生日快乐 shēngrì kuàilè! My odometer turned over today and kicked it off by starting new shēngrì kuàilè or birthday traditions. First: no cake. I had planned on celebrating by indulging with a coconut crunch old fashioned and cuppa Joe at a Dunkin Donuts (as there are Dunkin Donuts in Bangkok). Instead, my taste buds did a U-turn. I grabbed […]
New 生日快乐 Tradition
Dinner Entertainment
If I didn’t believe in the Great Flood before, I do now. So, I just left Bumrungrad Medical Center in Bangkok for my annual “mid life check-up”. A probe, squeeze and roter rooting for one set price. I thought I’d reward myself with a special treat. I walked past Dunkin Donuts, eyeing the coconut crunch donut, saving that for Monday, […]
Lost in Translation
OK. So I broke my phone. It was already held together with duct tape, thanks to dropping it in Vietnam, but when I fell off my chair tutoring a student, the screen went green. I was 痛不欲生 . English translation: overwhelmed with sorrow. It’s not that I was in love with my Samsung phone I got free at Costco for […]
Are you there, Cortana?
A coworker was telling me about a friend who works for Microsoft. This guy’s job is to fine tune how Cortana works. You know, that annoying voice that greets you when you power up your laptop, asking if you want to add anything to your grocery list. His s job is to actually listen […]
My Chinese Friends
One of the hardest things about divorce is your friends telling you, “Ginger, you gotta get back out there.” But in China, there is no “there”. Finding English speakers is tough in Kunming. And quite honestly, the only relationship I’m really interested right now is with me. But my ears do miss English, gosh, they crave English: I’d lick […]
The only thing harder than being a 7th grader is teaching them.
My mind goes back to the early 1970s, to Watervliet’s old Junior High School, otherwise known as the Zoo. My mom went to high school there and kissed her first boy friend– in the gym–all glitzed up for prom night. Then my Uncle Norman got hung out of a window by his classmates as a prank, […]
Styrofoam Man
OK, I hate Chicago traffic. But in China, getting stuck on a bus makes you thankful. Why? You always see someone who has it worse you. Like this styrofoam man, in Kunming, China. I mean, how do you get this job? Was he a Tour de France hopeful who didn’t make the cut, just like the Olympic 4th placer who […]
Xie-Xie, Scooby-Doo
“Mrs. Mac,” Grace asked, her smile slightly less bright than a 1000 watt bulb. Do you think Jenny can have that piece of paper? She’s so excited!” It was a seemingly blank piece of white paper that contained nothing other than a UBS logo […]
Seven Foot Marlin
I can’t remember what I ate for breakfast on my wedding day. But I do I remember the kitchen was a wreck as the condo was in the final stages of being updated, the avocado green appliances being replaced with newlywed stainless steel. And my night sleep wasn’t good; I parked on the couch as my pots and pans covered […]
Life is Sweet
Eenie Meenie Minie Moe. Which Sapa darling do I buy the honey from? I looked at the three old ladies, all equally lovely, their faces road maps to hardships I can’t fathom. Their silver earrings stretched their ears into fleshy hula hoops, their black hair coiled on their heads like silky snakes. In front of each is a plastic bucket […]