop in to say a quick hello! Just a few days after our friends left, new visitors arrived. We've been tromping around the city with Matt's sister Laura and her husband Greg. So I haven't been near a computer much lately. Furthermore, I got really busy, ended 1 job, took another, and then ended a different one. My life is sorting itself out a bit. As usual, this post is full of mystery and lots of excuses. I'll go more into detail when I feel like it.

Visitors from Near and Afar

These cool kids are in town right now! We're having a blast with our Singapore/New York buddies...more pictures to follow.

Laura, Kelly and I at the Big Buddha

Kevin and Laura--always seeking adventure...

Kelly and Malcolm sharing some Buddha love

The guys waiting endlessly for the ladies at the Ladies Market in Mong Kok

Yippity Skippity!

I'm highly caffeinated as I write this post, and since I'm already a generally excitable person, I'm feeling especially exuberant as I report to all you Kansas and Missouri folks that Matt and I are COMING HOME, Baby! Well, for 10 days anyway. Mark your calendars. The Asian-Kirkland-Caucasian-Invasion is coming to a state near you on April 6-16. I can't wait!!! I'm finally feeling really comfortable and at home in Hong Kong (so much so that I realize it's gonna be really hard to move away some day), but, man, it's gonna be great to be back on American soil for a few days. (Something I never thought I'd admit to missing---American soil, that is. Furthermore, I promise never to use the phrase "Asian-Kirkland-Caucasian-Invasion" ever again.)

So, I'll be sure to follow up with more details when I have them about when and where we'll be during our trip. We'll have a meet and greet in Lawrence at some point.

See you all VERY soon!

Let's Get Ready to Rumble!!!

I've got a shiny new bracket in my hot little hands and have recently come down with a serious case of MARCH MADNESS!!!! Rock Chalk, Jayhawks! Every year I have Kansas winning it all on my bracket, even if the odds are slim, because I just couldn't live with myself if I had them losing anywhere along the way. This year KU is a number one seed and as the names of their first few opponents don't begin with the letter "B", I think they're set up for a stellar series of games. I just hope I can find a way to watch of few of them. Root hard for me, Kansas folks, ok?!

Canucks (sp?)

I think I offended a guy from Toronto today when I tried to explain to him where Kansas was. He had this look on his face that seemed to scoff at the idea that he might not know the geography of the USA. I was just giving my usual spiel about where I'm from, as most people I talk to here have no clue where Kansas is. I forgot that this probably doesn't apply to Canadians. Oh well, he made a Dorothy/Wizard of Oz joke, so I guess he deserved it. Did I just reference the Wizard of Oz two posts in a row? I must be homesick again.

"I'm Molding..." (said like the wicked witch of the east from the wizard of oz as she's melting into oblivion)

Okay, this is getting ridiculous. I understand I live in a humid climate. I understand that on any given day there can be 99.9% humidty. I understand that I need to just deal with it. Perhaps my saving grace is that I have naturally curly hair that thrives in a humid environment. Call me blessed. Fine. But as my blog name suggests, do not expect me to be happy about it. Sometimes I can't just put on my happy-go-lucky face and deal with it. I adore rainy days, and am eagerly anticipating my first official "rainy season." But come on, if it's gonna be humid, it might as well rain already. It's like winters in Kansas when it's a gazillion degrees below zero and yet it refuses to snow. I think many people could handle the chill in the air alot more if there were a frosty blanket of glimmering snow to accompany the freezing temperatures. AmI right, folks? Somehow seeing snow makes cold weather seems worth the trouble. That's how I feel about humid days. They'd be much more delightful if they were accompanied by rain.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about today. I've got mold on the brain. What I meant to say above was that I undestand that living in a hot, humid climate has its perks and its downfalls. Obviously I'm focusing on it's downfalls to day. So let me get directly to the point:


EVERYTHING I OWN IS MOLDING!!!!!!


Oh! It's so gross. The walls, the window ledges, the kitchen sink, the shower curtains, the towels in the bathrooms, etc. All molding. Yech! Thankfully we bought a dehumidifier a few months ago. For the most part we just use it when trying to dry clothes, but as we're entering the rainy season in HK, we may have to start running it 24-7. It seems crazy to me that the next time we go back to visit Kansas, the air will probably feel dry to us. And Kansas has it's humid moments, that's for sure.

Perhaps the biggest kicker came a few weeks ago when I opened my shoe closet only to discover all my sandals and flip flops were ripe and fuzzy with mildew. Moldy shoes are the worst! (Lucky for me green is my favorite color.) The weird thing is that it's not even a proper closet, but rather a shelf in our bedroom that I put "doors" on. So there's quite a bit of air circulation occuring.



Our actual closet is another story, though. It has proper doors and sure holds that moisture in tight. It's so gross to feel fresh and clean after a shower, only to put on a damp, musty shirt. Put I don't have a choice. They don't take to kindly to nudity around here. This is a pretty modest society. Technically, anytime I'm wearing something from our closet (which is everything I own), you could say that I'M molding. Ewww...I don't like to think about that.

Anyway, I'm bound to get over it soon enough. But for now you've got to deal with my crabbiness. I take heart knowing that everyone else in HK has the same problem. (Does it reflect poorly on me knowing that I enjoy when others are suffering just as much as me?) I guess we're all in this together.

Matt and Cookies and Love

Matt finally came home today after his long business trip in the states AND HE BROUGHT ME 3 BOXES OF GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!!! I truly have the best husband on this planet. It's good to have him home again.

Among Other Things...

I started my third part-time job last week. I've said on many occasions that I was born to work part-time, but this is getting a little out of control. Guess that Hong Kong tendency to overwork one's self has mosied it's way into my life. Needless to say, I've been a little swamped lately. I've still got one more Chinese New Year's post coming in the next few days (as soon as I get a moment to sit down and take a breath), but until then, this little update will have to do.

To explain my third job, I've been helping some friends launch CHOCOLUX, a French-style Cafe, complete with yummy, yummy crepes and mouth-watering chocolates. They've already got one location in a trendy district of Hong Kong, but it's more night club than restaurant. This second location is strictly cafe and is nestled amidst the crowds of the subway system. So, tomorrow is the grand opening, complete with a lion dance. (I'll explain that soon enough.) It's gonna be a doozy of a day, but worth the effort. (Cross your fingers!) Tonight I'm tumbling into bed way past midnight, stuffed with lots of tasty samples from today's kitchen training sessions. Unfortunately it also fell to me to sample the coffee drinks and the 6 or so coffee/chocolate drinks I sampled are fueling my desire to write this post. Falling asleep tonight could prove difficult.

And, Matt is still far, far away in the Island of Rhode, and I miss him. Alot. He keeps me sane during times like this.

Wish me luck!

Miss Piggy

Oink, Oink

As you might have surmised from Matt's guest post, he's not in Hong Kong right now. He left for Rhode Island this morning. I know, I know, it's very random. His company has an urgent project for him that required a last minute trip to the US. Last time we checked it was 11 F in RI. Needless to say, we had to go buy him a coat yesterday. Hope he can find himself a scarf and some gloves upon arrival.

Because Matt's not around, I'm left with little guard against my thriving potato chip addiction. He's usually really good about reminding me how terrible I feel after eating an entire bag of chips and helps me avoid my pitfalls, but with him out of the country, I'm left defenseless. Guess I'm doing my best to ring in the New Year of the Pig.



What I'm going to look like if Matt doesn't come home soon...

Year of the Pig

Myself and THE PIG

Today is the start of Chinese New Year. Well, technically, I think it starts tomorrow, but as of right now, I'm on vacation for the next few days. I thought I'd kick off the big, ol' holiday with some pictures that I took around town today. Enjoy!

Lantern Decorations at the Times Square Mall

The Chinese New Year "Santa Claus"?

Guest Post: Attention East Coasters

Matt here - quick question for all y'all east coasters. If I were stuck in Providence for a day, what should I see & do? How about a week? Any tips on Boston, or surrounding areas?

Day 6

Ten days ago I got fed up with our TV. Nine days ago I posted it for sale on craigslist. Three days later a guy from Oklahoma walked into our apartment, only to leave a few minutes later hauling away our TV. And this, folks, is Day 6 without a TV.

Matt and I decided when we got married that we would not have a TV the first year of marriage. Call it a romantic gesture. We really wanted to spend that first year in meaningful conversation without the distraction of television. [Insert the inevitable silly comment here about spending our first year in "meaningful conversation". I know it's bound to show up in the comments portion if I don't address it myself.] Let me clarify and say that we did have a television set, but we didn't subscribe to cable, nor did we get any of the free local channels because our apartment was situated on the wrong side of Mt Oread. We kept our TV/DVD player on a rolling cart in the closet and brought it out occasionally to watch a movie. It worked well for us and after our first anniversary we decided to go without for a while longer. Three years and some odd months later we found ourselves in HK and when someone offered to give us a free TV, we took it. We figured it would be a good way to keep up with news in the US, and maybe make us feel a little less homesick if we could watch some US shows now and again. Of course, being on a tight budget, we never sprung for the deluxe cable package and only took the basic channels that came with our internet.

The trouble is that I am a complete and absolute TV addict. I'm really bad at controlling what I watch, too. Especially when it comes to trashy reality TV. Those shows suck me in like a black hole. It's almost as bad as my addiction to potato chips. I think there is something to be said about being deprived as a child that makes you unable to control your urges as an adult. (As a child, both television and potato chips were contraband in our house. Now they are my two worst addictions.) So after six months of rerun MGM movies (not even the good ones, mind you--just the really bad, obscure ones that aren't even available at your local public library) and a few too many weird British jokes on BBC entertainment, I was ready to make a change. I had watched my last cheetah chase on National Geographic. The TV was a total brain drain. Mostly I would watch TV murder dramas on BBC Entertainment. I hate those shows! What was I doing?! I had to go cold-turkey.

So it's gone now. And I'm ok. Actually, Monday night I came home and sat down on the couch while Matt worked on the computer. Suddenly I realized that I had been staring at the wall where the TV used to sit. And I'd even been having intermittent conversations with Matt, like you do when you're watching TV. For an hour! It was strange. I guess old habits die hard. My mind knows the TV is gone, but I guess my body is still stuck in the habit. It's like when you when you play Mario Cart for three straight weeks over Christmas Break and then dream about playing and feel your hands jerking around in your sleep. Or something like that.

Feel inspired to trash your TV? Or do you just think I'm crazy...

Spring Has Sprung Too Soon

Today I seriously considered turning on the airconditioner. Last week it was still a little chilly. This week it's not. It won't be chilly again for another 9 months. Blimey! For the last couple of months I've been kicking myself for not bringing more long sleeved shirts with me to Hong Kong. Guess I can let those bruises heal now. Today I'm bringing out the flip flops (those that haven't molded during their 2 month hibernation..more to follow on that in a future post) and packing up the winter blankets.

Those of you who know me know that I don't like hot weather. In fact I've diagnosed myself with a sun allergy. I love dark, rainy days. I would prefer to live in a cold, clammy cave in Copenhagen. (Ooh, I like the alliteration of that!) In the states there's always a hope for more winter every year come Groundhog's Day. Since it's much more likely that Hong Kong's proverbial groundhog was made into soup in lieu of seeing it's shadow, good-bye Winter and hello Summer. I think I have a long 9 months ahead of me.



PS These pictures are from early January when I came across a tree that resembled Fall leaves in Kansas. I got pretty excited. Notice the scarf and down vest? Gotta love 'em. (Ignore the short sleeves, please.)

Some Days are Like That

Today an Indian Yogi told me I had a lucky face. Also, I met a Ukrainian gentleman who quite possibly wants to whisk me back to the Ukraine to meet his mother and bear his children. And I also fell on my face (my lucky face, mind you) while walking down the gangplank of a cruise ship. Some days are just like that, I guess.

Scratch Fever

I love scratch cards almost as much as I love pageants. (It's weird that my love for pageants has become a unit of measurement for everything else that I enjoy.) I always try to make the suspense last as long as possible, slowly dragging the coin or key or whatever blunt instrument I use to scrape away the metallic crumbles, revealing the treasures underneath. Regardless of whether I win or lose, I always want more. Our neighborhood grocery store has started to give away Chinese New Year themed scratch cards for every $50HKD (about $6USD) spent. It's fantastic. Everyday I make up some new reason to go to the grocery store to spend $50 and get another scratch card. Yesterday I went twice. We now have so many 5L bottles of water in our apartment there is barely room to walk in the kitchen (which I guess isn't actually that many considering how small our kitchen is). I had the same problem when McDonald's came out with it's Monopoly game pieces. Not exactly scratch cards, but you still got to slowly peel back the wrapper to find the hidden coupon for a free Jr. Whopper, etc. I just can't get enough.

To underscore the extent of my love for these grocery store scratch cards, let me tell you about some of the fabulous prizes I haven't won:

-A bottle of Amoy Supreme Seafood Soy Sauce 150mL
-A pack of Garden Saltine Sesame Crackers 210gm
-A pack of Cadbury Chocette Dairy Milk 45gm
-A pack of Colgate MaxFresh Green Tea Toothpaste 160gm
-A box of First Choice Ultra Box Tissues
-A bottle of YUMURA Body Design Soy Milk 480mL
-$88,000 HKD worth of gold (whatever that means)

So in retrospect, maybe the joy of the scratch card itself outweighs those fabulous prizes. Why do I always think I just might be the next big winner? I'm such a sucker. That said, I'm off to the grocery store to spend a cool $50. Anyone need anything while I'm out?

Crowd Control

Tonight I think there were more people trying to cram themselves onto my subway car than there are people in Kansas. (I just checked the facts, and my exaggeration may not have been so far off, as there are more than twice the number of people living in the city of Hong Kong than in the entire state of Kansas!) Every night on my commute home from work, taking the MTR (as the subway system is known here) is a major lesson in patience. (If you refer to my New Year's post, it's kinda like that every night down on the train platforms, minus the drum circle.) My shiny new Ipod Shuffle helps alot, though--this evening it was just me and Feist taking it easy on the ride home.

Honestly, riding the MTR is one of my favorite things about Hong Kong. I love public transportation, and this city has got it aplenty. And it's all quite clean and affordable. It sure beats paying for gas and car insurance, not to mention the occasional fender bender. Now my fender only gets bent when the Hong Kong crowds get rambunctious. I now understand why the good Lord blessed Asians with the skinny gene--it's so that 6,000 of them can successfully push and shove their way into one subway car!

Pencil Shavings

I bought a brand new set of colored pencils today and when I was sharpening them, I became completely fascinated by the swirls that I made. I thought you might like to share my joy...

Long Lost Friend

Today I ate at McDonald's all by myself. While this may seem like no big deal to the average person, my circumstances are a bit unusual. See, McDonald's and I haven't been on speaking terms for the last year.

It all began with my disdain for Wal-Mart. Three years ago Matt and I decided to give up Wal-Mart for our New Year's resolution. For lots and lots of reasons (which I'll spare you of for now) we think Wal-Mart is a big, fat bully. So we decided to boycott the company for a year. And it was a rousing success--the first New Year's resolution I've ever kept. (Well except maybe for those silly ones where I resolve to eat lots of chocolate or potato chips in the coming year. Those have always been successful.) So when the next New Year's Day rolled around, we felt we had to choose another boycott victim. We added McDonald's to our list. It's not that we despise the McDonald's corporation, but rather I think it's an easy target. To further matters, Matt and I had been eating off the $1 menu far too frequently (effecting our waistlines accordingly), so we decided to eliminate it from our diets for 1 year. And, that too, was a success.

So this year rolls around and while we're pleased with ourselves for having had such strong self-discipline, both of us are feeling a strooooong hankerin' for a Big Mac. It's been exacerbated by moving to Hong Kong, the land where all meat scares me. While I don't know exactly where McDonald's gets its meat, I appreciate that it's most likely heavily regulated. (Many Hong Kong restaurants specialize in "mystery meat". It gives me the willies.)

So do we continue to abstain from McDonald's (keeping Wal-Mart on our list is an easy decision) and add a third corporation to our list, or do we give in and withdraw the Big Mac from the chopping board? Well, as you gathered from the first line, McDonald's is back on our good side. In fact, it's our new best friend. We ate their twice on New Year's day (starting at 12:08am, Jan. 1, 2007), and at least once a week since. But still it feels weird. I mean, it's hard to act normal around someone that you've been ignoring for the last year, even though you've made up. I still don't think it's a fabulous company or anything, and the food is really, really bad for you, but, dang, those breakfast sandwiches are tasty. And they serve them all day long here.

Since we don't know enough about Chinese companies, we haven't picked a new culprit this year. If anyone has any suggestions, let us know. For now, we have to be content with our non-corporate resolutions to quit eating on the couch instead of at the table, and to do our dishes every night before going to bed. Those resolutions feel lame in comparison, but so far, so good.

Christmas Wishful Thinking

I'm afraid the post about Christmas in Hong Kong is going the way of this year's Christmas cards--not yet written, and never going to be written. This post has been hanging over my head like rotten mistletoe and I don't feel like I have permission (from myself, of course) to post another blog until I write this one. And since that is definitely not going to happen, the next best thing is to give you all a friendly little link to our flickr photo site to view them for yourselves. Of course you won't have my witty comments to guide you though them, but I'm sure you'll manage. Here's the link.

Take a look around the site. We've posted alot of pictures recently, including some from Matt's family's recent visit. You might have to dig a little to find the Christmas ones, but more likely than not, my super-organized husband has probably labeled them and put them in their own special folder. He's very talented like that. Enjoy!

Pictures

Finally...pictures of the family hangin' out in Hong Kong.

Matt and his Dad deciding on a waffle flavor from a street vendor

Kayleigh makes a friend at the 10,000 Buddhas Monastary
(she likes those religious types)

Mr Rogers re-incarnate



Doug and Angie... Year of the Rooster

Mom, Dad, Matt and Kayleigh at the ruins of San Paulo Church in Macau

Visitors!

On Thursday our first official house guests arrived in Hong Kong. Matt's dad, mom, and littlest sister flew from St Louis for a week and a half long visit. So, hence the blog hiatus. I thought it would be easy to just shoot off a quick post each evening, but we've done so much sightseeing that I've been completely zonked by the time we stumble home each night. Here's a few pictures from the trip so far. If I'm a bit more alert when we get in tonight I'll post some more. [Man, this blog is just turning into one excuse after another as to why I'm not posting anything.] I've also had several requests for "Christmas in Hong Kong" photos so keep an eye out for those. Hope you're all doing fantastic!

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Um, ok, I just tried to load the pictures and the internet isn't responding. I'll try again tonight.

Happy New Year from HK

All Systems Are Go

...And we're back! Well, our internet connection magically reappeared late last night, so all those delightful Christmas posts I'd been working on during the internet interim will be trickling through to a computer near you very soon. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and see you all in the New Year!

The Internet is Broken

Due to the earthquake in Taiwan 2 days ago, the internet is broken in Hong Kong and other surrounding areas. It's nuts! People here are not very happy with the situation, but then who's ever happy when an earthquake strikes? Ever so often we can log on but our service is sketchy at best. Somehow all things Google seem to be working moderately well, but who knows how long that shaky truce will last. So, no posts from me until this problem gets sorted out. Oh, and I haven't been able to check my email the past few days either. It's not the most efficient way to reach me right now. Here's hoping the internet keeps working long enough for me to post this...

Merry Christmas!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!!!

Love,
Matt and Erika

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Luke 2:8-12

Christmas Comes Early

Just over 2 weeks ago we got a fabulously bizarre package in the mail.

Back in Lawrence we were part of a colorful Bible study group from church. We'd meet every week for a Bible lesson followed (or intermittent) by lots of laughter and goofing off. At one point we dubbed ourselves the "Renegade Splinter Cell", figuring that at any moment we were liable to be kicked out of church if word got out about how much fun we were having. Not to mention that our conversation topics often dabbled well outside the realm of the general study topic. We always had a fabulous time and not being part of that group anymore is one of the things I miss most about Lawrence.

Our fabulously bizarre package was from this lovely bunch of folks. Jake, Amber, Chad, Kim, Beth, James, Pat, Kristin, Dillon and Cara all put their heads together back in October and each contributed a few things. (Although shipped in October, we received it in early December! The US post office ain't kidding when they say 6-8 weeks. Beth told us it was stuck in California for almost 3 weeks.) The package contained the following items:

-Mini Green Flashlight
-Chocolate Brownie Mix
-Caramel Chocolate Balls*
-Cheese Pringles*
-Bouncy Balls
-Bronco Bob's Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce (makes everything tastier!)
-USA Map Puzzle
-Halloween Pumpkin Party Plates
-Halloween Pumpkin Party Napkins
-Set of 3 "Ice Cream" PlayDoh bins
-KU Koozie
-Pair of Sticky, Oozing Eyeballs
-Hair Goo for Erika
-Hair Goo for Matt
-A Pen (that used to belong to us)
-"Instant Messages from God" Book for Guys
-"Instant Messages from God" Book for Girls
-Several Misc. Ads/Newspapers/Pamphlets from Lawrence, KS
-Several Goofy Pictures of our Friends
-Matt's favorite coffee from La Prima Tazza
-Bible Study Booklet about Calvin
-Framed Picture of the entire group holding papers spelling out "WE MISS YOU!"
-Individual Letters from each person (the Best Part!)

*This item was consumed before the picture was taken



God Bless 'Em. They put huge grins on our faces. We miss them all very much!

Street Doctor Update

I've been putting it off, but I finally took to the streets to find a doctor. Ironically, I found a little bitty sign for a doctor on the 10th floor of the building RIGHT NEXT DOOR to the pharmacy where I first went. Surely Mr. Not-So-Friendly Pharmacist could have said "go next door." But to go the extra mile would've put him in the friendly category, which he clearly isn't. Oh well, it's not like me to hold a grudge so I'd better work on getting over this one. My appointment is tomorrow.

Working Woman

Did I ever happen to mention that I got a job? Well, 2 jobs, and a volunteer position, so I kind of have 3 jobs. Those of you who know me well, know that I prefer part-time jobs to full-time positions. Even if I end up working the same number of hours (which I usually don't, thank goodness), I just like knowing that I don't have to do the same thing all-day, every day. I like a little variety in my life. Oh, and I like staying home, too. You get to do that more often when you're a slacker like me. Fortunately, I've been blessed with a very supportive husband who doesn't mind that I pursue my dream of being a super-duper florist (which currently pays peanuts) while he works hard to bring in the majority of our income.

So, as I started to say, I finally got a few jobs. I'm working about 15-20 hours a week at a hip little flower shop in Causeway Bay (on Hong Kong Island). They also specialize in some designer-y home decor items. I would love to mention the name, but as I may want to talk about work every now and then on my blog, it's probably in my best interest to keep that information to myself. I met the shop owner at a floral workshop I attended back in October. We sat next to each other, and when she found out I was looking for a job she told me to stop by the shop and check it out. And the rest is history, as they say.

My other part-time job is working with a friend I made through church who owns a silk-flower export business. I help her a few hours a week updating and re-decorating her showroom. She's sort of created a mini-position for me, which is great, and over the next few months we are going to try to create some new products. I'm basically her "trend watch" person--I scan the magazines, internet, etc. to spot the upcoming color/pattern/etc. trends.

And my volunteer position is at a local bookstore. It's a teeny, weeny storefront crammed with English books in the heart of the expat neighborhood. The owner can't afford to hire any help, so I go in for a few hours every week and help him sort through his books and find a place to shelve them. I LOVE to organize stuff, so it keeps me happy, and I get to choose a book to take home every week. That makes my book-worm husband very happy.

So that's how I've been spending my time lately. It's nice to be busy and have a regular schedule again. And during my spare time I stay at home and chill with Quincy and sew curtains. I love my life.

Big, Fat, Lame-O Excuse

Whoa, I can't believe it's been a week since my last post. I'm really sorry to all of you who faithfully read my blog. Really, I don't know what's come over me. In fact, I've been a complete and utter blob when it comes to responding to my emails lately. I don't think I've responded to any emails from my lovely friends and family in something like 2 weeks or so. Once again, I'm really sorry. I haven't even been busy...just lazy. And a little homesick. You think being homesick would encourage a little contact with those back at home. I'm such a dope.

So, tomorrow I promise to write a new blog post. And answer lots of emails. And maybe if I've still got some gumption after all that effort, I'll make a few phone calls. I miss you all and thanks for not giving up on me. I'm still alive (and kickin').



PS If I could, I would send you all a big bouquet of orchids like those in the picture to show just how sorry I really am.

Prescription Conniption

The good people of Hong Kong try so hard to follow the rules. Well, some of them do. Tonight I stopped into the pharmacy around the corner because there are a few prescriptions I need to fill. I waltzed up to the friendly pharmacist at his little window and asked him if he could fill a prescription from a US doctor.

"Absolutely Not!," he said. (I no longer regarded him as a friendly pharmacist.) "All prescriptions must come from Hong Kong doctors."

Darn. How am I supposed to find a doctor? I'm sure you all think I'm a dope sometimes (no drug pun intended), but seriously folks, this city doesn't have a yellow pages. I can't just look it up. And a google search is often hit or miss. I've searched the internet for many HK shops/restaurants on Google, only to find out they have closed, or sometimes never even existed.

I questioned the not-so-friendly pharmacist about what I need to do next.

"Go to a doctor," he says.

Right. Even I can figure that one out.

And I innocently ask, "Where can I find a doctor?"

"You can find one on the street", he answered smugly.

I'm not joking. This man just told me to go find a doctor on the street. Ok, Mr. Pharmacist, I'll go do that. Punk.

So just to test my luck a little further, I poked my head into a nearby dodgy medicine-y looking shop and asked if I could get a prescription filled. All I had to do was open my mouth and he would sell me whatever I asked for. Unfortunately he didn't carry exactly what I was looking for, but if he had, I would've been all over it. It was the real deal, too. Everything on the shelves was in the proper packaging. No luck this time, but I will keep this shop in mind for the future.

Like I said at the beginning, some people in Hong Kong try so hard to follow the rules, but in a city like this, teeming with fake Louis Vuitton bags and Rolex watches, it's hard for an honest man to stick to his guns. Oh well, I can respect that. I still don't have what I need, so perhaps I just better buck up and do what the rule-abiding man said and quit trying to work the system. Wish me luck...I got a street doctor to find.

Agitated Kitty

Quincy has been freaking out all day long. He's been nervous, not napping, pacing around the house, breathing funny, and just recently he yakked all over the couch. Poor little kitty.

Today is the first day that we've done laundry since Quincy came to live with us and Matt put his finger on the problem. The washing machine sounds like an airplane. This crazy Italian machine takes 3 hours to wash a single load and has many different cycles, and when you listen closely, it makes all the same noises as an airplane. Our dear little feline friend must be having horrid flashbacks of his journey here.

While discussing this on the couch with Quincy nestled between us, Matt said that maybe he'll get so used to the noise that his flight back to the states will be easy. Quincy bit me. I've always been suspicious that he understands English, but now I'm sure of it. I'll be sure to speak in pig-latin the next time I need to take him to the vet.

MISScellaneous

A few nights ago Matt said to me:

"You know what made me miss America?"

Which I heard as "You know what made me Miss America?", and in my snarkiest manner I promptly replied,

"Your platform on world peace? Your excellent showing in the swimsuit competition?"

By this point we were both laughing so hard I don't think we ever found out what made Matt nostalgic for the good ol' USA.

Ahhh, it's the little things that make this marriage so much fun...