Working for the Weekend

I don't know if Paul was trying to suggest that my posts are too long in his two latest brief and brilliant posts, but I'll take note anyway and make this less epic.

My friend Maggie's birthday is tomorrow and she and her husband Chris planned an all day pub crawl this past weekend to celebrate. Maggie and Chris love theme parties and dressing up, therefore the birthday girl's request was that everyone wear some sort of uniform. Personally, I lack her excitement toward the prospect of costuming myself, but I also have no aim to party-poop, so the effort began. I found a chef's coat and hat in a costume store in Kowloon for Paul. It was his idea because... it's easy. I asked the shop owner for the large size and he said, "Oh, is he fat?" This is China.

As for myself, I was going to be a librarian, maybe because I lack originality, but it's probably a novel idea to most people. I never actually wore a uniform in my days of performing as the real thing. I was aiming for the the stereotypical picture here, all buttoned up in a long skirt and cardigan and the works, but frankly, there's not a plain cardigan to be found in my closet. What can I say... my wardrobe is too dazzling to look dull. So I tweaked the idea a little and came up with something that was almost inevitable.

You see, we just finished watching the first two seasons of the series Mad Men on DVD. It was one of the sets we purchased from the guy in the ceiling back in Shenzhen in March. It's obviously recorded right from the TV, but whatever - it works. We have so far really enjoyed it. Check it out if you haven't. It's very good, and neither of us typically enjoy TV dramas. As a matter of fact, we've become spoiled by watching as many episodes as we want on DVD whenever we want, so it's frustrating actually having to wait for season 3 to start on AMC again. The Chinese haven't figured out a way to bootleg a TV show that hasn't aired yet, so we have to be patient.

Like watching The Sopranos on DVD and practically paying more attention to all the food on screen rather than the story, there's a lot to look at while watching Mad Men. It's set in a New York advertising agency in the early 1960's. Instead of yearning for eggplant parmigiana after watching this show, I think, "How did they get their hair to do that?"

No small feat

So I found things in my closet that would work for my 1960 secretary look. With a little help from a hairstylist, 32 hairpins and a liter of hairspray, I think I pulled it off alright. I wanted a pen that you wear on a chain around your neck, but I couldn't find one, besides one with Hello Kitty on it. Paul tried a few stationery stores for me while I was getting my hair done and he said one person laughed at his request, one just stared, and one said, "That long time ago."

Too bad my spectacularly red shoes aren't visible

As it is April in Hong Kong, the weather was not kind for most of the day. It was pouring rain when they started at noon, so it was a slow start to the festivities, but people gathered incrementally throughout the day. We got our start about 2:30 and the rain happened to subside for a couple of hours around then. We started on the South Side of the island in Stanley, moved on to another seaside spot, made one stop in good old Wan Chai, and ended up in Lan Kwai Fong, party central, all made easier by the coach hired by Chris. Fun was had by the chefs, secretaries, doctors, cops and basketball players in attendance. Paul without his hat blended in with the non-costumed crowds. I got a lot of strange looks from people not quite sure what to make of my appearance.

The secretary (sorry, administrative assistant?) and the chef

The birthday girl/cop

If you've been keeping track, this has been the third weekend in a row in which we've participated in all-day drinking. There are no plans for the upcoming weekend so far. Hmm.

I Walk the Line

As promised I’m already back – not as many pictures as I had hoped but my hands were full.

This past Saturday was the second annual Time Out HK Wine Walk (there is a post about the 2008 walk back in June). We saw the advertisement about two weeks ago and Lisa called the next day to get tickets. We were equally surprised and disappointed to find out the event was totally sold out.

However about two days before the event one of Lisa’s friends called and told her they had one extra ticket if she wanted it. She gave me a call and told her to take and I would figure something out.

Reservations in HK are a weird thing. If you call a restaurant and ask for a table for two at 8:00 p.m. you will just be told “no”, if they have nothing available. Of course once you learn how things work around here you realize you need to say “how about 8:15”? No. “How about 8:30”? Yes.

It works the same if you walk up to a restaurant and ask for a table and they are currently full - you actually need to say “will you have anything soon”, because even if someone is paying a check, you’re just told “no”. Then someone else will walk up six minutes later and get a table.

I realize as you read this you probably think this happened to us like two times and I’m exaggerating, but just like people walking into you - it’s something you wouldn’t believe if you haven’t spent time here.

Anyway my plan for the big walk was either A) find someone trying to unload a ticket at the event or B) bring last year’s glass and just stumble around with the crowd hoping for naive bartenders. (And yes this was a charity event but I figured I could make it up at some other point.)

Anyway, Buddha appears not to really like this event as he summoned up even more rain this year than last year’s soggy walk. But I did think he may have appreciated the 400 statues of him I visited over the past year, as I figured this would increase the chance of people backing out and a ticket being available.

Of course even though Lisa was verbally told all the tickets were sold out, and received a follow up email stating no tickets would be available the day of the event, just back up a couple of paragraphs and obviously they were selling tickets the day of the event.

By the grace of Buddha we made it...

It was more expensive than online and they said because it was charity they would not make any change, but I did get a glass fractionally larger than everyone else's, so I felt it was justified.

The bars and restaurants were much more spread out than the single street it ran down last year and a game plan was necessary. We were with friends, Maggie and Chris, that live in our building and Chris suggested that we start at the last bar and work against the crowd.

My thought was that this was an obvious plan and instead suggested going through the middle numbers first (and some of the better restaurants' snacks are included) and then branch out to the ends if time allowed. With everyone in awe of my quick thinking, anti-social, alcoholic genius, we headed out.

Of course there were some other geniuses in the crowd and most of the places had a fair amount of people. Unlike last year the first few bars gave out pretty stingy “tastes” and they all asked for the “passport” to stamp when you got your drink. So the glass in Lisa’s purse would most likely not have worked.

There were many tasty treats once again; however some of the wines this year were not all of the same quality of the previous event. But fun was had by all and we bumped into friends along the way, some friends of friends, and made some new ones as well. We ended the walk back in some of the places that participated last year and they were much more generous. We also found a few new places we’ll make our way back to.

Chris, Maggie, myself and Lisa early in the day.

The event is not promoted as a competition but I like to take it on as such, and I do believe I won, earning my 12 hour nap and giant breakfast at the Flying Pan the next morning.

So the word count is getting dangerously close, but we have plans for the next couple of weekend so hopefully a few more tales and pictures to come before Beijing.

For now – I’ll blog ya’ later.

Second annual picture with "chicken lady lamp"

Champagne Supernova

Lisa in her Sunday's best.

It seems almost impossible but it’s been over 3 months since I’ve chimed in on this blog. While my absence has mostly been driven by an extremely hectic work schedule, I was going to create a post right when we returned from Cambodia. However Lisa was concerned that I do not always paint the “right” picture of our trips (oppressive heat, swatting away hawking children like flies, food poisoning – don’t know how I could have gone wrong) so I waited for her to post first. Which ultimately left you waiting… and waiting.

In an effort to post a little more often I’ve decided to not rehash the events Lisa’s already posted, strictly limit myself to 800 words (standard newspaper article size) even if it means a terrible Sopranos like ending, and post at least once a month with a goal of twice . Also I started carrying our camera around more often to show a little more of our day to day lives (but don’t expect too much – they’re not that exciting).

Yesterday was Easter Sunday and we went to an outdoor brunch, poolside at the Grand Hyatt. After deliberating over going back to the Peak where we went last year we decided to try something new. It may have had to do with the fact that the hotel is right in Wan Chai and we were able to stumble home in 10 minutes – but we’ve chosen to believe that the decision was based on our sense of adventure.

Very successful in the Easter egg hunt.

The brunch was a little more upscale than last year’s and even offered unlimited beer or wine, but being the traditionalists we are we stuck to the free flowing Champagne. While the food choices offered lobster tails and escargot I can’t say we were overly impressed and thought that for the most part it was just okay.

No complaints with the dessert menu.

However the staff was attentive and our glasses were never left empty, there was plenty of Haagen-Dazs ice cream, and the weather remained pleasant if not nice, so outside of the threat of Easter ninjas we had a very nice day.

The seldom talked about and rarely seen Easter Ninja.

One other point of note is that on Saturday night we booked a 3 night trip to Beijing in the middle of May. After attempting an adventurous dinner at a Chinese restaurant where there was no English (they had to dig out the one English menu they had which was missing pages) we’ve decided to try and delve a bit more into the local cuisines and try to start traveling along the lines of my new blog philosophy - shorter more frequent trips.

We read about the sweet and sour pork (or Prok as the menu had it) and decided to give the place a try. Unfortunately that dish did not live up to our expectations but we ventured with some grouper and sweet corn that could pull us back to the place.

And let me just wrap up with a quick thanks to everyone who made the time to see us and opened their homes to us on our trip back to the states. Your generosity was greatly appreciated and we’re sorry for those of you that we did not get a chance to catch up with - time flew by a lot faster than we ever could have expected.

Happy Easter and I’ll blog ya’ later.

"The neck and sideburns blend so naturally with the head. I'm telling you, you've got to try my guy. I think that little blond is taking my picture."

Do you have better caption? Anyone who comes up with a better line can win a free week stay in Hong Kong. Certain rules and restrictions apply*.

PS: Lisa and I do compete on the number of comments we get on each post and yes this is a cheap way to generate comments.

* Free stay includes one week on a couch in Wan Chai. All travelling and spending expenses are the responsibility of the winner. Winning caption is decided by me and all decisions are final.

Live Forever

Notice anything different? The 1-year anniversary of my first post passed while we were in the U.S. The blog has looked the same all this time and it served me well, but I thought it might be interesting to change the view. Of course, I played around with it for hours and then I changed it all back to the original layout because I was afraid to commit. Then I took the leap a few days later after boring Paul with the options. If anyone has opinions or suggestions, feel free to share them.

Other anniversaries passed recently. One is April 4, Claudia and Peter's 22nd wedding anniversary! Wow. That number makes you both sound old. But I know you got married when you were 15. Congrats. And April 6 was the day we moved from our temporary residence into our apartment last year.

Today is Good Friday. Last year, Paul had a work holiday from today through Monday, but this year he's working both days. Easter was earlier last year; we had only been here a couple of weeks. If you go way back to blog posts of yester-year, my first posted photos were of our Easter Sunday Champagne brunch at Cafe Deco on The Peak. We considered doing the same this year, but we are trying another place, the Hyatt, nearby. The key element is the free-flowing Champagne. Check.

I remember very soon after we arrived last year the Hong Kong Sevens took place. It's a weekend of rugby matches that seemingly the whole city, and many visitors, attend. It's mostly a drinking fest and it gets crazy. It seems like one of those things you have to check off on the list of things to do while in Hong Kong. We figured we would try to go this year if we could get our hands on a couple of tickets, which sell out in seconds. I think almost every one I know found an "extra" ticket somehow, but no one threw any extras our way. Maybe we would have been too tired anyway. It was the weekend we returned from the States. But it would have been something to write about, I'm sure.

We didn't hear any raucousness up here on the 26th floor, but I was told that there was some sort of mob brawl in Wan Chai following the Saturday games and riot police were called in. The only messiness witnessed was when Paul went to pick up our Thai take-out and drunken revelers were arguing with the poor restaurant manager over getting a table in the packed full place. I must say, Americans may pride themselves on their beer-drinking ability (think tailgating, college dorms, etc.) and their inclination for excess - of anything - but they would be considered lightweights compared to the staggering capacity of the Brits and the Aussies to put away the liquids... and to be obnoxious drunks in public. Just another way we're falling behind other nations.

Speaking of raucous Brits, we saw Oasis this past Tuesday night, not rumbling down the street starting trouble, but in concert. They were pretty good. I think my favorite part was the finale including a really loud cover of the Beatles' "I Am the Walrus." I don't know how many young Hong Kongers realized that the guitarist's windmill arm action during that song was also a tribute (Pete Townshend, for some of you) but I did. You're welcome, Oasis. I couldn't believe how many people were recording the concert with their cameras. I guess I'm a nerd because I didn't even bring a camera after I read that they were "strictly prohibited." The venue was one of the smaller ones I've seen a show in. It made me miss pouring out with the crowds over Penn Station after a good show at Madison Square Garden. Live music does invigorate the soul. It would be nice to catch other shows here in the future. Bono, are you reading this?

Have a happy Easter.

Miss You

Yep, it was a silly little April Fool's joke.

The song "April Fools" was over there to the right all along, but if you didn't have sound turned on or didn't look at the song title...haha. Truth is I'm not all that into April Fool's Day, but I meant to write, then it got late and I was tired and voila! And I like that song.

We left the U.S. of A. a week ago today. The flight was fine. Yes, 15 hours is a long time but otherwise there were no major problems. We're still readjusting but the jet lag is not nearly as overwhelming as our first time out last year. Here are the answers to some questions everyone asks about our visit:

Paul worked only one day, the Friday after we arrived. Then it was simply vacation. We stayed at my parents' house on an air mattress and we were well-accommodated and generously taken care of for two weeks. Thanks again. The reports are true though; the basement is unnaturally cold. Thanks to brother-in-law Peter who now camps, the down sleeping bags he lent us were invaluable.

Jet lag was not as bad as we expected, maybe because we sort of gained 12 hours. After a couple of nights we felt mostly adjusted (It was the frost bite we were focused on battling). And hey! What was with the 30 degree weather most of the time? Can you folks all try to make it a little warmer on our next visit?

Our house is still there. It's still old and still needs a frightening amount of work, and it's slightly more obvious because it's empty and dust-covered. We stopped by a few times to pick things up, drop things off, and get an overall look at the place. Yikes. Our tiny apartment with toy appliances in a brand new building has a renewed appeal.

I went shopping, really and truly shopping, where you get to try on items and you have the option to return them - two elements typically missing from the Hong Kong shopping experience. I made use of fitting rooms to my heart's content; I purchased some items; I returned some. Oh my goodness, I almost forgot the best thing. I ordered three pairs of shoes from Zappos.com. Bliss. And you know how you go into a place like CVS thinking you just have to pick up one or two things and somehow you walk out having spent about $47? (Is it just me?) Well, we did that a few times. Hair products can be a fussy matter. We also managed to go wine shopping, because we're dedicated, and one bottle of good California Cab made it back to HK.

It's taken me days to unpack because so many additions found their way into the luggage. Besides those mentioned above, I smuggled back a bag full of Quaker flavored oatmeal packets, and if only I had a spare inch of space, I would have lined the suitcases with Pop Secret microwave popcorn packs. Yes, I had to sit on my suitcase while Paul wrestled the zipper around it. As it was, both our suitcases exceeded the limit but a kind Cathay Pacific employee let it go without extra charge.

One more thing before I finish boring you with our excitement over everyday things. I did laundry at my parents' and it was glorious. We didn't pack a lot because I knew I might do some shopping (Sure, that's an understatement but not the point here) so I had to do laundry twice. I wanted to applaud at the completion of each load. First, the washer was HUGE. I kept gazing into its depths and marveling at its beauty. I made piles of clothes and then I realized they would all fit - at once! Then it only took about 40 minutes to wash... and about 40 more to dry!!! Seriously, it was a pleasure compared to accomplishing the same feat here with the little washer that could.

Another mundane thing we did was spend an hour at the NJ Department of Motor Vehicles. We were bored one day and we figured you couldn't get a more feel-good American experience than that. Actually, our license renewals just happened to show while we were there and they stated that we had to renew in person, so we were pretty lucky we caught them or our licenses would expire, and that would just be a pain.

We saw lots of friends. Thanks to all of you for making time for us. Though you might not know we're thankful because some of you have admitted to not reading the blog recently, or any more, or ever. Come on... it's better than Facebook.

Fortunately we both have friends who like to eat as much as we do so we were still able to pursue our strict agenda of eating more in two weeks than anyone ever should. It was impossible to cover the entire territory, but we put in a good effort and got in some favorites like Jose Tejas, La Candela, and Brioso, and I got to try two new places in Manhattan. I went to WD-50 with Sherri, and Paul and I went to Bar Bouloud with Chris and Jerry. Luckily, the company was good both times because the food was disappointingly average in both hyped places. What made us the happiest? That's right - refer to the blog name. I got in two Denino's experiences and Paul, three. Of course there was home cooking from both Moms, which is unbeatable comfort food.

We also had some tasty sandwiches at Burmeister's Chow. Nice job, Rob. Add don't laugh but we had lunch at Jade Island one day. What?! The wonton soup is the best. We also had lots of bagels (thanks again to our hosts). A couple of little things I've craved while we're here is Aunt Anne's Pretzels and Dunkin' Donuts. We never managed to get either and that's too bad because once I have a donut craving, it will remain until satisfied. The supermarket bakery sections here have donuts, but they're not quite the same. If I get desperate, I might end up changing the blog name to 'mmmdonuts.'

By the way, between shopping, dining, necessities, haircuts, etc, this has been the most expensive trip we've taken all year!

The trip wasn't all about food. No, really. It was good to spend time with family, especially the nieces and nephews who haven't stopped growing up just because we moved here. And I came home with a memento containing one of the greatest things ever written. Our five-year-old niece Jessica gave us cards and pictures she had worked on since we've been here. One was my birthday card. The envelope says, "It's to Aunt Lisa." She added color with lots of crayon and signed all the family's names. That would have been special enough, but then on the back, she added her own sentiment and it states, "If it is not Aunt Lisa I don't like it." This is great in countless ways. How many people are lucky enough to have that said about them? I feel as if I should run for some kind of office because I have the best endorsement of all time. Would it be immodest to have a tee shirt with that printed on it? Thanks, Jessica.

The two weeks passed surprisingly quickly and it would have been nice to spend a little more time there, not just to get a donut. A glazed chocolate donut... Sorry...

Of course we know we were treated 'special' because we live far away and it's been a whole year of absence, but it feels good to be missed. When you return home, in some ways, nothing really changes. In some ways, you feel a little like an alien observer. Part of you wants to get comfortable and stay a little longer and part of you wants to get back to where home is now. Well, thanks for making us feel missed. Denino's was fantastic, but they didn't seem to notice we've been gone.

Highlight of the dinner at WD-50

April Fools (formerly, Goodbye Girl)

We're back from our U.S. visit. We heard from a few friends while we were back home that they haven't read the blog in months. It seems that we've exhausted all the interest in our stories of life in Hong Kong. It has been a whole year, so it's understandable.

It's been fun, but all things must end. I hope we were entertaining while it lasted. Maybe I'll give it a go again some day.

Thanks for reading - and listening to the chosen songs.

So long.

Even Better than the Real Thing

In less than seven hours, Paul and I will be on a plane to JFK Airport. I don't think we expected a full year to pass before we made our first visit home, but it has so happened. We arrived in Hong Kong on March 2, 2008. I don't have any wonderfully compelling summary of our first year because I've been writing most of the details here all along - lucky you. I can say that I feel fortunate to have had the experiences we had throughout the year. It also passed quickly, but that's what happens when you're not working, doesn't it? So you'll have to ask Paul how quickly the year went for him.

Our first month was spent getting familiar with the big picture and finding a place to live. The second month was filled with setting up the apartment and waiting for things like a sofa and for internet... now that time did not go quickly. Then it was a sort of strange time for me because I officially lived here but I didn't really know anyone yet and the city began to unfold its details. And you would be surprised how disorienting it is when you don't know where to buy something, like, oh let's say beach towels, and you don't know whom to ask and shopping for odd things takes up several hours of your day.

Then by summer I started meeting people and I started figuring out where to buy those odd things and when I still didn't know, I knew others to ask and they would reveal their discoveries. That's how it works here. My friend Liz searched high and low for pint glasses and I found them in a store around the corner from here. It's a typical shared experience and it may be one of the things that makes up ex-pat communities. Hey I just found Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn! No way, Where?

Things would be so different without the people I've met, not just because they might know where to buy stuff but first, they've kept me busy. Second, they - we - are all in the same boat and experiences are even more enriching when you can validate them with people who share them. Hong Kong is special in that way. You'll often see groups of people having lunch and it's obvious they're meeting for the first time, or people will just introduce themselves to strangers in any social situation. I don't think that's typical of living abroad everywhere. It's relatively easy to meet people here if you try.

So I feel happy and lucky for many reasons. I love city life. I like meeting people from all over the world. We are seeing places I never even planned on seeing and best of all, Paul and I are experiencing them together. I'll admit that my first year here felt like a kind of vacation - or as the rest of the world calls it - a holiday, especially for those of us not working. The flip of the calender page to 2009 seems like it will bring some kind of change, but I'm not sure what. One thing it is bringing in a few hours is finally a visit home, and after so long it's pretty exciting to think about where we can eat - I MEAN - everyone we'll see.

I have a habit of not sleeping the night before I fly somewhere. It's not nerves; it's endlessly underestimating the amount of things that need to be done. This time it could work to my advantage with the twelve hour time difference. Maybe I'll sleep on the plane as if I'm on NY time already.

Now for the title while I'm too artificially energetic to sleep after packing...

A few weeks ago, I finally made the effort to get us visas for China. I mean, we're an hour train ride away and it's been a year. I prepared all the documents and luckily I went with my friend Maggie who had been through the process once before (see 'same boat' above). Visas regulations were tightened around the time of the Olympics and she got hers shortly after so she only applied for two entries and she used both. Prices returned to normal and this time she applied for one year of multiple entries. It's the same price whether you apply for one-time, six months, one year, etc., so of course I applied for multiple entries for one year.

The Immigration Office is a few minutes walk from here. Maggie and I set out on our mission. I had everything she told me I needed but for some reason I was nervous to approach the counter when called. It went something like how I had a hunch it would. The clerk looked over my applications, slid them back to me and the exchange went something like this:

Chinese Clerk: Six months.
Litte American Lisa: What's the reason?
CC: What reason?
LAL: I don't know. What's the reason?
CC: What reason?
LAL: What are you telling me to do?
CC: Apply for six-month visa.
LAL: Why?
CC: Looks of utter annoyance... You're not a permenent resident?
LAL: No.
CC: Apply for a six-month visa.

The communication was not optimum, and I didn't want to be arrested for insubordination and never seen again, so I did what she said. Communists are scary. The mystery behind this random command was that Maggie had no such interaction, applied for her one-year visa, and she got it. No, she's not a permanent resident either. Our only guess was that she got it because she already had a previous visa, not that this is explained anywhere by anyone.

Then, a couple of weeks later we made our first trip to Shenzhen in South China. Fortunately, Maggie and her husband accompanied us because it can be overwhelming. I don't know exactly how to explain it. O.k, yes I do. It's all about fakes. There's a massive mall filled with fake designer goods. There are lots of little hidden and not-so-hidden places in Hong Kong where you can buy your knock-off Gucci bags, but this is a center dedicated to nothing but the sale of illegal goods: bags, watches, DVDs, clothes - anything you can copy. Some things are up front, but mostly you have to ask for the catalogs and choose things and someone goes to some nether region to get it. It is not a therapeutic shopping experience. It's a relentless stream of...

Missy, Missy, bags, come look.
DVD movies, good quality.
Manicure, Missy. Manicure.

It was a virtual wall of these words all day. I heard Missy, Missy in my sleep that night.

Paul actually started his own blog on the subject so I'll let him provide the full details on his watch bargaining episode, but he ended up watchless at the end of it. I just didn't have the will to do the dance for some kind of fake bag or something. I'm discovering that it's just not my thing. Besides the haggling, which you must do, I feel like the fake stuff is just fake, even if it's good quality and everyone in Hong Kong is carrying a Louis Vuitton bag. It just makes me suspect every one of them. What's the point then? Maybe I just don't like them because nobody seems to copy subtly sophisticated looks. The copies are frequently of the items with screaming logos all over them, like giant C's for Chanel. That's probably what's really not appealing to me. I am not the majority as you can see by everyone crossing the border into Shenzhen carrying empty suitcases to be filled and brought back.

The only thing we bought were DVDs. Movies were barely $1 each and TV shows cost a bit more because they're multiple discs. We're giving Mad Men and The Wire a shot. The best part of the DVD buying was choosing the titles and watching one guy hand the list to another guy in the ceiling who would go get them in the depths of nowhere and return to pass them down through the ceiling. Seriously.

It was certainly an experience. We met a few of Maggie's friends there for dim sum. We were the only Westerners in this place. After shopping, we all went to a nearby spa and got massages for incredibly cheap. Now that's the life.

I must say that we were exhausted at the end of the journey. We were sincerely happy to be back in Hong Kong that night. It may be crowded and chaotic here as well, but as Maggie put it, it's more of a controlled chaos.

Well, I should go. Our flight is in five hours.

SEE YOU SOON!