Demoted

For a week or so, we were my mil's (mil=mother-in-law for those who are newcomers to my blog) mailman/woman. As of this past Sunday evening, she called and demoted us to trash people. We were asked... well, no, we were told, to bring out her trash for her. She went on and on and on about having something being put out on the back door and that we'd have to pick it up before the day is over (she called at 6pm Sunday) since they pick up her trash on Monday morning. Nice! I had to say 'no we couldn't do it that evening' as we were having guests coming over for dinner'. No problem. She asked me pass the message to Bruce and have him take her trash out on his way to work lol.

Bruce of course, was not the least bit amused when I told him this piece of information right before our guests got here... but like a filial son he always is, he did exactly that on Monday morning om his way to school. Trouble was, I don't think he did exactly what he was supposed to. I can't say I took the trouble to repeat specifically what my mil had told me; so he only got half of what he was supposed to do. Honestly, I didn't think he would do it lol... after all, getting him to take the trash out of this household always incurs a rolling of the eye or an annoyed please-tell-me-that-earlier-'coz-I-have-to-rush-to-work. So going to take his mom's trash, I thought, would be a miracle lol. Of course, as usual, I under estimate the American son. I always thought only Asian kids were expected to be filial...

Anywayz, my mil hasn't called here to complain about her trash that might still be sitting on her front door... but I'm sure between now and next Monday, my mil will be able to find some kind soul to do just that for her. Too bad for her, I'm occupied enough these days not to have to be kind to her... after all, I have blog fans I feel obligated to amuse :)

Who Am I?

'Are you Filipina?' I get asked that question at least ten times on an annual basis. Well, I'm not(!) so stop bloody asking me!!! Yesterday at jazzercise, an Asian walked in. We looked at each other, smiled and nodded. She looked Vietnamese and 'older'... ok, not that much older but 'weathered' lol. She was a good jazzerciser, so I figured she's been to more than a couple of lessons unlike Julie and I who were at our second class and still lost and clumsy with the same steps we were just taught two days ago.

Right after class, Ms Thang came up to me and asked enthusiastically with her accent 'are you Pilipina?'. I think I resisted rolling my squinty eyes... but I know they also got really big (big like I was in my first traumatic earthquake experiance). 'NO?' I answered, trying to remain calm. She asked if I had kids. This time I think my nose flared lol... again, negative. Boy she was hitting all the wrong points wasn't she. She then asked if I'd just moved here hahahaha. I decided to be nice and started a semi conversation :)

Over the years, I have had uncountable people ask me an umpteen times 'pilipina?'. Gawd... from the bus driver who took me from my car to the airport terminal in Tucson, the bunch of guys at the bus-stop in Seattle, the group of Filina chicks who looked me up and down and smiled when they saw me walking with Bruce giving me the oh-you've-done-well-for-yourself look at Trafalgar Square, the Filipina cashier at Marks and Spencers in London, the doorman in Vienna who asked if I speak Tagalog, the lady at Buffalo Wild Wings in Memphis who practically cornered me and interrogated me when I said I wasn't 'her kind'... geez... and that's only a fraction of what I can remember.

On the flip side, when I tell the Chinese that I AM Chinese, they don't want to believe me! WTF?!

Stupid White Girl

My girlfriends and I went to the movies today. We went to see 'An Unfinished Life'. As usual, we got our tickets, our popcorn and went into the cinema. It was already dark and I was leading the way to get seats. It wasn't crowded at all but people were scattered all around. I decided to go about four rows from the back and walked cautiously while the routine advertisements were going on, loud. I hear someone harshly say something... I didn't know there was someone there until I heard her and looked up and saw the pair of shoes hanging out from the back of the chair ahead of me. She was talking to me apparently. I said 'excuse me?!' and then she grumbled aloud 'I guess if you have to sit in front of me then I'd just move'. Only then did it occur to me then that she was talking to me and had said 'please do not sit in front of me'. HUH!? What?! I ignored her, of course. Almost purposely, I sat on the seat next to where her feet hung. She mumbled something - probably calling me a fat bitch or something along that line and moved. From the corner of my eye, I saw that she'd move about three seats away. What a stupid bitch! I mean, hello!? First of all, I'm phucking 4'10" (four ten and a half but who's measuring lol), the seats are tiered and it's not like I have Marge Simpson's hair or had on one of those fruit hamper hats. GAWD!!!

We enjoyed the movie without much incident except everytime she laughed or mumbled something to herself, it annoyed the hell out of me. Why are some white women so stupid!? I mean... there are stupid Asian girls but white American girls take the 'wow' for stupidity!

Get A Life!

Do they not have anything better to do?! Arresting bloggers???

BLOGGERS have become used to letting off steam, while invective in Internet forums is nothing new. Yesterday, however, the online community received a little reminder that real laws still apply in the virtual world as two men were charged in court for taking their racist outpourings too far.

Benjamin Koh Song Huat, 27, and Nicholas Lim Yew, 25, were arrested and charged under the Sedition Act.

Investigations into the case, which has created a buzz among bloggers, began after someone called the police hotline at 3am on June 19 to complain that Koh's blog on www.upsaid.com "discussed topics that would disrupt racial harmony".

Inquiries into that complaint led the police to postings on an online pet forum, www.doggiesite.com, where Lim, a marketing executive, apparently made his own brand of racist remarks. The two men are believed to know each other.

Koh faces three charges while Lim faces two for remarks made between June 12 and June 17 this year. If convicted, they could be fined up to $5,000 per charge or jailed up to three years, or both.

According to court documents, Lim's forum message began with: "The masses are idiots. 'Nuff said". He went on to make disparaging remarks about Muslims.

Then, turning his attention to the Chinese and Indians, he wrote that listening to the complaints of "Chinese and Indians ... was no less irritating".

Koh was more pointed. Peppering his blog entry with vulgarities, he directed his tirade at Malays and Muslims. His blog had a picture of a roasted pig's head with "a Halal look-alike logo", according to court documents.

The two men, who attempted to evade the media as they left the court, are out on bail of $10,000 each. They will return to court on Sept 21.

Meanwhile, the case is likely to have a temporary "chilling effect" on the Internet community, said lawyers and media academics.

"Everyone will definitely become more careful about what they say," lawyer Siew Kum Hong, himself a former blogger, told Today. "Blogging is no different from other forms of speech in everyday life."

The same rules that apply to newspaper writers and at the Speakers' Corner also apply to bloggers, he said.

"Whether they create a riot or not, the very act of saying those words or publishing them becomes an offence." Someone who was overheard making racist remarks might also be charged under the Act, he added.

Gawd! This explains why so many Singaporeans leave every year. Always having to watch your phucking back. Hey, they have yet to arrest the three different sets of dark-skinned robbers (my parents saw them, so there!) who broke into our house. Why don't they spend some time working on real crimes!

Sucker!!!

I have a soft heart... sometimes.

Ok, so I saw the hurt in my mil's face on Sunday afternoon when we refused to go into her house when we surprised her at her backdoor with her mail. Bruce handed her all two days worth of mail and the newspaper, exchanged some pleasantries - and some un- pleasantries like telling her that her house smelt 'doggy' LOL - and left. I could tell she's lonely... I wonder where is her god-sent daughter... and terribly hungry for some real food other than her sorry ass homemade sandwiches . As a greedy person, I understand that part at least. I don't think my mil is a greedy person. Bruce might disagree. But she does have an odd preference in food. Like I can't understand how someone who enjoys really good Chinese food from Asian Palace (and knows they serve the best duck in town) can actually enjoy anything from PF Chang's; or how someone who claims to love spicy food can't eat char siew bun 'coz it's spicy (?!); or how someone who was brought up in a Jewish household loves pork ribs lol. Okay, that last one is understandable... but still...

She mentioned something about PF Chang's yesterday; she asked if we're going that way. Geez, we make it a point not to go that way - like she doesn't know lol. So I thought I'd make her day by bringing her a whole roast duck and a large order of pork fried rice - her favourite kind of fried rice since I've stopped making her crab fried rice (hey, I've stopped making that dish altogether so it's not that I'm trying to be extra mean to her).

I think the mil had an orgasmic moment when I held up the bag of Chinese take out and said 'I brought duck!'. Her eyes got really humongous (bigger than normal). Her eyeballs shot out (like they would in cartoons). Her eyebrows shot above her very gray hair. Her mouth turned into jello like she was gonna' swallow my hand that held the bag. I don't remember how the bag got onto the basket of her walker. All I know is Lucy also looked thrilled with the arrival of some real food. My mil didn't invite me in (hey, I already had an excuse up my sleeve if she did :D) and I got on my merry way home.

Good deed done for the day... for my mil and for my husband. Both of them don't have to speak to or see each other lol.

Who Needs Idiots...

when you have people like ex premiere of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir. When he accused and threw his ex-deputy Anwar Ibrahim in prison after he proved Anwar being involved in a sodomy case. He said two days ago, "a homosexual cannot be allowed to run the country."

“I cannot have a sodomiser in my cabinet. Imagine a gay PM ... nobody will be safe!” he told reporters after his speech at the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) conference in Kuala Lumpur.

Mahathir said since the society here was against sodomy, he had acted accordingly.

He also denied that Anwar’s sacking on Sept 2, 1998 came about because the two of them had a fallout.

He claimed that these allegations were trumped up by the media - especially ‘gay journalists’ - who were championing the former deputy premier’s cause.

"Among some media people even, they are gay. They don't like my taking action against a person for the kind of things that they indulge in. So I became a bad guy because of that," he said.

Mahathir also denied he used the Internal Security Act (ISA) against Anwar and dismissed this as another fictitious claim purported by the “gay media people”.
He added that he allowed the judiciary to arbitrate on his former right-hand-man’s breach of law.

Anwar, who was initially found guilty of sodomy, had his conviction overturned by the Federal Court last year following an appeal.

I thought the Singapore government were neanderthal-like when it came to the gay community; hey, they banned 'Birdcage' for crying out loud. But with Mahathir around, there will always be someone else worst you can compare your own government to. Much like sorry ass LKY, he's a brilliant man. But they're both old and they both need to keep their mouths shut and stay home and take care of their grandkids lol.

Anwar needs to move out of that country yesterday! As long as Dr M is alive, Anwar better watch his own back.

Whoa(!), It's Sept 11th Again

Four years ago today, I'm sitting at O'hare. This very minute. Slightly lost, a little confused and filled with much frustration and some fear. My flight back to Memphis had just been canceled (while boarding) and I'm trying to think (quick) how I am supposed to get 'home' to my sweetie. All the CNN monitors were turned off and I sensed something peculiar. Think woman, think! Of course the cellphones didn't work. Lines were way busy. I got on the payphone with Bruce. I was still just a girlfriend then. No engagement ring, no date to get one, nothing. Meanwhile, I overhear on the next payphone something about the WTC in NYC being attacked but couldn't possibly fathom what that meant. Bruce could fix the problem. He always does. He mocked me when I told him what I'd heard about the WTC. Then I hear him type and he went silent for a bit. He, being at school, had no idea what was going on either. Then the guy on the next payphone said it again except he said 'ANOTHER ATTACK'. It was bizarre and Bruce didn't give me details but to call back while he tried some more. I tried calling a friend in Detroit. No answer. Did I have a friend in Chicago? Gawd, I can't think. Who else from Indiana whom I went to school with is still there!? Yeah right, who was I kidding.

I went back to my seat next to this black man who had an American Airlines badge attached to his belt. He's a legal advisor for AA. We'd chatted a little before boarding so we chatted a little more about what might have happened in NYC. Nothing came close to what we could even imagine... so after awhile, he lets me know that he's called his legal partner in Memphis and told him he wasn't going to make it to court after all and he was gonna' drive back to North Carolina. Light bulb goes off BRIGHT in my head. 'Did someone say DRIVE!?'. I leapt on the opportunity and the very one sided negotiations started. I started with taking him to hang out on Beale Street (which at this point, I'd just moved to Memphis weeks before and had absolutely NO idea whatsoever what Beale street was about or what it looked like). We could hang out at a Blues bar (hey, I had some common sense and knowledge lol) and we could just party and chill and hang out - wouldn't that be cool. Wow... I'd never sunk so low... ok, I have but this was done while sober and very much with a clear conscience. I almost half believed myself that we'd have a great time in Memphis. He seemed slightly moved and a little tempted... but driving back to North Carolina from Chicago via Memphis wasn't exactly a breeze. Talk about a detour. He tried to make me understand. That was when the begging started. Maybe I do have some training being a Chinese... Jewish or even Greek mother. Guilt! It always works. Even on a black man!!!

Two hours later, we're standing in line at some car rental. Okay, like I'm going to remember which one. Some sense must have popped into his head 'coz he went "I don't know if I should be doing this". "You promised" I rebuked. "I didn't promise" he exclaims. Oooh, I knew it could get ugly for myself and the other silent Memphian girl I'd pulled along (as a safety net though on hind sight, she didn't help me at all). "PLEASE!" I backtracked on my pleading once more. Fortunately, by then, we'd gotten to the front of the line and the begging could ease.

Seven hours later, at about midnight, Dick dropped me and the no-name-girl (simply 'coz I can't remember her face nor her name nor anything she said during the neverending seven hour drive) right outside the Peabody Hotel where Bruce was waiting with my old faithful Altima. We said our very very brief goodbyes, nothing about Blues Bar, nothing about Beale Street and we parted ways. Well, after we drove away and came back to him with his car keys which Ms no-name had in her hands, for some reason LOL.

What a good guy! Of course, no good deed goes unpunished. He returns to North Carolina and sends me an email. He got fired from his position! Oh no! I felt awful. Honestly, I did! But he was my only ticket out of Chicago... what did you expect me to do right? Fortunately, with good karma, he got rehired by AA a few months later and moved out to NYC. See, it was a blessing in disguise. Would you rather live in NC or NYC!? Duh!

It's time for my annual email to Dick. An annual thank you; a quick 'hello' and simply a connection made forever at least once a year.

Do I Look Like A Postman!?

Yesterday, my mil called to ask if I could do her a favor... "yeah?! Sure..." (very unenthusiastically - I'm sure she could hear me rolling my eyes - like I said, it's a woman-thang). She asked if I could go get her mail for her since 'she' didn't pick it up on Friday... which meant she wanted me to drive 10 mins to her house, pick up her mail in her front yard, walk it to the backdoor and hand them to her so she can praise me so ever sincerely like she always does when she sees me. No, I didn't. We did eventually go out for dinner but nah, it didn't exactly make it onto our to-do list. It's just freakin' mail for crying out loud. She's got all the evil QVC she can get on tv never mind more catalogues. Is she in a hurry to write out checks to pay bills? I mean, 'coz if she is, I'd send our bills her way... plus it's not like she's expecting hot sexy mail from Fabio or Juan lol.

She then let me know what time her mailman comes everyday. I continued by asking her why she couldn't have asked the physical therapist to pick up her mail when he's there... or her daughter or her lesbian girlfriend. All to which she had an excuse for and by that time, I think she noticed that I was annoyed 'coz I heard a little not-so-friendly 'bye'. HAHAHAHAHA! Oh well... yet another reason why you don't need kids when you're old :)

In the meantime, Bruce and I laughed at how she didn't ask for him on the phone. He hasn't spoken to her since Thursday evening. Will she live?! Ohhhh, there is a little secret behind that. Her little, not-so-little, Lucy (whom Bruce has been asking his mom to get rid off and get a smaller, more suitable dog for herself) is home. She doesn't want to hear it from him again so the less contact with Bruce, the better. Wow, she must really think I think like her ie, know Lucy is home with her and not tell Bruce?! Gawd!!!

Screaming At My TV

Both yesterday and today, watching 'The View'(which I love), I found myself seething with anger, yelling at 'the young one' (that's how Regis refers to them) screaming obscenities at her and asking her to shut up (I know I know, my dad told me never ever to say 'shut up' to anyone but I'm 35 now so phuck off!). The 'young one' used to be Lisa Ling and I adored her! But when she left the show for National Geographic and was replaced by this dingbat Conservative wannabe tv star, non-survivor 'Survivor', Elizabeth piece-of-crap Camelback - I mean, Hasselbeck, I have been annoyed since. Like the President, she's an inarticulate, brainless nimpcompoop! So no wonder I hate her guts. But unlike the President, she brings absolutely no entertainment value to my tv time!! At least 'W' can choke on a pretzel, stumble over his late dog or mumble ridiculous things when being questioned to make me laugh out loud. It's a fact he's dumb and he knows it. No, he really does! But EH thinks she's the all American girl who represents the young Conservatives of this country. It frightens me to think that there are more of her out there! If she truly does, this country is going down. Hmm, I guess I AM making a point here.

So why have I been shrieking at the tv the last two episodes of 'The View'? Well, whenever the ladies' bring up the topic of hurricane Katrina and the victims onto the show's hot topic, Joy Behar without fail would start her usual rampage. She's upset with situation, she's upset with the leader of this country, she's upset with FEMA and how they have all failed their job and their people; invariably, Ms Prissy Pie would stand (she would if she could) without letting Joy finish her sentence and defending the idiot party to her death. She might be the ONLY person around still supporting them at this point. I always feel, if you wanna give support to the minority party when everyone is hammering them to death, then make some VALID points for crying out loud. Stop rambling and making no sense only consistently letting Joy or Star shooting down your arguments - which is SO fun to watch. Did you see the look on her face yesterday when they brought up watch Babara Bush said in New Orleans.

Hurricane Katrina victims in Houston, Texas were "underprivileged anyway" and life in the Astrodome sports arena is "working very well for them," former first lady Barbara Bush says.

She was SO embarassed. I laughed SO loud when that happened.

That was yesterday. I let it slide (after shouting for her silence twice) I went on my merry day. Today, the ladies' discussed the fact that Kanye West had used his forum at last week's telethon stating subjective views about how Bush not caring about African Americans. All three ladies, Star, Meredith and Joy all discussed freedom of speech and how it was used and how it might or might not have been abused by Kanye since NBC afterwards censored the West Coast broadcast. Instead of agreeing or disagreeing, she went on and on about how he was giving his own views and how many people didn't donate because of his statement blah blah blah. Gawd, I hate the stupid bitch!

Ok, before I go, I have to state this last personal attack. EH needs to stop coming on tv with those dumb looking braided pony tails. Her macho quaterback husband might like it in their bedroom for whatever purpose... but hello!? You're on national tv talking about grown-up matters woman! Grow up and look like an adult please! Arrgh she makes me so mad! (do I sound like my mil's Nigerian physical therapist? lol)

Heaven's So Got A Place For Me

I just got back from my mil's. I did as I was told and called her before I left, jotted everything down and got on my not-so-merry way towards her house. Yes, of course I got her everything she asked for on her shopping list including the 10lbs of dog food for Lucy, who apparently will be home tomorrow - with the help of my genius sil. Poor Lucy, back to the slammers in that confined cage.

So I arrived at the house and my mil had told me to go in through the back door via the side gate. Honestly, I never knew there was a gate that could lead me into the yard... so with the six grocery bags, the pack of dog food and a bag filled the brink with her mail (yes, I was very nice to have saved Bruce a trip into hell), I found the latch on the wooden fence that blended in with the gate. I walked very carefully with the dried leaves cracking under my weight, opened the first door that I got to and walked into what seemed like a really noisy laundry room. Huh!? I was very impressed. I actually thought she was doing laundry. It smelt a little different... and it was extra warm in there. I peered by the bag of dog food that stood in front of my fat face and found myself standing in the pool room (where all the generators stood in leaves and dirt). Okay, wrong door, wrong room... I proceeded to the second door, sucked in as much air as I could get and walked into the house. My mil was in the kitchen with the physical therapist (pt) - his first session there since she got home (five days ago) and still filling up gazillions of forms asking her questions she wasn't thrilled about answering. I said hi to both of them and started putting everything away (see, I'm not as heartless as you guys think I am; even though I should have walked away at this point before the stories began). My mil was going on about the Hill Plumbing people - don't know if it was to me or to him but I half listened and didn't respond. The pt exclaimed in his what-seemed-like Nigerian accent, 'I'm SO glad you're here - she's driving me insane! She has too much energy!!!' and laughs nervously. I laughed and nodded towards his direction. Poor guy... then again, he's probably smelly too if he's Nigerian so he can be her next best friend after her lesbian companion, Katie lol.

I hung around a little, listened to her bitch and moan about Dr Chin from the rehab who'd insulted her kids (apparently, she was ranting and raving to him about both her god-sent children and he remarked 'if they're so wonderful what are you doing at this rehab?') Now you've got to love a doc with balls like that lol - as long as he's not my physician lol. I wonder if he's the father of Bruce's wonder kids in school with no personality named Chin as well. That would make sense :) Anywayz, I must have stayed for a good 30 mins... oh, for fyi, liquid hand soap is the best! They smell awesome! Even though the house wasn't as stinky as I remembered, I washed my hands twice while I was there and stood there smelling my soapy-smelling hands half the time. Gawd, my mil and the pt must think I have some hand fetish or something queer. But hey, it made much difference. Trust me!

I've updated Bruce on what went on at my 'visit'. He's not a happy camper after he heard that my sil's helping their mom bring Lucy home tomorrow. Gawd forbid the poor dog after a week at 'camp' being a little more energetic and strong, runs my mil over. Now THAT would be hell and beyond!!

Anywayz, I've done my good deed for the day. No, for the year! So if those damn suicide bombers think they're taking up all that space for killing themselves and a bunch of innocent people in this world, they have another thing coming for them! Believe me, I'd be in no mood to deal with those camel jockies if I'm dead and have to stand in line with a bunch of them ahead of me!

My MIL Loves Me... BUT...

What do you say when someone says 'I love you' constantly on the phone and you don't love them back? I mean, I doubt my mil really sincerely loves me (will I live) hahaha but she sure says it a ton on the phone which makes me very uncomfortable. Of course, I also come from a culture that other than the spouse, no one EVER says it to anyone else. Not to family nor friends. My parents certainly have never told us that... well ok, my dad did once to me and made me fall off the chair (it's true!!) but that's another story for another day...

So I just got off the phone with my mil. I have to go get groceries for her tomorrow. Which is absolutely fine especially since I did volunteer to do it for her (when I used to like her pre-surgery days). BUT... that means I have to deliver it to her house. Which means I have to see her. Which means I have to step into her house. Which means I will smell her and her house. Which means she will tell me forty stories while I'm there. Which means I will turn even more yellow than my complexion to hold my breath for two hours. Which means I will be upset and screaming in my head but smiling so ever sweetly to her before I can dash out of the house and gasp for some foul air in her driveway. I know, it's probably funny to you... but trust me, it not funny.

She also wanted me to tell her son to pick up her mail for her. Huh?! Pick up her mail? The mailbox that sits on the front yard of the house? The mailbox that her god-sent daughter has to drive by everyday to visit? The same mailbox that the physical therapist and/or occupational therapist drive by before getting into her driveway!? But no, she only wants her beloved son to do pick it up. Oh well... I'd do my husband a favor and in turn piss her off by picking it up when I deliver her groceries tomorrow. Of course, she won't tell me what she wants yet so I have to call her before I go to the grocery store. I should tell her I can only buy stuff from the Asian store and bring some pig's trotters, pig's intestines, soft tofu, dried scallops and century eggs with me. Bet she won't ever ask me to do her grocery again hee hee.

Stay tune for more tomorrow's post-grocery episode.

I Love Seattle

This trip, we're staying at my favourite downtown hotel, the Grand Hyatt. The rooms aren't anything out of the ordinary (tho' I'd admit my last stay here, my room seemed a lot bigger). Still, it's a much nicer hotel compared to the other ones in town. The location of it alone... Pacific Place diagonally across the street, Eileen Fisher and Nordstrom a stone's throw away and of course, Pikes Place Market is a nice 5 min brisk walk away. With such nice weather here, some clouds, mid to high 60s during the day... I'd walk forever! Okay, not that far but I can certainly walk a lot more here then any where else in this country.

It's 10:45am. Bruce is taking a nap to recoup from our late night (arriving at midnight and watching CNN till past 2pm) and his lack of slep on the plane due to being stressed out from the lack of govt. assurance in time of emergency in this country. Poor guy. No wonder I always feel so secured when I'm with him. Not that I just realized this but he's an awesome man! Such a wonderful friend and certainly the best husband I can imagine. I'm so damn lucky hee hee.

We've had breakfast down at Pike's Place Bagel where I had a salmon lox bagel sandwich on a multi-grain bagel and Bruce had his regular dry bagel... he doesn't like anything on his for some odd reason :) We walked down to 'Sosio's' at Pikes Place and surprise surprise, they had mega awesome fruits for us this weekend. Oh-my-gawd-peaches, temptation-melon as well as sharlyn-melon, and to-die-for-mangoes!!! Needless to say, we got everything (well, not sharlyn since temptation is better). CHEAP! Considering Bruce had just ordered 2 boxes of seriously awesome peaches from California that was delivered via fedex at about $5 each, this morning's 9 peaches, a melon and a mango at $20 was a steal :) We're happy now... very happy.

Time to get ready for lunch... no wonder I love seattle. We seem to have more things to do here and people to see... there is no bbq, but who cares, that's what fedex is for :)

Link to New Orleans

If you're tired of CNN about 'Katrina' and watching the same pictures repeated over and over again... the same people in different press conferences... the same video of the military entering New Orleans, check out the interdictor. It'll give you a 'team's' perspective right from the city. How they're doing and what's really going on. Very honest, very interesting. I've spent the last two days waiting and watching the updates.

My Mil's Going Home...

...and we're not going to be here!!!

Yes, you read right... much to my disdain and shock, Bruce told me last night after he returned from bringing his mother yet another nutritious meal from Mickey D's ("double cheeseburger, same as always" Bruce mutters gripingly from upstairs when I asked him awhile ago what he got her - I could almost hear his eyes rolling - a woman's thing) that my mil will be discharged tomorrow (Saturday). Yes, tomorrow! Has she seen her doc since she's been in rehab? Well no, she postponed her appointment this past Tuesday 'coz she couldn't possibly get out of bed on her own and thus couldn't possibly get herself into the ambulance. Err... ok... people aren't usually expected to do so ON THEIR OWN! That's why it's a freakin' am-bu-lance, not a phucking fairy ride to wonderland gawdammit! So, no doctor has okay'd this discharge. But someone must have told her 'yes it's ok leave!'. ...or more like 'get the phuck outta' here now!'. I bet the physical therapist and the staff there can't wait to get rid of her so they must have said it's alright for her leave. Go(!)... Now(!)... No, YESTERDAY! Problem: She lives in a two-storey house where it takes a few steps up into the house, one big one into the kitchen and possibly more into the living room where she claims she will be living for awhile. Some nice soul had helped her bring a bed down - it wasn't Bruce nor Valerie, not Derk and certainly not me! Oh, she paid someone... Wait, she's forgotten ONE thing. ALL bath facilities are on the 2nd storey!!! Shut up!! No, I'm serious! Eeeeeeeee!!! ...and knowing her, she'd let a day or two go by and ask her 'lesbian companion' (ok, not really lesbian companion but they do look and act like a couple of grumbling old bitches) to get Lucy home. Lucy is her very overweight, under exercised 100lb boxer (given to her by my very smart sil) who used to be left in a cage all day (while my mil was at work or running errands) until she got home so maybe the dog could run her over. Lucy is at some fancy (mil's words here, not mine) dog hotel where she's probably praying my mil nor Katie come end her life in paradise and return to the pig sty she once lived in. Granted, my mil loves Lucy like... like she loves Bruce HAHAHAHA!

So my too-ready-to-leave-the-rehab mother-in-law will be leaving the rehab facilities tomorrow. We will be in Seattle (woohoo!!!), and I don't know what her god-sent (her words again, not mine OBVIOUSLY) daughter is doing 'coz she's apparently asked a friend of hers from work AND her ex-wrestler husband to come take her home. My very sensitive mil explained that she can't possibly spoil Valerie's long labor day weekend by asking her to help. Hmm... so it's ok to ask Loy and her husband? She's a funny woman, isn't she? Loy is possibly a super nice lady... but if she's my mil's good friend and anything like her, she's bitching about first, having to wait for that dreaded call from my mil and then having to spend a nice Saturday going to help a half-handicapped woman who smells funny (not funny ha-ha mind you) and have to see her husband carry another woman through the threshold. Now THAT'S funny ha-ha to me!

My mil is not the least happy that we'd be out of town. When Bruce told her we'd be out of town this weekend about a week ago, apparently she already was planning her discharge then. She asked him who would help her discharge IF she could? His answer was " mom, just stay!". Hmm... now that I think about it, she has been plotting this for awhile. She wouldn't allow the staff there to weigh her (hahaha, would you if you've been eating double cheeseburgers and fried chicken for two weeks?), she wouldn't go to the doctor's... WOW! She's a lot sneakier then I thought!!!

I'm sure all the nice Chinese daughters-in-law out there are horrified at my postings about my mil. But hey, I didn't marry a white boy so I could live the rest of my life taking care of my mother-in-law, thank you very much. The only person I'd take care of is my beloved husband. Ok, I'd have to take care of my parents too but thank goodness, they have a daughter-in-law who is MUCH nicer then I am!

Gassin' It Up

My gawd, I never thought I, daughter of my father... originally from Singapore, would ever complain about gas prices... just like a taxi driver back home would the moment you get onto the cab. When I was a kid, I thought they were just soliciting for a tip.

Today, I spent 10 mins in line at the gas station by our house (after dissin' the one at Sam's when I saw that the line was at least an hour's wait long). No way jose. I may not be doing much with my time but I know saving $3 isn't gonna' make a difference to my life. I have more productive and important things to do with my precious time... like laundry waiting for me at home plus I need to get my nails done before we leave for Seattle tomorrow lol.

So there I was bitching to myself about the line at the gas station at Forest Hill Irene and Poplar. Wow, $2.79 per gallon for regular. What a pain! Insanity! Can't imagine it was a mere $1.01/gallon when we first arrived in Memphis four years ago. Ten minutes in line and I go through the routine. I was about to start pumpin' the gas when I noticed. Wait, it's not $2.79/gallon. It's $3.29!! Shit, fine... whatever! What was I supposed to do? Leave and drive around aimlessly looking for cheaper gas and in the meantime, burn more petrol? So I pumped up the rest of my half full tank and came home.

Maybe there is logic to why Singaporean taxi drivers complain about the rising gas prices constantly. I suspect American taxi drivers are doing the same thing right now. If only they knew how much Singaporeans are paying for gas per gallon (fyi, approximately $8.76/gallon(dollar for dollar) or if converted, US$5.23/gallon). You Americans would keep your bloody mouth shut and deal with it!