fun times
x'mas time again. this time possibly a white one for me here in ny. not fun- i hate the cold because i have to wrap myself up like a bak chang*. and of course it means stuffing myself up like one too.
my family came into the city on friday and found their way to my dump of an apt in the lower east side. my dad keeps trying to psych my sister out of coming to the US to study (not that she has any plans really) by saying, wah, che's room is even smaller than our toilet...doesn't even have a proper desk...you have to do your own laundry you know...have to take train/bus everywhere you know...you sure you still want to come here and study?? wah lau, what emotional blackmail because my sister is such a comfort creature.
but family time is good. because my landlady is out of town for two weeks and couldn't find a subletter for that time, my parents are renting the apt from her for the time she's away. which works out pretty well for us coz it's cheaper and we all get to do family things like watch tv and eat fruit together. (my land lady is a whole other story worthy of another blog. omg.) yesterday i printed out the map for a walking tour of all the x'mas window displays at the big dept stores. we made our way furthest uptown first to see my office and planned to begin the walk down park/madison at bloomingdale's right across the street. my sisters ended up getting foodstruck by all the snacks we had in the kitchen and could not stop saying, wah, your office is so cool!!! so we lounged around for almost an hour while they took pictures of cereal and the bloomberg papercups. when we thought, ok, enough snacking at the bloomberg kitchen, we attempted to make our way to bloomie's only to get stopped along the way by william sonoma, pottery barn, and our dear friends hennes and mauritz. we didn't get to bloomingdale's (which btw, is literally ten steps, at most 20, away from my office building) til it was dark and didn't leave until dinner time. so much for the walking tour-we didn't even manage to get past the first stop.
i finally got my precious chinese posters. those alluring 1920s shanghainese adverts which feature doll-like, almost sexy chinese models promoting western imports like cigarettes, soaps and local products like quacky, heal-all balms and that caked power which was foundation perhaps?
and i also got a truckload of foodstuffs which my mother brought as though i was living in the middle of a jungle in africa. like ten packs of pocky??? what am i supposed to do with all that pocky?? i love pocky, but by the time i'm through, i'm going to be pockied-out. maybe have a new years party and serve pocky with the cocktails eh. haha.
my sisters and i are schlepped into my little bed in the meantime. have to deal with mei's legs which do flying kicks while she's asleep. jun last night pleaded with me not to have to sleep next to her and just now in her sleep half shouted "get off me!" because mei has comfortably wrapped herself around her (i am awake already so i have left the middle of the bed and mei of course has rolled around nicely to the next warm body)
*(explanation for ellen) bak chang is a fat rice dumpling wrapped in leaves.
my family came into the city on friday and found their way to my dump of an apt in the lower east side. my dad keeps trying to psych my sister out of coming to the US to study (not that she has any plans really) by saying, wah, che's room is even smaller than our toilet...doesn't even have a proper desk...you have to do your own laundry you know...have to take train/bus everywhere you know...you sure you still want to come here and study?? wah lau, what emotional blackmail because my sister is such a comfort creature.
but family time is good. because my landlady is out of town for two weeks and couldn't find a subletter for that time, my parents are renting the apt from her for the time she's away. which works out pretty well for us coz it's cheaper and we all get to do family things like watch tv and eat fruit together. (my land lady is a whole other story worthy of another blog. omg.) yesterday i printed out the map for a walking tour of all the x'mas window displays at the big dept stores. we made our way furthest uptown first to see my office and planned to begin the walk down park/madison at bloomingdale's right across the street. my sisters ended up getting foodstruck by all the snacks we had in the kitchen and could not stop saying, wah, your office is so cool!!! so we lounged around for almost an hour while they took pictures of cereal and the bloomberg papercups. when we thought, ok, enough snacking at the bloomberg kitchen, we attempted to make our way to bloomie's only to get stopped along the way by william sonoma, pottery barn, and our dear friends hennes and mauritz. we didn't get to bloomingdale's (which btw, is literally ten steps, at most 20, away from my office building) til it was dark and didn't leave until dinner time. so much for the walking tour-we didn't even manage to get past the first stop.
i finally got my precious chinese posters. those alluring 1920s shanghainese adverts which feature doll-like, almost sexy chinese models promoting western imports like cigarettes, soaps and local products like quacky, heal-all balms and that caked power which was foundation perhaps?
and i also got a truckload of foodstuffs which my mother brought as though i was living in the middle of a jungle in africa. like ten packs of pocky??? what am i supposed to do with all that pocky?? i love pocky, but by the time i'm through, i'm going to be pockied-out. maybe have a new years party and serve pocky with the cocktails eh. haha.
my sisters and i are schlepped into my little bed in the meantime. have to deal with mei's legs which do flying kicks while she's asleep. jun last night pleaded with me not to have to sleep next to her and just now in her sleep half shouted "get off me!" because mei has comfortably wrapped herself around her (i am awake already so i have left the middle of the bed and mei of course has rolled around nicely to the next warm body)
*(explanation for ellen) bak chang is a fat rice dumpling wrapped in leaves.
posted by jia en at 9:33 AM
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