May 30, 2008
[sleepy in LA] We glided (glid?) past the gleaming, sparkling and instantly recognizable LA skyline -- crowning a sprawling metropolis of 13mn souls, America's 2nd largest -- on the way into LAX just now.
It is a picture perfect night on the West Coast; a little chilly (in the 60s) but a beautiful night nonetheless. LAX is a hive of activity even at this late hour, which is a far cry from the emptiness at Dulles just now; surprisingly, considering that it is a Friday evening in summer... not that I'm complaining. LAX is, after all, the world's 5th busiest airport -- 62mn passengers passed through this airport last year.
We are comfortably seated in the Red Carpet Club (free wi-fi, yay!) at Terminal 7 where our previous flight landed and where our next flight will depart out of. How very convenient. This is also the same club that my parents were at a week and a half ago when I flew them to Vancouver for their Alaska cruise. I miss my parents...
It's 10pm here (1am EDT!) and our flight to Vegas leaves in less than an hour. I have no idea what I was thinking when I decided to fly all the way to LA, spend an hour in transit, and then fly to Vegas during hours when I should be horizontal and asleep! I shouldn't complain. The seat was (mildly) comfortable and the dinner was quite yummy -- sauteed shrimp with rice and a yummy chocolate/vanilla ice-cream dessert covered with chocolate sauce!
Even though it's Friday night and I am no stranger to being awake at 1am, I am still feeling pretty tired due to the long transcon flight. Actually, we made great time today -- flight time was only 5 hours. We are scheduled to land in Vegas at midnight, or 3am EDT!
I am so ready for bed. @ 22:13 LAX
[vegas, baby!] In a few short hours, we will be jetting across America to Vegas, baby, yea!
It has been 18 months since our last trip to Vegas. Then (Dec '06), it was a mileage run to make 1K and we stayed one night (OK, 15 hours) at the MGM Grand -- to see the horrible Ka, and to dine at the fabulous L'Atelier. I know, kwazy.
This time around, we are in Vegas, well, longer than 15 hours! We will be there this time for all of 38 hours, yay! Yup, two nights. And that's only because we are meeting Tom/Gen there for a whirlwind lunch-pool-dinner date on Saturday. Even though I swore up and down that we would never stay at the MGM Grand again, well, guess what? We are staying there again. It may be, though it remains to be seen, somewhat of a consolation that we booked ourselves into the Signature at MGM Grand -- their condo-hotel towers -- instead of the main building itself, but I am not holding my breath. The reviews are pretty good so my fingers are crossed.
Just like before, we will be flying to LA first before switching to Ted for the final one-hour hop to Vegas. I still cannot bear the thought of spending 4+ hours in Ted from here, and more so now after enduring trans-Atlantic in economy just a few weeks ago. The nightmares are still vivid! It does seem a lil' kwazy, though, that our trip to Vegas is gonna take 8 hours instead of 5 if we had taken the non-stop. Oh well, First Class fabulousness is worth the pain and suffering. Not that it's gonna be very fabulous considering we are on a 757 (yuck) to LA i.e. no Personal TV, sigh. At least I won't have to put up with crappy cattle food!
And then there's the MGM Grand. I know, I know... You'd think I would've learnt from our previous trip. Double sigh. I wanted to stay at the Bellagio. Or the Venetian. Or the Wynn. Or, at the very least, the Mandalay Bay. The only reason why we chose to stay at the MGM Grand again is coz we will be spending our entire Saturday evening at Joel Robuchon which happens to be in the MGM Grand. What's the fuss about this restaurant? Well, Joel Robuchon is the only three Michelin starred restaurant in Vegas, and one of only five in the US -- besides French Laundry in the Bay Area, and Jean Georges, Le Bernardin, and Per Se in NYC. Why a magnificent temple to food decided to call the MGM Grand home is beyond me. Regardless, I am super excited about the meal coz it's been a while since I had a gastronorgasmic meal, though I am not looking forward to the price tag -- up to $385/pp! Without wine!!
I am all about gastronorgasmic adventures :-D
There will be no Cirque shows this time around. I think I've already seen 'em all... except for Love. There will be LOTS of food -- lunch, a blow-out dinner and brunch -- and perhaps a little bit of (mis)adventures around the Grand Pool Complex (cabana, anyone?). I say "mis" coz, well, I feel fat. Been eating too much and haven't been going to yoga lately, sigh. I am already dreaming of the pool considering that it will be in the mid-90s all weekend!
Plus, I've been super tired lately. The birthday weekend spilling into Memorial Day weekend, and now this Vegas weekend is really just me declaring war on sleep. Not fetch at all.
I'm definitely gonna try and sit back, relax (pass out), and enjoy our flight across the continent. @ 15:32
[midnight sex] *giggle*
I have never seen a movie at midnight on its premier night before... I love SATC! @ 03:01
May 29, 2008
[meters? meh...] Last Saturday, Rick, Tony and I made our way to Columbia Heights for Adam's surprise birthday party (yes, bitch lived to see 35, that's the surprise! :-D). Tony didn't want to drive so we hailed a cab and the whole time we tried to find one, I was praying for a cab with a time-and-distance meter in it.
See... even though all DC cabs were "supposed" to install meters by May 1st, the City gave them all a grace period until June 1st after which the fine is $1,000. And, of course, the majority of the cabbies in the city chose to wait out the grace period before getting the meters. Bunch of mofo assholes, all of them.
Anyhooooo, I squealed with delight when the first cab we flagged down had a meter in it. Hoorah! I was so not up for paying two zones to get to Columbia Frights.
Long story short, we saved all of 80 cents, hrmph. First off, the flag drop rate is $3 (compared to $2.50 in NYC). The rush hour surcharge is no longer there (thank God), but the fuel surcharge of $1 is still there. That annoyed the piss out of me. Worse yet, the $1.50 per additional person charge is also *STILL* there. Argh. And I'm sure it will piss many people off that most cabs do not yet have the new metered rates posted in their cab somewhere. Yadda, yadda, yadda, we paid $12 for the metered ride instead of $12.80 (3 pax, 2 zones).
I was so excited about the whole meter thing that my first metered cab ride was like a really bad cherry-popping experience. Let's hope it gets better (it usually does).
It def made me long for NYC-style cabs in DC... @ 17:33
[almost here] It's beautiful outside today. I have absolutely no idea why I'm stuck at my desk, toiling away (obviously not very hard, considering that I'm blogging) when I could and should be outside, basking in the glorious sunshine. Upper 70s, low humidity, just perfect.
The summer season in the US officially kicked off this past weekend (i.e. Thursday p.m. is the beginning of the weekend coz no one works on Friday), but we are still 3 days away from the beginning of the meteorological summer months -- June, July, August. That said, we are already beginning to settle into a nice summery pattern of high-60s/mid-80s with reasonable humidity, which will quickly get oppressive as summer kicks into high gear in DC...
Summer is almost here. I love the heat... well, much more so than the cold anyway. I can't wait! @ 17:00
[insensitive] Not two weeks after a devastating magnitude 8.0 earthquake in Sichuan on 12 May, 50-yo Sharon Stone at the Cannes Film Festival:
"I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else. I've been concerned about how we should deal with the Olympics, because they are not being nice to the Dalai Lama, who is a good friend of mine. And then all this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and I thought, is that karma when you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?"
68,500+ people (so far) are confirmed dead, almost 20,000 more are missing, close to 400,000 injured, millions (5? 11?) are homeless, and millions more are in mourning...
And Sharon Stone thinks all this is because of Beijing's policy towards Tibet.
I'm sorry, but the deaths of innocent Chinese (and Tibetans) in Sichuan -- who are not complicit in actions of the Chinese government -- are no less tragic than the deaths of Tibetans during the unrest in Lhasa back in mid-March. It's pathetic to attribute the former to "bad karma".
I think the remarks are borderline disgusting and I am quite offended. It was an incredibly stupid, insensitive, and inhumane thing to say. But don't apologize to me, apologize to the dead. And she has (deeply?), so it's time to move on.
Lesson learnt: All the good you have ever done can be swiftly reversed with one incredibly stupid remark.
It is also interesting to note how this one domestic issue in China has inflamed so much ridiculous (in my mind) outrage by random people, to the point where these seemingly docile people would spout out oftentimes baseless and poorly thought out remarks that just amplifies their stupidity to begin with. Like, where was that outrage when Bush was marching the whole world into war with Iraq?
Leave China alone. @ 16:52
May 24, 2008
[damaged tranny mess] Oh. My. Beyonce!!
Yes, that was me and my trannies totarry drunk off our tranny asses on vodka at my birthday luau last Saturday. We were a bunch of hot tranny messes!!
p.s. Thanks, Jason, for iMovie-ing this and posting it on YouTube for me! @ 19:18
May 23, 2008
[ellen for president] I didn't see "Four More Years of Bush" McSame on Ellen yesterday when Ellen humorously prodded the Republican Presidential nominee about same-sex marriage, but reading about it this morning made me love Ellen forever...
Watch it or read about it:
Ellen:: So let's talk about it. Let's talk about the big elephant in the room. So by the way I was planning on having a ceremony anyway this summer even though it wasn't legal, but I feel that at least I get to celebrate my love. And then it just so happened that I legally now can get married like everyone should... So I'm obviously excited and to me this is only fair and only natural, and what are your thoughts?
McSame:: Well, my thoughts are that I think that people should be able to enter into legal agreements, and I think that is something that we should encourage, particularly in the case of insurance and other areas, decisions that have to be made. I just believe in the unique status of marriage between man and woman. And I know that we have a respectful disagreement on that issue.
Ellen:: Yeah, I mean, I think that it is looked at, and some people are saying the same that blacks and women did not have the right to vote. I mean, Women just got the right to vote in 1920, blacks didn't have the right to vote until 1870, and it just feels like there's this old way of thinking that we're not all the same. We are all the same people. All of us. You're no different than I am. Our love is the same.
To me, what it feels like, just -- I will speak for myself -- it feels like when someone says you can have a contract, and you'll still have insurance and you'll get all that, it sounds to me like saying, "You can sit there, you just can't sit there." That's what it sounds like to me. It doesn't feel inclusive; it feels isolated. It feels like we aren't owed the same things and the same wording.
McSame:: Well, I've heard you articulate that position in a very eloquent fashion. We just have a disagreement and I, along with many many others, wish you every happiness.
Ellen:: So you'll walk me down the aisle? Is that what youre saying?
McSame:: Touche.
ROTFL! I ♥ Ellen folever!
p.s. [rant on] I want to AND will sit wherever I goddamn want and all you ignorant, bigoted and racist Republicunts can't stop me. [rant off] @ 10:29
May 21, 2008
[idol #7] Yayyyyy!!! David Cook won!!!
I'm so happy :-D
After 17yo Archuleta's "knockout" performance last night -- I must admit, he was really good last night but 25yo Cook was just as good! -- I was sure that David A was gonna win tonight. Cook was like Hillary and Archuleta was like Obama. You kinda wanted one or the other to win but the inevitable result was gonna be Archuleta/Obama.
I almost squealed when they announced that David Cook had won by 12 million votes! 56% of 97.5mn votes... David Cook for President! @ 22:33
May 20, 2008
[happy birthday...] ...to me! :-D
Now, worship me, bitches!
p.s. Thank you to ALL of you for the lovely cards, texts, Facebook messages, etc. I love all of you!
pp.s. An even BIGGER thank you to Rick for helping Tony and I set up for (and clean up after!) my luau-themed birthday party this past Saturday. I love you forever, trannymawee! Long, long time! @ 21:05
May 19, 2008
[vodka and regret] OMB, the house is a hot tranny mess!! There is literally a 3" layer of vodka and regret covering every single square inch of the house.
It looks like Tsunami, Katrina, and Nargis swept in and left it looking like Hiroshima.
Thank God our maids are coming today. I love Mexicans.
p.s. The party was fierce, thank you all for making it so! Tranny pics are on their way... @ 09:57
May 18, 2008
[aftermath] Morning after text messages...
Nicole:: How you feeling today?
Me:: Like Hiroshima
*giggle*
The house looked like a V(odka)-Bomb had exploded.
Me:: [mass text to all the trannies] I love you so much I'm bleeding
Joenn:: Is it That time of the month for u already? Love u too, birthday boy!
LOL! Malaysian bitches are feisty.
And the best one yet:
L'David:: Tranny. Fierce. Hot Mess. Tranny. The End.
The End indeed... @ 12:45
May 17, 2007
[prelude...] ...to a tranny storm:
Rick:: hey tranny, it's tranny
what's the tranny plan for today?
Me:: Bring your suitcase and come over! ;-)
Rick:: I need to do laundry :-( Can I bring it with me?
Me:: Yes! Lol. We need ideas and help... Or rather, Tony needs help lol
Rick:: LOL! because god knows you're just sitting around in your shorts and tshirt barking orders and complaining about everything HE'S doing for YOUR birthday
you truly are America's version of an Asian Princess
Me:: Yay me. So when are you coming so that I can order you around as well? Lol
Um, it's GAYsian Princess to you, betch.
It's my birthday and I'll order everyone around if I want to!! ;-p @ 11:15
[daddy age] This year's Evite responses are not as funny as my milestone 30th birthday Evite last year. Some of them are worth a cursory mention though:
"I had the feeling your birthday was coming up. There was the faint smell of gin and regret in the air. xxxooo"
"Our little lotus flower has finally boomed into womanhood..."
"Trannys, vodka and food. Oh my! I will be there. Fierce"
"Hi tranny! It's tranny. You're fierce. You're a hot mess. You're a hot tranny. You're a hot tranny mess. I wanna borrow that top, Betch. This party is going to be TRETCH, Betch!"
"Hey Tranny, it's Tranny! I am in so long as you don't bore Nina!"
See? Told you last year's were funnier...
And this year's winner is... *dwumwoll*
"Uh oh Kiat. 31....that's approaching Daddy age :)"
Hrmph. If it wasn't for that smiley at the end, I would've disinvited that bitch...
:-)
Sewiously, I thought I hated being 30... until I am 3 days away from turning 31!
Under 12 more hours to my favorite party of the year -- the one that celebrates me, Me, and ME!!! @ 08:42
[perfect] Wow, I could not have wished for a more perfect day weather-wise.
It is just about 60° now rising to highs of 75° today by early evening. It is forecasted to be 70° under partly cloudy skies by the time the party starts tonight and tapering off into the mid-60s by the witchin' hours when everyone will be too drunk to remember what time it is, how warm/cold it is, or where they are ;-)
I am eternally thankful to the hot tranny mess for bestowing me with this phenomenal weather for my 31st birthday party... Thanks for the early birthday gift, Mommy Nature!
Let the fetchtivities begin!
p.s. I am NOT 31 yet, so quit sending me birthday wishes and calling me daddy!!... until Tuesday that is ;-p @ 08:35
May 15, 2008
[unconstitutional] Moments ago, the California Supreme Court struck down the state's marriage laws, rejecting them as discriminatory and unconstitutional:
"There can be no doubt that extending the designation of marriage to same-sex couples, rather than denying it to all couples, is the equal protection remedy that is most consistent with our state's general legislative policy and preference..."
And with those sweet, Sweet words from CA today, California becomes the second state in the Union to allow same-sex couples to legally wed; after Massachusetts started the walk down the aisle in 2004. Best yet -- and unlike MA -- you don't have to be a California resident to wed in CA! CA and MA joins Belgium, Canada, Netherlands, Spain, and South Africa -- the only five countries in the world where same-sex marriages are legal.
In the US -- VT, NJ, NH and CT allow civil unions.
The decision is California was 4-3. It is interesting to note that the California Supreme Court has six Republican appointees and only one Democrat.
Today's decision, however, is only a temporary victory. There is still a possibility that California voters may vote on a constitutional amendment barring gay marriage in November which, if passed, would overrule the court decision. Failing that, bigots across the country could petition the conservative US Supreme Court on this matter. There is a more than slight chance that the US Supreme Court would not rule in our favor.
Even so, it is hard not to overstate the importance of the fact that the most populous state in the union can now offer marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
The road is long. The journey has just begun. And we will not give up nor let the forces of close-mindedness, bigotry and ignorance stop us from fighting on.
Equality! @ 14:16
[i'm moving...] ...to California!!! (well, I wish anyway) @ 13:21
May 14, 2008
[worry wart] "Olympic tickets for events held in Beijing sell out".
Wow. I expected that these Olympics -- held in the world's most populous nation -- would be quite popular, but I totally did not expect it to sell out. Completely. All 6.8 million tickets are gone. The Chinese are kwazy.
Which means, the tickets for the 4 events that we have right now -- Archery, Beach Volleyball, and Gymnastics (2) -- are the only ones we're ever gonna get to go see unless we chance it with the scalpers, which would be a very expensive mistake if that turns out to be the case.
Hmm, what to do, what to do.
I am turning into such a worry pot about this Olympic trip. It's turning into quite a logistical nightmare. I am happy that we managed to secure tickets to some events while we are there -- thanks to Su Ann who bought the far larger allocation in HK! -- but I am still annoyed that we didn't get tickets to swimming, diving and, of course, the Opening Ceremonies. There is also that little unrest in Tibet which has thrown our entire 9-day itinerary pre-Beijing into disarray (we were gonna go to Lhasa for 3 days). Consequently, we have not purchased our domestic air tickets yet, plus it seems like those fares go down as you get closer to the date of travel which is the complete opposite of anything that I am used to. I do have a good idea of where we're gonna go instead of Tibet, but nothing's set in stone yet. And we're only about 10 weeks from our departure date.
I mean, most of my worries can be fixed by throwing money at it. The one thing that cannot be fixed with money is the issue with the Chinese visa; as in obtaining one. Recently, China announced that they have tightened visa rules ahead of the Olympics which means getting one is now a game of Russian roulette -- if they don't like you, you can't get in. We have already plunked down big bucks for our airfare to HK and our prepaid hotel room in Beijing so not getting a Chinese visa would suck big time.
AND, to top it all off, I'm worried about the weather for my birthday party this Saturday. It's looking good right now -- no rain and 60s to mid-70s, kinda like today -- but the weather is pretty turbulent these days so all 21 of my fingers and toes are crossed. I'm not crazy worried about inclement weather coz, worse comes to worst, we'll just have everybody in the house (yuck) but being able to use the front and back decks would def be better.
Worry, worry, worry. See? I should've just stayed in London and extended my vacation...
On the flipside, the weather is absolutely gorgeous today so I'm thinking lunch outside in a park somewhere! @ 11:06
May 13, 2008
[love-hate] I love London because... you can drink in the public parks! We had a fantastic time whiling away the stunningly warm and relaxing daylight hours on Sunday in Regent's Park while tipsy on Bellinis. Boat-paddling + Sun-tanning + Alcohol = Totally fierce! It def makes it all the more annoying that they won't allow us to drink in the National Parks here. Stupid moral police...
Conversely, I hate London because... with the dollar only worth half a pound, we spent a ridiculous amount of money this past weekend; like $1100 for each of the 5 days we were there :-o I know, I'm shocked myself. Food, lodging, alcohol, everything was just shockingly expensive for dollar-earners. £4 per journey on The Tube!! Thank God for my Oyster Card :-)
Then again, I love London because... the shopping is incredible and you can buy ANYthing the world has ever produced -- it'll find its way to London eventually -- which meant that I came home with 50% more luggage than I had gone there with. And I *love* claiming VAT refunds *giggle*! We could've actually done way more damage to our wallets had we chosen to shop our way through the weekend instead of spending almost all our time with friends. As it is, we failed to make it to Covent Garden or Knightsbridge. I *did* finally get my Kenzo suit/tux thingie which I have been eyeing since I saw it in KL almost two years ago. After a global search for it -- Singapore, NYC, Sydney, Tokyo, etc. -- I finally found it in London.
I also have a love-hate relationship with Heathrow Express. At £15.50 each way or £1/mile, HEX must be *the* most expensive train ride on the planet. That's $61 each way for the two of us from Heathrow to Paddington! And then there's the £12 cab ride from Paddington to our hotel in Trafalgar Square... London is just ridiculously expensive. But if you think about it, 15 minutes from central London to Heathrow? Worth every penny. Why? Coz the other thing I can't stand about London is the traffic! If it weren't for the Congestion Charge, London would be on the verge of Bangkok-style traffic jams. Even then, the CC system doesn't really work coz traffic is still abysmal.
Although my nostalgia about my Uni days in the UK and (practically) spending almost every weekend in London is still pretty strong -- London will forever be like a second home to me -- I do see that fading as the years pass. Eleven years is a long time and even as London itself has not changed much cartographically, I find myself getting "lost" these days in the pulse of the city. It's almost as if London has charged ahead with its newfound confidence as the center of Cool Britannia and its undisputed status as the crossroads of the world, and I have moved on and started a less frantic, less glamorous but better life in Washington, DC.
London is still a great city, no doubt, and almost everyone in Europe and the world clamors for a better life in London (as witnessed by the cacophony of languages spoken everywhere you go). And everytime you walk through the historical core of London and its unbelievable number of monuments and landmarks, it is almost impossible not to feel awed by one of the world's foremost global cities; matched only by New York City, Tokyo and, perhaps, Paris.
"When one is tired of London, one is tired of life", right? :-)
I'll be back! @ 21:04
May 12, 2008
[london beach] We're home-o!
We left London in a summer-like heat-wave of 79° nine hours ago, and landed back in DC that is freezing in 48° weather! Ridick! It's almost like London and DC traded places. In fact, London was warmer than Barcelona or Rome today. Kwazy!
We had *the* most amazing weather while we were in London, shockingly enough. London basked in record high temperatures this past weekend, with temps hitting an eye-popping 27°C (81°F!) on Sunday after an already scorching 26°C (79°F) the day before. It almost got too hot, especially in A/C-less London. Nonetheless, to top it all off, the sky was clear and the sun was out the entire time we were there. Truly sublime.
And, really, London is a beautiful city when the sun is out and the days are long and warm. It is also impossibly crowded when everyone takes to the streets, parks and cafes to soak up the phenomenal and unusually warm weather. Oxford Street was a zoo on Saturday as we fought our way from lunch at Yauatcha (good, but far too pricey for dim sum) in Soho, to tea at St Christopher's Place, and then to dinner at Texture near Marble Arch. Sunday at Regent's Park was just as crowded, but we had such an amazingly relaxing and idyllic time by the Boating Lake we didn't really care. At times, though, it seemed like all of London was at the Park; including the cornucopia of hot shirtless (and pasty white) boys laying out for hours on end.
What a fantastic sun-soaked weekend in London! It's almost like we went to the beach... I definitely didn't want our time to end, or come home to this miserably wet and frigid weather. Sigh, I need another vacation.
p.s. 18 days before Vegas, woohoo! @ 20:45
May 8, 2008
[11 years] 11 years. 132 months. 4,018 days.
Tony and I celebrate our eleventh anniversary today. Yea, yea, why are we on a plane ALL day, right? Well, we're going back to where we first met -- London! Oh, and to see Su Ann :-D
Time flies, it really does. We're practically an old married couple. Or lesbians. But I'm only 30 (OK, 31 soon :-p).
I almost don't even want to think about it. Turning 31, that is :-D
But yea, 11 years...
11 years ago, I realized after our first ever kiss (in our room at the Covent Garden Hotel... when the maid walked in on us, LOL!) that my life as I knew it back then had ended. My life would never be the same, and it has, indeed, changed completely. For the better.
And even after 11 years, I wake up every morning and the one thing that I look forward to the most is Tony's kiss (on my forehead, lips, back... ass *evil grin*, wherever).
Even after 11 years, I go to bed and wait for Tony to say to me, "sleep well, my love" before I fall asleep.
Even after 11 years, I think he's the best cook in the world (sorry Mom :-D) and I look forward to every dinner like it's special (and I get bitchy when it's not, lol).
Even after 11 years, when he says "I love you" to me, I just know that, whatever it is, everything's gonna get better.
Not everything's perfect, I recognize that. Very few things are. Things do go wrong. We're humans, we make mistakes. If we both were expecting the other not to, well, we're in the wrong species then.
I love you, Tony, now and forever. Even if I don't say it very often, I do. I know that because when I think about loving you, I don't feel alone.
Happy Anniversary, baby. Here's to celebrating us, 11 years later :-) @ 15:43 DC or 20:43 London
[coach is skank] OMB, I just realized that I am unable to fly coach ever again. I just can't do it. I've tried, I really have. But please don't make me do it again. Please...
Back when I decided to go to London for a long weekend, I looked online for fares and thought to myself, maybe I can put up with economy class for 7 hours. It can't be *THAT* bad. I mean, lots of people do it and have survived. Plus, an upgradeable fare would've been twice as much and I really want to go on a shopping spree when I get there. AND I really wanted to conserve our free upgrades and miles for bigger and longer trips, like Asia.
Even the dirt cheap fare that I got wasn't that cheap. The fare by itself was dirt cheap -- $109 each way! -- but pile on the taxes and the fare tripled. I know, ghastly. One of these days, people are gonna realize that the mess of an airport they call Heathrow is not gonna be worth the extortionist taxes and fees that they charge to land there.
Anyho, long story short, we got stuck in coach. I did pray really, Really hard at Dulles just now in hopes that they would somehow be generous and/or nice enough to upgrade us into business class; Tony being 1K/Platinum and all. But alas, that was not to be. And now here we are, "stuck" in coach.
When I first boarded, I was like, "this ain't so bad." We're in the exit row of a 767 with Tons of legroom, all is good. I mean, 7 hours of this can't be that bad, right?
4-1/2 hours later... All I have to say is: Get me off this eff-ing plane now!! :-D
Seriously, ladies. Coach is not for me, period. Short-haul domestic trips, maybe. But for international trips, this is like Abu Ghraib. It's official -- coach is skank.
First and foremost, I am Hungry. I have never been hungry on an int'l flight before. Ever. Trust me, ladies, they don't serve you a full meal in international economy. I've had appetizers in business that are more filling (and tons better) than the scrap they serve you back here. Grrrrr... (no, I'm not mad, that's just my tummy growling).
And even more importantly, the seat -- after 4 hours -- is impossibly cramped! And, OMB, you call this slight backward movement of the seat "recline"?? Even my desk chair at work has better "recline", Good God. It is impossible to feel comfortable -- much less fall asleep (thank God we're on the daylight flight!) -- in this obnoxious upright position. Double grrrrr... (again, my tummy).
Ooh, yippee... they just brought us a "snack". Let's see what we have here... turkey and cheddar cheese. Gag. But I'm starving so I don't care. And I can't wait to get to London for some good ol' Chinatown food!
Drink service? Non-existent. Service? With a snarl. Bathroom lines? I always thought that those only existed in powder form.
In short, I cannot do this whole unwashed masses thing. It's a good thing, then, that Tony loves me (and vice-versa, of course) coz I couldn't support my "I'm so high maintenance the air is thinner" lifestyle unless he does.
Cruising at 35,000-ft, 5 hours down, 2 more to go. Flying away from the sun, across the pond, and chasing the sunset into the British Isles.
I'm just so happy to be on vacation -- no matter how short -- after SO long. Work these past five months has been grueling and I deserve this, I really do.
Plus, I miss London. And, I miss -- I never thought I would say this -- United's International Business Class!!! 15:00 DC or 20:00 London
[eight thirty] Walking through Dulles just now, I was like, "WhereTF is everybody?". And then I realized it was EIGHT FUCKING THIRTY in the morning!
Um, I am barely awake on a weekday at 8:30am, much less be functional and going through check-in and security at an airport.
Not fetch. @ 09:05
[london calling] Argh, I woke up WAY too early today -- 5am! Allergies *sneeze* *cough*... which is just as well coz it's already 10am in London :-D
It has been more than 5 months since my last flight. Or since I've gone anywhere, period. This would be the longest period I have been *in* DC -- not flying and not on vacation -- since I started my first job 10-1/2 years ago! I know, I'm shocked myself.
Take last year for e.g. Beijing in Jan, PV Mexico in Feb, London/S Africa in Mar, Indonesia in May, KL in June, NYC in July, N'Awlins in Sept, Oz/NZ in Nov and SF/Tokyo in Dec. And the year before -- London/KL in Jan, Torino/SF in Feb, NYC in May & Jul, KC in Jul, Bali/KL in Sept, Italy/Switzerland in Sept, KL in Oct, SF/Japan in Nov, Vegas in Dec, Seoul/China in Dec/Jan... and so on (you can track my travels here).
My frequent flyer account has never been so empty this late into the year. Shell-shocking. I can't believe it myself that I haven't gotten the urge to just get the hell out of DC in these many months. I do have to say that I've been kept well busy at work and by my friends these past five months. It's still amazing that I managed to survive without exploding from being cooped up in the US for this long!
No worries, though. I'm playing catch-up for the rest of the year -- Vegas in 3 weeks, Playa in Jul, the Olympics in Jul/Aug, (maybe) Ireland in Sept and KL in Nov. And more to come!
But for now, it has been too long (14 months!) since I was in London last. And I can't wait!! London's calling and I'm putting all you bitches on hold! @ 06:30
May 7, 2008
[cruelties and blessings] I got a haircut on Monday -- from my fav hairdresser for the past 7 years, Andy, whose disappearance will inspire panic and hysteria in me of Hiroshima proportions -- and briefly contemplated getting it highlighted for the summer; like I have done in the past few. Y'know, coz light(er) hair and tanned skin go very well together during the "take most of your clothes off" months. Plus, my birthday party is, like, in 10 days. I always have highlights for my birthday.
Until I thought about the boredom-inducing pain of having to sit -- with stinging, stinky peroxide in my hair -- under the heat lamp for an HOUR to just get the black off of my hair. There's no coloring even involved; it's just the basic bleaching process. For SIXTY minutes. Totarry tran-gic.
It's not like I don't love my jet black hair or anything (shut it, I do), but once in awhile it would be nice to change it up a little, y'know, for beauty's and (perhaps) uniqueness' sake. But not only did God give half of (present) humanity the same color hair, He also made it extremely difficult (for me, at least) to change it. How cruel.
On top of it being some of the busiest months of the year for my social calendar, spring also has the cruelest months for me -- allergies.
I mean, seriously... It is crimes against humanity for God to make me suffer through itchy/burning eyes and a sneezefest during the months when the weather is *the* most perfect in DC and being outdoors is almost mandatory! Absolutely cruel.
Usually the worst months for me are when the trees are cumming, ahem, pollinating all over the eff-ing place i.e. late-March to early-May, but for some reason (global warming?), this year it started way late -- mid-April -- which led me to a false sense of security and I let my guard way, way down for this year's pollen season. I usually have to go through this endless cycle of showering, nasal spray, eye drops, medication, etc. just to stay afloat amidst all the tree cum (let's not even talk about driving with the top down and laying out in Judgement Circle), and this year is no different.
Case in point: two weekends ago, Chris and I partied like rockstars while Dave was out of town, hitting dinner (at Creme), Nellie's (outdoor deck, of course), the B-52s concert at 9:30 Club, Town, AND Ben's Chili Bowl -- all in one night! I suffered massively on Sunday for the outdoor action at Nellie's... But still I went to drunk brunch at Beacon looking like death warmed over, followed by a "Black Out Betty" night at JR's for $2 Sundays, but that's a different story altogether.
Note to all trannies: Tranpagne Brunch at NOON?! This face doesn't see light before noon on a Sunday, mmm-kay? Spanks.
Anyho, fast forward. This past weekend kicked off on Thursday at Sky-Bar (rooftop, high winds, pollen everywhere, you get the picture) while I was still recovering from a pollen-induced sinus infection, followed by an outdoor BBQ (yay, more pollen) at Rob/Carlos' which beget Town (and Ben's! *giggle*) on Friday night. I stayed indoors all of Saturday as we prepped (well, Tony prepped, I slept) for the big dinner party that night (which was FAB-U-LOUS, btw). Sunday was so amazingly beautiful we drove around (running errands) quite a bit in the convertible followed by hanging out at Adam/Patrick's gorgeous new condo *east* of Logan Circle with all the windows open...
Yup, the pollen and I had a big ol' fuckfest on Sunday. Pollen and me are best fuckbuddies. AND to top it all off, I sat outside at Raku for dinner the next day (I'm going to omit the Cinco de Mayhem trannybrations at JR's after, LOL!). I mean, have you seen the weather these past few days?? There are Geneva Conventions against staying indoors when it's *that* nice outside! Why, oh why do I have to have spring allergies? Really, how am I sposed to function in May and plan our friggin' 11th anniversary AND my 31st birthday (the anniv. comes before the b'day so, yes, I was 19 when we shacked up... shut up :-p) when I'm down and out with pollenitis??
Sigh.
But... I really do bitch and whine a lot; especially about my kwazy social life and my equally kwazy work load. So many fantastic things happen that go unnoticed until you think back and savor those moments.
Like, last night. Tony and I were in the midst of making (more) Sichuan food when Peik, Kitty and their 1yo -- Leo -- stopped by and hung out on the deck (again, pollen). It was good to see them after more than a year. Now that they have started a family and all that in Helsinki, our only bait for them to come back stateside is the cheap dollar! BTW, Kitty got THREE years of maternity in Finland! *faints*
Anyho, Leo is so eff-ing adorable! If there is something more beautiful than being on the receiving end of a baby's innocent smile, you gotta let me know. Coz the feeling is quite incredible, no matter how many times you've received it. There's just something about a baby's smile that is spontaneous, unadulterated and sans malice or intent. All the horror stories in the world about pregnancy, labor, childbirth, etc. cannot blemish the purity of watching a toddler light up in your presence. Perfection, and what a blessing.
And then I get to finally jet-set out of DC tomorrow for a long(-ish) weekend in London... I am so excited about tomorrow (and seeing my bestie, Su Ann!) my pants are practically soaked. We have a fantastic weekend planned revolving around -- what else -- food, of course (what? We're Malaysians!). I intend to shop till I'm broke and eat till I'm fat. All this while the dollar is worth half the British pound. It's gonna be tran-tastic!
Yes, there are many blessings in my life that far outweigh all the cruelties that are thrown at me on a daily basis (woe is me).
Perhaps the biggest blessing of all is the fact that Tony and I will celebrate 11 years together tomorrow.
I know... Shock and Awe!
p.s. If you can't tell, I'm already in vaca mode. @ 14:30
[tiara-less] *Head bowed*
Jason:: All right. Who all is going to Towne on Saturday...and what time is the circus starting? If we remember Madonna-rama's of past....someone on this list almost needed knee replacement surgery.
Me:: Sadly, I will be out of the country, SHOCK and HORROR!!!
Jason:: Sacrilege. rips off tiara
Oh, the shame.
p.s. I cannot believe it myself either that I am going to miss Town's first Madonnarama! @ 14:13
[sunny... london?!] Wow, I almost slid off my chair in shock (and excitement) when I looked up the weather forecast in London for the weekend:
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
High: 24°C (75°F) |
High: 26°C (79°F) |
High: 24°C (75°F) |
70s/60s! Sunshine!! No rain!!! Holy kwap. I know, right? If this is global warming... then, sign me up!
Momma's gonna pack some shorts for the weekend, woo!
Even the pound is moving in our favor... "only" $1.96 to the pound, which is roughly the same as when we were last there in March '07. At least it's not $2.10! (back in Nov '07)
Momma's gonna be buying a lot of new clothes to go with those shorts, mmm-hmm *triple snaps*
London, here I come! @ 11:35
May 6, 2008
[hot tranny mess] Ugh, oww, ouch...
Sake + Vodka Crans + Tequila Shots = Hot Tranny Mess!
¡Ay caramba! Cinco de Mayhem indeed! @ 10:40
May 5, 2008
[chinko de mayo] OMB!
Aaron:: Happy chinko er cinco. I always get the 2 confused.
Me:: Lol. Hey tranny!
Aaron:: I think u should start a new holiday. Chinko de mayo. Celebrate it on the 20th.
Me:: OMB! That's the fiercest idea ever
Aaron:: I know. :-)
ROTFL! I ♥ Aaron long time!
This year, May 17th is gonna be Chinko de Mayo. Only 12 more days till the big party! But first... London!!
¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo! @ 18:26
May 2, 2008
[broken balls] Conversation at lunch with a straight female co-worker (FCW):
Random comment:: Name something that people don't talk about in public
Me:: Like, shaving your balls?
FCW:: Eww, who does that?
Me:: Doesn't your bf shave his balls?
FCW:: Err, no...
Me:: Really? Eww... You should do it for him
FCW:: Eww, no! If I break it, do I have to buy it??
Hags are so much fun. @ 15:24
May 1, 2008
[most unpopular] WaPo's "Five Years After 'Mission Accomplished'":
Much has happened in the five years since President Bush flew aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in "Top Gun" style, stood under a banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished" and proudly declared: "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended."
Five years ago, 139 American troops had died in Iraq. Now that number is 4,064. Five years ago, 542 American troops had been wounded in Iraq. Now that number is 29,395.
Five years ago, the national debt was $6.5 trillion. Now it's $9.3 trillion. Five years ago, your average gallon of gas cost $1.44. Now it costs $3.57. Five years ago, Bush's job-approval rating was at 70 percent. Now it's at 28.
Five years ago, Bush's appearance on the carrier was widely hailed as a brilliant PR move, imbuing the president with the aura of a conquering hero. Now, it's possibly the single most potent image of Bush's hubris.
One thing that's not so different: Five years ago, there were about 150,000 American troops in Iraq. Now there are slightly more.
Love it!
And how much did we LOVE this 50-foot replica of the Mission Accomplished banner that antiwar protesters unfurled at the White House?
And Sen. Byrd's floor speech yesterday was no less fabulous:
"Years from now, I expect that history books will feature the sorry 'Mission Accomplished' episode as the epitome of this administration's reckless and arrogant foreign policy, which has reaped disastrous consequences for our nation and the world...
"President Bush has recklessly squandered more than 200 years of American leadership, good will, and prosperity. If that is what he was aiming for when he took office, then he can claim 'Mission Accomplished.' That is his legacy."
So it brings me silent pleasure to read about the new CNN poll that suggests... no, reaffirms that President Bush is the most unpopular president in modern American history.
71% of the American public disapprove of how Bush is handling his job as president. No president has ever had a higher disapproval rating in any CNN or Gallup poll, and no president's disapproval rating has ever cracked the 70% mark.
His only consolation prize is that his approval rating -- 28% -- remains better than the all-time lows set by Harry Truman (22%) and Richard Nixon (24%). But even Truman and Nixon never got a disapproval rating in the 70s. The previous all-time record in CNN or Gallup polling was set by Truman, 67% disapproval in January 1952.
President Bush is more unpopular than even Richard Nixon was just before he resigned from the presidency in August 1974, when his disapproval rating was at 66%.
It is already beyond reasonable doubt in my mind that Bush is the worst president in American history, but that distinction is so much not enough. No, it isn't. I frankly couldn't give a flying fuck if the whole world disapproves of him. Not after all that he has done to this country, the American people, the Iraqis and the citizens of this planet. An opinion poll telling me what I already know is not going to cut it. No, sirree. I will not be completely satisfied until he has been dragged to the ICC in The Hague and tried for war crimes.
"W" is for War Criminal. "W" is for Waterboarder. "W" is for Worst Ever. "W" is for Wretched. @ 23:19
[ridiculously cheap] This article -- U.S. gas: So cheap it hurts -- says it all:
"Despite daily headlines bemoaning record gas prices, the U.S. is actually one of the cheaper places to fill up in the world. Out of 155 countries surveyed, U.S. gas prices were the 45th cheapest..."
"The difference is staggering. As of late March, U.S. gas prices averaged $3.45 a gallon. That compares to over $8 a gallon across much of Europe..."
"Gasoline costs roughly the same to make no matter where in the world it's produced... The difference in retail costs, he said, is that some governments subsidize gas while others tax it heavily."
"In many oil producing nations gas is absurdly cheap. In Venezuela it's 12 cents a gallon. In Saudi Arabia it's 45."
"In the U.S., the federal tax on gas is 18.4 cents a gallon, pretty low by international standards."
"But those relatively low gas taxes make it hard now for Americans to deal with gas prices that have risen from around $1 to over $3 a gallon in the last seven years."
"Revenues from Europe's high gas taxes are used to fund a variety of things. One thing they have built is better public transportation... Oil use in the United Kingdom has basically stayed flat from 1980 to now, while in France it's dropped 17%..."
"In the U.S., meanwhile, oil use is up 21% over the same period... Americans have taken advantage of cheap gas prices to do other things - like buy bigger cars and bigger houses further away from city centers."
"On a per capita basis, Americans use three times more oil than Europeans... That means Americans are more exposed to rising gas prices than their counterparts across the Atlantic."
"Five-thousand square feet in the suburbs, that's much rarer in Europe. We dug our hole."
We need to curb consumption, not encourage it. We need to reduce our dependency on oil from rogue nations, not be more hooked on it like black crack. People should start paying for the damage they are causing to the environment. People should start realizing that bigger and better (homes, cars, etc.) only serves one purpose -- themselves. Me-me-me has to stop (OMB, did I just say that??). We need to start acting like responsible global citizens. Raise the gas tax now!
Clinton and McCain are both kwazy for calling for a gas tax holiday from Memorial to Labor. Shamless pandering. I agree with Obama when he said this about the gas tax holiday: "It's not an idea to get you through the summer. It's an idea to get them through an election."
Amen to this act of political courage. @ 20:48
[ineligible] "Ineligible" is one word that most human beings don't like to hear/see. Who doesn't want to belong or be entitled to something? Who doesn't like to hear the word "Yes" or any other form of affirmation?
Well, as it turns out, "ineligible" is the answer you most want to see when you log on to DC Courts - Juror Services to fill out your Juror Qualification Form.
I about fell off my knees when I got a Jury Summons to report to Petit Jury (not Grand Jury, thank God!) on June 4th at, *gasp*, 8:00am! *clutches pearls and faints in horreur*
By order of the Chief Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, you are hereby summoned to serve as a juror as indicated below. Please complete the enclosed Juror Qualification Form and return it within five (5) days. Failure to appear as directed by this summons may result in a fine of not more than three hundred dollars ($300) or imprisonment for not more than seven (7) days or both. D.C. Code 11-1906.
This was pretty momentous as I have never, in my life, been summoned to jury duty before. Not in Malaysia (I was too young, perhaps?) and certainly not here. Nor did I think I would ever be, at least not until I became a US citizen. And as you all know by now, my citizenship application has been mired in red tape and morass called USCIS for the past 22 months now. Tragic.
Aaaaanyho, I was like, "WTTF? (What the tranny fuck?) They can't summon me to jury duty if I'm not a citizen!"
Sure enough, the first question they ask you in the online qualification form is "Are you a citizen of the United States?", and on the side it says "Only United States citizens are eligible to serve as D.C. Superior Court jurors."
As soon as I hit "No", it comes back and says:
Thank you for completing the eligibility sectino of the Juror Questionnaire form. You have been determined ineligible to serve as a Superior Court juror. You should not report on the summons date for the following reason:
Not a US citizen
I have never been so happy to NOT be a US citizen in my life.
Happy May Day / Labour Day! @ 20:28
30 :: sleepy in LA
30 :: vegas, baby!
30 :: midnight sex
29 :: meters? meh...
29 :: almost here
29 :: insensitive
24 :: damaged tranny mess
23 :: ellen for president
21 :: idol #7
20 :: happy birthday...
19 :: vodka and regret
18 :: aftermath
17 :: prelude...
17 :: daddy age
17 :: perfect
15 :: unconstitutional
15 :: i'm moving...
14 :: worry wart
13 :: love-hate
12 :: london beach
08 :: 11 years
08 :: coach is skank
08 :: eight thirty
08 :: london calling
07 :: cruelties and blessings
07 :: tiara-less
07 :: sunny... london?!
06 :: hot tranny mess
05 :: chinko de mayo
02 :: broken balls
01 :: most unpopular
01 :: ridiculously cheap
01 :: ineligible