July 30, July 31

-----Thursday, July 30-----
Thursday will sound like a terribly boring day, but I found it very nice.
I woke at 10:45, which was a terrible thing because I was supposed to eat out with family (Mom's siblings & co.: Big Uncle, Big Aunt, Big Aunt's husband, 3rd Uncle, Hei Hei, Aunt K) at 11:30. But somehow, I miraculously made it in time and left at 11:15. And so Mom, and LilBro, and I went to the Lee Theatre Plaza and got to our reserved table. And we waited... and waited... and waited some more. And then Hei Hei and 3rd Uncle (Hei Hei's dad) called and said that they'd been wandering aimlessly for the past hour (which I think was an exaggeration) because they couldn't find Choi Fook. And so we tried giving them direction, but it didn't work. And so in the end, I went outside, met them, and led the way. And so 3rd Uncle and Hei Hei arrived at the table at about 12:10. And by that time, the food had arrived, so we began eating. And so we ate. And ate. And waited. And then Aunt K, Big Uncle, Big Aunt, and Big Aunt's husband arrived... after 1 PM. So it was a bit funny because we had set the time up for 11:30, haha. But it just goes to show that my mom's side of the family believes in being fashionably(?) late.
But it was genuinely a very happy time. :) It was nice to have most of my mom's siblings together because it was like a mini-reunion.
Anyways, we ate 'til 2:45 because they arrived so late. And also because we ordered (after finishing the dim sum things) rice in soup because I wanted to try it. It was really cool because they had the big bowl of soup and rice, and they gave you another plate, which had baked (and crispy) rice in it. And so you added the rice to the soup and ate it so that there was the regular rice (which was in the soup) as well as the crispy rice. It was really neat and yummy.

After this, we all walked to our place so that they could see what it looks like. And we all just chilled and talked, etc. It was really good to have everyone together like that. :)
But they left after about an hour, and I went off back to Facebook replying.

And then we ate dinner and dessert (my mom made bean curd with gingko biloba seeds (白果; "white fruit") dessert soup). And then my mom and I ran in place while watching TV because it had been raining out -- we didn't want to slip on slick surfaces.

It was a rather plain day, but I liked it. It was very enjoyable.

-----Friday, July 31-----
Omigoodness, I've been in HK for about two months. WTG, man. Where'd the time go? I spent one or two weeks in quarantine/getting used to life out of quarantine. And then I spent a few days in Japan. And what about the rest of the time? What happened!?! It just (POOF!) vanished.

Anyways, I got up at about 10:45 again and had the same dilemma as yesterday. But I somehow made it by 11:15 again (strokes of luck, my friend), only to discover (via Mom) that we had made plans to meet family friends at 12, not at 11:30. So I was safe.

Anyways, I had lunch with our ex-neighbors, and it was a very nice time. They were like, "Oh, my... You've changed so much! You used to be so chubby and energetic. And now you've grown to be such a polite young man."
It was nice to see them because it's been so long. :)

Anyways, I then spent the rest of the afternoon at home, contemplating Facebook but never getting to it (haha). And then I played some videogames with LilBro, and all was well.
And then my dad had to get a massage at 8, and Mom and I went to the running track. It was very nice, but I kept thinking of how little time I have left in HK...
It makes me a bit sad even though I miss my friends in the States. But I think it's that I've just realized that I have to make new friends at Pittsburgh (I won't see my old friends as much), so it's kinda hard to shake the feelings of... anxiety(?).

Anyways, I'm tired. Peace out, my friends.

August 1 (WTG, man? August already?)
2:22 AM

July 28, July 29

-----Tuesday, July 28-----
So. On Tuesday, I woke up at pretty early. See, I opened my eyes but was still tired, so I totally intended to go back to sleep. But then it hit me -- the smell of durians. I don't particularly mind the smell because I'm used to it by now, but waking up to that stench made me nervous. See, I had just woken up, so my nose was uber-sensitive. And then, BAM. It's hit with durian. Of course I couldn't go to sleep after that. I even had to open the main door (but kept the gate closed) so that I could ventilate the family room. (Sheesh, Mom. Way to go. >_<)
But then we went to get my HK ID card, yay! We left at about 11:30 and went to Wan Chai. At the Immigration Building, it only took us about five minutes to get the ID cards (my brother also got his) -- this is not including the walking, etc. that was necessary to get there, of course.
And then we went to the Toy Market (Tai Yuen Street) because Mom had bought some clothes from a store, and the clothing turned out to be very comfortable because it wasn't too thick. She was so pleased with it that she decided to buy a few more, and all was well.
And then we got back home at about 2:30, but I was no longer hungry (my time had passed). So I just ate some fruit and called it my meal. (Also, all of the eating out has made me lose my taste for food. I'm sick of eating, it seems. This happens to me every few months or so -- I just hate food for a few days, which is altogether very depressing.)

For the whole afternoon, I just Facebooked and Facebooked. I managed to get through about half of my posts (I haven't even checked my notifications, inbox, and requests!), which was pretty good. And then in the evening, my mom and I didn't go out to the track to run because she wanted to use a facial mask afterwards. So we watched TV and jogged at the same time. Human Tetris was on, and it made me laugh (cynically) at the contestants. It was very mean of me, I realize...

-----Wednesday, July 29-----
So. I stayed at home all day. First, I woke at about 11:40, which was entirely ridiculous. Like, who let me oversleep so much!?! (Okay, okay. I am totally to blame, I know.) But after lunch, I spent all afternoon on Facebook again. Today was somehow very much less prodcutive (if I count Tuesday's amount as half, I only got through one quarter today), which was probably due to the insane heat and humidity. It was pretty brutal, and I basically lazed around all day because it was so swelteringly hot.
After dinner, Mom and I went to the track (YAY!), and it was all lovely. And now here I am, typing so early in the morning because I have to feign being asleep. (My parents want me to sleep, but I have to blog!)
It seems that today was boring, but I tried a Thai grapefruit (游子) today! It was pretty cool even though there were so many seeds. It seemed a little dryer than regular grapefruit at first, but it turned out to be very juicy after I actually tried the cells. It wasn't particularly sweet, which left me slightly disappointed. (I'm so used to American grapefruit, which is so juicy and sweet. But the grapefruit here isn't as sweet, and the Thai grapefruit was just as disappointing.)
And btw, I just realized this. On Japan Air, which we took to go to Japan earlier this month, there was a drink I liked -- "Yuzu Juice". And there were Asian characters next to the English name. And I just realized that it said "游子", which means that the "Yuzu Juice" is in fact Thai grapefruit juice. Yay to discoveries!

Anyways, tired. Love, etc.

July 30
1:29 AM

Weekend voyages! (July 25 - July 27)

-----Saturday, July 25-----
So, it seems to be a trend to go to Aunt K's each weekend, which is nice. It brings back old memories when the Fam** used to be at Aunt K's. And it'd be Aunt K, Uncle Kau, Joey, Zalu, and the four of us. And it'd be so fun -- each night, we'd eat dinner together. We'd laugh all the time, talk all the time, make fun of each other all the time, make fun of celebrities all the time, and just have fun all time. Usually, I'd hang out with Joey all the time, but she's in America now... So it feels odd without her. But it's not like I'm not having fun -- it's just odd. And also, my cousins are getting married off one at a time (the ones that aren't already married, that is) -- so odd!
Essentially, HK's just not the same anymore. (And I realized via Aubs that I never had any non-related friends in Hong Kong. This makes me feel a bit lonely when I think about it... I miss my US friends a lot...) It's fun, but the feeling is entirely different now. But I guess this comes with growing older -- things change, and there was no way that things would always be as I remembered.
I think I've begun to accept this fact (also in regards to college and leaving my MA friends, sadface), which marks growth. (Thankfully, I at least have the internet!)

Anyways! First off, Aunt K came over to help us with cleaning. And then we went to dim sum (sadly, it loses sine of its excitement when you go to dim sum each week... I still love it, but it's no longer as WOW as it used to seem...) at the Lee Theatre Plaza, which is really close to where we live. It was pretty good and -- remarkably enough -- not very oily. (I mean, some foods are pan-fried, which obviously calls for oil. But the restaurant here seemed to use just enough or maybe a tiny bit more than needed, so it wasn't as bad as the usual food I eat here.)
And then we went back, and I blogged for a few hours, which made me feel a bit bad (because I planned to leave with Aunt K to go to Tsing Yi). But I had already been negligent for a week, so I couldn't really just ditch my blog... right? (Unfortunately, this "...right?" is not rhetorical. I seriously don't know if I owed more time to my friends or to my aunt at the time... I mean, both parties mean so much to me...)
Though I admit that making her wait was a bit rude (though she didn't mind), at least it gave her some time to rest. She works so hard at all she does, and it's usually for the sake of others. So I always worry about her and want to give her some time to relax and enjoy herself. I feel that she deserves that much at the very least. (She's always been so nice to me, so I care very much for her.)

Anyways, we (LilBro, Aunt K, and I) left at about 4. And we got to Maritime Square, where we entered Taste (the Park 'n Shop store). But it was way too crowded, so we gave up and left. And so LilBro and I went to Wellcome to buy drinks (Ribena and a 2.5 L bottle of 7-Up) while Aunt K went to the marketplace to buy food for dinner. And so we made a stop at 7 Eleven (geez... I just realized this "7 [something that's spelled out]" phenomenon) beforehand and bought a new edition of Calbee Grill-a-Corn. It was pineapple-flavored (fruity series) to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

So as soon as we got to Aunt K's apartment, she started preparing the food because LilBro and I had to go to Mass. So I made the peanut-sesame sauce for the 冷面 ("lan mien"; "cold noodles"). She gave me sesame paste and peanut butter, which she told me to make into a 2:1 ratio (respectively 2 and 1). So I did, and it turned out really thick, so Aunt K added water... which only seemed to make it thicker. But we had to go soon, so we had no option but to eat it as was (not that we minded or anything. Aunt K was the only one who objected because she was like, "I can't let you eat something that looks so disgusting!"). But I added some sesame oil, vinegar, and soysauce to it, which made it a little more like a sauce than a spread. (Thanks for the tip, Aunt K!) Anyways, it was good in my opinion, so I didn't really care if Aunt K objected.
It was cold noodles with the peanut-sesame sauce (sesame paste, peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar -- in order of most to least. We also tried it with small dried shrimp, which only made it taste better), cucumber(?) strips (very narrow strips about two inches long), chicken "thread" (鸡丝) (it's just chicken that's been cut into very thin slices), and ham strips (again, very narrow). It was yummy.

And then it was off to Mass. And afterwards, I came back and had a nice time relaxing with Aunt K and Uncle Kau (he usually spends his time on the computer, but the computer had some hard-drive issues. So it was good to have the three of us just chilling in front of the TV, discussing things. Oh, and LilBro was on the Nintendo DS -- LAME). And afterwards, Aunt K and I went out. She again taught me qigong as best as she could, so we did that for a bit. And then we went jogging (well, she walked, and I jogged at her pace. As I said, she can't really handle anything that's strains the leg too much). It was nice to spend time with her and to look at the water (and at the buildings and lights on the other side of the water).
When we got back, we had some starfruit (Aunt K had bought some for me last week because I was like, "Oh. I've never had starfruit before."). She said that she normally doesn't like it but that these were especially sweet. So I tried my very first starfruit. The skin tastes slightly grassy, but the inside is sweet and slightly (just slightly) sour. It was very pleasing.
And after a shower, LilBro was like, "Play PS3 with me!" But I didn't want to, so I told him to put a movie on. (There's a huge stash of movies at Aunt K's, and I suspect that Joey and Zalu did most of the investing.) So we watched Heroic Duo, which is a Hong Kong film. It was okay -- not bad but not excceedingly good. And so we watched 'til 2 AM. And then I went to bed. (Zalu and Peggie came home during the first half of the movie.)

-----Sunday, July 26-----
Aunt K woke me up at about 6:45, and I ate some food (I either black out or feel nauseous if I lack proper sleep and/or energy) before leaving for qigong. Aunt K and I took a public light bus to Kwai Fong, where we took the MTR to Shek Kip Mei (石硤尾), where we took another public light bus to a nearby park.
And there I saw the acupuncturist with his pupils -- there were about twenty pupils, and most of them were above 30. The second youngest (after me) looked about 25 years old -- and this is not counting the two little kids (4 and 5, I assume) who follwed their mom out.
We did warm-ups and then qigong. A huge portion of this exercise is remaining in a squat position. Considering that I haven't fenced in over two months, I found squatting for twenty straight minutes to be very difficult. However, I am proud to say that I didn't give up once and remained in that position for the whole duration as necessary (even though my legs started to shake violently, which my aunt assured me was natural for a beginner. Regardless, I was still very embarrassed because my legs caused my entire body to shake).
It was very cool because I could feel my fingertips get a bit hot, which I expect it the "qi" (when I asked other pupils, they said that it was). And the acupuncturist was kind enough to point out any mistakes I made (he told me to loosen up and to put my arms farther apart) even though I didn't pay for this class. (My aunt and mom persuaded to let me join my aunt for some classes because I'm going back to the States soon. "What harm can one or two classes pose, right?" So basically, I get one or two free lessons. This is good, but I feel guilty -- like I'm stealing or something...)
Anyways, qigong makes one very sweaty, which I had realized a week earlier -- even when doing the basic warm-ups (and considering that I was only doing a speedy version of them because Aunt K went easy on me when teaching me), I would start sweating profusely.
Anyways, my clothes were drenched (and as was the rest of my body), so I changed clothes in the bathroom (Aunt K warned me about the sweating, so I packed a change of clothes). It sounds extreme and almost like I'm exaggerating, but you'll know what it's like if you ever try qigong.

After that brutal exercise, Aunt K and I went walking around the flower market that's nearby -- it's just blocks and blocks (all on one street) of flower shops. It was nice to walk by, asking Aunt K the names of flowers I'd never seen and smelling flowers (Aunt K bought a bunch of a white flower which had not yet blossomed. She said that it would fully open by the afternoon, which I very much doubted). And then we bought some fruit because I had never tried them before. We bought guava, plantains (I think they were), and three other fruits. One was shaped like a squat, green grape; at first bite, it was very sour and bitter but turned sweet in the mouth over time. The other was shaped like a very long grape, but I didn't try it yet. And then there was another green fruit that was the size of a guava fruit but looked similar to a fat pear; I also didn't try this yet.
Then we took a bus back to Tsing Yi. And we were a little thirsty after qigong (apparently, it also makes you want to drink two buckets of iced water), but our thirst didn't really manifest itself until we got on the bus. And so when we got back to Tsing Yi, we immediately went to the kitchen to get cold drinks. (Interesting note: We both add water to our Ribena (not the syrup this time) because we don't like drinks that are too sweet.) I drank about four full cups of Ribena before heading to the shower, which was so nice (cold water after exercise is always good).
And then we headed out for dinner at the small mall near Aunt K's. I ordered ho fun with dou see (豆豉; fermented and salted soybeans), green peppers, and hot peppers; LilBro ordered fried doll noodle with egg, ham, and scallions (it was kind of like fried rice... but it was noodles); and Aunt K ordered fried Thai shrimp cakes, which were to be dipped in a sweet sauce. We shared everything, and all was fun. The ho fun noodles and the shrimp (which reminded me of the "crab ball" (蟹球) that you sometimes see during dim sum) were good, but I don't know how LilBro's was because I made a vow never to eat doll noodle again.

Afterwards, Aunt K gave LilBro the keys to her apartment so that he could play videogames while the two of us went walking on the promenade. But after about five minutes, we got a call from Mom saying that LilBro couldn't open the door. (He went to the security guard and asked to use his phone. He then called Mom because he knows neither Aunt K's nor my mobile number.) So we hurried back and got to the apartment and opened the door for him (it turns out that he just didn't turn the key hard enough). And when we got back (at about 1:15), I saw that the flowers that Aunt K had bought had indeed fully blossomed -- all within the span of about three to four hours! They were really fragrant, too...

And then we sat and chilled, waiting for Hei Hei to return our calls (we had called one every so often since the morning because we planned to ask if she wanted to go to Kwai Fong with us). But she was out at the movies with her mom and then went to piano practice. So it was about 3:30 when she finally called back. And then it turns out that she had already made plans with her friends, so we ended up just going by ourselves (the three of us). But before leaving, we took a break because it was hot outside. And I ended up pseudo-falling-asleep before we left for Kwai Fong. First, we went to the outlet mall, which was really cool. I had never been before, so it was a novel experience. (But I still prefer the shopping plaza.)
And then we went to the Kwai Chung Shopping Centre. And we walked around, looking at stuff. And then we ate snack-ish foods for our dinner... er, LilBro and I did. I had some thick soup made with mushrooms, fungus strips, and pork strips (5 Stars -- especially after adding lots of white pepper, which only made it taste even better), curry fishball (5 Stars for being a classic), sour plum drink (酸梅汤) (5 Stars because I always love this drink), a fruit cup (grass jelly, small tapioca pearls, nata de coco, dragon fruit, kiwi, mango, lychee, eavporated milk, coconut milk, and sugar-syrup water mixed (not blended) together (4.5 Stars -- some of the fruit wasn't quite ripe enough yet), and ice cream (flavor: Philippine mango) (5 Stars)! It was a good time. And Aunt K bought me a vest as a birthday present because I'm usually too cheap/stingy to buy stuff for myself unless it's a good (at least reasonable) price. But I warned her afterwards to buy me nothing else of this sort because I always feel bad when she buys me stuff -- she always spoils me too much.

And so we went back, and Aunt K had dinner of leftover cold noodles from Saturday. And then we (including Uncle Kau, who was back and still computer-less, and excluding LilBro, who went straight to his borrowed Nintento DS) watched silly TV programs (all HK programs seem to be silly and pointless, but they can be funny), which was a nice bonding experience. And then Aunt K and Uncle Kau went to bed, and Peggie (9:something) and Zalu (10:30 after dinner and hanging out with friends) came back. I was surprised to see them back so early because they usually seem to like coming back at about midnight or so.
Anyways, we finished The Voice, which is basically HK-style American Idol. (I felt that some people who passed weren't very good. And I also noted that the emcee deserved to be kicked off stage because she kept insulting the singers to their faces in a concealed-but-oh-so-transparent manner.) And then Zalu and LilBro played PS3 'til 2 AM.

-----Monday, July 27-----
I woke at 11 when my mom called Aunt K's apartment (AGAIN with the oversleeping?). Unfortunately, no one answered by the time I was awake enough to pick up the phone. So I ate brunch. I had some tomato-basil bread (which we had bought from Kwai Fong last night. We also bought apple turnovers for LilBro), leftover cold noodles (the Saturday ones), and leftover Thai shrimp cakes (from Sunday). And while eating, LilBro and I (since everyone else had already left) watched Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Train Man because our original plans (to go with Aunt K to Sara's so that we could entertain Denise and Nathan while Aunt K helped clean) fell through (because Denise had to go do a dancing performance at Tsuen Wan at 3 PM). (Apparently, Denise told Aunt K to call LilBro and me to see if we would play with her because we usually go whenever Aunt K helps Sara with cleaning. But Aunt K was like, "Did you forget? You have to give a performance soon, so they can't play with you." And Denise was like, "Oh... Maybe after the performance?" But there was no knowing when the performance would end, so it was still a no-go.)

And then we went to meet Aunt K, who had called and told us to meet her at Prince Edward later. We walked around for a bit and went exploring. We went to a place that was basically a mall for people who are getting married or going to a wedding; there are shops filled with dresses, suits, traditional garb, decorations, stationary, etc. I remember coming here four years ago (and being very bored at the time) because my mom was helping Aunt K and Big Aunt choose outfits for Ada's wedding banquet. So it was a trip down memory lane. :)
And then we ate dinner at a vegetable restaurant -- they serve no meat at all. We ordered a veggie plate (basically a sampler dish of different bean-curd-based foods), taro-nest with vegetables (veggies in long strips of ground taro, which has been deep-fried into a basket shape), fried bean curd (deep-fried bean curd, which is crispy on the outside and soft inside, in sauce), and taro-fish with sweet sauce (ground taro which has been made into a fish shape before being deep-fried). And for dessert, they gave us an almond dessert soup with small tapioca pearls. I found this place to be very good because the food was really good (though I admit that I'm still not a fan of eating out because restaurant food -- whether in the States or in Hong Kong -- is always oily), and the service was very nice and friendly (REALLY nice -- more than your above-average service). I made sure to remember the location because it's so good -- go out of Exit E at the Prince Edward station (MTR) and take a left. When you see the glass display of their dim sum foods (they also sell veggie dim sum here, which I would have purchased if I hadn't been so full), you'll know you're there.

Anyways, LilBro and I headed home after this dinner (Aunt K again forbade me from paying half of the bill, so I think I'll stop letter her take me to eat out), and we got home at about 8 PM. LilBro wanted to watch TV (the computer was off, and the Nintendo DS was out of batteries. So the TV was obviously his third option), but we went -- much to his dismay -- walking as a family instead (though we went to the library instead of the park this time). And so we walked for ten minutes before separating into our usual two groups. I still did sixteen laps, but I had to slow down a few times because the dinner was so filling (and I've had to finish three of the past four meals I've eaten albeit being full -- everyone else is also full, but I hate to see wasted food. So I still ate it all). And also, I had to slow-jog with my mom for longer than usual because I was so full. (I usually stretch and run 8 laps (3200 meters, ~2 miles) before slow-jogging with my mom on the 100-meter strips, which extend from one leg of the course. And then I run 8 more laps and stretch before leaving.)

But it was still nice to jog and take a cold shower afterwards. And now here I am -- I've been typing since 11:30. Which explains why I'm so tired.
And I'm itchy because I got bitten TWENTY-THREE times while doing qigong. Mom and Dad say it must be genetic because Mom also gets bitten a lot. Everyone else is okay, but the two of us somehow seem most insect-attracting. (But between the two of us, my case is worse because she only gets two or three bites while I get ten or, like Sunday morning, twenty-three.) Curses, you filthy insects! And humidity, which seems to make the insects braver and more numerous.
Anyways, I have to go. I need to get my new HK ID card tomorrow (today).

**"The Fam" is my nickname for my family when we were in HK. In my old journal entries, I'd just say, "the Fam" instead of being like, "My mom, sister, brother, and I went to [XYZ] today." (My dad would usually be in America, working. So everyone barring my dad would go to HK the few summers we came back.)

July 28
2:29 AM

Last week's happenings

Okay, so I haven't blogged in the past manydays. (And I've been away from Facebook for about two weeks.) That's generally a bad thing, right? Sorry if this is choppy, but I really want to finish this, so here's why:

-----Saturday, July 18th-----
I had originally wanted to go to visit the Buddha statue, but there was a typhoon. Therefore, this plan was a definite no-go. But I had made plans with Vivian earlier in the week to have lunch with her on Saturday, so it's a good thing that I couldn't go. (Actually, I had even forgotten that I had made plans with her until she called me that morning to ask me when I wanted to meet her.)

So I had lunch with Vivian. She got off work at about 1 PM, so she told me to go to Kowloon Bay at about 1:45, where she would meet me. Kowloon Bay's a bit far away by taking the MTR, but we met there because that's where she plays hockey. So I had lunch with her at the MTR mall (it's connected to the MTR station). We had yummy peanut-sesame noodles (noodles in a sauce made of peanuts and sesame), a mushroom dish, and wontons. It was a nice time.

And then we walked around the mall, looking around. There was definitely a tropical theme to the place because there were some sets of life-size (I imagine) robotic animals that moved every so often. There were monkeys, toucans, gorillas, and a giraffe. 'Twas pretty cool, I guess.

Afterwards, we went back to the MTR station to find Fong and LilBro. And then we went to MegaBox, which is a huge shopping mall a few blocks away; the rink is on the 10th floor (and there's a gym on the 18th floor), where watched Vivian's game. (We also bought cotton candy, which was bigger than my head. It was for 12 HKD, too -- what a deal.) It was really nerve-wracking for me because I was like, "Go! Go! Go get that puck!" (during the entire game). At first, I couldn't tell which one was Vivian, but then I saw someone who was semi-vicious (abrasive?). And I was like, that seems just like someone from my mom's side of the family. And so I was like, "Okay. Yep, I definitely found her."

Anyways, the team scored a point during the last two minutes and won. Yay. :)
After that, Vivian and Grant (my soon-to-be cousin) took us back to the MTR station. And so Fong, LilBro, and I went to Tsing Yi. Fong left for Aunt K's while LilBro and I went to Mass (and it suddenly started pouring).
After Mass, Aunt K and Fong met us outside of the church, and we had dinner nearby. I ordered satay squid, but it was a little hard to chew. Like, not hard -- just crunchy. But it wasn't like eating a rock or anything because after you bit into it, the connective tissue inside got stuck in between my teeth. It was an odd experience (the squid was not what I was used to because the kind I have is usually white and chewy).

And then it was off to Aunt K's. LilBro and Fong were playing video games all night, and Zalu (whom I suspect had been drinking a bit) and Peggie came back at about 1:30. I stayed awake so that I wouldn't hinder them (I sleep on the couch, so they'd probably not want to disturb me if they saw me asleep). But by 2:15, I was dead. So I went to sleep not caring if they'd stop because of me.

-----Sunday, July 19th-----
I woke at 11, which was frightful -- I feel rather guilty when I oversleep. But Aunt K made some Shanghi noodles (which are a bit like Udon noodles) with some tomato and OK sauce (and cilantro and ground pork). It was really good. Peggie had also stayed for the morning and ate with us before leaving in the afternoon.

And then Fong left at about 3 so that he could make it to the ferry to Macau. I can't be sure because he doesn't say much, but I think he didn't really want to leave. Aunt K also said the same thing, though -- maybe I'm right, then.

And then Aunt K and I headed to the markets to buy lots of different noodles, meat, and and veggies (and some fruit).
So for dinner, we had congee, Yee Meen (noodles), and Ho Fun rice noodles. And then I washed dishes, and the two of us went outside to exercise (LilBro and Uncle Kau stayed indoors). Aunt K taught me a bit of qigong (and I got bitten a lot -- a LOT), and then we ran (well, I did. Aunt K can't run that well, so she ran and stopped, ran and stopped).
It was nice because I've done little exercise since coming back. I was tired, but it was good.

-----Monday, July 20th-----
LilBro and I (we stayed at Aunt K's on Sunday night as well) went to Sara's with Aunt K. And we played with the kids, which was good. (Though Denise was a little upset with me because I chastised her after hitting me with a hard toy. It didn't hurt, but I was like, "No. You can't do that." And then she went silent, and her face went sad-frownie. I felt guilty, but what was I supposed to do?)
Then for dinner, Aunt K, LilBro, and I went to Tin Hau to meet with my mom. And we had Thai food! It was pretty good. The food was a bit too oily, but that's okay. I tried the soft-shelled crab in curry sauce that my sister had been telling me about -- I thought it was mediocre because the sauce was not suited for my taste (the curry was sweet and a little too coconut-milky). But the actual deep-fried soft-shell crab was delicious.

-----Tuesday, July 21th-----
LilBro, Mom, and I went on a library expedition in the afternoon because it was hot. And Mom complained that we were being lazy at home (doing nothing). So we went to the library to chill. And all was well. And then we went back home for dinner, and Dad, Mom, LilBro, and I went to the park to walk around (and I played on the swings). Then Mom and I went to the track next to the gigantous library and ran for a long time. I ran for more than four miles and was dying afterwards. And then it started to POUR, and I had to walk/run all the way home in the rain. (It was cool because I could see the rain in the front of me, and I was like, "Hey. That's cool. Why does it look so thick? I don't feel a thing at all." And then the downpour reached me, and I was like, "Oh. It's definitely raining.) So that probably explains why I felt kinda sniffly during the whole night. (Mom had let a half-hour before I did, so she was safe. It probably didn't help that the air conitioning was on when I got home, though. I mean, I changed shirts and went to the kitchen (where there was no air conditioning) while waiting for Dad to finish showering, but it wasn't enough, I guess.)

-----Wednesday, July 22th-----
LilBro and I went to Mei Foo to meet Sara and Denise (Nathan was at his grandma's) because we were going to the Yakult factory for a tour. We met at McDonald's, where we also met Hei Hei (who also came with us).
It was quite neat, but I think that Sara and LilBro were disappointed. Hei Hei (I think) was pretty whatever about it. I thought it was pretty cool because I love Yakult. However, I WAS disppointed that we only got one Yakult (the neat thing is that it was freshly made just that day). Oh well.

After the tour, we went back to McDonald's for the lunch that was included in our $75 field trip. I don't eat fast food, so I just had tea and was done with that.
And then we went to Sara's, where we played with Denise for a while. And I learned 漢堡包 ("Hamburger"), a game where you slap. It was pretty fun, actually. But it wasn't really a slap-as-hard-as-you-can thing for us -- just more of fun and thrill. (Much better than having a face-slapping or slap-really-painfully game.)

After this, we went to Kwai Fong to go to the Kwai Chung Plaza. We had "dam dam" noodles ("dam" is the word for a bite, so it's basically "bite-bite noodles -- Cec, help me?). And I had to eat two huge bowls because LilBro said he was full after two bites. (WTG, man?)
It was really mean, seeing as I was already full after my huge bowl of noodles; I was surprised that I could finish both.

And so we went walking around (think goodness -- I would've died if I hadn't walked. All of that food was just sitting in my stomach, and walking really helped me digest it). And after looking around, we had ice cream from Yummy Mummy, the candy and ice-cream shop on the top floor. I always go there whenever I'm in the plaza because they have ube ice cream at a reasonable price. Yummy!

Then LilBro and I headed for Causeway Bay (Sara and Denise went in the same direction as we did, but Hei Hei went the opposite way) and got home at about 10:30.

-----Thursday, July 23th-----
Library expedition again!
Then late-night park-walk (with the fam -- minus Cec) and running. I was sore and stuff, but it was nice to run because I felt good afterwards. It was refreshing even though I was really sweaty afterwards.

-----Friday, July 24th-----
And again with the library trip. (My mom is really against staying at home and "doing nothing", so she's like, "Go to the library and read." This would explain why I couldn't blog earlier.) And then another night of walking and running. Each time I go, I travel at least four miles (more, if you count warm-ups and the walk in the park, though they're not as exhausting as running).
It feels good because I feel refreshed -- and I exercise to the point where running doesn't make my legs sore (it feels weird to stop, actually. Like, my legs have worked to the point of not feeling soreness and stuff).
My mom always worries about me, though. I always get home at least a half-hour after she does, and she's like, "Make sure not to over-work yourself." It's honestly a good piece of advice which I should follow, but I love being active. So I kinda can't control myself, eep.

Anyways, sorry for not posting in ages! And I'll try to get better (but my mom doesn't like to see me ont he computer -- she says I'm being lazy). And then I have to do some Facebook, too. (Oh dear...)

NOTE:
@ It's been really icky outside lately. The level 3 typhoon (the second one) left a few days ago, though. But it's still yucky. Mehhhhhh... At least the library has air conditioning and books!
@ I tried Salak, also called "snake fruit" (蛇皮果; "snake-skin fruit") because of its skin. The ones we had smelled AWFUL, though (and they tasted bad). They went bad, I think.
@ I also tried "Pomelo Thai Fruit", which resembled a grapefruit. But it was yellowish and not very sweet. It also had a very slight (almost unnoticeable) flavor of longan (龍眼; "dragon eye").
@ I've realized that I had misremembered(?) 雞蛋仔 (I talked about them earlier -- they're the waffle-like things; I'll call them "eggettes" from now on) as plain. But the last time I ate them, I realized that they have a distinct taste. It's not very sweet, but I prefer it to home-made waffles. So when I get back to the States, I plan to experiment until I get the right taste. It's a good thing that I'll have a waffle-maker in the apartment!

Okay, bye!

July 25
3:37 PM

July 15th, July 16th, July 17th

Today was nice.
:)
I got up at about 10:45 (seriously, I don't know why my mom's been so lenient with oversleeping this summer) and spent the morning and early afternoon at home.

At 2, my mom, brother, and I went back to the bone-setter's in Wan Chai. There, I played with the two cats: the dark one is 巧克力 ("chocolate"), and the white one is 牛奶仔 ("milky" or "milk-child"). They were very shy last time, but I managed to tempt them with toys until it got to the point where they were comfortable with LilBro and me (we could even hold them).
But that's not why I was there. I had gone there in order to learn some back stretches/exercises that will help me. So he taught me two things, which he told me to do each morning (6 sets of 20 reps. Of each exercise, that is) and night (3 sets of each). He said that it'll take about four days until I really feel any difference, but he also stated that I shouldn't slack of anyways.
After that, I waited for my dad to finish with his therapeutic massage -- y'know, the whole idea of family spirit and sticking together.

Anyways, it was 3:45 when we finally left. Dad went back to work, so Mom, LilBro, and I went to have some afternoon tea (because I was so hungry -- I hadn't eaten much for breakfast and lunch). I ordered an egg-salad-with-kiwi sandwich. It was an odd experience, but it was quite enjoyable. The only complaint I have is that they buttered the bread on the outside so it was salty in addition to being egg-salad-y and sweet-yet-tart.
After this short break, the three of us went looking for apartment-ware. We went to look at tiles, cabinets, sinks, etc. It was fun because it reminded me of Home Depot magazines, which I love to read; they always offer great tips on homecare and show really snazzy designs and appliances. It's amazing...

But enough of that. It was 5 by the time we finished with the tile shop (we have many more through which we must peruse, but they'll be saved for later), so we went to meet Aunt K, Fong, and Hei Hei at the Wan Chai station. Lo and behold, I saw them and also saw Denise -- I guess she overheard these plans when Aunt K was at Sara's today and wanted to come.

----- Tired at 1:59 AM on July 16th (technically) -----

Wed. July 15th
@ Afternoon tea
@ Dad came
@ The Peak -- really pretty
@@ Playground
@@ Pcitures!!!

Thurs. July 16th
@ Woke
@ Hang out at home
@ Planned to do some major blogging, email-ing, and college-ing. And maybe some Facebook-ing, time permitting.
@ Aunt K called --> Yau Ma Tei
@@ Cancelled plans
@ Mom to massage, LilBro with me
@ Met Aunt K, Fong, Hei Hei
@ Walked
@ Bought stinky tofu x2 --> okay; flavorful
@ War game stuff (and Gundams!)
@ Herbal drink
@ Plaza for games
@@ Broke glass
@ Aunt K, Fong, LilBro ate --> Hei Hei and I walked
@ Open-air street market
@@ "Mango Yoghurt"
@ Return, still eating
@ Plaza
@ Found Korean fashion but Aunt K called
@ MTR station, smuggled desserts
@ Home at 10:20

-----Tired once again at 1:10 AM -----

Okay -- so Wednesday! I met Aunt K, Fong, Hei Hei, and Denise at the Wan Chai station. And we ate some afternoon tea (at the same place where Mom, LilBro, and I had eaten just a two hours before. I wasn't particularly hungry, so I split with Mom. And all was good. Halfway through the meal, my dad also came and ate a bit. Then we all left and took a tram to Central, where we took another tram -- this one to the Peak!!!
It was really nice, although it goes at a steep incline for about half of the ride there. I was practically squeezing Denise's stomach because I didn't want her to fall. (She was standing on the bench seat to see out the window.) We got to the top and made a stop at the playground to humor Denise and then did lots of picture-taking when we got outside to the open area. Looking out and down really frightened me (I despise heights), Still, it was fun even though my legs felt like jelly the whole time. Afterwards, I took Denise to see the mini Disney castle downstairs and took pictures for her. And then we had some Haagen-Dazs ice cream (er... actually, only LilBro, Fong, and Denise had ice cream). It was a good time!
I remember the first time I went to the Peak; it was July 13th (my birthday) in 2002. Everyone had gathered together for my birthday (by everyone, I mean: Sara, Big Aunt, Big Uncle (B.Aunt's husband), Garfield (B.Aunt's oldest son), Ada, Vivian, Aunt K, Uncle Kau, Joey, Uncle 4, Yanny (Uncle 4's oldest daughter), Kitty (Uncle 4's other daughter), Mom, Cec, LilBro, and moi). We had some Japanese food for dinner and then went up the tram. I remember going up and thinking that it was an amusement park ride because the tram had been going at a reasonably quick speed before suddenly stopping; I thought that it was then going to let us free-fall down. To my surprise, it wasn't so. Anyways, I spent the night looking out at Hong Kong with my family. It was a really nice experience. And then, Uncle 4 surprised us by buying a big thing (a whole carton) of coffe Haagen-Dazs ice cream. Everyone was really digging in, though, so I decided to let them eat it. And so I didn't have any of my birthday ice cream, which is kinda funny... But yeah. That was pretty much it -- it may not sound like a lot, but it's massive fun. It's SO pretty...

---

And then THURSDAY, July 16th!

I was planning to take a break at home because I'd been going out so much. I felt that my blog, email account, college account, and Facebook account (if I had time to deal with the last one) were feeling a bit neglected, so I wanted to do some major work on them.
But then Aunt K called and was like, "Oh, hey. Fong's leaving on Sunday. So I'm taking him to Yau Ma Tei (油麻地; "oil numb (but this doesn't make sense!!!) ground"), and you and Hei Hei are coming with us."
So I was like, "Oh." (Consent?)

And so I was reay to go when my mom was like, "I have a therapeutic massage, so you're going to have to take your brother.", to which I also responded, "Oh." (Does this really qualify as consent?)
And so I took LilBro with me, and we all met up at Yau Ma Tei (Hei Hei came a bit after us, and we waited for Aunt K and Fong at the station).

When we were all assembled, we left and looked for the place that is reputed for selling war game items -- paintball guns, "armor" (vests, masks, goggles, etc.), ammo, etc. Don't ask me why I was there -- Fong was the one who wanted to check it out. (Not that I objected or anything. I just thought the whole thing was a bit odd -- did he intend to buy one and have airport security see a paintball gun in his suitcase?)
But there were also some Gundam and "hobby" shops that sold stuff like Gundam models(!!!), car models, helicopter models, and anything-you-can-think-of models. Pretty nifty. Along the way, there was a place selling video games. I went in, looking for a replacement for Sara's DS cover (since LilBro broke hers). And in the process, I accidentally broke a glass shelf (which could have been prevented if she had invested in a less shoddy stand. Seriously, it was hanging on two metal hooks (but not curved hooks -- it was more of a 90-degree angle), each a centimeter in length. But I digress). And I felt bad, so I paid her back. (I was really embarrassed.)
And so we walked for a long time and eventually ended up in Mong Kok (旺角; "overflowing (busy?) corner"). There was lots of walking involved, and Aunt K wanted to eat at a sit-down place. So we found a Korean BBQ buffet, and Aunt K, Fong, and LilBro went inside to eat. Hei Hei and I weren't hungry (we had decided to buy some candy earlier and had been eating that through the night), so we went and walked down some open-air markets. I bought some more souveniers/gifts for friends and was happy, even though it started to get rainy --> drizzle, rain, pour, rain, pour, rain, drizzle, end.
Anyways, we finished and then walked back to the restaurant. But the three weren't done (well, Aunt K was, but the other two weren't), so Hei Hei used the bathroom before the two of us left again. And this time we went to a shopping plaza. And I went into a men's Korean fashion store. And wanted to buy everything (well, nearly everything) because I love Korean and Japanese fashion (when talking about men's Asian fasion). But I'm poor 24/7. And then Aunt K called to tell us that she was going to the Mong Kok MTR station and would meet us there, so I left. During the time when I was on the phone with Aunt K, Hei Hei and the woman in the shop were discussing me because she was like, "You're from America, aren't you? Your accent totally gives it away, and your tones aren't completely on-target." Geez, way to be subtle. (Can't you soften the blow? I know I've got an extreme accent.)

Anyways, Hei Hei and I met Aunt K in the station , and Aunt K proceeded to give me some of the desserts she smuggled from the Korean buffet. (WTG, Aunt K!?! You're not supposed to do that!) Anywyas, we went our separate ways and called it a night.

During the night, I ate some cool stuff:
@ Stunky tofu. Stinky tofu is tofu that has been left in brine comprising fermented milk, vegetables, and meat. It may smell a bit icky, but it's actually not bad at all. In fact, I would say that there's almost nothing that's special about its taste, but that's not entirely true; if it's stinky enough, it'll taste better (and leave an aftertaste). Anyways, I had it twice during the night -- the first one was okay. But the second (we bought it from a Shanghainese foodstall which boasted the stinkiest tofu nearby) was definitely flavorful enough.
@ Herbal jelly. I can't remember the name, but it's an herbal jelly which is supposed to be good for you. It was rather bland with a hint of sweetness (like, just a hint. It was barely there).
@ An herbal drink. Can't remember the name either, but it was very nice. It felt very cooling (apparently, it's a "cooling item" which helps to get rid of the excess inner heat of the body) and tasted bery strongly of... a grassy herb. I liked it.
@ "Mango yoghurt" (芒果多多). It is (basically) mango puree with Yakult, which is a drink infused with good bacteria. I love mangoes, and I love Yakult... Ego, I was very pleased with this drink.
@ Ice cream: ube, green tea, tofu. Delicious -- must I say more?

---

FRIDAY, July 17th

Last night (Thursday), the plan had been to eat at our place (Aunt K, Fong, Hei Hei, and my family). But our walking had left us unable to go, so we decided to just walk for the whole night, which left my mom and dad to eat together. But she had prepared papaya soup and lotus root for dinner (two things that I love), so I had asked her to save some for today. So for breakfast, I had some papaya soup and freshly-cooked lotus root (my mom had left some aside and fridged it instead).

And then for lunch, my mom, brother, and I went (via tram) to meet Fong and Hei Hei at the Wan Chai station. And we had dim sum at a nearby place. The food was okay, I guess. It wasn't really flavoful and delectable -- just passable. But the shrimp dumplings were a bit neat, in all honesty. Usually, they're just shrimp (maybe with bamboo shoot and or some small vegetables) wrapped in a wrapper. But these ones were called 鳳眼包 ("fong ahn bao"; "Phoenix eye bread/filled-bread) or 鳳眼餃 ("fong ahn gao"; "Phoenix eye dumpling") -- I can't remember (包 and 餃 sound so alike that I can't remember what they called it). It was just like a normal shrimp dumpling, but the wrapper wasn't completely closed -- it was instead shapped like eyelids that were on both sides of a piece of shrimp. In the end, it looked slightly like an eyeball (the shrimp was the iris).

Anyways, we went to Tai Yuen Street (the toy market) because Fong hadn't been there before. It was a fun time. Ater this, we all went to check out the library in Causeway Bay because Fong and Hei Hei (I think she hasn't, at least) haven't been there before. They were like, "Yep... This is one massive library.", which is true because it's the size of a running track with eleven (maybe more) floors. But Mom had some stuff to do, so she and LilBro headed back home and left Fong, Hei Hei, and me to chill for an hour in there. I read some stuff on sociology after being unable to find any Locke or Rousseau to read (for some reason, I really wanted to read their stuff today -- more so than usual, that is).

After an hour, the three of us headed to my place, where we chilled for a bit. And then we went to eat thick toast at the Happy Valley place (the auntie there is so nice. I really like her because she's friendly and makes an effort to talk to you) and ended up also going to the apartment in which we had thought of residing before buying the Siu Fai Terrace one. And so Mom got the mail while Fong and Hei Hei were looking around. I checked the mail and found some mail for me and saw some pretty exciting (x1) and irritating (x2) stuff. So the ratio was 1:2 with irritation winning. Poopface. Oh well.

After doing that, we went to Dad's office to chill before going to dinner. I was Dad's co-workers, Raymond (who offered us candy) and Esme, which was nice. They're really friendly, so I like them. (Basically, I like nice people.)
Sadly, Hei Hei had to leave our group to go attend a family reunion of her own, which left Fong, Dad, Mom, LilBro, and me to eat. We went to a place that was pretty close -- it was a restaurant that specialized in Chiu Chow (also known as Teochew/Chauzhou/Chaushan/Swatow) food. (It apparently originates from the Guangdong region, which is in the southern parts of China. Interestingly, the use of shark fin and bird's nest comes from Guangdong cuisine, so I have much thanks to give these people!)
The special items were:
@ Lo Siu goose and cuttlefish. "Lo Siu" describes a sauce that is used to marinate food.
@ Vegetable rice. It's basically fried rice with veggies. Only. It was good although the excessive oil kinda turned me off.
@ Plain Chiu Chow congee. Unlike the congee with which I am familiar, Chiu Chow congee contains a lot of water. However, the rice is not as mushy as the rice in the congee I know, so it was kind of like eating overcooked rice in rice water. It was rather odd.

And then the five of us came back here. And my mom had made mango pudding, so I ate half a bowl (one of the giant dessert bowls, that is) of it. I felt fat afterwards (especially because I had just finished an excessively oily dinner) but decided not to dwell on it too much.
Anyways, Fong and LilBro left afterwards to sleep at Aunt K's. LilBro went with Fong because I had wanted to go to see the Big Buddha (天壇大佛, "Tiin Tahn Dai Fut"; "heaven big Buddha") on Lantau Island. I had seen it four years earlier, but hadn't walked up the steps to see the Buddha statue up close. So I planned to meet Aunt K early in the morning to go with her (as well as Fong and LilBro) to Lantau Island. But there are forecasts of heavy rain, and we'd be taking either a cable car (which would suspend us on a rope high above water level) or a bus (which would go on a twenty- to thirty-minute ride on a very twisty mountainside with nothing but metal bumper-things to keep a bus from sliding off of the slick roads into a very rocky oblivion). So we cancelled the plans. And apparently, I'm not going to be saying my greetings to Buddha this summer because my mom was like, "You've already seen the statue anyways. But last time, you didn't want to go up the steps and see it up close. So you know what? Deal with it -- you aren't going."
Whatevs, Mom. That was four years ago. Sorry that I wasn't interested at the time. (Sheesh.)
So now I'm thinking that I might go to Aunt K's tomorrow before heading to see Vivian play hocky. But we'll see, I guess. :)

Okay. Ciao. I've got to go now. (And sorry for the late post!!!)

RANDOM THINGS:
@ I noticed this two weeks ago -- my left arm is longer than my right one, but they look to be the same lengeth because my right shoulder is lower than my left one. (My left upper arm is longer than my right one, which accounts for this abnormality.)
@ I noticed this two weeks ago as well: my dyed hair became gray/white. See, the sun here is really bright, so I think that it bleached away the dye. Also, the shampoo and conditioner here isn't the protect-your-hair-dye kind, so that also didn't help. All in all, it's a bit eh... But I'll bye some dye when I get to the States and re-dye the white parts. :) I'm thinking... red? Pink? Green? (Something bright.)
@ Lately, I've been hearing lots of Lady Gaga here. It's so exciting. Like, many clothing stores and hair salons love her. Ahhh... so exciting!

OH! And I forgot to mention that Samule's birthday is July 9. And July 15 is Aubs' birthday.
Happy birthday, besties.

July 17
11:36 PM

July 14

As of right now (12 AM), July 14 counts as "yesterday". Therefore I will address it as such.

Yesterday, I woke up at about 9:30, which was not very good if you consider the fact that I was supposed to meet Hei Hei and Fong at the Causeway Bay station at 10:30. (Eep.) But somehow, I managed to get everything together and was only about one to three minutes late. (This was a certified miracle.)
But I digress. I got them and brought them to our apartment building, where we met Mom and LilBro. (LilBro was playing video games instead of getting ready, so he wasn't ready to leave yet. This resulted in a rather unhappy Mom who yelled at him after commissioning me to retrieve my cousins.) And then we took a bus to Aberdeen (香港仔) and took a small ferry to Jumbo, which is a floating restaurant -- legit, it's a restaurant that floats on the water. This makes it a very touristy attraction and an expensive place for you to go.

After dim sum at Jumbo (which was not especially delicious -- the expense of eating at Jumbo comes from "eating the view rather than from eating the food", as a Hong Kong idiom goes), we went and walked around in a shopping plaza. LilBro saw a Jumpin' Gym U.S.A. (which is similar to an arcade place -- the kind where you get tickets for your skill, success, and luck at impossible and absolutely unfair games) and asked Mom if he could play there, and she (surprisingly) agreed. So he played for a bit while Fong, Hei Hei, and I walked around. And when we finished looking around, we came back to Jumpin' Gym. (And I helped LilBro play the train game, where you drop coins in hopes of pushing all of the piles down into the bin.) When there were no tokens left, we went and traded in our tickets and left. We did some more browsing of stores, and then we left for Causeway Bay.
(In the end, I purchased a bag of candy and two shirts. Hei Hei bought a pair of shorts. Fong bought a shirt. It seems like I spend a lot of money, but I'm only using money here because the stuff here is cheaper than the stuff in America. So it's kind of like stocking up on bargain goods.)

We got to Causeway Bay and had some steamed milk/steamed milk custard (燉奶, "dun lai"). Well, actually... Mom and Hei Hei got some. David had black sesame soup (芝麻糊, "gee ma wu"), and Fong had some soymilk. And I was going to get some steamed milk custard, but my mom told me to try Jaja (喳咋) instead. So I did, and I recognized it from my chilldhood. It's a mixture of many different beans, which are stewed together and sweetened. It tastes similar to mung bean dessert soup, probably because many ingredients are shared in both recipes. (When my mom tried some of my Jaja, she said that hers has more ingredients than the one at the restaurant. But I countered with my own teasing comment of how her dessert soups usually ended up getting burnt and therefore probably didn't taste as good.)
After this small excursion, we went to Aji Ichiban to buy some little snack items: dried mango and dried pork. I make it sound like we spent just a little while in there, but the truth is that we were debating between this and that and this and that (because of the sales that were going on). But I decided to wait until later to return -- that way, I can bring some with me and share with Cec.
When our trip to Aji Ichiban finished, we headed back to our apartment building with a short stop at the bakery that is famous for its fried-pork bun. (This is just one of the few eateries below our apartment -- literally below -- that are famous.) And so we bought some of the buns and brought them up to our place (Hei Hei and Fong were like, "Hey -- cool. Never been here before."), where they were soon shared between Mom, LilBro, Hei Hei, and Fong. (First of all, I dislike pork. Second of all, I generally don't eat fried food, but I made an exception for Hong Kong food during this vacation. Third of all, I had no interest in comsuming that unhealthy-looking object. Fourth of all, I wanted ice cream instead because it was so hot outside.)

And so we did some hanging out for a while. Hei Hei, Fong, and LilBro took turns playing PS2 games. Meanwhile, I learned how to do some new internet stuff from Hei Hei and afterwards fell asleep on the couch in front of them (due to being tired).
And then we left for Tsuen Wan for dinner with Uncle 4. (This is the youngest of Mom's four brothers. His rank is #6 out of the seven in terms of age, but he's technically either #7 or #8 out of nine -- I've forgotten which it is. He has two daughters: Yanny and Kitty.)
We got off at the Tsuen Wan station, which took 12 stations to reach from Causeway Bay (unless you want to take the red line to Tsuen Wan, which makes it 16 stations -- this requires much less walking but involves far more waiting, so I'd rather walk for five minutes rather than stop four more times than necessary). We then walked for about fifteen minutes to the restaurant where I had dim sum with Uncle 4 in the winter. (I remember that the dim sum egg tarts here were supposedly famous for being delicious. But when I tried them, I found them too liquid and bland; I thought that I was eating some raw, unsetted jelly-like substance rathen than an egg tart. Therefore, I'm in no hurry to eat those again... or ever.)
Aunt K, Uncle Kau, Kitty, and my dad also made it, so the list was Aunt K, Uncle Kau, Fong, Hei Hei, Uncle 4 (Aunt 4 usually gets home at about 11:30 on weekdays, so she couldn't make it), Kitty, Dad, Mom, LilBro, and moi. We had yummy food, and the distinctive dishes are listed below.
@ Self-cook clams (can't remember the Chinese name). It's like having a hotpot because the pot is right on the table, and the raw food is placed right in front of the party. One takes the piece he or she wants (the siphon, the side, or the main meat -- the siphon is considered a delicacy) and does on the of the following: spears the meat with the skewer, places the meat on the holed ladle, or grabs the meat with chopsticks. Whatever the chosen action is, the next step is always the same -- place the utensils (with the meat) into the pot to cook the meat of the clam.
@ Roast goose (燒鵝). The goose should be roasted with the skin being crispy and the meat still tender.
@ Tofu with fish paste. Tofu is sandwiched between two slices of fish paste and then covered in gravy.
@ Champagne pork with citrus peel (forgot to ask the Chinese name). Sweet and sour pork is made with champagne, and bits of dried zest is sprinkled on top.
@ (Dessert) Green mung bean dessert soup. Green mung bean in boiled in a dessert soup with other beans.
@ (Dessert) Black sesame dessert soup. Sesame seeds and rice are ground into fine powder before being cooked in water.
@ (Dessert) Coconut milk with water chestnut dessert soup. I'm not sure, but it looked like thickened coconut milk with small, chopped water-chestnut pieces.

It was a pretty good dinner, but it was really heavy. The tofu excited me at first becuse it looked good (though the vegetables on the side looked really oily). But then the waiter poured gravy all over the tofu and on the sides, and I was horrified. I'm not really a big fan of goose; I feel that it's too dry, that the meat's too dark (I dislike dark meat), and that it's too fatty (Chinese people love to eat the fat and skin of cooked meat, but I hate both of those things. So people always think I'm wasting the tastiest parts of the meal). (Personally, I'm happy with a bit of chicken breast, which typical Chinese people dislike -- they prefer the thigh, whose texure is silkier and softer.) Besides, there was too much meat on the table -- the ten of us had to stuff ourselves in order to finish the goose (I prefer vegetables, fruits, and carbs. Basically, I enjoy simple and clean foods in small to medium sizes -- I generally avoid greasy or huge-sized foods). And then I avoided the pork entirely because sweet and sour pork is always deep-fried and because I don't like pork. And then the fish (which I didn't mention) was oily, which killed my excitement (Chinese people put quite a bit of oil on fish after steaming it). So the only food that I truly enjoyed was the clam, which surprised me (I'm not one for mollusk-type shellfish. I always like shrimp, am favorable of lobster, and sometimes enjoy crab... As for clams, mussels, and oysters, it depends on my mood, the flavor/marinade/sauce, and the cooking method).
And for dessert (which my uncle got for free because he's tight with the restaurant after being a long-time patron), I ordered the coconut milk with water chestnut. But they got my order wrong, so I had to have the sesame soup instead (which I had this afternoon because LilBro claimed to be full, which was definitely a lie -- he just wanted to play on the Nintendo DS that he has borrowed from Sara for more than a month). This dissapointed me a bit, but that's okay.

Anyways, I had a good time overall.
I mean, LilBro was pushing my buttons all night with his annoying antics.
Then the food was really gross (but also pretty good) at the same time. (This is not to be confused with "It was gross, but it tasted oh-so-good." which is known as a guilty pleasure. This was more of a guilty: "It was gross. But it was also pretty tasty. But they were more or less equal in magnitude (the gross side probably wins, actually), so I guess it all balances out... I guess?")
And there was also the fact that I had to (as usual) stuff myself to the point of unhappiness because I hate to see food go to waste. (People know this about me and shamelessly use me as a pseudo-trash-bin.)
And then Kitty (who is still a preteen) was a bit bratty because she's kinda spoiled. But she can't really help it, so I didn't really say anything even though she was sitting next to me.
And then Uncle 4 repeatedly told me that I should eat more and then I was thinner than I was in December even though I kept telling him not only that I had eating more (I've been letting myself go for this vacation) but also that I am heavier than I was in December (due to this letting-go). But he had ordered beer, so I guess I can't really blame him -- Asians generally have lower tolerance than Westerners, I've noticed (this isn't scientific truth, though -- I'm just stating what I have personally observed. For instance, my dad's face turns red with just half a bottle of beer, but he's safe because he has good self-control). But it was kinda annoying because it's a sore area for unkind criticism. And I'm happy as I am now, so I get even more sensitive when people tell me what to do.**
And Dad made the mistake of commenting further on how I'm too thin (even though I've been eating so much yuckiness here and now have an inflated tummy), which made me lose my temper as we were in the middle of the crosswalk.
But the night was generally good. I got to see Uncle 4 for the first time during this vacation, after all. And the food was good (but also gross). And I spent time with my relatives, which is always good. (It sounds like I'm trying to lie to myself, but I swear it's not like that -- I did enjoy my evening.)

After dinner, we all separated into our different ways, and Dad, Mom, LilBro, and I took fast public light bus (I'd call it an express bus) home. I sat next to Dad, who kept asking if I was carsick. But I was merely thinking and told him so, but I don't think he believed me. (Otherwise, he'd have stopped asking, right?)
And then we got home at 10:30. And now here I am, typing away. (I didn't dare type earlier because my parents are trying to enforce a no-laptop-after-11 rule. So I shower at 11:15 or so, and they're usually asleep by the time I get out of the bathroom (because I brush my teeth, wash my face, blow-dry my hair, etc. after the shower).

Okay. I'm pooped. G'night.

**Note: I don't mind criticism. But when I feel that people are criticizing without trying to help or give me any direction (akin to "just biznitching about me", which makes me wonder if they have nothing better to do with their life) OR when they're merely trying to provoke me OR when they don't really understand the situation (although I don't necessarily want to explain the truth), I get become irked. And this usually results in some silent brooding (which has a lifespan from as short as half a minute to as long as a whole day). And it just generally puts me out of the mood, which I find unfair. (See, I try not to make other people unhappy; so I pretend that nothing's wrong even when people ask me if I'm okay. This makes me feel like it's unfair because I will be grumpy all by myself while everyone else is assumably happy.) Anyways, enough of this! I'm not here for a rant.

July 15
2:00 AM

July 13th, :)

So... today I woke up at 6:30 to hear my parents getting ready to leave for Mass (they were putting their shoes on). I was barely conscious but heard my mom say, "Happy birthday." Since I was barely lucid, I hadn't remembered. So hearing this made me remember, haha.
Anyways, I went back to sleep after this event and got up at 7 to finish blogging (since I fell asleep doing it in the early morning). And then I went back to bed. But I couldn't fall asleep, so I just waited until my mom got back from Mass. She returned at about 8, so I got up then and ate, brushed my teeth, changed, etc.
And then it was off to the immigration center in Wan Chai because I have to get my new HK Identity Card (you need to get one at the age of 11, and then you need to renew your thingy with a new card when you're 18). So I went there and spent about an hour there, most of which was spent waiting in line, thankyouverymuch.

When the ordeal was over, my mom and I had some time to spare. So we went to Tai Yuen Street (玩具街; "Toy Street") for some open-air shopping for neat little trinkets and clothes. Since we were short on time, I decided to hit up clothes this time and come back later for souveniers.
After an unsuccessful half-hour, my mom and I went to Sogo to meet Fong, Hei Hei, Aunt K, and LilBro (who was staying at Aunt K's, remember?) for lunch. So we waited for a bit... and had to find out where they were because we definitely didn't see them. And it turns out that LilBro led the whole group (Hei Hei went to Tsing Yi to meet up with Aunt, LilBro, and Fong because the latter two stayed at her place) to a place that was oh... (how to put this?) not Sogo.
After that mini fiasco, we went to the restaurant where I ate with Dad and his coworkers (for that lunch way back when), and Vivian and Dad met us there soon afterwards. (Dad won the award for being latest to arrive, though we didn't tell him where we were until we were actually seated in all fairness. So considering that it took him less than ten minutes after getting a call, I think he did pretty well.)
We ate a yummy lunch. Here are the special/rare/not ordinary dishes:
@ Salt-cooked chicken. The chicken is marinated with only salt (no water, even!) and then steamed.
@ Stuffed tofu. A hole is made in the tofu, and meat is placed into the empty space. Yay.
@ Mushrooms in crab sauce. Straw mushrooms (草菇; "grass mushroom") are made in a sauce with crab meat and egg white.
@ Taro-fried duck. Duck is wrapped in taro and deep-fried.
@ Fried mantou. Mantou are deep-fried and then (traditionally) dipped in sweetened condensed milk (by the eater).

Everything was delicious, but I ate a ton (as per usual, I helped to finish everything because I hate seeing wasted food). So I was glad to go to Stanley (赤柱), which is a major tourist area (and a residential area for rich people). It's very pretty because it's right by the water, but it's cleaner and prettier than most of Hong Kong. There are a few beaches here (though there are nets because of shark attacks of the past), and there's a spot of pretty sight-seeing and shopping (open-air and strikingly similar to "Toy Street"). We walked around for a while and did some shopping/browsing. (I bought a bag, and they were asking me how much it cost. But I always get very snappy with this kind of conversation because it usually involves criticism or money-shoving. But I didn't want anyone to be like, "Take this money. Think of it as a gift from me now." So I was like, "None of your business. I neither want nor need a birthday gift. Being here is enough for me.") And then we all got some cold drinks at a French cafe that served pastries 'n such (my iced matcha with wheat germ was really yummy) before deciding to chill out at Taste, which is a Western-friendly and higher-class branch of the Park 'n Shop family. (OMIGOSH, it was sunny. I felt like I was burning the whole time because I hadn't brought a hat to wear.) It was nice to cool down in the A/C, but going out of the store afterwards was a bit killer. So we went to McDonald's to relax in the cool air and to drink some stuff (and to try some of the purchases we made at Taste -- the Portuguese tart, in particular). We ended up spending at least one and a half hours in the fast food restaurant, just eating and talking. (I did not partake in the eating of McDonald's food because I am vehemently against eating fast food. Who knows what chemicals and weirdness he or she consumes?)

Then we left for Wan Chai for dinner. My dad and Vivian, who had both left respectively after lunch (my dad went back to work, and Vivian went home to do stuff because she took today off as a vacation day... meaning that Aunt K, Fong, Hei Hei, Mom, LilBro, and I were the ones who went to Stanley), also came for dinner. (Once again, Dad was the latest.)
The specials of the meal were:
@ Peking Duck. A duck is cooked, and the crispy top layer is cut into thin slices (which means that the "duck" part is usually just skin and fat). The duck filling is then placed in a thin wrapper with some vegetable, scallions, and sauce before being wrapped and eaten. This is an interactive dish, by the way -- the wrappers, duck filling, vegetables, and condiments are provided, but you must make it yourself.
@ Lobster in egg noodles. Lobster is cooked with sauce and placed on a bed of egg noodles (伊麵, "yee mien").
@ Duck with bean sprouts. As per usual, the duck that was used to make Peking Duck is not wasted. So you get to tell the people how you would enjoy the meat. We ordered the meat to be prepared with bean sprouts, red peppers, and shiitake mushrooms.
@ Egg with bitter melon and fish paste. This was basically an omelet with the ingredients I listed.
@ Bean curd. The bean curd was cooked and sliced, and then garlic was placed on it.
@ Bean curd with fish "brisket". Bean curd was cooked with deep-fried meat taken from the body of the fish (there was neither head nor tail in this dish).
@ (Dessert) Steamed sponge cake. This is 馬拉糕 ("ma lai gou"), which is a steamed sponge cake made of lots of egg yolk. It is usually sweetened with molasses. The one we ordered had some "milk yolk" (奶黃), which is a sweet yellow paste usually made from coconut milk, egg yolk, and sugar.
@ (Dessert) Small pearl tapioca in a taro dessert. It's a liquid dessert with taro chunks, coconut milk, and small pearl tapioca.

It was an excellent meal -- very tasty. It was honestly all very delectable... although some dishes were way too oily to enjoy fully. Oh well. I still ate happily, for the most part (except for the end, where I had to help finish everything because I hate to waste food).
After dinner, we went to my dad's workplace to use the bathrooms (clean toilets!) before heading to The Peak. Some people were seeing the office for the first time and were therefore very amazed, but I was taking pictures of the city through the glass window.
We finally finished and were starting to walk in the general direction of the tram to The Peak until we realized that it was a little late for Peak-ing... So we all decided to head our separate ways and find another day for going to The Peak. (We've been pressuring Fong to postpone his return to Macau. The poor thing can't say otherwise with so many people pressuring.)

And so my parents and brother went back home while I went to Sogo to check something out (which they had in June). But they don't have it anymore, sadface. So instead, I went home and took a well-deserved shower (after so much sweating, I can only say that it was a very nice birthday present).

Anyways, I really have to get some sleep. Love, etc.

July 14
2:45 AM

July 11, July 12

lunch with grandma in chai wan
came back to change -- vivian's game
but suddenly started pouring when going back home
so decided not go; besides, dad was tired as heck
then maritime square
mass (park)
aunt k's

------------------------

So that was a post that I did yesterday morning at 1 AM. Hence the choppiness -- sorry. Well, here's the deal:

Sunday, I went to lunch at Chai Wan with my grandmother. It was nice to see my grandmother, though she's a bit... quirky/eccentric (it's the old age). Eh, whatever. It's good to see her because I love her even though she's kinda... eh.

Anyways, afterward! We headed back home because my dad wanted to change before heading to Vivian's game (I want to go to one of her hockey matches, so the whole family decided to go). But then as soon as we got within five yards from our apartment building entrance, it started to pour. Just randomly out of nowhere, it started to POUR. WTG, man?
And so my dad was like, "Ehh... We're not really planning to walk to the rink in the pouring rain, are we?" And he was also tired (poor thing, he always works so hard that he's always up for a nap). So we decided to just stay at home, with my dad napping (and my mom joined) and my brother and me just chilling.

After an afternoon of lazing about, we left at about 5 to go to Maritime Square. We walked around (my dad went shoe-shopping for my brother) but had to postpone our purchases in order to not be late for vigil Mass. And so we went, and I took a different route from last time by cutting through the park. Haha, yay to shortcuts.
After Mass, then we went for hotpot at Aunt K's. :) It was definitely a mom's-side-of-the-family thing -- Aunt K & Uncle Kau, Sara & Eric (and Denise and Nathan), Fong, Ada, and Vivian were there (Hei Hei and Zalu & Peggie arrived much later).
It was a nice dinner, as hotpot always is. It's such a happy family affair. I mean, a group of people just sit or stand at a table with a big pot of boiling water (which gains flavor with every item you place into the pot), and they grab whatever they want from the pot. It's such a great way to get closer to a group of people. :)
After a bit, my parents wanted to go back to Maritime Square to finish their shopping for LilBro's shoes, which they had placed on hold. (And they wanted to buy another pair because buying two would get a discount.) So before they left, everyone brought out a birthday cake for me and began singing the birthday song to me, which I kind of dislike; I feel that it's just an awkward song because the subject of the song can listen and nod for ten seconds of excrutiating awkwardness, twiddle his or her thumbs for ten seconds of excrutiating awkwardness, or just sing along for ten seconds of excrutiating awkwardness. Anyways, I digress about the whole I-find-it-awkward thing.
I had told them all NOT to make a big fuss over me, but I kinda knew it was going to happen anyways. It was nice for them to do that, and it's flattering. But I was like, "Guys... you didn't have to..."
But it was funny because Denise and Nathan also wanted to blow the candles out. So we ended up lighting the cake candle three times, haha.

Later that evening, I left with Vivan and Fong (who decided to stay over at Vivian's, which I'll explain later) for Causeway Bay by taxi because Vivian didn't want me to arrive at home too late. Still, I got home at about 12:15 because we left at about 11:45 (and the Cross Harbour Tunnel had a bit of traffic, as per usual).
For those who wonder what became of my brother, he decided to stay at Aunt K's for the night (and play Wii until some unholy morning hour, undoubtedly). You'll see why.

------------------------

Then yesterday, I went to play "war game" (this is what HK people call it. But it's just paintball, basically).
I woke at 7 AM and left with my mom to meet Fong. (This is why he stayed at Vivian's -- though his stay primarily involves him residing at Aunt K's, he went to Vivian's so that we three could meet to go to the Causeway Bay station together. That way, he wouldn't have to wake up so early and wouldn't chance getting lost.) The three of us then took the MTR to Diamond Hill (鑽石山), where we met Hei Hei. And so we waited for the others to arrive, but they were late. So we decided to get a bit of breakfast first and called to tell them such.
During breakfast, the others finally came and joined us -- Auntie Regine & husband and a vast array of cousins from my dad's side of the family. They were Matthew, Charles, Martha, Maria, Bess, [Bess' sister, whose English name I don't know. And don't say that I'm a terrible cousin -- I only use Chinese to address them, so I only found out Bess' name because I looked at the sign-in sheet], and Brian.
It was a mix of both sides of the family because Fong had displayed interest in the idea of playing war game (this is how we say it here: "to play war game"), and Hei Hei also wanted in. (And I also wanted to try it.) So at first, Vivian tried to book a day but couldn't gather a sufficient amount of interested people. So my mom talked to Auntie Regina during the last family reunion (dad's side), who was like, "Brian (her son) loves to play war game. I could book it -- who wants to come?" So Auntie Regina booked it, and my mom asked on behalf of Fong and Hei Hei if they could also join (because Vivan's plans fell through).

It was fun. We played from 10 to 4. Haha, five hours of intense hunting and one hour for a lunch-break. Brian was really into it -- he has gear and his own stuff. He must have been in practice because he kept shooting people down like snap. It was ridiculous. We mainly split up into even groups (as even as possible) but tried an alternative version during the last few rounds -- three people were limited to a certain area while the others tried to take them down. During the first of these ones, I could have won the game for my team (the "invading" team) becuase I successfully snuck up behind Brian and Charles (we had already taken Fong out). But I forgot that I could say "Bingo" (this is a situation if you sneak up behind a person or group of enemy people without his or her/their detection -- that way, you can avoid shooting at close range, which would hurt). And so I was trying to hit them within three feet. But my gun didn't work (you have to load the spring every once in a while to keep reloading the pellets). So they heard me behind them, and I was so sad. Because I was SO close, URGH. (And then later, my "dead" teammates -- "dead" teammates have to leave the area and go wait outside -- were like, "You could have called 'Bingo' on them." And I was like, "CRAP -- you're right. I forgot.")
It was really fun. At first I was really nervous and stuff, so I usually stayed in an area, waiting for unsuspecting enemy members to come towards me. It was always stressful, as it was like a maze with many doors, curtains, and window-holes, so people might bump into each other or see each other through spaces in the walls. So I had to use a lot of peripheral vision. It was good because I have excellent peripheral vision, but I somehow only hit maybe 10% of my close-range targets (within five feet). (But I think that some of them might have not admitted to being hit. But I have no proof, and it's mean to assume this. So I didn't say it.) But later on, I eventually got to being a little less nervous, so I would just sneak around and creep up on people. It was fun, although I now have lots of small welts (the pellets measured about half a centimeter in diameter) and was bleeding from the head (Brian shot my head. What?).
I still can't believe that my mom played, though (haha). I had told her she'd be a moving target, but she still insisted on coming; LilBro, on the other hand, was afraid of it hurting and therefore rejected his invitation. He said, as he usually does to anything from trying different food to buyuing stuff in Hong Kong, "I have six years to experience this." (I actually find this very bratty. It's kind of like he's saying, "Well... I, unlike you, have time to experience all of these great things." even though I know he wont do them. But I don't say anything -- let him miss out, I say. I am here for another month, so I'm trying to spend tie wisely. If LilBro's interested in doing other stuff like playing on the computer, that's fine with me.) Auntie Regina also played twice even though being very nervous, but her husband (who had actually even signed the sign-in sheet) didn't. He claimed that he was afraid that he'd bruise the children too much because he's so good (haha). As I said, he's actually really funny, and I would associate him more with my mom's side of the family (because my mom's side is all laughter, loudness, and witty teasing while my dad's side is more serious and... fundamental) if I didn't know that he's married to Auntie Regina.

It was really nice to hang with the "kids" (I use this term to refer to my generation) from my dad's side of the family, though. I rarely get to see them, and it was good to spend time with them. (And I rarely ever see Fong because he lives in Macau, and I never really spent time with Hei Hei until this year. So it's also good to chill with them.)

We left in the afternoon, and the sky was so pretty as we were walking. I was just snapping pictures left and right because the sky was so blue, and the sun was so bright. (Blue skies are very rarely seen in Hong Kong. It's so humid here that it's usually raining or foggy. And there's a bit of pollution, so it can also be smoggy in areas.)
Anyways, I got home with my mom (we went on the same MTR line as Fong and Hei Hei, but they both had separate lines to take. So we separated). And we bought some bread for a simple dinner.
But before dinner, we first went to a nearby store that sold clothes, stuffed toys, and other cute trinkets (like paperweights, small figurines, and other cute stuff like that I don't know how to desribe) because my dad encouraged us to check it out. And so I found some souveniers for people. But my mom didn't find anything she wanted (and my dad had already visited in the afternoon), so we went home.
And so my dad, my mom, and I had dinner (my brother's still away, undoubtedly playing Wii). And then I collapsed on the couch because I had gone to bed at 4 (don't ask) and had been running around all day. But then my dad went for his terapeutic massage, so I woke up then and chilled with my mom though I was still tired. I later talked to Cec (we called) until 11:30, and then I went online to blog but fell asleep. Eurgh.

So here I am, typing. :)
And I'm tired but have to go in two hours. So bye for now.

June 13!!!!!!!!!!
7:39 AM

July 10th

Things are starting to pick up now that my little break is over. For lunch, we had "ho fun" rice noodles with wontons. Yumyumyum.
And then, I finished Amadeus with my mom! I very much enjoyed it. I felt that it was a very entertaining.
And the afternoon went on with some chilling with my brother. I had two ice-cream pops because (a) we have some, (b) they're tasty, and (c) it's HOT.

Later in the day, we had afternoon tea when my dad left work. We met him at a little restaurant near his company's place. I ordered thick vermicelli with pickles & thin pork strips, egg, and shiitake mushrooms (you got three things with your noodles!) and a Horlicks (this was a set plan -- three sides in noodles with a drink). My dad the same kind of vermicelli, but he picked the pickles & pork (like me), luncheon meat, and mushrooms (I think this is it, but I'm not sure: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hericium_erinaceus) with milk tea-coffee. My mom ordered Viatnamese fried rice with an almond drink. My brother had dry-fried wide "ho fun" noodles with beef and ordered some milk-tea with it.
Altogether, I felt that the food was merely okay. My meal was nothing special in my opinion, and I felt that my mom's (after trying a bit) was very plain -- just fried rice with a bit of curry sauce (so she should have just ordered curry fried rice instead). Oh well.

After the meal, we went to a bone-setter's for my dad and me. My back started hurting because I lean over way too much at the computer. And then I was feeling my back to see where it hurt when I felt that one of my spinal cord discs was protruding a bit(!!!). And it kinda hurt when I started to massage it. So I was like, "Bad. Never again will I lean over like I used to."
So I told my parents, and we agreed that I have to see the bone-setter (this kind uses massaging and forced restoration) like I did in December. I know that this bone-setting works because he loosened up my ligaments and pushed some of my bones back into the proper place -- namely my neck and shoulders. And now, I can stand and sit straight without getting tired in five minutes. (Legit!)
So I went today, and he inspected my back. He said that there was nothing wrong except that I had a weak neck and shoulder area (probably because of my bad neck, which I only fixed half a year ago). And so he helped me loosen up my muscles and joints, which was good.
Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time to get to my dad, so he told us to come again. So I'll be seeing him on Wednesday with my dad for his make-up appointment (I'm tagging along to learn some good stretches and exercises to help muscles, which should effectively lessen my back pain).
This wasn't quite what I needed (because my back still hurts). See, one of the discs in my backbone hurts -- not the back muscles... So I intend to tell my parents that I don't think that he did quite what I needed. I'll see if I can go to the one I saw in December -- it hurt to have my ligaments and bones forced back into place, but I know it helped.

Anyways! After that, we went looking to some shops nearby because Aunt K commissioned us (because we love close to a Fila merchandise store) to help her buy a bag she wanted. So we went to the store. Lo and behold, they were playing The Fame, Lady Gaga's CD. I was so excited that I started singing the songs (this also happened in Tai Wo Hau when I went to the shopping plaza with Aunt K after lunch with Ada. At a hair salon, I heard her CD playing on the speakers, so I pretended to browse at a nearby shop). It was very exciting for me because I love her.

And after the purchases, we came home. And mom and I did some jogging. (We've been doing this nightly, and it's weird because we normally don't watch TV. But ever since we started jogging in-place at home, we've started watching. Haha -- weird that exercise would help our bonding with the television screen.)

And now here I am. I still have to shower, though. And I'm tired. So I'll see you tomorrow.
Ciao.

P.S. My cousin (Fong) who lives in Macau has decided to visit Hong Kong for a few days before going to college in Mainland China. He arrived today. :) I'm going to see if I can hang with him a bit while he's here.
P.P.S There's a level-1 typhoon warning. Just sayin'.

July 10, 2009
11:27 PM

July 9th

So today was another uneventful day. My aunt came around to do some cleaning. And it was just a day for hanging 'round since it was so hot.

Anyways, my mom and I went and took a little walk to Wellcome (the 24/7 one that's a bit farther from the basement one) -- it was hot (thankfully, it wasn't very humid. This made it bearably hot, haha). We bought some fruit, ice cream (Rose & Lavender; Mango with nata de coco and small pearl tapicoa; milk tea & red bean; tofu & sesame; red bean), snacks, and some drinks. There was a nice saleslady who chatted with us for half an hour; the whole ordeal was very happifying. :) I love nice people -- it may be a ploy to gain more customers/get people to buy things, but I like the fact that there are nice workers.

Anyways. We came back with the groceries at about 1. But we wanted to wait for my aunt to finish (we wanted to all eat together). However, she wasn't ready 'til 1:50, at which time none of us were hungry anymore... So we decided to skip lunch entirely. (I ate some food anyways, but it wasn't enough to constitute as a meal.)
And so we chilled for a bit -- my mom and I played Chinese chess, which I find considerably harder because not every piece can move across the board. And then my aunt eventually peaced.

After a while, my mom decided to buy some "sheet sugar" (片糖) to make winter melon drink. So she bought some at the open-air market nearby and came back to make this drink. And so she let the pot sit for a while, and we watched Amadeus for a bit. But then she got busy, so I had to pause. And so I did some hanging with my brother.

And then dinner came, and my dad came back from a business trip soon after. And then the night passed with routine stuff, and my mom and I never finished Amadeus, sad...
Oh well... It was good so far, though. I'll see if I can watch with her tomorrow. :)

Anyways, that's it for today. Sorry that I've not been doing anything spectacular as of late. I feel like this is my resting week... for now.
But I'll catchya later.

June 9
11:36 PM

July 8th, which is today

So I didn't do much today either. I couldn't sleep last night/this morning and was up 'til 2. So I slept 'til 10:45 today. At this time, I had a bit of food.

And then it was time for lunch! I had some congee and noodles. (These noodles were short and stout, kind of like thick bean sprouts. They were also a bit odd in texture -- they seemed a bit harder than normal noodle, but I could bite into them very easily. I don't know what they were called.)

And then I sat around at home, goofing off with LilBro and finally getting back to Facebook-ing. And it was a happy affair. At 2:50, my mom went downstairs to do a terapeutic massage. She was gone for two hours, at which time I decided to curb my hunger with some instant noodle (but not ramen -- I had instant vermicelli, yum-yum).

And then my mom came back, and we had dinner. It was a very simple meal -- bread, hard boiled eggs, and noodles (and even some ramen because LilBro was hungry. That made his total instant noodle count a total of three for today).
And I ended with three kiwis and an orange (I miss fruit because I haven't had any in a long time...).

Anyways, I finished dinner and did some running in place with my mom again. (It was nice bonding time.) And afterwards, I took a shower and did some more Facebook stuff. And now here I am, with little to say about my day.
:(

Um... In recent news (I don't know if you know this), there's been a lot of clamor over the violence in Xinjiang Uygur in China. There's some prejudicial stuff going on, and things have been getting bad. In fact, people are carrying around weapons like knives, axes, and grenades with them on the streets as they riot. It's all very frightening to see, and it makes me sad. :(
I wish things like these wouldn't happen -- life's too short to be unhappy, right?

July 8
11:12 PM

Today! (July 7th)

So today, I woke at 11:45 (when my mom woke me up). Never has my mom let me oversleep like this before (and I feel like I haven't slept 'til this late before). It was really humid since my mom had opened the windows (that's what we do -- we air condition at night and open the windows during the mornings. And then if we're home during the afternoons, we turn the AC back on).
Anyways, my mom saved me half a steamed bun (饅頭) for a mini breakfast (but it actually became an addition to my lunch, haha). And then I ate some Muesli grains (which comprise o some oats, nuts, and raisins. Yum) and was happy with this for lunch.
And then it got sweltering in the afternoon, yuck. And so I did some more typing amidst my dying-in-the-heat.

And then we left at 3:30 for acupuncture (for me) and got there at about 4:00. He said that my body was not as hot as before, but my lungs are (apparently) a little bad off right now. So he told me to get some more Chinese medicine and to get more sleep. And also to avoid "hot air" (熱氣) foods. (熱氣 describes food that is "hot" for the body; generally, this refers to oily foods, deep-fried foods, certain fruits, and lots of junk foods. Chinese medical practice dictates that one should try to find a balance in the body, so having too much "heat"or "wetness" in the body is bad for you. More on this later, I promise.)
And then he did acupuncture. So I was on the cot thing. And then my mom was like, "It hurts. He's very skilled -- better than the one we had in Boston. But it hurts a lot." Now, I had been bracing myself because I had done acupuncture before. It hadn't really hurt much. I mean, the getting-the-needle-into-the-ligament/tendon hurt a bit, especially when the acupuncturist turns the needle. But it wasn't too bad.
But then my mom scared me with this, so the doctor was like, "Relax. It'll be fine."
And then my mom goes, "Haha. I'm just kidding."
I was like, >:[ !!! I mean, seriously. Don't scare me like that please!

Anyways, he poked me with the needle a few times, and it wasn't bad. I was tense because of what Mom had said, but it was pretty good. My left ring finger immediately felt lighter when he acupunctured the tendon(?).
And then he also poked the top of my left foot (my first time hearing of acupuncture on the feet. But I guess it makes sense). And so my foot felt really cool (temperature-wise), which was like, Um... Is that normal? And he was like, "It's getting rid of the 'wind' (I don't know how to explain Chinese medical practice to you, but it really works. Like, legit... For me, at least.) in your body. That's why it feels a bit colder than the rest of your body."
The whole thing was pretty cool because he was done within three minutes. (Never have I ever had such a short session.) And we were off at 4:20.

I love acupuncture, which probs. sounds really masochistic. But the fact is that it doesn't really hurt (and when it does, it's very short-lived). And I find that it really helps. So I really like it, and I trust it even though I get a bit nervous every time someone approaches me with a needle.

Anyways, we then had a bit of Vietnamese food for (late) afternoon tea (下午茶)/(early) dinner. I had Thai noodles (at a Viatnamese restaurant?) with bean sprouts and thin chicken strips (雞線); with my meal, I added some money for a side dish of Viatnamese rice-paper rolls and a drink made of coconut milk with nata de coco and small pearl tapioca (西米露; "sai mai lo") (imagine tapioca pearls (波霸, "boba" OR 珍珠, "pearl")... but really small). I liked everything I ordered because I love small pearl tapioca, nata de coca, Viatnamese rice-paper rolls, and Viatnamese noodles (the soup is always really good, and I really love bean sprouts and cilantro).
My mom ordered a tuna sandwich (remember -- they gave us the menu for afternoon tea, so this was like a set meal) with almond milk. My brother ordered pork in "ho fun" rice noodles with Ovaltine.
(My meal needed extra money because the rice-paper rolls were an additional side dish -- y'know, the kind that's cheaper than the menu price because it's ordered with a set lunch. And then my drink was a "special", so it cost a little -- although it was also like the rice-paper, which were at a "discount".)
And then we all shared fried soft-shell crabs. It was deep-fried (I usually avoid deep-fried foods, but I had decided to let it all out this summer. So when I get back to America, it's so a fruits-and-veggies regimen for me) and served with hot peppers. It was really good. (I wish you were here, Cec. I thought of you as we ate this, and we all thought of you when we ate boiled prawn (八隻蝦? Is that the right term?) last night.)
All was yummy.

Anyways, after the meal, we went in search for some egg cakes (雞蛋仔; "egg kids") and Hong Kong waffles. (格仔餅 ("grid-child cake/cracker") is the formal name, but my mom called it something else. She used the word that means "hold (with chopsticks)" (Cec, help me out here) and "cake/cracker" (餅). Together, it means something similar to "cake/cracker that encases something".)
Anyways, we first stopped to get some tofu with tapioca peals/boba (the abovementioned 波霸 or 珍珠) because LilBro was complaining about how his tongue hurt. (He can't handle spicy foods. See, my family has ranks in spice-tolerance. My sister and brother are tied at 0. My dad's a 3. I'm a 4. My mom's a 6.5 or 7. This is all on a (HAPPY) 0 - 5 (BURN) scale, that is.)
And we also bought some yums (steamed glutinous powder(?) cakes) here.
And then we bought the egg cakes and HK waffle. The egg cakes brought back lots of fond memories, and I vaguley felt reminded of something as I ate some of the waffle (which had peanut butter, margarine, and sugar in it). The waffle was really flavorful because of the margarine (my mom had already asked for little margarine, but there was still quite a bit when I bit into it), but I think it would have been just as well with more peanut butter and less margarine (because I'm not really used to butter-like spreads. I grew up not using this, so it kinda bugs me when I see butter slabs on food).

And then we got back home at about 7. We watched news, and fell asleep after a little bit. But then I got up, and my mom and I ran did some running in place. (We want to run outside at the nearby track, but my brother scares us off each time with his "There are a lot of mosquitos out there, 'yknow..." Thanks, LilBro...)
And then I took a shower and got to blogging.
So that was my day. :) Pretty average, but nice.

On a side note, the campaign for eco-friendly shopping began today. In Hong Kong, every time you need a plastic bag at (say) the supermarket, you pay 50 cents. This has been advertised for a long time, so people had already begun bringing reusable bags since June (the frail-looking ones that feel like rough cloth?). Anyways, I think it's a good plan. I mean, it makes sense. And reusable bags are easy to fold up, so it's not too cumbersome to carry around (the ones I've been using are pretty good, at least).

Anyways, love.
June 8
12:46 (My posts always take at least an hour. WTG, man...)