New Year’s Eve — Looking Back (ridiculously photo heavy)

Every year around New Year’s Eve, without fail I always hear someone saying how the year has just flown by (ok, I will admit that half the time it’s me saying it, but that doesn’t change things).  When I look back at 2008, while parts of it dragged by and parts of it flew, mostly I’m amazed at how much we were able to cram in one year.  Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever had a busier year.  So please excuse this rehashed highlights episode, but I’m going to take this moment to get all sappy and look back on what our year was like.

• If there was a defining theme for 2008 for me, it was Travel.  And we set the tone for the year early on in January with a quick trip to Singapore.  One of the highlights for me?  Taking Noah to the Singapore Zoo, which although it was unbelievably hot and humid, also gave me this moment where he got the crap scared out of him by a cheetah.  Mean, yes, but also totally funny:

This Is What Sadness Looks Like

Behold — an unfinished sweater (please ignore the wrinkles — this has been lying in a crumpled heap on my nightstand for a week).

Since it actually does get cold in HK (for about three months of the year) I needed a sweater. I couldn’t find one in the style that I wanted so I thought, “Well, dammit, I knit don’t I?” I found a great pattern too — extra big turtleneck (because my poor neck gets so cold), extra long (to hide my bulgy tummy), extra long sleeves (for pulling over your hands to protect them from super hot mugs of coffee) and best of all, the neck and body are knit in one piece which means very minimal seaming and finishing work (which has delayed several of my projects for months at a time).

I hit Cheer Wool, my favorite yarn store in Wan Chai, and carefully found the perfect yarn for my project — a supersoft merino wool and acrylic mix (merino wool for softness and warmth, acrylic for washability).  To be on the safe side, I bought every skein of the color that the store had left and immediately started work on it. I was hoping to have it finished before our Tokyo trip so for four days I worked on it continuously. The day before we were going to leave, I had one skein of yarn left and only one arm to finish.  Unfortunately, it turns out I didn’t have enough yarn.  I had bought about 300 yards more yarn than the pattern called for but apparently it still wasn’t enough.  I now have a sweater with one wonderful extra-long sleeve, and one gimpy sleeve that just barely goes past my elbow.  And because I bought the store’s remaining stock, it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to find more in the same color, let alone the same dye lot.  Sadness.

Of course there are ways around my problem — like shortening parts of the sweater, adding more shaping, or buying more yarn in a different color and adding stripes or something — but they all seem to involve having to go back, frogging the sweater and starting over from scratch.  And really, who has time for that?!  Ok, maybe I do, but it doesn’t mean I want to do it.  Anyway, until I work up the heart to start over, my sweater is in hibernation — taunting me with its unfinished arm.  I still have about two more months of cold HK weather so I guess I have some time.

Back Home and a Recap

This last week in Tokyo just flew by but for a change, Mark and I are actually glad to be back in the comfort of our home in Hong Kong.  Normally we come back hating HK for not being Japan but not this time.  Maybe it’s the fact that we still have Christmas presents waiting to be opened here or the fact that Noah has his own bed and will not be pushing me off the bed or digging his heels into Mark’s back in the middle of the night or maybe it’s because after two years, Hong Kong is finally starting to feel something like a home to us.  Whatever it is, we’re glad to be back.

Like the rest of our trip, our last couple of days in Tokyo were low-key and simple (excluding the allergy incident on Friday).  Jae and Dave needed to do some furniture shopping so Mark and I watched Nevan for them on Saturday so they could shop in peace.  The Oakwood was showing Shrek III in the resident’s lounge that morning and as soon as it was over Mark brought the boys back to our room where they immediately got to work fighting over toys.  Noah was on the tail-end of a cold and it turns out Nevan was just beginning to get sick which probably explains why they were both so grumpy that morning.  Mark and I tried reasoning with them (ha!) and then separating them but nothing was working so we figured the best thing to do was to get them away from any toys and put them on neutral territory, i.e. the Children’s Castle.  They still bickered during the entire 20 minute walk to the castle and then would only grudgingly acknowledge one another’s presence on the playground.  And speaking of bad playground behavior, here’s one thing I never imagined I would ever have to say, “If you can’t play nicely then you can’t play at all.  Now stop sitting on the other kids!”

Oh look! They’re getting along!

Whoops! Spoke too soon:

Cats, Tokyo-style

On Friday, Noah and I were on our own since Mark had to work the whole day. After piddling around the apartment for a good portion of the morning, we finally left after lunch to head out to Ikebukuro and visit the cat house, Nekobukuro. Many apartments in Tokyo don’t allow pets and in a city where buying a new cat can cost over US$1200, these cat houses or cat cafes — where visitors pay to hang out and pet cats — have sprung up all over Tokyo. Nekobukuro was the only one listed in my guidebook and despite the fact that I dislike Ikebukuro (nothing personal against the area, it’s due to a previous bad commuting experience back in April), I promised Noah cats so off we went.

After a short train ride, some bad navigation and getting a little turned around outside the train station, we finally arrived at Nekobukuro, which was located on the 8th floor of the Tokyu Hands store. I paid the admission fee and in we went. I know it sounds a little crazy to pay US$8 to go somewhere just to pet a bunch of cats — after all, in parts of China they’re considered food — but it seemed like a cute thing you could only do in Japan. Plus Jae’s crazy hairless space rats cats were leaving just a little to be desired in the animal-petting area.

There were actually quite a few people in the cat house when we got there. The cat house was a space consisting of three connected rooms — each complete with enclosed spaces for sleeping cats — and roaming freely were about eight beautiful, well-groomed short- and long-haired cats.

Christmas With Friends

After spending a full day Nevanless, Noah was a bit of a pain in the butt with his constant “Are we going to see Nevan now?” and “I want to see Nevan!” So I was determined that we would meet up with Jae & Co. at some point during the day. Mark had to work for part of the day so it was already mid-afternoon by the time we got to do a little window shopping along Omotesando street. After that, we headed over to Tokyo Midtown where we had planned on meeting up with Jae, Dave and Nevan and check out their Christmas lights display.

Nevan had a little present for Noah when we finally saw them that evening. In Jae’s infinite wisdom, she had bought the same toy for both Nevan and Noah so (in theory, at least) they wouldn’t fight over who got to play with which toy. After their little reunion, we headed outside to check out the Christmas lights:

A Very Merry Sumo Christmas To You!

Tuesday was the day that Jae, Dave and Nevan moved out of the Oakwood serviced apartments and into their real Tokyo apartment so it was up to me and Mark to keep a Nevanless Noah entertained for an entire day. We had originally planned on heading over to the Imperial Palace that day because it was the Emperor’s Birthday — a national holiday — and one of only two days of the year that they open the palace itself to the public. However one of Mark’s clients invited us to his home for a Christmas party that afternoon and we decided that sounded like more fun (and so much warmer) than standing outside in the cold in a long line with half of Tokyo to see someone’s big ol’ house. So after a leisurely morning back at the creperie, we hopped into a car and made our way to the party in Setagaya.

The chairman threw one of these parties every year. And every year, they spent a good part of the time pounding rice and then forming it into mochi (or rice cakes) in a traditional Japanese ceremony called mochitsuki. The cool thing about the chairman’s mochitsuki though was that he got a few sumo wrestlers to come over from their stable and do all the pounding. (And for those of you with really good memories, the chairman is the same one who invited us to the dinner back in April when I had a sumo wrestler for an eating partner.)

It was very cool getting the chance to watch the ceremony. The sumo guys would take turns pounding the rice with wooden mallets and later on, one of them would turn the rice with his hands in between poundings to a steady rhythm of pound — turn — pound — turn — pound — turn. There were a few moments where I was sure someone was going to lose a hand but they managed to keep pretty good time, occasionally breaking out into song to keep the rhythm.

The Nevan and Noah Show

As you probably already know, Mark, Noah and I are in Tokyo for Christmas this week. What you may not know is that by some freak chance, Mark booked us a room at the same serviced apartment that Jae, Dave and Nevan were staying at before moving into their real apartment. So for about three days it was all about the Nevan and Noah show.

On Saturday, we met up in the morning so we could let the boys wreak havoc on the unsuspecting patrons at the Starbucks down the street. Noah was pretty shy when he first saw Nevan and spent the first five minutes hiding between my legs, but he warmed up soon enough and he and Nevan picked up where they left off in Sydney back in August — with a lot of screaming, invitations to each other’s houses, and mischief in general.

Christmas Greetings From The Boy

Noah had his school Christmas concert on Wednesday.  I was afraid that he would get nervous and refuse to sing since he does sometimes refuse to perform on demand (the nerve!) but he did really well.  For a bunch of three to five year olds, they did pretty well with their repertoire.  They got through I’m a Little Snowman, Deck the Halls (in both English and Mandarin), We Wish You a Merry Christmas and I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas, including choreography.  Not bad.  Noah fiddled with his band aid a lot but I could see that for the most part he was singing and having a good time up on stage with all his friends.  Poor Noah still had a bit of blackeye left over from the previous weekend but at least he wasn’t the kid who fell off the stage.  Mark recorded the entire performance but we haven’t uploaded the video onto the computer yet.  Instead, I got Noah to give me a brief encore performance once we got home and here it is:

Apartments and Holidays and Phases, Oh My!

Apartments

When Obama won the election in November, Mark and I resolved to head to Washington DC in January to see the inauguration.  But as the expected number of attendees started to climb part the 2 million mark, we resolved instead to go to the East Coast and visit his brothers in DC and Pennsylvania instead (plus a few of my friends in Virginia).  Well, all that’s gone to hell now.  It turns out that our lease is up and we need to be out of our apartment by January 31st so we’re having to scrap an East Coast trip for the time being.

After a couple of weekends of searching, we finally found an apartment that we liked and put an offer on.  Now looking for an apartment in Hong Kong is vastly different from trying to rent an apartment in the U.S.  For one thing, everything’s negotiable.  Including the price.  After some negotiating, we got 15% knocked off the original rental price.  Mark — never the type satisfied that he’s getting a good deal — also managed to secure an additional US$520 credit from the landlord to go towards putting up curtains and light fixtures.  Yay!

So now we’ve got a new place.  We decided to be lame and we’re moving to an apartment down the block from where we currently live.  What can I say?  I like our area.  Look — you can even see it from our current apartment:

One thing I noticed when Mark and I were still looking at apartments was the type of things you take for granted when you live in the U.S.  We were completely awed when we walked into one place that had a real walk-in closet.  A walk-in closet!  I haven’t seen one of those in over two years!  While our real estate agent tried to point out some of the “finer” aspects of the apartments (a tv in the bathroom, marble flooring and counters, an island kitchen, multiple en-suites in one unit, etc.) Mark and I were drooling over things like double sinks (!!!), a medicine cabinet (wow!) or actual rooms that wouldn’t be mistaken for a closet (double wow!!).  I’m sure she must’ve thought we were uncivilized morons.  We ultimately didn’t end up choosing the apartment with the walk-in closet or the island kitchen, but I’m happy to report that we will have the double sinks that Mark and I have been wanting (getting a fourth bedroom was merely a bonus).  Oh yeah, we’re moving on up.

Holidays

Initially, Mark and I were determined to spend the holidays here in Hong Kong.  We’ve been traveling for Christmas to visit family every year for the last seven years so we thought we could use a break.  However, with the prospect of our January East Coast trip out the window, I think we both started feeling a bit of cabin fever.  On top of that, Mark spent a week in Tokyo on business in early December and came back raving about how Tokyo was cold and beautiful and lit up for the holidays while Hong Kong was…well…Hong Kong — warm and commercial.  So at the last minute we decided that we would spend the week of Christmas in Tokyo.  Mark has some work to do in Tokyo that week anyway (the Japanese get December 23 off — the Emperor’s Birthday — but not Christmas) so it all worked out.  To top it off, my friend Jae and her family just moved to Tokyo so Noah and I will have someone to torture hang out with when Mark’s busy.

Phases, Oh My!

Speaking of Jae and her family…when we told Noah that we would be spending Christmas in Tokyo with Nevan, he freaked out.  But in a totally good way (sort of).  Ever since then, his Nevan-obsession has come back.  Not a day has gone by when he doesn’t talk about Nevan and regale us with stories of the silly things that Nevan did back in Sydney.  Every now and then he also cries when he realizes that we are not going to see Nevan righthisverysecond.  His Nevan phase comes at kind of a bad time for us since it coincides with another phase that Noah’s recently entered — the Why? phase.  Imagine the following conversation (and repeat it almost daily…just for kicks):

Noah: Mommy, what is the Grinch doing?
Me: He’s taking all the presents.
Noah: Why?
Me: Because he doesn’t like Christmas.
Noah: Why?
Me: Because he’s not very nice.
Noah: Why?
Me: Because his heart is too small.
Noah: Why?
Me: Noah, just watch the movie.

And combine it something like…having to explain to a three-year-old why you can’t buy certain things for the friend he’s obsessed with.  It gets ugly sometimes:

Noah: Mommy, I like my black jacket.
Me: Me too.  You know who got it for you?
Noah: Who?
Me: Aunty Jae.
Noah: Why?
Me: It was a gift.
Noah: Oh.  Mommy, we need to buy one for Nevan.
Me: Nevan already has one like it.
Noah: Why?
Me: Because Aunty Jae bought one for Nevan a long time ago.
Noah: Why?
Me: Because Aunty Jae is Nevan’s mommy and she buys him stuff.
Noah: Why?
Me: Because she loves him and…well she just buys him stuff.
Noah: Oh.  Later we need to buy Nevan a suitcase just like mine.
Me: I’m sure Nevan already has a suitcase.
Noah: Why?
Me: Because Aunty Jae probably bought him one.
Noah: Why?
Me: Because she’s his mommy.
Noah: And Uncle Dave is his daddy?
Me: Yes.
Noah: (thinks for a minute, and then) Why?
Me: Because Aunty Jae and Uncle Dave love each other. Just like mommy and daddy.
Noah: Why?
Me: Oh hey look over there! (pointing at the sky) A helicopter!
Noah: Later we need to buy a helicopter for Nevan just like Noah’s.
Me: (just shaking my head and rolling my eyes)

Ugly, I tell ya.  For my sanity’s sake, I’m hoping one of these phases is going to end soon.

Fake Child Abuse Stuff

Every now and then, I’d hear an embarrassing story from one of my friends about how they’d taken their son or daughter shopping only to have them throw a crying fit in the middle of the store and yell at them, “You’re not my mommy!”  Naturally, I laughed.  And then thanked my lucky stars that I wouldn’t have that problem in Hong Kong since a lot of kids are out with their helpers and I tend to get mistaken as a helper anyway (thanks to my shabby personal appearance).  Noah, being the rascal that he is, managed to find a way around that.

I took him grocery shopping with me the other day.  We’d had a good afternoon — riding the bus together, taking a little stroll, browsing at books…I even bought him an ice cream before heading in to do my shopping.  He was seated in the shopping cart and as I very slowly made my way through a particularly crowded aisle I noticed that he was looking rather downcast.  So I stopped and asked him, “Noah, why do you look so sad?”  His answer — a very loud and completely unmerited, “Mommy, please don’t hit me anymore!”  That sneaky little booger.  I swear I don’t hit him.

Mark, of course, laughed when I told him the story.  But today he got a little taste of it himself.  He and Noah were roughhousing on the bed earlier in the day.  You know, the usual stuff — wrestling, rolling over one another, Mark lifting Noah up and then dropping him on the bed…that sort of thing.  At one point, while Noah was jumping on the bed he fell awkwardly and ended up kneeing himself in the eye resulting in something of a black eye.  After we calmed him down by letting him watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas (twice) and letting him eat a Tokyo Banana, we all headed out to do a little Christmas shopping.  In the elevator I asked him how he got his bruise and he said glumly, “Daddy did it.”  Haha sucka — that should teach you to laugh at me next time.

Here is Noah at bathtime earlier tonight giving his shiner two enthusiastic thumbs up:

The bruise actually looks a lot worse in real life (hooray for lousy lighting).  Poor guy.  What are the odds of someone giving himself his first black eye?