…three precious weeks, day 10.

I met up with Winnie and Snoopy at a MTR station and we headed out to a place that was famous for “清湯腩”for lunch. There we joined 妍貓, Man, Lalaprawn, Rachel and Dada.  I got to meet Snoopy’s little darling too. I made my second mistake in guessing the identities of the girls, Rachel and Lalaprawn. These two are so young and pretty! I mean really young!  I think I said more than once to them that they are going out with an Aunty.  I ordered清湯腩and shared a dish of fish cake with the girls. The noodles were very good!  So this is what all the fuss has been about!  Lalaprawn was very busy preparing her present for Muse and she had these pens and papers, I just watched and grinned.  She put so much heart into it and it was beautiful… yes, I was peeking at it.
After lunch we went to 檀島 for 蛋韃. I am not much into dessert but this was delicious! The name of the restaurant did give me pause because there was one with the same name in Honolulu that always used to go to. There was still quite a bit of time left and we wander along the busy streets of Central or were we in Mong Kok? The two young beauties had to go to the library, one had to study and the other one really had to finish her present, so we parted and said “See you two later!” Rachel was to join us again for dinner and Lalaprawn will go with some of us to the Melo gathering. I spotted a Starbucks up the street and told the girls that I needed to go in and get myself a cup of coffee. Once I stepped in… ahhhh… the air conditioning felt so fantastic!
After ordering, I looked around and found an empty corner, enough room for the six of us. Yes! I was going to cajole them to sit here for a while.  We sat and chatted until it was time to meet up with Lalaprawn and start making our way to the Melo gathering. Winnie, 妍貓 and Man will meet us later for dinner. Ack! We couldn’t get a taxi on Saturday in that area and we had to ride a cable car! If I wasn’t so “anxious” I think I might have enjoyed the ride. Pearl had called asking for directions and Snoopy being one that was very familiar with the area taught Pearl how to get there by naming each business or sign that Pearl might see on her way. Then 花花 called and said she was at the club but there was a “Members Only” sign posted at the entrance. Snoopy said if she wanted to wait that we will be there in a few minutes. Once we met up… we entered the clubhouse and I felt like we went walking into a mini maze. It took us at least another 10 minutes just to find the room where the gathering took place.
Oh goodness… there’s 毛姐… she’s already started speaking on the microphone. My… she is even more beautiful in person. I waited till the other girls finished getting their name tags and when it was my turn, I pointed to mine.  It had my real name on it. Kit, whom I recognized from pictures, looked up and said “Las Vegas!” I smiled and said “New York!” We laughed and moved out of the way so the workers could put an extra table for us. Six of us and they only have 5 chairs left. Ha-ha! Oh well… I like standing by the door and be able to sneak outside anyway. I ended up sharing my seat with Pearl, sometimes she would sit and sometimes I would. 
The funny thing about seeing Kit was because it was like seeing an old “hometown” friend… I could speak English! Kakaka! We chatted about both our trips, the impressions of HK and she then mentioned that she met 毛姐 when her son acted as Muse’s son in a movie almost 20 years ago and that they had this idea for Melo to give a chance for 毛姐 to share some of her beauty “secrets” with her fans. We found out that both of us was leaving HK on the same day but she was on an earlier flight.  $2 came in shortly after we arrived and went to sit in the far corner on a sofa.  $2 had to do some emceeing for the demonstration and she was busy for most of the afternoon. 
毛姐 like a good hostess did her rounds going up to each table to say hello and when she waved at me and whispered “Hi Charmed” so softly, I couldn’t stop grinning and said “你好靚啊!'” She is so beautiful up close! Wow!  But how did she know I was me?  Hmmm…  oh!  I guess maybe she has seen everyone else before.  I would like all of you to know that I maintained a very low profile!  See?  I can do it.  No problem at all!  The only time I was at jeopardy was when Kit waved me over to take a picture with Muse… I shook my head then she said “Come here.” I shook my head again.  Then she, again, said “Come HERE!” all the while she already had her arm around Muse and when Muse smiled and looked at me… I muttered “Boy, she’s bossy…” with a smile and walked over.  Muse piped in and said “Yeah, she’s bossy.” with that adorable mischievous expression of hers.  Snoopy helped us take a picture.  Thanks, Snoopy!  (I know I really looked like sh*t from fatigue and weather, but I am happy that I do have a picture with them.)  Next on the agenda was buying some products since it was 20% off!  Then… I spotted the chicken wings!!!  After I finished attacking the wings, $2 came over and chatted with the girls, I tried to find a good timing to give her a token to remember me by and asked her to help me with a delivery.  
Snoopy was going to a wedding reception tonight so when Muse came over to our table, she taught Snoopy how to put on the foundation and blush.  Snoopy was very ecstatic.  Dada was so cute… she tried the new product, a tinted moisturizer on the back of one of her hands and she asked $2 which one looked nicer by sticking out both hands.  When $2 picked the one without the moisturizer… Dada said “Oh, but this is the one with it and it is darker huh?”  I told her “Of course it’s darker but when it’s on your face, it will be lighter because it blends into your complexion and the back of your hands are darker than your face.”   
                  We all got a nice gift from Muse with her autograph…
The gathering was drawing to a close and I was saying goodbye to Kit and Muse when all of sudden Muse says “Maybe I’ll see you next year ….” I said “… in February, right?” “你點知呀?” “嘻!” I pointed to Kit.   She looks over to Kit then back at me “Oh..”  I smiled and said “I really do hope to see you then!”  Then she said pointing to Kit again, “睇吓幾時得閒我哋食飯啦!”   I was so surprise that all I could think of saying was…“哦。好呀！你同$2聯絡啦!  佢應該搵到我架.  Bye…”   I hope I didn’t sound too casual because it was so unexpected and I really didn’t know how to react.  (I’d be lying if I told you… I expected to see Muse again but to me, it’s really the thought that counts and to have her say something like that, I truly adore her 100%!  Little did I know…)
Our dinner plans were for hot-pot! We met up with all the girls again.  Dinner was very enjoyable and the food was delicious but I think everyone was a little bit tired from all the excitement and long hours today.  After dinner when I was saying my goodbyes, Rachel and Lalaprawn came up and gave me their gifts.  They are so cute!!  I felt really bad because I had forgotten their mementos but… I will find a way to get it to them!  I promise.  (It will be the old adage, better late than never!”  Winnie had to go and buy something and because Winnie was to make sure I got off at the right MTR station, I left with her. 
Oh my goodness!  It’s almost 9 in the evening and the street is still so crowded with people!!  I was so afraid to lose Winnie in this crowd that I had my arm on her shoulder… she is just the right height…  hee hee!  But I took no further than 10 steps that I thought it might look kind of… funny to onlookers! Haha! So I quickly dropped my arm and hooked her arm again. 

… 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…