Fire Hazzard

....and that's why people usually just go with the numbers, at this stage in life....

Absolute highlight of my day so far was having my favourite four-year-old sing "Happy Birthday Auntie Fiona" to me :)

Thank You, America

The world is celebrating with you tonight.

I hope that everyone now works towards defusing the anger, the acrimony, the animosity, that have been incited during the campaign, so that this man, and his family, are kept safe.

Thanksgiving

I've committed myself to cooking my first Thanksgiving Dinner, this year. One of the benefits of being married to an American. I've never cooked a turkey before and ,while the whole prospect of being responsible for such an important meal isn't horribly daunting, it IS a first and I'm quickly finding that there are a lot of American dishes, or American adaptations of dishes from other countries, which I know nothing about.

To wit, Steve and I had an interesting discussion today on the subject of 'Goulash', to find our concept of that particular dish is worlds apart. I grew up with Hungarian Goulash while he grew up with Hamburger Goulash. I asked him what he'd like for dinner and he said Goulash, so I was mentally preparing a paprika-based stew with chunks of beef and to be served with tagliatelle or some other egg noodle (which is what my mother always used instead of the traditional egg dough 'pinches'). I didn't realise until later, that Steve was concocting a vision of a dish based on ground beef into which macaroni is added and it all cooks up together. So, I'm going to try to whip up something similar to his version, tonight.

I realise that Thanksgiving Dinner is not too far distant from a Christmas Dinner - what with the turkey and veggies and cranberry sauce even - but there are some very key things that seem to make Thanksgiving Dinner just that, and not a fore-runner to Christmas Dinner.

Anuja is providing use of her oven (I don't have one) and the space to entertain family and friends. I've volunteered to do most, if not all, of the cooking so if anyone out there has something very typically eaten at an American Thanksgiving Dinner, please could you shout out. One thing though, I'd really rather NOT prepare any dish that incorporates marshmallows. Just saying!

Thanks everyone.

MIA

Oh dear, I have been ominously silent, haven't I? I've been missing, and definitely getting action.

Nothing to worry about, balancing work and my new role of full-time wife is just about taking up all my time. You'll all be glad to know I've taken working hours down to 12-13 a day now but the end result is a desk which looks like a bomb has hit it, and no way to find any time to get re-organised.

We're so enjoying the fact that we don't have to keep saying 'goodbye' at airports, and waking up to each other every morning. I'm not saying there haven't been a few 'moments' as we settle in with one another, but I believe we have what it takes to grow old together. Cuddling into that man as I fall asleep, will always be the most wonderful feeling in the world.

This evening, we're off to Macau - we cut our time away short as Linkin Park cancelled due to someone hurting his back, but Cirque

is on for tonight! So we'll be on the Cotai Jet

at 6pm and sitting in the theatre by 8pm. Then two nights at The Venetian

and some lovely spa treats booked for tomorrow. I doubt we'll even leave the resort as there's so much to see and do - and so many places to eat. I want to try Fogo Samba, a churrascaria (Brazilian barbecue steakhouse)

where you can feast on unlimited amounts of freshly barbecued meats brought to the table on skewers and carved right onto your plate. Did I mention that this is unlimited? Steve and I do love our meat!

Well, back to work, I have to sign off payroll before I leave in a few hours, or else noone will get paid on Friday. And that would make me VERY unpopular with everyone.

Happiness and the Har Gau

Happy is what I am, what we are. And everyone is remarking on how different I look since Steve arrived. I believe it's true, that my happiness bubbles up to the surface and reveals itself in my face. There's just no hiding pure joy.

We've been busy, soooooooooo busy. Getting out and about, visiting with friends, exploring old haunts and discovering some new ones. The week I took off was wonderful, just absolutely wonderful, and it was difficult going back to work. Luckily this week has been a short work-week (Wednesday was a holiday) and next week will be another short work-week with Tuesday off. We're just simply delighting in each other.

And now for the har gau. Classical steamed shrimp dumplings. My love's favourite dim sum dish and he can't get enough of these little parcels of goodness. In fact we're off for some more today at lunchtime with Anuja. I let him have his fill of har gaus while I consume entire platefuls of cuttlefish tentacles. For some strange reason, he's not tempted to partake of my favourite dish. I can't, for the life of me, understand why. Can you?

Dolphin Rings

As I pack up at work and venture off towards the airport, I'm leaving something beautiful to head up my blog while I'm away.

This video is of dolphins playing with rings which they have the ability to make under water to play with.

It isn't known how they learn this, or if it's an inbred ability. As if by magic the dolphin does a quick flip of its head and a silver ring appears in front of its pointed beak. The ring is a solid, donut-shaped bubble about two-feet across, yet it doesn't rise to the surface of the water! It stands upright in the water like a magic doorway to an unseen dimension.

The dolphin then pulls a small silver donut from the larger one. Looking at the twisting ring for one last time, a bite is taken from it causing the small ring to collapse into thousands of tiny bubbles which head upward towards the water's surface. After a few moments the dolphin creates another ring to play with. There also seems to be a separate mechanism for producing small rings, which a dolphin can accomplish by a quick flip of its head.

An explanation of how dolphins make these silver rings is that they are"air-core vortex rings". Invisible, spinning vortices in the water are generated from the tip of a dolphin's dorsal fin when it is moving rapidly and turning. When dolphins break the line, the ends are drawn together into a closed ring. The higher velocity fluid around the core of the vortex is at a lower pressure than the fluid circulating farther away. Air is injected into the rings via bubbles released from the dolphin's blowhole. The energy of the water vortex is enough to keep the bubbles from rising for a few seconds of play time.

*chirp* *chirp*

It's going to be quiet enough to hear the crickets sing around here for the next 10 days - Steve arrives tomorrow night and I'm taking a week off work. That's if I get through everything today and tomorrow. I have a huge incentive to make it happen, getting time with my husband.

Yipppeeeeee, finally we get to be together properly. No more goodbyes at airports, no more "I love you"s over the phone, no more constant texting, no more aching for each other, no more wishing and hoping we could be together.

The 19th of September will become another anniversary we can celebrate in all the years we have ahead of us.

The Sky is Falling

Lehman Brothers. Merrill Lynch. As familiar as Coca-Cola and McDonald's. And now, suddenly, no more. It's scarey, sobering stuff. Nothing is sacred.

And while the sky might not be falling, literally, our world has changed in the last couple of weeks and the effects of what has happened in the US are far-reaching. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers, AIG. It's not over yet.

Our company stock fell just shy of 15% since Friday (our markets were closed yesterday for the Mid-Autumn Festival). It will have an effect on us, though our company has a very long-range vision and it will not, most likely, mean cuts just yet. Personal investments are dropping like a stone and what used to be 'enough' as savings, no longer is. There is unknown territory ahead.

The Treasury and Federal Reserve have taken on some weighty issues. More than ever, more than a month ago, the US needs a government in place which can understand and come to terms with what has just happened.

How do my American friends feel about all this? Do you think it will influence the selection in any way? And what does everyone else think?

Nothing From Me, But Don't Miss Maria's Post

I don't have anything to say today, but please do go over and visit Maria and read this post.

I dare you NOT to laugh out loud!!

My Boy

Update : A few of you have asked how long it will be before my boy can join us in Hong Kong. Well, unfortuantely, the Canary Islands are classified as rabies-infected and Hong Kong is rabies-free. Therefore to land my pets from Tenerife, would mean four months of quarantine here, even though they have had their rabies vaccinations every year.

The alternative, and the one I am currently exercising is to have them travel to the UK on the EU Pet Passport scheme. This involves a six-month process in Tenerife whereby they do blood tests and repeat them until they are given a clean bill of health. They can then land in the UK without quarantine. However, to travel to Hong Kong after that, they have to have been in the UK for a further six months before they gain quarantine-free status on entering Hong Kong. While Rhona has bought into the six months in Tenerife (it started in August), I will have to find them a loving home for the six months in the UK, from February to August. Basically I'm looking at just under a year right now.

The option, for quarantine in Hong Kong, worries me as I've never put an animal through that and I'm not sure how they would survive it. I'd visit every day, of course, but it would probably break all our hearts, having to walk away every day for four months. I've also heard that the quarantine kennels in Hong Kong are not the nicest places, so the 12-month route does seem to be the best for the two boys.

This picture says it all, when I think about how my boy misses me, and I miss him.

He's no longer allowed on the sofa (Rhona's b/f thinks it's not right - I however have a different take on things). This was the second day we were there, enjoying the apartment without Rhona and her parasitic partner. Steve and I sat on the sofa and right away, Lupo climbed up between us, settled down like this and promptly fell into a long, deep sleep. I swear there's a smile on his face in that picture. This wasn't about him trying to come between Steve and I as, later that day, he positioned himself towards Steve and snuggled into him, sharing his love with both of us. Not to be outdone, you can see Toffee jockeying for a place and the late Sai-Loh already settled along my left thigh (his rear end is visible next to Toffee's head).

I saw in Lupo at that moment, an intense sense of peace, safety and comfort. He was home again, his real home, and I swear he was smiling. Rhona can say what she wants about animals not belonging on furniture - and that is a new thing she has bought into since the boyfriend came into her life, before then Lupo even had his own armchair as a bed instead of a thin blanket on the hard floor. When this dog, supposedly trained to keep off the furniture, climbed up without hesitation, to be close to me like this, that is his heart speaking. And his heart speaks so clearly to me, as it has always done.

He and Steve took to each other right away and I'm so happy about that. I can't wait to have Lupo with us. And on the furniture if that's where he feels most loved.

19 September 2008

My life and Steve's life, our life, will change forever on that date. He's arriving at 10:15pm. Finally, we shall have togetherness on a 24/7 basis, rather than as it has been, on a text/phone/email/trip basis.

A large bookshelf and six-drawer bureau have been purchased, just for him. I need to clear some hanging space in my wardrobe this weekend. Our first shopping trip will be to buy a new bed, our bed. And in a couple of months, when my lease is up, we'll be looking for an apartment with more space and an extra bedroom for when his boys visit.

Steve has a very tough couple of weeks ahead and an especially hard day, on the 18th, when he flies out to his new life in Hong Kong. I wish we could have everything we want, everything everyone wants, but right now this is what we need, to be together.

Are we excited about this? You can bet your sweet bippy we are!! Oh wow, just oh wow :)

The picture is because.......we love pretzeling.

84

That is the somewhat intimidating number of hours I worked from Monday through Saturday, last week. I am hoping that was hell week and things get a bit better from now on. Yesterday I worked just shy of 14 hours and I actually felt like I was going home early, at 8:30pm, having been there since 6:45am. I just wish we operated a compressed work week - that would have given me this whole week off, from the hours worked last week. Though chance would be a fine thing!

Even working all those hours, I found myself in the midst of a disaster zone by Friday evening. This was my work area - yes, there is a desk under there somewhere:

I hate, hate, HATE working like that. And when I took matters in hand on Saturday, I did find a couple of not too pleasant surprises - Monday deadlines I didn't know I had. Well, I applied myself, got the necessary done and then spent a good long while organising myself. This is how I left my desk and I was a much happier person for it:

It was a joy to come in on Monday and (a) be able to find anything I wanted and (b) finally get some working room back on my desk and its surrounding area.

Half the battle is being organised. The other half is just getting it all done once it's organised!

Interestingly Accurate

I saw this on Trueself's blog - if nothing else, do it to check out the amazing pictures used for the test.

Your result for The Perception Personality Image Test...

HFDS - The Coach

You perceive the world with particular attention to humanity. You focus on what's in front of you (the foreground) and how that is affected by the details of life. You are also particularly drawn towards the shapes around you. Because of the value you place on humanity, you tend to seek out other people and get energized by being around others. You like to deal directly with whatever comes your way without dealing with speculating possibilities or outcomes you can't control. You are highly focused on specific goals or tasks and find meaning in life by pursuing those goals. You prefer a structured environment within which to live and you like things to be predictable.

The Perception Personality Types:

Compared to other takers
35/100 You scored -1 on HumanityToNature, higher than 35% of your peers.
65/100 You scored 3 on BackgroundToForeground, higher than 65% of your peers.
13/100 You scored -1 on DetailsToBigPicture, higher than 13% of your peers.
73/100 You scored 6 on ColorToShape, higher than 73% of your peers.

Take The Perception Personality Image Test

Life as a Couple

In a matter of a few weeks, Steve will be here with me at last. Which means we will get to do lots of 'coupley' things. Like meals, movies, walks, visiting with friends, having quiet nights at home and so on.

We'll also get to do some of the more exciting things, like seeing these guys on October 21 in Macau:

I can't say they're totally my cup of tea, but armed with light ear plugs to alleviate temporary deafness afterwards, and the already-established promise of not being part of the mosh-pit, I'm all for it.

While over there, I'd like us to take in the new Macau-based Cirque show (Steve's first Cirque experience, my sixth):

I like the way there's one for him and one for me and we'll both enjoy them together.

As the concert and the Cirque theatre are at The Venetian in Macau, and I have a contact there who kindly gives me discounted rates for their suites, we have a fun-packed two-day mini-break already planned for October. I think there might be some time to enjoy some spa treats, too. I know that will definitely appeal to Steve, he's very partial to a good Lomilomi massage. I'll probably have a facial and pedicure, I don't like exposing the bits in between my head and my feet, to strangers.

I can't wait for my husband (my husband, oh how I love saying that and writing that) to get here. So we can do the little things together, as well as these big things. Not to mention, the intimate things. Something tells me that those will be a priority for us, for a long time to come.

Quiet Decisions and Noisy Indecision

I wonder, which is your comfort zone? Absorbing information, checking back now and then and making a decision. Or constant back and forth in indecision.

My sister is definitely the latter. I am definitely the former. It was decided that, as I had handled everything to do with sorting out all the paperwork and settling the estate, which included forking out not insignificant amounts of cash, firing the original lawyer/executor and finding an alternative solution to getting through probate, my brother and sister would take care of the sale of the house. Between them they have decided that she will take the easier part of cleaning it out and getting it ready for the sale. My brother will handle the sale, itself.

Months back, a neighbour of my parents, a wonderful woman, had offered to start clearing out the house (which Rhona was supposed to have done while she spent an extra week in Scotland after our mother passed away in January). I agreed to this but when my sister found out, she had a hairy. How could I treat Mum's things like this? How can I let a stranger go through her things? Well, I had done that because she had failed in her duty and had constantly told me she was too busy to go over there and do what she'd originally promised. This woman is utterly respectful of our mother and was like a daughter to her in the years after my dad passed away (she's my age). She was never too busy to visit with my mother, never too busy to cook for her, never too busy to help her out. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell my sister that she'd been more of a daughter than her own daughter ever had been. I bit my tongue instead.

So now, finally, Rhona is over there. The last time, she had her boyfriend travel over and they spent a week doing everything BUT sorting out the house. This time she is bringing another friend to 'help' her. And now the emails, text messages and even requests to call her, have started. What do I do with this, what do I do with that? Should I leave sheets and towels in the house? What about the heaters? Do I have to return the gas bottles? What about the kettle and microwave? The DVDs and books? Should I leave the bathmat in the bathroom? For each question I refuse to give her a definitive answer. Instead I try to edge her toward her own decisions. I know that's not what she wants, however.

I'm still not her 'friend', it will be a while before I can be that again as there is frost in the air between us. I'm her sister, yes, but it's time she didn't always rely on someone else to make decisions for her. Silly little decisions that she should be able to make as she took on a specific responsibility. The only one we've asked of her. This is just so indicative of how she leads her life. Relying on others to make decisions. And sadly, she does it so she can apportion blame, should the decision prove to be an incorrect one. I say this from 45 years of being her big sister and seeing her constantly rescued from her bad decisions. I played my part in aiding and abetting for too long.

I'm tempted to quietly decide and help her, but I know it's best for her if I just leave her to her own noisy indecision. Besides, they're both motivated by greed so I'm sure they'll get it done, in the end.

The Eye of the Storm

Is directly over me right now. We have our second highest possible typhoon alert up and it is dead calm outside. Not a leaf on the nearby trees is stirring.

Small though Hong Kong is, the storm managed to find us. Apparently, as it hovered over us, it 're-organised itself' as the observatory reported. Bringing the eye a few miles off from where I sit typing.

The winds will start back up soon and it will be my turn to feel them, so far I've been fairly protected. Meanwhile, sitting in this calm in the middle of a typhoon is a strange thing indeed. Nature is phenomenal.

Damn Right - We Don't Want Him Here Either

Update - The Telegraph online:

Gary Glitter arriving at Hong Kong airport and being greeted by immigration officials.

He has flown back to Bangkok airport after being refused entry in Hong Kong

Gary Glitter has been sent back to Bangkok airport and is likely to be ordered onto a plane back to Britain later today after China became the latest country to reject the convicted child abuser.

Thai officials are understood to have prepared deportation papers to eject Glitter following a frustrating standoff yesterday when he refused to board an onbound flight to Britain claiming ill health.

During the negotiations, which left Glitter sitting in the transit lounge in Bangkok for 20 hours yesterday, he was overheard saying: "I've been in jail three years. Now I want to do home shopping in Hong Kong."

On the Thai Airways Flight TG602 to Hong Kong he instructed cabin crew to arrange an escort at the other end and used the onboard phone to get a friend to book accommodation in Wanchai - the city's nightclub area. But upon arrival last night Chinese immigration officials refused him a visa. The former pop star fled to Hong Kong last night but was denied entry and returned to Thailand's main airport. At least 19 countries have now refused to offer him sanctury after he was deported from Vietnam.

Glitter refused Hong Kong entry - BBC News Report

Convicted paedophile and ex-pop star Gary Glitter has been refused entry to Hong Kong after being deported from Bangkok in Thailand.

Chinese authorities informed the UK Foreign Office they had barred Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, 64, after his arrival at 11pm local time (1600 BST).

Earlier he was deported from Vietnam after spending almost three years in jail for sexually abusing two girls.

He flew to Hong Kong from Bangkok after refusing to catch a flight to the UK.

He had boarded a Thai Airways flight to Chinese territory Hong Kong after Thai authorities refused him entry and threatened to deport him to Britain.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "It is a matter for the Chinese authorities to decide what action they take now."

Immigration police at Hong Kong airport said privacy laws meant they could not comment on Glitter's case.

He had earlier been barred from entering Thailand by immigration officials after he said he wanted to remain in the country or go to another Asian nation.

This was despite a plea for medical treatment as Glitter said he was suffering a heart attack.

Glitter sold millions of records as a glam rock star in the 1970s, with hits including I'm the Leader of the Gang.

Thai police had earlier told Reuters news agency they would be "deporting him to his home country, England, unconditionally".

The BBC's Jonathan Head says 19 countries have already said they would refuse Glitter entry.

The fact he has flown to Hong Kong is a blow to the UK authorities who want to get him home and on the sex offenders register, our correspondent says.

I think these [new paedophile controls] are sensible and proportional ways of toughening up what is already a very tough system.

If Glitter does return to the UK, he will be met at the airport by police and required to sign the register.

He will then be subject to monitoring and have to tell the police where he plans to live and if he planned to go abroad. He could also face an order prohibiting him from going near children or using the internet.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said on Tuesday it was her view that Glitter should be given a Foreign Travel Order (FTO) banning him from overseas travel.

Ms Smith has also announced plans to tighten controls on the movements of paedophiles.

Proposed measures include increasing the length of time an FTO can apply from six months to up to five years, and automatically confiscating the passport of anyone subject to an order.

At present, police are only allowed to rely on evidence from the previous six months about the risk an individual poses, but that time period would also be extended under the plans.

"I think these are sensible and proportional ways of toughening up what is already a very tough system. I think that's what we owe to children in this country and to children abroad," Ms Smith said.

The home secretary's announcement came after children's charity Ecpat UK accused the government of "turning a blind eye" to British sex tourists.

The charity said it was too easy for nationals convicted abroad to stay under the radar of British police upon their return.

For those who haven't heard of this scumbag, here are some highlights:

Gary Glitter is an ageing British pop star (from the 70s)

Arrested and imprisoned in the UK in 1999 after police found over four thousand child porn images on his computer when it was left for repairs at a local shop. Served two months of a four-month sentence and formally classified as a sex offender. Left the UK for Spain then travelled to SE Asia.

Evicted from Cambodia in 2002 after accusations were made that he had sexually abused girls as young as 10 - he said he had been "teaching them English".

Arrested in Vietnam for in 2005 for molesting two girls, age 10 and 11. Imprisoned in 2006 after being convicted of "committing obscene acts with minors". Released on 19 August 2008 and deported from Vietnam, supposedly to travel to UK but he landed in Bangkok and refused to connect to his London-bound flight. Instead, tried to enter Thailand - refused.

Flew to Hong Kong and tried to enter Hong Kong - refused. He's at the airport here now and says he wants to now fly to Singapore (yeah right!!) or Sri Lanka.

Another Big Blow

At 5pm on 21 August, the forecast is for a direct hit around 5pm tomorrow afternoon. Looks like we'll get the eye and no work tomorrow!



Update 21 August : Moving closer, potential for a direct hit.

Typhoon Nuri.

Well, here we go again, the third of the year. This one could be the worst yet, it's already at typhoon (hurricane) intensity and still has a lot of ocean to get over. On its present track it will be closest to us on Friday afternoon and it may actually pose a serious threat as it's still turning more westerly.

This may be the big one we've been waiting for, for several years now. Talk about great timing, though, the last equestrian event is tomorrow. That should be able to go ahead.

Fate...and Pretty Lights

Two years ago, almost to the day, I put up this post about my hometown. The first comment was from Steve, my new blog friend, and I added an extra photo just for him:

Steve said...
It sure is pretty! I love seeing the skyline at night!
Wed Aug 16, 11:37:00 AM HKT

Fiona said...
I do too Steve - I love going up The Peak - the mountain overlooking the city, and watching day turn into night and the lights all coming on.We have something quite unusual here, every night at 8pm, the skyscrapers take part in a light show...I'll see if I can find a pic and post it!
Wed Aug 16, 11:53:00 AM HKT

This was the picture:


Little could either of us have known back then that, on Sunday, 4 May 2008, he'd stand by my side, as my husband, and take his own photograph of the lightshow across the harbour:

Sustainability in Love

Love is expressed in so many ways. Some, big, some small. Some which pass by almost imperceptibly, some that scream out to the world.

I have taken some odd turns in trying to find relationships in my life. Reaching out to the wrong person in the mistaken idea that what I was being given, was love. And even experiencing flashes of true belief, that I was with the person I was meant to be with. I know he has, too. I also know that every step we took, every moment of being sure of someone and then being disappointed by them, has led us to where we are today, together.

And that those flashes were just that, unsustainable bursts of energy that were just a scintillation of our senses and nothing more. A connection that seemed true, that seemed real, that seemed what we needed and wanted. But, compared to what we are living today, they were flashes. Something that, for whatever reason, couldn't be sustained with that person.

Today, my husband and I stand closer than ever before. We love deeper than we ever have. We understand each other more and more every day. We appreciate each other. And we respect each other. And no matter what the flashes have been for each of us in the past with those other people, what we are living today is the real thing. True love that is hard sometimes, but which sustains our very existence and breathes life into us. I think of him, I hear him, I see him, I smell him, I taste him, I touch him and I am home.

Steve, when you read this, as you head eastwards from North California, just know how incredibly proud I am of you right now, and how I appreciate the investment you have made in 'us' over the past month. I love you with all my heart and soul, my cherished husband.