Text Messages

Call me anal. actually don't. but i hate text messages that are gramatically incorrect or use abbreviations or single letters. Why do people write "u" or "y" when two more buttons gives you the right word? I'm also a big fan of using periods and spaces after those periods. Otherwise, these texts rarely make any space. A recent text message (from whom I won't reveal for sake of embarassment): "See u in fv next time mon" What does this text mean? Did he just develop a Jamaican accent and call me "mon"? Or did he mean Monday? There are so many questions after each text. I guess the best question would be, "why not just call me instead?"

Happy Mother's Day

 
Happy Mother's Day to everyone. Actually I don't technically have any friends who read this blog and are mothers, but nonetheless Happy Mother's Day. I've spent almost five weeks with my mother in another country and I still don't get sick of her. I can't say that about most people (i.e Carrot Top, Sean Hannity, Ravi Dehar).

Picasa

 

I don't know why I never learned about Picasa earlier. It's an amazing tool (much better than iPhoto) that allows me to tinker with my photos, blog, make movies, share, and organize. Although I would like a Facebook tool, Picasa is still pretty awesome. I just spent hours playing with these photos. Here's one of my favorites.

What is 5-Star?

I never thought that I'd stay in a 5-star hotel. The nicest place that i've stayed in has been at the MGM Grand at Las Vegas, where they don't utilize the "star system." So I can't really say what is or isn't 5 stars. But when I was told that we would be staying at five star hotels in China, I was ecstatic for a few minutes only to be disappointed when we arrived. The Sheraton in Xi-an, supposedly 5 stars, reminds me of a Howard Johnson. Not that I'm putting down Howard Johnson (I stayed there one night in San Francisco and showered with a roach...twice), but if this is considered 5 star by China standards, never stay in a 3 star hotel. The beds sheets reek of cigarette smoke, the carpets are stained, cups aren't clean, mildew on the showers, and $10/hr for the internet. Although I will say that there is a woman that stands in front of the elevator and she stays there from morning to night. I guess that's where my $10 is going.

Macau aka Asia's Las Vegas

When my dad told me that we'd be taking a 80 minute ferry ride to visit Macau, I immediately responded with, "What is there to see in Macau?" It was an honest question given that we would have to travel on a boat (I hate the sea) and that I really wanted to watch the new X-Men movie which came out three days earlier than in the states. He replied, "Oh there are some nice buildings and good food." I'm a sucker for good food so I went with him and endured the rocky waters. As soon as we docked, I immediately spotted Casinos galore and felt I was transported to a Las Vegas removed from the desert and placed right in Asia. The similarities are striking. The Venetian Macao carries the same architecture including those Grand Canal shoppes and Gondolas that no one ever rides. The Wynn Macau has the same bronze building only much smaller with a waterfall entrance that reminded me more of the Grove than the Bellagio. Here, people like to smoke (The Duty free Tobacco store was the only store with a line) and play baccarat. I can completely understand, because that's my dad. Only, he removes the hair from his moles. (I still don't get it)

Hong Kong

I've been to HK before, but that was before I saw "The Dark Knight" on IMAX and wanted to revisit the city. I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with this place. Imagine NYC but cleaner and more organized. Of course, there are lots of people here and there are many questions I have (why is their pinky fingernail so long? why don't they cut the hair growing out of their moles? why does it always smell like Fried Chicken and noodles?). But in the end, I have a great appreciation of this city for the cleanliness and sheer beauty of the city. Skyscrapers aren't just big here, but beautiful and great to look at. The skyline is not smog-ridden nor is the Subway system a waste dump. There is energy in this place and I appreciate every minute.