On our way...homeward bound.

UPDATE: We made it in one piece! YAY! FYI...IHOP no longer has Griddle Cakes...*sigh*




We are headed home for a couple weeks.

Chini and Guinness are at the sitters. Francois and Pixel are being cared for by our neighbor. I am going to be worried sick about them, although they are in good hands. I miss them so much already.

We are excited to see everyone. We are making the whirlwind tour to visit all of our family members and as many friends as we can. We will be exhausted, but it is worth it.

I am interested to see if after this trip to St. Louis, "home" will remain St. Louis or if "home" will come to mean Hong Kong for us. As it is, we both still refer to home as going home to St. Louis. I am curious if being away from HK and away from our fuzzy children will change our perspective on that...We will see soon enough!

We are going to have a Christmas/Easter/Thanksgiving/Birthday dinner with all of our families.


We will inevitably be eating a lot...

Hopefully we get to have IHOP while we are home...Mmmm...IHOP.....Mmmmm...griddle cakes.

I already miss them and we haven't left yet...

That can't be good!

I am sure they will be fine, it is me who will be worried sick.

Little do they know, as Chini and Guinness prepare to take a ride in the back of a mini bus they will be saying good-bye to their mom and dad for two whole weeks. When they figure it out, they are gonna be pissed! Trust me, we will hear all about it when we return.


Q3 - Who will be watching the furry babies while you are in the States?-Ruff Ruffman

Dear RR,
The kids will be staying with the local in home dog-sitter close to our flat here in Discovery Bay. He takes dogs into his home to stay as long as they are social and friendly with other dogs. It is a much better alternative than kenneling. They can play and go in and out. Andrew takes them for walks four times per day. It is a good place for our kids.

Yet I still worry about them and already miss the hell out of them...

The kids waiting to board the mini bus.

Q2 - When are you going to post a view from your window overlooking the water?

Mae really wants a picture of our view and I have seriously been trying to get a halfway decent shot of it.

The big delay has been fog/haziness during the early winter, the scaffolding/mesh netting that was erected around our building for construction, and now back to fog/haziness. Hehe, I said erected.

Now I am going to be in the States for three weeks, so there's the next delay.

I swear I will do this. I will get a picture during visibility, if it drives me crazy(er) trying!

Dinner and a show.

I just returned from dinner on the waterfront at i'Caramba, our only Mexican restaurant in Discovery Bay. There are others in HK, just not here where we live.

Anyway, I just enjoyed a strawberry margarita and chicken tacos with rice and black beans. Mmmmm, that was so good. I loaded it down with Jalapeno Tabasco sauce which is my new favorite condiment.

While I dined waterfront, I was able to sit back and enjoy the cool breeze coming off the harbor and watch the Disney fireworks light up the night sky.

The only thing that could have made it more enjoyable is if my hubby were there with me, but he is in Singapore working his butt off...

The price of dinner is a rip off, but damn it is good. And it will feed me lunch tomorrow, too, so that evens out the price.

Ahhh, it doesn't get much better than that...

It's Picture Day!!

This was taken at the common area by our pier in Discovery Bay.

Q1 - What is it like to grocery shop in Hong Kong?

I absolutely love shopping for groceries here.

I take my environmentally friendly bags, which most people here do, and I shop for a day or two of food. Preservatives seem to be used less here, which creates a much shorter shelf life, even in some frozen foods.

For produce and fresh seafood (by fresh I mean still alive, even the shrimp) there are two ways to shop. You can purchase fresh produce and live seafood in grocery stores as well as at the street markets. There is a great variety for both and everything I could get in the U.S. plus things I have never heard of are available. They do not spray wax on the fresh fruit to make it look pretty and shiny, which is fine by me since I am not lacking in dietary wax...

As for chicken and beef, it is available very fresh at the grocery stores and is VERY affordable. We actually eat WAY better here than we ever did at home because everything is SO affordable here.

You can buy some really weird stuff here, too. All I can think of right now is chicken feet. A styrofoam tray, like what ground beef comes packaged in, but it is filled with chicken feet. Yes, the feet of a chicken just hacked off with skin and claws.

I initially thought it would be annoying to have to grocery shop daily, but after doing it for six months I find that it actually works well for us. When meats are frozen, I don't take the time to thaw them and we eat out. When I buy it fresh and unfrozen, I have no excuse.

There are several grocery stores to choose from here, much like in the U.S, but the one closest to us is called Park 'n Shop, which is kinda ironic since no cars are allowed here. Hehe.

Thanks for the question, Mae!

Questions and Answers

You ask 'em, I'll answer 'em...

Does anyone have any questions about Hong Kong or about living in Hong Kong? Anything remotely related? Curious about anything? Just have to know something?

If you do, please post it in the comments and I will respond A.S.A.P.

I already have one good one I am working on. Feel free to ask away...

EDIT:
You all asked some really good questions! There are quite a few and I will answer them all as quickly as I can. Thanks!

He couldn't hold on anymore...

My Grandfather, Ivan Lee SanSocie, died Sunday morning, 18 March 2007.

He just missed me going home to see him by two weeks. I know he was trying really hard to hang on to see me, but in his heart he knew before I left that he wouldn't see me again. He told me so.

He said to me when I told him I was moving here, that he was happy for me to see the world and sad that he wouldn't see me again. He was right.

Out cruisin' in our Benz

Cybr and I went with a group of friends to Tai Mei Tuk and rented bicycles. In the rain, although that part wasn't planned.

There were seven of us total and four of us rented Benz's. That is what they are called, I swear! And I am seriously referring to the funny red two seat-er bicycle with an extra passenger seat in the front.

We rode along a dam that separates Tolo Harbor from a reservoir. That is what you see in the picture above, the dam we rode along. There were speed bumps along the way and we would pedal as fast as we could, hit the speed bumps and bounce hard, then skid sideways to a stop. We almost tipped once. It was a great time.

Everyone else rode safely and thought we were absolutely insane.

We had a delicious lunch and learned that Beef Stroganoff is just not the same over here. I thought it was good, but it had A LOT of veggies in it. I had a local dessert that sounds gross, but tastes sooooo good. It is steamed soy milk curd. Sounds icky, huh? Well, it looks it too. Mmmmm...I wish I had some right now. It is called Tofu Fa and I am certain that is not how to properly spell that, but that is the best I could do.

None of us are getting any younger!

Better late than never, I am sharing Cybr's birthday cake with everyone. My lovable Pisces had a birthday recently, which many of my readers already know.

Birthday cakes as we know them are difficult to find here...there are birthday cakes, as this clearly is, but this is a Tiramisu. Kinda different. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Just sharing! We would share cake, if we could ship a slice to everyone. But I have a feeling everyone would rather I not...

It's Picture Day!!!

"Beggars can't be choosers"

I love to take pictures. Some of you may know this. I am pretty good at it, too, not to toot my own horn. Much. So I thought I would post some random pictures periodically. I am not going to designate a specific day for this, 'cause that way I don't have to remember to do it. Hehe.

This picture is one I took in Vancouver in 2005 while we were there on holiday. The trip was initially to Seattle, then a train ride to Vancouver and back to Seattle, and a then onto Olympia for a friends wedding.

This raccoon actually attacked some dumb chick that was striking a pose next to it and a sign that says to leave the raccoons alone because they bite. It tried to bite her and it successfully scratched her. Her boyfriend proceeded to throw stuff at it, like it was the raccoons fault. I said something rude about hoping that she gets rabies and leave the raccoon alone. Then I took these beautiful pictures...

Time for a change

It was time for a drastic change. So here it is. New hairdo and new hair color. It was just time.

I have been stuck in a style rut for a few years and wasn't sure what to do with myself, so I did nothing.

I have a rule of hair for myself...that it not require doing anything other than washing it and maybe drying it. I prefer very low maintenance style.

And now I have it.

What do you think???

A side note regarding hair:

Having experienced summer months in St. Louis, I think of myself as being informed on the subject of humidity. What I know about it is that it is damp and sticky. I have always been lucky with my hair not being effected by it. Until now.

Now that spring has sprung here in Hong Kong, so has the humidity. It isn't unbearably hot. Yet. However, the humidity is in full force right now. Even my board straight hair is frizzing out. It was so puffed out the other day that I tried to pull it away from my face so I could see. I caught a glimpse in a mirror and I had a frizzy mullet. It was that bad.

Midwest girl gets acquinted with Typhoon Warning Signals

Typhoon.

Just the word gives me a sense of uneasiness.

Having lived in the Midwestern U.S. my entire life, I have seen some serious storm damage. I have been witness to three floods; two of which I was old enough to prepare sandbags for, one of which destroyed my Aunt and Uncle's home, one passed us by with minimal water damage and one left our home in ruins. I have seen the aftermath up close and personal after a tornado left my Aunt and Uncle's home flattened and nearly killed both my uncle and my cousin. I have seen some nasty storms and what Mother Nature is capable of, yet I still love to stand outside and watch a storm go through.

Even still, the word typhoon scares the hell out of me. I suppose that is because in the Midwest there is clearly no ocean or extremely large body of water to fuel a storm and I have only ever seen tropical storms via television.

So, here is how it works...

Hong Kong has the following system of Typhoon Warning Signals:

Level 1 = Standby, there is a storm within 800 km(498 miles). More of a "watch" signal

Level 3 = Strong Winds 41-62 km/h(25-40 mph) and gusts exceeding 110 km/h(68 mph). It may or may not rain at this point, but most Kindergartens close for safety. I guess five-year-olds blow away easily in strong winds...

Level 8 = Seriously, if you skip all the numbers between 3 and 8, then we must be totally screwed at this level. This level is gale force winds, whatever the hell that means. It does mean that travel by ferry will cease and most businesses will close, preferably not in that order.

Level 9 = The gale force winds are increasing. Oh, crap!

Level 10 = Hurricane. Yikes! I hope this NEVER happens while we are here. Yes, I said yikes.

I never really gave a lot of thought to tropical storms before moving here, there wasn't really a lot of need. But, now I know. I just really hope not to know...

A cup of joe with a lady I don't know (poetry, isn't it?)

I just spent entirely too much time sitting in a coffee shop talking to two complete strangers. I had a mental list of things I planned to do today and very little will get done now, not that it's a bad thing.

I ordered a cup of coffee and planned on playing with my new toy (DS Lite) and unwinding a bit after my violin lesson and before doing everything else. While I waited for my coffee, I made some idle chit chat with an older lady who was also waiting on coffee. This turned into a three hour chat and uproarious laughter with this 60 year-old Brit and her 60(ish) year-old Australian partner. We covered every subject including history and politics. They were cracking me up.

It is not uncommon for me to strike up conversation with strangers, but rarely does it continue for three hours. They are very nice people and batshit crazy, but in a good way.

I have been invited to shop with them next week at a market they know of here that is difficult to find. They have been coming here on holiday for fifteen years and now come to visit her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren.

They are a riot, my cheeks actually hurt.

There is a possibility that this is the same crazy, old British lady that I spoke with while wading in the ocean during our visit last May. The same crazy, old lady that asked me how I was enjoying my holiday and then informed me that she "had sex with a China man once, but that was a long time ago". It may be her. Or not.

Either way, I had a great afternoon.

My very first time doing one of these thing-y's...Awww...

A- Available or Single? Neither. Married. Second time is the right time.
B- Best Friend? My husband, my Dad, and Heb (I could go on, but I won't)
C- Cake or Pie? Ooooh....cake if there is milk and pie if there is coffee.
D- Drink of Choice? Tao Ti Apple Green Tea. The best beverage EVER. I came across it when we first visited Hong Kong and I brought as many bottles as I could fit in my suitcase, which was about 6.
E- Essential Item? Lip balm and lotion
F- Favorite Color? Purple, blue and black. Sounds like a bruise, doesn't it? Hehe.
G- Gummi Bears or Worms? Definitely worms. Eating worms appeals to me more than eating bears.
H- Hometown? Marquand, MO (yes, it is the middle of nowhere.)
I- Indulgence? Massages. And Hello Kitty. I want to be her. Kinda.
J- January or February? Neither
K- Kids and names? Fuzzy kids. Chini, Guinness, Francois B. Dioux Dioux, and Pixel
L- Life is incomplete without…? Fuzzy kids
M- Marriage Date? It was in July…..I am sticking to Cybr's answer. Yes, July. It was hot.
N- Number of Siblings? zero. only child.
O- Oranges or Apples? Fuji apples. Mmmmm...with peanut butter. Or without.
P- Phobias/Fears? Killing bugs with hard shells. Not waking up.
Q- Favorite Quote? Profound, "Your emotions are often a reverse indicator of what you ought to be doing". Funny, "What doesn't kill us sometimes makes us wish we were dead". Straight from my mouth recently, "Did he just pull that out of his butt and eat it?".
R- Reasons to smile? my fuzzy kids, my husband, sunshine, ridiculous song parody's going through my head like, "Monkeys, in the corner of my mind, Giant watercolored monkeys, flinging their poo..." to the tune of "Memories".
S- Season? Garlic and lots of it.
T- Tag 3 people? Tag they're "it"?
U- Unknown Fact About Me? That is a toss up between having swallowed six thumbtacks and having been stabbed with a pencil that broke off between my ribs and had to be surgically removed. I didn't have a healthy relationship with office supplies as a teenager.
V- Vegetable You Hate? Brussel sprouts. They still make me throw up a little just smelling them
W- Worst Habit? Jumping from one subject to the next in conversation. And singing and acting weird because I forgot other people were nearby. I get looks. Not all of them good.
X- Xrays You’ve Had? back, teeth, finger, neck, thumb, ankles (I have been called accident prone)
Y- Your Favorite Foods? Chocolate with caramel. Greek pizza. Pancakes, especially griddle cakes from IHOP. Blueberry and/or Banana nut muffins. This list could be VERY long, Food=Good.
Z- Zodiac? Traditional: Cancer Chinese: Rabbit


Stolen from Cybrpunk

Separated by a dildo...or ribbed for her pleasure, whichever title you prefer.

Clearly I should disclose that this post may not be appropriate for children under 15. Maybe not appropriate for anyone. I don't know.

I want to note an interesting difference between Hong Kong and the U.S.

You can purchase birth control pills over the counter at any local drug store or dispensary. Seriously, they are on the shelf right next to the condoms. Not behind the pharmacy counter, right on the open shelf. No prescription note needed, no need to ask for assistance.

The U.S. is way behind the times on this issue. Birth control and disease control are openly advertised and discussed here. Don't think that it is because HK is more risque than the U.S., for instance the UK shows more nudity and sex on television than we do. Believe me, there is a lot of conservative thinking here regarding nudity and/or sex, but probably no more or less than in the U.S., or at least it would seem so. However, there is not the religion and/or politics factor to interfere with keeping people safe. Not to say they don't have religion or politics, just that they very clearly do not create the same sense of moral dilemma here as they do in the U.S.

People stand on sidewalks and hand out free condoms and at some retail stores you get a free condom with your purchase.

The attitude is very honest regarding sex and safety. Knowledge and availability of protection are the only things that keep people safe. That attitude is acknowledged here.

Oh, and you can buy a dildo at the same time you buy birth control or condoms at the drug store. They are right on the shelf. Right there. No curtains or blacked out windows. Hehe, I said dildo.

So, on a seemingly normal trip to the local drug store, this could be your list if you were in HK:

• Chocolate bar. Check.
• Tampons. Check.
• Lip balm. Check.
• Greeting card. Check.
• Birth control pills, no script needed. Check.
• Dildo. Check, check.

I don't know, maybe people in Hong Kong just have a lot of sex with things that require batteries (not that there's anything wrong with that!).

In that great street carnival...

We went to the AIA World Carnival last Wednesday evening.

This is my observation.

In my experience, carnival rides from Europe are WAY better than any carnival rides in the US. There were three rides that were an absolute rush. Two of which had me screaming like a little girl. One of them, or maybe a combination of all three, made me want to puke.

Now that is what I call a good time.

The haunted house sucked equally as bad as any carnival haunted house back home.

The games were cool, some the same as what we have seen before and some were different. They had games of chance, for instance a number game where you spend five tokens and you receive a bag with five numbers in it and odd numbers win a toy. And they were BIG stuffed animals of all varieties.

Oh, the best part is that it only costs the equivalent to $15 USD to get in and that includes ALL RIDES AND 25 GAME TOKENS.

That is a much better deal that in the States, the last time we went to a carnival you had to buy tickets to ride the rides and one ride could cost like 10 tickets. And that didn't include games. It was a total rip off. Plus the rides sucked, too.

I have no point. Just sharing.

We are SO going back before the end of March when it closes.