Thursday-Sunday, May 8-11

Thursday/Friday, May 8/9

Thanks to the power of blogging and a kind Chicago associate who used to work at Motorola, I found out that 3G is a cell phone related technology. Jeesh. You’d think they’d make these buildings earthquake proof ;)

Was trying to print something today and got this message from Microsoft "Ai-yaah!?". No kidding. What the heck is that?

What is this heavenly creation called lime soda? I ventured to someplace other than my standard two lunch destinations. Well, nothing on their menu was really working for me. Seems they like their pork here. So I picked the prawn and linguini Italian dish. Comes with tea or a lime soda. I opt for the soda. They don’t take credit cards but do take Octopus cards. Rock on – I’ve got one of those! It’s like a CTA/Metro card, except in addition to transportation you can also use it at McD’s, Starbucks and certain stores/restaurants. So I put my card on the scanner and stand there smiling proudly. She motions for me to really scan it this time, which I try and it beeps, showing that I’ve paid. Ok, off to wait for my number to be called. 211. It’s supposed to pop up on a screen and they call it out. Not on the screen yet. I see 210 and 213, so I must be next. Ok, now I’m just looking for anything they’re packing up as “to-go”. Ok, I see a soda. A bag of something. She’s calling out “chet yet yet” or something like that. My number is not on the screen “chet yet yet”. Hmmmm. I’m guessing “yet yet” could be “one one”. So I go up with my ticket and she gives me food. Genius!!

The Aqua Luna. Nick and Mary met me after work and we walked over to Pier 9 to find our boat. Our boat came sailing in, with the red sails. They helped us onboard and directed us to the upper level where there were lounging couches everywhere. We found a spot, ordered a round of cocktails/apple juice and sat back. A 45 minute tour on the harbor, with the skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island on one side and Kowloon on the other. So relaxing. So much so that Nick fell asleep halfway into the ride. Mary and I both agreed we’d do the tour again in a heartbeat.


Saturday, May 10

We made reservations for brunch at the InterContinental on Kowloon (10 minute ferry ride across the harbor), which is supposed to have spectacular views, especially at night. French toast with Nutella in the middle. I’m still thinking about that breakfast! We then hopped in a cab to the Jade Market. The first few stalls were fun, until you realized that every vendor had the exact same wares. I did get Shannon a present there – Oh Shannon. When you see it, you’re going to say “oh my gosh, oh my gosh! How did you know I wanted this?!”. Nick had enough excitement for the day and fell asleep in the market. We hopped back in a cab to the ferry. Mary saw us off and stayed on in Kowloon to do some shopping/museums. Nick and I hit the escalator home for some quiet time.


Sunday, May 11

Mother’s Day! We were supposed to go to Lantau Island to see the Buddha, but woke up to overcast skies and two very tired travelers (Nick and Heather). So Grammy headed out and Nick and I lounged for a while. Little man insisted on wearing his Spiderman outfit out, complete with mask. What’s a mom to do but agree? We finally headed out to lunch and decided to see a movie!

Movies. Ahhhh, many of you know my love of the movies. Dark. Quiet. Popcorn & soda. It doesn’t get much better. So I tried my hand at the automated ticket machine, but the touch screen wouldn’t let me get past “1:15pm show”. So we made our way to the ticket booth and ordered 1 adult, 1 kid to “What Happens in Vegas”. I know, I know. But that cute Cameron Diaz was a refreshing change for the slightly homesick. The ticket agent asked which seats we’d like. Assigned seating! We then made our way to the theater, where ushers were there to guide us to the large leather seats. My god. How can I go back to my dinky Davis Theater after this? Even AMC will look pitiful compared to this service! Nick usually falls asleep 20 minutes into movies, so thought he’d get a nap and I’d get a relaxing 1 ½ hours. Nope. 90 minutes of Nick asking “what happened?” and me whispering “they’re having a party” or “they’re mad at each other”. He fell asleep during the last 1o minutes. I made my way to the counter to pick up the checked in stroller (such service!) and heard a voice behind me saying “m’am” to find the usher there with our stroller waiting, just what I needed to lay down a sleepy Spiderman.