… three precious weeks, day 9.

00 and I started the day sharing a “bowl” of 牛雜 on the sidewalk.  It was very yummy.  Next was a famous 腸粉 place where we also met up with Winnie. We sat for a bit and started heading out towards the busier section of the city.  A stroll down “pet” street and I saw the cutest Japanese Spaniel and a Maltese.  Gosh, I love Malteses… they are so adorable.  I miss Shadow… she has been gone for over 20 years now and I still miss her.  Then onto more shops, and more stalls.  Every street looked the same after awhile and even sometimes the merchandise was the similar. Anyway, I really didn’t think that I would be buying anything because I really didn’t need anything but I ended up doing a lot of shopping today. I got another pair of sneakers, two sizes bigger than my normal size and some sports socks.  I changed them immediately and my feet “felt” safe once again.  I got myself some glitter nail polish that I can’t find in the States and then I purchased these little gifts “boxes for my presents”.  00 was so good at haggling over the prices and we got them almost less a hundred dollars than the original price. Oh, that’s right!  I forgot to bring the little souvenirs for the girls with me for the dinner tonight.  I told 00 and Winnie that we would have to go back to my place before dinner to get them. I also mentioned that I needed to find a box to put $1s’ present in. We went to a stationary store and found a perfect box, just the right size, not too big and not too small and definitely not too frilly. I told them the story of how I “got” $1’s present. Explaining that I had no time to do any shopping before I left LV and I didn’t want to walk into a gift shop and ended up buying something that was made in China. Since I had drivers and tour guides going out to “Canyon” country, I asked this particular guide (male in his 40’s) if he could get me something authentically made by American Indians. I really had no idea what $1 would like so I suggested something like a “paper weight”. I told Mark “Look for something along the lines of a paper weight, it would be nice if you can find one with “Kokopelli” image on it, if you like it, then go ahead and buy it. I trust you.” “What is he like?” “ I have no idea. Hmm… I think he should be more on the creative side but maybe a bit stodgy.” “Okay.  Will do!” The day before I was to leave LV, Mark brings in this box with a grin on his face. “Here you go! I think he will like this because it’s beautiful.” “Thanks!” I am now thinking to myself, beautiful? How can a paper weight be beautiful? It could be unique or manly perhaps even elegant but beautiful? This I have got to see. When I opened the box… I heard the “oohs and ahhs” from my fellow workers but my jaw just dropped. It was a vase in pastel colors!!! : Mark, in the meantime, was embellishing to my male boss what a beautiful piece it was and that it was a one of a kind done by an American Native Indian artist and how he thought it was perfect. Then he said “Oh, tell him don’t put water in it because it will leak.”  “Huh?”  What kind of vase is it if one can’t put water in it?  “Well, it’s not really a vase, vase.  It’s more a decoration piece, maybe he can put pens in it.”  Looking at it again, I said “It’s a little tall for pens, don’t you think?”  Sigh… I am thinking, maybe I should go shopping at Macy’s tonight… The end.
Anyway, I told 00 that I needed to get a necklace to go with the present I got from 雁雁 and 00 said that there were a lot shops by my place and that we should take a look in that area. So it was time to head back in the direction of “home”. We walked around a number of shops and finally found one that I liked. Once we got back into the apartment, we relaxed a bit and drank some lemon tea. I took out my phones and said “I didn’t even use this phone, I wonder how come the battery is dead?  I better charge it.”  Winnie and 00 helped me with some gift wrapping because I am pretty hopeless when it comes to these things and then it was time to part with 00 and Winnie and I headed out for dinner in Tsim Sha Tsui.
I really thought we had enough time and that we wouldn’t be late but… I still have no notion that once we get out of the MTR station, we still had to walk quite a distance to the restaurant. It was a long hot and humid walk. I felt a bit disoriented and guilty that we were 20 minutes late when we got there. I waved my hellos to the table in general and took one of the empty seats that M pointed out to me in this long table for 11. The only two girls other than M and Winnie that I’ve met before was花花and Dada, and I said a more personal greeting to them. I was taking out my little LV souvenir shooter glasses when all of a sudden I noticed that M, who was sitting a couple of seats across from me on my right, was jerking her head to my left and looking at me with a funny expression on her face. The thoughts that flashed in my head was… “Huh? What did I do now? What did I forget?” Then I turn to my left and peered down the table and said “Hi” once again in general. As I was turning back my head towards M to look questioningly at her, I hesitated for a fraction of a second, and then looked directly at the beauty sitting on my immediate left. (I did a very close to a double take!) I opened my mouth but nothing came out. (Absolutely a goldfish look!) The beauty smiled back and I finally was able squealed out “兩蚊?” in my almost non-existent voice. OMG! I was so astonished and surprised that Winnie later on said she wished she had a camera. I totally don’t remember her first words to me… I swear my mind was totally blank, my hearing was shot, but I know that I must have had the hugest grin on my face. I don’t remember what happened afterwards but I think I muttered something like… “Err… I didn’t expect to see you tonight so I didn’t bring your little present with me.” I hurriedly guessed the girls names and gave them their little mementos.  I guess 妍貓 first and she is kind of shy.  Next came Snoopy, whom I saw in WP because of the scarf she gave to Muse.  Then Pearl because no one else there looked under 100 pounds, then two left… Erised and Twinkle.  How was I going to differentiate them?  Hmmm…. I asked both of them to stick out their hands for me then I said “You are Erised and you are Twinkle.”   Luckily, I was correct.  Woohoo!  Perfect score again!  I don’t remember whether I went to get food first or getting some of the presents first.  But I do remember that Snoopy gave me a self-knitted “collar” in aqua blue.  It was beautiful and she came over to help me put it on.  (Have anyone tried to put “yarn” around your neck when you are hot?)  Then 妍貓 gave me a gorgeous self-knitted 披肩, which at first I thought was a scarf and tried to put it on like a scarf but then I noticed that there were buttons… huh?  She hurriedly came over and help put it on me.  So sweet!  But I was not being very helpful since I kept squirming so both beauties were like trying to straighten out the 披肩 by smoothing it out on top of me and I was like… covering my front… anyway… it was all in good fun.   Words like… “抽水呀！ 掃背好啦，唔駛掃前喇!”  Which had everyone laughing.  Erised gave me a beautiful hand-made cup made by herself and she brought two more as gifts for lucky winners .  Dada gave me a slip pocket so I can put my “octopus” card in it to go with the doll I got last Friday.  Pearl got me a pretty “USB” on a necklace.  Girls, thank you!  Your willingness to see me, have dinner with me and us having a great time together is really your biggest present to me.  Thanks, M for coordinating a special night.  Dinner passed very pleasantly and conversation flowed easily back and forth.  I found that the best ice-breakers for these gatherings is to talk about OP! It was perfect that $2 was there to tell us some stories.  Wow, if these girls were in a game show, they would win hands down if the subject was 畢打！Mention one line… and someone can tell you what scene, the title and number of the episode.  Amazing!  Oh, I guess throughout dinner, I had accidently “bumped” into $2’s arm a couple times when I look over to the left end of the table speaking with either Dada or Snoopy and I didn’t even realize it until she said something... I don’t exactly know what she meant because it was in HK slang but I think I can guess.  Geez… I hope she was joking… she seem so serious.    But she did have a twinkle in her eyes when she said it so… I will presume she was joking. Unfortunately, the night was cut short when the waiter came and said that the next reservation for our table will be at 9:30.  We all gathered outside to take a group picture and then we all walked and chatted all the way to the MTR station together.  
When I got home, I was still grinning and I think I left a message on $1’s blog and on 薇博 about another wonderful day!
 

… three precious weeks, day 8.

{{{Ring}}} “Hello… hi 00. Okay… yup… sure. See you later!” I better get up [Stretch] Hmmm… meeting 00 at twenty past 11 downstairs, I should have time to drop off some dirty clothes at the laundry place. Ouch! Aw… you got to be kidding me! Left big toe’s turn? I sat there for a moment frowning at both my feet, mad at them for being very non-cooperative then gingerly touched the right toe first. Good! Not much pain. Now the left one… Ouch! Again, I don’t see any signs of injury other than it being slightly red. I guess it will have to be slippers again today.
I met 00 and then we were on all way to meet Winnie at the Central MTR station. I think she is also really afraid that I would wander off so she pretty much kept me to her side by hooking her arms with mine.  Once we got to Central MTR station, first things first, I saw a Starbucks and pulled 00 in after me. A double cappuccino (4 shots) for me and a latte for 00, and I was a contented soul, once again. When Winnie came, she also ordered a latte and then we were on our way to 蓮香樓. Winnie had grabbed my arm as we walked and she is this petite, adorable smiling beauty.  I had the feeling that she actually might be the one to get lost among the sea of people in Central at lunch hour.  Our tour guide for the day, 00, told us that this is one of the oldest restaurants in HK and it dates back to before World War II. Wow! 00 also pointed out the place that I should be trying the roast goose and a place to get Chinese sausage. When we got to the restaurant, it was so crowded! We found three seats and were sharing a table with others. Dishes and utensils were haphazardly thrown on the table and then a sharp question, “What kind of tea?” We each had an old style cup with lid and we had our own tea leaves in it. The waiters came around and poured hot water in it from a kettle, very Chinese feel. Ha-ha! However, everything was like, hurry, hurry, hurry! There really isn’t even enough time to even catch one’s breath. Then the grab for dim sum was on!  I got my favorites: spareribs, meatballs, cheung fan, curry fish balls, shrimp dumplings, siu mai and some buns! Boy, we were fast at grabbing the food!  I guess that was part of the fun.  I am still not use to not having paper napkins at restaurants and that I have to carry a couple of packets around with me all the time.  00 being very considerate knew I would not remember so she gave me a couple packs to use.  She is so sweet. 

We took a bus ride to 赤柱and all throughout the ride, 00, Winnie and I chatted but I think 00 was getting slightly car sick because she was kind of quiet at the end. We strolled around the touristy stalls and then headed over to the museum overlooking at the “harbor”.  00 told me that the building, that housed the museum, was actually moved brick by brick from someplace and the government rebuild here.  Once we got inside the museum, it was actually quite interesting.  We browsed around looking at all the different models of vessels and even played some of the games there. Morse code, I can handled but… okay, driving a car is much easier than steering a boat. I kept crashing into these other vessels! Afterwards, I insisted that we go and have afternoon tea upstairs in the German restaurant. We ordered 2 sets of the “high tea” delicacies and iced tea.  What would one call a day that goes by when I don’t mess up something?  A miracle!  Today wasn’t the day for miracles.  I accidently knock down my drink and spilled it all over my shirt and jeans. But the view was very relaxing.  I think we spent a very enjoyable afternoon away from the masses of people together. I hope they feel the same way too.  00 wanted to take me on a ride in the “cable cars” but I told her that I was afraid of heights.  Winnie pipes in that she hasn’t visited some of these places that 00 had planned and that she was like a “tourist” too.  I guess that happens to everybody in their hometown.  I mean I have never been to the West rim Grand Canyon and I have been living in LV for six years.  Then it was time to head back into the city. 

As we were strolling down a street in the evening, I saw this storefront sign!  I laughed and pointed to it and jokingly said…”You think I’ll find $2 in there?” 00 and Winnie laughed.  I asked 00 whether $2 was going to go to the “Animated River Show” on Monday with us and she said she doesn’t know.  Oh well, I guess I’ll see and meet $2 at the Melo gathering.  Winnie mentioned that $2 was invited to the dinner gathering tomorrow but she had not confirm yet, $2 only said that if she can make it she’ll be there.  I said “I know $2 just came back from a trip, I think it was today too, she mentioned it on $1’s blog before.  She must be tired from her vacation.” Anyway, we started talking about where we were going tomorrow and what “plans” 00 had for us. I knew the day with 00 would be short because Winnie and I had to attend the dinner organized by M tomorrow evening. We chatted cheerily along and the next thing we knew, they were dropping me off at the apartment.
Once I labored myself up the stairs, I remember that I had a very important phone call to make.  I had procrastinated for a whole week waiting for the right timing and I guess this was it. “Hello, 高層？我係Charmed呀。你好!  Okay, 你攪掂哂你啲野先啦。好!  電話或電郵聯絡啦！拜拜!” Wow, she had one sweet voice!
I spent a few hours doing this and that before finally falling asleep… I remember thinking… I am going to see some new faces tomorrow night and I hope that my voice would be a bit better...

PS:  When I was on WP that night, I saw Muse came on... so I wrote "毛姐~~~ Hello! Can't wait to finally meet you in person on Saturday! " then she 回覆@Charmed: plus 轉發.  My next post was  "我學緊抵調... 點知..." (I got so much ribbing from this post...)

… three precious weeks, day 7

Bells?  Today, of all things, I am hearing bells. I opened my eyes and once again had to orientate where I was. I turned my head and saw that NN was still sleeping in her bed and then on the other side, 雁雁 was curled up fast asleep also. What time is it? I wanted to pull my blanket over my head and go back to sleep but I got up anyway to walk over to the windows to look outside. A groggy voice says… “School bells… did you hear children singing too?” I smiled and whispered “Good morning, 雁雁”. Didn’t want to wake NN up but then she (NN) did a cat stretch and said “Ooh…早晨!” We took our turns getting ready then it was off we go for a luncheon buffet.
The food was very good and there was so much variety! I saw my very first “大閘蟹”! My first thought was… they should be called “細閘蟹” because they were very small. When it was getting close to 2 o’clock we decided that it was time to head out to the photo studio. We all got up and being the last one, I looked around the seats to make sure we didn’t leave anything behind. When I turned around, NN and雁雁 was nowhere to be seen. A very helpful waiter waved me in the direction to the restroom and I had taken for granted he was telling me that’s where my friends headed off to. Boy, these girls walk very fast, I don’t see them, not even when I picked up my pace and was walking down an area where one could at least see 40 yards ahead. I got into the restroom and nope, they weren’t there. Oh well, since I am already here, I mind as well go. I wasn’t really worried that I have lost them somehow. The second I closed the door on my stall, I heard雁雁 called out “Charmed!” “Here!” I answered. Uh oh… there was a slight panic in her voice… I am in trouble now. For the rest of the trip when we were walking… she held my hand.
We finally got to the studio and sat down to choose the costumes, I told the girls that I would be okay there and they can do their own thing and come back for me in a few hours. They said it was fine and that they’ll wait for me. I think that they think I would disappear somehow even with full opera makeup on. I chose the minimum three sets of costumes then sat down to have the makeup done. Wow… it took much longer than I anticipated, over 2 hours! That was just for the make up! It’s been over 14 years since I had that kind of makeup done. How time flies. Sitting there brought back so many memories of the past. I was weaving through good times, the shared laughter, the flashes of faces of friends who have past and feeling the slight regret of finally saying goodbye to that part of my life. This was the closing of that final chapter. After close to 5 hours, I was finally done! I can come and pick up the photos on the 22^nd.
May was to meet us for dinner but she had lost contact with NN so we decided to head back to HK thru the same port that we came in. Just as we finished crossing the border, NN got a call from May. She was in China at羅湖! We then decided to meet up on the HK side but closer to her port. Don’t ask me where… because I haven’t the slightest clue. All I remember was riding a train, seeing May, getting into a taxi then we were… on this one street where there were masses of people sitting on tables with the smell of delicious food in the air. Wow! It was like so festive! The closest thing that I remember seeing something like this is, is when there is a block party in Hawaii. We ordered all kinds of food and it was so good! I ate a little bit of everything! Well, it was time to say goodnight to the gals and they put me on a taxi so I can head back to the apartment.
Once I got back to the “flat”, I kicked off my shoes and turned on the water heater. Remembering that 00 took time off from work to spend the next two days with me (total 6 days from work) to show me the sights of HK, I gave her a call and we agreed to meet around 11 (I think…) Got a wonderful surprise too!  Winnie was joining us.  Okay, time for a shower! Oh! I better let the girls know that I got home safely…
After showering… hmmm… wriggling my toes...how come my left toe is a bit sore now?  Goodness, has one week passed already?

… three precious weeks, day 6.

Chinese oldies classics invaded my sleep… I was hearing Mandarin songs in my dreams… where was I?  I opened my eyes carefully… Huh?  There is a man outside the house!  Whew, it’s only a worker working on the surrounding walls.  Falling back against the sofa, I tried to focus… Oh, that’s right, I am on a sofa in a living room of two gals that I met only face to face 5 days ago. I woozily remember seeing May earlier and even probably said hi to her but went right back to sleep. What time is it now? Oh… my watch is still in LV time… let’s see… add three hours, okay it’s ten something. It doesn’t look like NN is awake so I better wash up first… ah… but I really don’t want to move. I stretched and then look depressingly at my big toe, I also notice that both my ankles were swollen.  I guess I will be wearing slippers today but what if someone steps on my feet? Then I would really be bummed out. The girls did say that there were a lot of people in SZ, and when there are a lot people, there are a lot of feet to watch out for! In the mist of these anxious thoughts one of the phones made a sound. {{Beep}} A SMS… it’s 雁雁 texting me, "瞓醒未?" At about the same time, NN walks out of her room… 雁雁had SMS her too. So NN called her and said yes, we are awake and asked if she will be over soon. She said yes that she got up a little while ago and could be over in a bit. I called her back and asked if she could bring me a cup of coffee… and she ended up bringing an entire breakfast and lunch! She went to quite a few of different shops to get us different types of food. Put it simply, NN and I were just real lazy that morning… by the time雁雁 showed up with her hands full with food and drinks… the two of us were still in our pajamas! We actually lazed around or using the HK term “Hea” until 3 something in the afternoon before we took a “green” taxi to the border. 

I haven’t really looked into why I feel the way I feel about 雁雁, but she is probably one of the few beauties that I can “嗲” and feel real comfortable and relaxed with. I love her so much for it! She is really awesomely warm hearted. I know she is probably younger than me, but she’s just like a big sis that I’ve never had. I bet she was worried about “looking after” me and NN after all the “stories” that she heard over the last couple of days. Everyone was warning her on WP! “Watch them when you cross the street!” “Look for them every five steps you take when you’re walking!” “Make sure Charmed doesn’t get pick pocketed!” “Make sure she has her phones and passport!” So on and so forth. Originally, she had intended to spend the night with her brothers’ family up in SZ but instead decided that she will spend the night with us at the hotel.

The crossing into China was uneventful because the “station” that NN and雁雁 decided we should go thru was not one of the busier stations like “羅湖Port”.  Don’t ask me what port, I still can’t remember.  We got ourselves into a taxi and was off to the hotel. My first impression of “China” was… lots of buildings, a bit industrial and the sidewalk stands with “Roasting chestnuts” and “freshly baked bread”… interesting. (This the first time I ever set foot on China soil since I was 4 months old. Guess at four months, I didn’t actually set my feet down. Mom had brought me to see my maternal grandparents back then.) When we got to the hotel the ground floor was under renovation and we had to search for the reception area. Once we got into our rooms and settled on which beds was ours (I was really worry that I would be keeping these girls up with my “noises” in the night), we headed out to get our hair washed. Wow! What an experience! I figured that I would get my head massaged but shoulders, back and legs too? Never had a massage done by a guy and it was kind of “weird” to have this young, young boy shampooing my hair. But like the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Who am I to complain, it was so relaxing! When I saw the price, my jaw just dropped. Dang! It would cost me the same thing in US dollars to get just a shampoo in the States. After an hour or so, we headed out for a late afternoon tea. On the way there, 雁雁 wanted to show me this park… but it was under renovations too. It was all blocked off and we had to walk around it. She grins and says… “The hotel is under renovation and this park… it hasn’t closed in over thirty years and when you come, it’s closed and under renovation. It must be you.” Of course, NN pipes in… “The restaurant that we were supposed to have dinner at last night… there was cement falling out.” What can I say? Things happen… A first time for everything… 雁雁 literally held my hands while we were in a crowd or walking across the street. 

When we got to the café, NN mentioned that she had booked an appointment at the photo studio the next day at about 2:30pm. (I am so grateful for her, she really did take care of my scheduling and I, while I was in HK or else I would have been totally clueless at what I should be doing most of the time. Love you, NN!) We sat and chatted awhile then we headed off to do some shoe shopping. After雁雁 got herself a pair of shoes, it was off to get the famous “foot massage”!

Ack! The tub of medicinal water was so HOT!!! I couldn’t put my feet in it… I tried dipping my toes in… Ouch! Then I tried dipping my heels in… same thing… Ouch! I looked over to NN then to 雁雁 to gauge their reactions and there they were… relaxing with their feet in the water and watching “Someday” on TV. Breaking out in cold and hot sweat… I tried again. It took me a total of over ten tries… to be able to finally submerge my entire feet. When the “feet masseuse” came and looked at my feet, he said… “Miss, you have an ingrown toenail on your big toe.” Ah, the mystery of why my toe is hurting is finally solved! He did a wonderful job of relieving the pressure but when he started to remove the “dead” skin on the bottom of my feet… I couldn’t help but kept squirming. I am very ticklish! 雁雁 and NN couldn’t stop laughing at my reaction. Geez, they aren’t ticklish at all so they have no idea what that feeling is like. I had so much wanted to pull my legs back and say “Stop it!” But I gritted it out and “whew” it was finally over. 雁雁’s sister in law and niece were coming over so we waited outside the shop for them. There was a pet store next door and a big dog was sitting out in the front. NN went over to pet him and I just kind of hung back looking at all the accessories on display. I saw the “doggie body leash” and pointed it out to NN. She laughs and said she totally forgot about getting one for me under the recommendations of電電 and 00. After a while, a little poodle like looking doggie took place of the big doggie, and I went over to give him a pet on the head and scratched his ears. Geez… he really got into it and grabbed my leg refusing to let go. It took a lot of cajoling to finally able to say goodbye. The poor thing looked like he was going to cry.

雁雁’s sister in law and niece came and we all walked over to this one street where there was just restaurants. All the chairs were out on the sidewalk and we walked into this one place and sat down. 雁雁’s niece is so cute. She is almost 2 and she has the most expressive eyes! She sat on雁雁’s lap the whole time she was with us in the restaurant and when it was time for her to go home with her mom… she started to pout and her eyes got all watery. You can tell she really adores and loves her Aunty. We had ordered these wonderful oysters in shell grilled with garlic. Yummy! I know that雁雁 and probably NN could eat their food very spicy but they toned it down a bit for me because I was scared that my tummy couldn’t take it. So as a courtesy, they stayed away from the really spicy food. With our tummies full, we headed back to the hotel.

We chatted till the wee hours of the morning about everything and nothing. AND! NN and I both got presents from雁雁!  They were beautiful!  Then it was really time for us to get some sleep.  

… three precious weeks, day 5

I stubbornly refuse to believe that it was my new Nike that was causing my right big toe to become irritated. I mean it feels comfortable enough when I wear them. Just to be on the safe side, I tried on my loafers. There! They should be okay. Now I am suppose to meet M so she can take me to get my original birth certificate. Actually, there were really just two things that really needed to do for myself on this trip. One was to get an original birth certificate, since Mom just found a copy and the other was to take these full opera make-up photos. The picture taking, I have wanted to do for over the last 15 years and even though I am not active in it anymore. M and I contacted each other last night and I remember that we were supposed to meet at 10. At 9:35 and no phone call from M yet… hmmm… didn’t she say she was going to call me to wake me up? Taking out my phone, I looked up M’s phone number under M… uh oh… no number. Maybe I should try 薇博-ing her. It worked with NN before and I’m sure it would work with M too. I went and posted the following message… “Uh… are you going to call me? I don’t know how to get in touch with you…” Within 5 minutes I got a response from her… “Last night, I told you to call me this morning, you said OK!!! ” My reply was… “I know… but I can’t find your phone number. ” {{Ring}} I pick up my phone and looked at the caller ID. Darn it! I did have her phone number but had totally forgotten that it was listed under her real name! M was laughing but I definitely heard a thread of exasperation in her voice. We made arrangement to meet at the Admiral station by one of the shops since the office to get the certificate was close by. The application took less than half an hour and I found out that I won’t be able to pick it up so M offered to pick it for me and send it to me. Gosh, she is so nice! Next on the agenda was meeting up with 豬豬 for lunch. We met at 尖沙咀 and went into this nice restaurant for dim sum. This was 豬豬’s last day in HK and we definitely needed to take a picture together. So we had our phones out and asked M to take the pictures (Shhh... M needs glasses… because all the pictures she took came out fuzzy!) We finally got smart and asked the waiter to help us. So I have three very nice pictures, two with豬豬 and one with the three of us together.  We still had some time to hang out so what do we do? Shopping again! Up into this building with all these little shops and after awhile my toe was really bothering me. I waited outside and had started to really wince at the pain. When the two of them came out, I just said… “I need to get slippers. There! Across the street is a shoe store.” They literally had to take my arms like I am a little old lady helping me cross the street. The first pair that I looked at, I bought. Sigh of relief… M suggested that we go and sit down for cold drinks and I heartily agreed!

The drink that I had was actually Cold!!! Wow!  How cool is that?  We chatted a while and then it was time to walk back to the hotel with 豬豬.  About 30 yards down the sidewalk, we heard yelling from behind, the waitress who was attending us was trying to wave us down.  We stopped and looked at her when she asked “Did one of you leave a package?”  I looked blankly at her then at M then at 豬豬 and when I was about to say no, I remembered!  My shoes!!!  I ran back and almost passed the shop but thank goodness one of the girls held out the package for me at the front of the shop.  I profusely thanked her and then sheepishly (again) walked back to M and 豬豬.  It was time to say goodbye to豬豬already… next time if I am ever in SE Asia again, I will go and bother this wonderful person in her homeland!  M also had to get back to her students and I headed for “home” to get ready for “charcoal hot pot” dinner tonight.

I really didn’t bring any clothes that I could actually wear in this weather so instead of going up to the apartment, I browsed the stalls on the street and found myself two more T-shirts.  Good!  Back in the apartment, I took a shower and got on WP again.  What news pops up?  The restaurant that we were supposed to have dinner, the street leading or around the area, had a cement fallout!  (I have no idea why such a thing could be “blamed” on me but… who am I to argue?  So many quirky things have happened around me so far.)  The four of us, 貓貓, NN, May and I still had hot pot but it was around the same neighborhood where I lived.  Dinner was a pleasant and a NORMAL affair.  After we were finished we saw 貓貓 off to her car and on the way, I saw a huge St. Bernard! Wow! NN, of course thought he was the cutest thing. The three of us walked back to get my overnight bag so I could stay at their place for the night.  The reason was that both NN and 雁雁 lived in the boonies and it didn’t make sense that they come out and get me then go to SZ. 

When we got to their place… it was nice!  Oh!  Did I forget to tell you that the phone card that NN got me cannot do data service?  That’s because the stupid BB needs a special sim card.  Instead of getting ready for bed, May (she really is a sweetheart) got out her phones and sat there for over an hour totally absorbed in doing something to those phones. I told her that it was okay and that I don’t need to read my emails or go on WP. NN just told me to let her be. I was totally surprised when she handed me her I-phone and said… “There! Your accounts are all in there. MSN and Gmail accounts and also your WP account.” I looked at her dumbfounded and was speechless for a moment. “Cannot la! You need your phone!” “It’s okay, just use it. If no WP, I am afraid if you got lost in SZ there is no way for NN or 雁雁 to find you. I am going to shower and get ready for bed.” I looked over to NN and all she did was shrug her shoulders and said “Let her… you won’t be able to change her mind.” 

… three precious weeks, day 4

We all languidly got together at about 11 today, a bit tired from the late night but still in good spirits.  Only 綠綠 had a slight minor hangover, poor thing.  As we walked out of the hotel, the line for taxis was very long so instead of waiting in line we jumped into a shuttle bus going in the direction that we had plan to have lunch.  I vaguely heard the driver said that it was a short walk from where he would be dropping us.  The mini bus was pretty full by the time we left and at the drop off point, I was one of the last ones to get off.  As I was getting off the bus, I instantly veered to my right because I thought I saw 綠綠’s long hair in front of me… after 2 steps, I heard shouts from the left… “Hey Charmed!  We’re here!”  Oops!  I once again tried explaining… but to no avail.  (I guess I have M to thank for my perceived sense of misdirection because on Friday night at dinner she did announce that I have “遊客”engraved on my forehead. ><”)  As for the short walk that the driver had mentioned, it took at least 30 minutes!  Geez, I have to really evaluate what these people mean when they say short in the future.  When we finally gotten to the restaurant, I saw one of my favorite foods!  Tongue!  Yeah!   After the delicious meal and a cup of coffee, I was very content.  Our ferry tickets were for 5:30pm so what are we going to do now?  I was in for a surprise… we just sat at the restaurant!  What a wonderful afternoon!  We ordered dessert then more drinks.  The waiters and waitresses were very nice about it plus the restaurant wasn’t that busy.  As we got to the pier, we even boarded an earlier ferry.  The minute we land in HKG, I called 豬豬 hoping she could join us for dinner but she had other commitments.  We headed to a 潮州 restaurant to "打冷" (Thanks to AC… )  Cold fish, cold crab, Lo Shui Duck, fried tofu cubes… so many dishes and different types of sauces, yummy!  After dinner we headed towards the MTR… little did we know, the night has just begun…
At the MTR, I, of course, couldn’t find my “octopus” card. @@ Three of the gals had already passed the turnpike and here I was frantically looking for the card with NN and May staying with me  Cant’ remember what it was so funny but we were deliriously laughing as the other three confusedly looked on.  Once we got on the subway, NN asked me about my phones and why couldn’t they get in touch with me at the Venetian.  I tried explaining to them but… apparently my Chinese just made the explanation hilarious to them.  Geez… it made perfect sense to me.
NN and May were really sweet about seeing me to my apartment and May had wanted to help me set up the internet with her USB.  As we were getting out of the station, I insisted that it was B exit while NN said… I don’t think so.  I remember Aunty saying B exit.  So up the stairs we went… and as we walked on the street, I said to NN… “See?  This is the way… look at all the stall on the street.”  NN mutters under her breath… “All the stalls look alike and they are on both sides of the street” I, of course, ignored her… but when we got to the corner where I was suppose to turn left… Uh oh… not the right street.  NN says “See!  I told you it was A exit!  I remember seeing a McDonald sign when we exit ma!”  Okay, I was wrong (again).  Boy, my sense of direction is the pits here in the Orient!  Turn around and what do we see?  A McDonald sign!  I don’t understand why we can’t just cross a street but we have to go underneath down a flight of stairs and come up on the other side.  We finally got into the apartment and while May is doing her thing with my laptop, I turned on the TV set.   There was a game show with Wayne as a guest and it was pretty funny.  豬豬 called and said she was coming up to visit and that she had just finished dinner too.  It was getting late and we were all tired, I think it was around 10pm when NN and May said that they were leaving but they had a heck of a time trying to call a taxi and that one was finally on its way.  As they left, a thought flashed through my mind that they might need a key to open the gate below so I took 2 steps out of the house, calling after them… “Hey~~”  May turns towards me then her eyes opens widely after her first word… “咩... HEY! {{{BANG}}} 度門... ”  I swung around but the door had already shut on my face.  “OMG!  唔係嘛！ 我鞋都冇著! ”  May looks toward NN who is now walking back towards us and after looking at our bewildered faces, burst out laughing!   I said “Lend me your phone.  Let me call Aunty… oh shit! I don’t have her number on me.  Oh!  I called my boss the first day from your phone.  I hope there is still the number.  Can I please call long distance to the US from your phone?” She said go ahead.  A very groggy “Hello?” greeted me on the other side of the line… whispering, I said… “Sorry 嘈醒咗你啊。我反鎖咗度門，你可以比Aunty個電話我嗎?”  “Oh~~去咗澳門”  “No no… 我係去咗澳門，不過而家返咗黎喇.” “唔係呀！Mommy 同我個妹今朝去咗澳門呀! ”  “吓?!?!?  唔係嘛!” “係呀！ 等我睇吓點先...” … then silence.  She had hung up.  I turn to NN and she was laughing so hard that her stomach was hurting when she finally sputters between giggles… “唔得！我一定要擺上薇博! ”  May, being sweet May, said to NN “你快啲比對鞋佢著住先啦! ”  By this time the post on WP has taken effect… Oh!  I didn’t tell you what NN wrote, did I?  Well, she wrote two characters… 救命！  The comments started to pour in… 綠綠, 00, 貓貓,  雁雁, and others, too many to count.  I told NN that I needed to phone 豬豬 because she was on her way and my phone is in the house and she will be calling soon because I needed to go downstairs to open the gate for her.  What was 豬豬 reaction when I told her what had happen?  Roaring laughter!  I tried telling her and she kept on laughing… I finally said “Shut up!  Stop it!  Stop laughing!” but I was laughing so hard myself too.  Anyways, we thought about a locksmith but I told NN that maybe I should call my boss back.  When I did, she told me that her brother was coming out from Yuen Long with the keys.  Relief!  Poor May, I knew she had to go to work the next day and it’s a long ride back home for her but she is so sweet that she insisted that she’d wait.  NN… she was still laughing…
豬豬 , Dumpling and Roro showed up just when the keys did.  So sweet… they brought me chicken wings so I would feel better.  :D     We kind of recapped what had happened the previous hour and a half to them and the two young ladies looked at me as if I was going a bit senile.  Haha!  豬豬 offered me a stay at the hotel for the night but I was feeling really “hobo-ish” already.  I mean for the last three nights, I stayed in three different places and the following night, I was to stay at NN’s place followed by a night in Shenzhen.  Just thinking about packing another overnight bag made me dizzy.  So I regrettably declined even if I really, really wanted to see more of 豬豬.  I knew I wasn’t going to be great company anyway, I was too tired and exhausted.  Therefore we agreed in meeting up the next day.  She jokingly says to me… “So, I am only good for a ‘one night stand’?  So hurt la! ” @@  We made plans to meet up the next day and spend the afternoon together.  After we all said goodbye, I decided to take another cold shower. 
I looked at my right toe and found no cuts or bruise but it was really red and sore by touch.  I started to worry about the overnight trip to Shenzhen with 雁雁 and NN on Tuesday.  So pitifully, I private mailed 雁雁 on WP.  “雁雁，今朝醒時發現隻腳指公有啲痛。現在見到係腫咗！ 好痛！點算呀？ 我真係擔心星期二去深圳我行唔到。”  She asked whether my new tennis shoes is too small or maybe I’ve walked too much and tried to reassured me that in Shenzhen, we won’t be walking much.  雁雁 phoned me immediately and told me  to search the apartment for ointment.  I told her that I was wrapping the toe in cold water… she just laugh and said… 咁都得？Then I said that I would take a couple of Advil PMs and that should help me get some sleep.  Said goodnight and limped my way onto the bed, thinking  ‘Geez… this is only my 4th day in Hong Kong and the things that have happened so far were pretty incredible…’ ZzzzZzz…

… three precious weeks, day 3

Waking up at 6am is definitely better than waking up at 5am. NN and May should be coming by the apartment at 8 to pick me up so we can go to 信得中心together. I made sure that I have my passport, enough clothes to last me for two days and the bottle of Johnny Walker. As I waited, I tried once again to figure out my internet connection for my laptop. After a number of tries again and loads of frustration, I finally surrendered. I decided to use my phone to see if I could get my emails. Hmmm… looks like the phone card that NN gave me would not let me get on the web… okay… my boss is going to kill me either way so let me slip my AT&T US card back into my Blackberry… There, it works! Uh oh… where am I going to put this HK phone card? Ah, I brought my old Blackberry! I will put it in there! Geez… I didn’t unlock my old BB, okay… I will put the AT&T card in the old BB, put the HK card in the new BB and the phone that my boss gave me will remain the same. 3 phones! I can’t go wrong with 3 phones, right? Cool! But where the heck am I going to put all the phones? I guess I have to change to a bigger purse. Then finally, “Ring!!” “Hello? Okay, I’ll be right down.” Last minute check list off the top of my head… purse, keys, wallet, passport, phones, overnight bag and the most important thing… the one liter blue label, Johnny Walker! Got it! Turned off all the lights, locked the doors and it’s off I go, down four flights of stairs!
When we arrived at the Center, we went to this coffee shop to have breakfast. Perfect! Coffee! Oh, by the way, HK coffee doesn’t quite taste the same as the US counterpart… Then as one by one the other girls came, breakfasted then it was time to head to the gates. I was separated from them because I had to go thru immigration. “We will be waiting for you at the Duty Free Shop, okay?” “Okay!” NN: “Oh! You might need to show your ticket, so here you go.” “Thanks.” After passing customs, I looked around and didn’t see any DFS or any of the girls. Thinking to myself ‘Hmmm… there’s an escalator, maybe they’re downstairs.” Once I reached downstairs, I saw a shop and I walked over but it was a newsstand… ‘Okay… now where is the DFS? Hmmm… maybe it’s closer to the gate or perhaps maybe even inside the gate.’ I started heading that way and was about to give my ticket to a girl, one of my phones rang… “Hello?” “你喺邊呀？” “入緊閘…” 未講完就… “你喳住哂我哋啲飛呀！” “噢!” I immediately grabbed the tickets back and did a 180 degree about face and walked out of the line. Within a minute, I saw five laughing girls with rolling eyes rushing towards me all talking at the same time… the gist of it was… you were going to leave without us?!?! I tried defending myself... “Hey, I didn’t see a DFS and I thought it might be in the gate…” Trust me, they didn’t believe me so I turned towards NN and said… “Why’d you give me all the tickets?” What would be her absolutely brilliant answer? “They were stapled together.” @@ Okay, with that first incident behind us, we finally cheerily boarded the ferry. The vague smell of the sea and the rocking of the boat… take my advice… don’t eat anything before you ride these suckers. Alright, I admit it, I don’t have sea legs and I didn’t think the ride would be that long. I felt the coffee swishing back and forth in my tummy… luckily, I was distracted enough from the lively chatter that I was able to keep the coffee down. Once we docked, it was immigration and customs again. After the last incident, we all had our eyes wide opened, so meeting up went without a glitch.
Upon arrival at the hotel, we waited around in the lobby so May could check us in. Oops, too early, no keys yet. We left our overnight bags with the bell desk. Then it was off to lunch! We went to this restaurant and was shown our way upstairs (more stairs) to this little table. And what do we see hanging on the side of the wall? A huge picture of Wayne Lai… the squeals and bright eyes from NN was so funny. I told her to take a picture with her phone and post it on WP insinuating that she ran into him during lunch! When the food arrived, it smelled so good! 水蟹粥，椒鹽大蝦，西蘭花炒something (can’t remember) and some other dishes. The水蟹粥was delicious!! But I literally burnt my tongue on the broccoli.  After a very enjoyable meal, where do we go now?

Play tourist, of course! We headed out to 大三巴 and someone mention a landmark, a water fountain. When we arrived, I said… “Huh? That’s the landmark water fountain?!?” It was so tiny!! I mean with all the people around, you could barely see it. So we started our tour, our tour guide, 貓貓 introduced us to 天主廟 and later we were going to visit 哪喳堂… the girls started laughing but I just thought they were having fun. Only later on did I realize that 哪喳堂 didn’t sound quite right. Oh well… the cobblestones were quaint, the shops were bustling with customers, and the road was filled with people. We finally made it to that famous landmark! Yea! I was ribbed into walking up those steps to take pictures. I am supposed to do the touristy thing… so grudgingly, I complied. By this time, my feet were starting to really ache again and I needed to go to the restroom. We walked into a shopping center to “relieve” ourselves and when we came out, we missed that tiny little street that led to 哪喳堂. @@ After some distance, 貓貓 said… “I think we passed it, this doesn’t look right.” 視框 immediately said… “I have a MAP! My boyfriend gave it to me! (Grin) But… I don’t know how to read it!” So standing on a sidewalk, five lovely ladies surrounded the map… (I walked off to read a phone booth) 視框 says “We want to go here and there (pointing to the sights of interest)… but I don’t know where we are.” Rounds of laughter went up in the air. Then 貓貓said… “Why don’t we just go to “Yi Shun” for drinks?” Shouts of “Yes” from all five of us made 貓貓 roll her eyes and said, “Who needs planning?” So off we went with eagerness and anticipation. Anticipation is mostly on my part because I was finally able to sit down!  Once we arrived and were shown to a table upstairs (where else) I said I wanted to try the Coconut/Pineapple ice.  I was thinking it is so darn hot here and ice would be perfect.  When the drink arrived… I found no ice!  I said… “How come there’s no ice?”  Another brilliant answer from one of the girls… “It melted.”  “Huh?  It just came.” “It’s so finely shaven that it melted.  There’s ice.”  I peered suspiciously at my drink again and said, “I don’t think so… it’s not even that cold.”  “It could be just a name since it’s not a hot drink.”  It was my turn to roll my eyes… so I asked the waiter for a glass of plain ICE.  (The humidity was also doing its part in trying to kill me.  For the past 3 days it has been raining on and off. I don’t know why NN was so surprised that I was actually chewing the cubes… strange… hmmm…) 
Since we had tickets for the show “ZAIA”, we had to have an early dinner.  It was decided that a Portuguese dinner would be good.  I did say that I wanted to try the Portuguese suckling pig… but the restaurant that we went to weren’t going to be opened until 6. We decided to go to the other location.  We needed to wave down two taxis where taxis were scarce in the first place. It did cross my mind that if we couldn’t get a taxi, we were going to walk to the other restaurant? (In my mind, I was screaming… I miss my car!!!) Finally, a taxi pulled over but someone else had waved it down. I decided I wasn’t going to walk another step and where there is one taxi there should be others coming, right? I was so happy to get to the restaurant that I have no idea what the food tasted like, isn’t that awful?  I do remember this very blackish/grayish duck dish. I don’t have a sweet tooth like the rest of the girls so I passed on the dessert but I did drink a cup of cappuccino for energy and hopefully keep myself at least partially awake for the upcoming show. 
Once we arrived at the Venetian, it reminded me of home.  We went inside the theater and the show hasn’t started yet.  There were 6 complimentary popcorn tickets but we were too full or too lazy to stand in line for them.  We sat in a row and rested up.  I remember hearing 貓貓saying to 視框… “我哋可以去酒店…”  Immediately, May, NN and I jumped in and asked simultaneously… “酒店?!? 你哋兩個去酒店做咩呀?”  綠綠 exasperatedly said, “酒店入邊有咖啡shop喎.”  From that moment on, May, NN and I were branded with being [黃色]. (I wanted to remind them that 賞賞 also had the wrong impression about ‘hotel’ in one of the OP episodes, the one about 大閆生/好姐.) On stage, there was this huge round ball hanging which looks a lot like Earth and when the show started, there were these upside-down cycles with performers hanging from wires going towards the stage from the back of the theater.  My instant reactions were… “ET… phone home” followed by… “一係一蚊回地球.”  To keep myself awake, I was throwing in wise cracking comments here and there.  What really took the cake was these “bubbles” from above… I felt like they dumped it specifically on top of me!  I immediately said pleadingly… “我到港三日，你就落足三日雨，而家我在室內你都仲要落? 有無攪錯呀?”  NN and May couldn’t stop laughing because when they looked over to me, they said my head had the biggest globs of bubbles.  @@ Anyways, the show was… let’s just say, I needed to take a break.  So I asked 貓貓 for the popcorn tickets as an excuse to leave.  As I approached the concession stand, they were already getting ready to close therefore I decided to take a walk around the casino to see if it is similar to the one in LV.  I have heard horrible stories of Macau casinos, their obnoxious dealers, and rude gamblers from so many before that I am curious to see the “madness”.  Hrmph… it was very quiet compared to its LV counterpart.  I did double-takes on these slot machines because they were familiar but had these Chinese characters on them.  The translations were… interesting.  Darn, there weren’t any video poker machines to be seen.  For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how to convert it back to US dollars on the play.  I think I lost about $75 before it finally hit me that this is way too expensive for my taste.  Looking at my watch, I started heading back towards the theater, knowing that the show will be ending soon.  Darn it, people had already started coming out.  I stood against the wall and thought to myself, ‘This is a good place, I can see practically everyone who comes out and they should be able to see me.’  After about 10 minutes, a suspicious feeling started to creep in… did I somehow missed them (again)?  I started towards the throngs of people, like a salmon going upstream, looking around.  Once I got to the gift shop, I stopped.  Hmmm… they didn’t go out this way, did they?  I took out my phone and no signal!!  A flicker of panic flashes briefly then all of a sudden, I saw 貓貓 walking up to me within the mass of people.  A sigh of relief and a guilty grin spread across my face… “Hi!  I was looking for you gals.” “We went out the other way.  Let’s go… they’re waiting outside.  You… and where’s the popcorn?” “Uhmmm… they were closed and the show was really somewhat boring…”  By then, I see the other four girls standing around waiting for us… “So how was the casino?” “Did you win anything?”  I sheepishly grinned and said I was sorry for making them wait.  We started walking towards the exit when we did a turn around again.  Can’t remember why but when we reached the Canal shops, NN said that she wanted to go and find a restroom.  I said, “Me too.”  The others said they’ll wait so off the two of us went.  The signs directed us… and directed us… and directed us but no restroom to be seen.  We were in the food court and I went up to a girl and asked.  She waved her hand in the left direction and so we continued walking.  When we finally did find a door, we walked in and there was this lengthy corridor leading down and to the right of it was… (walla!) restroom!  When we started back, NN said “This way…” pointing straight ahead… I said “You sure?  Didn’t we turn right?”  “唔緊要啦！有路就行，實出番去架.”  “Oh, okay…”  As we walked… twist and turn… I looked over to NN… she said “憑feel 啦!” Sigh… NN’s 金句 “憑feel”真係… @@ 不過佢真係又幾好玩。By this time, I admit it, we were totally lost.  Nothing even remotely resembled anything we had passed before.   When we finally hit the canal shops, I felt that we should be close since we left the girls waiting by one of the shops.  I jokingly said to NN “Why don’t I go on one of the bridges and just shout… 貓貓?”  She nonchalantly replied “How many people you think will answer you?” “We’ll see.” I turned left and walked up the bridge and NN continued to walk straight. No, I didn’t shout anything but came back down on the other side and started walking parallel to NN. Then I stopped and started to watch her to see how long it would take for her to find out I wasn’t following her. There she was, playing with her phone (probably 微博-ing) then she looked up and then looked around… hee… she finally noticed. It took her less than 5 seconds to see me grinning at her from across the canal. Anyway, we finally converge a little ways down and she was on the phone with May asking where they were. We found a directory so we looked up the shop May said they were waiting at and (yea!) we found them! Four gals… arms crossed… feet tapping… a bit of exasperation on their faces with 貓貓 now holding a bag of snacks. “I walked off to buy snacks and that took me 20 minutes and when I came back, you two still didn’t return…” “Hey~~ the restroom was far…” “Plus we tried finding the way back憑feel 嘛！”
Once we got back to the hotel (I think everyone was exhausted by then), we headed towards the bell desk to grab our bags and that bottle of Johnny Walker. Oh… 3 rooms… 6 girls… how are we going to decide who stays with who? Another brilliant idea… 包剪踏! Six so called professionals standing in the middle of a hotel lobby in a circle late in the evening playing包剪踏. First round, 貓貓 and NN paired up, leaving the four of us. After three rounds of ‘paper and stone’ with no results… May said, “Uhm… I should stay in the same room with Charmed.” Yes, the two of us had something in common, perfect! Okay, now here are the ‘room keys’ folders… one of the rooms is just a bit nicer, pick one. Great, let’s go… up the elevator… same floor… this is it… NN suddenly says… “May… 你有冇囉鑰匙? 記得嘛...我哋頭先早咗 when we checked in. 話夜啲先比到我哋…” Those two rushed back into the elevator while four exhausted giggling figures slowly slide down the walls and sat on the floor of a hotel corridor… but of all things… a room service boy rolls his cart down this same corridor and then hesitantly says “你地… ” All four of us jumped up at the same time and said we are waiting for our room keys! Luckily, NN and May got back just in time and we all went into our rooms. It was decided that May and my room would be the gathering place after everyone takes their showers.
NN showed up first… and when May opens the door without removing the chain lock… it went flying into the air. May yelps but NN nonchalantly looks at the damage lock… “Oh!” but continues to walk into the room while May is frantically trying to put the lock back into place.  That's NN!  :D  I had noticed that there were only two glasses in the room so I asked May to call over to the other rooms to tell them to bring their own glasses. I was also wondering where either 視框 or 綠綠 was… so flippantly I asked May to ask those two if they were showering together.  Throughout the whole day, we laughed so much that our facial muscles were pretty tired.  So NN decides to tell May and me about true life murder stories.  She said the reason was so we can calm down a bit.  Geez... what kind of excuse was that?  Don't ask why but these stories were told with the 3 of us sitting in the bathroom.  You're thinking... bathroom?  Yup, bathroom!  Sitting on the side of the tub, on the sink counter and even on the toilet (with the cover down of course!)  When everyone arrived… the party begins. Glasses were filled, snacks strewn on my side of the bed and chairs… floors, window ledges and both beds (not by May or myself) occupied by bodies. Chatter starts… laughter and good cheer surrounds the room. It’s really amazing how視框can seem to be asleep but when she wants to, she will either speak with her eyes close or even sit up and comment. She keeps telling us that she is only resting her eyes! The air condition in the room was really turned to a very cold temperature. That’s one of the reasons that 視框 and 貓貓 were really snuggling inside the blanket. Great for me and May, someone warmed our beds ma!  The topic range was big and we even talked about singing at Temple street and 綠綠 made a comment that the girls there are sometimes very pretty.  Which had us laughing so hard that we were rolling on the floor.  Oh… you had to be there to understand… it’s too complicated to go into details.  The party lasted all the way till 4 in the morning!  By the way, that 1 litter was perfect for six girls.  No one got drunk but just to the point of feeling very good.