Family Time
May 24, 2010 § 1 Comment
This is my brain on zero sleep
At 9PM on Saturday, I received a text from Mr. Chen, my mom’s college classmate who is now a professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The text contained details about the next day’s boat trip, which apparently required me to meet his family in Lam Tin [a place I had never even heard of] at 830AM.
FML, I thought. I had forgotten about agreeing to this excursion and was planning to have another karaoke-all-night session with some friends. Thinking quickly, I calculated that since I’m already so accustomed to staying up all night, I could probably just skip sleep entirely and count on some Red Bull to get me through the next day.
So that’s exactly what I did.
I got home from karaoke at 630, brushed my teeth, munched some cereal and lay in bed without sleeping until leaving at 730 in the same clothing and makeup from the night before. I forgot my camera, mirror and mosquito ointment…not a good start to the day. It was also raining on and off.
I met Mr. Chen and his 9-year-old son Gilbert in the McDonald’s near their apartment complex. The boy was reading Detective Conan [MY FAVORITE ANIME, still popular after 16 years]. His daughter Grace came after a while, and it took me 40 minutes after meeting her to realize that she was the same age as my brother [she was too tall for 13, and my brain was clearly malfunctioning]. Mr. Chen mistook me for an 18-year-old, while his wife thought I was a masters student. It wasn’t as bad as some of the other people we were with, who thought I was 15 or 16 [both kids AND adults told me this]. Guess the makeup and height and boobs don’t do much…?
The Chen family and I arrived at the pier, and I realized that I was about to spend the day with a gaggle of gangling adolescent girls and their prepubescent brothers. Lovely. They were all gathered around one girl’s music player, and all I heard were the words “Kim Yuna” and “MBLAQ” to know I was in good company. Actually, I had to fight to keep from laughing. But how is a 20-year-old supposed to approach this situation? Hide my fervor or join their clan?
There were a bunch of TALL, good-looking guys 15 feet away…I belonged with them, not this handful of girls singing “NU ABO” to themselves. But the four of them had grown up together as classmates and friends, just like our Square. So blessed.
My sad life
Keeping my private Kpop monster in check was like the Hulk trying not to raise his blood pressure — the more they sang, the more sheer effort I had to put into restraining myself from breaking out in sing and dance. The feeling of finding real-life people who share this passion is rare enough to make my heart rate increase [sad isn’t it?]. They mostly like girl groups [ie. Secret and 2NE1], from what I could tell. “SNSD is kind of slutty,” I heard. Sigh. One day they’ll learn not to judge, right?
At 10AM I cracked open my Red Bull. I needed it. It took all my energy to keep from falling on my face as we wandered across a sandbar embedded with volcanic rocks. I got a fright from almost stepping on a dead fish; it was like being back at Neuqua.
Dead fish #2
For lunch, each table had a huge platter of shrimp, which I have recently learned to peel with my mouth. Very useful. I overdosed on them as a result of practicing this new skill. We also had these seafoody tofu pudding medallions, which were delightful:
Yum!
People ordered live sea urchins, which were halved and eaten with dainty spoons while the poor creatures were still moving. Can you imagine being cut in half and having your insides dug out while still breathing? Unbelievable:
Vodpod videos no longer available.As we finished lunch, the girls danced to “Chu” on the side, playing from one of the three iTouches among the group. I remember when we had to provide our OWN music, aka sing Disney songs to ourselves from memory. Kids these days and their gadgets…they make me feel old [and look young?].
Next, our boat stopped by a ghost town of an island where the only notable artifacts were the abandoned church and salt fields. Devoid of most sentient life-forms, it was a bug-eat-bug world with humans occasionally being led in as sacrifices for the mosquitoes. [Why do parents drag their children to these places? Will I be like this in the future too?]
The girls got a hold of my phone [and therefore all my Korean music], and we ended up dancing to f(x) on the top deck of the boat on the way back to the pier. Grace insisted that I go to Megabox with her friends, which sounded like more karaoke to me but turned out to be a huge mall in the same area where I saw 4Minute earlier this semester [bad memories]. I was about to drop dead from exhaustion but agreed anyway.
We got a ride to the mall from one of the other girls’ parents in their Lexus SUV [which I know mostly as my mother’s dream car], and it was my first time riding in non-public transportation in five months. I really miss the little things like that.
I really liked Grace, and couldn’t have met a better playmate for the day; she was friendly, inviting and generous, traits that humbled and amazed me greatly coming from someone her age. She scored some extra cash from her dad, which meant that she paid for everything — my dinner, dessert and even a pair of earrings, as if she were the one older by seven years. I was really floored.
The five of us window shopped, took photobooth pictures and wandered around. Even though my eyes were literally burning from being awake for so long, I had a genuinely good time. It was like being 13 again! Except I don’t remember swearing and making sexual jokes quite so openly back then…kids these days :P
Hands In The Air
May 19, 2010 § 1 Comment
Because of finals week, my sleeping schedule has been completely out of whack. Yesterday I slept from 7AM-430PM, which is what my whole week has basically been. It sucks because the sun seems to rise and set earlier here than at home, which means less sunshine when I want it.
I also woke up yesterday with one double eyelid instead of zero. No amount of rubbing would make it go away, which put me at a loss for how to do my makeup.
Anyway, last night was my first time going clubbing on a Tuesday night — ladies’ night in Tsim Sha Tsui. We left an hour later than planned, which is not uncommon but especially inconvenient this time because this certain club [Zaza] is only free until 2AM. The line stretched down the block by the time we finally arrived, and we hung out for a while at the back before getting the courage to join the rest of our friends in the very front of the line.
It was hot & sweaty with people mashed up against each other and women lighting up right next to me. Tempers ran high when the bouncer finally let us all in after making us wait for 45 minutes AND having us all pay the $100HK entrance fee even though it wasn’t even 1AM.
Five minutes after we stepped into the club, the lights turned on. Word reached us that the police were coming. Seriously? We JUST paid to get in. Were they coming to check ID? I had stupidly forgotten mine. Everybody stood around chattering amongst themselves until the cops arrived and we were told to be quiet.
A table and chairs were set up in the middle of the dance floor for the officers, and one of them sat and looked through documents as the others walked around and inspected people. It felt like the longest 25 minutes ever. We had no idea what was happening, but nobody was detained. The whole thing was really weird, but after they left, the party started right up again.
To me, the clubbing experience seems to consist of dancing, drinking, looking for stray members of one’s party and waiting in line for the restroom [whether one needs to go or not], with lots of picture-taking in between. It’s a fun time, but I don’t see how people can do it day after day or even week after week. The routine gets monotonous.
I danced with one guy whom I deemed acceptable: good hair, good skin, good teeth, good body, good clothing, taller than me & seemed my age. Total stranger. And he didn’t really speak English. His name was Bert? Curt? Couldn’t hear. Toward the end of the song he tried to stick his tongue in my mouth — I don’t know if he was drunk or inexperienced, but I just wanted to dance and maybe feel him up. Two hours later we found each other again and had a round two, heh, but had to stop because my thighs & feet were screaming in agony. I kissed him on the cheek to let him know I was leaving, but he tried to slobber all over me again so I escaped to the bathroom with some other girls.
Other than that, I went crazy when the DJ [finally] played “Sorry Sorry,” my feet are still in pain as I write this at 7AM, I feel greasy but satisfied after another round of 3AM dim sum, and I’m going to miss the club scene here when I go home. Down at school, everyone drinks but no one dances. Lame! Anyway…time for bed.
Love.
May 5, 2010 § Leave a comment
♥
When I heard that Jaeson Ma was going to premiere his documentary 1040 in Hong Kong [sponsored by The Vine church], I jumped at the chance despite the event being two days away, one day before my final essay was due, and almost $40US to attend [funds for the new church building]. I’ve heard bits & pieces about him from friends and have watched clips from the film online, and I just knew I had to go. Unfortunately, because it was on a Tuesday night of finals week, none of my friends were willing to go with me.
The 1040 showing took place on Ma Wan island, an obscure little place that is half residential and half home to Noah’s Ark theme park, which is apparently the only to-scale replica of the Biblical vessel in the world. I took the ferry there without a problem and planned to follow the crowd to the auditorium, but once we arrived at the island, they all dispersed in different directions, leaving me in the middle of a plaza surrounded by apartment buildings. The people at 7-11 couldn’t tell me where Noah’s Ark Hall was located, and neither could the workers inside the bus terminal. After hearing about how strangers in Taiwan & Japan go out of their ways to help lost travelers, I’d have to rate the helpfulness of HK people as 3/10.
Anyway, it was dark by the time I finally found the minuscule signs pointing to Noah’s Ark. I was relieved to reach the mysterious location with five minutes to spare, but because people are SLOW, we started 35 minutes later than scheduled. It’s not like I’m bitter or anything about having even less time to work on that essay I haven’t started yet.
The medium-sized auditorium was full of English-speaking yuppies, mostly Cantonese but also with a smattering of white people, since The Vine has a healthy number of ex-pats. My $300HK ticket afforded me a seat in the middle section, and I duly noted that quite a few members of The Vine worship team could be found in the $500HK section closer to the front.
Pastor John started off the night with an introduction to the mission of the church, after which we got right into the movie. I kind of expected 1040 to be one of those tear-jerking pieces full of sacrifice and hardship [after all, it’s a documentary about Christianity. In Asia.], but it was more on the informative side. Of course, this doesn’t mean that it was a cut-and-dry infomercial — it’s an excellently edited film that showcases the movement for Christ in a few specific countries. Vanness Wu makes a briefer-than-I-expected appearance to talk mainly about devoting his time to promoting abstinence, which was REALLY unexpected. “God is better than sex”? Definitely. But would I wear that on a t-shirt? Um…
The documentary alone was not worth the entrance fee: I came to see the man himself. But first, MC Jin took to the stage and gave a short testimony about how he didn’t really learn to live out his faith until moving to Hong Kong — I’ve never listened to his music, but apparently he’s actually an active member of The Vine church! My easily starstruck ears perked up a bit after discovering that.
MC Jin...spits rhymes...all the time...
Finally, Jaeson Ma made his appearance and talked about the purpose of 1040. The man is riotously funny and does a hilarious Asian accent. At one point he asked, “How many of you out there are Asian-American?” I waved my hand proudly, forgetting that I was in Hong Kong, and was surprised for a moment when I only saw a couple of other hands raised. “Growing up Asian-American,” Jaeson continued, “you either want to be a Twinkie…or a chocolate-covered banana.” LOL. [“What is a Twinkie?” the Cantonese translator next to him asked.]
I got chills hearing him talk about God’s mission for him to raise an army of young Asian people. The churches in China believe it’s their mission to bring the Gospel to the remaining non-Christian strongholds all the way to Jerusalem, and Jaeson is working tirelessly to advance that movement. At the end of the night, he performed his amazing song “Love,” the recording of which I’ve been trying to upload on Facebook to no avail BECAUSE FACEBOOK UPLOADER SUCKS. [Okay it’s finally up.]
The one & only...Jaeson Ma
The event, which was supposed to begin at 7:30, ended at around 10:48, and I rushed out to catch the 11PM ferry back to Hong Kong Island. Despite being able to navigate around HK relatively well by now, I still don’t know my way around Central. I made my way to IFC mall, which has a bus depot on the ground floor, but I didn’t know how to get there. The [rather useless] concierge directed me across the street to the minibuses, which STOP RUNNING at 11:35 [let’s not go into how I would’ve made it if the 1040 event started ON TIME]. It was 11:45 by the time I reached the bus stop, so I walked down to where the big buses pick up passengers and hoped that the two buses still running to HKU would pass by soon.
I stood at the bus stop for 25 MINUTES like a fool, FMLing so hard while gathering more mosquito bites for my pre-summer collection. I had seen the 43X pass by on my way home from all-you-can-eat sushi on Sunday at midnight, but after almost half an hour, I was ready to give up. I told myself I’d wait until 12:10, and if the proper bus hadn’t turned up by then, I’d just take a taxi home. The bus supposedly only runs until 12:05, so I was losing hope rapidly.
At exactly 12:10, the 43X rolled into view. OH MY GAH FINALLY!!! PTL!!!!
Then I went home. The end.
The People At Prestige
April 29, 2010 § Leave a comment
After catching up on a few weeks’ worth of Ugly Betty episodes, I realized that I’m basically living her life without bad hair and braces. I was more or less looking for any kind of work and landed under the fashion editor of a magazine, though I don’t have a particularly vested interest in the fashion industry. But now I work as an assistant to the editor’s assistant, which casts me below everyone. This position, however, is one of the best steps to becoming an actual editor, so I’m learning as much as I can before the end of July.
The fashion editor, Vivienne, is the first person I met here. She’s a very nice and competent older young adult [I’d guess 30] with an impossibly narrow waist and, of course, a very stylish wardrobe [and she is nothing like Daniel Meade]. It’s probably gauche for me to speculate on her ethnic origins, but she has a Chinese last name and doesn’t speak Cantonese, studied somewhere in Europe and has a faint and untraceable European accent.
Two weeks after I started working at Prestige, I was taking a stroll with Rosaline through the IFC mall while slurping on post-dinner McD ice cream cones, and saw someone who resembled Vivienne down the hall.
Hmm, I thought, Vivienne was wearing a similar outfit today. Wouldn’t it be funny if she saw me stuffing my face with softserve?
I kept my eye on her as we walked closer, and suddenly she smiled and waved. Panicking, I waved back. Yeah, it was actually Vivienne. What are the chances?
Tess, the editor’s assistant, was gone the first week I started working, so we didn’t have much of a relationship in the first month but for the few times Vivienne didn’t have anything for me to do, thereby relegating me to her assistant. I figured that to be an assistant, Tess would have to be at least a year or so older than me, and since she’s taller and has a British accent, age is barely decipherable.
On one fateful cab ride to choose dresses for a photoshoot, I asked her what university she went to.
“I haven’t been to university yet,” Tess replied.
“…What???” I exclaimed, incredulous. “How old are you??”
“Take a guess.”
“Twenty…four?”
“Actually, I’m 19,” she laughed. I just about died.
Apparently this job is what Tess is doing for her gap year, commonly taken by students in the UK before progressing to college. Well, that definitely changed things between us, and now we’re pretty good friends, which is a fortunate pairing since we’re the two youngest people in the office anyhow.
The creative director, Paris, spends half his time in LA, so I didn’t meet him until after a month and a half of work. He’s intimidating like Wilhemina, but at least he’s not a bitch for the sake of being one [okay he is sometimes. And it makes everyone uncomfortable]. A long-haired Californian in his early forties, Paris doesn’t dress fabulously, but his appearance belies his creative drive and expertise in couture.
That last bit felt contrived, so I’ll stop here. Those are the people with whom I work the most; you’ll be reading more about them for sure!
auradis 