Happy Thanksgiving from Hong Kong!!!!!

So, it is here. Our first Thansgiving in Hong Kong. Obviously, Joe, Alex, and I are experiencing a lot of firsts and this is one. We had our first Halloween here. No trick-or-treaters in our complex, because it just wouldn't really work. You need security cards to get into each tower and our floor really only even accesses three doors, including ours. They had a big Halloween carnival on the grounds and I got to see all the families with their young children in costume and I smiled. Alex didn't dress up but went out with friends to Ocean Park (HK version of Great America) and it was all decked out for Halloween. In Hong Kong, that then signals the immediate transition into...Christmas! Yikes. There is no transitional holiday that eases you into it, like our Thansgiving. Nope, the day after Halloween, Santa was going up in our rotunda!

Joe did get to dress up because his Holiday party for associates was in early November and it was a theme...1960's Hong Kong nightlife. He wore a purple velvet blazer with a black skinny tie and a Beatles-like wig. This is him with his manager ready to go party:

Later that night, Joe and his beauty division managers did a Jackson 5 number. This came after they did a Hong Kong karaoke game where they made the executives listen to head phones with Cantonese lyrics of pop songs which they sang out and the first employee who could figure out what song they were TRYING to sing, won the round! I think some of the staff deliberately didn't come up with the name of the song so they could just continue to watch some poor executive up there stumble and butcher his way through a song for as long as possible! I can only imagine how hysterical it all must have been. I can't believe I'll never know what Joe was doing up there on stage, singing Cantonese or doing Jackson 5 choreagraphy in full costume and makeup. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! He won't let me post the Jackson 5 picture but just know, it's a good one! If only there was a video. I could make some big money to keep that out of the public domain and fly home once a month!

So, now the big 1st I've been dreading...Thanksgiving 2011. This is an interesting one to navigate for many reasons. We are down to only 3 of us here...plus Aspen! She LOVES the turkey so she counts. Of course, I will miss being near and around Windsor. I will miss gathering with my family. We've had different Thanksgiving celebrations though so I can handle all that and be open. The one thing I WILL struggle with is the fact that this is my MeliBeans first return home from college and I'm not gonna be there. No cooking all her favorite foods, no doing her laundry, no hugging her until she turns purple. NO getting mad at her when she wants to go see her friends and I want more of her time and attention. I am so filled with joy at the anticipation I hear from all the kids that are returning home right now, all her wonderful friends that she graduated with and that I love like my own. So if I am brutally honest, I am jealous. It just isn't gonna turn out like what I envisioned over my 18 years with her. I earned it! And now it just isn't fair! LOL! You know those holiday commercials where the parents wake up to the smell of coffee and come down the stairs to find their child HOME from college and its filled with hugging and reunion and...coffee??!! I fell for it. That was soooooo gonna be me! LOL!

Now that I've had a momenentary tantrum, let me assure you that I DO get to have that, only closer to Christmas in about 19 days (nope, I'm not counting at all!). And I'm gonna be just fine. My Melanie knows we love and are with her and she is going to be surrounded by the love of her Nana and Aunt Jackie and her other-mothers of Windsor. She will have more friends and fun than she will be able to fit into 4 whirlwind days. She is such a smart girl that she has written all her papers and done all her homework so she can just enjoy this time, sleep in a bed she doesn't have to climb a ladder to get into, and use a PRIVATE bathroom. So with those thoughts in my head I will spend the day smiling knowing just how blessed we are to have so many blessings in our life, so many amazing people that love us and stick with us through all our crazy adventures.

We have been invited to dinner tonight and they have promised to keep me laughing and off the floor and out of a fetal position! They have promised wine! And if we have a toast, mine will be filled with love and appreciation for my marriage, my children, my family, my friends, and my life - a life that is more than I could have even imagined for myself. THANK YOU!

My Adventure With Alex

I can't believe I have not posted anything since Oct. 20, 2011! Now it is mid-November and I have a lot to tell you. Since the last time I wrote, Joe has been back to California and Oregon to visit home and Mel at college. I survived the 8 days without him and even took Alex on quite the adventure!

Alex was just being released from his extended, doctor-ordered rest period and he was free to return to normal activity and exercise. What does he want to do...remember? Go wake boarding! So, despite hoping this wasn't going to really happen, I decided to just go for it, as well as show Alex that his mom could deliver adventure. Did I wish Joe was home and we could try this together? YES! Did I let that stop me? NO!

Alex knew of a place by his school and we called on a Saturday morning and the next thing we knew...we were in a taxi to go for a "two hour cruise." If I ran in to the Professor or Ginger I was gonna back out! Sadly only people of a certain generation will get that. My kids wouldn't! Oh, the innocence of Gilligan's Island versus the Kardashians! Anyway, we met Alex's friend Laura, who was joining us, and started to walk to the cove where this establishment was located. Hmmmmm. I don't see any businesses, or store fronts or "establishments." I see some fencing and shacks and boats. No signs or even addresses to help us figure out where we were going. This was not what I was expecting but then, this whole experience of moving to Hong Kong teaches me that just because things are different doesn't mean that aren't good. We found the spot we needed and I stayed open and willing to adjust my expectations.

See...there was NO office, NO paperwork, NO deposit, NO forms, NO signatures. As a matter of fact there was NO door on the little hut and NO staff, highly trained in the legalities and details of running this business. Just a guy we found sitting in a plastic patio chair (NO teeth)who said, in broken, accented English, "Your boat is coming in right now." He pointed to the water and we headed down to meet the boat. Getting to the boat was like a ropes course cause the docks aren't secured or stable. More like a log rolling contest! Surprisingly,I didn't fall in or embarass myself. Phew!

The boat was pulling in with some people who also looked like Ex-Pats and as the couple got out they looked happy, healthy and no worse for their trip out on the South China Sea. The guy driving the boat asked if we were the ones that booked 12:30, we confirmed and got in. That was it, we were off! All the gear was on the boat and provided. Even though everything was VERY informal, I trusted this guy. He trusted us enough to just let us hop in his boat and go... without any money exchanged, agreements to arbitrate, or assurance we would pay more for any damages than the item was worth to begin with! Within moments I was feeling the wind in my hair, seeing the coastline of Hong Kong Island, and thinking, "Look at me!" with a smile on my face. So easy, so fun, amazing to be out on the water, seeing things in a new way, seeing my son healthy and active again. I was so glad I just went for it and did this!

I thought our driver/instructor was great! I had an awkward, funny moment with him though. Laura was up boarding and all of a sudden he slowed the boat down and stopped. She thought her turn was up but instead he said he just had to pee. Okay, obviously he'd been out on the boat before we even got there so I figured he'd jump in and take care of business. Well, he took care of business, but not by jumping in the China Sea. He just stood up and started peeing over the side of the boat. Obviously, we all looked away but I couldn't help thinking that I was getting another new experience. When the sound of water hitting water stopped, I knew it was safe to turn around. This was a very casual establishment! I had already noticed that bodily functions like burping are not held back in Hong Kong so this was just another example I would ask the intercultural trainer about when we went in a couple weeks!

The two hours were wonderful and I got to see a different part of Hong Kong Island and see it from the water. We were able to see the contrast of ships in the area, modern yachts versus older, more traditional boats. Alex's school campus was visible from the area we were boating around and I could see the huge contrast between housing options.

Alex's school, HKIS, as seen from the boat. The front is the Middle School campus and the white buildings behind and on top are the High School facilities.

Our adventure came to an end and the boat headed back in. I figured NOW the business would be handled. Payment and signatures on releases. We got out of the boat and I managed to get back over the unstable planks again, hit the shore and headed up to pay.

Well...there was nobody around to take money or even talk to. After a lot of floundering around, the driver of the boat came up and gave us the very low cost. The catch, CASH only because now that I am here I see that they don't have credit card machines or cash registers. They might not even have electricity. But I brought my credit card and didn't have enough cash. NO PROBLEM! The guy said to just come back whenever! Huh?! Do you want me to leave something as collateral? His turn to say, Huh? NO, just bring it whenever. Wow! Nice! I like this level of trust and casual, easy style of doing "business." Needless to say, we dashed off to Stanley, I went to the ATM and got him cash and a tip. You know what they say..."Two hours wakeboarding on the South China Sea with 3 people - $800 HKD (only about $100 USD). An adventure with your son and learning to let go of details and just enjoy the moments - $Priceless!"

Oh, and by the way...Alex is FINE! No trouble or lingering issues from his little health scare/lung issue. Oh, to be 16 again!