Friends Visit

It was the weirdest thing! The sun was out and screaming hell (or heaven, if you like the sun) everyday for at least six days (this is mid September in Seattle for crying out loud - where's the rain?!), we got bad service at EVERY restaurant we went to (it got so bad it became a joke among the three of us), and... I didn't manage to take Ric to get his foot massage in Chinatown the entire time he was here; but only because he expected a hot Asian girl to be massaging hims feet LOL! Imagine his shock if he found a pair of hairy arms on his back and feet - I decided to spare him the ordeal hee hee.

We used to think our friends didn't like us enough to come visit before we moved to Seattle. We had to send tickets to get people to come hang out with us lol! That's how sad it was... people just weren't gonna' spend a small fortune to come to a city with nothing to offer other than good bbq, I guess... but now that we're in a pretty cool city - certainly cooler then the city before - we've had a few friends voluntarily come visit us without much prompt :)

First Winnie came (sorry didn't blog about that - was in that in between entries kind of mood - and is actually tempted to head over here again soon... and then Ric... who's next?!

Smile! For Goodness Sakes!

I just 'met' the most unfriendly, unsmiley person I've ever come across since the time I started taking elevators lol. Ok, that might be overstating it a little but... what is wrong with people who don't smile?! I'm not asking you to smile so much people think you're the insane bum at the corner of the street... but for crying out loud, what's so difficult about cracking a friggin' smile?! Even a one reluctant one sided crooked smile when someone, a stranger maybe, smiles at you out of being polite and... nice maybe?! This guy just looked pissed off at the world. At the world, at himself... just not a happy camper.

I couldn't wait to get out of the lift. But of course, it stopped at the 5th floor where a poor couple was trying to get their Ikea shopping into the elevator on a trolley. I smiled at the lady... looked across at the guy. Nothing. So it wasn't just me he didn't want to smile at... The man outside said to himself 'I think we might be able to fit'... nothing from the guy and I hurried a 'yeah come this angle...'. They didn't come at my angle but went towards the angry man lol! Nope - DUH! Next elevator... still nothing from the man. Oh, he's Filipino I think... Asian for sure. Maybe he thought I was also Feelo (that's what the Filipinas in Melbourne call each other), I don't know...

"Ding! Seventeenth floor". I couldn't get out of the bloody elevator fast enough. Gawd I hope I never see that guy again. He lives on the 22nd storey.

Hanging Out With Mainlanders

Yes I'm Chinese... and to the mainland Chinese, I'm a foreign Chinese. I speak broken Chinese (not with a beautiful Beijing sing-song accent like most of them do) and I can't seem to complete full sentence without substituting some English words in it. It's sad but true. However, Mandarin is my second language, so cut me some slack already!

Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I hung out with my friend, Amy, who is the owner of the local foot massage place. It was lunch with a couple of our Japanese friends, and then followed by shopping with Amy and Nancy, both from China. I don't think my ears have spent that much time trying to concentrate so hard just to comprehend Mandarin ; I mean, I speak Mandarin to my mom growing up and even though I live far far away from my family, my daily phone conversations with mom doesn't allow me, like some other phony compatriots from Singapore to say 'oh I can no more speak Mandarin'. That's utter nonsense anyway!

But yes, hanging out with a bunch of Mainlanders is quite unlike hanging out my Singaporean friends who speak mainly Chinese. For me, it was more like being in a Chinese musical... no, opera... with them singing their replies and comments to me in words I don't normally come across LOL! Funny - but stressful lol.

These people work so hard... I mean, massaging other people's feet is no joke (hell my husband doesn't even enjoy doing it for me - ok, not exactly a romantic move I'll admit) but to do it on a more-than-twelve-hour-day-job... ouch! But watching them spend money was pretty impressive! I mean, I'm a pretty big spender (at times) but I guess I never expected people who work so hard manually to burn money like... ummmm... me? HAHAHA! ...and these people expect big name brands...! If you think just because a lot of the imitation stuff comes from China and they are the main recipients, you're bloody wrong!! They expect to shop at Saks, Neiman Marcus... they buy kid's clothing at Oilily, Chloe... can you say ka-ching!?! :D

I needed help removing the toothpicks out of my eyes so I could go to sleep last night. Talk about an eye-opener lol.

Contentment

The weather's been great! I couldn't ask for better weather... well I could but that would be too greedy lol! It's been raining, it absolutely poured yesterday (nice!), and while it's been mostly sunny today, the temperature has been mild and comfortable. I was able to shop for hours on end at U-Village (outdoor mall) this morning without getting flustered even with screaming and/or crying kids around me :D Yes I've been shopping; what's new... for myself and my nieces. It's so fun to shop for little girls... all their little dresses, their itsy-bitsy bathing suits, their smaller then palm-sized shoes...sooo adorable you want to squeal when you see them hee hee.

It's time to make traveling plans. My friends are all surprised I haven't been on a plane since March lol! In six years, I might not make executive platinum for the first time because I've moved to a city I enjoy spending time here. Oh well, I have enough miles to burn so no biggie to make e.p for next year. I will miss the free international upgrades however :s

Of course we're still house-hunting. It's my day-job lol - well practically! It hasn't been very fruitful but it's been fun (and not-so-fun) to check out modern houses built in crappy areas or awesome neighborhoods filled with houses for sale that are not really our style... oh well, we're in no hurry... just waiting to find the right house for us eventually.

Haven't got much else to report other than things are well on this end. Life is good and I sure am in no position to complain :)

Some People...

I don't know about you guys out there but don't some people just rub you the wrong bloody way!? I recently met this person and I practically disliked her instantaneously. Hmmm... maybe it's a Singaporean thang... but aiyoh, I just didn't like her face! Worst, I met her whole family and even family irks me!

Anywayz, I just had to say it online 'coz well, this is my 'diary' and even though I can't say her name, hahaha this time I can't even say her name sounds like blah blah blah after the last incident in Memphis when the person totally realized it was her I was talking about LOL and threatened to sue me - PUH-LEESE! Of course that post is still up there dumbass!!

But yeah, I just wanted to 'remind' me some time from now, that this person did come into my life and I've willfully kicked her out :) She might not know it but her emails are all unread and deleted. Well she'll know it soon enough muahahaha!

Ok, maybe this might give some of you a hint - I jdislike calculative, narrow minded fools with no sense of humor!

The Weekend's Over!

So while I agonized the entire last two weeks wondering how badly our Singapore-style National Day potluck event was gonna' turn out, Saturday, August 9 came and went by with a blink of an eye. ...and let me tell 'ya, I'm relieved I not only survived it, I think most people actually had fun!

Having moved from a city with three Singaporeans, it's a breath of fresh air to see a room full of more than 50 of us celebrate a day only we, Singaporeans, can appreciate. Of course, I can't say before this event, I'd ever had the patriotism to attend a national day parade or did it even excite me in the least bit - ok, the bank holiday part was nice lol.

I must say, I couldn't have done it without the help of my the husband, Connie, her husband and of course, the organizers on the msft side. It was SO nice to see some of the wives bring a bunch of food too! Connie and I were thrilled since Kevin convinced us nobody on their side would bring any lol. The trivia game ran by Kelvin was a highlight and even I could answer a couple of questions and won a prize! :D

My family and friends from out of state all believed I was insane to even want to risk organizing anything for a bunch of people who might not appreciate the effort; but hey, what's life without a small gamble. At the end of the day, I saw my members, met news ones and even met nice people from the Microsoft side! Hopefully they kept their name tags and check out our meetup group's site so we can all keep in touch without having to do a huge combine thingy again... it's just no fun dealing with that many people - Singaporeans just don't mingle well.

I am, however, curious about the bunch of people (Singaporeans, I presume) who came, didn't even say a quick 'hi', went in line, ate and left. I know I should have said something but what!? 'Hello? This is not a free buffet'...but I suppose in some way, it was lol! Oh well... there will always be ugly Singaporeans around... they're everywhere. I mean, ugly folks... what's feeding a couple LOL!

Excuse Me Are You Filipino?

I've been in Seattle now for more than seven months. Seven months have gone by peacefully with nobody asking much else other than for directions, my order or whatever service I'm at a particular place for. No questions about my 'ethnicity' at all...

Funny thing 'coz I was just thinking of my origins this morning... with Singapore's National Day coming up next month and me planning - more like thinking of planning - an 'event' - for the Singaporeans around here to get-together. ANYWAYZ, before I go off on a tangent... I went to the spa this morning to get a facial and massage and the girl who gave me the facial asked at the end of her service, 'are you filipino?', I smiled - since it was only the first time in so many months, asking me that oh-so-familiar question. I felt I HAD to be kind and even took out the time to explain that I'm not from the Phillipines but many people - usually Filipinos themselves - make the same mistake. She told me she's half-caste; which I would have had no idea as she's very Caucasian. Yes, very pink :) So I'm chuckling my way out of Nordstrom across the street to Pacific Place to my hair salon to meet my new hair lady, Cher - I kid you not - Cher :) Cher is openly lesbian and is an awesome hairstylist! ...and one of the first ten questions she asks; 'are you Filipino?!? - AFTER she tells me I have a beautiful face (but not body of course LOL). Again, this time, a little more abrupt 'nope!' but still with a sweet smile. But she was nice and was keen on finding out about Singaporeans, Singapore (no it's NOT in China) and bombarded me with her curiousity, which was a breath of fresh air coming from the people I was surrounded by 'previously' :D

No, of course there is nothing wrong being Filipino but you know, it gets old very quickly when you go through life having people come up to you all the time, no matter where you go in this world, ask you the same question. I will admit to the time it came into use when the valet in Vienna assumed I was Filipino... but other than that, guys at airports, guys at bus-stops... women at grocery stores, restaurants... nah, I don't care to answer that question again and again, day after day. It's become quite the joke for the husband when he sees Filipinos walk across a room towards me because he knows exactly what they're about to ask me. What's worst, when I tell people I'm Chinese, they doubt me and want me to prove it LOL! WTF?!?!

Where Have I Been?!

Nowhere lol!

It can't get any cooler in this country at this time of the year so I'm trying to enjoy the less warm weather in Seattle. But... 'I hate summer days!'; and I don't care how mild it is, I want cooler, better yet, cold weather everyday - especially when I'm gallivanting around the streets, sweltering in sweat pouring down the crevaces of my layers of fatty skin. Yuk! Double yuk! So with this 'beautiful' weather that's chanced upon Seattle for a good three weeks now, no clouds, no rain, just pure clear days of sunshine, I haven't exactly been doing much. However, I'm still ecstatic to be here 'coz thus far, the high has only gotten to as high as 86 degrees farenheit (arrgh!) while it's at least 10 degrees if not more where our house sits in Tennessee!

I shall be back soon. More often... I know I've probably lost some of my readers but you'll come back :)

The King's Birthday In Junuary

It's June but it's nice and cool (sometimes downright cold - definitely still sweater weather which I love!). It's a good 35 degrees cooler here then it is in Memphis! Guess who's happy about that?! :D I suppose once the the rain ends there, we have to return to get the yard sorted out. We've also decided against selling the house... so ummm... we can still go to Memphis to 'play' and see people we like - albeit, not that many :) I'm sure the husband's gonna' deny it but I know the truth lol!

It was the king's birthday over the weekend and we had a nice fun filled two full days. From dim sum with Eric and Julie to foot massages at the Imperial Foot Massage in Chinatown, to trivia night at Shultzy's (that ended up with a dance off lol - we came in a close third, thankfully, so we didn't have to join in the dancing phew! It was a slow night for my brain (no comments on that statement please!)... considering the most exciting parts for me were two questions fit for Einstein: "what was the name of the bad guy in the Smurfs?", and completing the lyrics to a Boys 2 Men song lol! I suppose two points is better then nothing lol)... to lunch at Lao Shi Chuan to doing some lightweight house-hunting to happy hour with Don and Susan and ending the evening with home made Turkish meatball sandwiches.

It's been two weeks since the car's gone to the shop and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it returns today! The husband got it slightly busted up when he drove out of the garage and got a little too close to the huge ass pillar... it's been a little painful without a car but we've been renting a car on weekends and a couple of friends have been nice enough to come pick me up to go out... so I can't complain too much.

I'm not looking forward for the warm weather to get here... but I will say this: while it can get pretty muggy here, it can't get worst then Memphis - that, I'm thrilled about :)

Einstein Me!

Guess what I did this time being in Memphis... no, I didn't lock myself out of the house... or in the house for that matter. Even more unforgivable, after being home (in Seattle) for three days, I realized yesterday that I'd left my entire bunch of keys back at our Memphis house. Yup, my car keys, keys to the apartment here, the mechanism to get me into the building, the mailbox keys... and of all my keys to the house in Memphis. Tsk tsk... what is going on with my head?!

Fortunately, my very understanding husband has an extra car key, made an extra set of apartment keys when we moved in and only (well, not ONLY) but spent the non-refundable forty five bucks to get me another of that gadget thingy so I can come into the building... sigh. ...if this situation was presented to my dad, I would now be six feet under lol!

It really is time to get rid of the house in Memphis... any takers!? :)

Back To Everyday Life In Seattle

Not too much exciting has been going on since we returned from our big Aussie trip. I mean, living in downtown Seattle on an everyday basis is fun on it's own so I can't complain too much.

It was nice to run to Target, Costco and Uwajimaya yesterday to get the house stocked up again. I don't know what was going on at Costco but it was accessively crowded and it was hard to find a parking spot like a weekend - arrgh! I should have waited for the husband since I could barely pick up the carton of bottled water and I sure couldn't even reach for the bloody watermelons let alone pick them up. Gotta' make another trip there when the king has some time to accompany me... I miss my watermelon juice and I'm sure he does too :)

I've just been meeting up with friends, making plans to meet up with more friends next week, running errands and surprisingly, cooking! Honestly, I did get tired of restaurant food in Australia even though it was very good Chinese food; I was ready for some home cooked food. Mom doesn't ever cook in Oz 'coz she's the kind of cook that makes a big mess and dad is the type who likes the place spotless (like me). So having to stomach the mess left by the kids already, I'm glad mom didn't attempt to make any of my favorite dishes 'coz the place would have been completely in chaos lol! My brother cooked a meal of pasta with scallops and rockets (arugula) and a mussels with white wine dish - a couple of my favorite dishes that he makes... he compared himself to Gorden Ramsey hahaha and we played along until he asked me to chop him more garlic 'coz he'd burnt the last batch I'd chopped LOL! Crazy brother of mine :) But yes, more cooking - I think the husband likes that I'm cooking again too. I know he certainly got enough of Chinese everything on this trip; although I do only make Chinese food at home, it's more home-cooked food.

It's a cloudy Wednesday morning (ok it's a little dark to tell but that's what the meteorologists just predicted) and today brings some excitement as I'm meeting a fun fellow Singaporean friend of mine in the International District. No specific plans but Connie and I always have fun chit chatting and laughing. Like me, she's a laugher :) I liked her the minute I stepped into her house a few months ago when she invited a bunch of people (strangers but all Singaporeans and/or Malaysians) over for Chinese New Year celebrations. Connie is ang moh (Caucasian) but born and bred in Singapore. Yes, you read right. We don't get much of local ang mohs back home (they're mostly expats) but we all know I meet the best of them lol! It's always fun to see her - I can't wait for her to move closer into the city so we can see each other on a regular basis hee hee. Then tomorrow, it's bowling with Julie and Eric - not our regular downtown Japanese Julie & her Eric but the other pair of Singaporean Julie and American Eric LOL! No wonder the husband gets a little confused sometimes...

Right, it's off to the kitchen to make some barley drink for my sweetie...

Killing Time @ LAX

Well, after standing at the Qantas counter for more than an hour encountering, we've calmed down and at the lounge. This anxiety with qantas is is something I ALWAYS go through when I'm flying to Australia. I don't know why. I can't possibly be the only Singaporean in the US traveling with a Singapore passport with a Chinese name as well as an English name!?! Well either way, they can't ever seem to find my ETA (electronic visa thingy) despite printouts (in the past) and last night, we actually called Qantas USA and they did it for me over the phone. They changed my two word Chinese name to one word. Ok, whatever works as long as I get a visa. So we tell the gate agent what we went through and he did what we were adviced to tell the gate person... nope nothing. This went on for 30 mins... usually the guy I deal with just gets me a new visa. Unfortunately, the guy today just starred at the monitor like some miracle would happen if he starred hard enough. AIYOH! I wanted to vomit blood! In the end, he had to call Qantas USA himself and of course, they could rectify it and told me which was my first name and which is my middle. DUH!? I know, it's my phucking name for almost 40 years for crying out loud!! For $20 to get this ETA, it sure isn't 100% proof. I mean, how can it happen to me EVERYTIME!? Worst, when I get to Oz, we're gonna' have to go through this again. I try to stay calm but you know once I see my parents, I'll tell them to sell the bloody house there LOL!

So we're finally relaxing at the American Airlines Flagship Lounge - the 'secret lounge' so the king calls for people who travel way too many miles (like we do - last year I flew more than 120,000 miles lol) or for people (or their company) who pay way too much money for their tickets lol! I guess it sieves out the fools who would come in here and take total advantage of the free booze (uh huh free alcohol!), free food, free every bloody thing. Guess what they don't have for free?!?!?! Free wifi LOL! Apparently they ran out of password cards - whatever that means. Fortunately for us, we have T-mobile hotspot... thus, I'm happy again :) I guess it explains why the few businessmen around are either reading the papers, eating or both and not on their computer which is common when it's free wifi :) ...crap so much bloody space in this place and this loud mouth has to come sit next to us - GO AWAY LAH!!

So we have another good 5 hours to burn. Five hours is nothing... the last time I flew to Australia, I had a 10 hour layover here and boy did I enjoy it in this lounge lol! Like I said, barely anyone is ever in here when I'm here and there are more people to service you then you need. Once your plate is empty, the staff comes out from nowhere and clears it lol! Just the way I like it... no... just the way it should be :D

I just called my dad to tell him what time we're arriving. He sounded a little discombobulated since he and mom arrived some five ago :) Apparently, he's already gotten some vendor at Victoria Market to get lobsters, oysters and king prawns delivered - I guess that's what we're having for breakfast when we arrive lol! That's dad for you! He don't play no games when hosting lol! Mom, according to dad, has checked-in to work after he told me she wasn't around to come to the phone. That, in our family terms means 'mom's gone to the casino' lol! Yes, when in Melbourne, mom joins the ranks of all other Asian aunties at Crown Casino clocking in at 10 or 11am and getting home before dinner time. I think as long as she's out of his hair, dad's happy she's doing something, anything. Maybe my husband will feel like that too after we've been married for 40 years... ok, maybe he already feels like that lol! No, not that funny...

I kind of want to talk about this family who was going through security ahead of us in Seattle. A mom, dad, two teenage kids and one below ten. OMG the mother who's gotta' be at least in her late 40s kept bending down and showing her purple thong lacy panties! I kid you not! Those jeans were SO low rise I could see her ass!! Even my straight laced husband couldn't ignore the unattractive sight. Well, ugly to me at least lol! What made it worst, she did this constantly and her ass was in our face at least four times! I was SO looking for my camera phone hahaha! That was amusing and disgusting at the same time. I would be SO staying away from her if I was one of the kids... bloody embarrassing man! ...then there was the mother with her 18 month old kid flying from Seattle to Los Angeles in first class seated right in front of us who wouldn't stop chatting to a fellow passenger - not traveling with her. ARRGH! Thankfully, for once, I had my ipod with me and boy did I blast it 'coz she was talking over all the airplane noise. Uh huh - LOUD! Her baby was more quiet then she was - imagine!

Right, time to have a snack :) So much to choose from - I almost want to ask if they can make me some stir fry HAHAHAHA! Yes, of course I'm exaggerating lol!

I'm Just Here...

Not much has been going on since my last entry. I mean, my friend Ling and her husband visited Seattle and we had a nice time hanging out... oh, wanna see the dark'ish video of us playing Wii tennis lol! It's bloody embarrassing but I now understand why these tennis players grunt and groan when they play :) Yes, the shorter, wider one on the right is me - don't judge my green cardigan... it was St Patrick's day :D



Oh, I went out with my girlfriend Linda and she baked me cookies! Check this out! She had it all personalized with the tag explaining the cookies and how they're freshly made (no preservatives) and that they should be eaten fresh. Of course I took the advice - I'm done with the almond ones (SO GOOD!) and have only a few walnut cookies left. Yes, I take such instructions very seriously :D

Other than that, I've been shopping. Yes, crazy shopping. Yesterday, I got myself new outfits (with the weight gain and all arrgh!) for my upcoming Australian trip to see my entire family - well entire immediate family - I simply cannot wait to see my two little nieces. EKT is not three, well she'll be three the day she flies to Australia and the little one, HOT (Hannah Olivia Tay) just turned one last week :) Talking on skype with the video cam just isn't the same as holding them... so that'll be my highlight of the trip - yes it'll be nice to see my parents, my brother and my sil too lol. I'm also throwing a mini birthday party for the girls - I've even ordered cakes for the mini event via the internet so I cannot wait to go pick them up. I hope they turn out nice 'coz this bakery has really an awesome reputation :) Now, to find girlie balloons... if only they have a Red Balloon like they do around the corner from us. Yet another reason why I dislike the Melbourne CBD area. Everything is so hard to find and they don't even have a decent grocery store! ...it's not like nobody lives in the area... of course I haven't been there in a year so maybe some things have changed... yeah right! This is Australia we're talking about. People are so laid back they're too 'busy' doing the official Australian wave ie, swatting the flies away lol! No really, the pace is really slow there... even slower then Memphis lol! Nothing wrong with that, I'm just used to things happening a lot swifter. Hey, I'm Singaporean!

I should be able to update my blog from Australia... till then... follow my tweets. Oh, still a few days before I leave I suppose hahaha, so there might be another entry or two before I leave...

Going Non-Asian In The Kitchen

I must have been in a weird mood this week. In the last two days, I've managed to bake a cheesecake AND a chicken pie. How un-me of well, me lol!

It was my first attempt with the cheesecake. Considering neither of us are big cheesecake fans, I don't know what knocked me in the head to even want to bake one. Oh I know, I'd gone to my room mate's home and she baked one and it was awesome! She told me which cookbook she got it from and after I found it on Amazon for almost eight bucks cheaper then the local bookstore, I ordered it :) It's taken awhile since then as I only brought the hand mixer back from our Memphis trip last weekend... so I baked it Friday evening and managed to get a slice of it last night after dinner. Hmmm... it tastes much better then it looks fortunately - and the king did some research for me on why the cake cracked shortly after I removed it from the oven. .. turns out the cold draft didn't help and apparently it's practically a badge of honor for amateurs :) See, that's what cookbooks need to tell you darn it! Ok, maybe this one just wasn't the best cookbook lol! I also didn't bake it in that water bath thingy so if I ever want to attempt baking again, I might just do that. Not much more trouble after all.

One thing's for sure however. I hate the accuracy of baking. Having to measure and mix and do all this thinking is just too much for me to have a slice of bloody cake lol! But yes, to do it from scratch, I must say, certainly gives me a sense of achievement especially since the taste is pretty much spot on.

Fortunately for the chicken pie, I didn't have a recipe LOL! Well I say fortunately now only because we have yet to taste the pie. I got up this morning and decided to get it started. After all, I had all the ingredients and why have the fridge stocked up with all that stuff right? Of course, now I have the fridge packed with a cheesecake AND a chicken pie lol :) DUH!

I've made the chicken pie before and I've tasted it a gazillion times. My sister-in-law (sil) back home used to buy us over with her cooking and her mom's baking when she and my brother were dating. Boy, let me tell you, did it work lol! Eventually, my brother and her got married, I moved back to the States and she was kind enough to give me her recipe. YUM! Unfortunately for me, the recipe together with our favorite cookbooks and recipe files were lost by USPS when we shipped it over here a couple of months ago. Guess who's screwed?! :) Worst, my sil can't find her recipe either - who needs recipes now when she's already married and has two kids LOL so i decided to wing it... yup, and wing it I did!










Like I said, I have yet to try the chicken pie but I'm pretty confident it turned out alright. I mean, how wrong can I be right?! The filling was already precooked before I put it in the oven... if this turns out right, I guess I should jot it down to make sure I know exactly what I put in and how much of it or the next time will be yet another experiment. Ahhh, I'll just wing it :D

"Go Read The Chinese Newspaper!!!"

I used to hate that statement!! Whenever my mom saw me hanging around the house doing absolutely nothing, that's what she would ask me to do... or when she sees me looking into the fridge to see what was there. To not let me eat (again), she'll ask me to go study my Chinese or read the bloody newspapers! It became a habit - for me, not her - looking into the fridge lol... even when I wasn't looking for food. When I was bored, I would open the fridge... I couldn't walk by that big appliance in the kitchen without opening it. But this entry isn't about the fridge or my fetish with the refrigerator... it's about my mom, whom I used to think, couldn't stand to see me happy ie, in a state of nothingness lol... yes, when I was bumming around the house with absolutely nothing to do - homework not counted as something to do - I was the happiest. But mom wouldn't have that. ...and her most said phrase to me was 'go read the Chinese newspaper'; after that would probably be "go wash your face it's rough like sandpaper!". I kid you not!

My mom is Chinese educated and just couldn't understand how her daughter, even tho' fluent in Mandarin, just couldn't write an essay with ease or flair... nor read the five gazillion characters like she can. ...of course, my mother the typical Chinese woman who's a size 2 or 4 (when she's fat lol) also can't imagine how a big buffalo like me came out of her lol! Hey don't look at me... it's those darn big bones... yeah right!

Well, all that came back to bite me last night. The king and I ventured out to the boonies on the east side for dinner. Yeas Wok had great Yelp reviews. "Best Taiwanese food!" one reviewer said... nobody mentioned anything about their different menus in any of the reviews... well, we walked in. "No wait for a table for two' the girl at the counter told me in Mandarin - like I was hoping to wait for one and would be disappointed without the big wait. I looked at her and said 'hao' which means 'good'... like what else am I supposed to say? "Yippee ai eh"?! We were seated, and hot tea and ice water were served without being prompted and we opened our respective menus. Bruce quickly realized and said "they gave me the ang moh menu" which, to me meant that everything in that English menu had Americanized Chinese food. No problem, I thought... I have the normal Chinese one. Well, I flipped through the menu and bellowed "OH NO!!! OH SHIT!!!". To my horror, there were only Chinese characters in the Chinese menu. No English translations that I always assume and expect. I mean, we ARE in America! ...and every other restaurant has it that way... Chinese AND English 'helping words' to let me figure out what things are... WORST, it was all in traditional characters unlike the simplified version people in Singapore and the rest of (most) Asia who grew up in the 70s were taught. I had to think quickly... but I didn't want to order stuff I knew... we're at a new restaurant, a Taiwanese one at that... I want to eat something different!

The waiter came over and I spoke to him in my Taiwanese accented Mandarin (yes, like in English, Mandarin comes in different accents as well). I said sheepishly, "I can only read like 30 percent of this menu - can you help me order?". Man! That was a tough one and it certainly didn't help with the husband laughing his head off sitting across from me - he was laughing so hard his eyes were red from crying! He just couldn't stop. He wouldn't stop even after the guy left. Arrgh! Hey, there are Americans who don't read English - and they don't even have a backup language to help them - so there!

Fortunately, the waiter was helpful but I can't say I was overly impressed with the stuff that was brought to us. First dish was beef and basil - the server brought the food to the table and asked if we ordered it... my other sheepish answer of the evening 'ummm, I have no idea what I ordered' lol! No really! All I told our waiter was that we wanted; a tofu dish, a beef and a fish dish preferably without bones and that we want really spicy food and we'll eat anything. The beef was good but nothing out of the ordinary... the tofu dish was actually tofu skin with veg, beans... a pure vegetarian dish which wasn't half bad but nothing I would probably order if I could read the menu... and sea bass which was good but on the sweet side. Oh and the servings are huge! The husband wanted potstickers as usual and they were BAD - the dumplings were bad, the sauce was bad and they don't even have their own made hot sauce/oil... at least they only gave me bottle sambal olek type chilli when I asked for it.

I did look around to see mostly non-Chinese families having their Thursday night meal and a crying baby who just wouldn't quit. Everyone was eating Americanized Chinese food. To be quite honest, their food looked really good :D We sat next to the lineup of bags of take out and I noticed that EVERY take out order had orange beef, or orange chicken, or orange something. Must be good though that's as Chinese... well it's just not.

I probably wouldn't go back unless I have someone who really wants Taiwanese food and can read traditional Chinese. I'll take mom there when she comes... of course, she might remind me that if I'd read the Chinese newspapers when I was growing up, my reading skills would help me order something good at this restaurant - arrgh!

I Look Like Bozo The Clown

You'd think that from a person who used to say she has pig-nose, Bozo the Clown would be a step up. Unfortunately, it's Bozo WITH the pig-nose LOL!

I went for a haircut today. I decided to check out Yelp and went for the cheap haircut that EVERYONE who reviewed this place gave it five stars! Well... I should know cheap doesn't always equal good... or good enough. It's not bad... I think it's more for the young college kids... or just for the person seeking a cheap haircut. I, obviously, isn't in any of the two above subset.

I don't hate my haircut as much as you might think I do. After all, I have hair that grows like hares multiply in cartoons... so it doesn't bother me as much as if I had thin and ungrowable hair. But it's just the way the girl styled it and then the other lady came over and said "Cute! I like it!". It was just wrong. It made me look like one of those haircuts (with fringe) that they'd just cupped a bowl around my head and given me one of those typical Chinese pianist/violinist haircut. Laughable! ...and those mirrors... ok I know they don't have fat mirrors in there to make you look fatter but OMG, their mirrors sat right there starring back at me with no counter top/table to just show my upper body... but I'm sitting in front of a full length mirror. Wow that was an awakening. I didn't know I'd put on THAT much weight since I stopped working out ummm... right before last Fall. Of course, I've been eating EVERYTHING I've wanted so that certainly hasn't helped lol.

So the 'ugly full length mirrors' and the odd hair style and oh... chairs that couldn't sustain my weight!! They kept creeping down! I could feel it - I could bloody hear it! Now I know I can't be the heaviest person to go in there... this is, after all, America! I finally gave up and said 'I think your chair can't take my weight' half jokingly. My hair person said it was all the chairs but I honestly doubt it. It's a new salon - only five months - so she was just being nice... but it was rather embarassing for a fat girl, you know what I mean? Thank goodness I'm older and don't give a phuck about what people say about me... but if I were a young college student, I would be devastated and ran out of there crying lol! Yes, it's quite funny 'coz little things get to young girls... and this, to me, probably wouldn't be that 'small' a thing... oh well... just had to moan about my morning experience.

Maybe I should just go to Chinatown... but that's even worst - all the atypical skinny Asian girls with long straight perfect hair go there.

Women!

This is our second week in a row house hunting; going out to check all the open houses that we're interested in. ...not counting flying out here week after week before we moved looking for a suitable home until yup, we gave lol. It's so much easier now that we live here and being able to go to open houses. Since we're working with the Redfin people as our 'agents', I don't have to call to make appointments to see a house or explain to the seller's agent why THEY have to open the house for me and why my 'agent' can't come with me or open the lock for me... sometimes they (seller's agent) get so mean and won't even let us view the house! Yes, it's happened! Insane huh!? Funnily, we went around the house that the realtor (a woman) who didn't want to do her job and let the homeowner know... boy they were not amused lol! I mean, how would you feel if you're trying to sell your house in a hurry and your real estate agent - the person working for you - won't show someone the house just 'coz they're working with people who work with Redfin (apparently, MANY real estate agents hate the Redfin people...). The reality is, I have a computer, can gain access to all the MLS online and have a car with a gps... now remind me again why do I need a real estate agent to do the job I can do myself and then pay them waaaay too much money?! Especially now that I'm A LITTLE (very little) familiar with Seattle neighborhoods and a couple of the suburbs...

But yes, women... women realtors in particular. WOW! What is it about them?! The nice people I have met in this line are men. All men! Honestly, I have not met a single female realtor I liked... or even want to deal with on a friendly basis, much less if they're working for the seller. Pain in the ass! Why are they so pushy!? They get on my nerves! Even at open houses... just leave me alone, won't you!? I'm there to view the house... not buy it! If I like it enough, I will return. Your job is to open the door, tell me a little about the house and what I NEED to know (if you must) and leave me be. ...and if I have questions, I will ask! Don't ask me if I have any questions 'coz it makes me feel like I'm back in primary school and staring back at you just doesn't make me feel (nor should it you) very intelligent. So there!

Today we went to a very expensive home... a home I knew we would not buy unless I strike the mega million and have money to burn lol. But I had to see the house! It's just too cool looking from the pictures online! So we went and of course the wow-factor was in action. Unfortunately, a woman real estate agent was there to greet us... worse, Russian. NTAR!!! When we arrived, there was only a single Asian man, and the woman was selling HARD to the Asian man. She called it a 'tour' HAH! Then a young group of foursome with a couple of Asians walked in after us... what is it with this house and Asians lol! Ms loud Russian woman took every step with the one Asian dude while we were ignored lol. Not that I'm complaining but I felt bad for the guy. I mean, this is an open house but wow, this woman wasn't gonna' give up so easily on this guy. He wasn't particular well dressed (quite the opposite actually) and his car outside was well, let's hope he had banged up the rental lol - but he got there first so he was stuck with her lol! We walked around, I fell in love more when I saw the kitchen and deck area... and then we slipped quietly out the front door while she bellowed about what the architect did with the tiles and the doors and yoga room... yawn! Honestly, even if I did strike the lottery, this wouldn't be the house - it was out in nowhere Bellevue! Deeeeeep Bellevue...

So no perfect house yet... but we know for sure we don't want to live in West Seattle, Wallingford or View Ridge. See, we're slowing coming to terms with what we don't want or where we don't want to live :) Soon... we'll find something we love - I hope :)

A Close To CNY Celebrations

Yesterday was the last day of our lunar new year celebrations and also our first official get-together for the Singaporeans in Seattle group that I started a few weeks ago.










Thirteen people; eight of them Singaporeans (some with their partners) turned up at our home with food and/or drinks and made the mee siam/laksa get-together quite the party! I think I can safely say it was a success. There was plenty of food and lots of laughter and people have already asked me when our next meet up would be. Since our travel plans are not concrete yet, I'll just have to wait a little before I make the decision on dates... but I think there should be on in March.

I was a little disappointed (ok, I was annoyed) that someone who had rsvp'd 'yes' for two spots didn't turn up despite my emails a few days before the event to remind anyone who might have to change their minds due to work/family commitments. I have had to turn people away from this get-together since our home here is umm, 'cozy'; even for the thirteen people who had made it. For the second time, the same person who also failed to turn up to the first Malaysian-Singaporean party held at Connie and Daniel's was nowhere to be seen. Hmmm... that's two strikes... no word via email from him nor his partner today... bloody irritating!



















Still, the party went on and we knew not to wait once people started arriving with food and drinks. We had enough food to feed an army. Yes, truly! Of course I had made enough food for at least 30 people... but it's not everyday one would make mee siam and/or laksa and it's one of those dishes that you just can't make a small batch! I think people had a favorite between the two local dishes so I can't complain. On top of that, we had roast duck, bbq pork and roast pork, Asian style chicken pies, chicken curry and grilled chicken wings! Fortunately, Dorothy who has three growing kids at home was willing to bring some food home. The rest, well, I got up this morning and had mee siam for breakfast and the rest is in the freezer :) The husband says now when he asks me what I want for breakfast and I say 'mee siam', he'll have a way out... of course, knowing me, with mee siam in the freezer, I'll ask for nasi lemak LOL!

Yesterday...

So it was Valentine's Day (vd) yesterday and of course, we didn't have any special plans. For us, everyday can be vd 'coz we have no kids. So going out to a nice dinner and buying each other (or just buying ME) something isn't too out of the ordinary :) Ok, everyday is valentine's for ME lol!

It was a pretty ordinary day to start with. The husband went to Shultzy's and I stayed in with plans to go to Costco. Two hours after he left, I was back in bed watching my rented Cantonese Hong Kong series lol! It's terrible that I've been trying to get myself to Costco to get some necessities for the past few days and I have yet to get my butt over there. ...by the time I got myself out of the house, it was past noon and realized the husband hadn't locked the door when he left (four hours earlier) and didn't even bring his keys with him! I sent him a text message asking if he'd realized it. His answer, "no I didn't lock it and no, I don't have my keys - but I did take out the recycling so I'm not a total loser - what do you have in mind for lunch?" After a couple of texts to and fro, instead of driving to the warehouse store, I was speeding my way to the University district to pick my man up wondering what I'd like for lunch.

We ended up at our friend Taichi's restaurant, Chiso, in Fremont. We haven't seen our friend Yoshi (who works there) since we moved here and we'd been meaning to do so. It was sooo nice to see him! He even sent over a nice big plate of sashimi - sah-sheeeeee-meeeee mmmmm! Boy we had quite the feast! I had to doggy bag my chirashi lunch to go (which, I am actually having as my breakfast right now as I type; yes, cold and sooooo YUMMY!). Of course after the heavy meal, the last thing on our minds was going to Costco... so we came home, hung out a little and yup, nap time!! Talk about being little piggies enjoying the day eh?! No, no Valentine's Day hot and sweaty sex... not with a stomach full of raw fish, rice and fried oysters in our stomachs lol! I know I know... tmi... totally too much information :D

I was awoken by a call from my girlfriend in distressed (again) and needed me to play her Dr Phil. She's been down for a good 24 hours now. The guy she'd been dating has totally dissed her and hasn't called since Sunday... not even a text message on vd! Yes, I did tell her to kick him to the curb (more than once) but women love to super analyze everything the man has said to them and/or done to/with them... so I was on the phone for awhile. I now know why Dr Phil is balding - probably frustrated enough to tear his own hair out lol! But I like my girlfriend and she hasn't had the best of luck the last few years with the men she's met... she's in her early 30s, speaks English, Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesia, Japanese and French (all fluently), a Wellesley alumni... beautiful... I would totally date her if I were a confident and single man - right!? Too bad for her she's met another nice but not nice enough guy... and of course living in L.A doesn't help her situation either... I had to have another phone conversation with her this morning 10 mins before 7am :D The poor girl... I'm so glad I'm old and married lol!

...but back to us... dinner time rolled around for us and neither of us were hungry... so we walked down to the local AMC and went to see 'Juno'. I liked the movie and I think the dialogue was quite clever! Ellen Page is such a talented actress! Unfortunately, I honestly doubt teenagers who are pregnant at sixteen are really that clever (like she is in the movie) or can hold mature and funny conversations like she did. I just don't believe it :) ...and the sweet sweet father (who played head of an Aryan nation gang in the HBO series, 'Oz' LOL)... If I went home pregnant before I was married - even at age 38 - my dad would so beat me to death LOL!

...so where did we end up having dinner past 10pm in Seattle? We thought we were going to the most unromantic place in Seattle but it turned out, not only were we greeted with an eager and cheerful "happy valentine's day!!" upon walking into Hing Loon, tasty heart-shaped chocolates accompanied our fortune cookies and sesame ball at the end of the dinner! Not bad for a hole in the wall restaurant in the International District at all! So we dodged the line, the waiting and had very good Chinese food with good service (I kid you not!). How's that for an unplanned valentine's day celebration :)

CNY Party Part Two

It's been about six or seven years since I started cooking 'seriously' - not seriously like a chef but seriously like the food I cook have legit names and none of that mambo jambo bowls of noodle dishes I make up with whatever leftovers / sauces I have in the kitchen lol... dishes that I have eaten at home growing up and it actually tastes the same :) In the six years of cooking, I have always cooked for ang mohs ie, white people. Having lived in Memphis, I never had the chance to have my Asian counterparts try my food or rate it. My dad has tried my cooking before when he came to visit; and actually complimented me on my skills (and for cooking his few favorite dishes) - but that was only one meal and one small meal just doesn't cut it.










Last night, I cooked for 10 guests and eight of them Asians. One Singaporean, and a Japanese girl who's lived in Singapore and quite the foodie - actually, everyone who came were somewhat serious about food and/or in the food industry. Guess what!? They enjoyed the food!! Even our sushi chef (yes, what do you know, a sushi chef who is actually Japanese lol - yes they have those in Seattle lol) and his wife, I could tell, truly enjoyed the food. His wife who is an engineer asked if I was a chef LOL! What a compliment eh lol! Of course, she might just think I'm a colleague or something... but still, I'm taking the compliment and running with it.

Part two of our Chinese new year celebration at home was a little more different from the first one a couple of nights before. For one, the first night was just ang mohs. They said they enjoyed the food but hardly made a dent with the amount of food I made - well other than the large pea sprouts (dou miao) and abalone lol! ...the difference with last night; no forks were used (lol I suppose it's not that surprising but I, personally, prefer using a fork when I'm eating out of a plate), I almost ran our of rice... the crab and shrimp bean thread noodle was a big hit (you know us Asians love our noodles lol); people eagerly asked to tah-bao (doggy bag) food for family members at home and for today's breakfast/lunch...

My cooking confidence' level has certainly gotten a huge boost! Yes, of course the husband's told me a gazillion times that I'm a good cook... but everyone's husbands' is suppose to say that right? I mean sure the king has good taste and I trust his judgment when it comes to many things , certainly including food (except gamey-tasting meat lol)... but he's the husband :)

But back to the celebration - it was a big success. We all had a good time! Everyone I invited came - oh actually, no... my college pal didn't make it 'coz her husband hadn't gotten back from his weekend trip on time... I got oranges from the Singaporean friend in tradition for wealth, health and happiness and a couple of beautiful plants (an orchid and hydrangea) for our home that absolutely needs it. I'm hoping by next cny, we'll be celebrating it in our our home with much more space...

Until the 21st of this month, the only cooking that will be done is only going to be some regular home cooking for the king and I :)