Munchies

So I know that I should be trying to go to sleep, trying to get my body clock readjusted to THIS side of the world, but I am having a case of the munchies, partly because I didn't eat that much for dinner, and it's now, um, 5 hours later, and partly because my colleague in Hong Kong royally pissed me off by calling @ 11:45pm. ("Oh, is this too late?" Gee, ya THINK?)

Bad enough that she called at that hour but then she shared some really fun work news with me that left me so aggravated that I get ticked off just thinking about it. Oh, and then she wished me a good evening, as I probably wanted to go to sleep. NOT BLOODY LIKELY NOW.

The whole thing makes me seriously question whether I want to transfer over to HK. I mean, for one thing, if she can't accept that I am NOT MOVING THERE PERMANENTLY (after repeated emphatic statements to that effect) then perhaps the only way she'll pay attention to that concept is when I REFUSE THE TRANSFER. So yes, I am now strongly considering turning down the offer.

Therefore, in order to soothe my aggravation, and calm myself before I graze my way through the kitchen, I am going to think of fun things, like finished baby sweaters and (heh) pandas.

The sweater on the right, which did eventually receive buttons before it went off to its new home, is made from a mixture of Cascade Sierra Quattro #88, Classic Elite Provence (whose color name I can't remember, but which I think of as bubblegum pink), and um, I forget what the green yarn is, besides soft & cottony. The new owner is really a ridiculously cute baby, tres Gerberesque: plump cheeks, rosebud lips, fair skin, and big blue eyes. It was paired off with the hilariously rude "Chinese toys taste better" baby t-shirt from T Shirt Hell which the parents found very amusing, as they live in Beijing and work in product safety and liability insurance. Heh!

I also surfed across a Chinese travel show on Chengdu featuring my favorite bears, da xiong miao (a/k/a pandas). As I mentioned in a previous post, they can shred your clothes without meaning to (yikes!) but they are still irresistibly cute (well, to me anyway). They make me smile and calm me down. (It's hard to remain furious when you're grinning like a sap.)

And in other pleasant news, I came home to find some messages telling me that I won a free 5-day cruise for 2 to Bermuda, based on a sweepstakes entry I filled in during the New York Times Travel Show. What's the catch, you ask? Simple: I need to sit through a 1-hr. timeshare spiel...somewhere in NJ. Hmmm...3 hours of my life (including travel time to/from wherever it is) in exchange for a free cruise on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas? Tempting.

I'd have a year to use it, and the tickets are transferable. Now I know that I'd be put in an interior stateroom (let's be realistic here: free = least desirable accommodations) but still...also, my tay in HK has prepped me for small quarters. Okay, maybe not THIS small, but you get the idea.

All this posting and I still want to eat. I guess this means I really am hungry. Although really, my stay in HK has completely wrecked my ability to eat healthfully. Oh you mean I can eat all sorts of greasy food, be fed constantly throughout a 16-hr. flight, and STILL lose weight? These are not the concepts that will help maintain a healthy lifestyle. Argh.