Thanksgiving week

School's out this week, kids are so bored--waking up and going to bed watching TV or playing the  computer.  Weather finally turned to resemble that of winter.  I started digging out turtlenecks and thick sweaters. It really is quite cold. Anthony has runny nose, but Stephie is holding out quite well.

Kids are starting to speak English to each other more than we like.  We need to figure out ways for them to practice their Mandarin.

Thanksgiving week

It's the first day of Thanksgiving week.  I slept in till 9:00 this morning.  Kids were all freshened up and changed when I came down

I fixed breakfast and tidied up the kitchen, and totally forgot about my dance class.  I guess it's ok, it's feasting season and a couple classes are not going to make that much difference.

Kids had their crazy hair day last Fri., and this is what they looked like.

Kids started golf this week

Both kids started golf group lessons this week. This is the Titleist Junior Program at Grand Del Mar. They seemed to enjoy it, especially Anthony. He gets overjoyed at the mention of golf.  They will get assessed this morning for placement.

Fifi stayed overnight at friend Athena's birthday slumber party last night. This is her second sleepover. Last time was at Mimi's awhile ago.

We threw a surprise wedding party with church choir for Hans and fiancée Ya-Wen at Mom's last night.  The couple was surprised all right . Mom was happy with how well it went.  I spent the afternoon cooking up a storm and came up with 6 dishes.  The kitchen was a mess.

Burnt toast.

Sarah

A cup of my favorite tea--Earl Gray--in my favorite cup.

Night lights of Taipei

It poured all day yesterday.  Our good friend (kids' 乾爸) Calvin took us to his office, where I scored half a dozen clothing samples.  I felt totally accomplished!

We had dinner with my cousin, who I used to play with in my younger days.  She's still loads of fun to be with.  We got to laugh out loud again like we used to.  Her girls are now 18 and 16.  Amazing how time flies.

View from rooftop of Shangri-La

The grandeur of Taipei 101

... against the mountains

An exciting evening at the Dream Mall

What a wonderful evening we had.. our last night in Kaohsiung.  My cousin treated us to the same teppanyaki we went to at Dream Mall the first day I arrived in town... with abalone, shark fin soup, lobster, steak, etc.--local delicacies found only at very special meals.  I had to take a break to the restroom halfway through dinner.  Kids impressed the host by finishing adult portions.

There happened to be an outdoor hip-hop dance competition this weekend at the mall.  We were escorted by 2 stern looking gentlemen in full suits to the VIP seats behind the judges next to the sound booth.  I was excited to see some dancing and listen to some heart-pumping music.  This is definitely one of the highlights of my trip. Too bad kids were tired, otherwise I would have stayed all night.

Dream Mall center atrium

Hip hop competition at outdoor plaza

2 more days in Kaohsiung

We took a train ride to Chia-Yi to pick up PJ's and Stephie's glasses today.  It was fun for the kids  as they got a good look at the scenery on the way and enjoyed their favorite seaweed wrapped rice balls during the trip.  Stephie loves her new Hello Kitty glasses.

PJ had some business to take care of in Taichung.  Kids and I took a good walk around the area.  We were going to have dinner at my cousin's steakhouse, but found out she and her original crew were working at her new Japanese restaurant tonight.  We decided to walk another 15-20 minutes there so I could see her before we leave town.  Walking alone with kids in streets crowded with cars and scooters was somewhat of a challenge for me, but it was worth the trip because it was, as always, great to see my cousin again.

I picked up a flyer of a hip-hop dance studio during our walk and thought about checking it out after dinner, but forgot where it was located.  Maybe tomorrow.

My cousin, at her new restaurant

Scooters--one of the main transportation here.

View from our place

To the north..

..and south (on a cloudy evening)

Afternoon tea with cousins

I had a great get-together with my lady cousins this afternoon.  These are my Mom's 2 older sisters' daughters, who are 5 to 15 years my senior, one of them I haven't seen in 20 years.  They're a lot of fun to be with and just as beautiful and graceful as I remembered them.

Cafe Brunch Tuesday

9:15 AM: Stephie and I are at Cafe Brunch, one of my favorite spots, again.  I get to enjoy a sumptuous but healthy breakfast--some greens, hard boiled egg, breakfast rolls, and ham with a carafe of lavender mint tea.  It's quiet here, secluded from the hustle and bustle outside.  I love the light jazz in the background too.  Stephie will finish her homework while savoring gourmet cookies and yogurt drink.

At 10:30, I'll swap kids--pick up Anthony and drop off Stephie at the same classroom.  Then Anthony gets to kill the next hour and a half with me at the cafe.

88節

Yesterday was Sunday, also the local Father's Day.  Kids spent most of the day watching TV and finishing up their homework.  We toured some new areas of the city (博愛區農16, 美術館區) briefly before heading to Dream World to celebrate Father's Day at  海王子.

As usual, kids got to play in the arcade before dinner.  They've racked up enough points to score some decent prizes.  We'll go there one more time to take care of that before leaving Kaohsiung.  I picked up a couple cookbooks at the huge and fancy bookstore in the mall. One can kill hours easily perusing the material in there.

I ate so much I felt awful afterward. I wonder how girls here stay so slim living in the temptation of great food everyday.

The city I grew up in

I grew up in Kaohsiung, but never took the time to really appreciate it.  As we were driving in the city a couple nights ago, I tried to capture some night scenes and noticed how a simple bridge overpass gracefully elevated above the street and lowered back.  It made a beautiful composition as the colorful signs that lined the sides blended with the busy but uniformed car lights on the bridge.  I lived here 32 years ago and still think this is my other home.

I bought an old fashion rice cooker 大同電鍋.  My last one broke years ago, since then I've gone modern.  It's a stable in every Chinese kitchen though, so I've got to have one to feel like a serious cook.  I'm sure I'll find good use for it.

We drove to Tainan to look at some watches at a friend's shop.  Had dinner with PJ's colleagues from years ago.  It's been 10 years since I last saw them.

Got my eyes checked

Kids and I hung out at McDonald's and 7-11 this morning while Poj and my in-laws went for a check-up at the cardiologist.  We then headed north on a 1-and-a-half-hour drive to Jia-Yi to Poj's cousin who has a very successful ophthalmology practice there.  I was glad to hear that my eyes were fine and I haven't aged a bit. Yep..it was totally worth the drive, and I would go there anytime just to hear that. Ha!  Stephie has a tiny bit of astigmatism, other than that she checked out fine too.  Anthony is the only one in the family with perfect vision, but he insisted on getting checked so he could feel important too. He got a pair of cool sunglasses to go with the perfect report card.

I think we're going out for Japanese tonight.  I love eating out; food is so good here!

Dinner at my aunt's

Tonight we had dinner at my aunt's.  It's also the building I grew up in, where my family occupied the second floor and my uncle and another aunt each took another.  My aunt is now in her 80's and sometimes doesn't realize what she's talking about at the moment.  She's a very traditional Taiwanese woman, one who never steps outside the house unless she needed to.  She, together with another aunt who passed away years ago, raised my Dad who had lost his mother at a very young age.  She's always been like a grandma to me.  I'm glad she still remembers my name.

Cafe Brunch

Anthony entertains himself on iPod Touch at Cafe Brunch (free Wifi) after watercolor painting class on Tuesday morning.  Stephie is in a sketching class while PJ brushes up on his Japanese at a 3-hr class one block away.  I'm the only one without homework and projects.
The sun and heat is back after a few days of rain before my arrival. On Sunday, PJ, Anthony, and Dad took my brother Jeff and cousin Jim for a round of golf.  I don't know how they, especially Anthony, lasted through the hours in scorching mid-day heat and humidity.  Anthony was a sport, according to everyone, and tried his best.  No one complained about the weather.
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Sugar apple (?)

This is my favorite fruit 釋迦．I looked up online for its English translation, and it said "sugar apple" or "sweetsop".  It is nothing like apple and has it's own distinct texture and flavor -- sweet and fragrant.  My in-laws always pick out the biggest and best looking ones at fruit market for me when I visit.  Yum!

Dream World (夢時代)

 

We spent our Sunday night at Dream World.  It's a mad house in kids' arcade Tom's World, but kids love the chaos in there.  I am always wary of losing them in there.  They're so fast and busy between machines that they could easily disappear before my eyes.

We picked a Chinese restaurant downstairs at the food floor for dinner.  Pretty good, but nothing spectacular.  Kids had Cold Stone again for desert.  This is a great hang-out for families; it's the largest indoor shopping mall on the island.

Stephie and I had a haircut in the morning at a salon right downstairs in the same building.  Haircare is such a breeze here as it costs only US$6 for wash and style.

2nd night - local seafood with cousins

星期六：三舅請我們到東港吃當地海產，真好吃．螃蟹味道太棒我吃了好幾隻，連炒麵炒飯都特別香．

Susan 和家人例行週末都回高雄，小朋友們玩的很開心．今是 Amanda 八歲生日，三妗買了個蛋糕我們飯後和他們一起慶生．

Dinner at 海王子 with cousins the first night

還沒抵台灣淑美姊就已安排好第一晚與姊夫在海王子的 teppanyaki 晚餐．豐盛大餐後又到樓下參觀Open-Jiang 商店及餐廳．之後到 Cold Stone 吃美國吃不到的 banana and nuts ice cream in a waffle bowl.

用餐到一半，時差突擊，不過還是撐過去了．

Taoyuan Int'l Airport

Finally arrived in Kaohsiung after a day of travel.  I got to relax a bit in Taipei with a little shopping, also sat down at the food court and had a bowl of ramen.  I was tired.
Kaohsiung is not as hot as I anticipated, thanks to a few days of rain prior to my arrival. We didn't have to use A/C last night, although I really preferred conditioned air.  Air is heavy here with the humidity.

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LAX

I'm at the Red Carpet Club in LAX waiting for my flight to Tokyo, then Taipei, then Kaohsiung.  Stopovers are not so bad with Wifi and 3G.. thank goodness for technology. I'll have plenty to do in-flight as well with my Kindle - what a traveler's delight.
Good thing I got over the sniffling and coughing, or else I will really freak out some neighbors on the plane.  Feeling pretty good and ready to go.
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Sushi Ota

Having a nice dinner with my mom at the sushi bar.  Ota-San isn't there.. next time I'll have to make sure I go only when he's working.  He's so much better.
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Dinner at Katsu-San

With Al, who just got promoted to directorship, the night before leaving to Taiwan.  Got kids' iPod Touch charged, synced and ready for the next 5 weeks.
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My breakfast

This is one of my favorite combos - multi-grain bread and Brie cheese, plus a hot cup of English tea.
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Set up mobile blogging

I want to get this all set up before the trip in hopes that I'll get to use my Nexus One with a local SIM.  Kids' stuff is organized and ready to be packed.  Already missing them.

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