crocheting in circles

I gave myself a little experiment time with some new yarn and a crochet hook, and discovered that I can crochet in circles (or more accurately, spirals)! I'd always known it was possible, and had considered looking for a tutorial online a couple times... but it's always nice to figure something out on your own, even if it takes some time and requires a lot of learning from mistakes.

Here's my little circle.



As soon as I realized how easy it was to crochet circles, a whole slew of make-able round items came to mind. Hats, table cloths, tea cozies, hats... coffee cup cozies!!

Here's my coffee-cup-cozy-in-progress, which also works well as a Templeton-sized fez. I'll post a picture of the final product when it's done.

frog dissection

This will probably never make it onto my "to make" list... I probably wouldn't be able to justify putting so much time into something that doesn't serve a well-defined practical purpose. That being said, I love this dissected fiber frog. I guess it appeals to the biologist in me...Link. I found it via this post on the Craft Magazine blog (which, if you haven't noticed, is a favorite of mine...)

the brave one

No this isn't a movie review. I haven't even seen this movie. All I've seen is the Asian version of the movie poster (below), and just a little while ago, while in New Town Plaza, I saw some DVDs with the same cover.

So what is my reason for this post? Take a look at the picture below and see if Jodie Foster reminds you of anyone besides herself.

Have you had a chance to think it over?

I swear, is she not the spitting image of a young David Bowie?! Frightening, isn't it?

you rock, you rule

This is just way too cute... and it's striking me as hilarious right now, but that might be because I'm not fully awake yet.

Here's a link to the site where you can download this picture and learn how to stencil it onto a t-shirt. I might just have to give it a try...

green power hike

My dad and I are planning to do the Green Power hike on March 1st. It's on the HK trail, which I hear is pretty tame compared to the MacLehose. Anyone else interested? We're hoping to do the 50k hike, but 25k and 10k are also available. Registration ends on January 25th.

I'm excited to have something to train for again! Haven't done much hiking lately, except for my regular route -- the hike mentioned in this ancient post. But, my dad and some others are planning to climb Sharp's peak next Saturday, and I think I'll go along. I've never hiked it, though I've seen it and observed it's steepness many a time. It's in Saikung, near Stage 2 of the MacLehose, and happens to be the mountain I'm always grateful not to have to go over...

seafood guide

I saw these little wallet-sized WWF seafood guides for the first time this evening at Kubrick.

In it, popular types of seafood are classified into three categories: "Recommended," "Think Twice," and "Avoid." The category under which each sea creature falls is determined by it's relative abundance in the ocean, and if it is raised in a fish farm (like much seafood these days), by how sustainable and ecologically friendly the farming methods are.


I think this is a great resource to provide to a seafood-crazed city like HK. I never liked seafood much as a kid, but as my tastes broaden, it's nice to know what delicacies get the ecological green light for consumption. Oh, and I was very disappointed to see shrimp in the "Avoid" category. Aside from the rock lobster (who made it onto the "Recommended" list), it looks like all other crustaceans are off limits.

"cats and dogs are not for (b)eating."

I'd seen the above print on notebooks before, but discovered it on a tote today, and of course could not resist...
There's even a little name tag on the side!

muji love

I stopped by Muji today to buy some new socks, because I'd literally worn my last three pairs out (they all developed holes in the span of about a week... weird). I like their socks (along with pretty much everything else they sell), and discovered another cool thing about them: they're made from re-used yarn! So now I feel doubly good about the purchase. :)


And here are ma chaussettes together with the yummy Japanese snacks that I couldn't resist buying. I love Muji!

moonlighting?

If I had the time and the inclination to get an extra part-time job, this would be it:


And they're hiring!!

It's very tempting. But I think it would take me a while to master technical Cantonese ice-cream vocabulary. Though I'm sure my Baskin-Robbins experience would help me at least get my foot in the door...

a daughter's treasure

I think I have located the ultimate symbol of filial piety... and among my own things, none the less! (let's just ignore the fact that it was buried deep in a box of all-but-forgotten items).

Look! A double-heart locket with my parents' pictures inside! And if you look closely, you'll notice that I even went to the trouble of sticking little colored rhinestones on each picture. Not sure what that was about...

My guess is that the locket is circa 1989 or 1990. And not sure when (or why!) I stopped wearing it. All I can say is definitely before 2006 -- otherwise Templeton's sweet face would be gazing at us from both sides. Hehe. Love you Mom and Dad! :)

dear diary

This afternoon I felt motivated to sort through some of my old stuff, and as usual, the sorting was promptly delayed. I couldn't help but peruse some old year books and examine old photos. I also came across one gem that provided me with a good 15-minutes of reading: a diary, kept very briefly when I was eleven.

Here's an excerpt from January 17, 1992:

There were many juicier pages I could have included, but decided that people might not be too interested in the three different boys I liked at the time (though after a couple weeks, I'd very prudently narrowed the list down to a more conservative two), or my thoughts about menstruation. Seriously. Some very thought-provoking material here...

And now, a few reflections:

1. I've always thought of myself as a pretty decent speller, but (though it might not be obvious from the excerpt above) I found loads of evidence to the contrary. I also didn't seem to have any grasp of a certain minor writing convention commonly known as "the paragraph."

2. I like that until I was in high school, I thought that for a diary to truly be a diary, every entry had to begin with "Dear Diary" and signed "Love, Michelle." And for some reason, I related to my diary like it was some kind of hyper-critic, and therefore felt compelled to apologize for my various offenses (i.e. messy handwriting, not writing in 3 days, etc.). Where did I get these ideas?

3. In spite of all its cringe-worthiness, it's somehow refreshing to read about my pre-adolescent concerns. And though I am glad that a good deal of the silliness is behind me, it's nice to remember... and know that I really was eleven once.

another coffee cozy

I've decided to include Templeton in as many photos as I can.

He is not amused by the new coffee cozy. (Any wild guesses who this one is for?)
Nor is he amused by the reverse side. By the way, does this fabric look familiar? I'm happy to have found a new way to use up extra scraps.

heartwarming

There's nothing like a trip to the post office to lift one's spirits.

Not that mine were particularly low. But I guess the combination of the holidays coming to an end, living as a virtual slug this past week -- not to mention the departure of my sister and her progeny this morning -- did leave me a little bit down.

But that was all before my trip to the post office.

Have I ever blogged about how much I love the post office? Maybe not. And maybe now's not the time to start. But I will say that I always feel a great sense of satisfaction after mailing something. In this case it was a couple of packages. I mailed the packages, and thus was already feeling great when I decided to go back up to the counter to purchase some stamps. If there's anything I love more than post offices, it's stamps. I used to collect them, and sometimes get the urge to continue the hobby. I enjoy old-fashioned correspondence, and also appreciate stamps as the tiny works of art that they are. Anyway, I was already in a great mood, and then the kind man behind the counter showed me these:

Needless to say, I was immediately overcome with joy.

They don't seem to commemorate anything or instill national pride, as stamps often are intended to do. But they sure are cute. In fact, I think if someone was to create the cutest stamp imaginable, this is what it would look like. Though, ok, it would probably have a baby seal dressed as a kitten and wearing the pink bunny slippers, but still, the general concept would be the same.

How heartwarming!

two more

I've been pleasantly surprised that the sewing machine has held out as long as it has. I got two more bags made!

Outsides:
Insides:

They'll soon be in the mail, late Christmas presents for a couple friends in the US of A (who shall at this moment remain nameless...).

amy's bag

As part of my Christmas gift to my sister, I offered to custom-make a bag for her. She chose the fabric, and I put it together (while she and the kids were at Disneyland). Here's the end result:

I like the way the ribbon looks as the handles. I was planning to use it on a bag eventually, but to be honest, hadn't even noticed that it matched the floral fabric. Good eye, Amy!

The lining is a brown floral fabric, with a small phone pocket (there's my little Huan-huan poking her fiery head out).

winter scene

You know it's cold when...


all four cats take to sleeping on my parents' [heated] water bed.

eco-friendly coffee cozies

You know those little cardboard sleeves that provide insulation between your hand and that hot cup of coffee? Well, I recently saw a tutorial on how to make re-usable quilted coffee cozies, and figured since I know quite a few individuals (including myself) who frequent Starbucks and the like, I might as well try my hand at making some of the useful, not to mention "green," little things. The coffee cozies were originally going to be Christmas presents, but then my sewing plans became overwhelming (see previous post). So if you were expecting a gift from me and one never materialized, you can pretty much count on getting one of these in the near future:


Here's a close-up. I had fun trying my hand at embroidery... the cross-stitch-esque squares of the gingham certainly helped with the letter-forming.
Here's another shot of the inner fabric (I guess technically it's reversible), with a view of the quilting (done by hand -- a first for me!).

Here are a couple more that I worked on today. They're matching "his" and "hers" cozies for a married pair of Starbucks aficionados that I know.

A closer view.
So hopefully a few trees will be saved because of these (though I admit that the most environmentally-friendly option would be to bring one's own thermos or mug and forgo the paper cup altogether)... and I'll have something to keep me busy for the rest of the Christmas holiday!

Merry Christmas and Happy 2008!

one human's garbage...

The futon in my room was starting to fall apart. Every time I sat on it, I could feel the wooden frame inching closer to the ground. The floor under the futon happened to be Templeton's favorite hiding place too, and I could imagine a horrific accident involving me unintentionally crushing my beloved feline. So with that nightmarish possibility in mind, I stopped sitting on the futon altogether, and started thinking about purchasing a new piece of furniture.

Thankfully I didn't. Because my mom noticed this chaise lounge, in perfect condition, left at the dump down the hill from our house. It required a little TLC (thankfully it has a cover that can be easily removed and washed), but cleaned up really nicely.


I had a few pillows already, but decided I wanted a cylindrical pillow to make it a little more sofa-ish functional, so took a quick trip to my neighborhood Ikea. I had some stripy fabric on hand that just happened to match the chaise, so decided to make my own cover for said pillow. I'd never sewn anything circular before (though technically, I think I learned how to make a smaller pencil-case version of this as an 11-year-old home economics student), so wasn't sure how it would turn out. But I've got to say that I'm quite pleased with the result. The circles turned out to be the least of my worries. The zipper that had to go in was another story. No pictures of that. I'm going to be sure it's well hidden at all times.

this is what disappointment looks like

Our local milk/ice-cream producer, Dairy Farm, must've decided that there wasn't a big enough market for eggnog in Hong Kong, and subsequently didn't produce any this year. Though always hard to come by, this year it was almost impossible to find the stuff... trust me, I looked. But our fortunes took a turn for the better when my mom located a lone carton of Paul's eggnog... or so we thought. The die-hard eggnog drinkers among us (namely my mom, my brother-in-law and myself) were ecstatic. But with only one carton in our possession, we decided to save the creamy beverage for Christmas day.

When the time was right, I took three glasses, opened the carton, and poured. With two other pairs of eyes watching me closely, I made sure the amounts in each glass were as even as possible. I would have been playing with fire had I tried to pour myself even a little extra. Finally the moment that we'd been waiting for -- we all raised our glasses and took a drink. And that's when our eyes met in bewilderment. This eggnog wasn't the thick, sweet, full-cream deliciousness that we were accustomed to drinking. The flavor was reminiscent of eggnog, but drinking it just made us long for the good stuff even more.

After getting over my initial shock and disappointment, I looked at the ingredients. Who in their right mind would use reduced fat milk to make eggnog? Seriously. What were they thinking?

angry chicken gift tags

I recently started reading the Angry Chicken craft blog by Amy Karol and she just posted these "inner monologue" holiday gift tags that I think are hilarious. You will most certainly want to click on the image below for a closer look...

crafty christmas

I'm experiencing some sewing-machine-induced frustration at the moment. So in an effort to prevent myself from throwing said spiteful machine out the window, I'm taking a break and blogging.

Before the difficulties started, I was very eagerly putting together materials for two bags. Here are some of the pieces on the ironing board. I usually avoid ironing like I avoid cockroaches and broken glass, but I've found that it really does help to iron folded edges before sewing. The end product turns out looking much tidier and finished than if ironing is skipped.
I had grand plans to make most of my Christmas gifts this year, but that's now seeming less than likely... unless people don't mind getting Christmas gifts in March... that might be feasible. I realized a couple nights ago that with friends and family coming back and visiting, I am not going to have a lot of time left for crafting. Which is fine. I definitely don't want to miss out on time with loved ones just because I'm occupied with making them something. That would be ridiculous... So tonight was going to be the last night when I could really put some quality time into sewing. And now the machine doesn't work. I'm hoping that my mom will know how to coax it back into working order. She's out meeting my brother at the airport right now(OK, so maybe I have already sacrificed some family time to sew... oops), and I'm hoping that when she gets back she'll be enthusiastic about taking a look at it...

Besides the sewing machine, I've had another minor disappointment this evening. I decided to put on a Christmas CD (Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir) that I bought a few months ago on the Doulos (see Sal's post), and quickly found out that it wasn't what I was expecting. Most of the songs are Christmas medleys, and as best as I can describe, sound like a cross between a church cantata and dinner theater music(if you've never experienced the wonder that is dinner theater, this might be a difficult comparison to comprehend).

cushioning those pins

I've been doing a lot of sewing lately, and have been in need of a good pin cushion. So today I went a little crazy and made two. Here they are:


I followed this instructables pattern. They are super fast and easy to make (made from just a square of fabric!), and are well, just plain cute. I'm tempted to make hundreds of them, but don't have that many sewing friends (or that many non-sewing friends for that matter...), and am aware that Michelle really only needs one. I think they'd be fun as human-sized pillows too, and might make a couple of those next. Or maybe a new bed for Templeton.

k is for knitting and kcr

As soon as there's even the slightest chill in the air, something within me needs to knit. I say "slightest chill" because, though the past few days have been cold by HK standards, today was actually quite warm. But none-the-less, I found myself wrapped up with jeans, a jacket, and even a scarf. These are the moments that I feel like a true HK person. It might be summer weather, but hey, it's December -- I need a scarf!
But I digress. I started knitting a scarf the other day (scarves are pretty much all I ever knit... excepting two hats that I made years ago), and am almost done with it, thanks to my recent unprecedented desire to knit. Today, for example, I brought my knitting to a CH.A.T. (CHurch Awareness Time... should really be C.A.T., but don't get me started), to coffee with a friend, and even had to take it out while sitting on the train going home. It's funny, knitting on the train. I found quite a few women in various places in the train staring intently at me. I doubt they were admiring my scarf (I don't aim for perfection in knitting -- I actually like a few flaws), so I assume that they were probably knitters too, and probably critiquing my speed and/or tension. Or else they were just mesmerized by the regular clink clink of my needles. Or else they were shocked by the gargantuan size of my needles. They bear a resemblance to super-sized crayons.

Well, I think I'm done with gushing over my love for knitting. But if you'll let me go back to the topic of trains for a minute, here's a sight that won't be around for long:


The KCR (Kowloon-Canton Railway) has been bought out by the MTR (Mass Transit Railway), and the switch took place today. All indoor KCR signs have been covered up with the MTR symbol, so I was surprised to see that the KCR logos on the large outdoor signs were still in tact. I don't think they'll be around for much longer though.

The KCR has been in operation for almost a century (as opposed to the MTR which opened in the late 70's and early 80's), so it's quite a nostalgic time for those, like myself, who have taken the train for most of their lives. The merger will mean cheaper fairs though.

I'm not sure if I'll ever quite get used to the name change. I can see myself, years from now, saying "KCR" and hearing some youngster ask in response, "KCR?! What's that?"

computer cat bed

I've got a few more Hanoi posts in the works (read: in my head), but am taking a break to share this recent discovery: the recycled computer monitor cat bed!

They're being sold on this Etsy site, but as with most handmade items that I see for sale, I'd like to try making one of my own. It would be a sweet Christmas present for Templeton...

day four in hanoi

Today was my fourth and final day in Hanoi. I got an evening flight back to HK and am back home now. I hope the title of this post isn't too misleading -- I won't be giving a play-by-play of day four (or day two, or three, for that matter), mainly because it's late and tomorrow is a work day. My apologies to anyone who was hoping for more regular updates from Vietnam... I realize that I probably shouldn't have titled that first post "day one" if I wasn't planning to follow up with subsequent days... :) But, dear disappointed readers, I am envisioning a number of Hanoi-themed posts appearing within the next few days. Though I wasn't very consistent with the blog, I did keep a journal and took lots of photos, so there's lots to share! Stay tuned...

day one in hanoi

I'm in Hanoi for four days, staying with friends Sherman and Becky. This is my first time in Vietnam, and my first time to be out of Hong Kong in close to a year. It's nice to be somewhere new. Granted, I've felt more helpless and generally stupid in the last day than I have in a long time, but I'm enjoying the risks, the learning... everything!

Some of yesterday's memorable moments... in list form (no pictures yet -- I'll have to insert some when I get home):

• making it to the gate in time (I left my house about half an hour later than planned, then waited for the airport bus longer than planned... thankfully HK has one of the most efficient airports in the world... I even had time to pick something up at Starbucks). We had to take a ground-transport bus to our plane (my first time to do this in HK), and I had what we might call a very small panic attack when I suddenly considered the fact that I didn't know even one word of Vietnamese. It's been such a last minute trip -- so much so that I hadn't done any research whatsoever, or even learned how to say "thank you." That's been remedied now, thanks to Sherman and Becky and their Lonely Planet phrase book.

• sitting on the airplane, relieved to have made the flight, and then gradually noticing that the easy-listening jazz being pumped through the plane was a cover of Nirvana's "Smells like Teen Spirit." Interesting.

• making a conscious effort to put on my "I know what I'm doing" face while wandering through the Hanoi airport, looking for a taxi to take me to Sherman and Becky's. It turned out to be a very easy experience, but once again, I was mildly tempted to fall into I'm-in-a-new-country-and-can't-speak-the-language hysterics.

• drawing and coloring a life-sized Princess Dora [the Explorer] for Hannah's fourth birthday party. The kids played "pin the tassel on the princess's hat. :)
  

• wandering around some of the streets in the old part of town and drinking in the cool mix of architecture -- modern, traditional Vietnamese, French colonial, Chinese.

• crossing streets. "Just keep walking and assume that the motorcycle-drivers see you and will go around you." That's what I kept telling myself. I think my time in China was good preparation for this visit...

• trying to figure out the street food, but ultimately deciding to eat at a very non-adventurous restaurant. But it's probably a good thing I did. Not only would I have had no idea what I was ordering (besides being able to see and point to ingredients), but also, Becky informed me that Hanoi's in the middle of a small cholera outbreak at the moment, so I'm glad I stayed on the safe side...

• hiring a motorcycle to take me back to Sherman and Becky's place. What a thrill! It made my afternoon of carrying around the extra helmet very much worth it. So yes, I wasn't completely unsafe -- I wore a helmet. But then I burned my leg on the tailpipe getting off, and have a nice big blister to prove it.
  

Well, I guess I'll get started enjoying day two!

trailwalker moments

Some memorable Trailwalker moments:

• cheering on the Gurkhas (and other super (sub 18-hr) teams) as they ran past us (reminder: we started 2.5 hours before the first official start time).
• being offered gummy candies by Mike Harrison at the bottom of Rooster Hill on Stage 3.
• getting a call from Ikea about a shelf I'd ordered while we were stopped at our first support stop. Bizarre...
• having my fill of carb gels (don't even want to look at them for a while...).
• drifting off to sleep while walking... a few times.
• receiving applause from the high school volunteers whose job it was to cheer on hikers entering check point 4.
• getting to the half-way mark and knowing that the hardest climbs were behind us.
• being so tired and unreasonable that I hoped my teammates would actually suggest taking a nap in the middle of the trail. Thankfully Dave was willing to give me some of his Red Bull, which helped get me through...
• getting to the top of Needle Hill (with the help of U2 on my iPod, and super-hiker Cindy walking behind me) on Stage 7.
• wanting to quit in the middle of the night on Stage 8, but then realizing it would be more work to try to find my way home than to continue and finish.
• seeing the sun come up from Tai Mo Shan (Stage 8). What a welcomed dawn!
• looking forward to cinnamon rolls (made and served by my mom) at the bottom of Tai Mo Shan.
• being "towed" by super-hiker Cindy, and then later by my dad (he'd had only 3 hours of sleep the night before, so ended up dropping out after Stage 3, but joined us again for Stages 9 & 10).
• FINISHING!

trailwalker pics

At the start. Did I mention that we started 2.5 hours before the first start time? It was 6:30 and the sun was just coming up.
My team (L-R): Dave, Jacelyn, Dad, me.
Here we are posing with a poster that looks like it's meant to deter people from entering the Trailwalker...
Even though we weren't official entrants in the 2007 Oxfam Trailwalker, we made it into the photo gallery TWICE! The photo below is even the album cover for the album "On the Trail." (Link)
Another photo taken by one of the Trailwalker photographers. Here we are running to cross the finish line. Not sure what was going on with my leg in this photo...
And here's a poster I saw about a week before the hike that almost put me off the whole thing. Once again, were they trying to deter people?
I'm grateful that I came out of the whole thing pretty well. Besides the knee (which I'm hoping to get looked at soon), two blisters were all I got... a little better off than the guy above.

I'm planning to do one more Trailwalker-themed post, on some memorable TW moments. If you're getting tired of hearing about the hike -- only one more post to bear! If you're enjoying reading about the experience -- stay tuned!

trailwalker stats

Some Trailwalker info, courtesy of the Oxfam Trailwalker site.


I think this one is the most insightful -- elevation!!


And according to Mike and Helen, friends and fellow Trailwalkers (official ones at that!), the total elevation gained during the Trailwalker is equivalent to climbing Everest TWICE!! (link) No wonder I'm sore...

trailwalker update

I'm about to head to bed, to get some much needed sleep, but thought I would first give an update on the Trailwalker. We finished it! My team was able to hike the 100 km in 29 hours and 40 minutes, which met our goal of 30 hours. I'm still in a state of disbelief that I actually did it. My problematic left knee was hurting even before we started hiking yesterday, so I really didn't expect to finish. Once I realized that the pain wasn't going to go away, I decided that I would just try to deal with it, but would quit if it got any worse. And it didn't! Granted, the pain killers that I took were partly responsible, but I was very thankful to get through it without any serious injury. Thanks must go to my very patient teammates -- my knee and then later some sickness on the trail held me up quite a few times -- and all the folks that helped us with support. Also, I thank God for his grace in protecting my knee, and for giving me the strength to do something that I didn't think I could do.
Well, it's time to say goodnight. I'll post more about the hike (along with a few photos) when I have a little more energy...

trailwalker eats

This is just some of the food that I'm planning to eat on the Trailwalker. I think I will be breaking a personal record...

ecolips and other purchases

The Trailwalker is on Friday. Though I've been training for it for some months now, it's hard to believe that the day is almost here. I've had a harder time than expected getting excited about the hike, and I think that's mainly because there were some moments over the weekend when I thought that I wouldn't/shouldn't do it. At some point during my packing at school, I did something to my left knee. I bought a really heavy-duty brace though (one that makes me feel like Robocop when I wear it), and I think it has helped. Knee still hurts a little when I go down stairs, but it's bearable.

Though it would be disappointing not to be able to finish the Trailwalker, I think that facing the reality of injury has made me see that there are worse things than not finishing. Like leg amputations, permanent knee damage, or never walking normally again (OK, I'll try to refrain from the melodrama from here on out). Anyway, I'm glad that quitting now seems an acceptable option.

That being said, once I'd decided to attempt the hike, I knew that I needed to get myself psyched up, at least a little bit, about Friday. Even if I don't end up finishing, I need to go into it expecting the best. So what better way to get excited about hiking than a shopping trip to my favorite outdoor supply store, Protrek?!

I got a new dry fit shirt and a whole carton of carb gels. I probably won't use all 24 of them this weekend, but buying in bulk turned out to be a good deal. These gels will probably get their own post at some point... I find them quite fascinating.

And now for my more frivolous purchase (though, in my defense, I did need some new chapstick...): Ecolips. Or is it "Eco Lips"? Anyway, it was a pretty pricey tube of chapstick that I'll admit, I bought mainly because it comes with an Ecolips carribeener/hook thingy with the Ecolips brand name on it. But not to fear, dear reader -- those are HK dollars.

I'm sure there will be more Trailwalker posts to come, regardless of what happens with my knee.

saturday evening wanderings part II

Besides the book and the hot chocolate, there were a couple of other benefits of yesterday's wanderings.

1. I found a cheap little fabric store, and bought two yards of this bright floral fabric. It was originally going to just be one yard, but I liked it so much...

2. I stumbled across a little CD store (that I have vague recollections of going to before... but will I ever be able to find it again?) that had some good stuff. I found the new Jose Gonzales album (In Our Nature) there and quickly bought it. The process seemed so easy and pain-free, as his last album that I bought, Veneer, had to be special ordered from HK Records because it didn't seem to be available anywhere...
And I'm feeling optimistic that I'll find some way of listening to the talk I missed last night... I'm sure there's a recording of it somewhere. Maybe I can special order it...

saturday evening wanderings

I'm feeling more than a little ridiculous right now. I planned to go hear a lecture tonight ("Amusing Ourselves to Death: Freedom for Youth from a Culture of Narcissism" by Marva Dawn of Regent College), and would be there now if I wasn't so very locationally-challenged. I found myself walking back and forth all over Wanchai, wondering "Have I really lived here most of my life?" Somehow I still managed to make it to my destination about 10 minutes early. But that's when I noticed locked doors and dark windows, quite the contrast to the busy church facility that I was picturing. See, I had walked myself over to the English-speaking Methodist church, when the actual locale of the talk was the [plain old] Methodist church. Both are in Wanchai, and the irony of the whole thing is that in my wanderings, I came in very close proximity to the correct church. I guess I could have walked myself back over to the right place -- being late wouldn't have been such a horrible thing --but I decided that I'd had my fill of walking for the day. So instead, I determined that I'd head in the direction of the home-bound bus, but was secretly hoping that I'd come across a coffee shop first. Consequently, I now find myself sitting in a Pacific Coffee, sipping a hot-chocolate (I already had a coffee this evening, and don't trust myself to have another).

I don't share this story in the hopes that you, dear reader, will feel pity for me. There are much worse things than coffee shops and warm chocolate beverages. And what makes me even less pitiable is that I have a book with me that I happen to be quite engrossed in at the moment: Bury the Chains: The British Stuggle to Abolish Slavery (if you click on that you'll find that for some reason the sub-heading is different on the American version). It's nice to be reading again -- for some reason it's been some months since I've been able to really get into a book. And this one is amazing (there's a reason it was a National Book Award finalist!). Very inspirational. I'd been interested in learning more about William Wilberforce, the British abolitionist, for while. And then on Thursday, after watching Amazing Grace , decided that I had to go to Page One immediately to find a book about him. I guess this book isn't exactly the Wilberforce biography I was looking for -- it's actually much better! It tells the stories of all of the key abolition figures, how they influenced each other and were finally able to bring about change. Anyway, I've still got a lot to read, so I'll save any further discussion of the book for a later post. Oh, and I guess I've been on this public computer for quite a while and should probably give someone else a turn...