.: Raging Headache :.

today i woke up to the sound of pouring rain. (i just sang that skid row song in my head). i love love love love to wake up in the early morning and hear the drops patter on the rooftop. puts me right back to sleep. but this morning, i laid there for awhile. why not, i gots plenty of time this week to contemplate and sleep if i so choose. i knew that a trip to Tokyo was not going to happen.

maybe tomorrow will be a warmer and sunny day for that.

until then, i started on another blanket and read about another 100 pages of my book. seriously, i hope the weather cooperates because i am in need of another book to read.

.: Just a Thought or Two :.

je pense parfois qu'il y a un enfer spécial et je suis dans lui. je suis venu à la réalisation que je suis incapable de l'aimer. c'est libérer plutôt et une pensée de soufflement d'esprit. il est ce qui est il. j'également ne l'aime pas quand elle me touche. je connais comme une mère qu'elle donne probablement juste hors de ces gestes affectueux sans pensée mais pour moi, je ne suis pas confortable, ni sont ils accueillent. sérieusement, que la baise était-elle I pensant rendant ce voyage si long ? je me demande hors de combien cela coûterait d'obtenir à un vol plus tôt ?

.: Second Day :.

the day dawned cold as shit. i had to haul ass out of bed and rush to the common room to get warmed up. i also had to convince bio mom to let me shower. apparently, it:s a family ritual to shower in the evening and she showed me last night. i think i did a sufficient job of hiding my ignorance of the japanese ways of bathing.

the way that it is set up in the house, the toilet area (which has an ass warmer!) is separate from the bathing area. there:s a tub full of hot water but that:s not where you bathe. you shower outside of the tub (?), soap it up and rinse... then you sit in the tub of hot water. when you:re done, you don:t drain. it:s for the next person to use so it:s important to be clean when you get in the tub.

i decided to forego the hanging out in the tub bit after my shower. i wasn:t sure who:d been in there before and i don:t think i like the whole idea of someone hanging out in my clean funk after. i:m sure they think i:m odd with my cleaning rituals or maybe lack thereof.

that whole episode reminds me of a book i read when i was 9 called A Jar of Dreams. of all the plot twists from that book, i remember the bathing one most.

anyway, i met my brother today. i think his name is Ken-something. he:s very shy, much more so than our sister. but again, we share the same dark complexion. he also looks more vietnamese than japanese.

if the weather is nice tomorrow and bio mom is feeling up to it, then we:ll hit Tokyo for hopefully some sights and just maybe a bookstore so i can stock up on some books since i do beleive this:ll be the only excursion out of Jiru for me.

i can：t believe i:m saying it but only 6 more days till i head home.

.: Official Meeting :.

i made it to japan ok. my punctuation may be off due to the weird keyboard they have in the house.

this will be a brief entry as i:m tired and i haven:t yet decided what i feel.

i:m actually not in Tokyo like i thought i would be. i:m in an area called jiru, which is about 1.5 hours away from Narita Int:l airport. we drove thru the countryside and let:s just say there were lots of rice paddies. i really am from the rice paddies.

i think i:m overwhelmed and non-medically in shock. i also think i was over ambitious with wanting to spend a week here. i won:t be posting any pix this week but i am slightly placated to know that i can still sign online.

i really could use a burger, a glass of wine and a cigarette right about now.

i met my sister today. she and i share the same dark complexion and height. she, however, has a rosy hue to her cheeks. i:m too beat to be jealous right now tho. i think i:ll be meeting my brother today. he works and lives in the city, and visits one day a week.

everyone seems very nice, like one who would treat a guest, which is in essence what i am. bio mom seems to have alot to say but my vietnamese is better than hers, so that basically means hers is atrocious. it:s hard for me to feel any kind of bond with someone i:ve only just met. i lived with peter for close to 8 years and i never felt any kind of bond with him, so i really do not think that any type of kinship or whatever could ever happen between bio mom and i. i:m sorry to disappoint buu in saying that but i am just not capable of that kind of emotional tie.

so this is slightly longer than expected, i think i:m just trying to avoid having to get up off this desk and interact. but i:ll end on a happy note. Harry Potter is on and it:s quite amusing to try to decipher what is being said since it:s dubbed in japanese. thankfully, i have an overactive imagination, despite having already seen the movie and read the book, i:ll just make up the storyline in my head.

sayonara bitches.

.: Where is Lan? Part iv :.

déjeuner avec mes parents et soeur. le restaurant était très occupé. la foule de déjeuner roulait dedans. aussi, c'était une allocation des places et une cuisine de modèle de hong kong.

.: Wet and Dreary Day :.

Good thing i did all my sightseeing earlier in the week because today was a doozy. cold and rainy. you know how in shitty weather people drive like ass and there's so much traffic because people are afraid of whatevers? it's like that here too. we were going to grab grub in the city but i ix-nayed that, i don't want to be sitting in the car for lord know how long, pissed at these people on my last night here. besides, there's packing to be done. also, we are not going out dancing tonight after all. my sisters are spared from seeing me bust this ass on the dance floor. they just don't know!

i'm off to the airport early tomorrow morning, my flight leaves at 9:30am. i'll be stateside in a week, try not to miss me too much.

au palais d'été. j'ai escaladé cette montagne pour me rendre compte seulement que nous ne pourrions pas entrer et tous les meubles avaient été passés à Taiwan de toute façon ou étaient en contrebande sous lock/key.

slight crafty break

i'm still doing crafty stuff. i started on a baby blanket, it'll be one in a series of summer baby blankets. the yarn is much lighter and i'll be doing a looser stitch. i bought some plush yarn from a local chinese vendor the other day and those'll go towards making matching scarves and hats for xmas. (i can't believe i'm planning for that holiday already!)

i have a candidate that has verbally accepted (thanks to Donna for helping with that!) and with that bonus, i am going to treat myself to a proper sewing machine and maybe some fabric so i can teach myself how to make simple little things, like bibs and nappies and oooh... maybe a baby tote, to create a complete baby package. hmmm... me thinks i have to consult with La Buutique ...

anyway, i don't have any new pix to post, but just wanted to let you know that i'm going to be off this specific blog for a minute. hopefully will have plenty to post when i return stateside.

till then, woh shin nee!

.: Where is Lan? Part iii :.

this was taken at the back entrance of the US Embassy. people were milling around waiting admittance to the VISA office. it warms me to know that they all feel how i felt when i went to their consulate office to apply for my vistor's VISA. except, i filled out the forms correctly and my process was much speedier than theirs.

*** also, for those of you who know who my mom is, can you find her? ***

.: Chillin before the big meet up:.

i remembered what else is slightly disconcerting about China: the rampant indoor smoking. specifically, the smoking at the mother effing table. bmore has been smoke-free all of five minutes and i'm already spoiled. last night at the duck restaurant, there was a guy at the next table smoking WHILE he was eating. i mean, he had a cig in one hand and chopsticks in his other and he was puffing between bites. DISGUSTING. and i know my evil looks were obvious, they're meant to be. so the guy effing had to know that i hated him. bama. i hope his food tasted like ass (and ash).

today, and probably tomorrow too, i'll be hanging out. i am so over the whole cultural thing and checking out the sights. i'm on friggin vacation and i feel like i've been full speed ahead ever since i stepped off the plane. mom is making some home cooking and i'm going to annoy the ever living shit out of my sisters. plus, i have laundry to do and i need to watch how mom packs my suitcases up avec all the crap i've accummulated in the last four days cus i'll be doing it again next week in japan, sans assistance.

i guess, for buu's reading pleasure, i ought to say that i am nervous about the upcoming jaunt to japan. it'll be like going to camp for the first time, minus the camp part but plus the first time part. i don't know what to expect. on top of that, i totally forgot to bring along my vietnamese-english dictionary. and i think i'm set with the whole excitment thing because just about everybody and their grandmother is excited for me. :) the only thing i'm really concerned about: does she have a hair dryer (the shorter tresses are so easy to maintain but i still do need to style this mane) and most importantly, does she have a coffemaker. i'm pretty beastly without my morning joe.

just a warning, i'll try to post something tomorrow night after i get back from a night of dancing with my baby sisters who are still in high school! (GASP!) i don't know just how tech advanced her house is and lord knows if i'll have access to the internet. so you might come along with me on this adventure or you might just get alot of reading when i get back, if i'm up to sharing.

good grief, i just had a thought. if i don't have the chance to sign on at all next week, i wonder if it'll feel like i'm missing an arm. eff it, i'm going to get a journal then.

.: Shopping and Ducking :.

i went a little ape today at the local malls. them vendors are so effing pushy, more so than those you come across in Tijuana trying to entice you to go into their seedy strip clubs. they know what to say and when to say it. one girl convinced me to buy 5 pairs of jeans: 3 Sevens and 2 Diesels. sigh. i'm going back tomorrow, for more Diesels and probably True Religion. i've gotten stuff for some friends already and quite a bit for myself. seriously, such a bama.

parents took me out to dinner tonight in the city. the first 3 nights here, mom wanted to basically stuff me with her home cooking, which was totally fine. but tonight, we had crispy duck wrapped in pancakes. it was yum-o!! slightly on the greasy side. one of the things i noticed tho was that they did not serve any of the entrees with rice. so that was a bit disconcerting.

what's also disconcerting to me whilst riding around in the city:

1. the way they drive here. they do not adhere to any type of driving ettiquette. they turn in whatever lane they are in, regardless of incoming traffic or whoever is in the next lane.

2. jaywalkers. i shouldn't ever complain about baltimore jaywalkers because at least they know they're being complete assholes. here, they seem quite clueless about it all. whatever, within a week back, i'll be spewing verbal hate at them bmore jaywalkers and cappers.

3. their hair. seriously. some of them, it seems as though the stylist/barber lost interest in making the sides even so they just walked away and the person is left S.O.L. and the others, they sport the slightly crimped hair look... only it's not by actual crimper, it's by braiding your hair right after a shower and letting the hair loose after a few hours. yeah, that look.

that's all i can think of right now. my brain is pretty fried and i'm tired. i wish i had pix cus of some of the things i see are just so damn hilarious.

*** also a note to my silent fans of the WHERE IS LAN? alot of the pix are uploaded on another computer from another camera (i have a team of paparazzi that follow me everywhere) and i am just so frustrated with the internet line here and i lack the patience to deal with it all so i am skipping tonight. but i will have peter take even MORE of the crowd shots tomorrow... so WOH SHIN NEE! ***

.: Where is Lan? Part ii :.

too tired to properly post about my adventure at the the Great Wall. helping build that wall just totally took it out of me. unfortch for Un Notre Nom and Big K, no accidental bj pic for them to view today. plus, the likelihood of me snapping such a gross but hilarious moment again is very slim.

.: I scaled the Great Wall of China :.

it was a long and arduous walk... one studded with vendors calling out for my attention and then getting pissed at me for bargaining with them. bamas. i don't own a company or anything but i do know for sure that i wouldn't hire them as salespeople, they were mean and for a communist country, they all have highly capitalistic mentalities...

anyway, i'm super duper tired, and i think jet lag has finally caught up to me. it also takes effing forever to upload pix. bama internet.

.: Where is Lan? :.

at the Summer Palace Entrance ... (this might be easy...)

.: Adventures in Hair Cutting :.

yeah i finally did it ...

before ...

wash ...

fin ...

.: the Summer Palace :.

the Summer Palace was packed! and it was cold as brass balls.

air beanie

arrived safely to beijing. completed my first ever beanie hat thinger. much easier than i thought it would be.

.: Ni Hao Hooker .:

i finally arrived and the ride wasn't all that bad. in fact, i rather enjoyed it, if not for the baby screaming, random chinese people coming up to me and speaking in chinese. i had my own tv and of course they had a huge selection of movies and shows to watch. i watched the first two installments of the LOTR, again, and thoroughly enjoyed it. food was not bad, not great, but i certainly got a kick out of taking pix of them. i also managed to crochet a beanie. all in all, a productive well used 14 hours.

i heart jamie oliver... especially while i'm enjoying a dim sum breakfast ...

best part tho? being a diplomat's daughter. peter met me at the airport and i thought it was going to be after i cleared customs but actually, he met me before and i bypassed the whole waiting in line thing. wait in line? that's for peasants. i was rushed thru like royalty. well, not really royalty but i was rushed thru rather quickly.

take that commoners!

.: spend a penny on the toilet :.

i am now hesitating on entertaining the idea of hitting London anytime soon. my fellow Baltimore Broad Eva is moving there this year and i would've looooooved to visit during her stay there but....then i read this article: Ass Gets Bitten

seriously. wtf?

Happy St. Patty's Day and random updates ...

i woke up early this morning to have another go at Irish Soda Bread but a different recipe, it turned out much better this time around. i also finished a pig last night, to add to my stuffed animal friends collection.

and finally, jab met his new nephew last week. i had made Cole Thomas a baby blanket and stuffed pig. updated pic of his preciousness!

Crafty Bastards of the World Unite!

With the exception of going to soccer on Saturday afternoon, i did not leave my home all weekend. it was a perfect weekend for some craft projects before my vacation. my goal: to be a dork and create cards, bake, cook, sew and crochet. goal accomplished! :)


i made Easter/Spring cards. i made a flower stem stencil template and sponged the paint on. for the flower petals, i used bright buttons or cutouts left over from my scrapbooking projects. my "personal" note varied from a fantastic artist/storyteller Brian Andreas.

i continued working on a stuffed horse that i had started the night before while watching my saturday morning foodtv lineup. i also did the prep work for the irish dinner i wanted to put together for buu, who was visiting for the evening. on the menu: Shepherd's Pie (i only made the glazed carrot layer, no turnips) and Oatmeal Soda Bread. baker i am not, but the pie turned out yummy.




meanwhile, buu finished up on a bib before starting on an apron for me. i chose my fabric. of course, i wanted something sunny and springy. i chose yellow (go figure, right?) and also for the trim, a really pretty flower pattern. the apron turned out so pretty that we decided that there is no way i could get it dirty in the kitchen, i'd have to dry clean it!


she's my fave sweat shop worker ...




i completed the horse:



the body came out on the longer side ...

... and one of the legs is gimpy but the flubstuff amuses me ...


i hosted a knitting/crocheting playdate for the afternoon. just a small group of girls, yarn and talking. i learned how to crochet in the round and made a flower. now i just gotta figure out how to make the petals thicker. i hate reading the directions due to the abbreviations, so i just look at the pic and try to figure it out.


Noelle, Sarah and Kristen knitting... kinda sorta like a sweat shop line of knitters ... Noelle started on a bookmark, Sarah was working on a scarf and Kristen took up the knitting needles for the first time, aiming to make a hot pot coaster...


eve was the one who taught me how to crochet ...



i may make a go at soda bread again tonight, since i have a new hire orientation in the morning. or i'll work on a new stuffed animal or the baby blanket ...

Crafty Weekend ...

it cracks me up to think that i used to find ways to be OUT of the house when i was a kid. any reason at all to be with friends and NOT at home. now, it takes a lot to get me to leave my house. summers are hit or miss for me but when it's cold out, you'll usually find me in my jammies in my living room, either reading or watching tv and doing some crafty thing. this past weekend was no exception. Friday night, i did make it out to happy hour with my friend Shawn but i was home by 8. Shawn had gotten me a great crafty book, (as well as the 3rd installment of my girl Madonna's kids book The New Girl!) Sock and Glove and i wanted to get cracking. So my Friday evening was spent sewing, something i hadn't done since 7th grade home ec. Saturday and Sunday, i sped crocheted. JAB's sister had a baby boy in late January, Cole, and he's visiting them on Wednesday. i wanted to finish up the baby blanket i had been working on for a few weeks. So, for baby Cole, i completed my first proper Lil' Rice Cake baby package. Since he was born late January 2008, he's considered to be in the Year of the Pig, so for my first sock/glove project, i made a pink pig.



For the blanket, i used 3 skeins of pale yellow/vanilla baby soft yarn. i crocheted in half double stitch. for the border, i used a pale blue baby soft yarn in double stitch. naturally, i believe in flubbing, and if you look real closely, towards the end of the blanket, i lost a few stitches at the end so i had to make up in the last few lines. it's slightly uneven but whatevs.



For the pig, i used a pair of hot pink fleece gloves. Walmart is having a huge sale on winter items so i did go a little ape on the gloves but they're mostly boring reds, blues and blacks. no patterned ones. i may have to order those online now that most stores are selling Spring and Summer stuff.



it took me about 4 hours to complete the pig, mainly because i was watching tv, eating and reading and then re-reading the directions. i only had a pair of pink gloves, i didn't want to eff up. overall, i accomplished alot that night: i watched two movies (Invincible and The Lover), cleaned, tried a new chinese delivery service (i won't be ordering from them again, bunch of bamas!) and sewed a mini-stuffed animal.

the finished product:

Height Happy Birthday Cake

it was JAB's bday last week and in true Angry Asian-obnoxious fashion, i tried to stretch it out for the week. i met him at his pool league thinger after my volleyball game, took him out to dinner at Ruth Chris, we had a birthday bash at a bar in Federal Hill AND i decided to bake him a cake. i'm not a baker, Kelcy is the the one who fiddles around with flour and measuring cups in our relationship. i hate dealing with exact measurements and inflexibility of the some of the ingrediates. besides, i just don't know if Baltimore is big enough for another baker when we've already got Duff of Ace of Cakes.

i got the recipe from Barefoot Contessa's Ina Garten. i watched the eppy where she made this cake and it was so cute. Recipe for Height Happy Cake .

i baked the cake Thursday night. i'm not cool like kelcy and i don't have a red kitchenaid mixer, i just have a rinky dink handheld mixer. in fact, so rinky dink that it broke mid-mix. i had to haul ass to cvs for a replacement mixer, in the cold, late in the evening. on top of that, grandma in cali decides to call and chat about my upcoming trip to asia. cute, really cute. but my new $10 mixer is pretty good tho!

Dinner was Friday night so Saturday, i spent the day making the icing and cleaning. my initial goal was to make the icing as smooth as possible but then i realized that that takes a lot of time and effort, both of which i lacked.

when i stacked all the layers and iced over them, rather sloppily, i tooled around with the pampered chef icing contraption. just four rings of flowers seemed easy and pretty enough. that was that.