The End

"Now we come to the end of the road... and I can't let go." Closing night was tough. Really tough. We spent the morning at the jade market (cause I just can't get enough) and between shows had a farewell dinner with about ten of my besties. Then during the second show, I just started crying.

Every time I would be onstage I would be thinking that this was the last time this would happen. The music would play and I would feel tears gathering in the corners of my eyes. It was overwhelming. I had to take deep breaths and be careful, because there's no way I can go onstage and perform crying. During the last scene I have to go onstage and comfort the VonTrapp family... convincing them that they just have to have faith and they can make it over the mountain. On this night, the words couldn't be more true. It was true for every one of us on the stage. The fact that we've been on this incredibly long, harrowing, wonderful journey together, and the fact that now we're going back to the real world, facing new and scary things. For the kids, it's being back in school after two years, making new friends and trying to adjust. For the parents, it's being back with their spouses, and their friends, finding happiness in their old lives after living in a shopper's paradise. For most of the techies and musicians it's flying home, re-packing, and joining a new show with new people and new experiences. For most of the actors, it's unemployment.

For me, it's New York. It's seeing my old friends again, and my family, and starting over again. It's being unemployed, and trying to get another acting job, but probably having to to work a million other crappy jobs just to make ends meet. New York is hard for me, and I know that when I move there it is going to be a tough mountain to climb, but it's basically the only way I can choose to get to the place where I want to be. Hopefully the friends I've made on tour, and the experiences I've had will help me along the way. I'm stronger emotionally and physically, and I'm ready to do this. It's just a little hard to say goodbye.

So now, a few hours of packing that I'm sure will turn into a late night (I've already randomly done a tequila shot and had a glass of champagne) and an early morning. But soon, it will all be worth it. I'll be home!!

It's Almost Over

It's almost over, and for the first time, I'm feeling a little sad. It started when I had some great Saturday shows. A long day starting with dance class left me tired, but on Saturday night I gave one of the best performances in my whole life. Definitely the best in this show, in my opinion. It's shocking how much I've learned in the last 18 months!! But now I'm here, feeling sadder than I expected. I am definitely done with this part of my life, but I'm only now realizing how much I'm going to miss it.

Every time the music swells I'm starting to feel that pressure in my chest, and it's a little harder to breathe. I have made some amazing friends here, and every day has had moments of pure amazingness. Yes, sometimes the show is hard, or boring, or frustrating... but sometimes it is the best feeling I've ever known. I want that feeling!

Now I'm only a few days from America, and it's bittersweet. I can't wait to see you all, but I'm scared that I won't be performing for a while, and I won't get this feeling again. Two more shows and then a bunch of time in a plane, and then it's over. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it went fast! And I've forgotten things! Oh well, at least I took a bunch of pictures.

Uniquely Asia

On our last free day, we thought and thought about what we should do. We've been in HK for what seems like forever, but we needed to make sure that we left confident that we had seen and done all we could. After much deliberation, we decided that there were two things we had yet to do. See 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' and go out to a famous lunch.

For real, we spent a gorgeous Friday afternoon watching a movie. It was great! You know, theatre people love movies, especially in HK with assigned comfy seats and the best caramel corn I've ever had. The movie is very scary, but also more thought provoking than I expected. We watched it, screamed and grabbed each other, and then came back into the safety of a sunny day. That's when Jess and I headed to lunch.

One of Hong Kong's most famous restaurants is a floating restaurant, called Jumbo Kingdom. Let me tell you, it really is Jumbo. To get there, we took a bus to the part of HK Island called Aberdeen, where we found the ferry station. Jumbo has a little sampan that you ride out to the restaurant, manned by Chinese men in little outfits. You're surrounded by the Shangri-La's harbor, with huge white yachts, and you're on this dinky little brightly colored dragony Asia boat. It's great. The ride takes about a minute, and then you're in the middle of the harbor on a HUGE island restaurant. It's front face is covered with windows, it's about four stories high and Humongous. Welcome to Jumbo Kingdom.

I've never been on a cruise (my family went without me once) but I imagine eating at this restaurant was a lot like being on a cruise ship. It's so huge that you can't feel the restaurant moving at all, even though it totally is just like a big huge boat. So not only are you in the biggest restaurant in HK, but once you walk up four flights you might be in the tackiest restaurant in HK. It's strange, but it's almost not tacky. The walls are covered with mirrors, or dragon-themed mosaics. At one end of the room we ate in there were three thrones decorated in some ancient Chinese style where you could get your picture taken. Somehow, this decends into the truly tacky... dragon statues with light-up eyes, etc. I took a bunch of pictures, while chortling to myself. I think most of mainland China would have found this to be the most beautiful restaurant they'd ever been in, while in New York it would have been totally kitsch.

After admiring the decor, Jess and I ordered traditional dim sum. Hong Kong is famous for dim sum, which is a meal made of a bunch of small dishes. Think of it as the Asian version of tapas. Traditional dim sum items include barbecued meats, dumplings, and buns. We did it up food style, and ordered at least half of the menu. We drank a million cups of oo-long tea. We had shrimp and vegetable dumplings, scallop dumplings, and pork dumplings. Mushrooms wrapped in rice noodles, barbecued pork and crispy beef slices. For dessert we had egg tarts and buns filled with egg cream. It was all Asian, and overall, it was all great.

It's been a long time since we've had a traditional Chinese meal of any kind. After being forced for months last year in the mainland, I swore off it permanently. Of course I caved, but after being forced again in Hangzhou for weeks, I was sick of it for good. In HK, we've eaten every other kind of food. A lot of American, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, and Indian. But very very little Chinese, until today. And you know what? I'm going to miss it!! I loooove dumplings of any kind, and there is something great about food that you eat until you're stuffed, and then half an hour later you're hungry again. This was the epitome of the Hong Kong meal, and the best way to say goodbye to Asian food in Asia. Who wants to bet that I'll be at Outback this weekend? Me! But I sure wish they had dumplings.

Shop Till You... spend all your money

We're running out of time, and day by day I find more that I have to do in HK before we leave. Apparently at the beginning of the week one of the things I thought I had to do was shop one more time. I have only bought about a million things, but somehow I needed more. Maybe I've been buying too much for some people, and not enough for others, but it's not my fault that there are NO presents for guys in ALL OF ASIA! So, today I went to some markets. To shop.

We started early, at the Ladies' Market. I had gone once before, on Halloween, but was there to buy costumes, not presents. Today I was there with a list of mandatory presents, and an idea of what I would and would not buy. Two hours later we were on to the next market, and I had spent some major cash. After a full day (jade market... again) of shopping I had to stop and rest my heavy parcels. I also had to realize how insane I am for having bought so much.

Maybe it's the crazy caucoughany of markets that makes me buy. There is usually one narrow lane that you're walking down, and people are constantly pushing you while walking too fast or not fast enough. There are stalls on either side of you, and people are yelling at you to get your attention. "Hey Rady, Hey Pretty Rady!" "Cheap-a for you, I give you best price". They stereotypes are proven right time and again as people peg us as Westerners and yell at us in broken English. When you actually do see something you like, you have to be careful to approach it the right way. As soon as you touch something or are caught staring, you have to make sure you want it. Because the second someone catches you looking to hard, or you ask to see something, or pick it up, you are in for the long haul. You are now the prey, and the shopkeeper is the hunter. You now have to engage in the delicate bargaining game.

It goes like this. You see something you like, and try not to seem interested. Someone comes to you and starts extolling the item's virtues. You know...is very pretty, come in many color, is cheapa for you. There are several different tactics that will be tried to get you to buy. One is the 'best friend' method. This is where the saleslady tries to be your best friend. She flatters you, saying that you are so slim, or that your face is very nice. Then she tells you that she is very poor and you are helping her live if you buy. Sometimes as you haggle she says that you are taking food from her mouth, while all she wants is for you to have something pretty, and maybe can you be best friends forever? Another way to sell is the 'evil bitch' method. This is when the saleslady acts like you are wasting her time. When you try to bargain she looks at you like you're a total idiot, meanwhile she's making an inventory list and laughing at your outfit. When you finally leave she waves you away, but you see her cackling behind your back as you walk on.
Once you're actually working with the friend/bitch, there is a delicate way to haggle. It all depends on the seller, the market, and the merchandise. You have to learn to a. know what the item you want is worth, b. be able to read your seller, and c. be able to walk away if you're going to pay too much. Most of the time you can read the situation pretty easily. The seller will throw out a slightly rediculous number, and you have to laugh and protest, too much, too high, too expensive. Then you throw out a number below what you're willing to pay, and hopefully you land in the middle. After more than a year of practicing I have become Amazing at this dance. I know which ladies want to be a friend, and I giggle with them and admire their bags. I know who wants to be a hardcore business person, and I respect them while fighting for my price. I haggle and haggle, and know when to give my final offer. I can usually walk away.

You'd think that I'd be glad that I've mastered all these skills... that my time in Asia has been productive in at least one way. But the problem is this: here I am with all this stuff that I did an amazing job buying, spending way less than I would in America... and now I don't know how to get it home. My bags are bulging and I'm not even done. I'm poor and laden with goodies, and I might have to leave some here! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!! This is the hardest part of it this job. Two bags, 70 pounds... the toughest equation of my life. Good luck packing, me.

A Day at the Beach

Here is it, November 17th, and all around the world people are freezing. It's winter! For my whole life I've lived in the Midwest, and I've usually had to ruin my Halloween costume every year wearing a turtleneck or a jacket. By mid-November I expect to be wearing my jackets, scarves, and all my winter paraphanalia. This is why I am so amazed that today I was on the beach.

Hong Kong is surrounded by water, and it definitely has some famous beaches. We've been meaning to go for weeks, but have been busy or lazy, using our fabulous pool. Then, every time we made plans, the weather would suck. I think that's what fall means here...overcast and still hot. Since we're in the last week, we made plans, plans, plans, and made backup plans in case things didn't work out. Today our plan was to go to the beach, and much to our surprise and pleasure... the weather was AMAZING! When I woke up at eleven, the sun was shining through my blackout curtains, and when I pulled the shades I was slapped in the face by the sparkling view.

I loved it. So, I called my three long-term tour besties, and we hopped on a bus to the beach. Jess, Dana, Joe, and I boarded a double-decker bus (HK was British for a looong time, don't forget) and rode the harrowing ride to the beach. We were assaulted by tree-branches and maybe a bit nautious, but when we got there it was all worth it. Repulse Bay is one of the most beautiful places on HK Island. You turn a corner around a mountain, and suddenly you see a bay. There are beautiful high-tech apartment buildings on the side of the mountain, and at the base, a Perfect beach. It's only about half a mile long, but it is gorgeous. The sand is like rock quartz that has been polished smooth, and when we took off our shoes it warmed our feet and welcomed us. The beach has barbecue pits and umbrellas, and even some shark nets to protect the swimming areas. We laid down our towels and suntan-lotion-ed up, ready to face the sun.

We wanted it to be just like spring break, when everybody's jealous of the kids who went somewhere tropical and come back golden brown... so we used 15 and baked for at least an hour. Joe, being male and not so into the sunbathing, took a walk down the beach to where a special art exhibition of outdoor statues stood in a circle. Dana, Jess, and I read our books and chatted aimlessly. After a while Joe went in the water, and with a little convincing we followed. Dana is afraid of water with living things in it, so the first few steps were pretty funny, but once we were in we found that the water was perfect. We had gotten warm laying around, and this cooled us off instantly. The water had decent visibility, and we didn't feel any fish at our feet, so we goofed around and floated for quite some time.

The beach is beautiful I can't even tell you. When you're lying on it, you can feel the giant buildings behind you, reflecting more of the suns rays onto your bod. Behind them is the mountainside, covered with trees and dotted with a few small houses and some huge ones on the very tops of the peaks. When you look out at the water (which I belive is the South China Sea or the HK Straits) you see a few small, rustic fishing boats and two or three beautiful islands that look deserted. It could be an ancient island, or just the most perfect public/secluded beach ever. The water was sparkling, the sun was shining, and we were looking through our phones wishing we could call people and tell them that we were sweating on a beach, in November.

We sat for hours, until we finally had to go do a show or something. But until I'm back in the states, bundled up in my warmest winter clothes, all I can say is, show me a beach in HK in November, and I'll show you happiness.

Monday: Part Two

At Central bus station, we found the 15C bus, an open-air topped bus that would take us to the peak tram. The bus ride was only ten minutes long, but it was wonderful. Aside from the fact that people say it's November, you'd never know it here! Today I was wearing capris and a tank top, and I was warm all day long. It's still sunny and a bit humid, and it feels like July!! On the bus with the sun down and the wind in our hair we were perfectly comfortable as we took in the bright lights of the city.

When we got to the tram station, we bought tickets to ride it to the top. We were headed to Victoria Peak, the highest point in HK. It's the best place to get a beautiful view of the whole city, and to have a romantic dinner. The tram up was tons of fun! Basically, the tram has exsisted since the 1920s. It's like an old-fashioned train car that is dragged up the hillside. The fun part is, there's a beautiful view of the city, so you enjoy the 8 minutes up whole heartedly. Also, the hill you're riding is VERY steep, so you're being dragged up more than a 45-degree angle! On the way down I had to stand and I almost fell on a car full of people, the force was so strong. It was great!

At the top of the peak we shopped for a bit, and then headed to the famous Cafe Deco for dinner. It has amazing views of the city, and some fantastic food. We had brought cute outfits in our backpacks, and we put them on and had a wonderful intimate dinner. Steak, lobster bisque, chocolate cake, wine sampler. It was Incredible!! We sat and ate for two hours looking and the sparkling lights below us, and reminiscing about our time on tour. After dinner we shopped a bit more, and checked out the viewing platforms to check out the true city views. My camera takes crappy night-time pictures, so those won't help, but I'm sure I won't need help remembering this. The uniquness of the buildings added to the beauty of the water made a sight I'll see forever with no problem.

Eventually, exhausted, we started the long trip home. We ended up stuck in Central station waiting for our bus for 45 minutes, but the three of us can waste any time given. It was such an amazing Hong Kong day! This truly is a city that I could live in. Not only does it have the modern convieniences and the bonus of English as a language, it is full of so many different beautiful places! From the wilds of the peaceful mountians to the bright lights of the city, it's a treat either way. I feel like today I truly got to know the spirit of HK, and now... we're besties.

What A Monday :)

On my last Monday off, I decided I needed to do it up HK Style. For so many weeks I've kind of taken advantage of the city, ignoring it and living my pool/tv/show/besties lifestyle. But now I've realized that I'm leaving soon, and I need to use this city for all it's worth while i'm here. Hence, a really cool day.

Becuase of the party Sunday night, and some consequential staying up until 5:30am, I slept in a bit longer than planned. Jessica and Dana and I were supposed to take the noon shuttle, but after we woke up we worked the phone tree and pushed it back an hour. After a little more sleep and a good shower, we were on our way. We headed first to the island of Lantau, to see the great Tian Tan Buddha. Lantau is another of the HK Islands, twice as big as Hong Kong Island, where my hotel is. It's where Disney is, and although it's grown in popularity since the park was built, the island is full of forests, parks, and natural land. It's also the home of the Big Buddha.

I went to see a big Buddha in Kamakura, Japan, which I thought at the time was the biggest Buddha. Little did I know there's some kind of secret Asian competition to have the Biggest, so here comes Tian Tan Buddha. It's official claim is that it's the largest outdoor seated bronze Buddha, and whatever it is, it's cool. First we took the bus to Central station in downtown HK, and then hopped on the subway to go under the water to the edge of Lantau. After 45 minutes on the train we hopped on a bus to take us to the Buddha. After 50 minutes, we finally arrived in the tiny village. There's a monastery wehre you can eat a great vegetarian meal with Monks, there are a few souvenier shops, and there's the Buddha. We climbed 260-some steps to reach him, and were dwarfed by his size.

Once we got to the top, it was incredible. We were surrounded by beautiful, lush, undeveloped mountains, with mist at the top. We took a million pictures as we breathed in the freshest mountain air. We went through the Buddha museum, which taught us about Buddha necklaces and how they bring you happiness, good luck, and health. Even though everyone on this tour has about a million jade buddha necklaces, Jess, D, and I each bought another. Mine's white, and he has a really big smile, which means he'll bring you extra happiness. We spent at least an hour at the top looking around and relaxing and just enjoying the peace. Eventually we headed back down the mountain and checked out the monastery. The temples there were original with their strong coloring... saffrons and oranges that were much richer than usually seen in darker HK. We stopped for a quick bit to eat, consisting of tea, noodles, spring rolls, and sesame puffs. Eventually though, we had to say goodbye to the amazing Buddha, and hopped back on the bus.

Our bus ride TO Buddha had been unremarkable, but since my Frommer's had warned me I wasn't surprised when the ride home started to heat up. We were in a bus with five seats across, packed to the gills. All the roads were one lane, and the bus would speed as fast as it could, and then swerve to avoid a truck coming in the opposite direction. I swear we almost died ten times, and I almost pucked about a hundred. Luckily, after 45 minutes we were back at the station. We got on the subway and headed back to downtown. Our day was only half over. At central we walked to the other bus terminal, and started another adventure! To be continued...

It's Time for a Party!

Even though we're not closing for a week, on Sunday night we had a closing party. After we close two shows next Sunday, the crew immediately starts packing up the show and loading out. Becuase of this, we always have a lame last night. We're crying and sad, and the crew isn't there, and we all have to pack to maybe fly out the next day. Troika has learned from this, so this time we had the closing night party a week early.

Our assistant company manager, child wrangler, and all around very helpful lady Chrissy organized the whole thing. Our company manager Walter is notoriously forgetful, so it was great that she took care of everything. And, it turned out to be an AMAZING party! On Sunday after the second show, we all headed back to the hotel, showered, and got hot. Across the street from our hotel is a small mall, that basically has a movie theatre and some restaurants. Chrissy had rented out the second floor of the mall. The extravagant Chinese restaurant there had been opened late, and was set up to the nines, with large tables and booths covered in thick brocade. There was an amazing food spread with any kind of treat you could imagine.

Everything looked beautiful. We had a full sushi bar, plus a bunch of amazing seafood. There was crab and shrimp, and oysters and more. There was a salad bar with salads of all kind, and some amazing soup. There was also a hot bar, with rices, curried dishes, samosas, chicken, and veggies. My almost favorite of course was the dessert table, with the best cheesecake I've had in Asia, plus chocolate mousse cake and fruit tarts. But my all-time favorite was the actual barbecue they had set up outside! Real burgers and hot dogs like in America!!! I almost died before eating three hot dogs. Add all this deliciousness to all the beer and wine we could drink, and SOMA was in heaven.

We ate and drank and ate and drank and talked and took pictures for hours. We had paparazzi there courtesy of one of our producers who is used to dealing with celebrities, and I have never smiled more in my life. Actually, all the picture taking that could have been obnoxious was a lot of fun. I took pictures with everyone, and a ton with those I love most, and I was glad I did. I have a terrible memory, and one of the best ways for me to recall things (being a truly visual learner) is to see a picture. I don't want to forget these times, becuase I want to be an old lady with amazing tales of Asia and my travels there.

What was a very fun time also made me a bit nostalgic. I never thought it would happen. Yes, I do happen to be an emotional person, prone to the occasional loud outbreak or crying jag (any movie I've ever seen, not to mention books, tv, and hallmark commercials) but overall I'm not an unpredictable person. When things end I cry for a minute, and then I move on. Especially when it's something where I'm Ready to move on. I only cried a little on my other SOMA closing nights, and I thought this would be the same. However, the more we're learning about where the show's going, I think the more I realize that this is really goodbye. Rumore has it that Troika's done with the show, and it's going to be bought by another production company (remember when the Niederlanders came?). This would mean that the SOMA family would truly be broken up, for good. Thinking about this and having such a great time made me feel like maybe I would miss it a little! Luckily, I ate some cheesecake (with my fingers, no forks nessecary) and moved on for the time being.

I had such a good time that one of the photogrophers convinced me to try the crab. I love crab legs, but I can't stand anything with it's head STILL ON. Once I went to a restaurant and ordered soft-shell crab, and I sent it back because it was toooo sad to eat it! However, on Sunday I grabbed a crab, repeating silently that it was just like crab legs, flipped over it's head, and ate the meat out of it's cheeks... it's apparently the best part. It was good too! I also ate a million other pounds of food and drank a bottle of white wine. We partied from 11 until 3am, when they finally pushed us out, kicking and screaming in the empty mall.

It was the best meal, and one of the best nights I've had in a long time. I'm really going to miss some of my tour besties! Luckily, in America I have best besties, and I still can't wait to be home!!

Me and my best girls in SOMA. Dana and Jessica... Saucy!! 

Oops, I'm poor.

Here I am, less than two weeks from America, and I'm poor. Not that I've been wealthy for all these weeks, but usually I do pretty well on my per diem. Unfortunately now, due to my SHOPPING ADDICTION, I'm dirt poor.

After the exhausting weekend, on Tuesday I headed back to the Jade Market. I had some special gifts to pick up, and I thought I might do a bit more shopping. I had written down exactaly what I needed and who I needed it for, but somehow I got off track. I should have tied myself down and not allowed me or my money to get within miles of the market, because it all turned out badly. I shopped my way into bankruptcy.

I picked up some presents, and then started looking around. And then started buying... and buying... and buying! The shopkeepers (more appropriately stand keepers) at the Jade Market are all little old ladies and men, who speak broken English and politely beg you to buy from them. They are patient and they're sweet, and they grab merchandise from under their table trying to find the perfect thing for you. Plus, this is old-fashined Asia, where everything is still MUCH cheaper than the US. The perfect lovely shopping enviornment plus cheap prices plus things that I want/need to own or buy for someone is a Deadly combination. Before I knew it I had spent my per diem for the week (three days before the week was over) and more! I was borrowing money from Dana and barganing my butt off so I could get as much as possible.

Now don't get me wrong, I loved every minute of it. I love everything I bought, and I wouldn't give any of it back. I'm glad I bought it, I just wish I had more money! I still have things on my list of 'Must Buys' to do before I get home, and now I'm charging room service that I will have to pay in a week or so. One of the things I hate about being an adult and living in the real world is being poor. Probably the hardest thing I had to learn to do in New York was how to budget, and not spend money on frivolous things. I learned that I can't shop when I want, and I can't go out to bars or restaurants when I want. I have to buy cheap store brands, and not go to the fancy farmer's markets where everything is more expensive. I thought than in the long run, if that was what I had to do to live in New York, I could do it. Now though, I've lost those skills! I'm poor and I've been shop shop shopping and the worst part is... I don't want to stop!

Oh well, too bad for me. I haven't been to the bar in days, and I'm trying to find free things to do with my days. I'm eating the peanut butter and jelly, bananas, and grilled cheese in my room, and not the creamy pasta on the late night room service menu. I might go shopping one more time, but I'll only buy the things on my list. And hopefully when I get home and I get to New York, I won't bankrupt myself buying Christmas presents, because I'll already have them.

GOAL!

I just want to let all of America know that come January 1st, you are in for a big treat. Especially if you like soccer or cute guys. Today was a much needed day off. It's been a long week, full of early mornings and late nights, and we were all exhausted. We decided to have a relaxing morning and use our night to see the tallest point in HK, Victoria Peak. Unfortunately when we woke up it was a totally crappy day. Our bedside card delivered daily with a weather forecast had LIED. It was cloudy, and visibility on the peak would have sucked, so we went out for sushi and a movie.

The movie we decided on was one I've been wanting to see for quite a while. The previews looked amazing, and I happen to love sports movies. Anything with people winning and having team pride makes me cry in the good way. Plus, soccer (football) is my favorite sport, and soccer players are my favorite athletes. Hence, Goal! seemed like the movie for me. This is the most popular summary on IMDB: Like millions of kids around the world, Santiago harbors the dream of being a professional footballer. However, living in the Barrios section of Los Angeles, he thinks it is only that--a dream. Until, one day an extraordinary turn of events has him trying out for Premiership club Newcastle United.

So I saw these previews full of cheering, exciting music, and a cute guy, and I was hooked. The movie was not disappointing. A wee bit predictable, cliched, and stereotyped (all Mexican people are poor, and they have to work hard as gardeners) but overall exciting and inspiring. I can't talk too much about it without giving things away, but I laughed and cried (a lot) and loved every second of it. If there was some American pride it just might pass Miracle as my fave sports movie. For now, they're tied. The moral of this story is, go see it. I bet it will be an international hit, since it's been released in pretty much every country other than the US already. January 1st - make it your new year's resolution!

How did That Happen?

I just realized that I will be home in 16 days. WTF??!! I kept thinking it was months, or at least a bunch of weeks, and now it's in an actual number of days... I can frigging count that down!! 16 days? That's practically tomorrow!

Suddenly I'm under the knife, pressured to see and do it all. Damn tomorrow and its two shows, I should be out being in HK! I still have shopping to do - lots of it, and sightseeing, and spending time with all my tour besties! I have to get organized to jump back into my (very rusty) regular life, and get up to speed on what's been happening in New York. I have to get ready to audition and be unemployed again, and I have to think about moving and Thanksgiving.

AHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! 16 days?? I'll NEVER make it!

Good Clean Fun

So here we are in HK, rocking amazing Halloweens and partying all the time. But I just wanted to let you know that that's not all we do. On Wednesday night we were all tired and detoxing, so we decided to mix it up a bit.

Becuase of all the VIPs in town, there has been a lot of room switching around here. Luckily, when they're not here a few more people than usual have their own rooms lately. The downside is that when important people come there's the danger that we have to double up at a moment's notice. Most recently it was Joe and John, but they were fortunate enough to end up with an amazing suite. Since Wednesday was their last night in the suite we decided to give it a going away party. We went up there, with the 180-degree view of some HK body of water (really gorgeous) and hung out for a while, and then started playing Balderdash!

I don't know if you're all familiar with Balderdash, but I would like to commend it for being good family fun. There's a card with six categories, and you have to be creative, and it makes you have fun and think at the same time. For example, if the category is a word, they give you a hard word and you have to think up the definition. Then you read everyone's definition AND the real definition, and you vote on what you think it is. You get points if you get it right OR if someone guesses the answer you guessed. Joe, John, Dana, Danielle, Doug, Leah and I had a really fun time!! I think some of my favorite times with my friends are just the times when we're sitting around, talking or hanging out, sometimes playing a game.

I know it's my competitive nature (not playing sports for many years has left a void that wants to be filled by some screaming and pushing) but I love winning. I get so into games that I have a slight tendency to cheat (sorry Monopoly, but you make it too easy) or get reeeeally loud (Celebrity can only be played in a vacant corn field) but no matter what I have fun. Maybe it dates back to the days when my parents made me play the Allowance Game. It wasn't that fun - way too much math involved - but something about family game night must have been appealing. In high school my friends and I would always play Catch Phrase, and to this day it's my favorite game. I love the old-school version that isn't even electronic, even though I had a tendency to punch it too hard and break it. The bottom line is, games are good. And so is good clean fun.

P.S. My parents are going to LOVE this entry.

Hi people of Hong Kong! We're just standing outside a bar drinking - and we're celebrities!! Totally packed Lao Kwai Fong. 

Halloween: Part II

On Monday... Halloween morning, I woke up pretty early. Jessica and I were on the shuttle by noon to get to the Ladies' Market and buy some Halloween costumes! Ever since I was little and my parents paid me 20 bucks to make my own costumes, I've usually looked pretty crappy on Halloween. I remember many years of hippies and ghosts, and even one year where I was a trash bag, and another where I wore some blue sweatsuit and matched my best friend at the time... I don't even know what we were supposed to be. This year though, I was going to be with some hardcore Halloweenies, and I needed to step it up.

We took the shuttle, and then the subway, and suddenly we popped up above ground in Mong Kok, in Kowloon. The Ladies' Market is just another HUGE Asian market. It specializes in things for ladies, although I saw some definite sports jerseys and some male leopard-print thongs. Aside from that there are clothes, scarves, shoes, jewelry, and more knockoff bags than you can imagine. They have huge catalogues of Vuitton bags and you can choose the bag that you want them to knock off! Unbelievable! I'll totally be back. For Jess and I, we were looking mostly in the clothing and accesory side of things. She was going to be Cruella DeVil, and I finally decided to be a gypsy, knowing that I had at least half of the costume already.

After about an hour of getting smushed by crowds, accosted by tiny asian ladies who wanted us to buy bags, and bargaining our butts off, we emerged with accessories. Jess had a black fur shawl, black and white fur scarf, fur earrings, red gloves, and my black dress. I bought a jingly chain belt, a colorful scarf, bangles, earrings, and a necklace. We were set! We stopped for some Pizza Hut and then headed home to get ready for the big night. By 6:15 we, along with fellow cast mates Friesia (my old crazy Southern roommate), Anissa (sister bertha), and Matt (Nazi youth) were in cabs heading to Lao Kwai Fong - our favorite party spot. Anissa had a pub crawl planned, and we were on a schedule.

We started with dinner at a diner/bar. Pancakes and vodka tonics started us out just right, and when we got back on the street we noticed a big change. The regularly busy party street had turned into a sea of people! As far as we could see the road was packed, flowing like a river of bodies. We were in a race to catch certain happy hours, so we pushed through. Suddenly, we were stopped by paparazzi! There were hundreds of professional men with huge cameras snapping away at our small (but excellently costumed) group. Then people from the surging crowd grabbed their cameras and started taking pictures too! We were eventually yelled at by the police to keep moving. We were swept to a Mexican bar, where we did some tequila shots before venturing to a nautical bar.

By the end of the night, we had hit those three, plus a champagne bar, an underground bar set up to look like an apartment, a German techno bar, a German pub, back to the diner for cheese sticks, an outdoor bar, and finally a Russian vodka bar. What a pub crawl! My fave was the Russian bar, where there was an actual ice room, made of blocks of ice, and kept at the temperature that vodka should be served at. You put on a fur coat that they give you, and you huddle inside and do shots while Russian people play instruments! It was awesome. After spending some time there meeting people and doing vodka shots (Friesia picked up some British guy who was a flight attendant) we were ready to call it a night. Matt left to go to a costume contest, and, dodging paparazzi, Friesia, Anissa, Jessica, and I hopped in a cab to get home. When we got home, suddenly we were in the 4th floor bar, eating french fries. I was shaking my chain belt until about 5am, when I finally fell into bed. Oh Halloween in HK - what an adventure!