CNY Fireworks

The second day of CNY is fireworks. We decided to be really posh and attend a party at the Vero lounge for chocolates, champagne, and a harborview of fireworks.









Yes, it was quite delicious but we never learn. Chocolate is not a proper dinner, especially when you are drinking.



And then the fireworks...


Fireworks? Yes, they are out there somewhere. It was a hazy evening and the wind blew the smoke south, so our view was completely obstructed. We could hear it, but could see nothing. I guess the view from Kowloon was perfect. Ah well. Next time.

We also surprised Chun Ling, who was working, a day early for her bday.




We got her tons of really crappy chocolate!


My homies: Sebastien, Kiran, Chun Ling, Cora, Amy n me!


And the A Team :)

Other CNY Phenomena

We had a really nice Chinese dinner at a Beijing style restaurant.

I'm still trying to grasp the differences between Szechuan, Shanghaiese, Taiwanese, Beijing style and Hong Kong style food. And all others in between. I probably sounds really dumb but I know Szechuan can be very spicy, I love Shanghaiese cause it tends to be saucier or maybe more of what we're used to because a lot of Chinese food is very dry. Duck is the big hit in Beijing, and as far as Taiwanese and Hong kong style... not a clue.


The duck was excellent and so was the sweet and sour fish.

I really don't eat that much Chinese food. I barely eat it. I should though since to eat locally is dirt cheap.


Yes. I barely eat Chinese. This is Cora (who I call Cang because that's her first initial and last name) and I having a lazy lunch at a middle eastern place.


A random flower market in my hood that appeared as quickly as it disappeared. They are only around for the holidays.


And another one. This is in between my old flat and new one. I love it. Flowers and trees flood the street, and when you wake up on the first day of CNY they are gone.

And on CNY eve, I went to Joel's for a Heroes marathon. We had a lot of catching up to do. When I left, I opted to wander down the hill instead of taking a cab and right before I got home I ran into a major line at the Man Mo Temple.


This is midnight, CNY,

CNY Kareoke Challenge

My friend Aaron is a pretty chillax dude, really nice and totally mild mannered. Not the type you'd expect to be gung-ho about kareoke. Sebas and I planned to trick the A Team into a kareoke challenge after CNY fireworks. But it turned out he beat us to it. A few days before fireworks, Aaron inquired about kareoke and we did not hesitate to seal the deal.


The only place I've ever been to for kareoke here is the drinking towers. We ended up on the 25th floor where they had teeny tiny kareoke rooms... Japanese style. This is precisely what the A-Team was looking for. Turns out they used to do kareoke all the time when they lived in Japan.

Yes, that is the extent of the room.


The rules of kareoke challenge are easy. You pick a song for someone else to sing, and when the round is up there's a group song. After a little while we just all sang together. This is our rendition of Dione Warwick's That's What Friends are For.


Other great hits included:

Enrique Iglesias' Hero
Linkin Park's One Step Closer
Pearl Jam's Better Man
Smashing Pumpkin's 1979, and Today
Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name
MJ's Thriller
Air Supply
Meatloaf (I did not select this)
Toto's Africa (I did not select this either but I'm glad my friends know me well enough to pick the right songs for me)
Neil Diamond's America

And, just to emphasize our Americanness to the Canadian A-Team, This Land is Your Land.



We rocked it til the break o'dawn.




And two bottles of sake later...









We danced and sang until we barely had voices and that didn't stop us. Around 6 AM they finally kicked us out.

Superbowl Monday and the OTHER Arizona Football Team

I roughly estimate that I got 2 hours of sleep last night since I had to wake up super duper early to catch the big game. I feel pretty gnarly and have a meeting in about 30 mins.

And since I have yet to upload pics from this morning, I'll bring you back to another important Arizona game. This one has a happy ending.

After an entire day of traveling from Hongkers, I finally arrived in the desert for the University of Arizona vs Brigham Young University Las Vegas Bowl. This was the beginning of my xmas vacation. Our flight was delayed so we missed the pep rally on Fremont St., but nothing really mattered since I was with my college roommie and Pepper.

The next morning, Christian arrived. We stocked up on goods at the grocery and drove far and away to the stadium. Let the tailgating begin!



I love tailgating. It's one of the best things ever, and I'll never get any of that here in Hongkie. One, because there's no sports. Two, because the masses don't own cars. Three, because Hongkongers are boring. There. I said it.


Did I mention that the day before I left, I got news that a friend was SNOWED IN at the Vegas Airport. My wardrobe in South East Asia does not call for things like gloves and winter coats so I did some mad shopping before departure. Got myself a snow jacket, long underwear and a couple other things to keep me warm on game day.

With plenty of time still before kickoff, Hasselhoff, the featured National Anthem singer, did his thing. It was TERRIBLE. We couldn't figure out if it was the real performance or a rehearsal. The timing was kinda odd and left us really confused. So, we kept drinking.



Turns out it was not the real performance and in the end the Hoff was worlds better than he was earlier. And he's a total liar for saying he didn't rehearse. We all heard him.



Let the games begin!





I love football. I really really love football. I really really really love my team, even if we're not usually winners.


And so does my fam. Only a week before, when I said I was making a stop in Vegas for the game, they decided they would too.


If you can believe it, we kicked the ranked Mormons' ass to the curb. That's right. 2 bowl games in 10 years and we won both. Despite all our losses, the few victories are incredibly sweet.

I've done it once (1998 when we beat UCLA) and I did it again. Time to rush the field!



You will never ever see a happier girl.




And then I ran into Mere's bro Matt who I haven't seen in AGES. He was def my older bro when I was in college and I've missed him.


And some of Matt's crew.


And still traces of snow on the ground.

We didn't get to crazy in Vegas. We didn't really do anything or go anywhere besides the game. It went by too quickly and I was still exhausted from traveling. But it doesn't matter cause I got to hang with my peeps even for a minute. I'm so glad I did cause I don't know when I'll see them again.




I love Mere's shirt





PEACE

Can't Sleep on Superbowl Eve

Superbowl Sunday is one of my favorite days of the year, but there's something about Superbowl Monday morning at 7 AM that has less charm.

I always have trouble getting to bed on Sunday nights. I'm still on weekend time and my body does not accept the reasonable bedtime. This one is particularly challenging since kickoff is in just a few hours. Ay Dios Mio!

Looks like it will be Irish coffees for breakfast.

The above picture was taken on Tuesday, the second day of CNY and on which there are fireworks. Jesus was getting nutty at the party.

xxx

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

This week we kissed the rat good bye and moved on to the year of the ox!

Chinese New Year is fabulous because it's a three day holiday and most people enjoy the long weekend outta town. For mainland Chinese, it's a two week holiday or longer, and bzillions of them cram into trains to get home to see their family.

I slept. Drank sake and champagne. Sung kareoke until 6 AM. Isn't that what the ancients had in mind?

I can't find any good answer to exactly what the year of the ox means for us. We'll just have to decide that for ourselves.

2008 Survey and Year in Review

You know I'm a sucker for this BS. As I was looking over the questions I kept brain-farting. What happened last year again?

1. What did you do in 2008 that you had never done before?
Wakeboard. Shoot a gun. AK-47. Walk everywhere. Drank a Flaming Lamborghini. Ate hotpot. Ate frog. Attend a spin class.

2. Did you keep your new years resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't know if I made any resolutions last year. It was so different that I just wanted to hang in there. This year I resolved to work less. It didn't work out so much the first week of the year but I'm trying.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Lots of babies but no one on the inner circle. (Thank God) Oh, Julie and Monica had girls but no one from the regular krew.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Lowell. My sound guy from Virginia.

5. What countries did you visit?
China, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, and Macau is a Special Administrative Region like HK but I'm going to count it anyway.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Nothing. I could not have packed more into 2008. But now that I've been here for a minute I'd like to make travel the serious priority.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
All of them. I F'ing rocked '08. Vietnam was insanely fun and so was the Olympic Opening Ceremonies party. And winning the Vegas Bowl. And riding a segway. And getting kicked out of the Sands casino.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
When I said I wanted to live in a city where I wouldn't need a car, I didn't realize it would happen NOW. That's pretty huge. As well as filling my passport. And having this job longer than any other.

9. What was your biggest failure?
ALMOST turning around on a hike. It was pretty embarrassing.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I think I was really weak after spin class and fell down the stairs while taking out the trash at work. I was on crutches for two days and only stopped using them because it was such a hassle to get around. HK is not handicap friendly.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
A tattoo?

12. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
There are a handful of people that upset me. First, there's nothing wrong with having a real job and earning real bucks. Second, why you gotta be like that? I ain't keen on drama.

13. Where did most of your money go?
Rent (ouch) and credit cards/school loans (double ouch!)

14. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Fridays/the weekend.

15. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Anything by Air Supply. And the Whistle song!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

a. Happier. Duh.

b. Fatter. Yes, I wish it made me sadder so I could stop eating.

c. Richer. First stable paycheck in my life.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I dare you to try and fit anything else into my 2008. Other than eating less and exercising more.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Work. I work a lot.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
With my family then Pepper's family then with Marley and Me.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Constantly. My heart has more chambers than a whorehouse.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Since the programming and schedules SUCK here I couldn't watch anything regularly. But I got a lot of Miami Ink and LA Ink. I've seen a bit of Californication and I liked it. Heroes too. Heroes Marathon this weekend. And Pepper gave me Entourage on DVD. Loved it.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I would prefer if one person went away. Too much drama drama drama.

25. What was the best book you read?
Only squeezed in a few books last year, but I liked Veronika Decides to Die.


26. What did you want and get?
A raise.

28. What did you want and not get?
A moral dilemma.

29. What was your favorite film this year?
I saw very few movies last year. Maybe Once?

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Turned 28. Went to Shakeys Pizza and played air hockey!

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More visitors.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Walkable, practical shoes. I miss impractical shoes.

32. What kept you sane?
Weekends. Lots of alcohol. Meredith.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Sarah Palin/Tina Fey?

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Prop 8?

36. Who did you miss?
EVERYONE

37. Who was the best new person you met?
I met like a million people this year and probably a dozen of them made a big difference in my life here. But it wouldn't have been the same without Rachel, Sebas, and Neda.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
You never know what you are capable of doing until you jump.

The Three Week Commute

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I'm not entirely aware that it's 2009 yet. I'm completely discombobulated and the last 3 weeks may have something to do with that. It's been great, but I'm totally spent.

It started on Dec 19 and went a little something like this:


I left home.

Flew to Taipei



Flew to LAX



Met Pepper at the airport and flew to Vegas.

For the record, it was really tough and if I hadn't met him in that last leg I probably would have thrown myself off the plane.



Spent roughly 40 hours there and flew to SF.



A few days in SF and then finally home to the Valley for Christmas eve.



Drove down to the Orange Curtain for New Years.



And a couple of days later did it all over again.

LAX to Taipei to Hong Kong.

And when I woke up, I headed to Sri Lanka. With a layover in Bangkok.





I was only supposed to be there for one day and ended up staying for the bulk of the week. I was really messed up by the time I got back to Hongkie so I slept. For 17 hours.

Rat Alley

I haven't been so good at blogging, but I have other skills.

This beautiful cul-de-sac of dining is a collection of outdoor restaurants: Thai, Malaysian, Indian, Vietnamese, and an unfamiliar diner may become overwhelmed by the "greeters" along LKF who drag you in to eat their food. Lonely Planet tells you to go for the guy with the chops, but I've eaten from all of the restaurants, and they are all pretty dang good.

I recently went there for Team Oz's bday dinner, late-night grub post-Bierfest, and I just had to take my sis to a place we endearingly call Rat Alley.

This picture is taken from a dangerous little pathway that leads to a tucked away pub called Le Jardin. It's in the middle of everything, but the speakeasy factor weeds out the riffraff. And I dig that.

Beware of vermin.