I haven’t seen the veins in my feet since Saturday night, before we flew out of the States. Fourteen hours of flight rolled straight into a day of walking and eating will do that to me, I guess. Swell my feet and cause them to throb and look like sausages when I try on sandals…Thankfully, this morning, evidence of my tendons came back. Good timing, as Omidski tells me “Veins are in this year.”
Traveling like a pro.
I’m out here with enough gadgetry to open a small shop: Billiam’s SLR, my PowerShot. My iPhone (left in Airplane Mode because I’m not stupid) and my iPod Touch. My MacBook and a mobile phone that we’re splitting amongst us. It sounds excessive (especially when I spell it out like that, Geez), but it’s all because I really like to catalog my trips. Having Internet access gives me no excuse not to immediately update Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and theMaykazine. Being the foreigner dropped among a strange population of people also gives me a lot of inspiration for simple observation. I’ve also got a constant monologue running in the back of my head that it’s okay to take photos of complete strangers because it’s interesting and new – And also it will provide great fodder for the Moxsie blog and MADE Jewelry.
Food fanaticism.
So far Brooklyn, Mindy Knows, Omidski, and I have done nothing but eat and shop, and in these activities we have been most successful. In terms of eating, I had to call up the flight attendant for a cup of Cathay Pacific cup noodles, and my head’s been reeling in all the options for filling up on my favorite Asian pastries. (Pics from Likey Bakery down the street tomorrow! ME LIKEY.) Delicious, spongey yellow cake (that I ate half of even though there were eight other people at our dim sum table) below. We had some amazing xiao long bao, so even if I had to suddenly fly back to SFO right this minute, I’d be content with my trip. The skin was thin but didn’t leak my favorite soup. Kudos to the chefs! Foodspotting here is going to be great!
Boosting the global economy.
It’s true, what they say about the shopping here. Every subway station is a mall, so our first place of monetary exploitation was the Causeway Bay and Times Square shops. I think I’ve been doing very well in being highly analytical about my purchases, taking notes of the things that I think might give me the greatest deal of buyers’ remorse before I approach counters. I’m trying not to buy anything from stores that are in the U.S., even though I know the Asian market is bound to have some stuff that I won’t be able to find in the States. I’m just that snobby and want to pretend to be one-of-a-kind. I did splurge on one item, though, and it was pretty easy to rationalize.
- It’s a pair of Vivienne Westwood x Melissa Shoes Anglomania shoes, a line I’ve been ogling for a few months now. (Yes, they’re plastic.)
- It was half off, making it less than the gift I bought for Billiam (which I am so excited to reveal to him!).
- No sales tax.
- They fit and were surprisingly comfortable. Just the fact that I was able to try them on was a perk, because I’ve only been able to gather information about these shoes online.
- …The color is pretty. The exact pair I got is the “pearl wine” Three Strap, the perfect choice of footwear for whenever I’m bound to catch Alice in Wonderland in the theater. (Also on my Alice-specific wish list, the Disney Alice in Wonderland x Urban Decay eye color palette. Only $52 for sixteen colors, two eye liners, Primer Potion, and a throwback to pop-up books? Trying real hard not to order it right now.)
When I shop while traveling, I do not waste time on souvenirs. If I wanted cheap crap I would buy a 25-cent bag of ramen. I also don’t buy counterfeit shit, because hey, do I look like I support terrorism? I don’t get the pride of purchasing (even less so, showing off) knockoffs. I came here to eat, man.
Culture Shock: Hong Kong edition.
Being in an Asian country (as opposed to being in the Bay Area – Do I need to point that out?) hasn’t hit me yet. Omidski’s been having a Hell of a time keeping track of us Asian girls, but of course his tall Persian frame sticks out like a sore thumb. This isn’t to say that there aren’t non-Asians in Hong Kong, we just happen to fill the place in droves. When I walk by the aspiring Hong Kong pop star boys with their spikey hair and awful-by-American-standards teeth, I wonder if I could pass for a resident here. My general feeling is no, that I’m too wide of an Asian girl to look like I run around these streets every day, but I am somewhat flattered and bewildered when salespeople speak to me in Cantonese.
Also, Mindy K and Omidski found love. With each other. Watch:
All my bags are packed and I’m hesitant to go, but I’ll distract myself with fiftyseven-thirtythree’s latest photo contest. They’re searching for The Ambassador of Sexy, and it just might be you. Winners get one of fiftyseven-thirtythree’s hottest hoodies, the Japanese Schoolgirl Zip! It’s a gorgeous, eye-catching image, and it’s valued at $175! Just snap a pic of yourself in fiftyseven-thirtythree and watch your popularity soar…
The kind team over there also let me know that Maykazine readers can get 25% off on any item in their store! Simply type in the code “MAYKA” and ye shall be rewarded. And no, the code does not expire. That’s my pledge of endless love to you.
Away messages alluding vaguely to ultrasounds usually spark rumors of women become baby mamas, so I really should have thought twice before running off this morning to Alta Bates. I was frazzled, though. All evidence points to My Little Gourd being benign, except for that one case in family history where my aunt had to go through chemo twice for her bout with breast cancer.
I spent the second half of the day working from home (after my first fried chicken sandwich from Bake Sale Betty’s – Love the slaw.), and I was still a bit frazzled because I didn’t get the confirmation I wanted. In short, Hong Kong is going to be the meat in an Alta Bates/Hong Kong sandwich. The day after I get back, I’ve scheduled a biopsy. Exciting.
I really just wanted to walk out with a paper in my hand that said “negative” or “benign” or “confirmation.” That’s obviously not how the procedure goes, though, and the best thing I can do for myself right now is as the nurses said, “Don’t think about this during your trip! Just go and have fun!”
My Little Gourd is actually more like a little peapod of triplets. It measures to about three centimeters filled solid, meaning it’s not just a cyst. There’s a possible “fill area,” whatever that means, but it’s most likely just a fibrodonema, a benign tumor.
On the real, though, ladies, if you ever need to get your boobs checked, go to the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. The Carol Ann Read Breast Health Center is a straight-up spa. I was not expecting iridescent tiles in a circular foyer with sounds of a babbling creek pumping through the speakers.
And let’s see: This isn’t the worst thing to happen to me. I just dislike leaving things in limbo.
There’s a ton of goings-on this weekend (Paper Cuts. Embrace Love. Indulge. Next week: Love/Hope Show.) – They sound like an emo rock band when they stand all in a row like that.), why am I not going to be there? I feel I have been a-whirl lately. A couple of things, friends:
- Tomorrow I have my ultrasound. I have essentially waited since November for this. That’s two and a half months of scheduling around life, infrequent appointment openings, and insurance transitions. Should you care, It has not changed in shape or size, and I still love my A-cups.
- On Saturday we’re flying off to Hong Kong for two weeks. Brooklyn’s 26th birthday, Foodicles’ 26th birthday, Lunar New Year, my first Valentine’s away from Billiam, and general soup noodliness.
Bring it on.
Khamai’s sister group, DWB (Dancers without Boundaries), will be rockin’ it this Saturday in a rather extensive showcase benefiting Nigel Lithgoe’s Dizzy Feet Foundation. Redwood City, raise up!
Last night we gathered at Fenton’s for Brit Sketch’s preliminary send-off to her Disney apprenticeship! Yes, I think she is required to wear a white-starred wizard’s hat.
If you live in the Bay, see the Paper Cuts show in Oakland. I don’t think I need to point out what a master of detail and color she is. I wish I could dress like Brittney’s paper sculptures every day. These are the super frilly skirts I dreamed of when I was a wee lass, except I drew mine in crayon.
Also on a Brittney note, yesterday Yoshi revealed to me that all those times Popoki “kneaded” my chest while I was kittysitting? He was actually plotting to kill me.
‘Do you know,’ he says, ‘that cats can’t wear corsets?’ He giggles a little. ‘Do you ’ave a cat?’
I tell him I do.
‘Have you ever tied something round his middle?’
I tell him I haven’t.
‘They can’t stand!’ he says. ‘Not at all! They just fall over.
I know because I tried!’
Case in point (AKA: The Best Youtube Video of All Time):
I’m fortunate to know a number of creative people, and even more fortunate to know creative people with follow-through. (It would take me more than a couple of hands to count creative personalities who talk and talk and talk and don’t get things done.) Ryan and Mary Anne, on the other hand, are just a couple of those who I’m proud to call my friends: creative, generous, and dependable. In my opinion, professionalism isn’t professionalism without a likable person on the other end. Ryan and Mary Anne have sticktoitness and smiles in droves.
Latest on the Ryan front is his conscious T-shirt design venture, the iheart.you collection. Seems like every fool with a bootleg of Photoshop thinks they can just launch a T-shirt line, but iheart.you goes much deeper into the thought behind being what you wear. Working with up-and-coming artists and benefiting noble non-profit organizations, iheart.you is philosophical and philanthropic.
Their first design – appropriately titled iheart.hugs – release was created by artist Benjamin King of Poor Artist League, and proceeds for the design go to an NGO with a global reach, Embrace.
The iheart.hugs line was created with the non-profit organization, Embrace. Embrace aims to help the millions of vulnerable babies born every year in developing countries through a low cost infant incubator. Unlike traditional incubators that cost up to $20,000, the Embrace infant warmer costs $25. The device requires no electricity, has no moving parts, is portable, safe and intuitive to use. To further donate or for more information about Embrace please visit their website at www.embraceglobal.org or contact Christina at christina@embraceglobal.org.
To commemorate the launch, iheart.you is hosting Embrace Love at Axis Cafe in San Francisco on Saturday night. “Cover” is a $10 donation, but free with the purchase of a preordered tee. DJ, raffle, and what I think will be a genuine, beautiful vibe.
If I wasn’t flying to Hong Kong that night, I’d totally be there, so please attend in my stead!
So Brooklyn and Avril hosted a Jersey Shore party, and I was inspired by fadedlines6’s “Gaga cookies.” Now I believe every theme party should have a sugar cookie decorating session.
More of Billiam’s and my finest work here.
Batch No. 1, clockwise: DJ Pauly D, Ronnie, Snooki, JWOWW
Batch No. 2, clockwise: Lady Gaga, Random Blonde Ho (Let’s call her “The Grenade!”), Sammi, Mike AKA: The Situation
Addressing “The Situation:”
And Lady Gaga just for kicks, or just because I’m still proud at how well I did making her star eye makeup with a piddly tube of blue icing.
Peep our in-progress shots here.
