The end has come...

No, the sky isn't falling or anything so apocalyptic as the end of life as we know it...

It is, however the end of Francis Goes to Hong Kong on Blogger.

It is still in the early stages and more changes are on the horizon, but I can now be officially located at Cat and Muse.

My blogger account will still be up and running for a while, but there will be no new posts here.

If you still care to tune in, please use the link(s) or type http://catandmuse.com into your browser!

Hope you will all join me at my new site!

Big changes...

are closer than you think...

http://catandmuse.com/

New picture of Pixel...

and adventures in how to be a bad mom.


Here he is, all grown up...my little Pixelator:

I accidentally dropped Pixel into a bowl of water that was soaking in the kitchen sink. I have read that it is not healthy for hamsters to be wet or bathed, as it can kill them if they catch a chill. That having been said, I do NOT recommend dropping your hamster into a bowl of water.

I feel the need to explain myself, so you all should know I was just cleaning his exercise ball and he was running around on my shoulders. He speeds up the longer he is out and he managed to run down my arm and for safety reasons I allowed him on the counter top with the intention of putting him back on my shoulder. Before I could grab him, he slipped on the stainless steel edge of the sink and plopped right into the bowl of water. Ooops.

So, I searched what to do if your hamster gets wet and found that you should use a hairdryer on him on a cool setting with about a foot of space between the hamster and the hairdryer.

FYI, it takes a very long time to dry a hamster with this method.

Another time, I accidentally went to bed after handling him and forgot to close the door to his cage. At about 4 am, Francois (my cat) was frantically trying to wake me and I chose to ignore him. He was apparently trying to wake me to inform me that Pixel had escaped and was cruising around our flat.

I didn't know this until I awoke around 7 am, at which time the search party began. We weren't entirely sure if Francois would eat him or not, but it turns out that he just isn't all that hungry. We didn't find him that morning, so I put hamster food all around in places I thought he could be hiding in hopes of coaxing him out.

No such luck, but Francois did lead Cybr to where Pixel was hiding and we recovered him intact.

Bonus that he was still alive, I felt like crap already.

So, that should sum up how NOT to care for your hamster! Any questions?

P.S. At least I haven't dropped him like three or four times like his dad has done!

Added bonus in Paradise...

I forgot to mention something about our upcoming honeymoon to Koh Yao, Thailand that I find very interesting...

We first fly from Hong Kong to Phuket, Thailand and then from Phuket we will be taking a SEA PLANE for a 45 minute flight to Koh Yao.

I think this is SO FREAKING COOL! A sea plane. I have never been on one and always wanted to. We were told to have our cameras ready for the flight, the views we will see while on the sea plane are supposed to be awesome.

Just another added bonus, we are so psyched about this trip.

Happy Birthday, Buddha!!

Today is Buddha's birthday. It is also a public holiday here (yea!).

We decided to join in the first day of celebration for Buddha's B-day by attending the Bun Festival. I have some pictures and a better description that I will update very soon.

For now, I am extremely sunburned despite all attempts to keep sunblock on. I used to be so tan back in the day, but now that I have been anti-tanning for nearly a decade I am officially very white. Unless I spend the better part of a day in the sun and sweating off all sunblock. Then I am red. I do have an interesting pattern between my shoulders, it looks just like Mexico. Kinda weird, but true. It is uncanny!

Anyway, after I sleep for a bit, I will continue to update this post on Buddha's Big Birthday Bash...


I'm baaa-aack!

This is the harbor at Cheung Chau where the first day of celebration for Buddha's B-day begins.This is the main street facing the harbor, near the ferry pier and also a major parade route where the bun climbers run through to climb the tower of buns. It is the Parade of Bun Festival, after all! We missed the actual climb, but that was okay...it was so hot!
This after alighting from the ferry, there is crowd control for all the gazillion people trying to see the parade of buns...it was absolutely crazy.
This is one of many dragon dancers in the parade. There was a marching band, banners, dragons, kids all painted up in tradition make-up and wardrobe and balancing on these three prong platforms.
These are the buns that are on the tower, they are filled with something unidentifiable and you can purchase them. We weren't certain at first if they were edible or not and even if they were if it would be offensive to actually eat it!
In addition to the parade, there were a lot of ambulances going through due the intense heat. Apparently, people were passing out left and right, which it was definitely hot enough for that. Notice how small the ambulance is, people are as tall as it is and it isn't that long either. I doubt Cybr would fit in it lengthwise.
Ahhh, the perfect ending to a miserably hot day.

Are we in some weird moon phase or something?

I saw a small boy today, maybe 3 or 4 yrs old, urinating into a clear plastic bag that his mother was holding for him. Something like a ziploc bag, approximately quart size.

I know that perhaps we could color this scenario a variety of ways. Maybe a bladder urgency, maybe a physical illness, maybe a thousand different reasons that this wouldn't be strange...

However, this was taking place in a shopping mall about 5 feet in front of a public toilet.

Seriously, this is a very odd thing to see. I double took. So did everyone else, there was a people traffic jam caused by the mass confusion it caused all the passers-by.

Weird.

Random thoughts...

1. I was just made aware via comment on the post that I never said when we were going to Paradise. We are going in July and will be there on our Anniversary. I believe the dates are the 19-25th. I CAN'T WAIT!!
2. I just had a Swedish massage (so cheap here! depending on where you go) that actually hurt (so good).
3. The massage lady actually stood on the massage table. It was kinda like in the movies!
4. I get really tired of picking up every one's poop. I pick up so much poop it seems surreal. I do not pick up my own poop or Cybr's for any reason. Just thought I would clarify. I am not sure why.
5. I have a lot going on right now and it feels good.
6. I have had a perpetual ear ache since the return flight from the US to HK back in April. It comes and goes about every other day.
7. I saw the doctor about the ear ache and she says there is nothing visibly wrong with the ear. That helps.
8. I yacked a slightly chewed french fry out of my mouth today because it tasted funny. Cybr did not appear to be overly impressed by this.
9. Even though I am extremely busy as of lately, I am still bored. Kinda crazy, huh?
10. If my latest employment endeavor works out, then I will have obtained a goal of mine that I thought to be a bit out-of-reach.
11. I am addicted to playing Meteos on my DS Lite.
12. I have so much to blog about, but not enough hours in a day...but, I will get to it.

My eyes! MY EYES!!

I saw a man on the MTR (subway) today that had on pants that were so small on him that he had the most gruesome man camel toe (aka moose knuckle) ever to be seen...

And it had to be me standing across from him.

I do not, for the record, look at every one's "area". You had to be there to understand. It could not be avoided no matter how you divert your eyes.

Ewww and seriously, that so cannot be comfortable!

Final Destination....Paradise!!

We did it! We found Paradise and we booked a trip there!

Literally...we are going to The Paradise Koh Yao, check it out at http://www.theparadise.biz/.

We will be staying in a Pool Villa that is on the beach with our own private pool, private jacuzzi and a private access to the sea. Now this is what we were looking for all along, although it doesn't have the water villas like Maldives, it is still everything we could ever imagine. And it is about half the price or less. And we are staying 6 NIGHTS! Wooo hooo!

I was flipping through all the channels when I saw an advertisement for this place, which is apparently a newer resort, so I googled it and the rest is history.

It is an island near Phuket, Thailand. There are so many things to do. We can snorkel, rock climb, hike, bicycle, and kayak to explore places like this:

This is so right up our alley... and I know Cybr's favorite thing is NOT beaches but he loves me so much that we are going to a beach!!

I AM SOOOOO EXCITED!!!

Picture Day!!

Romantic Honeymoon/1st Anniversary Getaway

When I returned to Hong Kong after visiting back home for three weeks, my sweet husband surprised me with the news that he has been looking at places for us to take a belated honeymoon. Or a First Anniversary getaway, whichever you prefer to refer to it as. We are sticking with Honeymoon in hopes of getting free stuff. Not to mention, we haven't actually had a Honeymoon.

We have been doing a lot of research on finding a private, romantic beach resort to stay for several weeks (probably a month by now!)...

Anyway, the big hold up is this...Cybr found this great place that has "water villas". It is in Maldives. It is gorgeous. All the resorts there look cool and most of them have "water villas", too.
Check out just one of the resorts here: http://www.clubrannalhi.com/pre_index.htm
They are all gorgeous, each one is nicer than the next. Some have glass bottom villas, some have a private jacuzzi, and they all walk out off a small private deck into the ocean. Holy crap!

So, what is the problem, eh? All the packages are 5 day, 3 night. This makes no sense until you delve into it a bit and then you find out that two+ days are spent in transit. I know we were going for remote, but DAMN! I still want to enjoy the time, not just commute. These packages for 5 days, 3 nights are all very expensive. All vacation packages are pricey, we get that, but we just cannot seem to get past the sense of really getting screwed on these packages. We pay out the ass and we get to relax for two nights and go to bed early the third night so we can travel at the butt-crack of dawn.

Ummm...this is starting to not sound relaxing! So, meanwhile, we are still trying to see what else is out there. The problem so far has been that after looking at Maldives and the "water villas", everything else has been about the same price but disappointing in comparison. The only thing we are finding is that for the same money we will get a full 5 day, 4 night package and actually be there the whole time. Nothing we have seen thus far offers the seclusion, romance and total coolness of Maldives...

Things could be worse! I realize this problem is so very much not a REAL problem...but it is my duty to share what is happening here.

So that is the story so far, when we figure something out, I will post.

Q8 - How do the "locals" treat you & Cybr? Specifically Americans?

Another good question, Heather!

Cybr and I read some customs and etiquette books before we ever came here. One of the things we read is that Chinese people are quite often misconceived as being rude. This is often a perception based on behavior. Westerners tend to perceive many behaviors of this eastern culture as being rude.

When we first visited here last year, I did not stay long enough to encounter this "rudeness". I was only here ten days, during which I found most everyone to be pleasant and extremely accommodating. We received a few stares when we would enter "local" restaurants and be the only white faces amidst a sea of Asian faces, but these were not uncomfortable stares nor did they last more than a moment.

During our visit I spoke to a native Australian that had been living here for a decade and she asked where we had been during our visit and the "local" dining came up in conversation. She was shocked and appalled! She said "We just don't do that", meaning that if you are not "local" then you don't dine with "locals".

This struck me as odd and rude. Beyond rude, really. I mean, the food was good. The people were nice. So why not? The only answer I have is...we just aren't like the "everybody else" that she lumped into "we".

What I learned from this is that "locals" are mostly very considerate and accommodating. I have seen some "non-locals" behave in rude and appalling ways. Mostly Europeans, Americans and Australians to be specific.

During our initial visit, I did not experience any "local" rudeness; however, since living here on a day to day basis, I can honestly say that there have been moments that it was made clear that my presence was nothing but an annoyance. But mostly, there is just the realization that it is okay to butt in line if there is a gap between people and it is okay to sit at an already occupied table in a restaurant and it is okay to push your way down a crowded street if you are from here. It is not rudeness, just the way things are done here.

These have really been few and far between, though. Overall I would say that strangers in St. Louis have been more rude to me than anyone here. Hell, I have had so-called friends and family treat me worse than any of the locals here have!

More than likely, after adapting to life here, we will ourselves be considered rude upon returning to the U.S. and butting in line or pushing through a crowd. But we won't see it that way any longer, hehe! Our horizons have definitely been broadened in this area.

Insight gained from living abroad...

No matter what race, religion, language barriers or other differences, ALL children really do laugh, cry, and play exactly the same. In a manner consistent with being children that transcends all those things that separate them by their unique characteristics, they are all learning, laughing, loving, hurting, crying and ultimately experiencing the same things. Even if they express these things verbally in many different languages, which happens frequently here in Discovery Bay, it is very easy to understand.

I find great comfort in this.

I have thought this was true all my life, that people are all the same inside, and now I find that my experience here has given me the gift of seeing it first hand. We may all look different, speak different, act different, believe different...but ultimately our humanness binds us as one.

Maybe to some this all sounds stupid or naive, but it makes me smile every time I find myself in a position to be seeing it first hand and on such a grand scale of diversity.

Moo.

Q7 - What do you absolutly LOVE about Hong Kong? What do you NOT love about it?

Thanks for the question, Heather! This is a really fun questions to answer...

LOVING:
1) The sea
2) The simple fact that I finally moved out of Missouri
3) The food
4) The breeze coming off the sea
5) The idea that (HOLY CRAP!) I am in freakin' China
6) The cultural differences...too many to mention
7) The wet markets/cool shopping for food, clothing, etc...
8) The flowers
9) Tao Ti Apple Green Tea. Mmmmmm....
10) Extreme diversity
11) Not having to work right now.
12) How safe it is in our community, kids are able to roam unsupervised without danger. I know, impossible to believe unless you see it first-hand. Part of this has to do with the cultural belief that children are EVERY ONE'S responsibility and therefore perfect strangers look after children that are unattended. I swear that as crazy as it sounds, it IS SAFE.
13) Outdoor seating at many restaurants so you can take your dog with you.
14) The local pub cat that begs for food at our table while we dine and is ALWAYS there...has a big belly, too!
15) Trying new things constantly
16) Meeting really nice people from all over the world
17) Our view of the water with Disney fireworks across the harbor
18) Exploring "local" areas
19) Walking/riding bicycles as transportation and efficient, cheap transportation everywhere you wouldn't want to walk or ride
20) Everything that is Hello Kitty...and there is soooooo much


NOT LOVING:
1) Missing my friends and family
2) Being so far away in case of emergency
3) Being so far away all the time, especially on holidays
4) Not working right now (yes, it is a love/hate thing and I am exploring my options thoroughly)
5) Not having a Cecil Whittaker's
6) Not having a car/driving
7) No IHOP
8) How long it takes to get to certain areas due to public transportation
9) There is no "one-stop-shopping" here
10) Not having a yard for the fuzzy kids to run around in
11) No WalMart, Target or Kohl's
12-20) Missing my friends and family a lot...

Not too satisfied with Blogger.

I am not extremely satisfied with Blogger, so I will be changing things here soon. It isn't that it is so terrible, just that it has it's limitations and I am not able to do things I would like to do.

I now have my own domain, which Cybr will be hosting and I will unveil the name to you all soon.

There is still a lot of work involved with the change-over, so it won't be immediately but hopefully soon...

Happy Birthday, My Little Angel Chicken!

It is belated, but only because I forgot to post about it.

My little girl turned 7 years old on Cinco de Mayo.




I cannot believe she is seven and I am really hoping that my friend Heather will correct me on her age by saying "she can't be 7, because Benny is only going to be 6 yrs old". Our dogs are only a few months different in age. I hope I am wrong.

Let's all wish Missy Chini Poochini Chicken Britches a happy birthday and many, many, many, many more! (I am kind of attached and maybe a little crazy).

Picture Day! YAY!

These photos were all taken in Utah during my westward journey to L.A. with the dogs and cat.

These are all from Black Dragon Canyon.

This was just a cool rock.

The shadow in the foreground is from a storm rolling in.

Q6 - What foods will you typically refuse to eat? (fuzzy pork comes to mind)

I have actually tried the fuzzy pork. I didn't like it and won't do that again.

I refuse to put 100 yr old eggs anywhere near me. They are black and have been buried in dirt. I thought eggs went bad if you didn't refrigerate them and after a certain amount of time they went bad anyway. So to me, a 100 yr old egg is not a delicacy but more of a rotten egg. Ewww.

Anything that involves chicken feet. Need I say more?

Runny scrambled eggs...I just can't handle the runny-ness, it is like snot. That seems to be common here at any place that makes breakfast or egg as the main course dishes, they often seem to be a bit runny.

Ox tail. Won't even try it. It sounds like butt to me.

Shark fin soup, which is very popular, but I can't do it based on principal. I would probably like it, I just can't eat it. They catch the sharks and hack off their fins and toss them back in the water, or at least that is what people say. If it is true, I do not condone it and I will not eat it. Until I know for a FACT that this practice is NOT occuring, I will have to avoid it.

That is all I can think of for now...

Introducing Lantau Island's Most Popular Feral Cats...

Q5 - Have you been to any Hong Kong action movie auditions? (this could be a cybr question)

Thanks for the question, Yoshi. Please refer to Cybr for this question, as I have had no such experience.

He had a scene be filmed in the service apartment he stayed in before I got here. I don't know much else other than that but I am sure he would LOVE to tell you about it!

Q4 - If you had to move from STL to Hong Kong again, what would you do differently?

The only answer I have is...

I questioned how we handled shipping our pets, but I am not sure there is a better alternative even though I hated how stressed they were.

I have thought it may have been better if Cybr didn't leave 6 weeks before I did, that he would have been able to help out more...but in truth, his being gone gave me quality time to spend with family and friends, it kept us from having our stress take it's toll on our relationship, and in all honesty I think I got a lot more done on my own than if he would have been there.

Other than having questioned those two things, I don't think I would have done anything differently.

Great question, though, it really made me think. Thanks, KD!