Wedding Showers for Wendy

"She's wearing shoes!  She never wears shoes, just those blue cloth things." ~ Elsie

Did I miss something again?   Why are cloth shoes not shoes? 

However much I want to say footwear is at most fun and really not of consequence, when a pair of black flats (admittedly, each with a fabulously soft, large, black pompom) causes such a stir at the office, it must in fact be the other case.

Oh, Wendy including it in her speech might have a had a bit to do with it.  (That teaches me to not dress up for her special events :P)

And so, with all the planning I'd done before going away having mostly fallen through, the preparation for Wendy's office wedding shower luncheon was completed in a mad dash in the past few days. 

The incredible turn out made up for lack of decorations and planned games and speeches.  The entire boardroom was filled with people.  The side tables were filled with food - so much so desserts had to be moved out to the reception area. 

(Above: Wendy's loot!  And one of the tear-laced hugs of the day.)

The rest of the afternoon dragged on.  Once let out, a group of us headed over to Monica's for a more private wedding shower - one where Wendy didn't have to hold back her lewd jokes...

We looked at photos of Tip Tip's grandson along with Monica's glamour shots and ate the delicious food ordered in from King and I.

Then we followed it all up with an evening of talking.  There was much to talk about. 

With only days away from when she'll head out to Las Vegas to iron out the final wedding details, Wendy was certainly excited and we were curious to know just what was involved with planning a destination wedding.  Centre pieces packed and transported in parts, bookings for a place to stay along with hair and makeup appointments...

Contrasted with details that Tip Tip and Lorena finally revealed of their weddings: City Hall and discount rings.  Comparatively so simple and with so little fanfare.  But all that really mattered are the amazing marriages and lives they've built with a loving partner. 

When it came to gifts, Wendy found herself with a very fitting relationship book for two computer techies: The Marriage Code: Discovering Your Own Secret Language of Love.  And of course, plenty of hugs from all of us. 

Lion in Dreams

Cousin Ian saw this photo and thought: China.  Actually it was Chinatown, in Edmonton. 

Before heading out on my big adventure, Paul and I went to our favourite greasy spoon.  As usual, we passed the stone lions at the China Gate. 

This time, I pointed out that the two lions were different. 

One (the male) held a ball, and other (female) held down a baby lion. 

I'd heard somewhere that it was lucky to touch the ball, but nothing much about the baby.  Maybe it was actually a some other small animal (it can be difficult to tell sometimes), afterall, it didn't exactly look like she was being very nice to it.  

(Left: I guess if you're constantly held down, you'd likely want to bite someone.)   

So began my search (well, more of a heightened interest) for lions in China (especially female). 

I didn't have to look far.  Before I even had to ask, our tour guide, Mr. Lee, pointed out the Forbidden City's two most prominent lions and told us their story:

An emperor awoke from a dream where a strange animal had saved him from death.  From this, he understood that the animal had been a protector and had artists and sculptures recreate the dream animal as a guardian for the palace.  The animal bore a resemblance to the western lion, and was hence known as such. 

That explained, in part, why these lions didn't look much like the lions I've seen in pictures or at the zoo.  But what of the ball and the little animal?  Mr. Lee continues:

These guardian lions took on a second meaning to represent the emperor and emperess.  The emperor guards the ball, which represents the world, while the emperess takes care of the children, representing the people. 

I couldn't help thinking, considering history, it might have been better to show the world less of a play-thing, and the baby as less opressed...

Mom just wanted me to sit down at the Beijing Theatre for the acrobat show, but I seriously needed to stand up to take a picture of this specimen. Wow, a baby unsquashed! 

Outside the Friendship Store, this ceramic lion has a rather cartoon look, but the baby still looks unhappy. 

Right: At the Summer Palace.

When Ying Ying found out my interest lions (I hadn't seen any since leaving Beijing), she took me find the biggest and nicest ones she knew in Kaiping. 

Lounging outside a bank, these two most certainly were western lions.  No ball or baby in sight, but while one was stern, the other looked like it was roaring. 

In a different part of Kaiping, another more westernised lion.  The baby's face, however, is a bit disturbing... is that a human face? 

Moon Mountain's baby lion is kind of cute... is that a "I'm playing" smile? 

Now that I'm back, I've been looking into this a little more.  The rise of Buddahism bringing its guardian figure the lion seems to be the biggest theory*.  But perhaps the dream story isn't completely apocryphal. 

Regardless, I'll still be keeping an eye out for these lions - especially the baby. 

* Wikipedia "Chinese Guardian Lions" and Lion Legends and Myths

I'm back!

My head isn't clear and my stomach isn't happy, but I'm back in Edmonton and today, back at work.  Almost everyone's mentioned how lucky I am to be back this past weekend since the weather's so good.  It is, however, still a shock: Such temperatures with such low humidity (nice, but very different from lows of the mid-twenties and 90% humidity), and the sight of blue skies and all these golden leaves.  It's good to be back.  Time to catch up.

Last Views of China

Though early and foggy, Kaiping was hardly asleep.

Across the river were people in the square doing tai chi.

Mom, Aunt 5, Cousin Ian, and Ying Ying, were all there in the car to repeat the journey to take me back to the airport.

But this time around, things looked different. 

And rather than being delighted, I was feeling confused by all the contradictions and irony.  Cousin Ian has told me:

1. Workers unions are not allowed in the Chinese business sector. 
2. Worker rights are rarely, if ever, mentioned. 
3. Most companies sign annual contracts with their workers. 
4. There is no pension or retirement fund. 

All this to keep labour costs low and as a result, prices of good low. 

This all seems so wrong. 

(Below: Mascots of the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou airport.)

We arrived at the Guangzhou airport where Aunt 5 to charmed the baggage handlers to wave the extra pounds on my luggage.  (What is in there?) 

Now I'm at Beijing airport.  There's not much I need to do aside from write down exactly what I didto get through to my gate (all to be I can relayed later to Mom for her trip home), so I blissfully wander and explore.  It feels like the first time I've been by myself for a long, long time. 

Plenty of Glitter - Some Gold

After breakfast (which included me zooming Gow Jie in his stroller around the outdoor restauarant), we head back to Moon Mountain.  This is my last day here and there was still a lot to do.

First was to the market.  It's fairly quiet (again we've missed the rush).  Aunt 5 led us to a smoke shop - which was actually (also?) an underground currency exchange.  She does some business inside. While waiting, I decide it was a good idea not to take a photo.  (Above: A tobacco vendor's wares in the market.)

Next was Cousin Djam's house.  Cousin Djam's wife gave us a small tour, but my eyes were drawn to the table filled with sparkles.  This was her "added work" ("value added work").  These sparkles were to be attached to the mesh, which would later become the outer shell of a handbag (retailing at about 300 yuan).  It takes her between 2 to 3 hours to finish one.  She did the caculation for me: It works out to be about 0.0008 yuan per rhinestone.  I start working on the bag as the other talk.  While it's kind of fun, I realised how much the hobby of crafting is a luxury.  Here, it has be taken seriously as something to make a living. 

The quiet outside was broken by an insistent clanging.  The strange is explained!  The tricylcles I've seen piled high with materials are actually garbage buyers.  People would hear the clanging (for bottles) or call and come out from their appartments to sell their recyclable garbage.  These buyers then sell it to recyclers or factories.  There isn't a deposit on these items, so the buyers offer a price, and sellers can actually refuse and wait for another buyer to come another day. 

We have lunch with Uncle 2 and Uncle 3's family next. 

(Below left: Cousin Djam's son polishes off the last of the popular 蘋果酸 "apple sour" drink.)









Afterwards, we return to the market to visit gold shops / gold smiths.  We made our orders and headed out. 



















The rest of the market seems completely closed.  Is there a siesta culture that I've been missing?  I hide from the rain in one of the few open shops.  It's hard to believe how different this is from our last visit. 

I was hoping more would make sense, but really everything was so different.  So much of what I've seen still surreal.  I found myself looking at beautiful, smiling celebrity / model with her signature indicating her endorsement of the product (like the prestigious Omega adverts), to find it was for a sit down toilet. 

Then there are traditions (or how people observe them)... The latest to catch my attention was the fuss Aunt 5 was making for Cousin Ian to remember give his mother-in-law moon cakes for Mid-Autumn Festival.  What sounded like a kind gesture actually had an ulterior motive: If Cousin Ian completes the ritual properly, his mother-in-law would then be obligated to give him / the new family moon cakes every year hereafter for the Festival until Cousin Ian and Ying Ying's first child is married.  I have yet to figure out the reasoning.  I'm hoping it was originally for some good, but at this point for these two families the exchange feels almost mean-spirited.

We have dinner with Aunt 4 and Aunt 5's family in a place, when described by Mom, makes me think of "cottage country".  Minutes away from the city, it is a tourist area filled with trees and natural beauty, and man-made conveniences.

Cousin Ian picks an interesting combination of dishes: Bitter melon and chicken soup, pig intestine with egg, bittermelon with seaweed, salty fish with 五花 pork (pork belly), steamed meatloaf with tofu and egg...

There was a little more talking after returning to Aunt 4's apartment, but mostly, I just tried to collect my thoughts and figure out what to do with the remainder of my things.  I'm pretty sure I won't miss this place, but I'm thinking how strange it will be once I'm gone and these people, my family, will be far away again. 

Left: "King of fruits", Aunt 5 calls it that because of its price. 

Below: What is looks like inside. 

Above: Gow Jie's 喜羊羊 piano.