Milestones

I'm sitting here at half past midnight, not feeling even a little bit guilty for not having entered anything noteworthy in the last couple of months. I didn't want to share what was going on in my life because it was too fresh, too exciting, too personal, and too close to me at the time. Now things are settling into a comfortable routine, and I am getting some perspective on things.

I am married.

I married a beautiful, funny, incredibly perceptive, loving person - Vanessa Pan. (Her Chinese name is Pan Huixin - pronounced "Hway-sheen") We got married on my 36th birthday - a date we chose so that I would never forget our anniversary, so that Vanessa can combine my b-day gift and anniversary day gift, and because we're also getting married publically next summer, so we didn't want to assign too much significance to one individual day. It was a really hot day. I wore a black silk Chinese style shirt that V had bought for me, and she wore a beautiful cream-coloured dress.

I was pretty excited that day, even though I had tried to fool myself by saying it was just paperwork and didn't mean that much. It didn't work - by the time I got there, my heart was racing. It was a thrilling experience.

The gentleman presiding was a Notary Public who specializes in this sort of thing. He had a little altar set up, with the Chinese character for double happiness in red neon behind. It wasn't as tacky as it sounds. He spoke to us about the powers invested in him by the government of the Republic of China, our responsibilities to each other as a married couple, he mispronounced three out of four of my names, we then bowed to each other (almost bumping heads), smooched, and he then handed me our marriage certificate. That was it.

Despite the banality of the procedure, when it came time for the little "ceremony", I felt very moved. I mean wow - there was a beautiful woman standing next to me who actually wanted to be with me for the rest of my life. I was thrilled and proud. What a high! Our witnesses to the ceremony, next-door-neighbours and all-round good guys Geoff and Joyce Lin, took us out for a celebratory bowl of beef noodles for lunch that were just insanely spicy. We went home, had an afternoon nap (we were both zonked - too much nervous energy), and then later in the evening went to Salsa Bistro on Anhe Road with them for Champagne and dinner.

After dinner, we went to an outdoor cafe very close to Lotus Hill and had coffee outside under the trees. The music was nice. I just remembered - when we sat down there, the waitress came to take our temperatures - SARS was in full bloom back then - and the way she was fiddling around with the laser-pointer thermometer made me realize that she was new at this. She did me first and the second she pointed the laser at me, I grabbed my head in apparent agony and started moaning. The poor girl was startled - she thought she had killed me.
"Omigod sir, are you alright?!"
"Yeah, just playing with you - I'm sorry...."
Everybody else was in stitches, but the poor girl looked faint. I'm such a bastard...

Anyhow we all talked about nothing for a couple of hours, and I kept stealing looks at Vanessa beside me. She was especially beautiful that night. I think I'll remember that day and that night for a long time - forever, I guess. Here's to our beautiful life together ~clinks glasses~

I Don't Believe In Full Disclosure

It's been a heck of a month. Where to begin? Business? Work? Love? Money? ~whew~ And I find the whole prospect of a blog a little daunting. After all, how much information am I expected to reveal here? I am by nature a fairly private person, although I am simultaneously extroverted. I guess that means I like communicating with people, but I don't believe in full disclosure - at least not initially. Maybe that will change as I become more accustomed to this medium. Or maybe not.

Fricking SARS

Fricking SARS. It's affecting my life several times a day now. I get my temperature taken when I go into a parking garage, a movie theatre, my gym. It's all they can talk about on the local news. When someone coughs, everybody in the vicinity gets nervous. I find myself glaring at people who spit in the streets. (No wait, I've always done that...) I feel tired and I wonder if I'm coming down with something. I get hot in the sun, feel the sweat on my forehead, and wonder if I'm feverish. Stupid.

My paranoia aside, this is also affecting my income. Students are cancelling classes out of fear, or in the case of a few companies, are prohibited from having outsiders come into their offices. I'm hoping this whole thing blows over by the time The Project kicks into gear. Now that I'm finally becoming my own boss, I really want to work my ass off and make my mark. Last thing I need is to have everything derailed by a lousy virus from Zhongguo.

Bangkok Weekend

V and I came back from a great weekend in Bangkok. We stayed at the Grand President Hotel, which was cheap, central and adequate. We spent a good deal of time at the pool, woke up one morning before dawn to catch the floating market 140 kms outside of Bangkok, ate some great food and some not-so-great food. We were at a riverside restaurant (the Yok Yor Restaurant, I believe) that had great views, mediocre food and a godawful sound system that crackled out more static than music. Throughout the meal we were subjected to entertainment. I use the word loosely. After the inevitable "traditional" Thai dance, the girls on stage whipped off their long robes to reveal black leather shorts and halters with riding crops in their hands for added effect. They had no talent whatsoever. When they finally exited the stage, I breathed a sigh of relief. The calm of the evening was soon broken, because five minutes after the girls left the stage, they started belting out Karaoke hits. The singers were all half-drunk Taiwanese men who somehow thought we really wanted to hear their renditions of off-key Taiwan love songs. For the record, I hope God has a special place in hell for the inventors of Karaoke. I had such a sour face that Vanessa wisely hustled me out of there before I became violent. We went to a quiet Starbucks where a latte brought me back to my good spirits.

We had some great food also. It seems that whenever I go to Thailand, the best meals I have are also the cheapest. Hmmm.

One night we went by the Nana Entertainment complex - a three story Sodom and Gomorrah chock-a-block with go-go bars. Feeling naughty, we went into one. A bunch of bored girls on a stage shuffling their feet listlessly to hard rock from the seventies - the music that most of their target clientele grew up with. I hadn't heard so much Steppenwolf, Blue Oyster Cult, Uriah Heep and whatnot in a looooong time. (That's been a good thing.)

We also went out to a lounge/bar called Q-Bar. What a fantastic place! Great music (old school hip-hop, and funk from the 70's to the present), great crowd (non-tourist expats and local scenesters). There were a lot of beautiful people there that night. Thai women can be stunning... Right next to our hotel there was another funky bar/lounge called the Bed Supper Club - definitely have to check it out next time......

Kind of funny, but EVERYONE assumed Vanessa was Thai. Whenever we went somewhere, the taxi drivers/shopkeepers/waiters/door staff would speak to Vanessa in Thai. And the first night the security guard headed her off at the elevator because he thought she was a ~ahem~ "lady of the evening". I was walking a few steps behind and set the guard straight pretty quickly. It bothered Vanessa a little because she suddenly realized that most people in Thailand woiuld make certain assumptions about her nationality and the nature of our relationship - assumptions that she herself was making about the fat white businessmen there with a young Thai girl on each arm. It's a sleazy world.

War Porn

It's been a busy couple of weeks. I 've been watching way too much CNN (war porn!), busy trying to arrange the details of my upcoming projects, teaching classes (mostly privates by now...), and still hanging on to a few Lado classes.