I Miss My Friend

My friend G who resides in NYC left for a six week vacation back home in Singapore two days ago. I began missing her this morning... it's kind of weird... I mean, I go on my trips... and this isn't the first time she's going on an extended trip home. But it's kind of weird this time. I'm so used to her calling me at 8:15am every morning on her way to work. Her daily walks from her apartment to the subway; her walks when she's just strolling, shopping or just gallivanting. It felt a little odd this morning getting into my car knowing that she wouldn't call. The is so quiet in the afternoons. The regular few telephone calls I get from her a day are now muted. While I sit here burning my day away, she is not idling at work but probably up and about playing with her cousin's kids or gossiping with her mom.

G leaves for a 2 week mini-vacation within her vacation (Singaporeans just love to travel, don't we lol) on Sunday and it'll be at least after the mini-trip before I'd be able to contact her... No one to talk nonsense in the meantime... I called my too-busy-for-me husband after stupid pilates this morning (I always feel so stupid in pilates 'coz I simply cannot do any of the bloody 'stunts' in that freakin' class!) and the husband got his class to say 'hello Mrs Ryan!'. I think that excited the boys a lot more than it thrilled me 'coz I sure wasn't satisfied! Maybe if he'd put a boy on the phone and I could talk up a storm with him lol...

I know six weeks will go by quickly and my friend will be back in the U.S before I know it but I simply hate waiting!!! Who cares about delayed gratification?! I just want the bloody phone to ring so I have someone to talk to :)

I guess the husband will have to suffer during this period lol. Lord help him if he decides to turn off his cellphone or not be available on messenger or skype while he's at work hahaha! Now I bet he is thankful for G for keeping me occupied day in and day out hahaha!

Still In Chicago...

I'm relaxed... sitting at the much improved Admirals Club at concourse G at O'hare after a good night's rest at the Ramada Plaza. Not exactly my cup of tea in terms of a hotel but hey, it was paid for by the airline with a minimal food voucher for dinner and breakfast. I can't complain though I'd rather be home with my sweetie... but in terms of stress, it certainly is low considering my first trip of the year was rather successful despite being in a pretty developing country surrounded by her uncivilized peoples.

I have couple of hours to burn before I board at 7:20am. Yes, I'd rather hang out in this luxurious lounge then rot in the 3 star hotel room. By the way, the food sucks at the Ramada Plaza at O'hare but oh well, I wasn't expecting to be wow'd anyway.

It's reporting ice and drizzle in Memphis and seeing how small and incompetent my city is, this flight is probably gonna' be delayed. Hahahaha! It really is becoming quite a joke now but oh well... life goes on. Maybe the husband will have the day off work and come pick me up eventually when we're able to land.

Where to next...

Stuck In Hell

Yes, of course I'm still in Shanghai. I should have already boarded my plane to O'Hare but here I sit in this so-called first class lounge using this computer while I know a gazillion people sitting by me are waiting to use this computer. Why?! Wouldn't you think that a first class lounge in a large scale international airport would at least have wireless internet access? You'd think so wouldn't you. No... not even good cellphone reception. The only two computers are taken up by me and this mainlander who was huffing and puffing down my neck 'coz he must think I'm not doing anything important (which I am... blogging IS important... to me it is lol) while he's got to make his gazillion dollar online trade I'm sure - hey, you snooze you lose! I got here first and I'm sitting in front of this computer till it's time to board the bloody plane! If it takes ten hours, this is where you're gonna' find me. Anywayz, yes, I think the other lady who was originally on that computer gave up so he's sitting there typing furiously away.

The weather is bad today... it's been hot the last 3 days. Yes, hot! The temperature got to a high of 30 degrees celcius yesterday. Yes! Thirty! Considering that the weather forecasted that it wouldn't hit 50 degrees during my stay here, the only tees I brought were my pj's. Oh well... sucks to be me. But does it continue to be hot? Of course not! The fog is unbelievably thick right now. When I arrived at the airport an hour ago, I couldn't see ten feet ahead of me. No, I'm not exaggerating! I knew it would be delayed but now, I'm sure I'm gonna' be missing my flight in Chicago back home. This seven day trip to Shanghai is getting to be longer and longer since I left a day earlier for Chicago on Jan 31 to escape the ice storm predicted more than two days pior to the day I was supposed to leave, Feb 1. Of course, after I left and paid usd$300 on sorry ass Hilton O'hare, neither snow nor ice arrived till 48 hours later - what can you say about those stupid meteorologists in Memphis? Dumbasses!

So here I sit in here in this smoke infested corner of a room though I don't know why it's so since it's 'supposed' to be a smoke free room. I don't think I've seen a less impressive lounge in all my years of flying. Unbelieavable! Call me spoilt but if people are going to pay big bucks or miles or anything to fly first class, you'd at least expect some standards in their lounge. At least some phones or computers or something... not just freakin' free drinks and sorry ass sandwiches.

Wow, flight update - the plane coming from Beijing hasn't even left Beijing. Pretty crazy huh. I might be sitting here at sorry ass Shanghai airport for another 12 hours! SHIT! This mainlander is making a fool of himself yelling at the receptionist two feet away from me. Like she has any control over the weather... but of course, unlike other American Airline staff who work at the lounge receptions - this one can't help with flight changes or ticketing... what are you supposed to do or think!? Incompetent nincompoops! Their internal phone sits right next to me... so the AA staff are making these calls to other airline staff asking odd questions... while I pretend like I don't understand a word they're saying.

Do I change my flight to fly out tomorrow? Do I wait? Shit I'll just wait... who cares... I've slept at airports before. Sure I can call P and come pick me up but screw it... chalk it to up experiance.

I don't know how long it'll eventually take me to get to Chicago. I'm hoping below 30 hours from two hours ago but I'm skeptical... I'll keep my fingers crossed however.

Shanghai Elevator Experiance

While the family and I are still enjoying our time here in this Chinese city, I must say, last night's experiance in the elevator with my friend's family (including two little ones and one inside of his mommy's tummy), me and my family and ninety seven other asshole mainlanders; was less then impressive. ...can you still tell my attitude towards these people here hasn't much moved towards love (?) lol. Quite the opposite actually.

Anywayz, we had a nice meal at a nice Cantonese-Thai restaurant - hey, I don't make these odd ethnic restaurants up, I swear. The good food, the Filipina-walking-band that met us at the door and then returned into our private dining room and sang us 'Rhineseone Cowboy' didn't really make our dining experiance any less normal...; delicious and hilarious? Yes - especially when they tried to drag me (not the two kids but ME - why m?!) to dance with them - NO I am NOT bloody Filipina for the final time godammit!!! - delicious and weird? Definitely! Normal, definitely not. Then again, when it an outing with any of my friends 'normal' :D After dinner, we decided to take a nice walk by the river (Huang Jiang) to check out the night view of the Bund / outer shores. I've seen it a couple of times during the day but nothing better then a postcard pic of the same thing with neon lights.

The elevator came and seeing that about 30 young mainlanders joined us waiting for the elevator very quickly, I was like 'let's take the elevator up and then down 'coz that way we'd ensure ourselves space'. Good idea? Maybe... P is pretty pregnant, J, the husband had the 20 month old in his arms, while M stayed close to his mommy. The rest of us spread ourselves evenly within the small space and fitted pretty nicely with another couple who had the same idea as us. The lift went up to the top floor and descended a couple of floors. 30 odd, and I exaggerate not charged(!!!) towards us like a mass of crazy bulls were chasing then behind. They started piling in, pushing and pushing us more into the back wall of the elevator. J, my buddy's husband instictly raised his voice and bellowed in Mandarin very angrily, 'there is a pregnant woman in here! Stop pushing!'. Obviously it was ignored 'coz they kept pushing us into the back. I was, by this time, swearing (again) at the mainlanders in my head - quite an easy task when you're in this country for anything more than a minute. They pushed and giggled and laughed and pushed some more. The alarm came on. My mom burst out an 'it's overweight! go out!'. J again continued, 'go out, there is pregnant woman in here and this door will not close'... which it did not. The alarm went on, they kept pushing and murmuring but no one walked out. We were sandwich far too deep to escape and they continued to ignore anything anyone was saying. The kids were silent and I could sense everyone else's blood (in our group) rising. We must have stood there while the alarm continued, the door opening and closing a gazillion times and J yelling at the top of his voice to go out or let us out. Nothing. These (mainly) men not only kept pushing and refused to leave (not a single one), they told their friends outside to stop pressing on the button - like we needed help in any more moronic act. Eventually, after what seemed like 10 minutes, one idiot walked out reluctantly. Though the alarm continued sounding, those damn stubborn doors finally slid closed and we eventually got to the lobby (with the alarm still going off). Damn mainlanders - they don't even deserve a capital 'm'!!

What can I say... if this continues, this is going to be a pretty long stay... I'm sure before I leave this country, I'll have more to say :)

Hello? CLICK!

I just did something very un-nice and it's even more horrible because I think it's TOTALLY hilarious! Yes, I'm a bad person and I will go to hell. But seeing that heaven doesn't exist (c'mon, you guys gotta' know it doesn't!!) and neither does hell; I will just like most people wilt under ground and get nibbled to my second death by parasites (yuk!!) or buuuurrrrrn! Either way, I don't care.

As you already know, or maybe not, there is a silent feud going on between our family (meaning my husband and I obviously) and my sil and at times, my mil (though it's easier to be more forgiving towards an old lady who bore my wonderful husband lol). Since she (the sil) has not thanked us for anything her brother's done for her, she's in my who(?)-list. Yes, you know the drill... sil - WHO?

So I've been warned not to pick up calls this week. Namely because this weekend is my mil's birthday and the sil will promptly call to gather for a meal. To look for a pay-master - my own mother predicts. My husband had invited his mom out for dinner on her birthday last week and was then advised by the old lady that she'd already made plans with her daughter. Fine and dandy... still, the husband knows his sister well enough and predicted she would call. Well, call she did this late afternoon (two days before the mil's birthday) and low and behold, I forgot my only task (or non-task) and picked up the bloody ringing phone. SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTT! Yes, it was the sil... WHO?!

I picked up the phone with my usual sweet melodic (stop laughing!) 'hello?' Silence on the other end. I remained silent. At least five seconds, I should add. That's awhile. I frowned. I managed another 'hello?' this time a little softer and more curious... and then the other side said 'KAREN?' in a thunderous accented (the southern accent obviously) voice that was only too familiar and traumatising. CLICK! ...and I then started roaring uncontrollably with my demonic laughter. Yes, I'd hung up on the sil. I hung up immediately when I'd realized that I just made a big mistake by first - picking up the phone and secondly - holding out long enough for her to eventually hear me. SHIT! But yes, it was damn funny!

I called the husband immediately. Laughing hysterically, saying 'I just did something bad!'. I could sense the grin on his face... 'my sister called and you hung up the phone'. How does he always know what I'm up to without hearing it from me first? My laugh strengthened and tears started flowing down my small beady eyes. Hey, it was the most exciting thing that had happened to me all day :) You cannot fault me for having too much fun. Meanwhile, as I'm trying to explain what happened, I hear the signal for an incoming line. I could have only guessed it was the sil but this time, I wasn't that moronic to answer.

Yes, I'm an evil evil person and no, I do not feel bad for hanging up the phone on my sil. You don't try to make plans with us two days before your mom's birthday when you'd already planned it with her weeks before. She may assume we sit home and twiddle our thumbs waiting for her inspiring phone calls... she can assume we don't have a life. But this time, we're not caving. We'll take the mil out on a different day she is.

She eventually called the husband's cellphone (while we were still giggling and chatting while he drove home) and left a message. Of course there was no thanks mentioned in ehr message. Yes, she wanted to get together for their mom's birthday. Funny thing is, this Saturday is also her younger daughter's birthday. But they'd already celebrated it last weekend. Guess who wasn't invited to that party? ...nor were we thanked for her birthday present. Some people, I swear...

First Trip Of 2007

Since baby 'Ellie' will be due in March (at least as far as we're all concerned; hopefully she's in no hurry to make her appearance), I figured I'll make mom happy and meet her in Shanghai. Mom's a Chinese history expert and has seen a lot of China during her Chinese-painting days (she used to have exhibitions in her names - impressive eh - unfortunately, both her kids flunked out of art class lol) and would go all over to marvel at scenaries, flowers and stuff I don't care about... But my mother has never been to Shanghai.

The last time I made my solo adventure out there on a last minute decision, she'd mentioned that she'd love to see Shanghai someday. So being the awesome daughter that I am (hahaha!), I thought this would be a neat treat for her to also spend some quality time with me. She seems excited. It'll be nice... two of my cousins will also be making this trip so I think it'll be a nice mini reunion.

It'll be good. Five days with family overseas is about the right amount. I mean, I'm not the most patient person in the world (yes yes, the husband I'm sure is laughing now 'coz that's an understatement...) but for some reason, I have a shorter fuse with my mom. I don't know why. Maybe 'coz she's always right especially when I don't want her to be. But five days is a good amount of time to remain cool, calm and collected no matter what happens. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the hotel will be as luxurious as it claims and I will be able to find some really good food for everyone.

The couple of friends who now live there should be able to entertain me after mom and my cousins leave. They leave a good 30 hours before I do, so I can spend my last day and a half hanging out with them and one of their kids. I hope L doesn't make me meet her dumbass unemployed husband who has already asked me to buy him guitar strings. I hate men who take advantage of strong (but not so smart) women.

You'll hear all about my trip to Shanghai next month. Stay tuned.

I Just Don't Feel Like Flying

What is it with me!? For a person who flew almost two hundred thousand miles last year for fun, I sure am getting a very slow start to this year's travel log. The first month of the year is almost over (well, almost) and I have yet to engage myself on a trip; not even within the continent! I have planned on going to NYC to see friends and to meet my mom in Shanghai (as well as catch up with a couple of friends who now live there) before the month is over. But here I sit in my cozy little kitchen blogging, my tv blasting and I'm killing some time before I hit the gym. No, I don't like this either... but the thought of getting on a flight just isn't making me super excited this year...

I guess I just need to make myself do so. I have to if I want to make platinum executive again. This trip to Shanghai is a must this month. Unfortunately, the promise I made myself the first and last time I was in China isn't going to work for me. I'd acertained that the next time I step foot into China, the caucasian husband would have to be next to me. Why?! Why not?! The mainlanders simply kowtow to the whities and as moronic as it sounds (they, like a lot of neandethal Singaporeans think ALL white folks are rich and better then them - HA!) , when you have a white person stand next to you, your status in a mainlander's eye is raised. Hey, you can't blame these not-very-well travelled and probably not very well educated people. Compare them to the Americans who are not very well travelled, they are on par... actually, no, unfortunately, I think the dumb mainlanders are still a little less stupid then the idiots here in this country lol.

So fly I must... I'll get to see P who is expecting baby number three (after two boys), L of the 'my stupid friend story' who has no moved to China with her dumbass unemployed husband number two and supporting him financially while he spends his days at the Coconut Bar while she works to be able to bring home the bacon. No comments! The stories continue with her but I really don't feel like writing about her life again. Some of the girls I know, I swear, put themselves in situations they don't have to be in. But who am I to meddle right? I just need to go and hang out with friends and have a good time - story of my life :)

Do Not Click 'Forward' To Me

Nothing personal... BUT... why do people feel the need to forward me jokes, prayers (I'm neither religious nor a believer), e-cards (ok, these are SOMETIMES relevant but even they can be annoying), non-personal pictures (usually unbelievable and ridiculous), chain letters; the list goes on.

This week alone, I have received no less then 20 forwards - mostly jokes. Look who's not laughing. There are a few exceptions to my list. The few people who forward me things via emials that I will with no doubt open them - yes, even if they are jokes, prayers (yuk!) or even silly pictures - no one in my 'list' will send me an e-card thankfully lol. People on the list: my husband, my dad, my brother and my sil (the one who is married to my brother, of course). I would include mom but she doesn't do emails. Other than that, if you have forwarded me anything in the last few years and still waiting on a comment from me, well, guess who didn't read it.

The reason I'm blogging this is because when I tell someone directly, they either take it too personally or ignore my request and continue doing so. It's like receiving spam except it comes into your inbox and it's from someone you know. If you are one of those people who go into your junk mail and open every email that says 'free viagra...' or 'you've won...' you're gonna' be a really busy person or, you don't have a life. I don't read the forwarded emails 'coz I don't want to. I don't care about what virus is going on in the world that might affect my computer. I don't care about who has the fattest cat. I certainly don't care what Bill Gates promises or what is the phucking recipe to a bloody cookie. I don't even care if I get bad lucky or die if I don't forward your emails to ten of my friends. I'm still here, aren't I?!

I just want personal emails, emails from people who are keeping in touch or emails from people I have given permission to solicit or advertise in my inbox. Sure, by entering this blog, it might lessen the number of personal emails I get (from the sensitive lot lol). Hey, as long as it cuts down the crap I get, it's worth it! If not, like the junk (snail) mail I get, without reading, it goes through the shredder without a second thought. Think about it; do you speak to someone who's calling for someone else at your number?!?

Moral of the story is: unless you're forwarding some real juicy email you got or the hottest gossip I'm going to appreciate (and it's gotta' be gossip of someone I know personally lol), do not right click forward!!

My New Singaporean Friend... NOT!

This morning was a regular Tuesday morning. After the husband left for work, I hung out online, chatted a little with my brother then caught up with my Chinese drama my girlfriend G had sent me together with a bunch of other goodies (yes, FOOD) in my care package from NYC.

I got to the gym early so I squeezed in 30 mins of cardio on the elliptical machine and headed to 'Switch'. Switch class is usually pretty packed and with the new year just starting, we had a bunch of 'resolutioners' who joined us this morning. One of them being a Chinese girl. I say Chinese and not Asian 'coz she looks the part. Yes, very CHINESE. Almost f.o.b-like but not quite. FOB stands for fresh off the boat - hey, I don't make these things up lol. I helped her a little since she seemed totally lost and the instructor had too many people to help. At first she seemed reluctant to get my help and waited for Maria to get to her... but Maria helped her some before leaving to help someone else so she had to turn back to me HA HA!

At the end of the class, I hung around talking to some regulars and she stuck around to eavesdrop lol. She heard someone call me by my name and asked if that was my name. DUH!? She introduced herself as Jenny. I guess I must have looked really eager to know her name. Yeah right! Ok, I'm not really THAT bitchy; just a little maybe. I asked, 'where are you from? China?' I said China without waiting for an answer from her because I knew for a fact (even before I asked) that she's a mainlander. Her accent when she speaks English is totally mainlanderish so I was just 101% sure. She answers, 'I'm from Singaporrrre'. My legs almost gave way. I tried so hard not to laugh when she then asked where I'm from. 'Singapore' I said sort of nonchalantly. She almost peed her pants I bet! She asked me where I lived in Singapore. Ok, the last time I lived in Singapore was eons ago and my family has moved 3 times since and I have not been to the last two. So I said 'Mt Sinai area' which is where I last lived. That impressed her enough so my job was done. She went on to tell me her husband worked as a professor at the university. I asked 'so how long were you there?' (meaning to say 'you are NOT from Singapore' thank you very much). She went 'eight years!'. HELLO!?!??! Eight years in a country does not make you FROM that country mainlander auntie!!! Even if the sorry ass Singaporean government did kowtow to your Chinese ass and gave you a citizenship (which I doubt or she wouldn't be in the US now). She complained how they aren't that many Singaporeans around and that there is one that she knows of BUT she's Malay, not Chinese, then quickly asked if I'm Chinese. I should have said I was Malay to freak her out but I claimed my own heritage only too proudly. She seemed excited. Why, I don't know. She can't talk to me about my Singapore food. Can't speak Singlish, can't talk about high school days in Singapore and certainly can't cook me food from home. So what part of her is Singaporean?!

I later find out she's been in Memphis for ten years! Doesn't that make her more American then Singaporean!? She wished lol!

I guess if I was a Mainlander Chinese person, I would LOVE to say I'm from Singapore. We're a mere semi-communist country as oppose to the 'motherland'. Singapore is a pretty rich country, the people are pretty well off and civilized - well... compared to most people in China.

It's funny how there are people in this world (probably only the Chinese from China) who would claim Singaporean status and there are Singaporeans who try to claim they are from the US. Yes, they're out there, trust me. Not me lah! I have never done that all these years here. Why?! I know what typical Americans are like lol! But trust me, Singaporeans will, in a minute deny any ties to China lol. As big a country China is... as advanced they have gotten... we still get offended when someone asks, 'excuse me are you from China?'. HELL NO!!!

PS2 Incompatible

We've had the Play Station 2 (PS2) for awhile now and I have always only played the karaoke games. Singing as a fat viking woman (it's the only not so thin woman available) and being booed off stage can be pretty humiliating but at least only the husband is around to enjoy the laugh.

A few months ago, the husband thought he would venture me into a cool game called Katamari where you basically are a rolling ball rolling over the universe to sweep up objects to make yourself bigger. Well that didn't work for me since playing on the big ass tv in our bedroom only subjected me to watching the ball on tv rolling and rolling and rolling and... you get the pic. It just got me seriously dizzy!! I quit playing the game after a mere 10 mins and had to call the husband at work to let him know the game got me sick. The man had a good laugh on my expense but I'll admit, it's pretty retarded and funny.

Well, the joke continues. Over the Christmas holidays, my sweet husband decided that since I can't watch little balls roll into big ones, he got a couple of new games for us. One was Simpsons and the other is Godfather.

This morning, after watching him test the Simpsons game before I went to sleep, I decided to be adventurous and test the game on my own while he laid next to me deeeep asleep. I didn't even get as far as stage two and I started feeling dizzy... trying to get Lisa's Science project to her was a real pain. OMG, before I knew it, I was feeling nauseous and sick. Yes, my breakfast didn't stick with me too long. Sure wasn't a pretty sight (or sound) when the husband heard me gagging in the bathroom. Yes, it certainly woke him up in a shock :s

Maybe it explains why my hands were shaking pretty bad when I was cycling on the stationary cycle this morning. So no more PS2 games for me. I'm not even brave enough to try the Godfather game. I'll stick to being the lardass viking trying to sing to a crowd of jerks who boo me constantly :)

Ten Days Of Feasting

Today, I went back to my regular schedule. What's regular schedule? Well, it's like Christmas plus working out lol

OMG after ten full days of avoiding even the thought of aeroboxing and spinning classes, I did a 45 minute 'switch' class this morning which entails switching (thus the name of the class) between ten minutes of stationary cycling and ten minutes of weights exercise till the 45 mins runs out. Talk about being in hell that would never end! I swear, all that good food (I was literally eating anything I wanted under the sun) during the holiday season, the luxurious breakfast every morning at the Grand Hyatt Seattle during our short stay there and the neverending flow of 'sticky paws' which I am absolutely addicted to.... ALL NOT WORTH IT(!!!). That is, only because I will be in hell every morning for a little while before I get back to my normal breathing pattern again :)

I'm sure the rest of the week and the next will be rough on me. I am certainly not looking forward to tomorrow, never mind the rest of the weeks to come :( Still, I would LOVE a sticky paw (or two) right now. No, I don't learn obviously!

No Thank Yous

It's a new year. A week after last year's Christmas day. We delivered the presents to the local nieces a week prior to the holidays. Birthday presents, christmas presents, presents from my mil (her wrist was in a cast from a fall earlier and couldn't shop for toys and certainly not wrap them). My husband being a very good son did all that for his mother. Everything was delivered on a Sunday afternoon and the bloody girl, the older one insisted (again) on calling me gramma. Worst, Gram-Mimi. That's the step grandmother. OMG I was gonna' bop her one I swear. She was calling me by the name of the woman who called me HUGE in my face! The little girl's been doing it for the last year or so every time I saw her. Immediately, her uncle threatened to take all the presents back if she couldn't address me by my correct name. Without a second thought, she quietly admits, 'auntie Karen' and shoots me the dirtiest look. Oooh, I so wanted to kill her. You laugh. But there is no love between us. She then runs across the room and hugs her uncle and turns back to me to say this-is-MY-uncle-and-I-love-him-not-you. KEEP YOUR PAWS OFF MY MAN I double screamed in my head. I realized quickly I was sinking to a new low fighting (in my head) with a five year old girl. Still... you can't blame me.

The husband is highly upset. Hurt though he probably won't admit it. We've speculated that maybe the girls didn't like their presents from us. But that's no excuse not to call to thank us. Maybe my sil didn't like the presents we got. Right, no bloody excuse for the rude behavior. Besides, the presents included a three hundred dollar gift certificate so the mother could get exactly what she wanted for the girls. We got them gift certificates because it's apparent that my sil and I have very different taste - I like kids to dress neat and preppy and she... doesn't. So the toys, an outfit each and the gift certificate has not deserved a simple thank you from anyone in that family. Not even when the husband called and spoke to the bil on Christmas afternoon. No mention about the presents, no thank you for the presents for the kids. So while I'd already given up on anyone calling to thank us, the call did finally come. Yes, a call from the sil out of the blues two days after Christmas! She left a message 'coz who in the right mind would pick up her calls right?! She was calling to ask for a favor. Yes, still no thank you. Still no mention of the gifts. Instead, she was calling to ask if her brother would pick up the birthday cake and ice for his nieces birthday party (after we returned home from our spending Christmas with friends, not family) because her husband had decided to work and she had three girls to handle in the house prior to the party. You know, we would do it for any of our friends; shit we would do it for a bloody acquaintance who treated my husband with some respect half the time. It was just so wrong for HER to call asking for this favor when first of all, she knew well and clear we weren't going to this five year old party. We don't live near her (thankfully). We just don't have that kind of relationship where you'd call to ask for a simple favor. Her brother was seriously upset while listening to the message. He roared his swear words while I spoke on my cell with my girlfriend wondering 'WTF' and shot him a look. I got off the phone quickly for him to relay the message to me. I was in disbelief. I mean, hello, aren't her friends' kids going to this party? Can't they do her that favor? Why did her husband decide to go to work instead of spend the day with their first born? Couldn't he do so before he went to work? The restaurant does not serve breakfast for crying out loud! Why was she asking her brother who had made it very clear wasn't attending the kid's party!?

My husband, her brother, didn't return the call. He's still upset he didn't get a thank you call from her or the kids. ...and I'm sure my sil is now upset her brother who couldn't even call to say 'no I won't do you the favor'. AIYOH! WTF right?! The family has something about not being able to confront each other; or hold a decent conversation; or have a civilized meal; or agree to disagreement on anything. My mil we're sure, have heard it from my sil about what a horrible person her brother is but is keeping tight lipped about everything. Her answers are now shorter then ever when her son asks her anything concerning the sister. She's just not a very tactful mother I conclude. This 'silent fight' would never happen between my brother and me 'coz if we were upset with one another, we would speak up or I would yell at his wife hahaha! The Tays are just different from the Ryans I guess. We're better lol. Plus we're awesome with thank yous - just not very good with saying 'I'm sorry'. :D

What I Learned In 2006

Next to my husband, my niece EKT is my everything

I dislike Memphis less then I thought but I would not like to die here - NO WAY!

I love our house more than I thought

My husband is a far nicer man then me until other drivers piss him off

Friends are all disposable - even some good friends. No matter how much I like someone, at the end of the day, I can too easily turn my back on them.

It's not too late to lose weight if I want to work phucking hard lol

I must love Japan or really love Japanese food or both to go there five times in a year

Wives and husbands of buddies usually will not be your buddy

My mother may still give me a baby sister lol

'C' students will not end up being road sweepers contrary to the believe my parents instilled in me as a kid

I can be really mean to people I dislike or even sometimes like

I am a pretty good daughter

I hate stupid people more than I thought especially if they are Americans

I don't know how to appreciate country bumpkins or the southern accent

People think I'm a hick 'coz I live in Tennessee

No matter how many times I say we're not going to have kids, it still lingers at the back of my mind constantly

Why is it a headline piece of news when a 93 year old man dies?

I dislike mild winters

I still hate all summer anywhere

Australia and aussies are still at the bottom of my list - even lower then summer

Chinese songs are so much better than English ones

I dislike Katie Couric for no bloody reason

Travelling 150,000 miles in a year for fun is tiring :)

My once strong nails are getting weak and brittle

Sears sucks

I love my new SILENT Bosch dishwasher

I still refuse to shop at Walmart (thank goodness)

I cannot live without a tv

I know I can be a bitch - I just don't like to be told by someone else

Most people let me know (in front of him) that I'm too lucky to have a husband like him - no one, as far as I know, tell him same :s Hmmm...

I know I learnt a lot more but that's all I can handle for now. Happy new year to all of you still reading me after all this time :D I'm sure 2007 will bring lots more reason to blog. Stay tuned.

Seattle Beats Memphis Hands Down

Our three-day holiday celebration is coming to an end. I don't want to leave. More so, I wished we lived here. I doubt there is any chance but it doesn't cost anything to dream.

Christmas with the Shultze family was very fun as expected. Susan and Don were their usual generous hosts and Susan's parents were in town from NY and were their usual hilarious charming selves. ...and the kids... my goodness, do they ever stop growing?! Dinner was awesome! Susan went above and beyond and cooked this fantastic roast beef meal and fortunately, I could make myself useful in an angmoh kitchen by making the mash potatoes :) This is what celebrating with a family at Christmas should be like... lots of conversation and laughter, lots of fun, lots of wine and champagne (LOTS hahaha!) and just chatter in every corner of the house; which I suppose, explains why we are not in Memphis with my in-laws - I kid you not, spending two hours with that bunch shortens ten precious years of my life. Not because they're not nice... ok, there are nicer people in the world hahaha, but we just have absolutely no common interest. Plus there are way too many unspoken topics that can't be brought up ie, their restaurant.

Boxing day and the day after that was spent with our friends Julie and her boyfriend Yoshi. We met Yoshi some six months ago when they first started dating and thought he was nice but didn't really get to know him well enough. This trip, we spent some quality time with him and we really really like to see them together. He's very sweet and I think Julie albeit tired of her job, enjoys Yoshi a lot. I know the husband and I did. He's got a good sense of humor plus, he eats EVERYTHING! How awesome is that?! We're hoping everything goes smoothly for them and maybe we can even meet them in Tokyo next March. That would be awesome!

I had a lot of fun shopping two full hours in Nordstrom and then a little in Eileen Fisher the morning of Boxing Day. Nordstrom opened at 8am and the husband and I were the first in line...... ok there was no line. Together with four other Japanese ladies, I got two Ferragamo bags, two pairs of Cole Haan boots, a pair of Stuart Weitzmen suede boots (you can't go wrong with the service you get at Nordstrom), and two pairs of Miu Miu sandals. I also chanced upon a bunch of fun gay guys working there who helped pick some new fragrances for me. They were hilarious! That's what shopping should be like. Fun! So even though it wasn't the best sale I've been to, it was such a pleasure to be at Nordstrom again. ...Julie says Neiman Marcus is returning to Seattle. Yet another reason I wish to live here lol.

Why do we feel more loved in Seattle then we do where we live 300 days of the year!? We enjoy our friends here and they us and simply shopping at Uwajimaya is a thrill. Sure we do similar things in Memphis as we do here; EAT (surprise surprise!). But it's just so much more fun here! The evening at Julie's was really awesome too. She made a bunch of out of the ordinary finger food (I should have taken some pics dammit!) like proscuitto wrapped in papaya (yeah I bet you've only had it with melon right!? BO-RING!) lol, steamed dungeness crab that was heavenly and served a bunch of Japanese snacks that we really enjoyed. Simple? Sure. Different? Yes. Fun? Definitely! Oh, and the neverending flow of sake was nice too :D

I don't know when we return to Seattle. Maybe Easter, maybe the summer. Either way, I can't wait to see our friends there again soon. Who knows, a couple of them might fly over to Memphis for our annual Chinese New Year party in February :)

Northwest Airlines Still Sucks

It's been more than a year since we flew Northwest Airlines (NWA). We stopped flying them even though Memphis is a NWA hub because they have poor customer service, both at the airports and certainly in the air, small narrow seats though equipped with neverendingly long seatbelts - I think for humongous people who can't fit into the damn chairs lol and most more important to us, a bad mileage program. What happens when you've earned a shitload of miles and want to use them? Nothing. You can't. Either they can't find seats for you or they want double the number of miles for you to fly which is bloody ridiculous. The only times I have had been successful in using my NWA miles was when I lived in Tucson, AZ and flew Alaska Air to Seattle to see my then-boyfriend, now laogong - good thing those miles didn't go to waste eh lol. So NWA hasn't exactly been our favorite - oh and they have a yukky air alliance program!

The husband and I are loyal American Airlines (AA) folks. We made it a point to fly only them this year and yes, that meant taking at least one stop flights to Seattle, New York or L.A when we could easily take non-stop ones on NWA. Sometimes even paying more! This has helped us make Platinum Executive status with way too many trips to Asia. It's my first time and the husband has achieved it too many times with his more than two million miles - Mr. forever-platinum. But the perks that comes with platinum status and executive platinum is yet another world apart. Besides the international upgrade coupons you get, the service you get that comes with when travelling is endless. For one, the special airport lounges alone is worth every single cent we've spend with them. These lounges (not the ordinary lounges for practically everyone) really are fancy and comfortable. They are only for the executive platinum folks or people flying first class on international flights. No, not even if you're flying business class. You go to the lowly favored lounge which is usually packed to the brink muahahahaha. In this fancy lounge which I have spent up to nine hours at the LAX one and have time just fly by (I kid you not!), the flow of free food and drinks is embarassing. Yes, it includes all alcohol. The ladies who work there certainly aim to please and will go out of their way to have your commands a reality. They went out of their way to get me an international adaptor when all I asked was where in the terminal I could get one. Now that's what I call customer service! It's just little things like that. Usually when you're in one of these lounges, you hardly get four people in it and trust me, they're not small. Nicer bathrooms, fancy showers, plush towels... like I said, the list goes on.

Yesterday, Christmas Day, first time (certainly last of this year) we flew non-stop on NWA to Seattle. We were exactly thrilled since that means no way in hell we will be upgraded since we are back to being cattle class folks and we actually have to pay for a meal on the four and a half hour flight. Yes, small detail but it's been so long since we've had to do this. With winter weather going berserk everywhere these days, we decided not to take the risk since getting to Seattle on Christmas day to hang out with the Shultze family is important to us, we went the direct route.

The airport was practically ghostly. No line at check-in, no line at security and the one mile walk to our gate was deadly except for the black family behind us who insisted on doing every James Brown impression lol. Yes, he died yesterday but come on! The NWA terminal at the Memphis International Airport has been revamped and I will admit, nice! Much nicer than what it was before. At least the retail part of it. I asked the husband why haven't they done anything to the gates and definitely the bathrooms. He quick response, "'coz bathrooms don't make money...". I suppose, but walking past the beautiful retail area to the gates looks like you're walking in a college dorm! YUK!

The 'smart' people of NWA doesn't seem to have boarding down to a science yet obviously. They did the first class AND the people who need help (I could have gone since I do need help in many facets of my life lol) and once that was over, they announced boarding for ALL groups. Now this is a packed to the brim 757 flight! So you can imagine the mad rush when the idiot said 'NOW' lol. It's like having a bunch of refugees rush for the next boat to America. Even we were in line pretty quickly considering we had our carry-ons meaning everything, with us. People were already trying to trade seats before boarding so you can imagine the trading that went on upon boarding. The dumbasses didn't realize that they were holding up the line behind them; or they just didn't care. They just wanted to be seated with the rest of the family. For crying out loud, it's only four a half phucking hours! Even the husband and I had seperate seats (his directly in front of mine) and of course, someone was in my seat telling me I should go take theirs at 6F. "Yeah, phuck off!". Ok, I didn't say that but I thought it lol. You take your original seat first then you come ask. You don't take my seat then tell me to back-track four gazillion people behind me (waiting to run me over to get to their seat ahead) to go to a seat in front of the plane. Of course Bruce said no hee hee. He's my sweetie pie :D

The flight was not too exciting except for the bad turbulence throughout the four hours and the pilot who insisted on doing the play by play on exactly where we'd just flown over. Hello, we're in the either in the midst of thick clouds or above it. Who cared where the hell we were!? Just shut the hell up and let me sleep!!! That was when I whipped out my Nintendo DS and busted a groove lol. It's the name of my new game lol!! ...oh, when it was time to out away all electronics, I was removing my headphone when I noticed the old and unattractive flight attended glaring coldly towards my direction. I starred back at her and she mouthed 'turn it off now!'. I frowned and thought 'you idiot, my phucking cell phone's been on the entire phucking fight bitch!' Hahahaha!

Of course we have to fly NWA back home in a couple of days. But I'm not looking forward to having to deal with them even one more time.

Time to go get ready for boxing day shopping adventure now :D

America Makes Me More Chinese

In Singapore the term used to describe someone as being very Chinese would be 'cheena obiang'. A derogatory term calling someone 'too Chinese' - if you know what that means. You know, the greasy straight flat hair parted in the centre, glasses so thick you can hardly see the eyes that were already small enough to be blind-folded by dental floss, speaks nothing but a Chinese language so loud your family back home can hear him. To put it simply, just a Chinese who is immediately recognized (or guessed) to be from Mainland; someone who seems rather fresh-off-the-boat'y :D Crude in mannerisms and personality. Forever stuck in their own little Chinese world.

While I have neither straight flat hair and gawd forbid, parted from the centre of my forehead, nor do I speak as loud as any typical Mainlander does (tho' I'll admit, I am loud lol), I am Chinese. I don't seem to look very Chinese to most people. I see that as a problem since most people think I'm Filipina or Hawaiian. Someone has even asked me what tribe I'm from thinking I'm Native Indian and one thought I was this Indian girl's sister (yes, the ones with the dot on the forehead). WTF!? But, living in the US of A has made me come to embrace being Chinese a lot more than I did ten, certainly twenty years ago when I was a mere know-it-all (well, know anything but Chinese) teenager.

This morning, I had a surprise IM message from my cousin's 21 year old daughter while I was listening to my itunes and catching up on email. She was gasping in surprise that she could see my playlist for a good hour of Chinese pop. Jay , Jerry, Jolin, Jacky, F4, LeeHom, you name it! Sure I listened to some Chinese songs growing up. Lord knows mom sang only Chinese songs to my baby brother and myself when we were kids - the same songs our little EKT is listening to now. But Chinese pop music wasn't exactly my forte. I could hum a couple of Emil and Jacky songs but which Chinese can't? These days, I look feverishly for them online, when I'm in Chinatown in NY, even in Japan when I'm at HMV.

I think it's because I'm returning to my roots. Being older now, living in a city where there are hardly Asians and speaking Mandarin means I'm talking to my mom or a couple of friends on the phone or maybe the Taiwanese sushi chef in town. I'm even trying to read the Chinese subtitles when I'm watching Chinese dubbed Korean series and making a point to match what they say with what I read. Insane as it might sound, but I can certainly read more Chinese chararters now then when I was in school when it mattered most lol.

Oh well, that's what living in America has done to me. I am now practically 'cheena' minus the physical charateristics . I suppose being surrounded by a bunch of not-the-brightest non-Chinese and non-Mandarin-speakers who I love to bitch about will do that to you. I only wish I could bitch it to someone else who will understand :D

Winter Is Here... Or Is It?

I know, it's been a month since I've posted anything and while I sit here skipping the 8:3am aeroboxing class (hey, Randy's been sick the last week and I'm tired of doing the alternative which is going to the gym that's filled with ugly old men (and I mean OLD) and even older women just to use the eliptical machine). I took yesterday off working out to prep for the Math department end-of-the-year party that was held at our house; so I figured taking the first class off this morning would be a nice treat for myself. Fine, I'll admit it, I'm feeling bloody lazy after a big ass bolw of fried rice for breakfast; there, I said it.

I can't say nothing been going on since my last post considering we did fly to Hong Kong. Nonetheless, I can't say it's been all that much different from any other month. Everyday's Christmas in the Ryan household. Okay, everyday's Christmas for ME. The weather, however, has been cranky. Last week we had below 20 degree days (that's below freezing for the people outside the US) and this week till Christmas it's going to be days as warm as 70 degrees! When did I move to Florida?! I want my real winter back!! I want my bitterly cold days and icy ass nights! I want to be able to be able to wear my winter coat, my leather gloves (cashmere lined of course), my high boots and my luxurious scarves without looking like I'm out of place. Ok, I will look out of place anywayz 'coz I live in a city where dressing up means you're going to court. Still, I enjoy going it - without explaination - and I want to, with permission from no one but the weather. I want to go shopping and see the stupid Salvation Army idiots standing there ringing the annoying bells asking for a donation (no, I NEVER give 'coz they spend the money people donate on sending people like me who don't, personalized address stickers and silly stuff like that which I trash without a second thought) dressed in their silly uniforms, not tees and cargos!

Okay, so where is the summary lol.

Hong Kong was a blast. Despite our incredibly short trip there, the husband and I spent two short but very fun days with my baby brother who was there on a business meeting and was able to stretch his trip to hang out with us... we saw my buddy and his new wife whom I cannot talk about here 'coz he reads my blog (lol). We will certainly be back to Hong Kong in the near future. The husband says the Chinese in Hong Kong are super nice (unlike the Singaporeans); but that's only 'coz he's a gwei lo and in a recently de-colonized country, they still feel that the gwei lo is King (not!) :D

I'll be the first to be admit, after flying 30 hours to Hong Kong for two and a half days and back and after flying more than one hundred and seventy five thousand miles this year, I had just about enough of taking long trips. After five trips to Japan, one to Hong Kong, one to Thailand, and I think two (or at least one) to Australia, going anywhere far isn't on top of my list for Christmas. The husband did suggest Japan and Thailand, even Singapore. But as much as I love to go to Asia for vacation, I had to shoot him one of those are-you-kiddin' looks and say 'naaaaahhhhhhhh!'. So Seattle it is for Christmas. Yes, we will spend it with the Shultze family and then see our friend (Japanese) Julie (not to be confused with my friend here, British Julie) whom we did a couple of trips to Japan this year. It's bad when there are more people who like to spend time with you who don't live in the city you live in where your friends and family live.

Christmas is in the air - well, not really here in Memphis, but it's an awesome excuse for me to shop :D Ok, I never need an excuse to shop 'coz like I said, it's Christmas everyday at the Ryan's. At least I get to use my Christmas china lol!!! I still wish the temperature will drop drastically - no chance though. But the very very sweet husband of mine has suggested we do some quick shopping in Boston and Chicago next week. So shop I shall... and I'm sure it'll be way too cold and I will be bitching, but I will be bitching with a big smile :)

All Better

After flying into Memphis and catching a cold on the plane, I spent the first evening with my laogong sniffing and resisting some coughs. I woke up the next morning to more serious sniffing and real dry coughs. Yuk!

I wasn't feeling all that bad... but yes, I had caught a cold and I couldn't deny it. My treatment, lots of water, my Chinese yin qiao cold tablets and set off to the gym for a 'switch class'.

It's the day after and I'm all better. Weird. Considering how mom freaked out when she heard that I'd gone to the gym with a cold. She claims people in Singapore have died from that... of course, she's also the same woman who warned me to stay away from crazy people or they will strangle me HAHAHAHA!

I'm all better and ready for Hong Kong in a bit.

Home... and sick arrgh!

It's sooooo good to be home. Truly. Being away from the husband for a full 13 days has been quite an experiance. Not just the seperation anxiety but having to be independent when I travel on my own is just annoying. You know, the usual having to fill up the forms before I gain entry into a country and little things like that. When I'm with 'the man', all I need to do is sign at 'x'. I don't have to worry if I have my documents 'coz he deals with them... I have zero responsibilities when I travel with him and stress free.

Yes, I had a wonderful time with my now-19-month-old-niece, EKT. She's adorable, mischievous, hilarious and a pain all at the same time. Scary thing is, she's soooooo much like me. My poor brother lol. We even make similar facial expressions and I don't even live with her for her to know I do that!!! Genes... scary how that works. It was nice that my brother brought the nanny/maid... it was cool not to have to cook, clean or even do what I usually enjoy doing - laundry :D It was nice to have my half boiled egg ready when I opened my eyes and mom would crack it lovingly for me. I say lovingly 'coz honestly, I did appreciate it and I know she loved doing it for all of us - seriously! She'd serve it to me with two pieces of my favorite Hup Seng crackers (lol). That is the life! It was nice to have EKT's very hardworking nanny have the laundry all nicely ironed and folded on my bed daily and my baby brother... wow, that baby's-daddy is a really good cook!! He specializes in one-dish pasta meals. I can't say he'd disappointed us at all in all the times he cooked. So you see... as much as I missed being with the husband and wished he was there enjoying little EKT with me, I can't say I missed doing what I enjoy doing for him day in and day out hahaha. Ok, that came out bad... but now that I'm back, I do look forward to being a wife all over again. Yes, it's good to get a break (shuddup, all off you who complain about what a good life I already have) every once in awhile to be my mom's kid all over again.

My long trip to Oz only confirmed how much I dislike the country and even more, the people. Wow... I didn't think a whole city could be made up of more rude, lazy and annoying people; but it really does! If you think you get rude and bad service from Asians here, try going to Melbourne where the Asians there don't work for a tip hahaha! It's BAD! Cab drivers are mostly Africans and Indians and they're usually alright and pretty friendly though quite a few of them seriously need to think about taking a shower... but ALL the Aussie drivers we came across SUCK!! They are so rude! Salespeople are nothing like the ones in the US - once again, the not-working-for-commission makes a ton of difference.... and the flies... my gawd the phucking flies! It's only spring and they're out with a vengeance. YUK! You'd think that a bunch of assholes at the airport who stop you from bringing dirty shoes into their already dirty country would be more concerned about what these flies are doing instead. Noooo... we get sniffed by dogs at the airport, questioned rudely by jerks (I have been to Australia a lot and not once have I been treated like a dignified human being, I swear!!) and made to get our bags scanned and checked for fruits, plants and crap when we enter the sorry ass country (yes, everytime so don't even think about bringing ANY thing you're not supposed to) and then get mistreated by their country's unwelcome people as well as the similarly unwelcome pests. Don't these people know we come to spend money in their damn country originally made up of criminals?!?!

It's gonna' be awhile before I have to step foot into that country again. Next week, destination Hong Kong for Thanksgiving where we'll be seeing my baby brother who will be there as well :) Life is good :D

A Day In Airports And Planes

It's November 2 and with mixed feelings earlier this morning, I left my laogong and started my trip to Australia to see my family. Why mixed feelings? Well, I'm really excited I'm going to be spending some quality time with my now 18 month old niece, Emma. But that also means being away from Bruce... and having to spend a full day at MEM, DFW and LAX before I finally take my final flight out to MEL late tonight and arrive two days later (due to time change and of course, forever and a day on the plane itself) on Saturday morning. Does that mean I actually skipped a day of meal? Which means I can formally pig-out when I get there? Ok, no, but I will anyhow lol.

This is the first time I'm going to be away from my husband for more than eight days since we got married some five years ago. Okay, five years and almost a week :) Will I live? Yes, even though he said I shouldn't have to cook a bunch of stuff amd freeze them or prepare anything specially for him while I'm gone, I did (last minute). I showed it to him this morning and there were no complaints - so I think he was pretty happy and contented. Thirteen days away... never mind him... will I survive the seperation anxiety?! Can I live with my family for thirteen days? It's been years and years since I spent anything more than a week with them :) No, I'm sure I'll be fine... thank goodness for skype, free international calls, webcams and emails.