Hong Kong vs. North Bay

80+ story high rises vs. 3 story high rises
Wow! For a city, Hong Kong blew me away. The quantity of high rises and skyscrapers, condo blocks and apartment buildings seemed never-ending. The skyline was unbelievable! And no matter which way you looked the skyline continues. In comparison, North Bay has some tall-ish buildings. Bob’s IG office building has 3 floors. There are a few apartment buildings and condominiums that are several floors but I think I would be hard-pressed to find anything higher than 15 floors.(that might even be a stretch, I’m betting)..? If you know any, let me know. And to compare skylines, we were out in the boat on Lake Nipissing on the Victoria long weekend, and the city of North Bay looked pretty too; albeit in a less shockingly spectacular way.

Smog vs. Clean Air
You would think that smog is a bad thing but for a seasonal allergy sufferer like myself, smog can actually make one more comfortable. This last week in the not so fresh and sweltering, slightly polluted air as can be expected of a city of 8 million, my allergies all but disappeared. We arrived home last night and almost immediately I could have played the part in a Reactine or Claritin commercial. As I write this, Bob sneezes.

Dried Fish Bladders vs. Dried Apricots
You can easily find fresh and dried produce in Hong Kong. Walk any of the side streets or go to a market and you are bound to find all kinds of interesting, wonderful and smelly things. My favourites would be the mass bins of dried fish parts, mostly bladders, which are said to be high in collagen and thus good for your skin. Simply, rehydrate them for a couple of days and add to your soup (this recipe from Casey, our guide in Ngong Ping). Or how about dried duck intestine? All this and much more hang from the ceiling of vendors’ shops to give you the best vantage point. Similarly, our local Independent Grocer in North Bay has a fresh produce section and carries PC dried apricots and dried prunes in handy re-sealable bags also hanging, though at the end of a grocery aisle.

93% Humidity vs. 48% Humidity
There is enough humidity in Hong Kong, to give you an entirely new hairstyle as to the one you have in North Bay. Needless to say, the flat iron was a handy tool. If you didn’t already know, my flat iron blew up on my first night in Hong Kong. Sparks flew while it was still in contact with my hair. Our converter didn’t seem to work very well. So at our first opportunity, I had to drag Bob to the Fortress store to pick up a new one. And seeing as my new one won’t work in North Bay because of the different plug/voltage I’ll have to plan a trip back.


The Bests and the Worst

Best wontons I’ve ever had.
Best sweet and sour pork I’ve ever had.
Best green curry with prawns I’ve ever had.
Best new vegetable I tried – Morning Glory – wow!
Best carrot and ginger soup I’ve ever had.
Worst shrimp salad I’ve ever had (cantaloupe, honeydew, strawberries, shrimp and mayo-style dressing).....Seriously......(Actually, I just realized that I didn’t even have it...it was on my plate and I couldn’t bring myself to eat any of it).

All in all, a great experience in Hong Kong.

Packer Extraordinaire

I have finished packing. 6 pairs of shoes, 8 completely different outfits in various degrees of formal, 2 handbags (Coach of course) and a clutch (not Coach), casual clothes, swimwear and presents for my friend’s boy. All in one suitcase. Call me “Packer Extraordinaire.” I’m thinking a “how-to-guide” in packing could be in my future.

We’re off to Hong Kong in the wee hours of tomorrow morning. North Bay to Toronto to Hong Kong. Forecasted weather is in the high 80’s with humidity at 95%. Whew! It will be hot. Just how I like it. I’ve got my umbrella, flat iron, iPhone charger and e-reader.

Here I come Emily! Let’s go eat!

PS - Fingers crossed that our luggage doesn't get lost. I'm travelling with Bob and we all know how his gets lost all the time.

PPS - Tenants have given notice. Crap...I have to play landlord again when I return.

Packing for Hong Kong with IG is different than packing for Florida...how many pairs of shoes do I need?

The countdown is on...I’ve got the itinerary mapped out for wardrobe changes. Each function is a different dress code, requiring new outfit and appropriate shoes. And when you think, that the “business dress” sessions are both under 3-4 hours, it’s a short while to haul such a lot of complicated clothes. Then there is "business casual." More clothes and of course, different shoes. And “casual,” yup that can be handled easily enough, but rest assured, shoes for business dress and business casual are not right with casual clothes. More shoes. And finally there is “garden party.” Seriously? I have the most rockin’, fantastic, ultra cool, strappy, nude heels embellished with matching rosettes up the front of the foot that match the dress I bought for the occasion but if they make me stand in a garden, I will most definitely and immediately, sink.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned Bob’s shoes yet. And his shoes are bigger than mine.

So I’m looking at a separate suitcase for footwear.

11 more days (not counting today).

And for fun, here is a list of multi-tasking jobs that are never found in those Make Your Time More Efficient books. (all jobs below legitimately performed since last week of April)

Meatball maker and PowerPoint presentation preparer
Laundry folder and beaver lodge model maker assistant
Conference centre phone meeting participant and window washer
Dinner maker and scrabble for iPhone player
Orderer of floral deliveries and purchaser of husband’s pants (nice pants, no pleats of course)

New Bra = Good Day

It’s been a good day. I managed to clean out all the closets today and switch around fall/winter clothes with spring/summer. This is a feat in itself for the kids’ closets because all the clothes that won’t fit them next season have to be removed. For those of you who know me well, you can imagine how organized I am normally about this. For me to finish all the closets and then in addition, take all the old clothes to the consignment store rather than storing them for several days in the mudroom or back of the car makes for a big accomplishment. Yay me, as London would say. (Those of you with 7-10 year old’s will know whom I’m referring to).

So I was feeling pretty good as I drove away from 'Mainly Clothes' in the sunshine, with the sun roof open and Gaga loud on the radio. By the way, my new favourite song is Break Your Heart by Taio Cruz feat. Ludacris. So fun to drive in the sunshine and sing along. But I digress, what makes for a great day is the sense of accomplishment. And of course, a new bra. Ladies, if you haven’t purchased a new bra lately I highly urge you to do so. It will make you feel slimmer, taller and better proportioned. Bob, we know, you don’t understand this but that is because you are a man. Even if you think your bra is still doing ok, you could do so much better! Off you go girls!

And lastly, two more things that round out this great day. Going out with friends tonight for a 5 course meal and lots of wine and this afternoon I had a perfect piece of apple pie. Yum!

Queen of the Land

I was not meant to be a landlord. For those of you who don’t know, Bob and I turned our cottage (which is a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom year-round place) into a full-time rental property last year after we bought our house in Florida. Why you ask? Well, I can only vacation so much you know!

Anyway, our current tenants had to give notice due to some personal issues. They were great tenants by the way, very clean, friendly and their rent cheques always cleared. I found them on kijiji.ca so I decided to post another ad this time round to find the next tenants. Following about 30 inquiries over the past weekend, I decided to hold an open house at the property tonight. Here’s what happened: (For the record, I am unquoted and crazy tenants are quoted)

The rent is a $1,000/month plus utilities.....”Does that mean a phone is included?”

We prefer no pets....”Lately I’ve been thinking about starting a dog sled business. The dogs would be outside.”

We prefer no pets....”He’s not really a pet, just a lizard.”

Yes, it’s a pretty quiet area....”Do you get a lot of police cruisers around here?”

The rent is a $1,000/month plus utilities....”Would you take just a $1,000/month?”

Do you have children? ....“No. Well, yes. A sixteen year old daughter.”

We prefer no pets....”He’s not really a pet. He’s more like a son to us.”

Honestly, I just don’t have the patience.

Landlording is not for me and frankly, I really think Bob should be more involved in this whole exercise in self-inflicted annoyance. However, all that said, what stood out to me the most on my drive home was the word “landlord” itself. It’s really a strange word of reference to use in this millenium. If I wanted to use words derived from the middle ages, I would use Queen of Land that Thou May Rent from the Crown. Sounds much more queenly and rich, than some fat, hairy landlord figure. We could add King in there somewhere if Bob were more involved but he’s not so Queen it would be.

And the best for last....

Nice to meet you, I’m Tamara....”Do you own this place? I didn’t think you looked old enough.”

This just 2 days past my birthday which brought me closer to the 40s end of the spectrum rather than the 30s. They were serious. They were not trying to butter me up. And they will not be moving in - they were the ones asking about the police.

Buy the Coach Handbag

Various things today...first I wanted to address the request for more blog entries. You know how sometimes you can’t think of the right word for something and its right there on the tip of your tongue? Last night I was trying to put into words why I am not blogging every day and rather will post an entry only on occasion. I’m going to walk you through the words I went through to come up with my written explanation because my train of thought was a little amusing. Initially the only word that I could think of to describe my blog was that I wanted it to be written naturally rather than post forced entries of a boring day. Natural, was an ok word but not quite what I was looking for. I went through “homespun,” and “granola,” (not sure how that came into play but it was kind of the feeling that I was trying to express). Finally, I recalled the word and it is organic. I want my blog to have a grassroots style with an organic feel. So, to wrap up, you won’t see me posting anything if I don’t really have anything to say. That would be a waste of my time and of yours to have to read it and who wants to read anything that boring anyway?

Next, I’m going to put into black and white that my top 2 for American Idol this season is Big Mike and Foxworth (more on this after the next sentence). Andrew Garcia, my original favourite since the Straight Up song, is my wildcard. Now Foxworth....Bob will tell you that I am terrible with names. Every season I end up referring to contestants by names that for some reason I can remember. They are usually names that are similar to their own but allude me just the same. So Foxworth is officially umm, I can’t remember her first name, but her last name is Bowersox, I think. So similar right? Foxworth.

Also, I don’t usually watch DWTS, but I have turned it on to see some of the more infamous contestants. I have to say that I was very surprised at Pamela Anderson....who knew she had such balance? And also Shannon Doherty, she was pretty good as far as amateurs go. Kate with all the kids, should beg to go home before she embarrasses her family further. And c’mon, Nicole Sherzinger? She might as well win it right now. She’s a fantastic dancer with or without the show, that doll. (Ok, why can I remember DWTS names but not Idol? Weird.)

And finally some miscellaneous items, I am wearing capris today and have bare feet. If you know me well, you know this is cause for celebration as this is the weather I love! And to my friend K, I totally think you should purchase the Coach handbag that has your name no matter the cost. It would go against the universe and all that is meant to be if you don’t buy it. And one more thing today....let me say this....Gaga, Beyonce and 9 minutes of Telephone video....Awesome (note the capital A). If you haven’t seen it, check it out on iTunes.

Susan Boyle as Beyonce

What is really strange about watching a drag show is not the fact that they are men dressed as women frolicking around on stage and pretending to sing, but more the fact that although you know this to be true and though it gives you a slightly weird, grossed out sensation in the pit of your stomach, you still cannot help but continue to watch in a sort of mesmerized trance. The best part had to be when Youtube sensation and Britain’s Got Talent winner Susan Boyle, performed Beyonce’s Single Ladies and knew all the choreography. Waaay too funny!

And in terms of memory lapse record keeping....yesterday afternoon I received a call from a familiar voice but could not quite put a name to the voice (call display was of no help because it showed a company name). The very nice and friendly voice asked me how I was, I said fine. She asked if everything was alright, I said yes. Bewildered (who the heck was this anyway?) I said, who is this? Poor J, I had picked up her son at school that day for a play date with Ian and she wanted to make sure he was ok! She has full confidence in me going forward....wonder if he’ll be allowed to visit again.

There was one other memory issue I wanted to discuss here but I’ve forgotten it.

Drag Queens (I knew that would get your attention)

I lost my car just now in the mall parking lot. Isn’t that crazy? I was wandering around in these 2 rows (short rows too because I was actually behind the mall by the food court entrance) and my car was not there. Wierd. Thanks to 2 Northern Honda guys for helping me locate it. It was one aisle over from where I was standing! I hope this is not a sign of early on-set Alzheimer’s, though I think I will log any further memory issues going forward for medical record keeping purposes.

But not to worry, the day is only going to get better and I’ll be able to slosh my way through a drink or two tonight to drown my sorrows at turning 38 next week and forgetting where I park. Bob and I are off to a drag queen show tonight in benefit of the North Bay AIDS Committee. Drag queens you ask? Yes, real, live drag queens imported from downtown Toronto to give us the performance we’ve been waiting for since last year’s show. We’ve got two tables reserved for 14 of us and I’ve specifically asked that we are not in the front row like last year. Poor Bob and D got the brunt of comments and friend “Sally” will likely never live down her impromptu name.

Off to prepare “celebrity gift bags” for Julia’s Kids’ Choice Awards party tomorrow night.

PS – It was the local mall, can you believe that? I don’t even have the excuse that it was a mall I’m not familiar with. Although, those are hard to find too....(unfamiliar malls, I mean.)
PPS – Panic button on my key didn’t work either so I couldn’t even make my car honk.

Skinny Jeans and This Blog

Seriously. What is with skinny jeans? They make you look shorter than you already are and your hips bigger. And then they have to throw on the back pocket flaps on the bum to make your bum bigger! So few people look good in them and yet they are sold everywhere. Why is that? The greater consumer markets that do look good in them are 10-16 year olds. No offense to those tall, thin people that look good in everything anyway. Thank you to Old Navy for $12 skinny jeans as that is all Julia will wear. And as soon as this is posted I’m returning a pair to GAP that look like crap on me. (No rhyme intended)

And now for the reason behind this blog. I’ve lain awake a few times at night wondering whether and why I should do this and it came to me last night. Facebook status updates can be amusing to read but are limited to 420 characters. Way too short to offer sound entertaining tidbits of information that my life is made up of. So here is my blog manifesto....what I write here will often expand on my status and provide further detail as to how I keep myself and the family sane and probably fed. It will be here to entertain, provide insight on important subjects that matter (like restaurants, shopping destinations, music worth listening too and probably the best parts of the Twilight series, my current obsession), although I reserve the right to add other topics in the future. There will be no heavy lectures nor moral lessons learned here. Follow along if you wish!