foreign kid in a foreign land

once again, i find myself in a foreign land. this time, it's canada. i must say that even though coming here wasn't my choice (due to normal foreign kid complications), things could definitely be worse. i guess i'm choosing to be optimistic about the whole situation. plus, friends are coming to visit really soon... 1. i live with my parents. something i haven't done since i was in 4th grade. this is a blessing and a curse rolled into one. 2. for the past few weeks, i've been working on a pear orchard slash mushroom spawn making facility with (let's call him) mr miyagi. we spent the first week thinning pear trees and now, a few weeks later, have progressed to other tasks like digging up his front yard and resurfacing it. mr miyagi has been patiently identifying the local flora and going to great efforts to explain to me the origins of the plants and flowers that he's collected over the years. mr miyagi is a caucasian man in his 60s and more asian than i could ever hope to be. he has grown wasabi and bok choy and kai lan and has made herbal soups and teas from scratch with chinese herbs that i've seen but wouldn't be able to identify. he also likes durian and a whole bunch of other asian fruit. i'm amazed by his adventurous taste buds. 3. although i've spent the past few days cursing the rainy weather, vancouver is the kind of city that i think i could set up shop in. it has a good balance of fancy and crusty and it feels healthy to be surrounded by the ocean and the mountains... 4. i still miss baltimore and my friends.

yesterday was a long day...and i miss baltimore.
nothing much has happened today thus far. though i am supposed to chauff my mom to her lunch appointment in a few minutes.

last night, we had dinner at miko sushi and i spotted the l word character, jodi, with her interpreter. that was exciting and sushi was good. after dinner, we walked to the bay and watched the celebration of light.

i'm going to go be more productive now...more updates to follow.

garden updates

the garden has been teeming with activity lately. we've been
successfully harvesting lots of mesclun and rainbow swiss chard.

and for the first time ever, a gigantic squash!

the watermelon (i think it's of the sugar baby variety) is about the
size of a tennis ball. the cukes, tomatoes, peppers and carrots are
also doing well. way exciting!

what failed to make it: broccoli, marigolds, spinach. perhaps next
time...

ninja fashion show?

i used to believe that i was in control of things that happened in my life. things don’t just happen to me. not all the time anyway.
however, when the stars align, venus is flying over the moon, or a certain ladyfriend decides to be in cahoots with my roommate, then the result is most of my underwear screen printed with ninjas.

updates

it's been a hot minute. how did i let the whole month of may pass (finally!) without a single entry? but it's june! and definitely summer.

these things have happened in my life:
1. may 17th: irene and sheep got married! and gallivanted through europe for their honeymoon. i successfully wore a strapless bridesmaid's dress for 12 hours and didn't trip once during the wedding. however, i did sport a very disastrous series of tank top tan lines. whatevs.

fortunately, irene gave me the option of taking care of my hair and i didn't have to get hair done in chinatown which would've involved lots of hairspray and a more shellacked look (not my style, clearly). unfortunately, she did not give me the same option with the makeup. a brief conversation with the makeup artist post makeup application went as such...
makeup artist: you don't wear makeup on the regular, do you?
f00: pffffft, nooo.
makeup artist: ok, well, i wouldn't suggest looking in the mirror then.
f00: gasp.
makeup artist: i mean, you don't look like a clown or anything. but it might be kind of a shock to you. also, no eating or drinking the rest of the day.
i thought she was joking and was going to laugh until i realized she wasn't. sweet.
judith was my hot date (and 1 of 4 non-asian people at the 150 person event) and we cleared the dance floor at dinner when we slow danced to al green’s "let’s stay together". that was perhaps the most priceless portion of the evening. that and taking 4 containers’ worth of delicious almond roca.
also, consistent with being the crazy fools that we are, we decided that it would be best to drive home immediately after the wedding. i think the jus secretly wanted to play NPR sunday puzzles (podcast style with will shortz) real bad. we rolled into baltimore at approximately 4.30 am sunday morning. a tad smarter.

2. memorial day weekend: we planted a fruit and vegetable garden in the jus’ backyard – peppers, watermelon, sweet peas, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli! things are sprouting and i can’t wait to harvest wonderfulness.

3. june 2nd: 3 wisdom teeth extracted and i took the whole week off to recover (please, no more pudding). felt nauseous, briefly, then spent some quality time with friends the rest of the week. watched the sex and the city movie with judith and hannah. i'm secretly some derivative of a gay male. therefore i liked it.

4. june 6th: donated blood at the arc for the first time ever in support of jessica grace xander, the arc’s all-star. during the confidential screening process (which included a free HIV test), the lady asked me a series of personal information questions. i was answering all of them accurately when she asked:
lady: gender?
f00’s brain: shouldn’t that be obvious?
f00: effff.
lady enters the information.
lady: so we’re registering you as female, correct?
f00’s brain: what the effff?
f00: yes.
does she think i just have very beefy and awesome pectoral muscles?

question: how do you know...

you're really asian?
answer: when you think it's perfectly normal and socially acceptable that everyone around you is constantly taking photos with their digital cameras and checking their ringing treos/blackberries. at high tea.

the events of today have been an interesting reminder that i am actually foreign. sometimes i seem to forget (it's fortunate that my friends do not and constantly remind me). six/seven years ago, i swore i had become less intelligent after watching zoolander - i was so extra disgruntled. however, i think i've slowly come to appreciate the subtleties of american humor. to some extent.

speaking of today...my friends irene and sheep are getting married in 3 weeks and i drove up to jersey for irene's bridal shower. i've known them both since college. we were all goofy then. what's consoling is that irene still remains a cheeky little fellow and sheep a nerdo. perfectly content surfing the worldwide web. in 3 weeks, i also get to walk down the aisle. it's going to be an adventure. i intend to be an all star, to say the least. do not stay tuned for photos. for they will be embarrassing.

it's now bedtime...irene tells me to feel free to raid the fridge in case i'm hungry in the middle of the night (there is a ton of food left over from the bridal shower after party). quote of the day comes courtesy of her mother, daisy: yes! if you're hungry, just come downstairs! like a mouse! :o)

babysitting

yesterday was bring your child to work day (how did i forget? and why did i not take another day off?). it dawned on me when i saw libby (my boss’ kid) and lisa (my boss) walking across the parking lot in the morning. having been at the beach the past many days, i was not mentally prepared to deal with that situation. i bumped into them in the lobby where lisa proceeded to tell me that libby had just told her, ‘i love dark haired people!’ sweet. slash, what is an appropriate response to that?

there were 3 groups of kids touring the facility. shannon and i got the youngest group first and as they strolled into the large conference room and gathered around the table, libby asked, ‘are you a boy or girl?’ shannon and i made eye contact and decided to ignore. libby’s question started a ripple effect. the boy and girl sitting to my left and right also started to interrogate me. all this while shannon was trying to conduct a focus group. and was trying very hard to keep a straight face.
f00: i’m a girl.
kids: are you a boy or girl?
f00: indeed, i am a girl.
libby: are you sure?
f00: yes, i’m pretty sure.
eric: i think you’re a boy.
f00: well, perhaps it’s the short and dark hair.
eric: hmm, maybe.
eric: do you play football?
f00: no.
libby: she's a korean girl...
f00: actually, i'm a chinese girl.
libby: oh. (point, f00)
some time passed and i thought i had them convinced. but who was i kidding?
libby: are you sure you’re a girl?
f00: yes.
libby: do you ever wear dresses?
f00: hmm, yes. yes, i do. but not all the time.
libby: hmm, yeah. i think if you wore dresses, it would make you look more like a girl.
libby is 6 this year.

reminder: this is the same group that asked if i spoke japanese last year. tragic.