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