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missed a few days of blogging. Then i just got lazy LOL

On Day 10, we went out to Wan Chai to get my glasses… i still like the other pair better *lol* Im not really used to this one yet so sometimes, i feel kinda dizzy. but anyways, after that we took the bus back to the Lok Fu apartment to grab some stuff before heading off to the hospital. im getting kinda sick of that place… and i dont really see the point in going EVERY FRIGGIN DAY. but if i was the one being hospitalized, i guess daily visits would be nice. after that, we had dinner with my 2nd aunt at the Thai restaurant located near her apartment. Took pictures… it was ok~ not as tasty as the one in Plaza Hollywood in Diamond Hill… Before dinner, we went shopping for Day 11’s Xmas party.

it was so fun~~~ everyone brought a bunch of food and my Kou Fu Zai (who is a chef) cooked for us. The party was held at my 2nd aunt’s apartment, so after everyone left… she had to cleanup all the aftermath XD She was kinda pissed… all i heard before i went to bed was *running water* *bang bang* “shit!”

好心涼~ hahahaha

the past couple of days have been kinda normal/boring… Yesterday, my Kou Fu Zai had one more day off so we took him out for a mini-makeover. With a facial and a new haircut, he looks quite handsome ^^; my Dai Kou Fu will be coming home tomorrow, so we have to clean up his apartment ASAP. he’s gonna get HELLA pissed when he comes back because we threw away a bunch of his stuff. *sigh* its all for the better. But since today is Xmas, i told my mom i wanted to stay home… ugh, i REALLY dont want to spend my Xmas cleaning! nor do i want to go to the hospital yo!! i kno i SHOULD be over there helping them out, but WTF. NO. its effing Xmasssss. id rather stay home and eat cup noodles all day…

Everyone, thanks for the Xmas messages! *chu*
wishing you all a very Merry Xmas and a Happy Takki&Tsubasa-filled New Year!!
Hopefully, 2009 will be a much better year for everyone~

today we spent most of our day at my Dai Kou Fu’s apartment. We’ve wanted to clean up that place a long time ago, but being the stubborn uncle that he is, he had always refused to let us touch his stuff. Hes still being hospitalized right now, so we’re taking the opportunity to clean up this place… its soooo dirty, i cant even describe how disgusting it is/was. Just the door rim was literally CRUSTED with black gunk / dust.

i didnt do much besides reorganize all my Dai Kou Fu’s rajicon magazines (he has enough to open a shop…) and wipe dust off of various things. My mom and aunts did a lot more, but to be honest, theyre lucky i even did anything. I didnt even want to do it in the first place… i mean it was a pretty shitty feeling to be woken up at 9am and be told that you’re going to spend a whole day cleaning up someone’s dirty house. LIKE HELLO, i didnt come all the way over here to do chores!

Halfway through, we went down to Lok Fu center to eat brunch at a Japanese restaurant. It tasted DISGUSTING and that is a pretty huge statement considering the fact that almost everything in HK is delicious lol. The customer service was terrible too. Every time a customer walked through the door, all the servers would yell “ILA-SAI-MASEI~” I got so annoyed by their terrible pronunciation, i almost wanted to stand up and scream “ITS IRASSHAIMASE. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. SAY IT F***** RIGHT.” And our waiter was retarded (even though he claimed to be the manager of the restaurant). He had this blank look on his face when we ordered and we had to repeat our order twice before he finally wrote it down on his notepad. UGH, someone please fire this Food-Slave lookalike.

After some more cleaning, we visited Dai Kou Fu and went to a nearby massage place. I wasnt as tired as the others were, so i decided to only get a manicure. Then we had dinner at a nearby Shanghai restaurant. We ordered a lot of food… siu long bao (duhhhh), tea shrimp, soup dumplings, hot & sour soup, fu pei zhai guen, an appetizer that tasted like ham but looked like slices of jelly… and for dessert, we had banana puffs and gwai fa go (which was realllly good). I’ve uploaded pics at my Flickr already~ ^__^

today, we went up to Central to meet up with Yuki after she got off work. Since we got there early, my mom and i walked around the neighborhood and down an “alleyway market” (a row of shops stationed inside a narrow alley). When we finally met up with Yuki, we decided to eat a restaurant thats famous for its fishball + fishcake noodles. We actually ordered 6 dishes… noodles for each of us, a bowl of beef balls, a bowl of squid balls, and a plate of steamed lettuce. The place was crowded (we had to share a round table with several other people) and kinda dirty, but in HK, the dirtier = the tastier.

After that, we took a trolley to Wan Chai. Yuki took us to the “optical shop” she usually goes to. It took me a while to choose the frame that i wanted… i actually had two that i had picked out… one made me look like a 21-year old CEO and the other one made me look somewhat less intimidating XD i personally liked the CEO pair of glasses!! but seems like everyone else thought that the other one was better ^^;

so after getting my eyes checked and making my order, we took a trolley to Causeway Bay. There, we took a look at an accessory shop where i bought a bracelet and a ring. Then we went inside Sogo… which was crowded with people and was actually kinda shitty in quality (almost like Macy’s with more brands)

so after all that, we took the bus to Tin Sui Wai and then a taxi to Lau Fau Shan, which is famous for being a seafood community. Inside this little community are a bunch of seafood restaurants and shops. You go to a seafood restaurant to reserve a table, then you go to the shops and pick out the kind of seafood you want to eat (everyting is alive and still swimming around inside clear water tanks). Once you’re done with that, you tell the sellers which restaurant you’re eating at and they will send whatever you picked directly to the kitchen of that restaurant. Then all you do is wait for your food to be prepared~

We picked out a bunch of shrimp (small, medium, and large ones), long clams, oysters, and scallops (which were cooked while they were still attached to the scallop shells). so. sooo. SOOOO GOOD. oh my god. (the pictures tell it all~~~) We go there every time we get the chance to come back to HK. This time, it was especially delicious… prob because i havent had so much seafood goodness in 6 years! lol

Not much happened today. Like yesterday, my mom and i stayed at the apartment until 3:30. We ordered breakfast (zha leung, fried chicken, scrambled eggs + spam sandwiches + peppered beef chow ho-fun) and then took a nap before visiting my Dai Kou Fu at the hospital. hes getting better now… but he has a fever right now vv  

i talked to my dad this morning too about what happened last night.
dad : where are you two right now?
mom : at the apartment. dont worry.
me : u shoulda told him that we’re at the Island Shangri-La hotel
mom : he would probably go into cardiac arrest lol

but yea, ive cooled down. still peeved, but feeling a lot calmer than before. Kat’s right… not gonna let that bitch ruin my vacation. i only have a couple more days left until i have to leave, so im gonna make the most of it.

For dinner, my mom, 3rd aunt, 2nd uncle, and i went out to this restaurant thats famous for its beef brisket noodles. Will post pictures tomorrow~ Then after that, we just went home. But tomorrow, we’ll be meeting Yuki for lunch in Central and then we’re gonna go to Wan Chai to get some new glasses for your’s truly ^^ The full Ai Kakumei PV is also airing tonight at midnight, so it should be uploaded by tomorrow night~ yayyyy ^v^

Just had a hugggeeee fight with my 2nd aunt (the one who often comes to the US). I’ve cooled down a bit, but im still feeling really aggravated. Today was not a good day to start off with. Unlike our usual morning routines, my mom decided to stay home and clean my aunt’s apartment. I couldnt decide on what to wear cause most of my clothes were being washed… and ended up feeling self-concious in the outfit that i changed into a couple minutes before we had to go to the hospital. When we got there, we found out that my uncle’s condition had gotten worse overnight… something about a pancreas infection (which was what killed my 2nd aunt’s husband at the beginning of their honeymoon).

anyways, on our way to dinner, my 2nd uncle got in a small accident. The parking lot was narrow and when my uncle was going down, his bumper scratched the side of another car that was going up. It wouldnt be such a big deal if the other car hadnt sped off, leaving us with no evidence and no license plate number. Not to mention, the other car was an Audi… versus my uncle’s Hyundai. Expensive… not expensive… It could come back and bite us in the ass….

So back to the argument between my aunt and i… we were talking about what color the other car was. My mom said it was dark blue and i said it was pearl-ish white.

aunt : dark blue and white are two completely different colors! *repeats*
me : i kno, but i really think it was a pearl-ish colored Audi…
aunt : but theres a huge contrast between those two colors!
me : i kno that! im not stupid or colorblind!
aunt : dont talk to me in such a mean manner!!
me : … *fumes*

as we tried to catch a taxi…

mom : no, i seriously think it was dark blue or black.
me : no, uncle’s car was black. the other car was a lighter color.
mom : no, i dont think so…
me : wtf, why are u asking me if u dont even believe me??
aunt : ive had enough of your attitude!! please think about your tone of voice!
me : well how do u expect me to react when no one believes me?! (a) will explain this later)
aunt : i’m talking about your attitude, not whether or not people believe you. please remember that those are two different things.
me : but why ask me in the first place if u’re not going to even consider my answer!?
aunt : ive had it with you!! you always yell at people when you are unhappy. the way u talk to me and the way u talk to ur mom is completely disrespectful!
me : WTF, u have no right to talk to me about disrespect (b) will explain this later too)
aunt : u’re right. i dont have the right to talk to you about disrespect because i’m only your aunt (basically implying that MY MOM should be the one yelling at me) Your 3rd aunt and i always talk about your bad temper and attitude. I’ve never yelled at you about it because i didnt want to hurt you.
me : oh whatever. yea i admit i have an attitude but maybe u shouldve talked to me about it sooner! if you had, maybe i wouldnt be like this! And did Auntie Norris tell you DIRECTLY (via observation) that i have a bad temper? well? did she?
aunt : yes! and i’ll tell you what—
mom : stop!! bonnie, apologize right now.
me : WTFF why do *I* have to apologize?! i’ve had enough of her. i will apologize to you, but i refuse to apologize to her.
aunt : even if you apologized, i would refuse to listen to it.
me : oh dont worry, i told u, i dont plan on apologizing
mom : stop!!! TAXI!!

so it was pretty silent after we got into the taxi. i kept quiet about it until we got back to my aunt’s place. After she opened the door, i immediately rushed into my room, packed my bag, and headed towards the door to go to my uncle’s house. my mom chased after me and we had a talk outside the apartment. I will tell you that if she tries to fuckin mess with me again, i will seriously bitch her out and stay at a hotel. i dont even have to ask my dad because i kno that hes on my side (he hates my 2nd aunt too) its just that doing so would put my mom in a terrible position. which is why i agreed to go back into my room.

explanations about the above :

a) even tho i’m already 18, everyone still thinks that im a kid. so a lot of the time, they dont really listen to me… for example, my mom will be having a dilemma. I would suggest Solution X. She would think about it for a while and kinda blow it off until someone else suggests the same solution…. which she will then decide to use. It has happened countless times before - which was why i said “why ask me if u’re not even going to consider my answer!”

b) no one from my mom’s side and my dad’s side of the family likes my 2nd aunt.

Even though i understand that i have to respect my elders, i believe that i reserve the right to speak up when they are wrong. in this case, when my aunt came to the US (twice), lived in our house, ate our food, and enjoyed the luxury of being driven around town (we had to drive her boyfriend around too), we did not complain about any of it. Even though we had to pay for literally EVERYTHING. On the other hand, when my dad visited HK a month ago and stayed at my aunt’s apartment for a couple of days, she would call my mom every night after work and complain about how my dad did THIS and how my dad did THAT.

Not only that, but when she came over to our house, she dug all our stuff and look through all our drawers (WITHOUT our permission). She would usually do it early in the morning too, when all of us are still asleep. Without my dad’s permission, she also started moving things out of my dad’s private den / office to make room for my mom’s stuff. We understand that it was done under good intentions, but talk about DISRESPECT.

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today was Kou Fu Zai’s day off, so we went out to breakfast together after visiting my Dai Kou Fu at the hospital. We went out to a cafe in Wong Dai Seen. It was kinda shabby and hidden behind a construction site, but omggg their breakfast meals were so good. Satay beef instant ramen, ham omelette, a huge piece of buttered toast, and a lemon honey drink, all for HK $23 ($3 USD) WHAT. WHAT. Im not used to things being so friggin cheap!! 

After breakfast, we went to Plaza Hollywood in Diamond Hill where I bought another Kiyto bag XD HK is seriously a shopper’s dream come true because they have everything and anything you can possibly imagine, all at a reasonable price. Personally, I’m VERY picky when it comes to buying bags… it gotta be the right size, right shape, right color, right amount of storage/pockets, the right texture (interior and exterior) blah blah blah. But above all, i think good customer service is the most important factor. The price definitely matters, but for example… if a bitchy salesperson was selling a bag for $100 (with a 50% discount) and a patient salesperson was selling the same bag at full price, i would rather pay more.

ANYWAYS. after going back to my uncle’s apartment to pick up some things for Dai Kou Fu, my mom, Yi Fu (2nd uncle), Beng Fu (3rd uncle), Kou Fu Zai, and I made another visit to the hospital and then went out to dinner at a street-side restaurant in Sha Tin. We had salt and pepper chicken joints (lol), fried squid balls, satay beef and veggies, braised pig intestines (lolll yes), and fish congee.

PS : i’ve uploaded all my photos at my Flickr

last night, i dreamt about hugging an asian guy in a gray tanktop *lol* dunno who he was tho ^^;

Two nights ago, my Dai Kou Fu (my eldest uncle) told us he wasnt feeling well. We decided to get him some breakfast this morning, but when we got to his apartment in Lok Fu, we couldnt find him. My mom called him and found out that he was admitted to a nearby hospital. We ended up eating breakfast with my Kou Fu Zai (youngest uncle) before he left for work. But because theres only my Dai Kou Fu and Kou Fu Zai living in my grandparent’s old apartment, the place is absolutely FILTHY. We walked in and the first thing we saw was a dead siu keung (cockroach)!! Men can get so gross when theyre lazy…

After finishing breakfast, we took a mini tour around the nearby Jusco. When i was a kid, i spent most of my time either in Heng Fa Chuen or Lok Fu. It certainly has changed a lot and actually, most of the Lok Fu mall is still under reconstruction. When we were done touring, we took the subway to Central where we met up with my mom’s best friend, Yuki. Since shes a nurse, she gave me a free shot and medicine (i’ve been feeling slightly dizzy lately)

We went out to lunch at a high-end restaurant called 小南國. There, we had my favorite siu long bao, some dumplings, fried fish, sesame cakes, herb rolls, fried tong yun, and sang jin bao (bad romanization LOL). It was pretty good and the place was quite nicely decorated - will show pics later~ All that food and 3-star quality service for only $40 USD. Definitely not what we usually get for 40 bucks in the US!

After lunch, Yuki had to go back to work, giving my mom and i time to look / shop around the department stores in Central before we had to visit my uncle at the hospital. I bought another bag at the first store we went to… they were having a sale and at the corner of my eye, i spotted his metallic/gunmetal tote hanging on the side of a rack… i picked it up, looked inside, and omg!! its from a brand named “TAKI” hahaha~ SOLD! No buts about it XD

After that, we took the bus, met up with my aunt and headed to the hospital to see my uncle. Lan Yi (2nd aunt) and Yi Kou Fu (2nd uncle) also came, so after the visit, we went out to dinner together in Kowloon City. We had some salt and pepper squid, goose stomach (i kno lol), satay beef and veggies, oyster cakes (HEARTS x3), and a sausage & cuttlefish appetizer. After dinner, as we headed to the bus stop, my mom, uncle, and aunts talked about their childhood memories (they use to go to that neighborhood all the time). Seems like all seven of my aunts and uncles shared a really fun childhood together, despite the fact that they were really poor back in the day. Some things are just priceless ne~

Anyways, after my uncle drove us back to Sha Tin (hohry crappu, he has a kick-ass SUV) my mom, aunt and i went and got a very-much needed foot massage. The place, run by a family of three Zhu Hai immigrants, was small but cozy. My feet definitely dont feel as tired as they did before, but they warned me that it would hurt the next morning x__x On our way home, we also stopped by a dessert place and ordered some shumai, curry fishballs, and a mango sai mai lo (*^ v ^*)

Tired as helllll. esp my feet.

Woke up at 8 am this morning. Had to get my HK id stuff renewed, which was the main purpose of my HK trip. it went pretty smoothly and they didnt ask me (in detail) why i havent been back in HK for so long. Many of the people there were also international students and/or filipino women (mini fact : many middle-class families in HK hire servants/nannies/housekeepers from the philippines)

After spending two hours at that place, my mom and i headed to Dai Wai to get an Administrative Re-entry permit (used when traveling to mainland China). We ended up not getting it because the line was too long and they were going to charge us $599 for their express service. PFFFFT 599 MY ASS

i had a sudden craving for Japanese food and luckily there was a Japanese restaurant right next door. I ordered a salmon and crab roe donburi and two pieces of uni sushi. OMG. so so so so good. i will show pictures later, but it was this big bowl of rice that was completely covered with orange (the salmon and roe). A couple minutes after our food came, a bunch of middle school students came into the restaurant. I cant believe how ill-mannered HK students are now and days. The three girls sitting next to us (esp the one sitting next to me) kept looking over at us… whispering about how “foreign” we looked. I UNDERSTAND CANTONESE, BITCH. Just because i look like a banana, it doesnt me i’m retarded. UGH, CHINESE PEOPLE.

ANYWAYS, after lunch, my mom took me to the New Town Plaza in Sha Tin and we went on our first homecoming shopping spree!! ^^ I bought some makeup at Sasa, a bag and bracelet at Yata (Japanese department store), a cat pillow (the cat looked like Sassy and we miss her, so… lol), and some rock sugar birds nest. I try to eat as much as i can whenever i’m back in HK because its too expensive back in the US *lol*

We went back to my aunt’s place and relaxed (i was already pooped cause i was the one carrying all our shopping bags the entire time). When my aunt got home, we ordered bo zai fan and spent the rest of the night watching TV. My aunt wanted to take us to this foot-massage place, but it was kinda far and i was already in my PJ’s… just got too lazy to leave the house XD

Tomorrow, we’ll be going to Central to have lunch with my mom’s best friend. And hopefully, if my aunt isnt busy, she’ll give us a tour around Tsim Sha Tsui and look at all the Xmas decorations and light shows. Tanoshimi ni~~~

woke up at 6 am this morning. Jetlag sucks.
I usually dont get it, but for some reason, i’ve got it pretty bad this time. 

thank god for mini-makeovers tho!! we went out to breakfast and then went over to the facial shop my aunt usually goes to. Got an acne treatment (which hurted so much, i started tearing up XD), an ice mint mask, got my nails done, and my eyebrows tweaked. Then we headed over to a hair salon and got our hair washed and styled (for only $4 USD!!). The guys at the salon were pretty cute too ^^; The one who washed my hair kept asking me “Is the temperature of the water okay? *massages* does this feel okay?” (*^ ^*)

though when i told the other guy (the stylist) i wanted more volume, he couldnt understand me and said “bo-yume? i… dont understand…” LOL for peeps who know me, my enunciation of english words is pretty good. this is seriously the first time someone has had a hard time understanding my english!! hahaha~ i guess HK english is really different…

So after that, we went out to dimsum with my mom, two uncles, four aunts, and two nephews. I dunno, maybe its just cause they havent seen me in a while… it didnt feel the same. I used to be the youngest and the center of attention. Now that i have two younger nephews… i was just sorta in the background, quietly enjoying my dimsum (my favorite siu long bao~~) ^^;

We went back to my aunt’s apartment and played mahjong. Had a talk with the aunt that i never really liked. Shes actually okay (maybe she was just acting nice because she knew that ive never been really fond of her) and we talked about Japan and Takki. It was kinda boring without my youngest uncle here, but he had to work so… *sigh*

…Dude, i just heard “TAKKI” coming from the TV set and i looked up. Theres some Jrocker-wannabe girl from TVB who calls herself Takki. OI!!!! ITS SPELLED THE SAME TOO!! arghhhh no no no! only Takki is allowed to have that nickname. Dunno why, but its just not right for anyone else to have it.

anyways, my 2nd uncle and the aunt i talked to are hilarious. They’re always bashing and making fun of one another… one funny story my uncle told was about his oi-moh (mother in law). “She used to be a chain smoker and whenever she smoked in her room, the smoke would come seeping out from under the door crack… my oi-moh would silently walk into my room while i’m working. i’ll suddenly see a bit of white smoke come flowing by and feel someone staring at me. I’d turn around and she’d be right there and say in a drowsy voice “You’re still awake…” i shit my pants every time.” LOLLL god, i wish i had recorded it, because you gotta hear it in cantonese and know a tad about chinese superstitions to fully get the joke.

it was also my 3rd aunt’s birthday today! Happy Birthday Auntie Norris~~~

Got off the plane a few hours ago.
Man, its been a long time since I’ve been back.
It feels soooo different and somewhat unfamiliar.
but then again, it has been SIX friggin years.

flying here was literally, airborne transfer via hell. Pulled an all-nighter the night before because we had to be at the airport at 5 am. Our flight from Seattle to San Francisco got delayed for two hours due to “weather problems” and we arrived less than an hour before our HK flight. The shuttle that was suppose to take us from Arrivals to the International terminal was also late… but of course we made it in time.

our travel agent didnt tell my mom and i that we wouldnt be able to sit next to each other… ON OUR 14 HOUR FLIGHT. so that pissed us off a little. but thank god the woman sitting next to my mom decided to move. i was ecstatic because i originally had to sit in between these two boring-looking chinese guys *LOL* i probably would’ve killed myself. 

Teriyaki chicken looked and tasted like shit. My salad was warm… ew. Our last meal (Turkey and Swiss Sandwich) was pretty good tho. The only okay-tasting plane food i’ve ever had.

So 14 longgg hours later (i swear, i am NEVER going from San Fran to HK ever again. UGH) we arrived and were greeted by my aunts and uncles ^^ Drove to my aunt’s apartment in Sha Tin and had dinner at a nearby restaurant… salt and pepper fried squid, pork blood-jelly congee, and a lemon-honey drink. I know… many of u american readers are probably thinkin “BLOOD JELLY O_o??” 

i swear, it tastes good. Just pork-blood thats been boiled and cooled into a jelly-like texture. Creepy asian food usually sounds disgusting, i kno *lol* But considering the fact that i’m deathly afraid of cuts & blood & all that gross stuff… if even i can eat it without throwing up, its gotta be pretty damn good XD

But we’re back at the apartment now and im tired as hell… tomorrow morning, we’re going to get facials and then dim sum!! ahhhhh HK, i’ve missed you so much~~~