So, yesterday!
My parents woke me up at 7:45. Which spelled near-disaster for me because I had gone to sleep at 4. And also because I only had 35 minutes to leave. But somehow (somehow), I managed to eat and get everything done in time to leave. And so we went to Mass, and all was well. Except for the part where I started to feel sick (from lack of sleep) and went outside to get some fresh(?) air outside. (Is city air ever "fresh"?) But otherwise, there were no mishaps or anything. So it was good. :)
After Mass, I lay on the couch and just slept until 'twas time for lunch. And so Mom, LilBro, and I ate lunch because my dad was getting a massage (as you may have guessed, it's a division of Chinese medical practice). Shortly after we finished lunch, my dad came back. And I guess the massage also included suction (getting rid of the bad blood in the body by extraction) because he came back with a ton of purple, circular marks on his back. And it was not fun-looking.
Anyways, I spent my whole afternoon with blogging (to make up for my not-bloggingness). And then, we went to the Yacht Club nearby with my dad's side of the family, which was pretty cool because it was membership-only. We had buffet food, and it was pretty yummy. Although to be honest, I feel that fancy food never tastes as good as it looks. So I was kinda like, oh... cool, I guess. And then we bowled after dinner ("we" being "the kids"). And it was nice because I was hanging with the Mok kids... even though I did feel that there was a lot of uncomfortable silence/awkward awkwardness. Yeah. But I took pictures of the harbor, and it was amazingly beautiful. Seriously, there were lights everywhere, and the water reflected so many different colors. It was beautiful; I swear.
Anyways I got home, and I watched American History X. And it was SO intense. Like, omigoodness-intense. It was really good. And I was happy. And then I took a shower and cataloged some more movies into my list. And fell asleep at, like, 3.
Okay, love.
7:49 PM
June 29
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
09.5.25 + 09.6.26 + 09.6.27
Okay. These past few days have been very busy, so I couldn't post. I'll explain:
Three mornings ago, I woke up when my mom got back from her morning rounds (though it rained, yuckyuck). And so I had some yummy bread (fresh out of the bakery, as per usual in true Hong Kong style). And then Aunt Kuen arrives back from her morning Qi Gong. And she was like, "Would you like to eat breakfast at a restaurant nearby?" But I had just eaten, so that was not an option. So my aunt was like, "Oh, okay. Hm, I need to go downstairs to buy some groceries. I'll be back in a bit."
But Sara called about booking plane tickets to Japan (we've been trying to figure this out for the past few days), so my mom and aunt got tied up with that for a bit. I just realized that I've forgotten to mention these plans, so I'll mention them in a bit.
Anyways, this gave me time to change clothes. So when they finally finished, I was like, "I'll go to the market with you, Aunt K." And it was nice. I took lots of pictures at the open-air market near Aunt K's. We bought some purple yams to make yam dessert, some "sheet sugar", and some leaves for making "zong" (糭) because I asked her to teach me again to make them. (糭 is a packet of glutinous rice and filling steamed within a bamboo or reed leaf. Traditional filling for regular 糭 includes any combination of peanuts, green mung beans, fatty pork, chicken with bone, Chinese smoked sausage, egg yolk, salted duck egg, char siu, shiitake mushrooms, chestnuts, and dried shrimp; you can dip this in soy sauce. There's also a sweet variation which uses either no filling at all or neutral ingredients like mung bean and chestnuts; it is dipped in sugar before being eaten.) It brought back some really nice memories, and it was nice to have that experience. (And there was a bird that was flying in the plaza, haha.)
After that, Aunt K and I went back to the apartment. We stayed there, being really excellently cool (not temperature-wise) people for the next few hours. My, oh my. It was HOT. And humid. It was terrible. So we sat around, talking and stuff. And we kind of skipped lunch because some people came to look at Aunt K's apartment because of some leaking in the wall/ceiling, which we suspect the neighbors upstairs caused. (It's been like this for a while now.)
And since we didn't officially eat lunch, I had some Grill-a-Corn (I've been chowing down on entire bags, which is totally disgusting for my body) and yam dessert. It was SO good, oh my. It had yams, purple yams, hot-dessert mochi (you place it into a liquid and cook it), ginger, and sheet sugar. It's very simple but oh-so-good, so I had another bowl (which I couldn't finish, in fact).
And then I had some Chinese herbal medicine. Surprisingly, the kind that the herbalist prescribed me this time is not terribly sour or bitter. I didn't even need to clear my palate after drinking it.
My afternoon consumption made my tummy really full. So I walked to Maritime Square by myself, which was nice because the sky was gray-ish now. I mean, it was still stuffy. But at least the sun wasn't burning me. So I walked to the shopping mall and directly looked for socks to wear. See, I had packed extra underwear and clothes to Aunt K's (because I had correctly assumed that our stay would extend to at least two days) but had forgotten to bring extra socks (as well as slippers and my toothbrush. Thankfully, Aunt K had some in stock, but this was not so for socks). So I walked to Maritime Square without socks, and the top of my foot started to hurt. So I did some quick looking and found 4 pairs of socks at $100 at Giordano. And so I bought them and went to bathroom, where I slipped a pair on. They were really comfy -- just as I'd expect from a Giordano product. However, I was still kicking myself a bit when I did some actual store-browsing and found 2 pairs of socks at $40. But still, Giordano is reliable stuff, so I told myself to chill out. :) (So anyone who wants to know, IceFire has the best deal on socks in Maritime Square right now; however, I don't know how their quality is, so 4 for $100 at Giordano is also a great option!)
Anyways, I went looking around and eventually found myself in Meyer, which is a really cute shop that sells lots of household stuff and cute miscellany. There are stickers, stationary, pens, staplers, paper, staplers, hole-punchers, tape, origami paper, stuffed animals, adorable folders, snow globes, etc. Inagine a stationary/supply store that got enbubble-ated by a cute specialty store. Get the picture? :)
Anyways, I was looking at the stuff there when my mom called. She was like, "We're ready to go to Uncle 3's** now." (The plan was to go to his apartment for dinner after the wall/ceiling people finished.) Aunt K told me to take the MTR (remember, the MTR links to the mall), but I knew that she only wanted me to do that because it would be less for me to do. So I insisted on going back to Serene Garden to take the green van with Aunt K, LilBro, and Mom. (The green van will take you to the exit of the Tai Wo Hau (大窩口) MTR station, so both methods virtually take you to the same place. However, taking the green van not only costs a fraction of the price at a mere $2 but also involves fewer stops along the way. Furthermore, taking the MTR would require you to find the right exit and walk the correct path of stairs and halls in order to get to the right place. So in the end, taking the green van was cheaper, faster, and more convenient in this case.)
So I walked back to Maritime Square, and the four of us went to Uncle 3's.
We got to the apartment, and all was a happy affair. We forced Hei Hei to entertain us with some piano (poor thing) and target LilBro afterwards. But he was lazy, so we mainly goaded Hei Hei to show off her skills.
But then dinner came. And it was SO yummy. (Uncle 3 really knows how to cook -- no lie. My mom says that he loves to eat, so he can cook really well.)
@ Steamed tofu and fish-paste (魚肉, "fish meat"; it is also called minced fish). This dish is called 老少平安 ("peace for both old and young). Both the fish paste and tofu are chopped or ground, and then they are mixed together with egg (and you can add small bits of dried citrus peel, which adds extra taste and aroma). Then the dish is steamed. It's really yummy even when done quickly (tofu and fish paste are still in small bits), as my uncle and mom (the post of June 9th) did it, but the proper version of this involves making the tofu and fish paste so chopped/ground that the end result is a dish which looks like one ingredient alone (the fish and tofu are that well-blended), as my aunt did it in December.
@ Egg-fried shrimp. This is like a shrimp omelet, and I usually don't like it because I don't feel that the two mix well alone. (It's not even able to be saved by onion,which my mom's version of this dish includes.) However, the one that Uncle 3 made was really delicious. I think it was because he used big shrimp (unlike my mom's frozen I-don't-particularly-care-because-it's-a-regular-dish-and-not-worth-using-the-fancy-shrimp-for shrimp). Or it might be that the shrimp here tastes better or that Uncle 3 just really knows how to cook this dish. Regardless, it was really yummy.
@ Stir-fried vegetable in bean-curd paste. You take the vegetable (I forgot its name) and stir-fry it with garlic and oil. And then you add the paste, which is made of fermented bean curd onto the vegetable. Be careful not to add too much paste, though; it's very pungent, so you should mind your guests' tastes. I liked this dish very much.
@ Steamed chicken with ginger-scallion sauce. It's a very classic dish in Chinese cuisine. Steam the whole chicken. In the meantime, chop scallions and ginger into small bits (though don't make the scallions too small). Add oil and salt. Serve the chicken, and place the sauce next to the meat for easy dipping. (Note: The bone and skin are still on, so be Asian; take your piece and get rid of the skin and bones without using your hands.)
@ Soup ingredients. My uncle made winter-melon soup, so he scooped the ingredients (winter melon, 淮 山 (Chinese yam that's been dried and cut into slices; it's used in soups and herbal medicines), pork-on-bone, and assorted grains/herbs) into a dish. I love winter melon, 淮山, and the grains/herbs, so I attacked this dish (which was conveniently placed in front of my face).
After the really filling dinner (omigoodness, I was dying), we just sat around the table and talked. Well, by "we", I mean that LilBro went to play video games. This left everyone else (Uncle 3 and his wife, Hei Hei, Aunt K, Mom, me) to talk. It was nice, but I was getting drowsy on account of never sleeping and being full. So I was very happy when we left -- not that I didn't enjoy the meal and company! Believe me, I was very happy for both. The fact is merely that I was falling asleep at the table (in the midst of conversation, which I felt was rude).
So we took the MTR back home (to Causeway Bay), which was a happy affair. It was nice to be back, but I was so tired that I collapsed as soon I finished taking a shower and stuff. I just melted.
**Uncle 3 belongs to my mom's side of the family.
--------------------------------------
And then two days ago, I went to do some Tik Dah with Mom and LilBro. However, it was once again packed, and we'd have to wait a few hours to come back and draw a number-chip. So my mom was like, "Let's just go."
And so we went to get my brother's uniform at the tailor shop. Sigh, people grow up so quickly...
Afterwards, we wanted to go to Toy Street, but it was not a happy affair on account of the raining which then happened. This kinda nixed all plans to do the open-air shopping at Toy Street. So we went to eat lunch at a congee/rice restaurant. I ordered seafood rice in soup with winter melon; my mom ordered pumpkin (Chinese pumpkin tastes different) congee with corn and beef; and my brother ordered twisted doughnut/Chinese fried dough/Chinese cruller/fried breadstick (油條, "you tiaou", "oil stick" OR 油炸鬼, "you ja gwai", "oil-fried ghost") (it is traditionally cooked as a pair of dough strips which are fried together -- they will stick together in the middle. This is usually dipped in congee or soymilk) and grilled-pork congee. For drinks, I had egg pudding soymilk (soy milk with egg pudding in it), and LilBro had regular soymilk.
Since it was still raining, we headed home after the meal. I did some shopping along the way, and my mom and brother ditched me (I shop like nobody's business, so my family has no patience for me). Anyways, it stopped raining as I finished my clothes-shopping. And so I went to Bonjour to find some hair products and ended up buying some hairspray and fiber putty (which is -- I found out last night -- not the same as molding clay, which I was seeking. Oh well, better than nothing at all).
And then I got back after my shopping, and we had dinner that night. Then I spent the whole night typing up my blog... but fell asleep. It was a pretty busy day.
--------------------------------------
Then yesterday (full day of rain since we've been experiencing a level-3 typhoon), I woke up at about 8 when my aunt came over. So I waved good morning to her and then went back to sleep because I was so tired (and had fallen asleep at about [way-early-morning], so that was no good). I felt a bit rude for not really saying anything to her, but it was like meh... I really can't open my eyes. Anyways, I actually got up at about 9. And I ate breakfast, and then we all had a big day of cleaning. It was kind of a ridiculously busy day.
Although! I did get a bit of blogging before lunch. But I got accosted with an IM from Quinnifred, one of my fellow Dustbunnies. It was really nice to talk to her. :) She's a sweetheart.
Anyways, I spent the whole day with Aunt K (and with cleaning). And then I began packing for the Japan trip on Tuesday. And then I went online to do some more blogging. And then we called Cec at about 11 PM (her 11 AM). And then my dad, mom and brother went to bed. And Cec and I talked 'til 1:23 (my AM, her PM). And then I showered and did some more blogging... But then once again fell asleep. This time at 4 or so. And so I kept this post short -- because it's not only overdue but also because I've been typing this up for a while. And I'm sick of it, meh...
I've gotta go now, though. So I'll ttyl. :)
Yesterday was Cec's birthday. Happy birthday, PhattyCec. Loveya mucho.
Three mornings ago, I woke up when my mom got back from her morning rounds (though it rained, yuckyuck). And so I had some yummy bread (fresh out of the bakery, as per usual in true Hong Kong style). And then Aunt Kuen arrives back from her morning Qi Gong. And she was like, "Would you like to eat breakfast at a restaurant nearby?" But I had just eaten, so that was not an option. So my aunt was like, "Oh, okay. Hm, I need to go downstairs to buy some groceries. I'll be back in a bit."
But Sara called about booking plane tickets to Japan (we've been trying to figure this out for the past few days), so my mom and aunt got tied up with that for a bit. I just realized that I've forgotten to mention these plans, so I'll mention them in a bit.
Anyways, this gave me time to change clothes. So when they finally finished, I was like, "I'll go to the market with you, Aunt K." And it was nice. I took lots of pictures at the open-air market near Aunt K's. We bought some purple yams to make yam dessert, some "sheet sugar", and some leaves for making "zong" (糭) because I asked her to teach me again to make them. (糭 is a packet of glutinous rice and filling steamed within a bamboo or reed leaf. Traditional filling for regular 糭 includes any combination of peanuts, green mung beans, fatty pork, chicken with bone, Chinese smoked sausage, egg yolk, salted duck egg, char siu, shiitake mushrooms, chestnuts, and dried shrimp; you can dip this in soy sauce. There's also a sweet variation which uses either no filling at all or neutral ingredients like mung bean and chestnuts; it is dipped in sugar before being eaten.) It brought back some really nice memories, and it was nice to have that experience. (And there was a bird that was flying in the plaza, haha.)
After that, Aunt K and I went back to the apartment. We stayed there, being really excellently cool (not temperature-wise) people for the next few hours. My, oh my. It was HOT. And humid. It was terrible. So we sat around, talking and stuff. And we kind of skipped lunch because some people came to look at Aunt K's apartment because of some leaking in the wall/ceiling, which we suspect the neighbors upstairs caused. (It's been like this for a while now.)
And since we didn't officially eat lunch, I had some Grill-a-Corn (I've been chowing down on entire bags, which is totally disgusting for my body) and yam dessert. It was SO good, oh my. It had yams, purple yams, hot-dessert mochi (you place it into a liquid and cook it), ginger, and sheet sugar. It's very simple but oh-so-good, so I had another bowl (which I couldn't finish, in fact).
And then I had some Chinese herbal medicine. Surprisingly, the kind that the herbalist prescribed me this time is not terribly sour or bitter. I didn't even need to clear my palate after drinking it.
My afternoon consumption made my tummy really full. So I walked to Maritime Square by myself, which was nice because the sky was gray-ish now. I mean, it was still stuffy. But at least the sun wasn't burning me. So I walked to the shopping mall and directly looked for socks to wear. See, I had packed extra underwear and clothes to Aunt K's (because I had correctly assumed that our stay would extend to at least two days) but had forgotten to bring extra socks (as well as slippers and my toothbrush. Thankfully, Aunt K had some in stock, but this was not so for socks). So I walked to Maritime Square without socks, and the top of my foot started to hurt. So I did some quick looking and found 4 pairs of socks at $100 at Giordano. And so I bought them and went to bathroom, where I slipped a pair on. They were really comfy -- just as I'd expect from a Giordano product. However, I was still kicking myself a bit when I did some actual store-browsing and found 2 pairs of socks at $40. But still, Giordano is reliable stuff, so I told myself to chill out. :) (So anyone who wants to know, IceFire has the best deal on socks in Maritime Square right now; however, I don't know how their quality is, so 4 for $100 at Giordano is also a great option!)
Anyways, I went looking around and eventually found myself in Meyer, which is a really cute shop that sells lots of household stuff and cute miscellany. There are stickers, stationary, pens, staplers, paper, staplers, hole-punchers, tape, origami paper, stuffed animals, adorable folders, snow globes, etc. Inagine a stationary/supply store that got enbubble-ated by a cute specialty store. Get the picture? :)
Anyways, I was looking at the stuff there when my mom called. She was like, "We're ready to go to Uncle 3's** now." (The plan was to go to his apartment for dinner after the wall/ceiling people finished.) Aunt K told me to take the MTR (remember, the MTR links to the mall), but I knew that she only wanted me to do that because it would be less for me to do. So I insisted on going back to Serene Garden to take the green van with Aunt K, LilBro, and Mom. (The green van will take you to the exit of the Tai Wo Hau (大窩口) MTR station, so both methods virtually take you to the same place. However, taking the green van not only costs a fraction of the price at a mere $2 but also involves fewer stops along the way. Furthermore, taking the MTR would require you to find the right exit and walk the correct path of stairs and halls in order to get to the right place. So in the end, taking the green van was cheaper, faster, and more convenient in this case.)
So I walked back to Maritime Square, and the four of us went to Uncle 3's.
We got to the apartment, and all was a happy affair. We forced Hei Hei to entertain us with some piano (poor thing) and target LilBro afterwards. But he was lazy, so we mainly goaded Hei Hei to show off her skills.
But then dinner came. And it was SO yummy. (Uncle 3 really knows how to cook -- no lie. My mom says that he loves to eat, so he can cook really well.)
@ Steamed tofu and fish-paste (魚肉, "fish meat"; it is also called minced fish). This dish is called 老少平安 ("peace for both old and young). Both the fish paste and tofu are chopped or ground, and then they are mixed together with egg (and you can add small bits of dried citrus peel, which adds extra taste and aroma). Then the dish is steamed. It's really yummy even when done quickly (tofu and fish paste are still in small bits), as my uncle and mom (the post of June 9th) did it, but the proper version of this involves making the tofu and fish paste so chopped/ground that the end result is a dish which looks like one ingredient alone (the fish and tofu are that well-blended), as my aunt did it in December.
@ Egg-fried shrimp. This is like a shrimp omelet, and I usually don't like it because I don't feel that the two mix well alone. (It's not even able to be saved by onion,which my mom's version of this dish includes.) However, the one that Uncle 3 made was really delicious. I think it was because he used big shrimp (unlike my mom's frozen I-don't-particularly-care-because-it's-a-regular-dish-and-not-worth-using-the-fancy-shrimp-for shrimp). Or it might be that the shrimp here tastes better or that Uncle 3 just really knows how to cook this dish. Regardless, it was really yummy.
@ Stir-fried vegetable in bean-curd paste. You take the vegetable (I forgot its name) and stir-fry it with garlic and oil. And then you add the paste, which is made of fermented bean curd onto the vegetable. Be careful not to add too much paste, though; it's very pungent, so you should mind your guests' tastes. I liked this dish very much.
@ Steamed chicken with ginger-scallion sauce. It's a very classic dish in Chinese cuisine. Steam the whole chicken. In the meantime, chop scallions and ginger into small bits (though don't make the scallions too small). Add oil and salt. Serve the chicken, and place the sauce next to the meat for easy dipping. (Note: The bone and skin are still on, so be Asian; take your piece and get rid of the skin and bones without using your hands.)
@ Soup ingredients. My uncle made winter-melon soup, so he scooped the ingredients (winter melon, 淮 山 (Chinese yam that's been dried and cut into slices; it's used in soups and herbal medicines), pork-on-bone, and assorted grains/herbs) into a dish. I love winter melon, 淮山, and the grains/herbs, so I attacked this dish (which was conveniently placed in front of my face).
After the really filling dinner (omigoodness, I was dying), we just sat around the table and talked. Well, by "we", I mean that LilBro went to play video games. This left everyone else (Uncle 3 and his wife, Hei Hei, Aunt K, Mom, me) to talk. It was nice, but I was getting drowsy on account of never sleeping and being full. So I was very happy when we left -- not that I didn't enjoy the meal and company! Believe me, I was very happy for both. The fact is merely that I was falling asleep at the table (in the midst of conversation, which I felt was rude).
So we took the MTR back home (to Causeway Bay), which was a happy affair. It was nice to be back, but I was so tired that I collapsed as soon I finished taking a shower and stuff. I just melted.
**Uncle 3 belongs to my mom's side of the family.
--------------------------------------
And then two days ago, I went to do some Tik Dah with Mom and LilBro. However, it was once again packed, and we'd have to wait a few hours to come back and draw a number-chip. So my mom was like, "Let's just go."
And so we went to get my brother's uniform at the tailor shop. Sigh, people grow up so quickly...
Afterwards, we wanted to go to Toy Street, but it was not a happy affair on account of the raining which then happened. This kinda nixed all plans to do the open-air shopping at Toy Street. So we went to eat lunch at a congee/rice restaurant. I ordered seafood rice in soup with winter melon; my mom ordered pumpkin (Chinese pumpkin tastes different) congee with corn and beef; and my brother ordered twisted doughnut/Chinese fried dough/Chinese cruller/fried breadstick (油條, "you tiaou", "oil stick" OR 油炸鬼, "you ja gwai", "oil-fried ghost") (it is traditionally cooked as a pair of dough strips which are fried together -- they will stick together in the middle. This is usually dipped in congee or soymilk) and grilled-pork congee. For drinks, I had egg pudding soymilk (soy milk with egg pudding in it), and LilBro had regular soymilk.
Since it was still raining, we headed home after the meal. I did some shopping along the way, and my mom and brother ditched me (I shop like nobody's business, so my family has no patience for me). Anyways, it stopped raining as I finished my clothes-shopping. And so I went to Bonjour to find some hair products and ended up buying some hairspray and fiber putty (which is -- I found out last night -- not the same as molding clay, which I was seeking. Oh well, better than nothing at all).
And then I got back after my shopping, and we had dinner that night. Then I spent the whole night typing up my blog... but fell asleep. It was a pretty busy day.
--------------------------------------
Then yesterday (full day of rain since we've been experiencing a level-3 typhoon), I woke up at about 8 when my aunt came over. So I waved good morning to her and then went back to sleep because I was so tired (and had fallen asleep at about [way-early-morning], so that was no good). I felt a bit rude for not really saying anything to her, but it was like meh... I really can't open my eyes. Anyways, I actually got up at about 9. And I ate breakfast, and then we all had a big day of cleaning. It was kind of a ridiculously busy day.
Although! I did get a bit of blogging before lunch. But I got accosted with an IM from Quinnifred, one of my fellow Dustbunnies. It was really nice to talk to her. :) She's a sweetheart.
Anyways, I spent the whole day with Aunt K (and with cleaning). And then I began packing for the Japan trip on Tuesday. And then I went online to do some more blogging. And then we called Cec at about 11 PM (her 11 AM). And then my dad, mom and brother went to bed. And Cec and I talked 'til 1:23 (my AM, her PM). And then I showered and did some more blogging... But then once again fell asleep. This time at 4 or so. And so I kept this post short -- because it's not only overdue but also because I've been typing this up for a while. And I'm sick of it, meh...
I've gotta go now, though. So I'll ttyl. :)
Yesterday was Cec's birthday. Happy birthday, PhattyCec. Loveya mucho.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
June 24
I apologize for not blogging last night, but I have a legitimate reason. So don't be hatin' on me yet.
Yesterday, I woke to find myself on the couch at Aunt Kuen's. I was very happy because, as I said, Ilove this place. It was joyous.
Anyways, I woke when my mom came back from her morning rounds (Mass and breakfast-shopping). She bought "buut zai go" (help, Cec), 茶果 (translated literally as "tea fruit", it is filling surrounded by ground sticky-rice. It is steamed), grass jelly, and a red fruit (天桃; "sky peach") whose name I honestly don't know (it's red and shaped like a bell. It's apparently very juicy but not very sweet or flavorful unless you find THE RIGHT one, which will be way too sweet). But instead of this, I started my breakfast began with ube ice cream mochi. Hahaha... Anyways, I also had some bites of the 茶果 -- my mom bought black sesame (sweet), peanut (salty), and (). But then my aunt came back saying that we should have dim sum. So I was like, "Oh..." And so I stopped stopped eating and therefore did not get a bite of the "buut zai go", fruit, or grass jelly. :(
Anyways, I went to the dim sum in the plaza behind Aunt K's. It was good -- I took pictures, etc. I'll describe them when I upload them. (I don't have my cord... and there are way too many pictures that I have not yet uploaded. I'm really bad at this, aren't I?)
But after this way-too-filling lunch, we went and walked along that harbor. It was nice. Okay, it was WAY too humid and hot to bear. But still, it was really nice because we walked along the whole harbor, which I had never done before -- the max extent before I have ever walked is from Maritime Square to Serene Garden, so it was a nice experience.
After this harborside escapade, we went to Maritime Square to chill in the air conditioning. On the bottom floor, there was aplace that sold gelato, so I had to have some (nom). I ordered "Chestnut Rock" (栗子杏仁) (even though it was actually chestnut flavored with almond bits and NOT rocks), coconut (椰子), and passionfruit (熱情果). They were very good, and I split it with Aunt K because my brother and mom were not in the mood for frozen treats (and Uncle Kau was at home).
Afterwards, I went to Prince Edward (太子; this is a district) to do some acupuncture. But the doctor said that I have too much fire and wetness in my system, so I have to drink herbal medicine for a while before I go back. So I did some shopping because I had some time to kill. The shop people were rather pushy, which kinda irritated me. But being the passive person that I tend to be (and conflict-avoider, even though I'm trying to fix this!), I let them be. Which still irritated me. BLAHHHH!!!
Anyways, we split up -- Aunt K went to to meet up with her friend while my mom and brother went to Tsuen Wan (荃灣) to meet up with (whom I call) Uncle 4. I went to Mei Foo to meet up with Sara. They were all nervous (barring Mom, who says, "If you get lost, it's your own fault for being bad at directions." Which is so kind) for me (that I'd get lost), but I've been to Sara's a few times. So I'd be embarrassed to not know my way. And so I went and did some hanging with Denise, Sara's daughter (Nathan went to nap). And all was well.
Then at about 3:30, Sara's husband (Eric) came back from work. And so Sara and I left for the hair place at about 4:10, leaving Eric to look after the kids (he also but Denise to sleep). And we got to the place in Tsim Sha Tsui at about 4:30. And we went up there, and it was good.
Let me tell you what transpired (what a funny word).
So they sat me down and were like, "What do you want to do to your hair today?" And I was like, I need a haircut because my hair is actually u-cut at the bangs. Also WTG? Anyways, I was just unhappy. Blah.
Anyways, I told them that I need the bangs to no longer have a mushroom-cut and that the sides must be fixed. And also that I want blue highlights (which I've wanted for four years). It was all very good.
So we were discussing for a while what kind of haircut I want. And then he was like, "Let's just dye first. And then we'll decide."
So it was settled. They bleached my hair for about [a really long time], using the whole tin-foil method (which I had only seen in movies and TV shows. Omigh, so excellent). During this time, a man was seated (by the people) next to Sara and me. And she started talking to him. And she was like, "This is my sister-in-law." And I was like, "You mean to say that he's your brother-in-law, right?" But it was embarrassing because I didn't recognize him. And so I was like, "Is he Fun's** husband?" And Sara was like, "Nope. Gwun's husband"
And so it was a bit awkward because I don't know Fun and Gwun that well.*** But it was still nice and all to make small talk and stuff. When they finally finished with the bleach, washed my hair (first time having my hair washed by someone else! I felt so pampered...), and brought me back, I was like, "Oh. Wow. I have blond streaks in my hair." It was so cool -- I was so excited!
And then they dyed it blue. (It was really funny, though. Sara and Gwun's husband were like, "OMIGOODNESS. You have blond hair! Are you scared? You're scared. You're scared, aren't you? Omigoodness, you're scared."
But I was like, "Chill. I'm fine. I know that you have to bleach before you dye black hair. Chill."
But then the the dye finished, and the cutting of my hair started. And Gwun's husband peaced out (his cut having finished). And Sara was also already done with her perm and cut. So we just sat while I got my hair cut. We tried three different cuts until I got to this. And now my hair's really different. And I need to invest in some hairspray and molding... stuff. He called it 泥, which means "dirt".
So Sara and I left at 10:59. WTG, six and a half hours. So we had dinner at a nearby place (I had curry beef brisket on rice, and Sara had beef brisket in noodles) and hurried home (respectively). By the time I got off the MTR at Maritime Square, it was 12. And so I scurried on to Aunt K's to sleep another night.
Mom was like, "o_0!!! Your hair!!!" But I like it, so I'm perfectly happy. Sara and Aunt K also like it, haha.
Anyways, that was my night.
(Extra story: I was shampooing my hair last night to get rid of the hair bits. And so I was using the shampoo here at Aunt K's. And then I washed my hair. And I was like, "Omigoodness, the blue's coming out!!! I think it might've been because I used the shampoo, which is herbal shampoo. So I panicked and scrambled for some conditioner. And I found some "Color Protection Conditioner" (wow. Stroke of luck, anyone?) and lathered it on. Thankfully, my hair is still blue. But still... I panicked when I saw blue on the floor.)
** My mom is, as I've said, one out of technically nine children. But long story short, I call my mom's oldest sibling Uncle 1. He has four daughters: (in order) Older Joey (貞), Sara (珊), "Fun" (芬), and "Gwun" (君).
***I always spent time with the "Fab Five" (I came up with this really embarrassingly homosexual name in the eighth grade. This is obvi. before I knew any better), which comprised: Aunt K, Joey, Sara, Vivian, and Ada. Older Joey and Zalu make it into into a sub-category of my memories (that group's just below the Fab Five in rank. Like, barely below), which is odd. Mainly because I spent lots of time with Zalu, but he doesn't star so prominently in my memories...
Yesterday, I woke to find myself on the couch at Aunt Kuen's. I was very happy because, as I said, Ilove this place. It was joyous.
Anyways, I woke when my mom came back from her morning rounds (Mass and breakfast-shopping). She bought "buut zai go" (help, Cec), 茶果 (translated literally as "tea fruit", it is filling surrounded by ground sticky-rice. It is steamed), grass jelly, and a red fruit (天桃; "sky peach") whose name I honestly don't know (it's red and shaped like a bell. It's apparently very juicy but not very sweet or flavorful unless you find THE RIGHT one, which will be way too sweet). But instead of this, I started my breakfast began with ube ice cream mochi. Hahaha... Anyways, I also had some bites of the 茶果 -- my mom bought black sesame (sweet), peanut (salty), and (). But then my aunt came back saying that we should have dim sum. So I was like, "Oh..." And so I stopped stopped eating and therefore did not get a bite of the "buut zai go", fruit, or grass jelly. :(
Anyways, I went to the dim sum in the plaza behind Aunt K's. It was good -- I took pictures, etc. I'll describe them when I upload them. (I don't have my cord... and there are way too many pictures that I have not yet uploaded. I'm really bad at this, aren't I?)
But after this way-too-filling lunch, we went and walked along that harbor. It was nice. Okay, it was WAY too humid and hot to bear. But still, it was really nice because we walked along the whole harbor, which I had never done before -- the max extent before I have ever walked is from Maritime Square to Serene Garden, so it was a nice experience.
After this harborside escapade, we went to Maritime Square to chill in the air conditioning. On the bottom floor, there was aplace that sold gelato, so I had to have some (nom). I ordered "Chestnut Rock" (栗子杏仁) (even though it was actually chestnut flavored with almond bits and NOT rocks), coconut (椰子), and passionfruit (熱情果). They were very good, and I split it with Aunt K because my brother and mom were not in the mood for frozen treats (and Uncle Kau was at home).
Afterwards, I went to Prince Edward (太子; this is a district) to do some acupuncture. But the doctor said that I have too much fire and wetness in my system, so I have to drink herbal medicine for a while before I go back. So I did some shopping because I had some time to kill. The shop people were rather pushy, which kinda irritated me. But being the passive person that I tend to be (and conflict-avoider, even though I'm trying to fix this!), I let them be. Which still irritated me. BLAHHHH!!!
Anyways, we split up -- Aunt K went to to meet up with her friend while my mom and brother went to Tsuen Wan (荃灣) to meet up with (whom I call) Uncle 4. I went to Mei Foo to meet up with Sara. They were all nervous (barring Mom, who says, "If you get lost, it's your own fault for being bad at directions." Which is so kind) for me (that I'd get lost), but I've been to Sara's a few times. So I'd be embarrassed to not know my way. And so I went and did some hanging with Denise, Sara's daughter (Nathan went to nap). And all was well.
Then at about 3:30, Sara's husband (Eric) came back from work. And so Sara and I left for the hair place at about 4:10, leaving Eric to look after the kids (he also but Denise to sleep). And we got to the place in Tsim Sha Tsui at about 4:30. And we went up there, and it was good.
Let me tell you what transpired (what a funny word).
So they sat me down and were like, "What do you want to do to your hair today?" And I was like, I need a haircut because my hair is actually u-cut at the bangs. Also WTG? Anyways, I was just unhappy. Blah.
Anyways, I told them that I need the bangs to no longer have a mushroom-cut and that the sides must be fixed. And also that I want blue highlights (which I've wanted for four years). It was all very good.
So we were discussing for a while what kind of haircut I want. And then he was like, "Let's just dye first. And then we'll decide."
So it was settled. They bleached my hair for about [a really long time], using the whole tin-foil method (which I had only seen in movies and TV shows. Omigh, so excellent). During this time, a man was seated (by the people) next to Sara and me. And she started talking to him. And she was like, "This is my sister-in-law." And I was like, "You mean to say that he's your brother-in-law, right?" But it was embarrassing because I didn't recognize him. And so I was like, "Is he Fun's** husband?" And Sara was like, "Nope. Gwun's husband"
And so it was a bit awkward because I don't know Fun and Gwun that well.*** But it was still nice and all to make small talk and stuff. When they finally finished with the bleach, washed my hair (first time having my hair washed by someone else! I felt so pampered...), and brought me back, I was like, "Oh. Wow. I have blond streaks in my hair." It was so cool -- I was so excited!
And then they dyed it blue. (It was really funny, though. Sara and Gwun's husband were like, "OMIGOODNESS. You have blond hair! Are you scared? You're scared. You're scared, aren't you? Omigoodness, you're scared."
But I was like, "Chill. I'm fine. I know that you have to bleach before you dye black hair. Chill."
But then the the dye finished, and the cutting of my hair started. And Gwun's husband peaced out (his cut having finished). And Sara was also already done with her perm and cut. So we just sat while I got my hair cut. We tried three different cuts until I got to this. And now my hair's really different. And I need to invest in some hairspray and molding... stuff. He called it 泥, which means "dirt".
So Sara and I left at 10:59. WTG, six and a half hours. So we had dinner at a nearby place (I had curry beef brisket on rice, and Sara had beef brisket in noodles) and hurried home (respectively). By the time I got off the MTR at Maritime Square, it was 12. And so I scurried on to Aunt K's to sleep another night.
Mom was like, "o_0!!! Your hair!!!" But I like it, so I'm perfectly happy. Sara and Aunt K also like it, haha.
Anyways, that was my night.
(Extra story: I was shampooing my hair last night to get rid of the hair bits. And so I was using the shampoo here at Aunt K's. And then I washed my hair. And I was like, "Omigoodness, the blue's coming out!!! I think it might've been because I used the shampoo, which is herbal shampoo. So I panicked and scrambled for some conditioner. And I found some "Color Protection Conditioner" (wow. Stroke of luck, anyone?) and lathered it on. Thankfully, my hair is still blue. But still... I panicked when I saw blue on the floor.)
** My mom is, as I've said, one out of technically nine children. But long story short, I call my mom's oldest sibling Uncle 1. He has four daughters: (in order) Older Joey (貞), Sara (珊), "Fun" (芬), and "Gwun" (君).
***I always spent time with the "Fab Five" (I came up with this really embarrassingly homosexual name in the eighth grade. This is obvi. before I knew any better), which comprised: Aunt K, Joey, Sara, Vivian, and Ada. Older Joey and Zalu make it into into a sub-category of my memories (that group's just below the Fab Five in rank. Like, barely below), which is odd. Mainly because I spent lots of time with Zalu, but he doesn't star so prominently in my memories...
June 23
Hi! I'm at Aunt Kuen's right now. :) Ilove this place so much because I basically grew up here, in terms of my Hong Kong childhood. As I explained, I would crash here every time I visited HK. (Even though we often stayed for more than a month, my aunt was and still is very accomodating.)
Anyways, today was disgusting. Omigoodness. I was sweating so much because it was so humid. My shirt kept sticking to me (ew... nasty) throughout the day, and I was not very pleased. And you know what's funny? HK people are generally a bit vain, so I saw people wearing long sleeves and tight jeans (and leather boots, and leather pants, and tights, etc.). It made me feel uncomfortable to just look at them. -_-
I went to the Tik Dah doctor again today. But we were packing in the morning because we had planned on staying at Aunt K's.
(My dad's in Xian right now, so Mom, LilBro, and I are here. This is because we love Aunt Kuen. And also so that I can get to Mei Foo easily tomorrow -- so that Sara can take me to Tsim Sha Tsui (尖沙咀) to get a haircut and to dye my hair. I've been waiting for four years, so I'm pretty excited!)
So we were packing, and that took us a while. So we left at about 11:25 because of some indecision on my mom's part. Frownieface because this meant that by the time we got to the Tik Dah's, there were no more chips left... And so (since we would only be able to make an afternoon appointment) we just said that we'd come back next week (because we were going to Aunt K's for the afternoon).
"Why next week?" you ask. Well, this is because my mom just wanted to do a trial run of the Tik Dah. She says that she now wants me to take a short break from Tik Dah and do both Chiense herbal medicine (the consumed kind this time) and acupuncture (which I've done before in the States. It helped) in order to help blood circulation, which might then aid in the Tik Dah medicine. Not complicated, but it's hard to explain over cyberspace. :(
Anyways, we left and took the MTR to Kwai Fong (葵芳) to see if the Chinese herbalist was there. He wasn't. So I seized this opportunity and went to the shopping plaza right next to the MTR station. Imagine four floors of open-air street vending stalls... except they've all been placed in a building. Omigh, it is heaven. So I went and looked around for some stuff. I managed to locate some things I found appropriate for some friends, so I got them. But I won't spoil any surprises. :)
And no trip to this plaza is complete without ube ice cream from Yummy Mummu (wtg is up with that name?) from the fourth floor. Omigh, when you eat that ice cream... Most delicious thing that has entered my mouth; best thing that will ever enter my mouth.
Ube is also known as purple yam and 香芋 (Cec?). It is delicious as a confection or dessert item. Omigh, YUM.
Anyways. Afterwards, I wandered around a bit and was very pleased with my adventuring. But Mom and LilBro were tired, so we had to leave. We took the Public Light Bus, which is nicknamed "green van" (麵_)(Cec, help? This comp. doesn't have the application that I use to verify the Chinese. So I'm not sure how to write the second word. And everyone's asleep, so I can't ask them).
And the bus stopped at my aunt's apartment complex. And all was happy. We were waiting for my aunt to get back from dim sum at Maritime Square, though. So I bought a Pretz: Corn. And I love Pretz, let me tellya. But this one? EW. Like, EWtotheutmostextreme. Corn Pretz is listed under my "Eat only if you have nothing better to do" category. (On the bright side, it's not under "Eat only after consuming every available resource, including your limbs", which is my last-resort category.)
Anyways. We spent the afternoon at Aunt K's, and all was happy. YAY!
Then dinner came. We had steamed egg with dried shellfish-thing (it's the part that connects the shellfish to the covering. Like, the weird butt-stem. I don't know its English name); steamed Chiense cabbage with vermicelli, dried shrimp, and ground meat; soup ingredients (tomatoes, potatoes, pork still on the bone); and steamed crab. It was very yummy. Perhaps a bit plain, but still yummy. It's all food that I like -- simple but delicious, traditional but special.
Then we went and walked to Maritime Square in order to not be fatties. But it was drizzling, so we didn't walk by the harbor (we went by the road this time because it has a shelter-thing made of opaque glass so that you can avoid both rain and intense sun as you walk to/from Maritime Square). And we went in. And I headed for CD Warehouse. And I spent a LONG time in there. They have an excellent amount of movies and CD's (Hong-Kong-ese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Western). And I mean EXCELLENT amount. You might expect it to be filled with Chinese DVDs and CD's, but it was def. not; there was a HUGE variety in Western selection as well.
The breakup was like:
50% Chinese
45% Western
10% Japanese
10% Korean
5% Other
Okay, so that's 120% totally. But it's okay because it was THAT varied in choice.
Anyways, Mom and LilBro eventually ditched because they were tired. So I was looking by myself, and Aunt Kuen moved next door to Marks & Spencer. But then LilBro was like, "Mom and I are tired. Hurry up." So I made my purchases shortly after, and we left Maritime Square. I got three DVD's for $55 (HKD). That translates to about seven American dollars. :D
Going home, the four of us (Aunt K's husband, Uncle Kau, decided to stay home) took the harbor-route. It was nice and breezy. And then we split up. There's a plaza behind Aunt K's apartment, and Aunt K and I did some grocery shopping. (Mom and LilBro went back to Aunt K's.)
At the grocery market, I was very excited to see Calbee's Grill-a-Corn at $5.9 for the 80-gram bag and HAD to buy some. (WTG? This is the best deal I've ever seen in all of my years in seeing them on the shelves. OMIGH, EXCELLENCE.) And then there were ice-cream mochi packs on sale -- two packs for $9.2! So I bought two packs of the ube kind (each pack has two mochi). And I also bought gum (two bags for $14). What a bargaining night!
(Remember that this is all in HKD. So divide by 8 to calculate the roughly equivalent cost in American dollars!)
Anyways, my aunt and I came back afterwards. And we just sat around, melting from the humidity. Thankfully, we turned the AC on.
And it's now 12:10 AM, and I'm tired. I need energy so that I can play with Sara's children tomorrow (before I get my haircut), so I must sleep now. (And shower, brush teeth, etc. first!)
Ciao, lovebabies.
12:11 AM
June 24
WTG!?!
FAIL
I absolutely forgot to mention that June 22nd is MCHammah's birthday. Omigh, I'm such a fail of a friend.
Sorry! You know how much I love you, right?
So my late shout-out:
June 22nd is one of my biffles' birthday. Represent, homeslice.
12:23
Anyways, today was disgusting. Omigoodness. I was sweating so much because it was so humid. My shirt kept sticking to me (ew... nasty) throughout the day, and I was not very pleased. And you know what's funny? HK people are generally a bit vain, so I saw people wearing long sleeves and tight jeans (and leather boots, and leather pants, and tights, etc.). It made me feel uncomfortable to just look at them. -_-
I went to the Tik Dah doctor again today. But we were packing in the morning because we had planned on staying at Aunt K's.
(My dad's in Xian right now, so Mom, LilBro, and I are here. This is because we love Aunt Kuen. And also so that I can get to Mei Foo easily tomorrow -- so that Sara can take me to Tsim Sha Tsui (尖沙咀) to get a haircut and to dye my hair. I've been waiting for four years, so I'm pretty excited!)
So we were packing, and that took us a while. So we left at about 11:25 because of some indecision on my mom's part. Frownieface because this meant that by the time we got to the Tik Dah's, there were no more chips left... And so (since we would only be able to make an afternoon appointment) we just said that we'd come back next week (because we were going to Aunt K's for the afternoon).
"Why next week?" you ask. Well, this is because my mom just wanted to do a trial run of the Tik Dah. She says that she now wants me to take a short break from Tik Dah and do both Chiense herbal medicine (the consumed kind this time) and acupuncture (which I've done before in the States. It helped) in order to help blood circulation, which might then aid in the Tik Dah medicine. Not complicated, but it's hard to explain over cyberspace. :(
Anyways, we left and took the MTR to Kwai Fong (葵芳) to see if the Chinese herbalist was there. He wasn't. So I seized this opportunity and went to the shopping plaza right next to the MTR station. Imagine four floors of open-air street vending stalls... except they've all been placed in a building. Omigh, it is heaven. So I went and looked around for some stuff. I managed to locate some things I found appropriate for some friends, so I got them. But I won't spoil any surprises. :)
And no trip to this plaza is complete without ube ice cream from Yummy Mummu (wtg is up with that name?) from the fourth floor. Omigh, when you eat that ice cream... Most delicious thing that has entered my mouth; best thing that will ever enter my mouth.
Ube is also known as purple yam and 香芋 (Cec?). It is delicious as a confection or dessert item. Omigh, YUM.
Anyways. Afterwards, I wandered around a bit and was very pleased with my adventuring. But Mom and LilBro were tired, so we had to leave. We took the Public Light Bus, which is nicknamed "green van" (麵_)(Cec, help? This comp. doesn't have the application that I use to verify the Chinese. So I'm not sure how to write the second word. And everyone's asleep, so I can't ask them).
And the bus stopped at my aunt's apartment complex. And all was happy. We were waiting for my aunt to get back from dim sum at Maritime Square, though. So I bought a Pretz: Corn. And I love Pretz, let me tellya. But this one? EW. Like, EWtotheutmostextreme. Corn Pretz is listed under my "Eat only if you have nothing better to do" category. (On the bright side, it's not under "Eat only after consuming every available resource, including your limbs", which is my last-resort category.)
Anyways. We spent the afternoon at Aunt K's, and all was happy. YAY!
Then dinner came. We had steamed egg with dried shellfish-thing (it's the part that connects the shellfish to the covering. Like, the weird butt-stem. I don't know its English name); steamed Chiense cabbage with vermicelli, dried shrimp, and ground meat; soup ingredients (tomatoes, potatoes, pork still on the bone); and steamed crab. It was very yummy. Perhaps a bit plain, but still yummy. It's all food that I like -- simple but delicious, traditional but special.
Then we went and walked to Maritime Square in order to not be fatties. But it was drizzling, so we didn't walk by the harbor (we went by the road this time because it has a shelter-thing made of opaque glass so that you can avoid both rain and intense sun as you walk to/from Maritime Square). And we went in. And I headed for CD Warehouse. And I spent a LONG time in there. They have an excellent amount of movies and CD's (Hong-Kong-ese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Western). And I mean EXCELLENT amount. You might expect it to be filled with Chinese DVDs and CD's, but it was def. not; there was a HUGE variety in Western selection as well.
The breakup was like:
50% Chinese
45% Western
10% Japanese
10% Korean
5% Other
Okay, so that's 120% totally. But it's okay because it was THAT varied in choice.
Anyways, Mom and LilBro eventually ditched because they were tired. So I was looking by myself, and Aunt Kuen moved next door to Marks & Spencer. But then LilBro was like, "Mom and I are tired. Hurry up." So I made my purchases shortly after, and we left Maritime Square. I got three DVD's for $55 (HKD). That translates to about seven American dollars. :D
Going home, the four of us (Aunt K's husband, Uncle Kau, decided to stay home) took the harbor-route. It was nice and breezy. And then we split up. There's a plaza behind Aunt K's apartment, and Aunt K and I did some grocery shopping. (Mom and LilBro went back to Aunt K's.)
At the grocery market, I was very excited to see Calbee's Grill-a-Corn at $5.9 for the 80-gram bag and HAD to buy some. (WTG? This is the best deal I've ever seen in all of my years in seeing them on the shelves. OMIGH, EXCELLENCE.) And then there were ice-cream mochi packs on sale -- two packs for $9.2! So I bought two packs of the ube kind (each pack has two mochi). And I also bought gum (two bags for $14). What a bargaining night!
(Remember that this is all in HKD. So divide by 8 to calculate the roughly equivalent cost in American dollars!)
Anyways, my aunt and I came back afterwards. And we just sat around, melting from the humidity. Thankfully, we turned the AC on.
And it's now 12:10 AM, and I'm tired. I need energy so that I can play with Sara's children tomorrow (before I get my haircut), so I must sleep now. (And shower, brush teeth, etc. first!)
Ciao, lovebabies.
12:11 AM
June 24
WTG!?!
FAIL
I absolutely forgot to mention that June 22nd is MCHammah's birthday. Omigh, I'm such a fail of a friend.
Sorry! You know how much I love you, right?
So my late shout-out:
June 22nd is one of my biffles' birthday. Represent, homeslice.
12:23
Monday, June 22, 2009
June 22
Hello! All is well today because I'm back online with daily blogging (I hope).
This morning, I went to bed at 2 after finishing with some Facebook (although Wikki can contest to the fact that I started getting loopy with my posting). Anyways, this made me borderline-drunkard today. I was so ADD.
At 9:15, I woke to rather uncomfortable weather. I ate breakfast of siu mai and cheung fun, which was pretty nice. (Although the noodle didn't have enough sauce. And I'm not very used to eating this kind of food for breakfast. That's okay, I guess. I was happy, regardless of my preferences/customs.)
Anyways, Mom brought LilBro to the hospital for a check-up (after swine-flu discharge, they ask you to return in order to see how you're doing). So I walked to the Tik Dah doctor by myself, which was fine.
Funny (not as in "humorous") excerpt: I was dressed and ready, etc. Then I turned off the fan and went to put on my shoes. But as soon as I began putting my first foot into the shoe, I started to get a little sweaty at the top of my forehead -- it was THAT humid. So I was like, "Nuh-uh. No way." So I turned the fan back on and put my shoes on. And then I left.
Anyways, I left the apartment and got to the elevator. I opened the door (it's a manual elevator here) but then stopped because I had forgotten my umbrella. I was like, "Hm... It wasn't raining when I put my shoes on... But it is humid as if it wants to rain, and there are rain forecasts..." So I stopped being lazy and let the elevator go. And I opened the gate. Then I opened the door. I grabbed my umbrella, and I then left (after locking up the door... and then the gate).
When I got out of the apartment complex, I was very glad that I brought te umbrella. Because within the less-than-a-minute it took for me to get from my apartment to the lobby, it had started to rain. Heavily. Thank goodness for not being lazy!
Anyways, I found my way to the Tik Dah place. An since it was raining, there weren't many people. I was so lucky because this meant that I only had to wait an hour today! :)
Anyways, it's become a ritual. A dunk in the hot medicine. (Did I mention that there's steam that floats out from the pot? It's kind of like when you cook pasta. You turn the heat off and open the cover. After the lid's off, there's no more boiling water. But the liquid is still REALLY hot. Yeah.. Try putting your hand in that, and you'll know how much it hurts.) And then the hot-bean rub/massage, which I only today realized that I had forgotten to mention numerous times before. (Each time after the soak, the doctor takes a towel that's wrapped like a sack. In it are what feel like small beans or uncooked rice -- smooth and hard, but neither painful nor loud like rocks together. But he takes the loose sack of... whatever it is and rubs my hand with it. It's really hot. But after the dunk, my hand's usually a bit numb. So it's not as painful as it would be otherwise.) Then the hand massage. Then the herbal bandage.
He told me to come back tomorrow, and I went off on my way. I went to the Circle K (think Seven Eleven) next door and ordered a kind of quick-food meal set. It included fish ball/siu mai + "Cod Tofu"/Shanghai wontons + a hot drink. (You pick either the fish ball or siu mai, and you choose between the tofu and wontons.) So you get these three things for $14 (HKD). Which translates to about $1.75 American dollars. :)
Regular Hong Kong food is cheap but delicious. (Did I tell you? There's a noodle restaurant that I've mentioned a few times. I've eaten there three times because it's yummy and well-priced. You get a bowl of noodles and one side-choice for $15, and two side-choices with noodles is just $20. As the conversion rate is roughly $7.8 (HKD) for every American dollar, you spend either less than $2 or less than $3 (depending on your order) for each bowl of noodles. And the bowl is large -- not at all like normal dinner bowls. So it's a really good deal.)
In any case, I ordered the tofu and fish balls. And for the drink, I had Horlick's. :) It was a good little meal -- I always like the fish balls because they're soaked in a slightly spicy sauce, which I love. But the Horlicks was mediocre at best. I didn't mind that it scalded my tongue when I was just testing the temperature, but it wasn't mixed well. I finished it as I was walking back to the apartment. And I looked into the cup (through the hole in the lid), and there was the lumpy stuff at the bottom! Kinda like when you make hot cocoa, and packets of powder float around because the inside is still dry while the outside is wet (and this outside layer forms a shell around the dry powder, making it hard to dissolve it all properly). I was sad. But I got home and (after taking my shoes off and turning on the air conditioning, which was definitely a necessity -- I deliberately walked in the rain a little bit to cool off, but I was still hot) poured some Vitasoy (維他奶) into the cup. And then all was good.
But I stayed at home all afternoon, replying to Facebook and writing stuff. And Mom and LilBro finally got back at about 4, at which time I passed out from exhaustion. My mom also did this because a little while after I finally woke up, she took a nap of her own. And she snored, haha.
But we had dinner at 7:40. And I was very grumpy because I don't really like eating late. >:(
Oh well. And then it was off to Facebook again. (And you know what's sad? I'm not even done replying after a combined six hours. Am I really that slow?)
Anyways, I'll see you all later. :)
(And I might not be able to post tomorrow because I might be sleeping over at Aunt Kuen's. But we'll see, 'kay?)
LOVE, moi.
11:00 PM
June 22
This morning, I went to bed at 2 after finishing with some Facebook (although Wikki can contest to the fact that I started getting loopy with my posting). Anyways, this made me borderline-drunkard today. I was so ADD.
At 9:15, I woke to rather uncomfortable weather. I ate breakfast of siu mai and cheung fun, which was pretty nice. (Although the noodle didn't have enough sauce. And I'm not very used to eating this kind of food for breakfast. That's okay, I guess. I was happy, regardless of my preferences/customs.)
Anyways, Mom brought LilBro to the hospital for a check-up (after swine-flu discharge, they ask you to return in order to see how you're doing). So I walked to the Tik Dah doctor by myself, which was fine.
Funny (not as in "humorous") excerpt: I was dressed and ready, etc. Then I turned off the fan and went to put on my shoes. But as soon as I began putting my first foot into the shoe, I started to get a little sweaty at the top of my forehead -- it was THAT humid. So I was like, "Nuh-uh. No way." So I turned the fan back on and put my shoes on. And then I left.
Anyways, I left the apartment and got to the elevator. I opened the door (it's a manual elevator here) but then stopped because I had forgotten my umbrella. I was like, "Hm... It wasn't raining when I put my shoes on... But it is humid as if it wants to rain, and there are rain forecasts..." So I stopped being lazy and let the elevator go. And I opened the gate. Then I opened the door. I grabbed my umbrella, and I then left (after locking up the door... and then the gate).
When I got out of the apartment complex, I was very glad that I brought te umbrella. Because within the less-than-a-minute it took for me to get from my apartment to the lobby, it had started to rain. Heavily. Thank goodness for not being lazy!
Anyways, I found my way to the Tik Dah place. An since it was raining, there weren't many people. I was so lucky because this meant that I only had to wait an hour today! :)
Anyways, it's become a ritual. A dunk in the hot medicine. (Did I mention that there's steam that floats out from the pot? It's kind of like when you cook pasta. You turn the heat off and open the cover. After the lid's off, there's no more boiling water. But the liquid is still REALLY hot. Yeah.. Try putting your hand in that, and you'll know how much it hurts.) And then the hot-bean rub/massage, which I only today realized that I had forgotten to mention numerous times before. (Each time after the soak, the doctor takes a towel that's wrapped like a sack. In it are what feel like small beans or uncooked rice -- smooth and hard, but neither painful nor loud like rocks together. But he takes the loose sack of... whatever it is and rubs my hand with it. It's really hot. But after the dunk, my hand's usually a bit numb. So it's not as painful as it would be otherwise.) Then the hand massage. Then the herbal bandage.
He told me to come back tomorrow, and I went off on my way. I went to the Circle K (think Seven Eleven) next door and ordered a kind of quick-food meal set. It included fish ball/siu mai + "Cod Tofu"/Shanghai wontons + a hot drink. (You pick either the fish ball or siu mai, and you choose between the tofu and wontons.) So you get these three things for $14 (HKD). Which translates to about $1.75 American dollars. :)
Regular Hong Kong food is cheap but delicious. (Did I tell you? There's a noodle restaurant that I've mentioned a few times. I've eaten there three times because it's yummy and well-priced. You get a bowl of noodles and one side-choice for $15, and two side-choices with noodles is just $20. As the conversion rate is roughly $7.8 (HKD) for every American dollar, you spend either less than $2 or less than $3 (depending on your order) for each bowl of noodles. And the bowl is large -- not at all like normal dinner bowls. So it's a really good deal.)
In any case, I ordered the tofu and fish balls. And for the drink, I had Horlick's. :) It was a good little meal -- I always like the fish balls because they're soaked in a slightly spicy sauce, which I love. But the Horlicks was mediocre at best. I didn't mind that it scalded my tongue when I was just testing the temperature, but it wasn't mixed well. I finished it as I was walking back to the apartment. And I looked into the cup (through the hole in the lid), and there was the lumpy stuff at the bottom! Kinda like when you make hot cocoa, and packets of powder float around because the inside is still dry while the outside is wet (and this outside layer forms a shell around the dry powder, making it hard to dissolve it all properly). I was sad. But I got home and (after taking my shoes off and turning on the air conditioning, which was definitely a necessity -- I deliberately walked in the rain a little bit to cool off, but I was still hot) poured some Vitasoy (維他奶) into the cup. And then all was good.
But I stayed at home all afternoon, replying to Facebook and writing stuff. And Mom and LilBro finally got back at about 4, at which time I passed out from exhaustion. My mom also did this because a little while after I finally woke up, she took a nap of her own. And she snored, haha.
But we had dinner at 7:40. And I was very grumpy because I don't really like eating late. >:(
Oh well. And then it was off to Facebook again. (And you know what's sad? I'm not even done replying after a combined six hours. Am I really that slow?)
Anyways, I'll see you all later. :)
(And I might not be able to post tomorrow because I might be sleeping over at Aunt Kuen's. But we'll see, 'kay?)
LOVE, moi.
11:00 PM
June 22
Sunday, June 21, 2009
June 19, June 20, June 21
June 19th!!!
When I woke up, it was raining -- it was in between drizzle and regular rain. So I changed and went to Mass because it was the Feast of the Sacred Heart (of Jesus) with Mom and my brother. We went on the tram ("Ding Ding") to get to the place. We got off and walked to an apartment complex, which I thought odd. But then we got to the first floor, and we took our shoes off (because there were a few shoe racks right there) before walking to the right where a doorway sat. And we walked in.
Lo and behold, there was a huge L-shaped room with an altar in the vertex. So I was like, "Oh. Neat. A kinda homey feel?" (Don't worry, there was a priest and everything -- nothing blasphemous or weirdy/cult-like. It just felt kind of like ancient Roman Churching with all of those underground/secret Mass celebrations.)
Anyways, we left soon afterwards because I didn't feel well. So we rushed home, and there was a bit of an episode soon. Long story short, I ended up just sleeping most of the afternoon away because I felt so terrible. But I did wake up at about 4 to finish a Chinese opera (on VCD) which we had bought (because I was very interested in Chinese opera). They have very ornate costumes and makeup, and their singing is very unique. They also move very gracefully albeit dramatically. It was pretty good... except for the fact that I got really confused towards the end. And I also kinda fell asleep while being confused, so that definitely didn't help me.
But then we had dinner afterwards. We had a mango-jam loaf, raisin and walnut bread, and a hot dog pastry (okay. "We" means "my little brother" here because he loves any type of baked good which involves a hot dog wrapped in dough. But this one wasn't like the regular hot dog bun he has; it was flakier and kind of croissant-looking). Then my dad also bought some food from downstairs. I've mentioned this a few times, so I'll explain a bit more. It's called a "fan hap" (飯箱; "rice box"), and it's basically a ready-to-go meal. Rice is placed into a small styrofoam box while a dish of your choosing is placed into another box (they will usually put lettuce or some other greens in the bottom before putting the food into the box). The food is usually steamed, and you can also order soup and other assortments of food. It's certainly very convenient.
And then my parents went to Happy Valley to clean up the apartment (mop, dust, clean windows) so that they can put it on the market.
So I stayed at home, typing some more for my writing thing with Wiki.
Anyways, I was checking the weather forecast, and I must say. Pheee-ewwwwwwww, it's going to get bad. See, we're entering monsoon season. And the first typhoon's coming, so it's been really hot and humid. Like, especially hot and humid, which is kinda not fun. But I guess it's okay. It's a price I must pay!
----------------------
Okay, June 20.
I went to the Tik Dah doctor again. We used the lunch-to-pass-time method again, which seems fail-proof at this point because it worked yet again. But anyways! He said that there was a bit of improvement, and I agree! My finger's ligament has become a bit softer, which means that I can sraighten it a bit more. Also, I can actually bend it independently; it might only be a little (and honestly almost inconsequential in distance), but it's certainly an improvement!
This time, he used a more potent herbal liquid (it was usually deep-yellow in color, but it was brown this time. Plus, there was herbal debris(?) everywhere. It was odd. But, hey. If it helps, I'm not complaining). And it seemed hotter than normal this time. I couldn't keep my hand in it for more than two seconds at first. It took about eight minutes (def. not five, but not quite ten) to get used to it. Then he massaged it gently and wrapped it in more herbal paste to keep making the ligaments tender.
But afterwards, we came home. I checked the temperature, and it says that it was 91 degrees but felt like 104 degrees. (Current Temperature: 91 F. Feels Like: 104F.) WTG, man? Eh... monsoon season is probs. the worst thing ever. You walk out of your apartment doorway and into the hall. Before you know it, you're already sweating a little. But you think to yourself, "This is fine. I can bear it." And then you get out of the elevator, and you're like, "Wow. Humid. I might've lied." Thankfully, I've learned how to properly keep a brisk pace while not breaking out into a heavy sweat (a sheen of sweat is unavoidable at times like these -- even for natives whom you'd expect to have adapted accordingly). So I can walk quickly enough to get to my destination (and enjoy air conditioning while waiting for others to catch up) without passing out on the street. Thank the heavens.
Anyways, I got home, and then we went out for a walk after dinner. I toured the Causeway Bay library, which is huge. And really magnificent. And high -- I was scared after looking down from the seventh level (which isn't even the top floor). Eep. But it's a nice place, and I'd like to spend some time there... but I might not because I should probably be spending time experiencing Hong Kong, right? :/ Decisions, decisions...
Anyways, we then went to the nearby IKEA. And it was fun, especially since I'd never been to an IKEA store before. Nifty, etc. But it made me kinda long for my US friends because I knew that it'd be really fun if I had gone with them... I was a bit wistful...
After IKEA, we went to the "Bistro" that was co-joined to the store. My parents and brother ordered ice cream (other people were buying hot dogs and popcorn in addition to ice cream... even though it was 9:45). It was anything but expensive, but I was like, "Nope. It's too late for eating, really." Afterwards, we hit up the 24-hour Wellcome store and did some shopping. It was funny when I saw the bakery area. There were a lot of different things labeled "Western bread" -- donuts, buns, rolls, more. It was really funny because anything that didn't fit into the category of traditional Chinese baking was called "Western bread".
When I got back, I did some more writing on the computer. Which got in the way of Facebook and blogging. And I also fell asleep while typing, so that didn't help the whole updating-people-on-what-I'm-doing business. Gack, I'm such a failure sometimes. :(
----------------------
So, June 21! Happy was-Father's Day.
Yesterday morning, my parents woke me up at 9:15. Which is kind of ridiculous because I like to have an hour before the step-out-of-the-doorway time; that way, I can finish my morning rituals at a slow and comfortable pace. (Wake. Sit in bed for 15 minutes, waiting for my body to accustom itself to being active. Get up. Head towards the bathroom. Change clothes. Head to the kitchen. Eat breakfast. Place plates in the sink. Return to the bathroom. Brush my teeth. Wash my hair. Wash my face. Use facial products. Blow-dry my hair. Grab my gear and/or jacket. Put my shoes on. Leave the house.) But I had half an hour to accomplish my daily routine, which is ridiculous. (Plus, I was to take off the bandage with the herbal paste this morning, so that was extra time because I have to take it off and then let the skin dry. See, the paste leaves your hand pruned, yellow, and caked with herbal debris. So you have to let it dry before you can clean your hand of the yellowness.)
Anyways, I finished in 31 minutes, which I find admirable. (I might've been one minute past my deadline, but I still wasn't late for Mass! Mwaha, victory.) Somehow, I couldn't focus at all during Mass. Like, I had some major ADD going on, blagh! But it was nice.
And afterwards, we bought some conditioner (we ran out?) and foods at a nearby shop. Then my dad and brother headed back while my mom and I got some Indonesian food for lunch. (Shoot. I forgot to take pictures of this. Oh well... Don't feel too bad -- it wasn't particularly good this time because they don't have much selection on Sundays... or any other day that's not Monday.) We ordered some beef balls (again, note that it's just a ball of beef meat) in rice-vermicelli noodles ("mai fun"; 米粉). Then we also had some spicy fish and vegetables on rice. And they nicely gave us some some other fried, assorted food (spring roll, stuffed tofu, and a carrot hash brown). I have a suspicion that it's because my mom and I always say "Good morning" to her and converse with her when we pass. I found it very kind of her to do such a thing, and I was like, "Aw... Thank you!" It was very nice, indeed. I like her very much -- even more than I had before.
Anyways. We ate. And it was not particularly good, in all honesty (but certainly not bad. Just not... WOW). But it was different, so I'll call it an "experience." We also had some leftover bread from the morning -- (raisin) braided bread, Western bread (haha. It was more like garlic bread... except for the fact that the garlic was on the top crust instead of the inside), and some bread made with whole grains.
Then I got a call from my cousin Vivian asking me to meet her to do some shopping for the afternoon's BBQ (she lives on the highest living floor of her apartment. And above her (the roof) sits an area with a grill for outdoor barbeques). It was REALLY HOT, but I still went. So we bought some drinks the local Wellcome and brought it to her place, where her fiancé (this cousin's the one I mentioned in my post of June 14th) was already preparing. And we sat around to cool off and waited for some others to come and help with groceries. During this time, she played some music from a rather old (as in "back in the day") singer called "Vivian". I apparently used to love her songs, but I couldn't really remember her music as I listened to it (though I admit to finding one of them familiar). But then my cousin Hei Hei (Vivian's step-sister. She's younger than I am by one year) and my cousin-in-law Stanley (husband of Vivian's older sister, Ada) came. (And Stanley brought his nearly-one-year-old son Marcus.)
So Hei Hei, Vivian, and I headed out to meet Ada (Vivian's older sister; Hei-Hei's older step-sister), who was waiting downstairs. And so we headed to the 24-hour Wellcome (the one I went to the previous night. It's a bit far... like, 15/20 minutes away from where I live) to do some shopping of the food (like, meat and stuff). So we bought stuff, and all was well. Then Aunt Kuen called and said that she'd be at the Cuaseway Bay station (MTR) soon. So we waited for her at the exit at Times Square. (Causeway Bay station has many exits. So you have to know where you're going or you'll end up exiting from the wrong side. Thankfully, there are signs in Chinese and English that tell you of the landmarks near each exit. So it's hard to lose your way.)
And so we all walked to Vivian's place. And it was good. My mom and brother came at around 3, and my dad came at around 7 (he had a two-hour massage to help his muscles). And joining us was also Ada's hired maid, who cared for Marcus all night. (Because Marcus won't let anyone but Ada or her maid come near him. He cried when he had neither of them, the naughty boy.)
Anyways, all was fun. :)
Yay to life and family. And now I'm REALLY tired. And I haven't showered yet. So I'm going to go now. I need to shower, brush my teeth, wash my face, etc. And sleep.
So tired. I love you all.
12:34 AM
June 22
BTW. I forgot to mention. My cousin Vivian is marrying a Canadian, so I was talking to him in English (it's still easier to speak English, even though he's been in HK for so long). And I realized that I've been talking in Chinese for too(?) long. It became apparent to me because it felt odd to speak English. Like... slimy and foreign in my mouth. Maybe I just wasn't used to hearing my mouth speak in flat-out English after so long... Eh. Anyways, my typing is fine (I think). It was just odd, I guess... mainly because I found myself being self-conscious about accent and proper pronunciation (which usually comes naturally to me) as I spoke. How weird, indeed.
12:56 AM
June 22
When I woke up, it was raining -- it was in between drizzle and regular rain. So I changed and went to Mass because it was the Feast of the Sacred Heart (of Jesus) with Mom and my brother. We went on the tram ("Ding Ding") to get to the place. We got off and walked to an apartment complex, which I thought odd. But then we got to the first floor, and we took our shoes off (because there were a few shoe racks right there) before walking to the right where a doorway sat. And we walked in.
Lo and behold, there was a huge L-shaped room with an altar in the vertex. So I was like, "Oh. Neat. A kinda homey feel?" (Don't worry, there was a priest and everything -- nothing blasphemous or weirdy/cult-like. It just felt kind of like ancient Roman Churching with all of those underground/secret Mass celebrations.)
Anyways, we left soon afterwards because I didn't feel well. So we rushed home, and there was a bit of an episode soon. Long story short, I ended up just sleeping most of the afternoon away because I felt so terrible. But I did wake up at about 4 to finish a Chinese opera (on VCD) which we had bought (because I was very interested in Chinese opera). They have very ornate costumes and makeup, and their singing is very unique. They also move very gracefully albeit dramatically. It was pretty good... except for the fact that I got really confused towards the end. And I also kinda fell asleep while being confused, so that definitely didn't help me.
But then we had dinner afterwards. We had a mango-jam loaf, raisin and walnut bread, and a hot dog pastry (okay. "We" means "my little brother" here because he loves any type of baked good which involves a hot dog wrapped in dough. But this one wasn't like the regular hot dog bun he has; it was flakier and kind of croissant-looking). Then my dad also bought some food from downstairs. I've mentioned this a few times, so I'll explain a bit more. It's called a "fan hap" (飯箱; "rice box"), and it's basically a ready-to-go meal. Rice is placed into a small styrofoam box while a dish of your choosing is placed into another box (they will usually put lettuce or some other greens in the bottom before putting the food into the box). The food is usually steamed, and you can also order soup and other assortments of food. It's certainly very convenient.
And then my parents went to Happy Valley to clean up the apartment (mop, dust, clean windows) so that they can put it on the market.
So I stayed at home, typing some more for my writing thing with Wiki.
Anyways, I was checking the weather forecast, and I must say. Pheee-ewwwwwwww, it's going to get bad. See, we're entering monsoon season. And the first typhoon's coming, so it's been really hot and humid. Like, especially hot and humid, which is kinda not fun. But I guess it's okay. It's a price I must pay!
----------------------
Okay, June 20.
I went to the Tik Dah doctor again. We used the lunch-to-pass-time method again, which seems fail-proof at this point because it worked yet again. But anyways! He said that there was a bit of improvement, and I agree! My finger's ligament has become a bit softer, which means that I can sraighten it a bit more. Also, I can actually bend it independently; it might only be a little (and honestly almost inconsequential in distance), but it's certainly an improvement!
This time, he used a more potent herbal liquid (it was usually deep-yellow in color, but it was brown this time. Plus, there was herbal debris(?) everywhere. It was odd. But, hey. If it helps, I'm not complaining). And it seemed hotter than normal this time. I couldn't keep my hand in it for more than two seconds at first. It took about eight minutes (def. not five, but not quite ten) to get used to it. Then he massaged it gently and wrapped it in more herbal paste to keep making the ligaments tender.
But afterwards, we came home. I checked the temperature, and it says that it was 91 degrees but felt like 104 degrees. (Current Temperature: 91 F. Feels Like: 104F.) WTG, man? Eh... monsoon season is probs. the worst thing ever. You walk out of your apartment doorway and into the hall. Before you know it, you're already sweating a little. But you think to yourself, "This is fine. I can bear it." And then you get out of the elevator, and you're like, "Wow. Humid. I might've lied." Thankfully, I've learned how to properly keep a brisk pace while not breaking out into a heavy sweat (a sheen of sweat is unavoidable at times like these -- even for natives whom you'd expect to have adapted accordingly). So I can walk quickly enough to get to my destination (and enjoy air conditioning while waiting for others to catch up) without passing out on the street. Thank the heavens.
Anyways, I got home, and then we went out for a walk after dinner. I toured the Causeway Bay library, which is huge. And really magnificent. And high -- I was scared after looking down from the seventh level (which isn't even the top floor). Eep. But it's a nice place, and I'd like to spend some time there... but I might not because I should probably be spending time experiencing Hong Kong, right? :/ Decisions, decisions...
Anyways, we then went to the nearby IKEA. And it was fun, especially since I'd never been to an IKEA store before. Nifty, etc. But it made me kinda long for my US friends because I knew that it'd be really fun if I had gone with them... I was a bit wistful...
After IKEA, we went to the "Bistro" that was co-joined to the store. My parents and brother ordered ice cream (other people were buying hot dogs and popcorn in addition to ice cream... even though it was 9:45). It was anything but expensive, but I was like, "Nope. It's too late for eating, really." Afterwards, we hit up the 24-hour Wellcome store and did some shopping. It was funny when I saw the bakery area. There were a lot of different things labeled "Western bread" -- donuts, buns, rolls, more. It was really funny because anything that didn't fit into the category of traditional Chinese baking was called "Western bread".
When I got back, I did some more writing on the computer. Which got in the way of Facebook and blogging. And I also fell asleep while typing, so that didn't help the whole updating-people-on-what-I'm-doing business. Gack, I'm such a failure sometimes. :(
----------------------
So, June 21! Happy was-Father's Day.
Yesterday morning, my parents woke me up at 9:15. Which is kind of ridiculous because I like to have an hour before the step-out-of-the-doorway time; that way, I can finish my morning rituals at a slow and comfortable pace. (Wake. Sit in bed for 15 minutes, waiting for my body to accustom itself to being active. Get up. Head towards the bathroom. Change clothes. Head to the kitchen. Eat breakfast. Place plates in the sink. Return to the bathroom. Brush my teeth. Wash my hair. Wash my face. Use facial products. Blow-dry my hair. Grab my gear and/or jacket. Put my shoes on. Leave the house.) But I had half an hour to accomplish my daily routine, which is ridiculous. (Plus, I was to take off the bandage with the herbal paste this morning, so that was extra time because I have to take it off and then let the skin dry. See, the paste leaves your hand pruned, yellow, and caked with herbal debris. So you have to let it dry before you can clean your hand of the yellowness.)
Anyways, I finished in 31 minutes, which I find admirable. (I might've been one minute past my deadline, but I still wasn't late for Mass! Mwaha, victory.) Somehow, I couldn't focus at all during Mass. Like, I had some major ADD going on, blagh! But it was nice.
And afterwards, we bought some conditioner (we ran out?) and foods at a nearby shop. Then my dad and brother headed back while my mom and I got some Indonesian food for lunch. (Shoot. I forgot to take pictures of this. Oh well... Don't feel too bad -- it wasn't particularly good this time because they don't have much selection on Sundays... or any other day that's not Monday.) We ordered some beef balls (again, note that it's just a ball of beef meat) in rice-vermicelli noodles ("mai fun"; 米粉). Then we also had some spicy fish and vegetables on rice. And they nicely gave us some some other fried, assorted food (spring roll, stuffed tofu, and a carrot hash brown). I have a suspicion that it's because my mom and I always say "Good morning" to her and converse with her when we pass. I found it very kind of her to do such a thing, and I was like, "Aw... Thank you!" It was very nice, indeed. I like her very much -- even more than I had before.
Anyways. We ate. And it was not particularly good, in all honesty (but certainly not bad. Just not... WOW). But it was different, so I'll call it an "experience." We also had some leftover bread from the morning -- (raisin) braided bread, Western bread (haha. It was more like garlic bread... except for the fact that the garlic was on the top crust instead of the inside), and some bread made with whole grains.
Then I got a call from my cousin Vivian asking me to meet her to do some shopping for the afternoon's BBQ (she lives on the highest living floor of her apartment. And above her (the roof) sits an area with a grill for outdoor barbeques). It was REALLY HOT, but I still went. So we bought some drinks the local Wellcome and brought it to her place, where her fiancé (this cousin's the one I mentioned in my post of June 14th) was already preparing. And we sat around to cool off and waited for some others to come and help with groceries. During this time, she played some music from a rather old (as in "back in the day") singer called "Vivian". I apparently used to love her songs, but I couldn't really remember her music as I listened to it (though I admit to finding one of them familiar). But then my cousin Hei Hei (Vivian's step-sister. She's younger than I am by one year) and my cousin-in-law Stanley (husband of Vivian's older sister, Ada) came. (And Stanley brought his nearly-one-year-old son Marcus.)
So Hei Hei, Vivian, and I headed out to meet Ada (Vivian's older sister; Hei-Hei's older step-sister), who was waiting downstairs. And so we headed to the 24-hour Wellcome (the one I went to the previous night. It's a bit far... like, 15/20 minutes away from where I live) to do some shopping of the food (like, meat and stuff). So we bought stuff, and all was well. Then Aunt Kuen called and said that she'd be at the Cuaseway Bay station (MTR) soon. So we waited for her at the exit at Times Square. (Causeway Bay station has many exits. So you have to know where you're going or you'll end up exiting from the wrong side. Thankfully, there are signs in Chinese and English that tell you of the landmarks near each exit. So it's hard to lose your way.)
And so we all walked to Vivian's place. And it was good. My mom and brother came at around 3, and my dad came at around 7 (he had a two-hour massage to help his muscles). And joining us was also Ada's hired maid, who cared for Marcus all night. (Because Marcus won't let anyone but Ada or her maid come near him. He cried when he had neither of them, the naughty boy.)
Anyways, all was fun. :)
Yay to life and family. And now I'm REALLY tired. And I haven't showered yet. So I'm going to go now. I need to shower, brush my teeth, wash my face, etc. And sleep.
So tired. I love you all.
12:34 AM
June 22
BTW. I forgot to mention. My cousin Vivian is marrying a Canadian, so I was talking to him in English (it's still easier to speak English, even though he's been in HK for so long). And I realized that I've been talking in Chinese for too(?) long. It became apparent to me because it felt odd to speak English. Like... slimy and foreign in my mouth. Maybe I just wasn't used to hearing my mouth speak in flat-out English after so long... Eh. Anyways, my typing is fine (I think). It was just odd, I guess... mainly because I found myself being self-conscious about accent and proper pronunciation (which usually comes naturally to me) as I spoke. How weird, indeed.
12:56 AM
June 22
Friday, June 19, 2009
June 16, June 17, June 18
Okay. I'm really sorry. This falling-asleep-at-the-computer-and-therefore-not-posting-'til-later thing is unacceptable, borderline unforgivable.I'm really sorry, and I promise to keep trying to fix this problem!
----------
On June 16, I went to the bone-setter (bone-setting is a branch within the Chinese medical practice of Tik Dah) to see if we could help my left hand's ring and pinky fingers.** (I had come back to Hong Kong last winter, and Auntie Regina had asked if I wanted to try it because her own daughter, Agnes, had tried bone-setting and seen great results. However, I didn't have enough time to do it in the winter since I was only back for about two weeks. So she gave me some eucalypthol balm on the day I left, and I had tried it when I was in the States. I felt that it really did help, so my aunt took this as a good sign. And it is because of this reason -- and this reason alone -- that I am here in Hong Kong.)
So I went with my mom and got there at about 10:30. My aunt wasn't there yet because she had gotten into a car accident on the way there, so we had to wait. And we just waited, waited, waited. And they finally called us after a terribly long time (there are a lot of people who go to see them because they're honest, knowledgeable, and effective).
So I sat and waited for a diagnosis first. And he said that there's really no hope to fix my problem because my connective tissue has hardened over these years, so my finger can't really get better at this point. But my mom and aunt pushed because we had seen a little progress with the balm. He eventually relented and agreed to try some treatment even though he warned us that it might not work in my situation (this is not something that he feels he can really fix because it's not in his area of expertise).
So I soaked my hand in some off-the-stove medicine (liquid with herbs), which really (REALLY) hurt. So it kinda happened like this: dunking; lift and wince; dunk; lift and wince. This happened for a long time before I finally acclimated my hand to the severely hot stuff and could let my hand soak. Then the doctor wrapped my hand in a paste made of herbs and told me to take it off after 9 PM, at which time I would allow my hand to dry for at least 10 minutes after unbandaging. Then he told me to come back the following day.
After all of this, it was rather late in the afternoon. Since we hadn't eaten lunch yet, we went to lunch at a tofu-specialty restaurant.
Me: shitake mushroom and fish ball with flat noodles; (Dessert was) grass jelly (涼粉) and red bean with evaporated milk.
Auntie Regina: sweet tofu
Little Brother: [---] forgot
Mom: [---] forgot
Shared: "Lo Sui Tofu" ("Old Water Tofu", 老水豆腐) (Cec, spot-check?); fried tofu with fish paste
I enjoyed the "Lo Sui Tofu" a lot, and I'm glad I tried it. After lunch, we went clothes shopping because my brother (still) needed shorts. So we ended up finding some good pairs for him (and one for me).
Then it was already 3:45, so my mom had to go to my dad's office because they were going to see the apartment (the one mentioned in the post of June 9th. I'll call it "Siu Fei Toi" from now on). So my aunt walked with my brother and me to the apartment and stopped by the open-air market to buy some fruit. We ended up buying a fruit with thick (but soft) red coverings. You push the bottom of the fruit into the core so that the shell breaks, and then you peel the skin off. And then you eat the flesh of the fruit, which is very tender and milky-sweet. But you don't eat the seed. It was a fun and sweet experience.
But she left as soon as we got to the door of our apartment because she had to prepare dinner. So my brother and I just stayed at home. I fell asleep because I haven't slept (like, at all) these past few days. But I got up when my parents came back late, and then we ate a late dinner at about 8. Eeep. Then I passed out on the couch but woke at 10 to take my bandage off. The skin and fingernails of my hand turned yellow because of the herbs, but it was fine.
----------
June 17 was another busy day. I went to the Tik Dah doctor again. This time, we got there at about 10. And we waited for our turn until 12:30.
And so the doctor came to look at my hand. Nothing extraordinary happened, but I felt that the connective tissue had loosened a bit. So I had the hot-medicine dunk again, and then he bandaged my hand again. But this time, he used a more potent type of medicine (I think it was oil). It burned a bit, but it was fine.
Then lunch-time! We called my dad (who works very close to the clinic), and we had Viatnamese food at the Little Paris restaurant. We ordered tomato beef brisket (brisket (牛腩) refers to a cut of meat from the chest area) in moan (a type of Vietnamese noodles), curry beef brisket with rice, fried pork with rice (this is so uncreative that it's 100 percent apparent that my brother wanted this dish), and Vietnamese rice-paper rolls.
I love beef brisket, so I was happy with that. But I found that the tomato sauce was not at all delicious, and there was way too much of it (the sauce); it made the whole dish seems greasy, heavy, and wet (all at once). Then the curry was nothing special. And I didn't even try the prok rice because it made me sad just seeing it (why not try something else, little bro? Don't be boring). The rice-paper rolls were good, though (maybe I'm just partial because I love them).
Also, my dad ordered black sticky-rice in coconut milk (which I did not sample because people who do Chiense medicine are supposed to avoid sticky rice) while my mom and I got drinks (I got a mint jelly cooler, which was neither as interesting-tasting nor as WOW as I was expecting. And my mom had a mung-bean jelly in coconut milk, which was also a bit disappointing because it wasn't that good).
Overall, I was just not very impressed with the place. (And the service was rather meh. I understand that you have to be very quick when the lunch-time rush-hour arrives, but there was not reason to be so terse and borderline-rude.)After lunch, my dad went back to the office. And my brother, mom, and I went to Mei Foo. (Aunt K had called us earlier with news saying that she had come back from her trip from Mainland China with spoils for us -- a whole chicken and lychee bunches. She said that she's visit us on Thursday and bring the stuff, but my mom was like, "Nononono. Don't be silly. You go to Mei Foo on Wednesdays (to help my cousin clean the apartment. She does this at her place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays), so we'll just meet you there. We'll hang out with you guys in the afternoon, and we'll bring dumplings for dinner. Then we'll take the spoils with us when we leave.")
And it was lovely to see Sara and her kids again. :) It's exhausting to play with them, but it's very much worthwhile.
It doesn't sound like I did a lot, but it really was a busy day. By the time I got back, I was way too tired to function. So after drifting in and out of sleep for two hours, I took a shower and fell asleep.
----------
Yesterday, I went to the doctor again for the medical treatment. This time, we were smart; we took a chip and then called my dad (his office is very closeby). So we headed out for lunch at a noodle restaurant and ate. We had five bowls between the four of us.
The octopus balls (again, not testicles), fish-meat slices ("Yuu Pien", 魚片(Cec?)), veggie wontons, and fish-skin dumplings came in flat noodles and a different type of noodles (which resemble spaghetti in shape but are transluscent/white and chewier). Then we ordered a special: beef balls and cuttlefish balls (not testicles, again) with ground pork and pickled vegetables. It came in a noodle with sweet and spicy soup, which tasted good. But overall, the food was just okay. I enjoy eating these kinds of things, but they were honestly not that impressive.
But I got back to the doctor's at about 1:30, and there were still some of the people who were scheduled in front of us. So we waited for about half an hour before getting called. We did some more hand-dunking (I'm beginning to see a trend). Then he massaged my hand a bit before bandaging it in some herbs (I'm not allowed to unwrap it until tomorrow morning). And then he dismissed me and told me to come back on Saturday.
So my mom, my brother, and I went to the market after the appointment and bought some food for dinner.
And then I went home and started typing in this blog... But then I fell asleep after dinner, so I still didn't finish this entry until now. And now I'm going to hit "Publish Post". And hopefully, I'll be able to start daily-blogging again... (Please?)
P.S. On an excellent note for me, Lady Gaga's Paparazzi is the feature video for Dailymotion US; I noticed thist as I was going to the Dailymotion page in order to play some music as I typed. I can't watch it here because of copyright legality, which prevents it from being played anywhere outside of the States. But I had already watched it before I came here, so all's well. It was very exciting to see it being featured, even though the video is somewhat (very) (extremely) (unnecessarily) skanky. I admire her lots -- she's so drama and glam.
**For all who don't know, I jammed my left pinky and ring fingers in the long escalator at Hong Kong's Ocean Park when I was two. What happened was that my mom ran to push the emergency stop button, but it was a bit too late. They found me with my two fingers dangling from my hand, a tiny thread of flesh from the back of the hand keeping each finger attached to my hand. Incidentally, this is exactly why Hong Kong now uses "Please hold the handrail" signs on their escalators. But anyways, I was rushed to the hospital. And it was very lucky that they could save my two fingers (though I now have a scar on the back of my hand and at the base of my thumb from where they stole connective tissue to use on my fingers). (STORY: My cousin told me that my mom stayed by my side in the hospital for a few days before I told her that I was okay and that she should go home to rest. And my cousin also said that they were crying when they came to visit me, so I said to them in Chinese, "I'm okay. Look, look! I'm okay. Please don't cry." This is kinda cute for me to imagine because I was only two.)
My mom always tells me that I was really lucky to have my fingers back. But I had lots of therapy when I was young, and I remember always having to sit at home with this really hard (and smelly), green material that was reminiscent of Play-Doh. And my mom would always try to help me massage the ligaments (I think they're ligaments) in order to help extend them as much as I can. But when my brother was born, she became really busy and couldn't focus on my hand as much. (I think she feels a bit of regret whenever she talks about this, and I feel bad because I really should have remembered and not been a lazy child.)
Regardless, I have little strength in my fingers -- I can't straighten them, and I can't bend them (to make a fist). Which is why my friend called my finger "the retarded pinky". I've never minded people knowing or talking about it; I've gotten so used to it that I don't really notice it.
I love you all, and I'm sorry for being a butt-face about posting. :(
1:49 PM
June 19
----------
On June 16, I went to the bone-setter (bone-setting is a branch within the Chinese medical practice of Tik Dah) to see if we could help my left hand's ring and pinky fingers.** (I had come back to Hong Kong last winter, and Auntie Regina had asked if I wanted to try it because her own daughter, Agnes, had tried bone-setting and seen great results. However, I didn't have enough time to do it in the winter since I was only back for about two weeks. So she gave me some eucalypthol balm on the day I left, and I had tried it when I was in the States. I felt that it really did help, so my aunt took this as a good sign. And it is because of this reason -- and this reason alone -- that I am here in Hong Kong.)
So I went with my mom and got there at about 10:30. My aunt wasn't there yet because she had gotten into a car accident on the way there, so we had to wait. And we just waited, waited, waited. And they finally called us after a terribly long time (there are a lot of people who go to see them because they're honest, knowledgeable, and effective).
So I sat and waited for a diagnosis first. And he said that there's really no hope to fix my problem because my connective tissue has hardened over these years, so my finger can't really get better at this point. But my mom and aunt pushed because we had seen a little progress with the balm. He eventually relented and agreed to try some treatment even though he warned us that it might not work in my situation (this is not something that he feels he can really fix because it's not in his area of expertise).
So I soaked my hand in some off-the-stove medicine (liquid with herbs), which really (REALLY) hurt. So it kinda happened like this: dunking; lift and wince; dunk; lift and wince. This happened for a long time before I finally acclimated my hand to the severely hot stuff and could let my hand soak. Then the doctor wrapped my hand in a paste made of herbs and told me to take it off after 9 PM, at which time I would allow my hand to dry for at least 10 minutes after unbandaging. Then he told me to come back the following day.
After all of this, it was rather late in the afternoon. Since we hadn't eaten lunch yet, we went to lunch at a tofu-specialty restaurant.
Me: shitake mushroom and fish ball with flat noodles; (Dessert was) grass jelly (涼粉) and red bean with evaporated milk.
Auntie Regina: sweet tofu
Little Brother: [---] forgot
Mom: [---] forgot
Shared: "Lo Sui Tofu" ("Old Water Tofu", 老水豆腐) (Cec, spot-check?); fried tofu with fish paste
I enjoyed the "Lo Sui Tofu" a lot, and I'm glad I tried it. After lunch, we went clothes shopping because my brother (still) needed shorts. So we ended up finding some good pairs for him (and one for me).
Then it was already 3:45, so my mom had to go to my dad's office because they were going to see the apartment (the one mentioned in the post of June 9th. I'll call it "Siu Fei Toi" from now on). So my aunt walked with my brother and me to the apartment and stopped by the open-air market to buy some fruit. We ended up buying a fruit with thick (but soft) red coverings. You push the bottom of the fruit into the core so that the shell breaks, and then you peel the skin off. And then you eat the flesh of the fruit, which is very tender and milky-sweet. But you don't eat the seed. It was a fun and sweet experience.
But she left as soon as we got to the door of our apartment because she had to prepare dinner. So my brother and I just stayed at home. I fell asleep because I haven't slept (like, at all) these past few days. But I got up when my parents came back late, and then we ate a late dinner at about 8. Eeep. Then I passed out on the couch but woke at 10 to take my bandage off. The skin and fingernails of my hand turned yellow because of the herbs, but it was fine.
----------
June 17 was another busy day. I went to the Tik Dah doctor again. This time, we got there at about 10. And we waited for our turn until 12:30.
And so the doctor came to look at my hand. Nothing extraordinary happened, but I felt that the connective tissue had loosened a bit. So I had the hot-medicine dunk again, and then he bandaged my hand again. But this time, he used a more potent type of medicine (I think it was oil). It burned a bit, but it was fine.
Then lunch-time! We called my dad (who works very close to the clinic), and we had Viatnamese food at the Little Paris restaurant. We ordered tomato beef brisket (brisket (牛腩) refers to a cut of meat from the chest area) in moan (a type of Vietnamese noodles), curry beef brisket with rice, fried pork with rice (this is so uncreative that it's 100 percent apparent that my brother wanted this dish), and Vietnamese rice-paper rolls.
I love beef brisket, so I was happy with that. But I found that the tomato sauce was not at all delicious, and there was way too much of it (the sauce); it made the whole dish seems greasy, heavy, and wet (all at once). Then the curry was nothing special. And I didn't even try the prok rice because it made me sad just seeing it (why not try something else, little bro? Don't be boring). The rice-paper rolls were good, though (maybe I'm just partial because I love them).
Also, my dad ordered black sticky-rice in coconut milk (which I did not sample because people who do Chiense medicine are supposed to avoid sticky rice) while my mom and I got drinks (I got a mint jelly cooler, which was neither as interesting-tasting nor as WOW as I was expecting. And my mom had a mung-bean jelly in coconut milk, which was also a bit disappointing because it wasn't that good).
Overall, I was just not very impressed with the place. (And the service was rather meh. I understand that you have to be very quick when the lunch-time rush-hour arrives, but there was not reason to be so terse and borderline-rude.)After lunch, my dad went back to the office. And my brother, mom, and I went to Mei Foo. (Aunt K had called us earlier with news saying that she had come back from her trip from Mainland China with spoils for us -- a whole chicken and lychee bunches. She said that she's visit us on Thursday and bring the stuff, but my mom was like, "Nononono. Don't be silly. You go to Mei Foo on Wednesdays (to help my cousin clean the apartment. She does this at her place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays), so we'll just meet you there. We'll hang out with you guys in the afternoon, and we'll bring dumplings for dinner. Then we'll take the spoils with us when we leave.")
And it was lovely to see Sara and her kids again. :) It's exhausting to play with them, but it's very much worthwhile.
It doesn't sound like I did a lot, but it really was a busy day. By the time I got back, I was way too tired to function. So after drifting in and out of sleep for two hours, I took a shower and fell asleep.
----------
Yesterday, I went to the doctor again for the medical treatment. This time, we were smart; we took a chip and then called my dad (his office is very closeby). So we headed out for lunch at a noodle restaurant and ate. We had five bowls between the four of us.
The octopus balls (again, not testicles), fish-meat slices ("Yuu Pien", 魚片(Cec?)), veggie wontons, and fish-skin dumplings came in flat noodles and a different type of noodles (which resemble spaghetti in shape but are transluscent/white and chewier). Then we ordered a special: beef balls and cuttlefish balls (not testicles, again) with ground pork and pickled vegetables. It came in a noodle with sweet and spicy soup, which tasted good. But overall, the food was just okay. I enjoy eating these kinds of things, but they were honestly not that impressive.
But I got back to the doctor's at about 1:30, and there were still some of the people who were scheduled in front of us. So we waited for about half an hour before getting called. We did some more hand-dunking (I'm beginning to see a trend). Then he massaged my hand a bit before bandaging it in some herbs (I'm not allowed to unwrap it until tomorrow morning). And then he dismissed me and told me to come back on Saturday.
So my mom, my brother, and I went to the market after the appointment and bought some food for dinner.
And then I went home and started typing in this blog... But then I fell asleep after dinner, so I still didn't finish this entry until now. And now I'm going to hit "Publish Post". And hopefully, I'll be able to start daily-blogging again... (Please?)
P.S. On an excellent note for me, Lady Gaga's Paparazzi is the feature video for Dailymotion US; I noticed thist as I was going to the Dailymotion page in order to play some music as I typed. I can't watch it here because of copyright legality, which prevents it from being played anywhere outside of the States. But I had already watched it before I came here, so all's well. It was very exciting to see it being featured, even though the video is somewhat (very) (extremely) (unnecessarily) skanky. I admire her lots -- she's so drama and glam.
**For all who don't know, I jammed my left pinky and ring fingers in the long escalator at Hong Kong's Ocean Park when I was two. What happened was that my mom ran to push the emergency stop button, but it was a bit too late. They found me with my two fingers dangling from my hand, a tiny thread of flesh from the back of the hand keeping each finger attached to my hand. Incidentally, this is exactly why Hong Kong now uses "Please hold the handrail" signs on their escalators. But anyways, I was rushed to the hospital. And it was very lucky that they could save my two fingers (though I now have a scar on the back of my hand and at the base of my thumb from where they stole connective tissue to use on my fingers). (STORY: My cousin told me that my mom stayed by my side in the hospital for a few days before I told her that I was okay and that she should go home to rest. And my cousin also said that they were crying when they came to visit me, so I said to them in Chinese, "I'm okay. Look, look! I'm okay. Please don't cry." This is kinda cute for me to imagine because I was only two.)
My mom always tells me that I was really lucky to have my fingers back. But I had lots of therapy when I was young, and I remember always having to sit at home with this really hard (and smelly), green material that was reminiscent of Play-Doh. And my mom would always try to help me massage the ligaments (I think they're ligaments) in order to help extend them as much as I can. But when my brother was born, she became really busy and couldn't focus on my hand as much. (I think she feels a bit of regret whenever she talks about this, and I feel bad because I really should have remembered and not been a lazy child.)
Regardless, I have little strength in my fingers -- I can't straighten them, and I can't bend them (to make a fist). Which is why my friend called my finger "the retarded pinky". I've never minded people knowing or talking about it; I've gotten so used to it that I don't really notice it.
I love you all, and I'm sorry for being a butt-face about posting. :(
1:49 PM
June 19
Sunday, June 14, 2009
June 13, June 14
Okay. So I really suck at staying awake at night (and therefore never get around to publishing my posts)... But you forgive me, right?
----Saturday, Jun 13th----
I woke up at about 8 AM (because I've been typing 'til midnight/later lately). After breakfast, my mom's sister (my mom's the youngest of her immediate family; this aunt is the younger of her two older sisters. I will refer to her as "Aunt K" from now on*) came here to the apartment to do some cleaning. And afterwards, we had lots of yummy Japanese food. It was good, though parts of the meal were too salty (and soba noodle aren't as good as I had imagined they would be). After she was done, we walked to the apartment in Happy Valley (跑馬地) -- the one that my dad has but is not yet renovated. (This one where I am right now is in Causeway Bay (銅鑼灣).) And my dad was showing my aunt around the place as my mom talked about the renovations that needed to be done (I agree with destorying the wall between te kitchen and the den because the kitchen is WAY too narrow. It's about three feet across. Sadface. And then one of the bathrooms is too cramped. The door is half an inch away from the door when it (the door) is fully open. So you have to open the door, move into the bathroom, move to the right, close the door, and move back to the left before you can do your business.)
After that, we went to afternoon tea at this place in Happy Valley that is known for its thick toast. It's nothing remarkably special, but the toast is thick. This makes people really like it (especially my dad's side of the family because they love food). So we ordered a thick toast (厚多士) for my brother and me to try (though the five of us all shared). As I said, it's not especially good or anything -- just fun.
Then we went our separate ways (we came home and my aunt left for hers) and later had leftovers for dinner.
And afterwards, we went to look for some dish towels (because my mom doesn't like sponges). But I ended up finding a chain of clothes stores (five all in a row), so my dad and brother ditched while my (sleepy) mom accompanied me. I bought some loveliness, but I only got through three stores because my mom was getting tired/sleepy.
It was a fun day -- mainly because I love my aunt to pieces and because I love shopping (which means that I will def. need a job in college).
----Sunday, June 14th----
We went to Mass in Chai Wan (柴灣) in order to have a mini-reunion with my dad's side of the family. At the parish, we also incidentally met up with a lot of old-time friends (my parents'); it was nice to see people that were so happy to have us back in Hong Kong (even if I can't recognize most of them). (Also, a lot of them were like, "Omigoodness. You've changed a lot. I remember when you were young -- so fat and cute!" And one of them gave my brother and me each a red envelope with lucky money (紅包 with 利是/利事).)
I saw my grandmother, my dad's older brother (Uncle Francis) and his wife, and my dad's younger sister (Auntie Regina). And I also saw my cousins Martha and Charles (I remember that I used to want to be as tall as he is, but I'm not sure anymore. I'm quite happy at my average height).
We had Mass, and then we all kinda talked. Afterwards, my grandmother and my aunt (and her husband, who joined us after Mass) had lunch with us at the Happy Valley-place with the thick toast (my cousin Charles is learning to drive, so he drove us under the direction of my dad's older brother. Unfortunately, Charles, Martha, my uncle, and my aunt couldn't join us). Halfway into the meal, my cousin (mom's side) and her fiancé(!) came to join because they were close by.*
I ordered a pickle-omelette (I call it an omelette, but it's not really an omelette). Except that it also had Asian BBQ-style pork ("char siu", 叉燒) and ham in it, which they didn't tell us on the menu. This kinda saddened me, as I don't really like 叉燒 or ham. Also, the there were too was too much pickle in the egg, so it was extremely salty (there are many different kinds/flavors of Chinese pickle, but most of them are cut into either strips or small pieces. So it's not really like Western pickles, which are usually eaten whole or in dish-like slices). But the curry sauce that I had on the side was really good. My mom got a dish but asked for the black pepper sauce, which was also delicious (I tried some). I'll describe the dishes later when I post pictures.
But then we decided to walk to the Happy Valley apartment (AGAIN) to show my aunt and my cousin. But as soon as we walked out, it began pouring. (See, it was drizzling before we left. But as soon as we got to the curb, the the sound of raining got louder. So I looked behind me, and it was coming in sheets. And the next thing I knew was that I was soaked because the downpour had reached my location within the time it took to turn around.) So we all huddled in pairs (because we didn't have a sufficient amount of umbrellas), walking (but still getting wet). It was so bad that my grandmother and aunt (and her husband, obviously) decided to just get in their car and leave. So we said our farewells, and we just walked to the apartment with my cousin and future cousin-in-law.
So we got to the place, and they're just looking around, admiring and suggesting ideas for renovation (because it def. needs some things done). Then, we got a call from Auntie Regina and her husband saying that they'll come up as well since the rain finally died (this was half an hour later). So they also looked around and stuff. (Note: I never realized how funny this uncle is. Probs. because I don't really see much of my dad's side of the family. But he is quite funny, and it was refreshing to find out something new.) And then I got a call from Aunt K (this is the younger of my mom's two older sisters, remember?) asking if I wanted to eat dinner at her place in Tsing Yi (青衣). I agreed without hesitation (because I love her SO much) and told her that I'd go after hanging out with my aunt on my dad's side.
So my cousin eventually left for home (and her soon-to-be husband left with her). So the six of us (Auntie Regina and her husband, my dad, my mom, my brother, and me) went to my aunt's (via their fancy car). I'm not quite sure where they live, but it's really close to the Tai Koo (太古) station (for the MTR, or the Mass Transit Railway). And the house is very pretty. And they have two cats -- Baby (not shy) and Ginger (shy). I played with Baby a lot and eventually made her really annoyed by/bored of me. So she kept running away from me after the first fifteen minutes. And when I went to find Ginger, (s)he was in under my aunt's pillow in her bed. So I couldn't really see her/didn't want to find out (because I feared that a lightning-fast paw would wound me). And I also saw my cousins Agnes and Brian(?) (Cec, help me out here). But I only saw a glimpse of each one because they both left really soon after we arrived. But it was nice to just hang with my aunt and uncle because they're both really chill people.
At about 4:30, I left for Tsing Yi by taking the MTR. It was really funny because everyone was worried that I'd get lost. But you'd have to be blind/stupid/etc. to get lost on the MTR. Mainly because it's really straightforward (and in each station and the MTR itself, there are signs in both Chinese and English that direct you where you need to go). So I was like, "Puh-leeze. I've got this -- don' gimme that ish about getting lost." (But not really -- I generally don't talk like that.) So I went from Tai Koo to Tsing Yi. And all was lovely. After getting off at the Tsing Yi station, I walked towards the flower shop in Maritime Square (青衣城) (see, the station is on the third floor of Maritime Square, a shopping centre in Tsing Yi. So it's really cool to step off of the MTR and walk right into a mall. Plus, Maritime Square is a little over a mile from where my aunt lives). I bought some roses and some small bud-like things to go with them. And so I got them wrapped up in a small pink paper thing, and all was lovely. Then I walked to Serene Garden (海悅花園), and I got to my aunt's floor. Her door was open, but the gate was closed. I could see her (she was putting something away in the "attic" (it's actually just a long, narrow space above the hallway with about two feet of height. It's used for storage of miniature items like toilet paper and stuff), so I called out to her. But she didn't hear, so I let myself in. But I didn't want to scare her and have her fall off of the ladder on which she stood, so I just waited. I ended up scaring her anyways because she looked down to get off of the ladder and saw me in front of her. (Thankfully, she didn't take a tumble.) But I gave her the roses (because she loves roses. And also because I wasn't yet in Hong Kong when she had her birthday/retirement party in the winter of last year), and then we just sat around for a while. She told me she was surprised that I got to her apartment without help, but I've been to her home so many times that it'd be hard to forget. (Barring the winter of last year and this summer, I've lived at her apartment each time I've visited Hong Kong. It was always better than living for a month in a hotel because I love my aunt and her daughter Joey; they made coming home to Hong Kong even more wonderful.)
Then she went into the kitchen to cook dinner (she had already prepared everything), and her son (my sister and I dubbed this cousin "Zalulululu" for his English name) came home with his girlfriend to have dinner with us; my uncle, however, was working and couldn't make it.
Anyways, I watched as my aunt cooked and learned some new cooking, YAY! And then we ate. We had steamed fish: steamed vegetables; sweet and sour pork; steamed clams; tofu, mushrooms, and beef; and corn soup. There was a lot of food, so I packed some of the leftovers home (my aunt would never be able to eat all of the leftovers in one day).
After dinner and after cleaning up (though my aunt wouldn't let me wash the dishes because she believes that guests must always sit and relax. I disagree, but she still never lets me help out with anything), my aunt and I took the harbor-side route towards Maritime Square (to get to the Tsing Yi station). It was breezy, and the smell of the harbr was nice.
I got to the station and said my farewell to Aunt K, and then I headed home. All was good until I got to Causeway Bay. It had been good when I arrived at the station (I could see outside, and it was okay), but it was pouring by the time I finished ascending the stairwell to get outside. So I walked for about ten minutes in the pouring rain (and amidst lightning and thunder) before I got home. I called Aunt K to tell her I got back safely (because she was afraid I'd ge lost). And then I sat down on the couch (my bed) to type two days' worth of updates. But I fell asleep within a minute.
Albeit being wet and tired, I was happy for the lovely day I had.
*On a note of interest, did you know that "fiancé" refers to the future groom while "fiancée" refers to the future bride?
This kind of "-e" pattern also occurs in "brunet/brunette" and "blond/blonde".
Okay. I'll see you all later! (And I promise to post pictures?)
4:39 PM
June 15 (Happy Birthday, Denis!)
----Saturday, Jun 13th----
I woke up at about 8 AM (because I've been typing 'til midnight/later lately). After breakfast, my mom's sister (my mom's the youngest of her immediate family; this aunt is the younger of her two older sisters. I will refer to her as "Aunt K" from now on*) came here to the apartment to do some cleaning. And afterwards, we had lots of yummy Japanese food. It was good, though parts of the meal were too salty (and soba noodle aren't as good as I had imagined they would be). After she was done, we walked to the apartment in Happy Valley (跑馬地) -- the one that my dad has but is not yet renovated. (This one where I am right now is in Causeway Bay (銅鑼灣).) And my dad was showing my aunt around the place as my mom talked about the renovations that needed to be done (I agree with destorying the wall between te kitchen and the den because the kitchen is WAY too narrow. It's about three feet across. Sadface. And then one of the bathrooms is too cramped. The door is half an inch away from the door when it (the door) is fully open. So you have to open the door, move into the bathroom, move to the right, close the door, and move back to the left before you can do your business.)
After that, we went to afternoon tea at this place in Happy Valley that is known for its thick toast. It's nothing remarkably special, but the toast is thick. This makes people really like it (especially my dad's side of the family because they love food). So we ordered a thick toast (厚多士) for my brother and me to try (though the five of us all shared). As I said, it's not especially good or anything -- just fun.
Then we went our separate ways (we came home and my aunt left for hers) and later had leftovers for dinner.
And afterwards, we went to look for some dish towels (because my mom doesn't like sponges). But I ended up finding a chain of clothes stores (five all in a row), so my dad and brother ditched while my (sleepy) mom accompanied me. I bought some loveliness, but I only got through three stores because my mom was getting tired/sleepy.
It was a fun day -- mainly because I love my aunt to pieces and because I love shopping (which means that I will def. need a job in college).
----Sunday, June 14th----
We went to Mass in Chai Wan (柴灣) in order to have a mini-reunion with my dad's side of the family. At the parish, we also incidentally met up with a lot of old-time friends (my parents'); it was nice to see people that were so happy to have us back in Hong Kong (even if I can't recognize most of them). (Also, a lot of them were like, "Omigoodness. You've changed a lot. I remember when you were young -- so fat and cute!" And one of them gave my brother and me each a red envelope with lucky money (紅包 with 利是/利事).)
I saw my grandmother, my dad's older brother (Uncle Francis) and his wife, and my dad's younger sister (Auntie Regina). And I also saw my cousins Martha and Charles (I remember that I used to want to be as tall as he is, but I'm not sure anymore. I'm quite happy at my average height).
We had Mass, and then we all kinda talked. Afterwards, my grandmother and my aunt (and her husband, who joined us after Mass) had lunch with us at the Happy Valley-place with the thick toast (my cousin Charles is learning to drive, so he drove us under the direction of my dad's older brother. Unfortunately, Charles, Martha, my uncle, and my aunt couldn't join us). Halfway into the meal, my cousin (mom's side) and her fiancé(!) came to join because they were close by.*
I ordered a pickle-omelette (I call it an omelette, but it's not really an omelette). Except that it also had Asian BBQ-style pork ("char siu", 叉燒) and ham in it, which they didn't tell us on the menu. This kinda saddened me, as I don't really like 叉燒 or ham. Also, the there were too was too much pickle in the egg, so it was extremely salty (there are many different kinds/flavors of Chinese pickle, but most of them are cut into either strips or small pieces. So it's not really like Western pickles, which are usually eaten whole or in dish-like slices). But the curry sauce that I had on the side was really good. My mom got a dish but asked for the black pepper sauce, which was also delicious (I tried some). I'll describe the dishes later when I post pictures.
But then we decided to walk to the Happy Valley apartment (AGAIN) to show my aunt and my cousin. But as soon as we walked out, it began pouring. (See, it was drizzling before we left. But as soon as we got to the curb, the the sound of raining got louder. So I looked behind me, and it was coming in sheets. And the next thing I knew was that I was soaked because the downpour had reached my location within the time it took to turn around.) So we all huddled in pairs (because we didn't have a sufficient amount of umbrellas), walking (but still getting wet). It was so bad that my grandmother and aunt (and her husband, obviously) decided to just get in their car and leave. So we said our farewells, and we just walked to the apartment with my cousin and future cousin-in-law.
So we got to the place, and they're just looking around, admiring and suggesting ideas for renovation (because it def. needs some things done). Then, we got a call from Auntie Regina and her husband saying that they'll come up as well since the rain finally died (this was half an hour later). So they also looked around and stuff. (Note: I never realized how funny this uncle is. Probs. because I don't really see much of my dad's side of the family. But he is quite funny, and it was refreshing to find out something new.) And then I got a call from Aunt K (this is the younger of my mom's two older sisters, remember?) asking if I wanted to eat dinner at her place in Tsing Yi (青衣). I agreed without hesitation (because I love her SO much) and told her that I'd go after hanging out with my aunt on my dad's side.
So my cousin eventually left for home (and her soon-to-be husband left with her). So the six of us (Auntie Regina and her husband, my dad, my mom, my brother, and me) went to my aunt's (via their fancy car). I'm not quite sure where they live, but it's really close to the Tai Koo (太古) station (for the MTR, or the Mass Transit Railway). And the house is very pretty. And they have two cats -- Baby (not shy) and Ginger (shy). I played with Baby a lot and eventually made her really annoyed by/bored of me. So she kept running away from me after the first fifteen minutes. And when I went to find Ginger, (s)he was in under my aunt's pillow in her bed. So I couldn't really see her/didn't want to find out (because I feared that a lightning-fast paw would wound me). And I also saw my cousins Agnes and Brian(?) (Cec, help me out here). But I only saw a glimpse of each one because they both left really soon after we arrived. But it was nice to just hang with my aunt and uncle because they're both really chill people.
At about 4:30, I left for Tsing Yi by taking the MTR. It was really funny because everyone was worried that I'd get lost. But you'd have to be blind/stupid/etc. to get lost on the MTR. Mainly because it's really straightforward (and in each station and the MTR itself, there are signs in both Chinese and English that direct you where you need to go). So I was like, "Puh-leeze. I've got this -- don' gimme that ish about getting lost." (But not really -- I generally don't talk like that.) So I went from Tai Koo to Tsing Yi. And all was lovely. After getting off at the Tsing Yi station, I walked towards the flower shop in Maritime Square (青衣城) (see, the station is on the third floor of Maritime Square, a shopping centre in Tsing Yi. So it's really cool to step off of the MTR and walk right into a mall. Plus, Maritime Square is a little over a mile from where my aunt lives). I bought some roses and some small bud-like things to go with them. And so I got them wrapped up in a small pink paper thing, and all was lovely. Then I walked to Serene Garden (海悅花園), and I got to my aunt's floor. Her door was open, but the gate was closed. I could see her (she was putting something away in the "attic" (it's actually just a long, narrow space above the hallway with about two feet of height. It's used for storage of miniature items like toilet paper and stuff), so I called out to her. But she didn't hear, so I let myself in. But I didn't want to scare her and have her fall off of the ladder on which she stood, so I just waited. I ended up scaring her anyways because she looked down to get off of the ladder and saw me in front of her. (Thankfully, she didn't take a tumble.) But I gave her the roses (because she loves roses. And also because I wasn't yet in Hong Kong when she had her birthday/retirement party in the winter of last year), and then we just sat around for a while. She told me she was surprised that I got to her apartment without help, but I've been to her home so many times that it'd be hard to forget. (Barring the winter of last year and this summer, I've lived at her apartment each time I've visited Hong Kong. It was always better than living for a month in a hotel because I love my aunt and her daughter Joey; they made coming home to Hong Kong even more wonderful.)
Then she went into the kitchen to cook dinner (she had already prepared everything), and her son (my sister and I dubbed this cousin "Zalulululu" for his English name) came home with his girlfriend to have dinner with us; my uncle, however, was working and couldn't make it.
Anyways, I watched as my aunt cooked and learned some new cooking, YAY! And then we ate. We had steamed fish: steamed vegetables; sweet and sour pork; steamed clams; tofu, mushrooms, and beef; and corn soup. There was a lot of food, so I packed some of the leftovers home (my aunt would never be able to eat all of the leftovers in one day).
After dinner and after cleaning up (though my aunt wouldn't let me wash the dishes because she believes that guests must always sit and relax. I disagree, but she still never lets me help out with anything), my aunt and I took the harbor-side route towards Maritime Square (to get to the Tsing Yi station). It was breezy, and the smell of the harbr was nice.
I got to the station and said my farewell to Aunt K, and then I headed home. All was good until I got to Causeway Bay. It had been good when I arrived at the station (I could see outside, and it was okay), but it was pouring by the time I finished ascending the stairwell to get outside. So I walked for about ten minutes in the pouring rain (and amidst lightning and thunder) before I got home. I called Aunt K to tell her I got back safely (because she was afraid I'd ge lost). And then I sat down on the couch (my bed) to type two days' worth of updates. But I fell asleep within a minute.
Albeit being wet and tired, I was happy for the lovely day I had.
*On a note of interest, did you know that "fiancé" refers to the future groom while "fiancée" refers to the future bride?
This kind of "-e" pattern also occurs in "brunet/brunette" and "blond/blonde".
Okay. I'll see you all later! (And I promise to post pictures?)
4:39 PM
June 15 (Happy Birthday, Denis!)
Friday, June 12, 2009
6.12
What did I do today (technically yesterday)?
Well, I didn't wake in time for morning Mass, so my parents went without me.
But I just ate breakfast and then headed out to my dad's workplace because he wanted me to give him my mobile phone's SIM card. (I have to renew my subscription in three days). So my mom and I just chilled there for a while until it was suddenly lunchtime? So we went to eat some Chinese food (not the American kind!). We had steamed buns, steamed fish (with soy sauce, scallions, and ginger), steamed chicken (with scallions and ginger), steamed (for a long time) pork with Chinese pickle, beef shank, and noodles. It was good, as all of my meals have so far been. I will upload the(se) picture(s) later!
And then my mom and I headed to my cousin's since I had promised to come visit. See, the local case of swine flu caused all of the schools in HK to close for two weeks. So my cousin was like, "This is terrible." Mainly because her daughter is at that young age where she cries a lot and is really naughty (four). And then she also has to care for her younger son (two). So it's kinda stressful. So I promised to go over and entertain them.
So I did. And it was fun. At first, they didn't recognize me, but it's okay because I played with them. And then they were like, "Even if we don't remember, you're really cool. May we 'fly' again?" And my aunt was there as well because she helps to clean my cousin's apartment every so often (which she also does here at my dad's) because she doesn't want to spend her retirement in utter boredom. So I chilled with my aunt, my mom, my cousin, and the two little sprouts. And it was lovely. And then we had dinner together because my brother was hoping to have the hospital release him (this statement makes no sense until I explain it. See, the hospital took his blood daily and tested it for swine flu. If it came negative for three days straight, he'd be released. So yesterday was the last day, and we were just waiting for comfirmation. And my cousin lives in Mei Foo, which is where the hospital is. So we decided to eat dinner and wait for the phone call). In the middle of dinner, (tofu with mushrooms and carrots; pork; crab; pidgeon) we found out that he was clear to go. So we quickly finished eating and picked him up.
The first thing the brat (I say this teasingly) did upon discharge was complain about the humidity, haha. But I did miss him a lot, no matter how much complaining he does. So now he's at home. (Finally, after nine days.)
And that was my day. :)
Also, as a last note!
My friend (who knows of my current, freakish obsession with Lady Gaga, as does the whole world) told me that some people did a cha-cha routine to Poker Face. Intrigued, I did some Youtube searching for So You Think You Can Dance. And I ended up watching each routine of that night, as I obviously would. And here's my favorite -- I couldn't refrain from posting this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-aIYOiT17s. It's lovely.
If anything, the awe I feel when I watch people dance only inspires me to get up and move. I don't know if I could ever do anything really excellent like be on TV, but I don't care. I think dancing is for oneself. Which is why I've decided to def. take a course in college. :) It's just fun to get up and move, to not care about what others think. It's a lifestyle.
Well, I didn't wake in time for morning Mass, so my parents went without me.
But I just ate breakfast and then headed out to my dad's workplace because he wanted me to give him my mobile phone's SIM card. (I have to renew my subscription in three days). So my mom and I just chilled there for a while until it was suddenly lunchtime? So we went to eat some Chinese food (not the American kind!). We had steamed buns, steamed fish (with soy sauce, scallions, and ginger), steamed chicken (with scallions and ginger), steamed (for a long time) pork with Chinese pickle, beef shank, and noodles. It was good, as all of my meals have so far been. I will upload the(se) picture(s) later!
And then my mom and I headed to my cousin's since I had promised to come visit. See, the local case of swine flu caused all of the schools in HK to close for two weeks. So my cousin was like, "This is terrible." Mainly because her daughter is at that young age where she cries a lot and is really naughty (four). And then she also has to care for her younger son (two). So it's kinda stressful. So I promised to go over and entertain them.
So I did. And it was fun. At first, they didn't recognize me, but it's okay because I played with them. And then they were like, "Even if we don't remember, you're really cool. May we 'fly' again?" And my aunt was there as well because she helps to clean my cousin's apartment every so often (which she also does here at my dad's) because she doesn't want to spend her retirement in utter boredom. So I chilled with my aunt, my mom, my cousin, and the two little sprouts. And it was lovely. And then we had dinner together because my brother was hoping to have the hospital release him (this statement makes no sense until I explain it. See, the hospital took his blood daily and tested it for swine flu. If it came negative for three days straight, he'd be released. So yesterday was the last day, and we were just waiting for comfirmation. And my cousin lives in Mei Foo, which is where the hospital is. So we decided to eat dinner and wait for the phone call). In the middle of dinner, (tofu with mushrooms and carrots; pork; crab; pidgeon) we found out that he was clear to go. So we quickly finished eating and picked him up.
The first thing the brat (I say this teasingly) did upon discharge was complain about the humidity, haha. But I did miss him a lot, no matter how much complaining he does. So now he's at home. (Finally, after nine days.)
And that was my day. :)
Also, as a last note!
My friend (who knows of my current, freakish obsession with Lady Gaga, as does the whole world) told me that some people did a cha-cha routine to Poker Face. Intrigued, I did some Youtube searching for So You Think You Can Dance. And I ended up watching each routine of that night, as I obviously would. And here's my favorite -- I couldn't refrain from posting this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-aIYOiT17s. It's lovely.
If anything, the awe I feel when I watch people dance only inspires me to get up and move. I don't know if I could ever do anything really excellent like be on TV, but I don't care. I think dancing is for oneself. Which is why I've decided to def. take a course in college. :) It's just fun to get up and move, to not care about what others think. It's a lifestyle.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
6.11
Last night, I fell asleep (once again). So when I woke up, I found my laptop closed (which I never do), so I suspect that my dad probably turned it off on me when he got back from his 9 PM conference call with Europe and the States. (But he also deleted something that I was working on??? WTG, man.)
Anyways, an update! Two nights ago, I failed to mention that the school that I mentioned before (the one next to the church) had a suspected case of local swine flu. This is a bit alarming because the school is actually also right next to the apartment. (Oh. Suckage.)
And then, it was announced yesterday that it was indeed a case of swine flu (the first local case), so all schools are being shut down for two weeks.
But yesterday was really rainy. Like, HEAVY RAIN and occasional lightning/thunder. So right after Mass (as usual, I keep waking at 5:30 AM. So I go to Mass), my mom and I headed to the open-air market (but we chose the indoor one this time due to rain). But the indoor one wasn't open yet, so we went to the street one. And we got Chinese pickles, fish, water chestnuts, carrots, and other stuff whose English name I don't know.
For lunch, we had Indonesian food. We ordered Gado-Gado (cabbage, sprouts, cucumbers, and other greens in a peanut sauce served with rice and fried shrimp chips) and Indonesian fried rice. For drinks, we had black sticky rice in coconut milk, and green mung bean (绿豆; "green bean") with green mung bean jelly in coconut milk. Everything was really good (though the drinks made the whole meal feel a bit heavy). I am quite a fan of this food.
Then we came home. And my mom decided to go visit my brother for a video-chat like we had done the day before. But this time, my aunt also wanted to go. So I decided to stay home (only two people are allowed at the video-chat station at a time).
Then dinner came, and we had steamed fish with pickle and vegetables (fish in one dish, the vegetables in another). And the rest of the stuff we had bought today was used to make a special drink (it includes water chestnut, carrots, and two types of stems/roots. It's sweet, and it takes a little getting used to).
It was a good day, albeit a bit slow.
Hafta go, though. I promise to do my best to stay awake tonight so that I can update!
Love
9:30 AM
June 12
Anyways, an update! Two nights ago, I failed to mention that the school that I mentioned before (the one next to the church) had a suspected case of local swine flu. This is a bit alarming because the school is actually also right next to the apartment. (Oh. Suckage.)
And then, it was announced yesterday that it was indeed a case of swine flu (the first local case), so all schools are being shut down for two weeks.
But yesterday was really rainy. Like, HEAVY RAIN and occasional lightning/thunder. So right after Mass (as usual, I keep waking at 5:30 AM. So I go to Mass), my mom and I headed to the open-air market (but we chose the indoor one this time due to rain). But the indoor one wasn't open yet, so we went to the street one. And we got Chinese pickles, fish, water chestnuts, carrots, and other stuff whose English name I don't know.
For lunch, we had Indonesian food. We ordered Gado-Gado (cabbage, sprouts, cucumbers, and other greens in a peanut sauce served with rice and fried shrimp chips) and Indonesian fried rice. For drinks, we had black sticky rice in coconut milk, and green mung bean (绿豆; "green bean") with green mung bean jelly in coconut milk. Everything was really good (though the drinks made the whole meal feel a bit heavy). I am quite a fan of this food.
Then we came home. And my mom decided to go visit my brother for a video-chat like we had done the day before. But this time, my aunt also wanted to go. So I decided to stay home (only two people are allowed at the video-chat station at a time).
Then dinner came, and we had steamed fish with pickle and vegetables (fish in one dish, the vegetables in another). And the rest of the stuff we had bought today was used to make a special drink (it includes water chestnut, carrots, and two types of stems/roots. It's sweet, and it takes a little getting used to).
It was a good day, albeit a bit slow.
Hafta go, though. I promise to do my best to stay awake tonight so that I can update!
Love
9:30 AM
June 12
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
June 10
09.6.10
Last night, I was really tired. (Like I am now.) So what happened was that I passed out on the couch as soon as my dad kicked me out of the bedroom. And so I woke up at 5:30 today still in my clothes. And I was like, "I feel gross." So I immediately took a shower, which is lovely (because I always take cold showers here. As in the handle points as far towards "Cold" as it can. And it's such a nice feeling).
After my shower, early Mass again. Then my dad left for work, and my mom and I came home for breakfast. (For breakfast, I ate oatmeal... and two-thirds of a bag of Grill-a-Corn. Wow. That's not very healthy.)
After chilling a bit in the late morning, my mom and I headed down to the marketplace. First, we went to Jusco, which is basically a dollar store. (We bought chopsticks because I was not pleased with having only two pairs at home.)
Having perused for a while at the store, we were hungry. So instead of the original plans to have some Indonesian food (from downstairs, below the apartment), we just decided to stop at any restaurant that looked good. So we were walking along, looking at the places we were passing when my mom stopped and said, "Oh, I remember this place. They're famous for their wontons, which have whole shrimp in them." I looked into the restaurant and saw three people; two at one table and one at another. On each table was a big bowl of dumpling stuffing (shrimp, "wood ear" fungus (木耳; an edible type of tree fungus), ginger, pork, etc.), and the people were making dumplings right in front of us. (I felt embarrassed just looking at them make them because their dumplings' sizes each came within just a margin of difference. Mine usually range from large to small, from grotesque to even worse. It was very saddening to compare the beautiful dumplings that were leaving their hands to the ones that my hands make.)
And so we decided to go in, and I ordered "fish skin dumpling" (魚皮餃 is a dumpling that has a chewy outer wrapper made of flour and fish paste with a core of pork. It's very delicious) and wonton (which I was excited to try) with flat noodle (河粉). My mom ordered "water dumplings" (餃子 in Chinese; often likened to Japanese gyoza) in wonton noodles. Everything was really yummy, and I was very (very) happy. This is saying something, seeing as I usually hate wontons (and I hate wonton noodles. Period). I probs should have taken some pictures for you all to see... Sorry for my lack of thought before eating. (Although funny story: I accidentally added too much chili oil to my soup, so we had to order a soybean drink and a bowl of seaweed soup. Both were also delicious.)
Then we headed for the open-air street market.* And we shopped for tofu, pork (already chopped, etc. by the time it hits the stall -- no violent pig-killing in front of you), Chinese pickles, and winter melon (冬瓜).
Then we got back to the apartment, and we just relaxed for an hour or so. Then we went to the MTR station and rode to Mei Foo, where my brother sits in the hospital. We visited, video-chatting for a while. Then we left and did some last-minute, oh-I-forgot-to-buy-that grocery shopping. We got back home (my dad soon came home as well), and then we ate dinner.
Dinner comprised: steamed pickles and pork; tofu, winter melon, and beef balls (no, NOT "testicles". I mean that they take beef and ground it into a ball shape, which they then cook to retain its shape. Seriously, now). And we also had some leftovers (last night's papaya soup). It was very nice.
I am realizing that I should probs take WAY more pictures of the foods I'm eating just to show you guys. Sorry! I'll try to remember from now on!
*In case you haven't assumed yet, I'll explain about open-air street markets. Because of the many stalls with daily goods (from meats to veggies, all fresh) and great bargain prices, daily shopping becomes a general habit. Therefore, meals are usually variable (depends on the sale items of the day, etc.) but delicious (fresh food tastes like heaven clouds).
But fear not if you're a weekly grocery-shopper! You can usually also buy these kinds of goods in supermarkets, which usually offers a cleaner environment. However, it's more expensive to do so, and it's not as fun as experiencing the marketplace.
With that, I'm off because my eyelids are closing like crazy on me.
I'll check you guys later. And I promise to try to get those history lessons done!
Last night, I was really tired. (Like I am now.) So what happened was that I passed out on the couch as soon as my dad kicked me out of the bedroom. And so I woke up at 5:30 today still in my clothes. And I was like, "I feel gross." So I immediately took a shower, which is lovely (because I always take cold showers here. As in the handle points as far towards "Cold" as it can. And it's such a nice feeling).
After my shower, early Mass again. Then my dad left for work, and my mom and I came home for breakfast. (For breakfast, I ate oatmeal... and two-thirds of a bag of Grill-a-Corn. Wow. That's not very healthy.)
After chilling a bit in the late morning, my mom and I headed down to the marketplace. First, we went to Jusco, which is basically a dollar store. (We bought chopsticks because I was not pleased with having only two pairs at home.)
Having perused for a while at the store, we were hungry. So instead of the original plans to have some Indonesian food (from downstairs, below the apartment), we just decided to stop at any restaurant that looked good. So we were walking along, looking at the places we were passing when my mom stopped and said, "Oh, I remember this place. They're famous for their wontons, which have whole shrimp in them." I looked into the restaurant and saw three people; two at one table and one at another. On each table was a big bowl of dumpling stuffing (shrimp, "wood ear" fungus (木耳; an edible type of tree fungus), ginger, pork, etc.), and the people were making dumplings right in front of us. (I felt embarrassed just looking at them make them because their dumplings' sizes each came within just a margin of difference. Mine usually range from large to small, from grotesque to even worse. It was very saddening to compare the beautiful dumplings that were leaving their hands to the ones that my hands make.)
And so we decided to go in, and I ordered "fish skin dumpling" (魚皮餃 is a dumpling that has a chewy outer wrapper made of flour and fish paste with a core of pork. It's very delicious) and wonton (which I was excited to try) with flat noodle (河粉). My mom ordered "water dumplings" (餃子 in Chinese; often likened to Japanese gyoza) in wonton noodles. Everything was really yummy, and I was very (very) happy. This is saying something, seeing as I usually hate wontons (and I hate wonton noodles. Period). I probs should have taken some pictures for you all to see... Sorry for my lack of thought before eating. (Although funny story: I accidentally added too much chili oil to my soup, so we had to order a soybean drink and a bowl of seaweed soup. Both were also delicious.)
Then we headed for the open-air street market.* And we shopped for tofu, pork (already chopped, etc. by the time it hits the stall -- no violent pig-killing in front of you), Chinese pickles, and winter melon (冬瓜).
Then we got back to the apartment, and we just relaxed for an hour or so. Then we went to the MTR station and rode to Mei Foo, where my brother sits in the hospital. We visited, video-chatting for a while. Then we left and did some last-minute, oh-I-forgot-to-buy-that grocery shopping. We got back home (my dad soon came home as well), and then we ate dinner.
Dinner comprised: steamed pickles and pork; tofu, winter melon, and beef balls (no, NOT "testicles". I mean that they take beef and ground it into a ball shape, which they then cook to retain its shape. Seriously, now). And we also had some leftovers (last night's papaya soup). It was very nice.
I am realizing that I should probs take WAY more pictures of the foods I'm eating just to show you guys. Sorry! I'll try to remember from now on!
*In case you haven't assumed yet, I'll explain about open-air street markets. Because of the many stalls with daily goods (from meats to veggies, all fresh) and great bargain prices, daily shopping becomes a general habit. Therefore, meals are usually variable (depends on the sale items of the day, etc.) but delicious (fresh food tastes like heaven clouds).
But fear not if you're a weekly grocery-shopper! You can usually also buy these kinds of goods in supermarkets, which usually offers a cleaner environment. However, it's more expensive to do so, and it's not as fun as experiencing the marketplace.
With that, I'm off because my eyelids are closing like crazy on me.
I'll check you guys later. And I promise to try to get those history lessons done!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
PHOTOS!!! 6.6
Some more photos, all from my June 6 photo-shoot. :)
Hong Kong has a very tropical feel to it, from humidity to flora. These are ficus elastica (India-Rubber Trees).
Right below the apartment, there are little street-side(ish) stores.
We bought lunches and dinners at this restaurant below the apartment (literally below the apartment) for a long time because we were in mild quarantine. I mentioned this place in one of my posts, I think.
NOMS.
Fried fish skin. It's usually yummy. Except this one was tomato-flavored. So it was a definite no-repeats.
Hong Kong has a very tropical feel to it, from humidity to flora. These are ficus elastica (India-Rubber Trees).
Right below the apartment, there are little street-side(ish) stores.
We bought lunches and dinners at this restaurant below the apartment (literally below the apartment) for a long time because we were in mild quarantine. I mentioned this place in one of my posts, I think.
NOMS.
Fried fish skin. It's usually yummy. Except this one was tomato-flavored. So it was a definite no-repeats.
PHOTOS! 6.2 - 6.6
I have really good connection right now! Time to post some photos!
So. June 2 at Logan Airport! It's a really cool reflective thing that they have here. I thought it was photo-worthy.
June 3 evening! I just got off the plane, and I was in the subway. They gave us masks to wear because all of the cases of Swine Flu were all imported from abroad. Hong Kong is taking no chances with visitors. Doesn't it look sinister?
June 4. I unpacked my clothing. I have this habit where I don't like to fold clothes -- it gives them creases in odd places. So I roll clothes instead. :)
June 5. Golden Kiwi!
June 6. Near Happy Valley (where there's a race course), there's a path for horses to walk to and from the stadium. :) It's a neat walkway that I had never noticed before.
So. June 2 at Logan Airport! It's a really cool reflective thing that they have here. I thought it was photo-worthy.
June 3 evening! I just got off the plane, and I was in the subway. They gave us masks to wear because all of the cases of Swine Flu were all imported from abroad. Hong Kong is taking no chances with visitors. Doesn't it look sinister?
June 4. I unpacked my clothing. I have this habit where I don't like to fold clothes -- it gives them creases in odd places. So I roll clothes instead. :)
June 5. Golden Kiwi!
June 6. Near Happy Valley (where there's a race course), there's a path for horses to walk to and from the stadium. :) It's a neat walkway that I had never noticed before.
09.6.8 and 09.6.9 Recap
Necesito escribir esto antes de que me duerma.
So I was def. too tired to type last night -- fact.
And I'm dying even as we speak/as I type this -- also a fact.
But I can't just skip two days of blogging, right? That'd be purely unethical.
So June 8, 2009. Recap!
I woke at 5:30 AM (again. It's a pattern -- can you see?), so we all went to early-morning Mass. We left at around 6:30, and the streets were just so quiet and calm. And it felt very nice to see a side of HK that often goes unappreciated. But we got to the church, and all was good. There were lots of nuns there, and it was fun(ny) to see so much white white at once. But we stayed at the church for a bit after Mass to just pray. So we did... except for the part where I felt faint and had to go outside. (I had only taken a Yakult before Mass, which would explain things; Yakult comes in very small bottles. VERY small bottles.) But I went outside to the Mary statue, and it was really nice. It's in this courtyard with a large yard behind it, and people (I assume) left flowers and stuff around the statue as a way of decorating the place. And there were also birds in the yard, and it was a bit breezy (and still cool because the sun wasn't really up yet). It was just a happy time.
Oh, I forgot! Thanks to feeling like passing out, I realized that there's a school right next to the church. See, I was in the courtyard, chilling. And then I hear all of these voices, and I look behind me. And there is this long line of little girls in their uniform, and they're going into the school gate not too far from where I'm sitting. And I was like, "Oh, yay! Traditional schoolkids in uniform! I feel so Asian..."
But afterwards, we went to Fairwood (大快_ . I'm don't know the last character... sorry.) for breakast. The way this restaurant is set up is really neat. You go up the stairs, and you see the whole menu as soon as you get to the top. Then you go to the person at the counter right in front of the stairs, and you give (usually female) her your order. Then you get in line at the food area, and they give you what you ordered. And it's all very good. :)
After breakfast, we went to the clinic. And they were like, "Okay. Jolly good. You've taken the pill daily at this clinic for the past few days, so we're giving you the rest of your dosage to take daily at home now." So they handed off a plastic bag with five individually packaged pills. And I'm happy because I can just take the silly little things at home -- no need to trek around to get my daily dose.
And then it was time to get my little brother's visa. So we headed towards the tower of immigration/visas. But we stopped to buy some nom-noms. Namely, a slice green tea-red bean mousse cake (pretty good) and a slice of black sesame mousse cake (pretty good). We ate it, and then we continued on our journey. We went into the tower, and they were like, "'Kay. Cool. We'll call you up in a sec." So... ten minutes later, they call us up to get the visa. And all is happy. (Though it's funny. They were like, "This child now has a visa. But he has to leave the country and come back once in order to validate it." WTG? But I think we're just gonna take him to Macau and ship him back. And then everyone will be pleased.) And on the way out, we also grab HK Identity Card registration forms because both my brother and I need to renew ours soon. Just saying.
Then it was off home, but we passed the Tai Yuen Street Market (Cec, correct me if I'm wrong) (we call it 玩具街, which means "Toy Street"). So we (by "we", I mean "I") OBVIOUSLY couldn't just pass without poking around. So I kinda made my parents stop and let me peruse and just look around the open-air market of goodies (from clothes to shoes, from toys to food, etc.). It was an excellent time. :) But I'm not done yet. I really only just did a quick glance here and there because I didn't want my parents to be like, "SJFSDKJFDS. Are you done yet?" So I'm going to return later. Def.
Ah, we also went to Sogo, which is a shopping building. Think of, like, 10 whole floors of shopping. And these stores are mainly upscale/brand-name. So it's nice... as well as very moneymoneymoney. o_0 But I saw something that really did pique my interest, so I must return later to obtain said item.
Finally, we got back to the apartment at, like, 1 PM. And we were like, "Lunch-time!" So we ate some oatmeal and bread that we had bought: Japanese cheese bread(stick) (meh), raisin-almond bread with a pineapple-crust top (okay), and a green tea-red bean paste loaf with pineapple-crust top (yum). It was a happy time.
Then I spent all afternoon loading Facebook pages and replying to people. And then we had din-din. And after a bit of post-dinner news, I fell asleep. Which is why I didn't post anything yesterday. Sorry!
---------------------------------------------------------
June 9, 2009
Today, my mom woke me up at 5:30 AM to ask if I wanted to go to Mass. And I was like, "Eurghhhhhhhh. I am asleep." But I was like, "Ah... Whatever. Might as well just get up." So I went to Mass. And became sleep-deprived. Which is why I'm dying as I'm typing this.
Um. After Mass, my dad had to leave for work (seeing as we are no longer in quarantine, he's not working at home anymore). So my mom and I headed back to the apartment. And we had yummy food: noodles, siu mai, and some odd kind of dumpling (but it was yummy. It had a thick, translucent wrapper, and it was filled with water chestnut, meat, and some other lugume-ish stuff). My mom also ordered pork blood congee. (Congee's like rice porridge. And pork blood usually comes in cubes because it kind of holds together when cooked. Yeah. So imagine really watery rice with cubes of violet-maroon cubes.)
But we just sat in the apartment for a bit. It was kind of humid today, so my mom was just trying to relax a bit. And then we decided to buy some groceries before it rained (which it did yesterday. And today. And is predicted to happen for the next few days).
So we headed out to the open-air market (grocery-style street vending this time). And it was fun to do the kind of shopping that I always associate with Hong Kong.
We bought some ex-live fish from the seafood stall. (WARNING. Graphic decription ahead.) See, they take the fish and smack it a few times with the flat of the butcher's kinfe in order to kinda knock it unconscious. But a few smacks aren't enough. So you watch as the fish goes (and it's still kinda flopping on the wooden chopping board that is red with the blood of other fish. And it's opening its mouth, and its gills are struggling to get some oxygen. And it's sad) and gets chopped. They chop and make gashes just behind the head (for easy eating later) and de-scale the fish with a meat tenderizer. The scales come flying off, and the next thing you see is slit after slit going into the fish -- the side, the belly, etc. And there's blood flowing onto the board as the still-squirming fish gets de-skinned and disassembled (take the organs out, cut it into distinct parts: head, left side, right side, middle-end, tail). Though bloody and terrible for children to watch (apparently, my brother cried the first time he saw a frog get killed at the market), it's all done with skill and proficiency. Mainly because of the amount of times they've had to do this.
Watching the eel's death was probably an even better testament to the skill that is necessary. (Once again, here's a warning: GRAPHIC ANIMAL VIOLENCE AHEAD.) They take the eel out of the water. They smack the eel with the butcher's knife (I don't know how much the smacking really does because the fish and eels -- and probably all other animals, in that case -- are still very much alive and moving). Chop, the eel's head is chopped just right so that there's a bit of flesh holding the eel's head to the body (think of Nearly-Headless Nick). Then they take what looks like a big nail with a wooden handle, and they drive it into the tail of the eel. (Do eels have tails? Is it just a body?) And they use the flat of the knife like a hammer to secure the "nail" into the cutting board. And then they grab the eel's head and pull the body straight. Then they grab a thinner, sleeker knife. Srcshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. There it goes, slitting the eel open and allowing the person to open the eel up. They unfold the eel (there's no other way to really describe it) and take the butchers knife to make a horizontal cut lengthwise. And so the whole spine (I assume it was the spine, but it was all so RED that I can't really be sure) comes neatly out of the eel. Then they take the "nail" out. And then, they bag it for you. There you go -- one strip of eel-flesh for your enjoyment. (I felt queasy as I watched this. This is why I wanted to be a vegetarian.)
Anyways. My mom and I then went to Wellcome for some more groceries. And all was happy.
At 5 PM, we went to my dad's office. And we all got together to look at an apartment that my parents might get (if they like this one enough, they might choose this one over the previously mentioned one. It'd be a hassle to deal with the paperwork, seeing as they already signed on the other one. But they decided this).
It was nice. Some parts of the design were silly and impractical, so my parents are thinking that they'll knock a few walls down and have other stuff done. But it's nice -- it's got a good view, and it's in a quiet neighborhood. I approve.
But we got back at 7:15 PM, and I was so tired (since my mom woke me up at 5:30) that I just passed out on my bed/the couch. And so they woke me at 8 PM for dinner. And we had yummy re-stuffed fish (fish paste stuffed back into the fish before frying), steamed fish paste-tofu (although there was too much cilantro in it tonight), and papaya soup. It was yummy.
And then I passed out again. And woke to type this. And now my dad's yelling at me to get off so that they can sleep. So I'll ttly?
Love.
11:14 PM
09.6.9
So I was def. too tired to type last night -- fact.
And I'm dying even as we speak/as I type this -- also a fact.
But I can't just skip two days of blogging, right? That'd be purely unethical.
So June 8, 2009. Recap!
I woke at 5:30 AM (again. It's a pattern -- can you see?), so we all went to early-morning Mass. We left at around 6:30, and the streets were just so quiet and calm. And it felt very nice to see a side of HK that often goes unappreciated. But we got to the church, and all was good. There were lots of nuns there, and it was fun(ny) to see so much white white at once. But we stayed at the church for a bit after Mass to just pray. So we did... except for the part where I felt faint and had to go outside. (I had only taken a Yakult before Mass, which would explain things; Yakult comes in very small bottles. VERY small bottles.) But I went outside to the Mary statue, and it was really nice. It's in this courtyard with a large yard behind it, and people (I assume) left flowers and stuff around the statue as a way of decorating the place. And there were also birds in the yard, and it was a bit breezy (and still cool because the sun wasn't really up yet). It was just a happy time.
Oh, I forgot! Thanks to feeling like passing out, I realized that there's a school right next to the church. See, I was in the courtyard, chilling. And then I hear all of these voices, and I look behind me. And there is this long line of little girls in their uniform, and they're going into the school gate not too far from where I'm sitting. And I was like, "Oh, yay! Traditional schoolkids in uniform! I feel so Asian..."
But afterwards, we went to Fairwood (大快_ . I'm don't know the last character... sorry.) for breakast. The way this restaurant is set up is really neat. You go up the stairs, and you see the whole menu as soon as you get to the top. Then you go to the person at the counter right in front of the stairs, and you give (usually female) her your order. Then you get in line at the food area, and they give you what you ordered. And it's all very good. :)
After breakfast, we went to the clinic. And they were like, "Okay. Jolly good. You've taken the pill daily at this clinic for the past few days, so we're giving you the rest of your dosage to take daily at home now." So they handed off a plastic bag with five individually packaged pills. And I'm happy because I can just take the silly little things at home -- no need to trek around to get my daily dose.
And then it was time to get my little brother's visa. So we headed towards the tower of immigration/visas. But we stopped to buy some nom-noms. Namely, a slice green tea-red bean mousse cake (pretty good) and a slice of black sesame mousse cake (pretty good). We ate it, and then we continued on our journey. We went into the tower, and they were like, "'Kay. Cool. We'll call you up in a sec." So... ten minutes later, they call us up to get the visa. And all is happy. (Though it's funny. They were like, "This child now has a visa. But he has to leave the country and come back once in order to validate it." WTG? But I think we're just gonna take him to Macau and ship him back. And then everyone will be pleased.) And on the way out, we also grab HK Identity Card registration forms because both my brother and I need to renew ours soon. Just saying.
Then it was off home, but we passed the Tai Yuen Street Market (Cec, correct me if I'm wrong) (we call it 玩具街, which means "Toy Street"). So we (by "we", I mean "I") OBVIOUSLY couldn't just pass without poking around. So I kinda made my parents stop and let me peruse and just look around the open-air market of goodies (from clothes to shoes, from toys to food, etc.). It was an excellent time. :) But I'm not done yet. I really only just did a quick glance here and there because I didn't want my parents to be like, "SJFSDKJFDS. Are you done yet?" So I'm going to return later. Def.
Ah, we also went to Sogo, which is a shopping building. Think of, like, 10 whole floors of shopping. And these stores are mainly upscale/brand-name. So it's nice... as well as very moneymoneymoney. o_0 But I saw something that really did pique my interest, so I must return later to obtain said item.
Finally, we got back to the apartment at, like, 1 PM. And we were like, "Lunch-time!" So we ate some oatmeal and bread that we had bought: Japanese cheese bread(stick) (meh), raisin-almond bread with a pineapple-crust top (okay), and a green tea-red bean paste loaf with pineapple-crust top (yum). It was a happy time.
Then I spent all afternoon loading Facebook pages and replying to people. And then we had din-din. And after a bit of post-dinner news, I fell asleep. Which is why I didn't post anything yesterday. Sorry!
---------------------------------------------------------
June 9, 2009
Today, my mom woke me up at 5:30 AM to ask if I wanted to go to Mass. And I was like, "Eurghhhhhhhh. I am asleep." But I was like, "Ah... Whatever. Might as well just get up." So I went to Mass. And became sleep-deprived. Which is why I'm dying as I'm typing this.
Um. After Mass, my dad had to leave for work (seeing as we are no longer in quarantine, he's not working at home anymore). So my mom and I headed back to the apartment. And we had yummy food: noodles, siu mai, and some odd kind of dumpling (but it was yummy. It had a thick, translucent wrapper, and it was filled with water chestnut, meat, and some other lugume-ish stuff). My mom also ordered pork blood congee. (Congee's like rice porridge. And pork blood usually comes in cubes because it kind of holds together when cooked. Yeah. So imagine really watery rice with cubes of violet-maroon cubes.)
But we just sat in the apartment for a bit. It was kind of humid today, so my mom was just trying to relax a bit. And then we decided to buy some groceries before it rained (which it did yesterday. And today. And is predicted to happen for the next few days).
So we headed out to the open-air market (grocery-style street vending this time). And it was fun to do the kind of shopping that I always associate with Hong Kong.
We bought some ex-live fish from the seafood stall. (WARNING. Graphic decription ahead.) See, they take the fish and smack it a few times with the flat of the butcher's kinfe in order to kinda knock it unconscious. But a few smacks aren't enough. So you watch as the fish goes (and it's still kinda flopping on the wooden chopping board that is red with the blood of other fish. And it's opening its mouth, and its gills are struggling to get some oxygen. And it's sad) and gets chopped. They chop and make gashes just behind the head (for easy eating later) and de-scale the fish with a meat tenderizer. The scales come flying off, and the next thing you see is slit after slit going into the fish -- the side, the belly, etc. And there's blood flowing onto the board as the still-squirming fish gets de-skinned and disassembled (take the organs out, cut it into distinct parts: head, left side, right side, middle-end, tail). Though bloody and terrible for children to watch (apparently, my brother cried the first time he saw a frog get killed at the market), it's all done with skill and proficiency. Mainly because of the amount of times they've had to do this.
Watching the eel's death was probably an even better testament to the skill that is necessary. (Once again, here's a warning: GRAPHIC ANIMAL VIOLENCE AHEAD.) They take the eel out of the water. They smack the eel with the butcher's knife (I don't know how much the smacking really does because the fish and eels -- and probably all other animals, in that case -- are still very much alive and moving). Chop, the eel's head is chopped just right so that there's a bit of flesh holding the eel's head to the body (think of Nearly-Headless Nick). Then they take what looks like a big nail with a wooden handle, and they drive it into the tail of the eel. (Do eels have tails? Is it just a body?) And they use the flat of the knife like a hammer to secure the "nail" into the cutting board. And then they grab the eel's head and pull the body straight. Then they grab a thinner, sleeker knife. Srcshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. There it goes, slitting the eel open and allowing the person to open the eel up. They unfold the eel (there's no other way to really describe it) and take the butchers knife to make a horizontal cut lengthwise. And so the whole spine (I assume it was the spine, but it was all so RED that I can't really be sure) comes neatly out of the eel. Then they take the "nail" out. And then, they bag it for you. There you go -- one strip of eel-flesh for your enjoyment. (I felt queasy as I watched this. This is why I wanted to be a vegetarian.)
Anyways. My mom and I then went to Wellcome for some more groceries. And all was happy.
At 5 PM, we went to my dad's office. And we all got together to look at an apartment that my parents might get (if they like this one enough, they might choose this one over the previously mentioned one. It'd be a hassle to deal with the paperwork, seeing as they already signed on the other one. But they decided this).
It was nice. Some parts of the design were silly and impractical, so my parents are thinking that they'll knock a few walls down and have other stuff done. But it's nice -- it's got a good view, and it's in a quiet neighborhood. I approve.
But we got back at 7:15 PM, and I was so tired (since my mom woke me up at 5:30) that I just passed out on my bed/the couch. And so they woke me at 8 PM for dinner. And we had yummy re-stuffed fish (fish paste stuffed back into the fish before frying), steamed fish paste-tofu (although there was too much cilantro in it tonight), and papaya soup. It was yummy.
And then I passed out again. And woke to type this. And now my dad's yelling at me to get off so that they can sleep. So I'll ttly?
Love.
11:14 PM
09.6.9
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