English Girls Approximately

It's a peculiar experience watching U.S. TV in another country. I see Macy's sales advertised, and I can't do a thing about it! And $5 foot-longs at Subway? What next? I also see snippets of news and weather and the endless climb of the price of gas. I guess what I can appreciate is that I currently don't have a car so maybe living here will add up in the gasoline savings. Or the savings will be lost in the cost of rice. Crazy world.

The TV situation is working out mostly satisfactorily. Slingbox is a technological wonder. The problem is that the transmission depends on the speed of the internet. They only have broadband internet here and the speed of broadband varies depending on the amount of people using those lines. So sometimes the picture is nearly perfect, sometimes it randomly freezes momentarily, and sometimes the download speed is so slow, that the picture freezes to the point of being unwatchable. It could be better; it could be worse.

I see how much rain you've been having. It's gray here this week, but last week was glorious. The sky was blue, the temperature around 80, and the humidity about half its usual power. I savored it the way you have to savor the precious and few spring days in the NY/NJ area between the jump from 50 degrees one week and 90 the next.

In outdoor news, a week ago I took a ferry ride to a place called Discovery Bay. It's a resort-like residential area popular with people with families because you can have more space and often an actual garden. It's self-sufficient, no cars or car access but has a residents' clubhouse, and it's a bit overly-manicured in the plaza area where I had lunch overlooking the beach. As one person observed, it looks a little like the set of The Truman Show.

I had lunch with five English ladies. There's a web site called geoexpat and it's filled with forums on all subjects useful to expats in HK including meet-ups. I browsed from time to time and then I found a thread called "Expat Wives" and the people posting sounded nice and normal and friendly. They were meeting up in Soho for cake and tea (I know, how cute) in the next day or two so I jumped into the group and met about nine people. I think all but one, who was from L.A., were English. They ranged in age and most don't have kids, though one is expecting in June. It was an enjoyable afternoon, so I went along for the next outing of lunch in Discovery Bay. It was just five others this time, with a person I hadn't met the last time. Her name was Jessica, and Jessica and I both will not likely return to Discovery Bay ever again.

The weather was beautiful. We sat at an outdoor table near the water and all seemed peaceful. But Jessica immediately started getting attacked by invisible critters and her legs instantly flared up with countless bites. She even had to interrupt lunch and walk to a pharmacy to get some cream because the itching was uncontrollable. I thought it was strange that she was the only one affected and I kept checking under the table, but I saw nothing. That night I had an itch on my ankle and by the next day, the dozens of bites on each leg were clearly visible and raging. I guess Jessica's skin was quick to react, but I was equally and unknowingly attacked. I bet they were some type of sand flea or something because I didn't see any mosquitoes. Ick.

Otherwise, it was a pleasant day, and the "expat wives" are very nice. I also signed up for a class at the YWCA called "At Home." It's a sort of orientation to the city and another way to meet people. It doesn't start until July, which is a bit late for orientation, but the prior class was full when I inquired and before that, I wasn't orientated enough to know that there was a YWCA that offered classes.

By the way, if I start using the word rubbish a lot, blame the English girls.

And on being called out on the first blog title, "Fords East," it's the only one not a song title, but I do start it by quoting the venerable Kinks.