happy happy

Both dogs are here, we had a good dinner (cooked by me), we've got a fire going, and I got my end of year donations done. We are so lucky.

dog dog dog

Going to pick up Henry in a bit, now that I've had a sleep-in, gotten my laundry started, used up my Flex account, and made plans to buy bells and get him started on potty bell training.

back again

My own house with my own bed where I know exactly how to find the toilet in the middle of the night.

awakened

We had a few hours free this afternoon, and we were too full from eating Michelin-starred dim sum to keep eating or even walking, so we watched the new Star Wars. No Jar Jar Binks, and passed the Bechdel test, so we didn't mind ignoring the fact that pretty much every good scene was a direct derivative of a scene in the originals. We wanted the old Star Wars back, and that's what they gave us, with a kickass female lead to boot.

binge

We ate an entire Peking duck for dinner. And I had three desserts (Asian desserts are less common in the States). And we're planning a Harry Potter marathon street we get back (the library has the DVDs held for pickup). Total gluttony.

bonus round

Hong Kong is just a stopover, and I haven't been here in almost 20 years, and coming here as an adult without my parents and without a tour group is so much better. We can't walk more than a block before seeing something I want to eat. Din Tai Fung for dinner (plus some mango cake and a red bean bun for dessert), and plans for dim sum and Peking duck tomorrow, with stops along the way for random street food.

carry-on only

All of our stuff still fit into carry-on bags, despite the fact that we acquired airline pajamas, custom tailored shirts and dresses, and souvenirs along the way. I'm not sure how that happened.

food glorious food

Spent a whole day on food: 3.5 hours on a walking tour of street food, and another 3.5 hours taking a cooking class, eating the results, and checking out a market. Delicious and mind boggling. The vendors all work in tiny spaces on street corners or back alleys with cans of glowing coals and cutting boards smaller than dinner plates, and the food is delicious, with each one specializing in one or two treats. The guide and our instructor were both tiny and sweet, and I felt like a lumberjack next to them, running around trying not to collide with a million motorcycles that they didn't even seem to notice.

cooler

The weather in Hanoi is more like California right now: highs in the 60s, some rain. It was a welcome break from the blazing, sunny 90s we were getting in the other cities, so we walked around for hours, ordering some custom made clothes, trying street food (oh my god, the street food!!), watching a public aerobics class, and plotting out the next two days (more street food, a cooking class, picking up our finished clothes, and buying souvenirs now that we're not overwhelmed by heat and humidity).

all better

Not having food poisoning is so much better than having food poisoning. So much better.

sixty

Good evening, Vietnam, my 60th country visited!!

splurge

Low grade fever and all kinds of aches means that it's a room service kind of night. Southeast Asian room service means that I can get pho, the ultimate comfort food, right to my door.

six dollars

Price of a one hour foot massage in Cambodia.

perspective

When you're in one of those first world "is that all there is" funks, and then you start talking to people who were forced to be child soldiers, lost their entire families, and worry about their kids getting enough to eat while not getting blown up by landmines.

saved

I think I may have just cleaned the Namibian dust out of the inner workings of my camera, just in time to take it to Angkor Wat.

hark

Suddenly, thunder!!

rain or shine

Yesterday was over 70° and brilliantly sunny, which was a lovely surprise. Today it is raining, which is also a lovely surprise. Apparently, I've reached a point in my California existence where any weather other than 60° and partly cloudy is a lovely surprise in December.

always be closing

As the hours until vacation decrease, the number of deals closed increases. All is as it should be.

mindful

I've been in a 2.5 day mindfulness class at work, and have had some interesting thoughts as a result of some of the exercises, but the best one was really articulating what it is that I appreciate about Boyfriend (he takes care of me and does things I don't want to do, he really gets me and accepts me, and he makes me laugh every day), then deciding to tell him after work, then hearing him say what he appreciate about me (I accept him and make him aware of things he wants to improve without judgment, I make him want to be more generous, I share stone interests and priorities while giving him space to pursue the ones we don't share, and I have a similar but different sense of humor). It was fun to actually spell out what we like about each other.

We also realized that in over seven years, we can't even remember having more than a couple fights, which is crazy and amazing.