trippity, trip, trip

While in Manila a couple of months ago, I managed to fit in a trip to Macau and Hong Kong with my aunt and uncle. I finally (finally!) uploaded pictures from that trip to Flickr.

sensory overload

Macau is an interesting place. Up until 1999, it was a Portuguese colony - the European influence is pretty evident still in the food, in the place names, and in the architecture. There are also lots of churches. The most famous landmark happens to be the Ruínas de São Paulo (the Ruins of St. Paul) , the facade of a 17th century Portuguese cathedral.

Ruins of St. Paul

Macau is now a “special administrative region” of China. China may be run the fruits of the proletariat revolution, but in Macau (and Hong Kong too), capitalism rules the day. The last time I visited Macau, it looked and felt like the poor backwater cousin of vibrant, cosmopolitan Hong Kong. Now, Macau is all tarted up, being billed as “the Asian Las Vegas.” Casinos galore - gigantor ones, with Las Vegas pedigrees like the Venetian and MGM Grand, dot the cityscape. All filled to the brim with gambling Asians. It was strange seeing all these slot machines in Chinese.

we’ll take your money in any language

Hong Kong, on the other hand, is as bustling and crowded as I remembered. Only, there seems to be three times more people who want to breathe the same air as you. More pictures here.

In the meantime, I’m off on another work trip.

 

casting on

A little less than three years ago, I was at a conference in Chicago. I happened to be staying with my friends Andrea and Jim. I knew that Andrea knitted, because I had seen samples of her amazing skill. At that time though, knitting was pretty much a foreign word. I didn’t consider myself to be particularly crafty nor creative, and knitting seemed to be one of those things crafty and creative folks did. Besides, I prided myself on my being uncoordinated.

However, I didn’t count on being bored out of my skull at this conference.

So, I convinced Andrea to teach me to knit. She very patiently taught me to knit on some bright yellow acrylic yarn and a pair of mismatched #8 straights. She guided me through many false starts, and admired my first hole-y swatch. And then the next day, we trooped over to the local book place and got a copy of Stitch and Bitch. I came back home, convinced that I had forgotten how to knit. I cracked open my copy of Stitch and Bitch, and was pleasantly surprised that my brain remembered how to make stitches. I took that as a sign that I should look more into this knitting thing.

To Andrea, who showed me how two sticks and some yarn could bring so much fun, happy birthday!

 

2008 already? Damn!

Hello Internet! I’ve missed the smell of your breath in the morning.

I returned from Manila several days ago - it was a good trip overall. Manila is still crowded and chaotic and smoggy, but also vital and laid-back, home to my family and home to the most perfect mango in the entire world. I made sure to eat lots of those while I was there (along with lots of other yummy food)!

My family takes food very seriously - one of the great things about visiting is my food whims were catered to wholeheartedly.

Being home was nice because it’s home and no matter how much time passes between visits, there are things that look familiar and feel familiar and that’s very comforting. It’s nice seeing friends that you’ve known since grade school and just picking up right where you left off. Being home was hard too because it meant being privy to some relationships and dynamics that are evolving and changing. Although I’m sure everything will be OK once the dust settles, it hasn’t yet, and that unsettles me.

At any rate, one of the more interesting events while I was in Manila was all the ritual surrounding my Angkong’s wake and burial. Angkong was Buddhist, but none of the rest of us practice Buddhism to the extent that he did, so the family actually had to consult with friends and monks from the local temple to see to the ceremonies and sundry “props”. It was all very, umm, interesting. I started telling some of y’all about it, but figured that pictures would be easier -

An exquisitely decorated paper house - so Angkong has someplace to live in the next life

A paper airplane - to herald Angkong’s arrival. Note Angkong’s picture on the side of the plane, and also the bags of paper money in the background, so your loved one has money to spend in the next life.

There are more pictures here. There’s still a number of stories and impressions I have from that trip which I hope to post in bits and pieces over the next few days. Before work stuff totally overwhelms me.

 

super quickie

Popping in to say hi and to thank y’all for your kind words and wishes.

Still here in Manila. The trip back was a butt numbing 27 hours. Internet access has been sporadic because my dad’s place is a technological wasteland. This is after all, the very same dad who refuses to learn how to use email and still prides himself on owning a working rotary phone. I have taken to hanging out at the local Burger King when I can for the wifi access. Hee.

Angkong was laid to rest this past week. During the wake, I discovered many awesome things about him. Like how he used to be hotshot basketball player, and how he was an apprentice Chinese medicine herbalist. The wake was a rather long one, because even in things like death, there is feng shui to be considered. And Buddhist rituals to be performed. Some of which made us seem like crockpots to the untrained eye (and ear). Like the non-stop chanting and the paper house and airplane. Details will have to wait until later, I’m afraid.

Most common things said to me so far - (Chinese in italics, as usual) -
“My, you look fat!”
“You’re a PT? I’ve got a pain right here! What do you think it is?”
“I’m surprised you still know how to speak Chinese! I thought maybe you’d become an American idiot!?”

It’s been good to see the fam and catch up with old friends though. It feels like everything has changed and nothing has changed.

 

bittersweet

My Angkong (grandfather) passed away the other day. I’m flying back to Manila tomorrow morning - the soonest I could wrap up work odds and ends. He was the only grandparent I had left. He tolerated all of my quirks and sarcasm with an affectionate shrug when everyone else in the family were raising their collective eyebrows. When I was younger, we spent many happy hours watching basketball on TV, screaming at the referees for real and imagined bad calls. I will miss him so much. I’d already planned to spend the holidays in Manila anyway (where many members of my itinerant family still live), but this homecoming will be bittersweet.

 

containment unit

Usually for Thanksgiving, I get to stay in the home of one of Nana’s awesome friends who happen to be out of town for Turkey Day. In exchange for a soft, warm bed, their pets get fed, the plants get watered and the mail gets brought in.

This year, I trudge up to our usual sleeping place, open the door, and lo! A gigantor cage is sitting in the middle of the living room. A cage that pretty much blocked the way into the rest of the house. Turns out, the lovely lady who graciously shared her home with us recently adopted a retired racing greyhound. The greyhound was being boarded while the homeowner was out of town. Soo….an empty gigantor cage + handy digital camera + bored “kids”…

 

tangled

Five easy steps to a tangle - a tangled yoke cardigan!

Pattern: Tangled Yoke cardigan by Eunny Jang, Interweave Knits, Fall 2007
Yarn: Artfibers Nirvana, color #9 (undyed), every last bit of 2 cones (about 1200 yards). Size 5 Denise interchangeables for the body, size 3 and 1 straights for the neckband and buttonbands.

Not a lot of modifications for this project. I lengthened the body by a couple of inches and the sleeves by an inch. I also added an extra button. The buttons I used were these coconut buttons I found at Jo-Ann’s on sale. I loves them! The yarn was undyed Nirvana, a yummy silk/cashmere blend I purchased at Artfibers in San Francisco. It’s a bit hairy, but super soft. I think the undyed yarn sort of tarts it up a bit too. Although the cardi is totally wearable as is, the buttonbands pull just a bit. I may add some grosgrain ribbon to it later to stabilize them.

Can I just join the knitting masses in saying how much I enjoyed knitting this? Miles and miles of stockinette stitch notwithstanding, the finished sweater is totally worth it. It fits like a dream! This makes the second consecutive garment I’ve made that fits well, which totally boggles my mind. I may be anal in some things, but swatching and pattern reading are not those things. I’m almost afraid of what the knitting gods have in store for their future amusement.

 

in denial

I suppose it was inevitable. The first snowfall.

I have it in my head that the first snow of the season should be pretty. Beautiful white flakes quietly falling from the sky and lightly settling on the grass and trees.

Instead this morning it snowed. And sleeted. And hailed. All at the same time. With a vigorous serving of lightning and thunder on the side. Complete with power outage.

Bah! I’m not ready to be c-c-cold yet!

Might be time to whip up some hat and mittens.

 

three cheers

I. My friend Lisa got married! I made a quick trip to Houston for the occasion. She looked gorgeous, the ceremony went off without a hitch, and the wedding banquet - OMG, I could sing praises for a long time about the food. Mmmm…..

Lisa (in red), Felix and Sandra (Lisa’s sister). The women are wearing the chi-pao, a traditional Chinese dress for special occasions, like weddings!

Lisa and Felix chose to have a traditional Chinese wedding banquet, which involves multiple courses. This was the first time many of the people at our table had ever partaken of a Chinese wedding banquet - I had fun “translating” what were in the yummy dishes. Fortunately, everyone at our table were good sports and refused to be cowed by my sometimes rather, umm, interesting descriptions of the ingredients. More photos here.

the lobster of happiness - mine, mostly

II. I got to hang out with the Houston gals!

Kelly and I took a trip to Twisted Yarns, where a skein of scrumptious Mad Tosh yarn (so soft!) fell into my hands and refused to return to the shelves. I’ve been hearing plenty of wonderful things about this yarn all over the blogosphere. What kind of knitter would I be if I left that poor skein of yarn back at the store?!

Madeline Tosh in Robin’s Nest

I also got my twisted (violently!) by Kelly and managed to take a skein of Wollmeise yarn off her hands. Can you believe how rich the color is?

Wollmeise in Farn - dark

There was a trip to Chinatown with Amy, Liz and Susan (with Brian in tow). Not only did they allow me to order for them at the restaurant, they also allowed themselves to be dragged into the Asian market with all its, umm, exotic treasures.

Doesn’t look like any bird I’ve seen

III. Look at what I got in the mail the other day -

Isn’t it cute? The project pouch is the work of the lovely ladies at Piddleloop. For the longest time, I’ve been looking for an excuse to purchase their stuff. Then I saw the cute owls on their Etsy store and found my excuse. They also sent along some extra goodies - these cute stitch markers and sheep-y tags. There was candy too, but that ended up in my tummy lickety split.

 

business as usual

Back from a quick trip to San Francisco for more aikido goodness. I had a great time; it’s always a treat to train with Kato Sensei and other high level aikidoka. All that hitting and rolling and pounding is plenty exhilarating (and cathartic) even though I always come back from these trips with a bunch of bruises.

Apart from the aikido, there are some things that always seem to be constants when I make my way to the Bay Area -

A protest. I would expect no less as this was in front of an armed forces recruiting office. I sort of dig the orange jumpsuits.

street art in downtown Berkeley

having a good time with the Okester

the ugliest and cutest dog in the world

Something that’s out of the ordinary -

I started my first lace project! Hanami, out of some Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud that I had languishing in the stash. I’m only on the basketweave portion, but I’ve already figured out that I can’t do more than a few rows each time. All those yarnovers and ssk’s take a fair amount of concentration on my part, plus I’m not so used to reading knitting charts yet, so it’s a little slow going. Someone please tell me it’ll get easier