February 28, 2006

[ma lil' mochachocalatta] Jason arrives back in the States tomorrow! He will be going to Indiana first, though, to see his family before storming DC a week from today. As if on cue, LIVE from Torino, Italia, the media diva has proclaimed:

If going to strip bars was an Olympic sport, we would be on the gold medal relay team!

LOL!!! She's baaaaa-ack! @ 15:12

[impatient bitches] OK, bitches. I have been *swamped* at work. I'm basically doing two persons' job coz my bosses think I walk on water. Grr. So, I have no time to do frivolous shit like write :p Not that my life has been at a standstill or anything. Au contraire! But now that the Olympics are over and I can get back to doing something else besides watching figure skating till midnight... What? Figure skating is SO gay, der.

Wow, can you believe it's the end of February already? Spring is coming, yay!!! About damn time coz it's colder than a witch's tit these days. Don't like the cold at all. Not fetch!

These are pretty self-explanatory... from dinner at Chris/Dave's with Rob/Carlos last Wed:

Chris!: the fetch host and master chef
Carlos and Chris: I love being in the middle!

And, OMB, last Friday night was kwazy. We (Evan, ChrisFT+1, Chuck+1, Taylor and me) went to Bernie's. And the rest is history. I'll let the pictures do the talking... (are you happy now, Chuck?)

Our lovely host
Bernie!: Our oh-so-lovely host, with a fetch wall clock!
Bernie and me: This shot took MANY, many tries. Trust!
Bernie and me: Sitting on a couch. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

"Asshole"
The Scene of Carnage: We played this card game called "Asshole". My first reaction was, "Oooh! Play with mine! Wait, what will the other bottoms play?"... OMB, that was so un-PG. I, not having gone to school here (and the Brits don't play card games), was completely clueless. I was very quickly edumacated. I still sucked at it though. And when you suck at drinking games, you get mondo drunk and take shakey pictures, LOL!
Drink!: Brian
Drink!: Evan
Drink!: Brian again! Bernie: "Drink up, bitch!", Chris: "Ohh, it's not going to be pretty tonight!"
Drunk: Chris: "I'm going to close my eyes... for just one sec! Just one sec!", Brian: "Oh boy..."

Two-sies...
Feet: No, I do not have a foot fetish
Lovebirds: Chuck and his new man, David...
Lovebirds: Aww... David: "Oh Chuck, you smell so... Lysol!"
Lovebirds: Young love... *sigh*
Lovebirds: "So happy together..."
Lovebirds: Awwww... This is like the best picture of Chris and Brian I have
Les Enfants Terrible: Chuck and ChrisFT
The Twins: So mean, so fetch.
ChrisFT and me: Note to self - wear heels when taking pictures with Chris!

...and Group-sies!
Cleopatra: I'm auditioning for the role... with all my hos.
Group picture: Don't you love that my camera phone has a timer??
Group picture: The happy, drunk bunch!
Smokers' Lounge: Philip Morris would be so proud...

Hope you enjoyed the slideshow! I still have pics from Saturday night at Halo that I haven't posted yet... So many moments, so many pictures, and so freakin' little time! @ 14:32

February 27, 2006

[the passion ends] Kinda melancholy this morning. Sad to see the Olympics end. Last night's Carnevale Closing Ceremonies were stirring and heartwarming, yet bittersweet. I think I almost cried when the Olympic flame went out *pout*. The bunch-of-kids-singing-the-national-anthem thing is quite enduring, I think, especially when they're singing a fun little tune like the Italian national anthem ("Fratelli... d'Italia!"). O Canada opera-style? Um, I'm gonna have to pass on that one. I would've preferred Avril singing it. The Vancouver 2010 presentation was kinda flat too, but not bad. The quadriplegic mayor dude is one amazing fella'. I'm not thrilled with their logo thingie (is that the marshmallow man?) but I guess it'll grow on me. Torino 2006's logo was AWEsome, n'est-ce pas?

The whole circus thing was fun. Those dudes flying up in the air propelled by the "air trampoline" thingie? Sooooo cool, especially the ones that flew up with snowboard and skis. The final medal presentation in the Stadio Olimpico to an Italian gold medallist was priceless, I thought.

What does Ricky Martin have to do with the Olympics? Good God. That Copa de la Vida Alle Alle Alle bullshit is *SO* 1998!! No, really, Cup of Life is like the France '98 World Cup theme song. I would've preferred an Andrea finish or some Italian pop group (how do you say "Hung Up" in Italian?).

NBC's broadcast is actually quite good. The tape delay thing doesn't work though. Some things (most definitely sporting events) are just better watched live. It's impossible, especially in this day and age of instant internet-fed gratification, to hold back and wait for the primetime show when the results had already been out for 3 hours at that point! I can't imagine how NBC is going to handle the 13-to-16-hour delay that's going to be Beijing 2008.

CNN is funny. They noted the passing of the Olympic flag from Torino 2006 to Vancouver 2010 with "Arrivederci, eh?"

From the Hedrick-Davis ice war to Bode's shameful desecration of the sport of skiing and the Olympics in general, State-side papers and news stations couldn't come up with enough despondent adjectives to describe Torino 2006 - "flat", "little drama", "we hardly watched ye", "nonchalance", "mixed bag", "no spark", "empty", and so on. And the rest of the country responded by turning off en masse. Watching the American media and the reaction of the people here to the Olympic Games, you won't be challenged if you thought Americans think they're the only ones that matter in the world of international competition. Or just the world, period.

It's not how the Italians procrastinated on construction and attendance. It's not the lack of (and then over-abundance of) snow. It's not the bleak factory-look of Turin. It's not about the yummy chocolate in Turin. It's also not about the beautiful piazzas and the jaw-dropping beauty of the Alps. It's not how many medals, or even what color the medals are. It is definitely not about Bode mocking the honor of representing your country at the Olympics.

It's about sport. It's about competition. It's about representing your country honorably in a kaleidoscope of nations coming together on the grandest stage in the world. It's about peace. It's about brotherhood. It's about coming together once every four years. It's about creating, not destroying. It's about love for humankind. It's about a certain passion so fiery and so inspiring, you have to see it etched in jubilation on a winner's face before you can understand it. It's about the amazing nature of the human spirit to conquer adversity, disappointment, and heart-wrenching falls, to rise again... to believe again.

And it's about Sasha Cohen falling on her ass twice and still managing to finish with such grace and poise to win the silver. It's about Chinese pairs skater Zhang Dan who slammed so hard into the ice after falling from a jump I could feel it in my living room. She finished the program with her partner, and won the silver after making no more mistakes. Those silvers shone as brightly as gold. It's also about Joey Cheek (1 gold, 1 silver) donating his entire $40k medal bonus money to the Right to Play charity. And then there was the hometown hero Enrico Fabris who, overnight, became king of Italy after winning two speedskating gold medals for Team Italia. And an entire nation's gratitude spilled over like an avalanche of green, white and red with cheers of "Italia! Italia! Italia!". Can you imagine how proud these people are? How they rallied around their own, whether they accomplished something they thought might never be possible, or lose something they never thought they would lose? How their own were so proud to represent themselves, their sport, and their country?

Is that something Chad, Shani and Bode will ever understand?

And so I leave you with this from USA Today (shout out to Jason who's coming home in a week!!), a story about the embodiment of the Olympic spirit and its ideals.

"...we should be careful to judge the heart of the Olympics too harshly, just because of TV numbers, or free-spirit skiers. Not without thinking of Ethiopia's Robel Teklemariam."

"He is a cross-country skier who came in 84th place in the 15K. The medal winners had time to shower, dress and sign three endorsement contracts by the time he struggled to the line. But he got there."

"'I would have finished this race,' Teklemariam said, 'if I had to crawl on my knees.'"

"Let Bryant Gumbel or A.C. Nielsen or Bode Miller or anyone else tell Robel Teklemariam the Winter Olympics don't mean anything. They do, with or without us."

I, for one, will never forget Torino 2006. I don't have any medals, but I have SO many moments! Grazie, Torino! @ 14:48

February 24, 2006

[weekend in dc] It feels so weird to be in DC during a weekend! Giggle. A little bird passed along this link about Torino's gay reputation. Interesting read, I must say! Reading about Centralino was such a huge wet flashback.

I have nothing planned for this weekend. I might hit a few bars and what not, but nothing exciting. I *need* to go to yoga tomorrow. I'm feeling achey and unbendy everywhere and I need to be flexible *naughty grin*! I also need to do some shopping - furniture and clothes - but looking at the credit card bills this month, this very very short month, I'm already wincing. All I see are foreign currency transactions! Especially Torino, LOL! Amazed at how I spent €600 there in 45 hours, and I didn't even buy anything!

The Olympics have been quite fun. Last night's women's figure skating long program/free skate thingie was quite awesome, even though I had obsessively checked the results earlier in the day at work (the final result was released at 5pm EST/11pm CET). I already knew who was gonna win and what was gonna happen (thanks, Jason!) so when Sasha fell on her ass twice, I had no reaction. The Japanese chick was AWESOME though. I'm still beside myself that they gave the gold to her, an Asian! The only Asian that deserves to stand on that gold medal podium is Michelle Kwan! Michelle is my idol. LOVE her.

I've missed so much of American Idol I might as well just watch the final 12 at this point. I'm catching up on my TiVo. My TiVo is about to explode, btw. There is so much unwatched stuff stored up on there I could live without live television for a week. I can't believe I'm SO behind on Desperate Housewives!

We had a fabulous dinner at Chris/Dave's on Wednesday night. Rob/Carlos were there. It was nice to see DC friends again! I have pictures but I haven't had time to upload them yet. One that you will NOT see is a 5-glasses-of-wine-induced crotch-bearing shenanigans with Carlos and Chris on their knees. Yes, MY crotch. 'Nuff said.

Last night was JR's fun. Yay! Back to my normal routine, haha. Matt was beside himself to see me. He was like "where the fuck have you been and where are my souvenirs?" and I made the mistake of telling him that Italian bartenders were hotter, to which he then pours me a quadruple shot of vodka in one drink, which also happened to be my final drink of the evening. Well, there was this moment when I sucked down half of "I just got back from Tokyo" ChrisFT's Madras (kinda like a Cape Cod meats screwdriver... a Codscrew?) without his consent. Giggle. I'm such a compulsive drinker. Well, that was payback for his earlier comment when he asked me if I was gonna be in JR's that night and I was like, "aren't you sick of Asians by now?" and he was like "yea, kinda". Bitch! *muah*

Apparently not so sick of us coz bitch wants to go back to Tokyo! Hah. Suffer in 14-hour coach, bitch :-)

Roll call: Leo, M2, Mean Girls - "too busy with my new bf" Chuck + Sarah, Peter/Mitch, Gary/Kirk, etc. The usual. Kwazy fun.

This weekend is gonna be catch-up weekend. And a chill weekend. And a good riddance to the February cold indeed! @ 17:21

February 21, 2006

[random pics] From the Bay Area...

Napa Valley

Random pictures of vineyards... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ...some of them are quite cool
I thought this one of the Mumm Napa Valley was the best
Look at the cute little doggies!
With Mike & Gary! Do we look like we just stuffed ourselves silly the night before at the French Laundry? *giggle*

San Francisco

Views of San Francisco from the Bay Bridge
A pretty day over the San Francisco skyline
Looking up Market Street
Ming's Coffee Shop! *giggle*
Driving down Hwy 101 en route to San Jose

Steve & Naomi's

Steve/Naomi's living room
Naomi's gonna kill me but check out that belly!
I'm sure she wanted me to put up this picture instead
My favorite red chair!
Soon-to-be mommy and daddy!
Me & Mimi - I'm so bad at taking self-portraits
Reprising our Cleopatra pose on the chaise. See last year... @ 20:45

[staying put] That's it. I'm done. I'm staying home and I'm not leaving until... hmm, tentatively our next trip is in July somewhere. But Memorial Day is always ripe for a trip. So tentatively I would say we're not travelling for the next three months. But I just might go to Vegas in April. LOL!

This is kwazy. We're only two months into the year and I have 46,647 qualifying miles. It's insane. I don't want to fly anymore. Especially not after another mishap on our return journey from SFO. Don't worry, we didn't get downgraded. But the check-in agent processing our upgrade screwed up our seat assignments and gave us window seats on different rows!! I've just about had it with UA. We managed to negotiate a seat swap onboard (thank God for kind ppl) so that wasn't too bad. The food sucked - the lasagna was cold! Grr. Plus the movie I really wanted to see ("Pride and Prejudice" - fun movie, btw) had the worst picture quality ever, not that it was so great to begin with on a teeny tiny lil' scren the size of my palm.

The 150+mph jetstream tailwind meant that our flight was only 4hrs long and landed 30+ mins early. Fetch.

The three major obvious highlights of our trip were the three dinners we had lined up. You've already heard about Town Hall with Tom/Gen. The French Laundry on Saturday night was par for the course. Lemme 'splain.. it wasn't bad. It was, in fact, very, very, VERY good. It wasn't transcending though. Per Se (same chef, different coast) kinda took the air out of that fantasy bubble. The chef's 9-course tasting menu looked and tasted surprisingly similar considering it's been two years since we dined at Per Se. As for the ambience, well, let's just say I'm definitely an urban boy. The country is just a little too rustic for me, service standards and fellow diners included.

Still, I'm glad that I went (for $400/pp, I better be!). The wines were awesome, thank Mike and Tony. I can still taste the "oysters and pearls" first course in my mouth, it was that good. I squealed at the generous portion of sevruga, natch. The "mac and cheese" course was sublime. The beef... I don't know why I gave it up in the first place. OMB, so impossible to describe. Absolutely TDF. Everything just melted in your mouth. The fish was great. Duck was amazing (almost, but not quite, as good as the pork shoulder at Per Se). Didn't really care for the veges (can you believe I ordered the vege instead of the foie gras? double der), nor the yucky green sauce around the fish. By the time cheese and dessert came, I was already too sated (and tipsy) to expel anymore food orgasms. So happy. I'm so spoilt.

French Laundry - the menu and the pictures. I don't want to hear a pip about the picture quality. It was dark, mmm-kay? And I forgot to take a picture of the duck course, my bad. Oh and for reference sake, Per Se. And a big thank you to Gary for helping make the dinner happen!

Sunday, we gallivanted around Napa some more, visiting Stag's Leap (cabernets again, yuck) and Regusci (mmm). Bought a few more bottles, left the group and drove down to SF for a dim sum lunch at my favorite joint, Yank Sing. Got caught on the Bay Bridge for 45 minutes trying to cross into SF, stank. Anywho, went shopping for a bit before heading down to San Jose (I know, right? Talk about driving to Mexico, sheesh) for dinner with Naomi and Steve.

OMB, Naomi is UBER-pregnant!!! She claims her due date is in one month but I don't think she can hold it in her any longer. Her belly looks like it's about to make like Mt St Helens, Vesuvius and Krakotoa all-in-one and erupt. This baby is gonna launch out of her à la Alien. Yes, she's That big. The rest of her doesn't look out of the ordinary though. It's just that belly! It's so big it takes up your peripheral vision. This baby is gonna be Huge. I think she's incubating baby Gojira and this lizard is gonna come running out of her come end-of-March. I'm telling you, it's the white genes (sneers at Steve). Makes me rethink my plan of getting a uterus, LOL (sneers at Tony).

Steve made yummy noodles the last time we were there so we had to reciprocate. What.. Me? Cook? Pfffttt. I drank and ate. So Tony cooked, and dinner was sensational. Naomi soaked up all my stories about Torino with Jason, and we watched the Olympics to cap off the night (OMB, talk about Italian ice princess! I thought she was gonna sharpen her fingernails on the ice and rip the dude's jugular off when he dropped her). Tony was drunk, but he drove home. I know, very very naughty. But y'all know I can't drive when I've had a few drinks. Not unless you want to see this yellow ass sent back to Asia (OK, don't answer that) :-p

So, all in all, it was a GREAT weekend in Northern California with friends and more friends. The Bay Area needs no other excuse for a visit to begin with, but once you add good friends, great wines, and delicious food, well it makes you want to just pack up and move there, doesn't it?

Why am I here... At work... Dragging my life along miserably... When I could be... There? @ 17:44

February 18, 2006

[eat, drink and be merry!] We're here! Not without a major ordeal though. Our flight ended up taking 6.5 hours (an hour longer than usual!!), and we landed over an hour late. We panicked coz we were sposed to meet Tom/Gen for dinner in the City 15 minutes after we landed. I ran out of SFO like I was being chased by Gojira (shout-out to ChrisFT who's in Tokyo right now), almost tripping one guy over, and then screaming ("move yo' fat ass, bitch!") at this white trash skank who decide the top of the escalators was a good place to stop and sightsee. Fucking tourists.

We jumped into a rental car and sped up 101 into the City, arriving at Town Hall restaurant in SoMa to meet Tom/Gen at an amazing - get this - 45 minutes after we landed. Fetch! We weren't too terribly late as we were seated moments after we arrived. Food was amazing, the company was fetch, all in all a great dinner. Tom/Gen are clearly loving it in the Bay Area - and I don't blame them! I almost wished the plane would've kept flying past SF, over the Pacific and landing in Asia. It's soooo close. I miss Asia.

By the time we checked in to the hotel (in Fisherman's Wharf) after dinner, it was close to 1am (4am in DC!) and I think I slept upon immediate contact of my head to the pillow. Woke up this morning at 10am! Giggle. Much needed rest, I must say. It took us an hour to get to Napa (Tony is Mr Speedy behind the wheel.. but not in bed! Hehe), and we lunched at this Fabulous restaurant at Auberge du Soleil (cheapest rooms $500/nt!), overlooking vineyards. It was all so beautiful, and the food was so fabulous. Our waiter was also a sommelier and he very helpfully gave us a map of Napa Valley with his personal recommendations of wineries to go check out.

And so we did. We're now back at the hotel in Napa. Drunk, LOL! We did Plump Jack, ZD, Miner, Chimney Rock, Robert Sinskey and Mumm; all on the Silverado Trail parallel to CA-29. We tasted quite a few wines, though the Napa Valley area is heavy on Cabs so I wasn't too keen on that. ZD was fun. Miner was the best - friendly staff and great wines. Chimney Rock was a waste of time. Robert Sinskey was awesome - free, delicious hors d'oeuvres and great staff, not to mention great wines. Mumm was a champagne place with a gallery - worth checking out but Domaine Chandon is better, me thinks. Bought mostly whites, some pinots, a bottle of champagne.. the usual. I still can't believe we hit 6 wineries in 2 1/2 hours! Giggle.

One more hour before our French Laundry gastro-vaganza. I am seriously excited, and SO ready to eat. If Southern California is all sun, sea, sand and surf, Northern California is all about orgasmic foods and wines. Eat, drink and be merry! @ 17:19 Napa

February 17, 2006

[downgraded] Late afternoon flight to San Francisco. When we left DC, it was close to sunset. It's dark outside now. We're chasing the moon across America. Across the continent, from sea to shining sea.

We're halfway through a very long flight; pilot says the headwinds are extremely strong today. 129 knots, it seems. Our flight time - normally 5+ hours - is over 6 hours today. Our arrival time is almost an hour behind scheduled arrival, which will make us late for dinner with Tom/Gen, but there's no way to let them know we'll be late.

We're somewhere above... America. No idea where. The problem with coach (on a 767) is that you don't get a personal screen, and hence no airshow to tell you where you are. So, how did we end up in coach? Didn't we have confirmed Business Class seats? Goooood question.

As a continuation of our superb luck with United recently (*grin*), we got downgraded today upon arrival at the airport (speaking of which, Dulles was a madhouse today!). They swapped out our 3-class 767 plane to a 2-class. They only had 1 seat left in "First" and since we didn't want to be separated (aww, if Phoebe were here she'd say we're lobsters), we both ended up in bulkhead seats in coach. Sigh. Anywho, legroom is fetch. Seats are not bad. You have to pay for alcohol and food, but since we're 1K we just swapped out some coupons and got wine and salad + wrap for free.

Ain't too bad. I'm not complaining. Not fetch but not stank either. I'm looking forward to a super-busy but fun-filled weekend in SF and Napa Valley. In a gist, we have dinner with Tom/Gen tonight, dinner at the French Laundry (OMB!!) in Napa Valley tomorrow night with Mike/Gary and their friends Brian/Terry, and then dinner at Steve/Naomi's in Silicon Valley. I know, we're gonna be driving north and south, east and west. I'm super excited. I'm always excited about going to San Francisco.. or just California in general. It's like going to Heaven :-)

Can't complain about that! Have a great President's Day weekend y'all! @ 21:24

[day III - the last day] The final instalment. All good things must come to an end...

"what happens in italy, stays in italy!" (Feb 12) So bitch comes home Really late (1:30). Grr. I don't even let Tony come home that late! I was ready to smack him, LOL! I was ready to party, but I thought since it was so late... what, you think we stayed home? Haha, you must not know Jason very well. Of course we went out!

Here's the thing about Italy. No one sleeps. They barely work. They live to eat, drink and be merry. It's quite amazing. Businesses shut down from 1-4 for lunch. Dinner is a 4hr affair till past midnight. Clubs don't close till 6. We are definitely living in the wrong country!

We make a mad dash to La Gare, near the train station. It was 2:30 when we got there. And y'know what? There was a line to get in. Not so much a line, but a mob. Italians don't stand in line. Anyway, it wasn't so much a mob as it was a fashion contest. There was a fierce-looking diva behind barriers. Behind her were equally fierce-looking bouncers. And she was basically picking ppl to enter her club! I know, right? I never thought it would boil down to this - Am I.. Are we pretty enough to get into La Gare?

As it turns out, we were! Giggle. And no, Jason didn't have his press credentials, so we definitely relied on hotness ;-) We get in.. and it was M-A-Y-H-E-M. The lobby area was a sea of euro-trash (aka gay-vague), euro-fags, and their euro-hags. Not that you could tell the difference between the euro-trash and the euro-fags (Europeans all dress gay). Our gaydar was completely useless. But it was gay night at La Gare, so we were definitely in good company. Plus we could hear some of the music reverberating out of the dance floor and it was Fierce like only a gay party can be.

Jason got squeamish with the crowds. Plus we didn't know what the system was. After moping around for a few, we finally figured out that we had to check our coats and get a green card, then go to the cashier and pay to swap out the green card for a red one, and then use the new card to get in to the club. Good God. Could they have made it anymore complicated for visitors??

Since Jason just stood there like a frozen bitch, I butched it up and muscled (stop laughing) my way through the sea of frantic, frenzied and suave Italian boys swarming the coat check counter - there was no system and no line! I got our coats checked, got the cards, and shoved and jostled my way to the front of the cashier's desk (there was only one! grrr...). I almost got into a fight with a fierce lesbian who cussed at me in Italian and I, of course, played dumb Asian tourist ("me no speaking Engrish") and I got the cashier's attention first, much to the lezzie's dismay and anger. I revelled *giggle*. Finally.. FINALLY, with red card in hand, I grabbed Jason's sleeve and dragged him into the club. Since when did I become such a top? LOL!

Oh btw, I have NEVER paid this much (€27/pp!!) to enter a club in my life. Ever. No, I've never been to circuit parties.

We get inside. It's past 3am. The club is PACKED! Can you believe it? Clubs usually wind down at 3am, and this place was still ON FIRE! I love Italy! Viva Italia!! OMB, it's hard to describe - well, pictures are worth a thousand words ;-) - but the scene was like... 4 drippingly HOT Italian strippers in G-strings gyrating on a center stage in the middle of the club. My mouth was agape for a full minute and I think my heart stopped a stroke-inducing 8 or 9 beats before I noticed Jason twitching from alcohol withdrawal. And continuing my role as top for the night, I stormed the enormous raised circular bar overlooking the dance pit and the center stage near the entrance, slid right up to the bar, waved my card, smiled really huge, caught the bartender's attention, and got us 2 vodka-limons each in no time. Bartender liked me, LOL! I was the only gaysian in the club and I made sure they all knew it!

We slammed our drinks down and shoved our way to the center stage (it was packed!) and planted ourselves there under the strippers. I don't know if I danced or I just stood there and stared the entire time but if the floors weren't carpeted (I know, how bizarre!), I think a puddle would've formed. After a few moments and searing into our memory every single curve and crevice on these immaculate boys' bodies, we wander around and found the VIP section. Another fierce diva was basically blocking the stairs up to this section and was hand-picking ppl to go in. It was pandemonium. The scene was like Bastille 1789. I grabbed Jason and hoisted us onto a podium and basically screamed at the gatekeeper-diva "Olimpico!!!" while pointing at ourselves. She smiled and motioned us through. I squealed, kissed her and said "Ciao! Ti amo!". She loved it.

The VIP section was... crowded! Grr. We found another bar and this time I am feeling so bold I walked right up to the bar, caught the eye of the gorgeous blond Italian bartender chick, showed her my pearly whites and she served me before everyone else! Jason's jaw about dropped, haha. This happened twice. The second time, I was not even at the bar yet when she came to my section and asked if I wanted another. Hot! I made like Buddha and played the Asian card till they all bowed in reverence. Giggle.

OK, OK. Enough about me. We found a platform across from the center stage and danced there, shaking, jigging and dropping it like only two DC gayboys can. I don't remember much else after that (5 drinks down in an hour!). I do remember taking a LOT of pictures which was quite a feat coz I had to time my camera phone to coincide with the strobe lighting illuminating the club. Easier said than done, especially when you're drunk!

And then there was that brief moment as we were trying to leave when we thought we were gonna be kidnapped and taken to the mafia. Jason had lost (misplaced... erm, he later found them) our cards!! They wouldn't let us out. Finally, I gave them all the money I had in my wallet (€35) and they let us out; OK, dragged and walked us out by our collars, LOL! That was quite neat coz 8 drinks (first two were free) would've cost us WAY more than €35. When we left, the place was STILL packed. The Italians are kwazy!

We cabbed it home, went to the BIT bar again at around 6am, had a few paninis, met up with our fetch Italian-teachers-cum-bartenders and partied till dawn (literally). I've always wanted to say I partied till dawn. And at age 28, I finally did it! It was 7am when we got back to the room, oh what a night! And my flight was leaving in FOUR hours!!! OMB. Should I stay (awake) or should I go (to sleep)? @ 22:35

"arrivederci torino, viva italia" I so wanted to stay. But I had to go. To the airport, that is. By the time I was packed and showered and ready to go, it was 8am and Jason was sound asleep. Aww.

I was SO tired I could've slept standing up. I checked in three hours before my flight and went shopping. There was an Olympic Store at the airport which made up for last night's disappointing early closure of the main store. I ate my final panini in Italy. It was delish to the last morsel. I can never eat American sandwiches again. I mean, how hard can it be?? Prosciutto/Mortadella/Speck/Salami/whatever, fresh cheese, maybe a basil or a tomato and voila, Yummy! Seriously, how hard can it be.

I'm still drunk from La Gare when I boarded the plane to Frankfurt. I was wired and wide awake, and completely awed by another cloudless departure through the Swiss Alps, and spectacular, stunning, jaw-dropping views of the mountains surrounding Torino. Homebound, *sigh*. I so wanted to stay longer. Not the least because the medals ceremony that night had an American gold medallist! I would've screamed out the Star Spangled Banner. And OMB, Kelly Clarkson was gonna perform! Shit, shit, shit, I can't believe I left prematurely. Sorry, Jason!

I get to Frankfurt, and my body is definitely fading. My eyes could barely stay open. My mind was shutting down. The come down from my drunken high was steeper than a downhill ski slope. I was fast luge-ing my way to a huge hangover-crash. It was not pretty. Thank God I found the (smoke-free, thank Beyonce) Lufthansa lounge which was empty. I sat my ass down occupying 4 seats, ate lots of lounge food (which was quite good, hell anything tasted good at this point), and tried really hard to read a book and stay up during my 4 hour layover in Frankfurt, but by the second hour, I was sound asleep in a lounge chair.

I woke up and saw ppl Everywhere. The lounge was packed! The four seats I had occupied were completely taken over. I apologized profusely for taking up so much space for myself. Apparently I was out for more than an hour. I looked at my watch and I had this crazy look of panic - flight to DC leaves in an hour! I scrambled out of there and Almost missed my flight. I jumped onboard with 10 minutes left to spare! Phew. No sleep, hungover and trying to catch a flight? Not a pretty combo at all. Never again!

Business Class on a late afternoon flight across the Atlantic to Dulles, chasing the moon across the pond. It was bittersweet when I landed. I was so happy to see Tony, but my Italian adventure was officially over. Till next time (September!), Ciao Italia! And grazie mille, Jason!! @ 22:47

February 15/16, 2006

[day II] Hope you're enjoying my adventures in Torino so far. The shenanigans spill over into Day 2 like an avalanche. And if I haven't "verbalized" it already, Jason buried my weekend with so much fun I didn't want to get up. Ti amo, cioccolato mio!! The kwaziness continues...

"get out of bed, bitch!" (Feb 11) There are three sure things in life - death and taxes... and Jason needing a drink at the end of a Long workday. I think I must've lingered a little too long in bed, coz she waltzed in huffing and puffing, looked at me, and commanded me to "Get out of bed, bitch! I need a drink, now!". I swear she was going to roll me up in seaweed and slice me up into sushi rolls if I had waited one more second!

So off we went to Caffe Leri. It was already 1am at this point and the bar, excuse me, Cafe was quite dead. Everyone had moved on. It really was a cafe. It even had tables and chairs, and a display case with panini for sale. But the bar not only served coffee, it served alcohol. And there was a fun little dancefloor in the "dungeon" downstairs. From all my trips to Italy, I already knew that you could never get cranberry juice at a bar in Italy. So I ruminated about what I was gonna order at the bar during our 15-min cab ride to the city/Centro. We finally got us some Vodka-7Up, but they had never heard of 7Up so we got Limon Soda instead. I know, whatev. It tasted fine, but nowhere near JR's "quality" *giggle*.

The music was very American pop and totally fetch. Britney, Mariah, Madonna, Gwen... They played Gold Digger, and we had to order some seriously expensive (€15!) drinks called Caprioska (I had some in KL and was hooked) to go with the song. We were midway through a serious conversation when Jason hears the beginnings of "Hung Up" (bitch can recognize that song in 548 iterations), so we rush down with our drinks, slam them down on the table (drinking them to the bottom, of course), and started dropping it so hard on the dance floor we left skid marks. In a prelude of what was to come, we generated enough heat grinding on each other so hard, we lit the dancefloor on fire! Jason is my dancing queen! I'm the empress, of course.

Hung Up ends, we're bored. We march upstairs. And some guys stop us and ask us (in English! I'm like "bitches, do I look Caucasian to you??") where the party was. We were like, "Centralino, der". And they were like "we're members of the Dutch Olympic team, can we come with you?" and Jason goes "I want your scarf!!". Um, they weren't very cute so obviously we needed a bribe to do them this HUGE favor (since Jason is quite a Turin-ese by now and knows the ropes). Jason gets the scarf (der), and we even got them to pay for our cab ride to Centralino! *mischievous giggle*

Centralino was FETCH. First of all, I was quite surprised that there was no cover (hot!) and the card system (where they stamp it for each drink you order and you pay on exit) that was used in the bars in Florence did not apply here. We descended into a basement and it kinda looked like underground caverns - small inter-connected rooms which opened up to a vaulted-ceilinged dance floor with a DJ stand and a platform. Which made it all the more easier to lose the Dutch boys in the crowd: "grazie mille for the scarf and the cab!" *evil giggle*.

And there were the patrons... I've got four words for you: Wall-to-wall Hot Italian Boys!!! And some girls too (Jason's drug dealer was there, LOL!). This was clearly the place to be on a Friday night. And the music was crazy! We got way more trashed on multiple vodka-limons. Boys kept coming up to us and asking us where we were from. I had grand plans to say "Canada" (what.. I didn't want to get shoved) but in my drunken state, I kept saying "Washington". I'm such a bad liar when I'm drunk. No one minded. Some of them were impressed (not many), and some even raised eyebrows at me ("you no from Cina?"). I just pointed to the ceiling (the music) and said "Madonnaaaaaah", and we hopped to the dancefloor. We got so loaded at one point and the music was so good, Jason and I were bouncing off each other like trampolines. We were so drunk towards the end and needed to pee so badly, we shared the women's bathroom. As in, single bathroom. I saw double of everything so it must not be that big, LOL!!!

We had SO much fun, Beyonce mio, we stayed till closing. 2/15 @ 17:27

"we drive, you come!" We wandered up to the piazza round back... and ran into a rice queen, haha. He was like "I have Vietnamese boyfriend. He not here. He in Spagna (Spain)!". I was like "oh!", and sensing he must be missing rice, I gave him a taste of my morsels :-D Kidding! No I'm not. Aaaaanywho... American rice tastes better, LOL! OK, where were we... we kept meeting all this fun ppl. And just as we were standing at the entrance to the club, looking all lost and pointing in different directions going "Maryyyyy, we need to go diiiiis wayyyyy!" all drunk and shit, *drumroll* we meet Enzo. Um, WET-wet-wet-dream. But doesn't speak a lick of English, sigh. His cute friend, though, did. So after a few "we're lost" puppy looks, his friend says to us "we drive, you come!". You have never seen two more eager, happy people in your lives. Europeans are so friendly.

Enzo is 20. His friend is 21. I about passed out when I heard that. Sooooo young! No, nothing happened. We had a nice chat about gay life in Torino, and how we absolutely must go check out Milano (bitch please, I've already been). We (by "we", I mean the chocolate part of the "we") gave him the wrong address and he takes us back to Caffe Leri (near the train station). We told them where we really needed to go and you would've thought we were asking them to drive to China (in their defense, the BIT/Palavela area is almost on the southern edge of town). So, they drop us off there, and the two drunken Americans attempted to hail a Polizia cab, LOL! What... all the cars in Italy look the same to me - tiny and Fiat. They smiled at us and drove off. I was mortified, but laughing hysterically. Oh speaking of Fiats, it's so easy to tell ppl my name in Italy: "Fiat, but 'K'" and everyone would be like "Ohhh! Si, si, si". Fetch. But wait, there's more polizia action. We cab back to BIT and Jason in his infinite drunken wisdom asks some polizia in a car to take us to the nearest gas station so that we could get some food! Dio mio, I shrieked and about passed out. These were like Olympic security peeps! I thought we were gonna get handcuffed and shoved with a baton. Oh wait... :-D

Not having had enough (and a little hungry), Jason goes "let's go to the bar!" so off we went to the BIT bar. It was completely empty. We were like "yoohoo! buena sera!", I was like don't you mean "buon giorno??" Two fetch Italian chicks - Nadia and Tiziana - doing the graveyard shift come out from behind the bar, and let's just say the rest is history. We fast became fierce bosom buddies. They taught us all the Italian we needed... and more! They even gave us free cake, yum. Not to mention more vodka, LOL! Jason is insatiable when it comes to alcohol. They squealed when I told them I have an Italian boyfriend. They were so adorably funny in their broken English heavily laced with an Italian accent. We recounted an entire night's worth of escapades to them, from the Olympics to Caffe Leri, the Dutch scarf to Centralino. And we Had to tell her about Enzo *giggle*. I really couldn't repeat (slash remember) half the things that went on that night (err, morning) but if I had recorded it, I could've sold it to NBC as a new bilingual Must-See Thursday hit.

It was close to 7am when we finally passed out, Jason on the floor (aww, me love you long time!) and me on the bed. I can't say I've ever stayed up till 7am before, by choice. Sleep comes very easily after drinking and dancing for 5 hours. The sun was rising when my body finally gave in to sleep. 2/15 @ 17:58

"laura stole our lunch!" I woke up feeling surprisingly rested and with only a slight headache (Advil is my fren). I hop out of bed, trying to figure out what time it is. I reach for my cellphone (bitch has NO clocks in the room) and it reads 1:15pm!!! Holy shit. In other words, I never really adjusted to Italian time. Once I kicked Jason into the shower, I finally got a good look at Jason's dorm, err room. And it was then that I realized I had brought more clothes for my 40+ hours in Turin than he brought for his 40+ days there. Giggle! I had an outfit change every 4 hours. Bitch, I was Evita.

We did the 3 S's faster than you can say "hungover and need food NOW!", and was just about to cab it into Centro (city center) when the dude behind the BIT reception counter offers us car service for the same price as a cab. Jason was like "What?? Where the F have you guys been this whole time?!" Bitch is so silly. I love being media whores! We hop into a fetch Alfa and was driven in style to Centro. Centro is fetch. Finally, I get to see the nice part of town! But still nothing compared to Rome, Venice, Florence or even Milan. And Olympic signs Everywhere. The spirit and the passion were all there. We stopped first at Piazza San Carlo - a HUGE pedestrianized square in the heart of the city with the premier shopping street, Via Roma, cutting through it. Bitches, this Piazza is Fierce. We "bump" into the NBC Today Show pavilion but seeing that it was Saturday, Matt and Katie weren't there *pout*. Oh well. We pass a HUGE line of people waiting to get free tickets to go see the Medals Plaza that night. We skip it coz we are starving and hungover (big mistake).

Have I mentioned we're starving? And bitches, a hungry Kiat is a grumpy, bitchy, maniacal Kiat. Trust. So we head in the direction of Ristorante del Cambio where, a few nights earlier, Jason dripped so much from the good food she almost turned Torino into Venezia! After getting lost and making several wrong turns, hot dude from one of the ritzy stores directed us to the right location. We get close to it... and the streets were blocked! Damn bloody Olympics *grrr*. We spent the next hour (by now it's almost 3pm) looking for alternate routes to the restaurant. We finally found one that wasn't guarded by fierce-, but hot-looking polizia and carabinieri.. walk up to the square where Cambio was, and like the Whole damn f-ing square is barricaded! I look at Jason and I'm like, "you better hope my arms grow back coz I'm about to eat them BOTH!".

Not that it mattered. Cambio closes at 2:30, LOL! We're so ditzy. And we were nicely told that Laura Bush was dining there, hence the fortress-like security. Screw her! And that, my friends, was how Laura stole our lunch!! Decidedly not fetch at all.

We ended up in a cute little trattoria thingie overlooking a pretty little square (pretty, but mobbed with Olympic-sized crowds) that was thankfully open all day. FYI: almost all restaurants in Italy close between lunch and dinner since Italians - in their joie de vivre or, shall I say, la dolce vita - do not work while they eat and do not eat while they work. LOVE them! I could SO get used to a 1-4pm lunch hour.

Jason was so hungry his stomach was eating his stomach. So we ordered everything. No, really. Oh, we mustn't forget the Barbaresco too. What.. we were still hungover :-p We ate like we just got out of Sing Sing. The food was outstanding, of course. Nothing tastes bad in Italy. Not even the overpriced, ultra-touristy, uber-stank food stalls on the streets serve crappy food. It's amazing. Their passion for food puts everyone to shame.

After lunch, we walk around to look for the Medals Plaza. Found it on Piazza Castello and it too was walled off! Bitches. This whole city is a fucking Olympic nightmare. So we wandered down the super-crowded, oh-the-humanity streets of Torino back to Piazza San Carlo. The Jumbotron showing Olympic events was turned on and the crowd was massive. We decided to head to the Olympic Store on Piazza Vittorio Veneto. It's getting dark. We get there and since traffic was really bad, Jason had to catch a cab to work. So we left the Olympic Store, which was really awesome btw. The selection was incredible! All in an effort to trap your money. It took forever to hail a cab, even the taxi stand had no cabs.. so we had to call for one. Two cabs in the Whole f-ing city, remember?

And I'm by myself again. Sigh. I hate being by myself. The sudden realization that I have no tickets for the first night of the Medals Plaza hits me like a ton of bricks. No medal ceremonies, no Andrea Bocelli... nothing! *huge pout* I only had two choices left at this point - (1) go back to the BIT and watch the whole thing on RAI (Italian television, yuck), or (2) head towards the Medals Plaza and see if I can charm my way into the ceremonies. I stood in the Piazza and pondered over this for awhile. It was getting close to 7pm which was when the Medals Plaza thingie was gonna get going. I thought to myself, "I'm never going to make it..."

So I decided to... 2/16 @ 19:40

"how am i going to get in?" ...walk up Via Po - framed on both sides by graceful porticos lit up like it was Christmas - and head towards the Medals Plaza in Piazza Castello. Nope, it was still walled off. Dammit, there goes my plan to watch it from the outside. Security is tighter than a virgin on her wedding day. I walk around the perimeter. The crowds were absolutely ridick. I got to the entrance to the Medals Plaza and just stood there, thinking to myself "Shit, how am I going to get in? This thing is starting!"... Again, all alone and no ticket. Not fetch.

I must've had the most pathetic puppy-dog look (or desperation, who knows) because not one minute passes before some scalper dude comes by and asks me if I want a ticket. I'm like, hell yea! And so it begins... the dance whereby somebody asks me to ("the ticket is €60"), and I demur ("how about €40?"), and we negotiate ("I give you for €55") and stand there uncomfortably ("ummm, errr"), making fleeting eye contact ("this ticket is good"), before one of us gives in ("ok! ok! I give you for €40")... Note to self: Don't say you are from the United States! Because as soon as I did, they wanted to charge me more ("oh you from Ah-meh-ri-cah. €50, I give you"). Bitches. I shoved €40 into his palms and walked off with ticket in hand. Who knows if scalping is even legal in Italy. Then again, almost everything that's shady is legal in Italy coz no one cares. La dolce vita, remember? ;)

Score! I'm squealing with excitement at my newfound bravery. I walk into the Medals Plaza and I'm about to pass out from the electric atmosphere. I was very quickly standing in a concert-like crowd pretty close to the beautiful giant metallic dome-like stage split in two halves. Between the two halves of the dome was a giant wall with flags of the 80 participating nations (very cool). When alluvasudden, I hear a very familiar accent. "Americans!" I think to myself.

I had them at "hi" *giggle*. Two grad students from GWU (6 blocks from my house!) of all places. I got a not-so-Olympic GWU pin *giggles at Jason*. And I find out I overpaid for my ticket coz they only paid €40 between the two of them, LOL! I recounted the story to Jason later and bitch said to me: "You should've said you were from China! They would've given the ticket to you for €10 and a load of laundry!" Bitch! Love you *muah* ;-) Anywho, it was a symbiotic relationship: I was alone and needed fetch party whores to jiggy with, and they needed me to fill out a survey for their coursework (something about the Olympics) and they were having trouble finding English-speakers! So we're now a threesome and we're gonna have so much fun everyone around us will run for cover.

I know.. shy ol' me, right? Getting in, making friends, and having a Party! I felt impervious and butch-er than I've ever been before.

Local Italian artists perform until about 8pm, which is when the Real ceremony starts (and here I thought I was late!). Out struts Italy's answer to JLo. Blond, gorgeous, HUGE ass, lovely voice and the way she spoke Italian made me melt (just like JLo speaking Spanish would). It was soooo hot. They presented the first medals of the games, which was a gold to German Michael Greis who won the Men's Individual 20km Biathlon. The medals, btw, are HUGE! And they look like CDs. The part where they raised the flag while the national anthem was playing was really, really moving. I'd seen in on TV so many times, but seeing it in real life was quite amazing. The gold medallist was grinning like a little boy who just received a Wonka bar. It was soooo cute! I loved it and soaked it all up. There was no doubt about the Olympic passion and spirit in the Plaza. I could've stood there all night.

Then there were fireworks, which were really stank coz they were behind the dome stage and none of us could see it, but I bet they made for great television footage. And then... Andrea Bocelli (!!!) walks out holding Italian-JLo's arm (he's blind, der). The crowd went wild. He was definitely their home boy. They kept chanting "An-dre-a! An-dre-a!". It was cold. I needed to jump a little to keep warm. The poor GW chicks were shivering, poor babies. The last half of the concert was spectacular. Andrea's voice is so amazing but you don't really know how amazing until another tenor joins him, and the other guys just sorta paled. When they sang together, they were awesome. When they paired Andrea with a soprano, it kinda didn't really jive. Anyway, the last segment was filled with Andrea's best songs - O Sole Mio, The Prayer and Con Te Partiro. The crowd was singing along, and loved every single minute of Bocelli. I wish I could've sung in Italian right there and then. I thought the GW girls were gonna start crying. I was. It was magnificent. Soaring. Inspiring. Great concert.

The concert ends, we left the Plaza and headed to a take-out shop to warm up. We had pizza with prosciutto. I cannot tell you how yummy it was. Armed with the knowledge that the Olympic Store closes at 11pm, I make my way there at 10:30 with the girls... only to find out that, true to Italian time i.e. nothing is ever on-time, the store had already closed. I thought to myself, "bitches please, I have gotten into the Opening Ceremonies and the Medals Plaza with no advance tickets, I can charm my way into this."

As it turned out, my luck ran out. All I heard was "No, No, No". Bitches, nobody says no to me. I left dejected. I know *pout*. I never got a chance to splash out my euros on useless trinkets and souvenirs that I would never use again. I cabbed back to the BIT. I had 90 minutes to kill before Jason was done with work. It was almost midnight. I found an internet terminal at the BIT (I know, can you imagine they don't have internet access in the rooms?? IN the Media Village?!!) and surfed away...

What an amazing (short) day! What an amazing night! And, what was that?, mmm-hmm, the best was yet to come... 2/16 @ 20:43

February 14/15, 2006

[day 0 and I] Where do I even begin with Torino... First of all, let me just boil down the trip to a few key facts: I had 45 hours in Torino, I slept 7 of them, and ate 1 meal. I was pretty much high the rest of the time; on legal substances :-p, unlike some ppl who decided to dabble in some, um, interesting powder the day before I arrive! I went to the Opening Ceremonies and the first evening of the Medals Plaza featuring Andrea Bocelli. The rest of the time, Jason and I were painting the town red (well, mostly chocolate and yellow), tearing up the dancefloor shaking our bon-bons to fierce Eurotrash at some of the fetchest gay venues in town (in Torino! who knew!). That is in a nutshell...

"how do you all do it?" (Feb 9) The last time I flew international coach was 2 1/2 years ago when a last minute trip to Oz/Asia forced me to sit in coach on the 7-hour NRT-SIN leg. It wasn't so bad coz Tony was in business and we swapped back and forth. I don't remember much of it coz I slept thru most of it. But I definitely remembered my coach flight last Thursday to Frankfurt! Yup, my international upgrade luck had finally run out. I was numero uno on the upgrade list (1K, rar!) but United sold so many business class seats on my IAD-FRA flight that business was checked in full and nobody cleared for an upgrade.

Quelle horreur!!! I was mortified. I panicked. I bought tons of magazines, a neck pillow, enough water to reforest Nevada, and briefly contemplated OD-ing on Lunesta. To be sure, I had a fetch coach seat - 17A, bulkhead window. Legroom was huge. But that was my only consolation. Everything else elicted a pearl-clutching, "how do you all do it?" reaction from me:

1. I almost slept on the floor after realizing how little the seat reclined. I was so deteremined, no TSA regulation or air marshal could've stopped me.
2. I am never, EVER complaining about food in UA business class. Ever.
3. I thought sharing 2 lavatories with 49 passengers in business was cruel and unusual punishment. Economy class toilets are crimes against humanity. Even Darfur pales...
4. Um, what service?

Mercifully, it was a short 7+ hour flight, and I woke up just in time for breakfast (aka dogfood). Drugs are good :-) Didn't even need the neck pillow. Had a blissfully short one-hour connection in smokey, stank Frankfurt before getting on an equally short one-hour flight to Torino packed with Olympic athletes and officials (well, at least they were wearing jackets with flags on them). The sky was cloudless and as blue as you can imagine it to be. The view of the Swiss Alps on the way south from Germany to Italy was majestic and breathtaking. It was a picture-perfect day in Torino when we landed. And it was 12°C (54°F)! Totally not what I expected for a "Winter" Games. The airport is not much... one small glass terminal with a few gates and a smattering of planes. Quite provincial, actually. But I'm here!! Torino 2006 signs everywhere. My first glimpse of the Olympic rings draped across poles and walls at the airport gave me goosebumps (I am a *huge* fan of the Olympics). The excitement builds... 2/14 @ 16:07

"passion lives where?" (Feb 10) The cab ride from the airport to the Media Village BIT (where Jason - the media whore - was put up across from Palavela, the figure skating venue!) took 45 long minutes (I had already been travelling for 12 hours!) and cost an eye-popping €40. My first impression of Torino was - Drab. After having been to Rome, the Amalfi Coast, Venice, Florence and Milan, this was totally not what I expected. Rows and rows of hideous, dilapidated, industrial-looking, Soviet-era building blocks, and Olympic signage was few and far between. Where's the Olympic spirit? Where's the passion? I guess it's just harder to blanket a city the size of Turin with Olympic paraphernalia on a Winter Games budget. After all, Turin is the largest city to ever host the Winter Olympics - soon to be outsized by Vancouver in 2010!

I am not a huge sports fan in general, much less Winter sports (I couldn't tell you what Biathletes do or how Ice Hockey works), but I *love* the Olympics. Can you imagine Malaysia - sans ice and snow - in the Winter Olympics (we've never participated)? But that didn't stop me from squealing when Jason offered me a chance to go see the Torino 2006 Olympics. I practically wet myself as I hit the "Purchase Now" button for my flight tickets.

Here's the thing about the Olympics: It's uniting, it's transcending, it's idealistic, and it's momentous. Once every four years, major and minor cities alike vie furiously for a chance to catapult themselves to the largest stage on the planet, watched by billions around the globe. At its core, the Olympics is all symbolic. Peace. Individual dreams. A nation's hopes. The Olympic spirit transcends borders, race, religion, everything. In sporting competition, everyone is equal regardless of race or nationality. The only difference is how much Faster, Higher and Stronger you are.

Peace is the strongest Olympic bond, embodied by the inter-locking rings representing the world's nations and its people. Trust me when I say that once you've experienced the Olympic moment (like being in the Olympic Stadium for the Opening Ceremonies, or sang the national anthem as your countrymate has a gold medal draped around his neck), you will never, ever launch wars against your fellow humankind. The beauty created in celebration of sporting competition and all that surrounds the Olympics... Let's just say mankind is far better at creating than destroying. And the Olympic Games is one of mankind's greatest celebration of humanity, and certainly one of her greatest creations.

Yes, I am all about Olympic ideals and dreams... And landing in Torino 2006 was a dream fulfilled! 2/14 @ 17:08

"grazie mille!!" Jason had to work both Fri and Sat nights, so after an hour of so of moping and wondering what to do, I was cajoled into going to the Stadio Olimpico/Comunale by myself. I am sooooo not a do-it-myself kinda person (yes, I'm a very dependent person), but I mustered up enough cojones to go fulfill my Olympic dream. I was already late when I arrived at 6:30 by cab (show started at 8pm and ppl were told to arrive by 6). The throngs of ppl marching on foot through the widely-cordoned off area (security, bah) to the Stadium heightened my spirits. It was a LONG ass walk. Everyone was super-excited, and carrying flags of so many nations... the air was electrifying.

I, on the other hand, was sick to my stomach. "How am I going to get a ticket??", I wonder. I see "Tickets -->" and I'm like "woohoo! they, still have tickets left". Before I make it to the ticket counter, a guy stops me in perfect English and asks me if I want tickets. I was like, "well, since I'm already here..." Dude was offering an €850 seat (most expensive) for €350. Hmm, suspect. So I said no and went to the ticket counter; where they were selling tickets for face value!! Ugh. I hmmed and hawed, and walked away coz I still had more than an hour before the show started. I looked in my wallet and my pockets.. I only had €245. I went back to the scalper guy, and basically begged with the soppiest story of my life.

After going back and forth for a little bit, he finally said OK. I looked at him and was like, "how do I know these are not fake?". He shows me two other tickets with face values of €500 and €250, and said to me "if these were fake, don't you think I would've printed them all at €850?". I was sold, but still sick to my stomach with uncertainty, and off I went to security, fearing the entire time that the ticket won't be honored. Thankfully, I met some Americans in line and we traded ticket stories and fierce make-up tips (haha, they were sisters). That killed time quickly. I got past security and rushed to the stadium. And then I saw the ticket check peeps.

My heart is about to leap out of my chest at this point. I'm praying like I've never prayed this hard before in my life. Lines at security and ticket-check were all quite short, so I get up to the front, hand the nice Italian lady my ticket, say my requisite "buona sera", she scans the barcode on my ticket, and the earth stops rotating. Time stood still. My heart skipped what must've been a stroke-inducing eight or nine beats. Then she looks up at me and says "grazie". I screamed, "grazie mille!!" and I almost passed out in front of her. She didn't have to tell me twice as I ran to my section. Now, at this point I had no idea where my seat was except that it was the most expensive category of tickets. I find my section, go up the steps, enter the stadium, stopped and gasped and awed and screamed in my head "I'm here!!!", walked down all the stands.. I'm now on the floor of the stadium! I keep walking. Closer and closer towards the stage. By now I've not only wet myself, I have pee running down my leg. Then the usher lady points to my seat and says "here".

Bitches, I was SEVEN rows from the stage! And - I find out later - one aisle off the main walkway under the Olympic rings where the athletes paraded out. I could see EVERYthing. It was quite surreal. I'm thinking to myself "this is the FETCHest seat in the house!!!". OMB, OMB, OMB. I had not eaten in almost 9 hours and, even with all the adrenaline pumping, I was starving. I knew I couldn't last thru the entire show without eating. So I went outside, grabbed two paninis and sat my ass down. And waited. 2/14 @ 17:32

"passion lives here!" Seated next to me was a pretty young Italian thing named Barbara who works for San Paolo Bank, an Olympic sponsor. Yes, I was seated in a block of seats that were given to bank employees for free! No wonder the scalper dude was so willing to let go of his ticket at whatever price. We were chatting away (her English was WAY better than my Italian), giggling about the items we got in our shiney Olympic foil-like bag - a white poncho to wear so that the whole stadium looked "snow-covered", a cowbell, a flashlight thingie how typical, and some other stuff that I didn't even bother with. And before you know it, the Jumbotron was counting down the seconds to the Opening Ceremonies with a montage of previous Winter Games.

It was tremendously awesome beyond words. I was about to burst out of my skin... and my C-IN2 undershirt, my Topshop dress shirt, my Zara sweater, my Zara winter jacket, my Burberry scarf, my Thinsulate gloves, and the white poncho. I was ready to explode. Now, you have to know this about Italy... This is the land that gave birth to procrastination. "A domani" (tomorrow) must be their national motto, their standard answer for every question, every request. So it wasn't too much of a surprise to learn that the Games tickets were barely selling. Of course, now we know the Italians are just as passionate as they are last-minute. Ticket sales have shot past all expectations and the Passion, the Party, and lo spirito Olimpico came thundering into Torino just as the announcer at the Stadio boomed out "Signore, Signora... Benvenuti!" The Passion had been lit, and it now Lives in Torino!

And oh what a Passion. Fire was the predominant theme throughout, and a good thing too coz it was so damn bloody cold! I'm not a wuss.. You try sitting outside for 4+ hours in freezing temperatures :-p Passion was evident in the magnificent and stirring performances and ceremonies conducted throughout the evening. From the little girl singing the Italian national anthem, to the woman clad in a stunningly elegant Giorgio Armani presenting the Italian flag, and the timeless beauty of Sophia Loren, Italians take passion to a whole new level.

I had momentary thoughts of tackling a German during the Parade of Nations, LOL! What... I *loved* their orange-and-green track jackets. So fetch. I kept looking for Michelle Kwan or Bode Miller but who am I kidding, I was screaming "USA! USA!" the entire time they marched by, five feet away from where I was snapping away with my camera. I gave polite applause (you kinda have to coz you're right there!) to all the teams that marched by, which was quite a feat since I didn't really care about the -Stans. Or Taiwan (It's NOT a country!! *evil laughter*). I went crazy for certain countries like France (der), Finland (Mikko!), Ireland (Mike!), UK (der), USA (double der), China (gotta cheer ma peeps, LOL!), and some other random nations that I thought looked cute (the athletes, that is). My next door neighbor, Barbara? She screamed "Bravi!" at everyone. Literally. She was like the UN poster-child. She cheered for everybody. I'm nominating her for our next UN Secretary General. Move aside, Kofi.

At some point, I just stopped clapping with my hands and pounded my feet on the stands instead. It was Very, very cold. When the Parade of Nations ended with Italia which about unleashed a frenzy in the Stadium of Richter-scale proportions, and I stopped getting all hot and bothered by the "international smorgasbord of jocks" (OMB, Australia? France?? Scandinavia??? Not to mention the US team...), I started shivering. Barbara was about to pee right there and then she was shivering so much. It was Balls cold. And we were barely halfway through! We still had to sit through the speeches and the oath, the Olympic flame (lit by Stefania Belmondo), Pavarottti singing under a chandelier the size of Cher's wigs, and the fireworks display. The last half was a blur. But I was just so, so happy to be in the Stadium, at the Opening Ceremonies that I didn't care, even though I was alone. Well, not really, I had Barbara to kibbitz with...

The ceremony ends... and it takes me an hour to get out of the stadium! Imagine if there was a fire *shudder*. And then a sudden realization dawns on me. There are NO cabs in the restricted Olympic zone. Only buses and trams. And I have no idea how to get home on public transportation. I was in such a hurry to get to the Stadium that I neglected to look up the routes to get home beforehand. And walking wasn't really an option - a one-hour walk, maybe? And definitely not in the cold. I was alone. I was frozen solid. I can barely feel my toes. I am hungry (again). And I begin to panic. I decided to walk in the general direction I think (I just got here!!! I don't even know the street names...) is the right way back to the BIT. I find the nearest big street with traffic and I'm like "thank God! Now I can hail a cab", and then I realize, much to my absolute horror, that I have ZERO cash on me. I had given it all to the scalper! And no ATM in sight either. OMB, OMB, OMB.

Jason is texting me wildly at this point, and I was too pre-occupied with trying to find my way home that I missed all his messages. Not that it mattered coz bitch told me later that when his co-worker asked him to make sure I wasn't kidnapped, lost my phone, or laying on the side of the street begging... to which Jason replied, "Oh please, bitch is Asian. He's probably texting half the world and taking pictures with his phone!!". Yea, love you too honey ;-)

I found an ATM... But there were no cabs around. Bitches, lemme tell you something about Torino cabs (which we rode in on many occasions) - there are TWO cabs in all of Torino roaming the streets and they are both on call. I think we spent half our time in Torino calling for cabs, because you can NEVER hail one on the streets! Dio mio. And it's not like they're cheap either! I know right, WTF?? Aaaaanywho, I finally found a bar/cafe thing, flashed my best "I'm lost, can you help me?" smile (it was difficult what with my face muscles frozen and all, trust), and got three men in the bar to offer calling a cab for me on their cellphones, LOL! I play the helpless tourist card so well. Being Asian helps :-)

I'm starving. I get a panino, which went from 0 to gone in 0.2ms, and the cab shows up within a minute. I'm saved! See? You won't find one to flag down, but they'll come super-pronto if you call them. I get back to the room, and All I wanted to do was Pee. Oh so badly. I was so cold, I peed yellow icicles. It's midnight at this point. Jason walks in 30 minutes later to find me tired, exhausted, and sleeping in a spooning position in his single bed. Was the night over? Or was it just beginning? 2/15 @ 16:16

February 14, 2006

[one year at a time] Guess what I woke up to this morning?? "I LOVE YOU"

*squeal* Isn't that sweet? I loved it. That's my bathroom mirror, btw. I sent my honey a card that was Valentine's Red in color with the words "WANT TO?" on the cover (with a little heart symbol over the "O", awww), and when you opened it up, it said "THOUGHT SO". Hehehe *juvenile laughter*

Yes, it's Valentine's Day again. I'm such a soppy mush coz I love V-Day. It's so silly, isn't it? It's just another day on the calendar. I'm in love with love and I want to celebrate it, even though it's nonsensical to designate just one day for it. But since Hallmark in their infinite (un)wisdom decided that Feb 14th is the day for love, who am I to go against a multi-national corporation, right?

We're headed to dinner tonight. It won't be some grand gesture coz it's a Tuesday night, and it's sandwiched between two vacations (Italy and SF). Not that the "I LOVE YOU" mirror decoration wasn't a grand gesture... but we've got a VERY high bar to measure up to here. Allow me to elaborate.

1997 - The last year I would spend Valentine's Day alone. Was that forever ago?
1998 - Year 1 with Tony... and he goes and buys me an Acura *squeals and faints*
1999 - In LA with parents, also in conjunction with CNY.
2000 - Dinner at Jean Georges in NYC. So how do you top an Acura? Buy a Steinway! It cost more, trust.
2001 - Amsterdam. *eyebrows-raised* Mmm-hmm.
2002 - Dinner @ Home (hah, how boring) coz the next day was CNY. Tony made a heart-shaped pastry and gelato. This was also an Olympics year and SLC|02 was going on.
2003 - Spa-ed it up at the Mandarin Oriental in Miami. Blizzard in DC!
2004 - Dinner at Oceana in NYC, followed by Tokyo and Hong Kong. See blogpost.
2005 - Dinner with parents at Makoto. They were here for 3 weeks. See blogpost.

And we're here. Year 9. 2006.

Is our love still going strong? Some days I am certain, some days less so. Of course, I never doubt his love, I just doubt myself. I am driven by passion; sometimes more than I can handle. And the passions have inevitably subsided over the years, familiarity and all that. At some point, you just kinda stop being inspired to dream because the love is so comforting in the present. You get complacent and you stop fantasizing, and start wondering.

And neither are we bound by marriage, not that marriage grants anymore legitimacy to our love for each other. So, you just gotta take it one year at a time, y'know? Nothing is forever, and never say never. Well, things are probably still pretty hot if I am celebrating love, right? :-) I couldn't definitively tell you what I'm celebrating, and even if I did, I wouldn't comprehend it fully. But I will always believe in love. And I celebrate it because it's the one thing I am sure of in my life. The one thing that stands the test of time.

Life is still good, he's given me everything - surely more than I need, sometimes more than I want, and occasionally more than I can ask for. And yet he still gives.

Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City:

"I'm looking for love. Real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can't-live-without-each-other love."

Can we still not live without each other next year? The year after that? 9 years from now? Or 90 years from now? :-o

Well, I guess you'll just have to stay tuned and find out ;-) In the meantime, I love my baby! And he will always be my baby... @ 14:05

February 13, 2006

[disclaimer] There are some HOT and sizzling images in this set of pictures I took from Torino 2006. Some of them are borderline PG-13/R. You've been warned!! Blow-by-fabulous-blow details will follow, of course.

Pictures from Torino 2006

[random] I promise I'll write more about Torino (there is SO much to tell!) once my head - and my crazy work schedule - has cleared. Not to mention the pictures!!! OMB. Totally squeal-worthy. Some are even PG-13 (or borderline R!). You've been warned.

So, I landed at Dulles last night and was greeted with almost 9" of snow. Fetch. How did I miss such a big snowstorm? I wish we got pounded like NYC instead, which got 26.9" of fluffy white stuff! That's some serious snow, gurls. And this is really shocking: the Virginia Senate passed an indoor smoking ban today. Why shocking? Coz Virginia is the home of Marlboro! I would be shocked, Shocked!, if Virginia passes a smoking ban before Maryland does. What is the world coming to... And Britney (!) is gonna be the star at Mardi Gras on the 28th. How appropriate. They're both due for a comeback.

So... Cheney is shooting up a storm, eh? But you know what's the real storm brewing? The fact that Cheney obtained FIVE deferments to bail out of the Vietnam War coz of a "limp". And now he's shooting from guns and hunting?? This is the same guy who mocked John Kerry about his stance on the Iraq War, and Kerry actually carried a weapon in a time of war! Then again, maybe it was a good thing Cheney avoided the draft. If he had sprayed another soldier with actual bullets the way he shot his "friend" with pellets... What a retard.

Maybe his next job should be "hitman". Lord knows he's good at doing that politically.

Speaking of politics, OMB, am I the only want that thinks this is HUGE news?? Besides the fact that "Scooter" Libby actually admitted to the federal grand jury that he leaked classified information to reporters :-o I know, right?? That's like a maximum 30-year jail sentence and $1.25mn in fines. But wait, it gets better. Apparently, he is saying - under oath! - that his Superiors authorized the leak. Guess who his superior is? Mmm-hmm, Mr Vice President himself.

Why isn't Cheney in jail?

Can you believe I leave on yet aNother vacation on Friday??

Why am I here at work instead of on a plane back to Torino to party some more with Cioccolato???

I know. Totally random. @ 17:21

[wow] Ciao, Torino! Ciao, Italia! Media Village BIT. Stadio Olimpico. Ticket scalping. Opening Ceremonies. Parade of Nations. Bravi! Stefania Belmondo. Luciano Pavarotti. C-c-c-old. Caffe Leri. Hung Up. Caprioska. Dutch scarf. Centralino. Vodka Limon. Hot Italians. Fierce music. Free ride. Enzo. 5am. BIT bar. Hot chicks! Learning Italian. Sleep. Car service. Piazza San Carlo. NBC Today. Via Roma. Lunch. Laura Bush. Piazza Castello. Piazza Vittorio Veneto. Ticket scalping II. Medals Plaza. GW chicks. Andrea Bocelli! Bravo! La Gare. Super packed. Crazy lines. Hot music. Hotter dancers. VIP section. Lost ticket. 6am. BIT bar II. Panini. No sleep. Torino. Frankfurt. DC. 8.8".

Ti amo, Torino! Ti amo, Jason, 'o cioccolato mio!! Arrivederci!!! @ 14:46

February 9, 2006

[viva italia!] OMB, I must've been drunk while posting the "Third Movie Night" write-up, coz how could I forget this priceless picture of our shout out to Jason in Italy!! Check out Glam Clam Karen's fierce teeth maneuvers, especially while swilling white wine. Viva Italia!

PS. That belt cost €5 at the Mercato Centrale in Florence. VAT-free! Fetch. @ 16:52

[love is in the air] OMB. The last time Barry Manilow had a chart-topping album was the year I was born!!! What's his allure? Is he like the Celine Dion of the 70s? I do have a guilty pleasure for Mz Dion ("Neeeeeeeear... Fahhhhhhhhr... Where-ehhhhhhhh-ver you ahhhhhhhhre...").

Last week, Il Divo (sooooo sappy) topped the charts. And the #3 this week is Andrea Bocelli's "Amore" (he's performing on Saturday in the Medals Plaza!!). What's with this "love is in the air" bullshit? Ohhh! Valentine's Day is in FIVE days!

I haven't spent Valentine's Day alone in so long (9 years), I have completely forgotten how marginally depressing it was back when I had to... @ 13:53

[t minus one!!!] OMB, I'm so excited I'm tinkling down my front right pant leg *puddle*. Oh btw, I got one more response for the One Word thingie and I'll mention it and put the whole thing to rest (unless somebody comes up with something extraoridinarily sweet or sizzlingly scandalous): hot! (finally!!!) by my Hag, Nicole (aww, me wub you long, long time).

OK, back to Turin... or Torino. Whatever. I have been mentally preparing for my night flight across the Atlantic tonight... in Coach. Yup, the *entire* 777 plane I'm on is SOLD OUT. No seats left. Pray for me.

I have an 80min layover in smoke-infested Frankfurt. All the Lufthansa lounges there SUCK, btw. Smokey, cramped and forbidding. Apparently, they've been diverting flights to Milan, which is about 75mi away, because Turin cannot handle the crush of Olympic traffic. I hope that doesn't happen to me! I only have 3 hours to get ready for the Opening Ceremonies after I get to Turin and I don't want to spend them hitch-hiking from Milan to Turin!

Late afternoon update from Torino: Jason has just discovered Zara. In Torino. His comment was: "It's monstrous compared to Gtown!". Yup, why do you think I go berzerk when I visit Zara in foreign countries (even the Zara down the street from my parents' house in KL is monstrous compared to Gtown!!!). I still have fond memories of the one in Milan where I bought just about everything... *nostalgic*

So, I never made it to LL Bean to stock up on winter gear. Check this weather forecast out for Torino this weekend:

Fri	Sat	Sun
AM Clouds PM Sun High: 40°F (4°C) Low: 22°F (-5°C)	Partly Cloudy High: 37°F (2°C) Low: 21°F (-6°C)	Mostly Sunny High: 37°F (2°C) Low: 23°F (-5°C)

Great. I'm gonna freeze to death, and my yellow tail is gonna fall off. I'm gonna have to draft a memo to big momma up there in charge of nature: "No cold winds, please. Apparently you didn't get my memo on Tuesday night coz it was balls cold outside, you bitch. Don't forget again, 'specially for Friday night! Thanks!". Might have to smuggle a bottle of Absolut ("Absolut Warmth"!) into the Stadio Olimpico (or "Comunale"). This will be a big test for Jason's press pass, LOL!

OK, so I just realized that I will have exactly 45 hours in Turin. I'm flying 9,000 miles round-trip to spend 45 hours in Europe. When will I sleep? Why would I sleep, what with all the Olympic events, parties and festivities??

I'm kwazy.

8 hours before my flight departs... 24 1/2 hours till the XX Olympic Winter Games open... *squeal* 13:28

February 8, 2006

[karen, kiat, kwazy] I know, I've written about Karen so much today you'd think that she was Brangelina and I'm the paparazzi. Allow me to paraphrase Jason: "I love Karen! I want to keep her in my pocket!". She's fierce and she knows it and I had to write about our three-way, trans-Atlantic, "One Word" convo between Fierce, Chocolate and Geisha. Do NOT continue if you are easily offended. Trust.

Karen:: no wait - I change my word... "dainty"
Kiat:: Bitch, you called Jason "flawless", and me "dainty"?? You're FIRED. *MUAH*
Jason:: Hehe! Dainty is adorable. Leave her alone!
Karen:: Honey - I just met you last night - oh wait I met you at YOUR HOUSE at YOUR PARTY and you didn't REMEMBER... so hows about we call it even...
Jason:: Stop it! I am about to tinkle down my leg!! This has been so funny! Actually, she's just being "ricey"!
Kiat:: I'd rather be flawless than delicate! Coz I want it ROUGH!!! Love you, Karen... my 12-hour old fetch bitch :-)
Jason:: Oh she loves it rough! I was going to send this word: Sandpaper!
Karen:: Mz Kiat, are we done speaking out of turn now? You know we prefer our Asians quiet and docile ;-)
Jason:: OK...I am staying out of this one! Category 5 tsunami is headed your way sweetie. Batten down the hatches! And grab your Prada lifejacket!
Kiat:: Typhoon Kiat is lashing on Karen's shores!!!
Karen:: Mz Kiat knows I was saying that with a sly grin and a wink... cause if there is one girl whom CERTAINLY isn't quiet and docile - it would be Mz Kiat!!!!
Kiat:: Well, I can tell you this much: I am VERY docile. But I certainly ain't quiet... ...in bed!! Mz Karen, you had me at "Yo, bitch"... Me love you long, LONG time!!!
Karen:: See Jason? We love each other!!! :-)
Jason:: You are my Boo! Now only you would get a crispy tan and enjoy anal sex! LOL!
Karen:: Well, I will never get crispy tan and well for the other - who doesn't like that???
Kiat:: *loud thunk from jaw dropping down to the concrete floor*
Jason:: *speechless*

Anytime a fierce chick can shut two unstoppable queens up, you've got yourself a fierce blog posting, irreverent and all. Fetch. @ 16:27

[third movie night] So last night, um, I had a repeat episode of "Six Glasses of Wine" (see last Saturday night), only this time it was at the Third Movie Night event at Peter's new fetchpad (in an oh-so-juicy, I-can-see-all-the-boys-parade-by location!). The menu was White Trash (no, really). And the movie was... also White Trash *giggle*.

Actually, the menu wasn't white trash at all - hot dogs? Yum. Hot buns, warm buns, toasted buns... And there were these cheesy ball thingies with bisquick in them, interesting. But the pièce de résistance were the wine coolers thingie (fruity and très bizarre), and the $2 six-pack of whatchamacallit beer (It's like yellow 7-Up! Asian soda, anyone?). The latter completed the transformation of Peter's condo into a trailer park.

The movie was Sordid Lives, which I saw last summer at the Stead Park outdoor movie thingie, and it's actually quite funny... but only when you're tanked on white trash liquor and food and surrounded by other campy, white-trash-acting-for-the-night gay friends... plus their HAGS, Amen Praise Beyonce mmm-hmm! Then it becomes ROTFL funny. Otherwise it's just like Christmas dinner with the family stone-cold f-ing sober.

OMB, what can I say about Peter's uber-hag Karen (who's probably reading this right now)... Mizzy is FIERCE. Fab tits, hot ass, cute comepinchmycheeks face, and scorchingly fetch as all can be (OK, well one out of four ain't bad, LOL! *muah*). She's my new 24-hour fetch bitch and we all aspire.

OK, here you are, bitches. Now, quit whining about how long it took me to post these pics! I have a day job, y'know :-p

Alex looks fierce!
Peter and Chad - OMB, they look like brothers!
Bartender! Can you help me (un)screw? ;)
Alex - The center of attention!
What is Karen doing that's making Jose coo?
Third Movie Night bitches! (except for Tony who was taking the picture)
Kiat, Karen and Jose - How... Benetton
Doggie lovin' - How appropriate for the Year of the Dog
Fag-Hag lovin' - Karen and Jose
This picture was instantly beamed to Jason, who replied with: "I am jealous. Karen is my woman!"
Me and Karen - Fierce!
Peter and Mitch - So loverly
The cute puppies - Me, Jose and Alex
Who knew she could bendover forwards AND backwards?? @ 17:07

[trickling in] Well, the responses have been trickling in.. and it looks like some of us would rather not respond (out of words? speechless? hmm...), or just think this whole thing is one big SPAM (*growls* at the "reply to all" button), or are in another timezone (Malaysia is still sleeping). But I've been quite amazed so far that I haven't had the need to censor any of the responses...

discodancer - Furry in London (it's funny what ppl remember you by)
everlasting - Harrison (aww!)
sensational - Bethany (double aww!)

Com'on, bitches.. Don't you have ANYthing nasty to say about me that you can sum up in One Word?? No? I'm touched. Really :-)

I just got out of a really nasty meeting and trust me when I say I have a LOT of One Word Expletives I can conjure up in my mind right now... And to think I was having SUCH a good day. Sigh. @ 14:41

['we' turn 105] Well, when you say it that way, it seems like we've been together forever and growing old very, very quickly! Giggle.

One thing for sure though, his love and his sweetness is not growing old. Check out Tony's response to my "One Word" e-mail... (just when you thought there's not a romantic bone in his body)

"WONDERFUL"

"But I think, that on this day, our 105th month together, I should get 105 words... Or, at least one per year, so that's 8.75..."

"wonderful, hot, sexy, brilliant, smooth, outrageous, funny, impatient, love"

"alright--that's 9, but 'hot' is a small word, so it only counts for 3/4 ;-)"

"I'll have to work on the list of 105, I kept losing count."

"PS. I love you--happy anniversary."

Altogether now - Awwwwwww... I love you too, baby. @ 11:33

[sandpaper] Only coz I love you, Jason.. I will publish both your words.

sandpaper (Jason: "coz she likes it rough!!!")

I was drinking. There is water ALL over my LCD monitor at work!!! @ 11:21

[uproarious] OK, bitches, this is the most fun I've had at work in a lonnnnnnnnng time. I sent out an e-mail this morning (taking cues from Jason and Gary) that read like this:

ONE WORD

Describe me in ONE WORD . . . just one word! Send it to me only, then send this message to your friends and see how many strange things people say about you! Please do this. It should be fun.

You would NOT believe the responses I have gotten. I have been laughing so hard at work I cannot breathe.

I'm gonna categorize the ones I have so far. More are crashing into my Gmailbox, fast and furious.

Responses that made my mouth gape wide open:

ubergay by Peter (love you, thanks for a fabulous movie night!)
skanky by Roger (I'm allowed to use that word on others, you're not!)
ricey by Gary (that. was. AWEsome!)
passionate by Sarah (only coz she's my financial advisor!!)

The number of people that said "fetch":

3! I know, can you believe it? Only Jason, Brit-ch, and Mark... So far.

Responses that made me laugh uncomfortably (coz deep down inside I know it's true but it's unflattering!):

flaming by Ed (LOL!)
self-absorbed by Flaming! (*muah*)
demanding by M2 (hmm...)

Responses that made me go "Yea, that's me!"

effervescent by DavidT (aww, that's SO sweet! And so unlike you...)
fashionable by Karen (my new 12-hour old fetch bitch!)
ma-wee! by Chuck (that's me!)
fierce by Kirk (no, bitch, you are! *muah*)

Responses that made me go "WTF?"

tragic by Evan (um, you are)

Responses from people who were unsure:

fashionable... no, wait, dainty by Karen (you're forgiven coz you've only known me for 12 hours!)

I am creaming and wetting myself laughing so hard here at work. The best response has yet to be published. And the better ones are still coming! Stay tuned... @ 11:14

February 7, 2006

[i prefer empresses] This is so bizarre. Japan is frothing over the news that Princess Kiko, the wife of Emperor Akihito's second son (Prince Akishino), is pregnant... with a boy - a possible prince!! That would make him the first male heir in 40 years. So far, all three grandkids have been female (the eldest son and daughter-in-law, Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, have one daughter - Aiko - and Kiko/Akishino have two).

Bizarre coz Kiko is barely pregnant. Her due date is in fall and we alllll know that you can't tell a baby's sex *this* early into the pregnancy, der. Aren't we a little ahead of ourselves, hmm?

Previously, Japan was toying with the idea of changing a 1947 Imperial Household Law which enforced a male-only right to succession (good God) to the 2,000-yr old Chrysanthemum Throne. That would've allowed Princess Aiko (aww, what a cute name) to ascend the throne after her father - Crown Prince Naruhito - as a reigning empress.

Japan has had eight reigning female Emperors (in Japan, only the wife of an Emperor is called an Empress *eyes rolling*) among the 125 rulers in the imperial family genealogy, but their children were not permitted to reign and were followed by their next closest male relatives. The Imperial House Act in 1889 prohibited female succession altogether.

What is up with this whole male-only thing. How ludicrous. Frankly, I far prefer a Queen/Empress to a King/Emperor, don'cha think? :-D The clothes would definitely be fetcher. Emperors, even if Japan has the only reigning one in the world, are boring. @ 17:40

[mea culpa] I just *knew* this was gonna happen, but I couldn't be arsed or was just plain too tired (and lazy) to write more about it. Well, my Pittsburgh Steelers number one gay fan and new spokesperson all the way from LA said it for me:

This from last year: "FEB 7 :: [dynasty] Superbowl XXXIX, Jacksonville FL - New England Patriots 24, Philadelphia Eagles 21. Pats have won 3 of the past 4 (2002, 2004 and 2005). Wow!"

This from last Sunday: "Something about Steelers... and Seahawks."

WTF? The beloved team of a beloved (I did make sure that you could keep your reservation at French Laundry after all) friend wins their first Super Bowl in 24 years, joining the Cowboys and 49ers atop the NFL hierarchy with 5 Super Bowls, becoming the first team in history to win the Super Bowl from the sixth seed position, and all I get is a "Something about Steelers"?

OK, I am sufficiently shamed ;-) Who knew Gary was such a fierce Steelers' fan!

Superbowl XL, Detroit MI - Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Seattle Seahawks 10. The Steelers win their fifth Superbowl Championship in franchise history, joining the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers as the only teams to win five Superbowls. The colors of the week are black and gold!

And while I'm reopening this can of worms, I'm sure most of you saw the Ameriquest ad where the poor lady was trying to climb out of her window seat right when the plane hit turbulence and she landed in a compromising position on the lap of the dozed-off dude sitting in the aisle seat? I spit out my vodka-cran at JR's when I saw that ad. I wonder how many times they had to shoot and re-shoot that ad to get just the right "blouse undone, skirt hiked up, straddling" position and the right "OMG" looks from the actors? Drippingly p-r-i-c-e-l-e-s-s!!! @ 16:23

[t minus 3] We are less than 75 hours away from the Opening Ceremonies of the XX Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italia. I am giddily hot flashing with excitement!! I'm still not sure if I'll actually be *in* the Olympic Stadium during the Ceremonies but at this point I don't really care anymore. I'm ready for the Olympic passion (yes, yes the "Passion Lives Here"), and just so ready to par-tay!

Apparently, Giorgio Armani will be opening a new store in Torino tomorrow, and he will have a hand in the Opening Ceremonies as well *squeal*. Andrea Bocelli is set to open the Medal Plaza on Saturday *double squeal*. And Kelly Clarkson sings on Sunday! *faints* Dammit, I won't be there for that, grrr.

I will be crashing at Jason's fetchpad at the Media Village in downtown Torino near the Figure Skating and Speed Skating venue (Palavela)! No idea how she finagled such a geographical wet dream location.. well, OK she slept her way to the Olympics *giggle*.

Security is gonna be WAY tight, I'm sure, and Lord knows I know a lot about being tight! (stop laughing, bitches.. ask Tony :-p ) Naturally, I'm a tad wee bit worried about gaining access on Friday, considering I'll be landing hours before the Ceremonies begin:

Kiat:: Oh BTW, where do I cab to on Friday? And how will I get past the cute polizias and carabinieris?? ;-)
Jason:: Cab to [blah]. I will meet you at the front gate, you will see me when you pull in at the reception desk.
Or you can just give them all hand and blow jobs!
Kiat:: LOL! I like the hand/blow jobs idea. Hmm, since I only have 2 hands and one mouth, I wonder if I should pre-lube in case there are more than 3? *giggle*

The excitement is palpable! @ 11:20

February 6, 2006

[weekend in dc] How unusual for me to mention it except for the fact that this past weekend would be the only weekend I spend in DC in six, spanning two months. My next weekend in DC would be end of Feb! Hello, springtime.

Highlights:-

1. I woke up at 1pm on Saturday... AND Sunday! 4 days in London, then 3 ten-hour workdays, followed by 10 days in Asia, and then 4 nine-hour workdays... This weekend was all about recuperation. Jet lag's a bitch, and sleep deprivation very quickly caught up with me.

2. Fetch dinner at Zengo on Friday night. Awesome fun. I love this restaurant. Latin-Asian is fetch. But... why, oh Why did they take The Blushing Geisha off the menu? They made up for it with The Kimono Kiss though. Roger and Tony. The bitches at Zengo. So completely getting plastered.

3. After a one-month hiatus, we tore up SE *shame* after Zengo. And oh the Calamity (no, really, that was the name of one of the strippers), we even went to Heat *gasp*. Can you say "money money money" boys? Hustler central. We met up with Evan and Martin just in time to celebrate their birthdays... at Wet! Yes, as if one stripbar was not enough for one night, we hit two. Sacré bleu! I have three words for you: Shots are evil. I have no idea how many Cowboy Cocksucker shots we had but I was so completely shattered when I got home, I slept till 1pm the next day!

4. The day is so short when you wake up at 1pm, LOL!

5. We got all dolled up in black tie (and lots of pink!) for the Studio Theatre Gala on Saturday night. We were at Noi's table; she's like the patron saint of some sort. Everyone wanted a piece of her, and no wonder. Her dress was ridiculouosly fierce (and so were me and Tony in tuxs)! I definitely wanted to borrow it. I was seated between the head of NGLTF, and the ever-so-fabulous Rob in orange ruffles and velvet jacket. Totally fierce. Six glasses of wine later - and a stirring performance by Julia Nixon - we rolled into Halo with out entire posse... and, like, every single gay boy in DC was there. It was super packed! Bartender Brad was back from Miami, hot! Outside Halo with Michael and Jason. Headed to bed pretty early (2am).

6. I was too drunk to watch Superbowl XL. At JR's (der, it was Sunday). Something about Steelers... and Seahawks. Apparently 90.7mn Americans cared, the most in a decade. I almost had a cow when they turned off the music videos at JR's for the Superbowl. Luckily they left the music playing even as they piped in the video feed from Detroit. Anywho, rollcall: Evan, Leo, M2, Andy, Greg, etc. It was kinda dead. I guess gays do love football after all *eyes rolling*. I know the lesbians definitely do. Ooh, guess what I found on the corner of 18/P on the way to JR's? The Chancery Annex of the Malaysian Embassy! Who knew.

*Yawn* OK, this yellowtail is sleepy. @ 23:52

February 3, 2006

[be yourself] "Something New", a story about a white guy dating a black chick (Sanaa Lathan), is released today. From the WP:

"What I find is that, because we do live in a white world, you become -- it's weird -- black people become more conscious of themselves being black than a white person is of being white." That's because, for white people, she says, "there's like an ownership. 'This is my world. I see myself. From the time I'm little, I see myself reflected.'" If there is a moral to the movie, Lathan says, it's that we need to step outside of these little cages of our own making.

"It's almost as if you become your own imprisoner," Lathan says about our all-too-common willingness to define ourselves only as others see us. "Do you know what I mean? You start to see yourself -- and I don't think this is a good thing -- as 'I am a Black Woman.'" Buy into that too deeply, she says, and you may end up looking at the world through a very narrow window indeed.

You can replace "black" with "Asian" or "Hispanic", and still say "Amen".

Oh and check out what the Editorial Review said about blonde-haired, blue-eyed Simon Baker (plays Brian, the white guy) who, as it turns out, is not the IBM (Ideal Black Man) *giggle*:

"...it doesn't hurt that Brian has triceps like the statue of David, the amiability of Buddha and a really cute dog."

*fans self*

And just in case you don't have new releases in Turin: Blair Underwood is the IBM in this movie. Et tu, Jason? LOL! @ 16:15

[still t minus 7] Overheard from Kiat's e-mail to Jason's CrackBerry (coz bitch loves RIM as much as crack!):

"Fetch, I can't wait. I'm so excited my geisha wig is getting frizzy."

@ 11:11

[irreverent] OMB, this article in the NYT Travel section about Aspen's Gay Ski Week is gut-bustingly funny. The writer was soooo immersed into the whole scene, he couldn't possibly be straight. Who knew the NYT was so irreverent? LOVE it. @ 09:56

February 2, 2006

[random stuff from kl] My new sister-in-law (I should stop saying "new" since she is my one and only sister-in-law now), Michelle, took me and Tony to KL's number one mall - Suria KLCC - located directly underneath the Petronas Twin Towers for some feasting and shopping. Trust me when I say this place is PHAT. Great restaurants on the top floor, amazing shops from super high-end to funky and reasonably-priced high street stores, fantastic views of KLCC Park, and oh, a killer location to boot.

Michelle is a food fanatic. We went from lunch at an Indonesian restaurant, to favorite Malaysian desserts at Madam Kwan's, and finally chocolate cake at one of the bakeries for tea. It's amazing how I even had the appetite for dinner later, so thank God the monkfish at Vincenzo's was inedible *giggle*

Pictures: The elevator banks | Six levels of shopping | Fetch and festive decor to celebrate the Chinese New Year | More shops in the two wings (Ramlee and Ampang).

More random pics: Tony's half-off | Fantastic wall of water at the Still Waters restaurant in Hotel Maya | Tony eating oysters at Still Waters | The smallest McDonald's in the world - McTreat in Bangsar Shopping Complex (BSC).

BTW, the food at Still Waters was phenomenal.. even my mother liked it, LOL! It was a completely random find. Ben had e-mailed me a NYT article about Kuala Lumpur (thanks, Ben!) and it talked about a new and fabulous boutique hotel called Hotel Maya near the Twin Towers in the City. So I looked it up and since I was craving Japanese, we totally had to go to Still Waters even though it was a long way to go for lunch. They were having an oysters promo and I had to order it, of course. We had tons of delicious sushi and it was just fabulous.

I Will stop writing about KL at some point. Promise. @ 20:38

[t minus 7] I just noted to Jason that it is Friday midnight in Turin which can only mean one thing: ONE MORE WEEK before I bounce my way across the Atlantic to join him at the XX Winter Olympics!

His reply:

"I am so excited I am about to tinkle!!! T minus 7 and counting."

LOL!! I love you, Mary! The reunification countdown begins... @ 18:08

[mileage whore] It's only the first month of the year... Check this out:

Account Number Membership level Current redeemable miles Year to date Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) Year to date Elite Qualifying Segments (EQS) Lifetime United flight miles

00XXXXXXXXX 1K 70,345 28,647 9 386,461

If you are unsure of how far 28,647 is, it's 6 round-trips from DC to San Francisco. Or more than one loop around the Earth at the equator (circumference = 24,900mi). I am *such* a frequent-flier miles whore! @ 18:05

[12 hours] That's how long I slept last night. I guess I was really deprived of sleep and I just crashed. When I woke up, my eyelids were still heavy.. I looked up, and it was 1:10pm! OMB. I managed to shit, shower and shave, and roll into the office at 1:45pm. It was kwazy.

I had a meeting at 10:30, so I was like "shit, shit, shit". When I got to the office, not only was I told that nothing happened at work this morning (very bizarre coz the gov't basically functions before lunchtime, everyone goes home after 2pm), but the 10:30 meeting had been postponed to 2pm! Woohoo! I made the meeting. Can you believe my luck?

Well, I'm done with the heavy-lifting for the day. It's almost 4pm and everyone's gone home (I'm the only one here left from my team). I can coast through the rest of the day...

Last night, we had a fetch dinner with Gen, Rob/Mikko at Dupont Grille. OK, that was a *really* bad picture (orange background and all), but whatev. No judging! At least I looked thin *giggle*

Gen, ever the late-eater, gathered us at 8:30 and we didn't finish till 11. I only had 2 or 3 glasses of wine but that wiped me out for the night. I know, I haven't slept 12 hours straight since.. I don't even remember. It was great to see Gen. We'll see her again when we hit SF for President's Day w/end. We also haven't seen Rob/Mikko in like almost TWO months, can you believe it? I don't. Well, we have a black-tie event together this Saturday so that should be fun. OMB, what am I going to wear??

OK, I'm so bummed coz Evan just alerted me that AccuWeather's founder is a contributor to Sen. Pig Santorum, and he is the ONLY Senator this guy contributes to. Conveniently, the Senator proposed a bill to (oh, this is priceless) stop the National Weather Service from providing FREE weather forecasts - except for ones that protect "life and property" - so that companies like AccuWeather, who charge for them, can prosper. Oh, the nerve!

NOAA's (the parent agency for NWS) reponse was Priceless though:

"If someone claims that our core mission is just warning the public of hazardous conditions, that's really impossible unless we forecast the weather all the time. You don't just plug in your clock when you want to know what time it is."

This sucks coz I *love* AccuWeather. Well, I've just completely wiped them off my bookmarks and my website.

Ugh, spoke too soon. More meetings and more shit landing on my lap. Laterz. @ 16:35

February 1, 2006

[reunion dinner] Sat, Jan 28th Every year on the night before Chinese New Year, families get together for a reunion dinner and then they clean the house coz there shalt be no sweeping for the first few days of Chinese New Year. Apparently, sweeping "sweeps" away the good luck.

My dad/mom, bro/sis-in-law, Tony and I went to Lai Po Heen at the Mandarin Oriental in Kuala Lumpur for the reunion dinner. Again. We were at the same restaurant 5 years ago for the Year of the Snake (back when I was 24!). It was so-so back then, not to mention I had a different sister-in-law ;)

Anywho, here's the menu:

Shredded abalone "Yee Sang" served with fruits and condiments
Braised superior shark's fin with crab claw and scallop
Steamed red garoupa topped with shredded mushroom, chicken in herbal broth
Braised abalone, sun-dried oyster and sea cucumber with broccoli
Sauteed scallops and prawns with baby pak choy
Simmered chicken in spices and ginseng soya sauce
Wok-fried rice with Unagi and pickled vegetables
Double boiled snow fungus and lotus seed in soya bean juice
Satisfied diners!

Dinner was excellent! We were visited by "choy sun" or the God of Wealth who handed out "hoong bao/ang pow" (red packets) containing 20sen coins in them for good luck. Ang pow is given by adults (usually married) to kids or anyone younger than the ang pow giver during Chinese New Year. It's quite the tradition, and when we were little, we used to visit as many homes as possible (friends or relatives) to get the largest number of red packets i.e money, and then brag about it to our friends the next day. It was all quite silly, really, as the money never added up to more than RM300 or 400 (less than US$100). But it's kinda like Christmas presents - used powerfully to get kids to love the holiday season. And it works!

As we were headed to Coffee Bean, Bangsar to meet up with Ann & Danielle before going to Bliss, we took this (not so perfect) picture of the Petronas Twin Towers brilliantly lit up at night. Cool, huh? @ 19:55

[gay kl] Fri, Jan 27th - After SuSu's party, Danielle "dragged" us out to Frangipani in Bukit Bintang - KL's nightlife district. I've been to Frangi before quite a few years back. It was hopping back then. It still is. Frangi is a beautiful place. Can't really describe it but there's a neat little fusion restaurant downstairs and the bar is upstairs with glass walls surrounding the inner courtyard, overlooking a pond. There is a gorgeous, swooping staircase that goes upstairs, and there are balconies just off the dancefloor to watch the street crowd or just hang. The whole building is just one big detached, colonial-like mansion.

The crowd was fierce and as pretty as the space. Mostly chinese, not my cuppa tea. They were all (well, most) sophisticated and, um, kinda bland actually. Cookie-cutter. It's like the slanty-eyed A&F boy: cut (as in defined.. coz all Asians are uncut :-p how can you not know that, Jason??), slim, smooth, cute black hair, preppy clothes, designer this and that, etc. Very generic. Kinda like DC boys. Only yellower.

Tony was in heaven, obviously. The music was awesome. The drinks were silly strong and startlingly expensive which is typical of KL since liquor is heavily taxed and hugely expensive. Right up my alley! I *finally* got my Cosmo, thank Beyonce.

Lew was there (I know, he is such a fixture of KL's gay nightlife), bouncing from (chinese) boy to (chinese) boy. Tramp, LOL! Danielle met up with a closeted co-worker :-o And the scene was just who-knows-who, who's-doing-who, what-on-earth-is-he-wearing, and OMB-which-village-did-he-just-come-from-and-please-go-back-there. It was all very cut-throat, dog-eat-dog and stifling, but kinda fetch in the je ne gay quoi kinda way. After all, we were still in oppressed and closeted KL!

Sat, Jan 28th - Fast forward to Saturday night... After a blowout "night before CNY" family reunion dinner at the Mandarin Oriental, we parted from the family to go out dancing with Ann, Danielle and Lew. The hag and his fag take us to Bliss near the Petronas Twin Towers (2nd tallest buildings in the world). Bliss is in this complex of bars, lounges and clubs called Twelve SI and used to be gay on Sunday nights only (Bliss Boys). And it also used to be completely unwrapped, floor-to-ceiling glass, and very exposed to the street.

It's now gay all weekend (the allure of the pink dollar) and the layout, while still similar, is now surrounded by plush, velvety curtains, blocked off from the outside. Feels almost like you're in a movie theatre. As it was CNY-eve, the club wasn't packed but it wasn't sparse either. We found a nice little banquette section, ordered a whole bottle of Absolut (to avoid the cover charge) and drank ourselves to oblivion. Fetch. Lew and I were drinking like we were at our last supper. But also coz the peeps across from us were basically "humping" each other with (some of) their clothes on. It would've been hot if they weren't phat (pretty hideous and tragic). It was like watching a train wreck! They definitely needed to be voted off.

The music was The Best yet in KL! It's funny coz the DJ's in the States play music that is new and funky, but in KL, they play familiar hits and, well, I just like the old stuff better. Then again, Bliss is not really a hard-core clubbing type of place like gAy-pex or Nation. More like Cobalt but with FAR better music. Hits (Gwen) after hits (Beyonce) after hits (Madonna!), it was pandemonium as we shook it and dropped it till closing time. Danielle and Ann are quite the shakers! Twirling around the dancefloor and working the trendy crowd of (shirts on) clubbers like only hot chicks at a gay club can. Fierce.

Oooh, pictures: Tony doesn't like this picture but I think the bright light adds a little disco to it, doesn't it? | The Bliss Queens! | Check out all the tits! Ohmy, Danielle... :-o *fans myself*

We definitely ushered in the Year of the Dog in delicious bone-licking, and hot doggie-style! The five of us ended the night in a mamak (open-air food stalls, open 24 hours) in Bangsar. It was sad to leave coz we were departing for DC the next day. But it was already 5am (!!) and our flight was in 12 hours' time!

Thanks for all the memories, you guys... Y'all definitely have a special place in my heart. @ 19:08

[cock's last gasp] Fri, Jan 27th SuSu was generous enough to open up her very lovely, cozy and new boudoir-condo in Bangsar for a party (gathering?) of sorts on Friday night. We dubbed it the (year of the) Cock's Last Gasp ;) Bellinis were on the house and bitches, lemme tell ya... finding peach juice or nectar in KL is next to impossible! We had to go to Cold Storage (expat grocery store) in Bangsar to find the damn thing, after a super-fetch lunch with Ann at Ms. Reed's Delicious in Bangsar Village.

Back to the party... it was a select group and we basically lounged endlessly, mostly with unnecessary chatter. Things took a drunken turn when Wei whipped out the "adult" version of the Snakes & Ladder boardgame.

Yes, "adult". No, we didn't have to slither off our clothes when we hit a snake, or climb on (straddle?) anyone when we hit a ladder. But it was close :-D Let's just say your gamepieces are shot glasses. And there are spaces on the board labelled "Drink One Shot" and "Drink Two Shots". Giggle! There was also a "Truth or Dare" box :-o And since I had the most to hide/divulge (well, to my straight high-school friends anyway), karma dictates that I land on that box. Twice.

The first time, SuSu's beau (Pete) was called upon to ask me a question (since I never take "Dare"). He looked at me, showed me his pearly teeth and announced to the group "I don't want to know his answers". LOL!!! Am I that controversial??

The second time, Su Ann's future husband (what is with the Su-Su's and their partners?? Let's call this one ES) took one look at me and said "so have you had sex with a girl?" to the delight (and deafening shrieks) of the rest of the group. Mmm-hmm.

I retaliated when it was Su Ann's turn by asking her ES' size. She blushed crimson pink. Mostly because she had landed on the "Drink Two Shots" box one too many times. Hello aunty, you were only drinking champagne shots (since SuSu, in her infinite wisdom, throws parties without vodka in the house!! WTF??). But she practically had to be carried out to the car by ES. She so silly.

Hmm, why am I telling you this?? Aaaaanywho... wait, what's that? You want to know the answer to ES' question? Haha. Nawty, nawty. I glared back at ES, pondered a little, and replied with a question in true Clintonian style: "Define sex... 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th base?" and followed that with "OK, OK let me make this easier... I've definitely gone past 1st base but I haven't hit a home run (4th base)". Curiousities are piqued at this point and the question shifts to "who??". I'm soooooo glad I never landed on another "Truth or Dare" box again.

At one point, Wei landed on the "Truth or Dare" box and chose "Dare". So, with inspiration from LA-Mike, I instructed Wei to wear an apron with no pants/underwear on. Giggle! He, of course, demured and switched to "Truth". Nobody dared to choose "Dare" after that, LOL! The gays do it better.

The wonders of a little social lube called champagne. And the night was just beginning...

More pictures, yay! The lovely ladies... | Gametime! | Aww, they act like they're married already... | My whores! - Ann & Danielle... aren't they fierce?

And yet more pictures from Su Ann's camera... Tony and SuSu | Ohmy, notice how "sucks" is right next to Su Ann's tit?? | Group photo! Is that SuSu's thong?? @ 19:08

[rampant piracy] Some wounds are just too deep to heal. The Chinese government canceled the premiere of Memoirs of a Geisha at movie theaters throughout China because of concerns that it could spark public anger and rekindle anti-Japanese sentiment. The number one reason being that three leading Chinese actresses (Ziyi Zhang, Gong Li and Michelle Yeoh) are portrayed as Japanese geishas in Memoirs.

But in true Asian fashion, Geisha is already available on the streets of Beijing and Shanghai in pirated DVD format for $1, and many Chinese websites have been offering free downloads of the movie with Chinese subtitles.

Malaysia happens to be the hub of the highest quality pirated DVDs and a huge exporter to other Asian countries. It's amazing how on the streets of KL, pirated DVDs - some with amazing picture quality - of very current Hollywood movies are being sold out in the open for peanuts. One of my friends even has Brokeback Mountain on DVD! I was SO tempted to borrow it... Can you imagine trying to explain possession of a pirated DVD to the customs officer? "Uhh, no no, this is not the REAL movie... see? The title is BAREback Mountain. It's just porn. I haven't engaged in illegal copying, I swear!"

My parents have seen all the most current episodes of Desperate Housewives (yes, including the one where Gabrielle tussles with the nun in church!) and they are avid followers of the soap-drama. Nope, it's not shown on Malaysian TV (nothing that risque would make it uncensored to Malaysia). But new episodes are copied and available for download on the internet about 24 hours after the episode airs on TV here. And somehow (I won't mention how or who) the show gets downloaded to the Media Center at my parents' and voilà - instant American TV. It's quite amazing that they watch basically the same stuff we watch here. The power and reach of the Internet is vast, n'est-ce pas?

And who pays the price for this kind of piracy? The consumers in the Western world, of course. @ 17:44

[it's time to fly] My airline of choice, United Airlines, exited bankruptcy today after 1,150 days in court protection - the longest and costliest bankruptcy of any airline.

United emerges as the nation's 2nd largest airline (after American), with 30% fewer employees (58,000 down from 80k), 19% fewer airplanes (460 down from 567), 5.7% fewer seats, and 20% lower operating costs (7.5 cents/seat-mile), than it did when the bankruptcy began on Dec 9, 2002. Labor costs are down by $4bn annually after two steep pay cuts, and the drastic and painful elimination of defined-benefit pensions saved the airline $13bn. United is flying 66mn passengers now, 3mn less than 3 years ago but the passengers are flying farther (114bn vs 109bn miles) due, in part, by the introduction of 35 new profitable, long-haul international routes and the elimination of chunks of the loss-making, short-haul domestic network.

The big cloud now is near-record fuel prices, which are likely to extend its 5 1/2-year money-losing streak by at least another year since United has no fuel hedging in place for 2006. For Q4 2005, United recorded a $182mn operating loss vs $570mn the same quarter in 2004. Total revenue increased by 10% to $4.4bn and year-end cash balance was $2.7bn.

Oh whatever. I don't really care as long as I get to accumulate and spend my miles as I please! Oh, and a better International Business Class product, a new website (or one that actually works), and a Dulles-Narita non-stop would be great too! :-D @ 14:33

[hypocrite-in-chief] And from the SF Chronicle:

"President Bush's call for Republicans and Democrats to work together, for America to engage the world and for the nation to quit its addiction to oil will sound to many skeptics like Barry Bonds calling for an end to steroid use in baseball."

"...Partisanship, stormy international relations and heavy oil consumption have been hallmarks of Bush's tenure thus far."

"It was not Bush's failure to solve these problems over the course of the first five years of his presidency that required him to highlight them in his State of the Union address... it was Bush's contributions to these problems that elevated each to a matter of significance."

Bingo! Four words for you, Mr. President: Practice What You Preach. @ 14:06

[schizo-in-chief] I didn't watch the State of the Union (SOTU) last night, Bush's fifth. I had far better things to do, like watch TiVo-ed reruns of Will & Grace and The O.C., LOL! I watched a few before, but why bother. Same old crap regurgitated year after year. And each year, it just gets more and more obvious that the man in the White House is, well, schizophrenic. From Newsweek.com:

"The State of the Union was a tale of two presidents. One was gracious about his opponents, seeking common ground for the sake of the nation's future. The other accused his critics of being isolationists, pacifists, protectionists and unpatriotic..."

"One wanted to extend tax cuts; the other wanted to cut deficits."

"One was determined to promote America as the world leader in science; the other was determined to put strict limits on human embryo research -- restrictions that other countries have rejected."

"Both presidents are of course one and the same: the often inspirational, often self-contradicting, George W. Bush. Democrats frequently mistake this split personality as some kind of giant game of bait-and-switch. But it's more accurate to think of it as the gap between Bush's idealistic self-image as a leader, and his realistic desire to do whatever it takes to win."

What an idiot. Somebody end our misery and Please shut him up! @ 13:51

More >>

28 :: ma lil' mochachocalatta
28 :: impatient bitches
27 :: the passion ends
24 :: weekend in dc
21 :: random pics
21 :: staying put
18 :: eat, drink and be merry!
17 :: downgraded
17 :: day III - the last day
- "what happens in italy, stays in italy"
- "arrivederci torino, viva italia!"
15/16 :: day II
- "get out of bed, bitch!"
- "we drive, you come!"
- "laura stole our lunch!"
- "how am i going to get in?"
14/15 :: day 0 and I
- "how do you all do it?"
- "passion lives where?"
- "grazie mille!!"
- "passion lives here!"
14 :: one year at a time
13 :: disclaimer
13 :: random
13 :: wow
09 :: viva italia!
09 :: love is in the air
09 :: t minus one!!!
08 :: karen, kiat, kwazy
08 :: third movie night
08 :: trickling in
08 :: 'we' turn 105
08 :: sandpaper
08 :: uproarious
07 :: i prefer empresses
07 :: mea culpa
07 :: t minus 3
06 :: weekend in dc
03 :: be yourself
03 :: still t minus 7
03 :: irreverent
02 :: random stuff from kl
02 :: t minus 7
02 :: mileage whore
02 :: 12 hours
01 :: reunion dinner
01 :: gay kl
01 :: cock's last gasp
01 :: rampant piracy
01 :: it's time to fly
01 :: hypocrite-in-chief
01 :: schizo-in-chief