A tale of three cities- Judgement day

I was not planning to write a blog on my picture day because I was exhausted. But then I read the comments of all my friends on the April 10 blog entry. I knew I have to repay your kindness, and ahem, curiosity...

I DID IT!!!

Out of gratitude to my sister-in-law, my obedience to my parents-in-law, and my inability to seek my own redemption.

I dedicate my courageous deeds to those who sent me your comments, wisdom, strategies, laughs, well wishes, and sympathy...

I would love to amuse you all with some pictures. But no photos were allowed in the studio, and also mountain lion's real fear is the photos will fall in the hands of the villains and she will be blackmailed.

***
Sophie's choice

I HAD to choose a white wedding gown and an evening gown.

I asked the "stylist" to bring me the simplest one. She suggested, to take good picture, we need layers to add texture and depth.

So she brought me one that immediately reminded me of a multiple-layer buttercream wedding cake, with extra frosting.

I decided to choose for myself and tried another one who looked like the blinds of the window. It was not pretty but at least it reminded me of something less complicated.

Where did all the beautiful wedding gowns which I saw in magazines go ?

Finally I settled on a plain strapless one which was as good as it got, even though there was still a long "tail" and a need to wear a bulky girdle.

As for the evening gown, I found one burgundy strapless dress with only some pleats in front and a bow in the back. The gown was so tight that it was squeezing my lungs. But it was the only one I could imagine myself in.

While I was sleeping in Taipei, the gowns were quietly being altered.

Studio Picture day

There was a thing called "comfort food". I ate a big bowl of pork chop noodle soup and a big plate of samplers of appetizers for lunch. It was not going to be good for fitting in the gowns.

So I drank tons of "sour plum soup" to help diggestion...

***

When we arrived, the "makeup artist" first worked on my mother-in-law, I am the youngest of the family, hence the lowest in "rank". I knew I had to wait.

"What are you going to wear for the casual portraits?" they asked me while I was waiting for my turn.

"I thought we are going to wear the gowns" I was shocked, as usual.

"No, we are going to wear gowns AND the third one our own choices of casual clothes"

I must have missed some former conversations in Taiwanese, which I don't speak. I was in jeans and a shirt that looked somewhat like a pajama for ultimate comfort. It would not work.

"Why don't you go across the street to buy a dress?" my mother-in-law suggested.

I looked out the window. No good. Across the street was a food market.

"Well, there are some clothes stalls next to the vegetable stalls." She said matter-of-factly.

My sister-in-law escorted me.

I only had 10 minutes to choose my costume. And the choices were, believe me, really pathetic.

I scanned for black anything like a terminator. I found a black shirt. Black covers a multitude of sin. I insisted on keeping my jeans since they said casual.

Back in the studio, choosing jewelry is another big dilemma. I chose by one principle: elimination.

There I go, false eye lashes and curly hair extension like those of miss piggy...

***

Gosh, the poses were so tricky, more so than yoga. There were Godfather pose, gangster pose, princess pose, falling-in-love pose, gazing-at-moon pose......

Honestly, when it was not my turn, it was entertaining to watch other people's pictures being taken. I actually had a good time observing the photographer at work. We all had good laughs. We were in the studio for the whole afternoon, a total of 140
pictures.

The package was to choose 20 out of the pictures taken to put into a photo album with 4 to be enlarged to posters.

The method was: elimination. My brother-in-law controled the delete button on the computer.

The rule was: there were seven of us, if only one person disliked any picture, he or she could "veto" it.

When it came to my pictures,
"delete, delete, delete...." I said them like a broken record.

"But you will have no picture left!" he said.

Finally, they voted that I have no right to veto.

The verdict was: they decided to purchase 50 pictures, 30 more than intended as a file, including some featured me.

At last, I offered to donate my right of enlarging one of my photos.

"It is Ba and Ma's wedding anniversary. They had so many good pictures. They should enlarge an extra one." I played good daughter-in-law. (strategy courtesy of Ah Man).

The comfort was, my offer was accepted.

***

"I have to live for others and not for myself: that's middle-class morality."
cw quoting George Bernard Shaw.

"What then do we live for, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn. "
lamina o'oz quoting Mr. Bennett, Pride and Prejudice

A tale of three cities -Taipei, east and west, old and new

We stayed in two completely different hotels in Taipei. Tsubaki Japanese hotspring Ryokan (inn) and French boutique Hotel Eclat.
My sister-in-law used to be a local of Taipei. She was so thoughtful in planning our excursion, she wanted us to experience two polars of the city -east and west, old and new.

Tsubaki Japanese Inn
The inn is built on a valley between the mountains. It has Kyoto-style buildings and gardens. The highlight of the inn is the hotspring soak in the guest room, with the view of the mountain and streams. You feel one with nature.
We have Japanese 懷石料理 for dinner at the inn. Ironically, 懷石 was named after the ascetic practice of a zen monk, embracing a hot stone to sooth a hungry stomach. 懷石料理 used to refer to a very simple temple meal. It is now an elaborate and refined multi-course meal, with a high standard of the quality of food and its artistic presentation.

Hotel Eclat
When I entered the hotel, I immediately saw two big bronze sculptures. On the label, it reads Salvador Dali. The hotel staff told me that they are authentic. They are worth fifty million Taiwan dollars. (1.7 million US$)
The hotel is only two years old. The amenities are so modern. Almost everything is motion-sensitive. There is meticulous attention to details. You can even turn the bathroom walls transparent!

Taipei 101 Building
We had dinner at a restaurant on the 85th floor in the tallest building in Taiwai, Taipei 101. It was the tallest building in the world, until 2008 when Buri Dubai was opened. The meal was great. The panoramic view of Taipei was the main course.

A tale of three cities, Taipei excursion

National Palace Museum
We took an excursion to Taipei city, the first stop is the National Palace Museum.
It holds one of the largest collections of Chinese arts in the world. For thousands of years, Chinese craftsmen and artists created many exquisite objects and were collected by the emperors to demonstrate their power and wealth. The history of the museum itself is a reminder of contemporary Chinese history, tracing back to the nationalist revolution overthrowing the Ching monarchy, and leading to the formal departure of the last emperor from the Forbidden City in 1924.

Walking through the art works of the many different dynasties, I was able to find a renewed understanding and appreciation of my root. These objects help to define thousand years of Chinese civilization. I was reminded of all the Chinese literature and history classes in high school. They suddenly came alive.

For someone like me who was born in a colony and spent half of my life in a foreign country, this experience is very special. It is as if an adopted child has a face to face encounter with his birth parents. You know you have a close bond, and yet you feel distant at the same time....

A tale of three cities -Nantou, day one

Taiwan is only two hours away by air from Hong Kong. But as soon as I landed, I knew I was in another country. Every country has its own culture and every family, its own subculture...

Elevator in the House
My in-law's new home is in Nantou city. It is a nicely built, four-story house. They hired an interior designer and she did a really fine job. One can see the designer's touch everywhere in the house. There is even an elevator inside. I told them I would take the stairs to get more exercises. The fact is, I heard that my mother-in-law was once trapped in that elevator for twenty minutes!


Appetizer for Breakfast
My brother-in-law had an argument with my father-in-law before breakfast. It is this family's usual appetizer.

Everyone HAS to eat a huge apple first for detox purpose. My stomach was filled up by the apple. There is only enough room left for an egg, and coffee. I really miss Hong Kong breakfast, especially milk tea, congee and "fried double"...


Wedding Gowns
My sister-in-law showed us the itinerary for the week-long celebration of my parents-in-law's 50th wedding anniversary. There is one program: "trying out wedding gowns". I asked her about it.

"We are going to pick out our favorite wedding gowns and we are going to have our pictures taken in a professional studio a couple days later" She answered.
"What? we?" I was shocked.
"Yes, to make them less self-conscious, we are going to take wedding pictures again along with them."
I almost had a heart attack. It has to be a joke.
"I don't want to wear a wedding gown! I will bring my own clothes, Please!" I begged her.
My sister-in-law was irritated,
"It is up to you. However, I have to bargain with the portrait studio to pay a good fee to do this. It is a real privilege for you."

***
I rushed to my luggage to dig out my new club Monaco dress and put it on...
Oh no! since I already gained five pounds in Hong Kong, it doesn't fit well anymore.

I am going to have nightmares of a makeover monster in a wedding gown, resembling myself, attacking me...
Now I have to find an alternative plan to get out.

This week is going to be comical!

A tale of three cities -Hong Kong, Heidi

Heidi, Girl of the Alps (アルプスの少女ハイジ, Arupusu no Shōjo Haiji?) is a 1974 anime series by Zuiyo Enterprises based on the Swiss novel "Heidi's Years of Wandering and Learning" by Johanna Spyri (1880).

I watched this animation when I was young. Heidi has always been an imaginary childhood friend. I finally found these DVD. The story is so wholesome. It is about the simple pleasures of childhood, the love of nature, and the miracle of friendship and healing.

It is a story I would love to watch again and again.

A tale of three cities-Hong Kong, Ching Ming

A Stone for a Tombstone

The day after resurrection Sunday this year happens to be Ching Ming, the day in the Chinese calendar to pay respect to ancestors.

My family and my uncle and aunt went to Pok Fu Lum cemetary together. We hiked up and down the hill to bring flowers to my grandparents and my mother.

Cemetaries in America are peaceful. A Chinese graveyard is not the same. The erect tombstones with the pictures of the deceased make it eerie. The gloomy weather during Ching Ming season adds to its mystery.

It reminds me of a haunting Chinese poem I learned in high school:
"Who knows who is a sage or a fool in a thousand years.
In front of you they are all buried on the same hill"

On the way back, we talked about how we wanted to be buried. We all preferred cremation and had the ashes returned to the ocean or the earth.

A friend has told me, she heard of using high temperature to turn the remaining elements of a human body into a precious stone.

I know this is what I want: closed casket, then turn the body into a precious stone.

A tale of three cities-Hong Kong, food mecca pilgrimage

Taste and smell have memory. I am searching for and reliving all the sensations of smell and taste in childhood.

I miss the freshly deep-fried Chinese donuts and rice noodle "fried double", steamy congee with minced beef, and silky "stocking" milk tea. My longings became realities on the first morning in Hong Kong. I had them all for breakfast as a morning devotion.

Even a trip to the grocery store was fascinating. I found "Garden Chocolate Fingers" and "Jacob Orange Biscuits"......Imported goods from all over the world are stocked up on all the aisles.

There are countless choices for a meal, and you have many meals a day. There are places for all kinds of specialty food: desserts, pastries, snacks, noodles, or anything you can imagine. Anthony Bourdain(the host of an American tv food show)has seen nothing in Hong Kong yet. I have a sensory overload.

I am in a food heaven. After twenty years living oversea, I still feel the bond with the people here. Eating well is our birthright. We shared the same philosophy and purpose of life: Eat, drink and be merry.

A tale of three cities- Hong Kong, day one

Sisterhood with an Esthetician

Early in the morning on Good Friday, we arrived in Hong Kong International Airport, exhausted after a fifteen-hour turbulent flight. However, I was immediately impressed by the city's efficiency and modernity.

The weather was foggy and a little windy. Today is the first of a five-day long weekend, including "Ching-Ming day", a day to visit and "sweep" your ancestors' tombstones. The city is unusually quiet.

***

My Aunt May took me to her beauty salon and requested a facial for me.
"It's good to close your eyes and rest after a long flight"

A lot of the Hong Kong middle-class ladies I encountered have this ritual of going to beauty salon regularly.
They are more alert of their appearance and are generally more polished than their California counterpart.

***

The esthetician started with a massage on my back.
"Wow it was so dry!"
I agreed. I did not tell her I came from the dry land called California.
I noticed her own refined complexion.
She then touched my face, examined it and sighed,
"You must not have taken care of it for a very long time"

As if out of pity, she started to caress my face, exploring its imperfection. Her fingers were so soft and her touch so gentle. It was a strange pleasure to have a stranger taking such concern and care for your face, up close and personal.

I felt so pampered by such a luxury and fell asleep for most of the session. But somehow half awake, I could still hear her sweet soft voice explaining each procedure, urging me on how important it is for a woman to take care of herself.

Then, after a long silence, she mentioned,
"your aunt May comes here often. She is a good person. She has a good heart."

***

When all is done, she looked pleased.
"Now Your skin look different. You can go out!"
she also reminded me,
"There are no ugly women, only lazy ones"

I smiled, and promised her,
"OK"