Rantin' About Rights....

Walking out of class and down the long hall of the Humanities building today I remembered how we used to stand in the hall and smoke cigarettes before class (back in my undergrad days). There were ashtrays built into the brick walls. Today, they are gone. Today, we wouldn't even consider smoking just outside classrooms, filling the hallway with secondhand smoke. We don't even need "no smoking" signs in buildings anymore. It's an understood "don't." So here's the question. Were we just too dumb 20 years ago to know that secondhand smoke was harmful? Did we not consider it discourteous to smoke in public thoroughfares? Did we just magically get smarter as the years went on? No. We didn't just magically get smarter. It was harmful back then and we knew it. I believe it's because we respect the rights of citizens more these days. Really. We are gaining more and more rights, right? We have the right to eat in a restaurant without cigarette smoke being blown in our faces by the guy next to us. We have the right to walk out of smoke-free buildings and not be blasted with cigarette smoke just outside the door. We also have the right to smoke in our own homes, should we choose. We still have the right to smoke around our babies, but...really....should we?
There is, however, a "right" that I don’t have. When am I going to get the right to eat in a restaurant without hearing cell phones ring and folks talking on them obnoxiously loud? How about in an elevator? Most annoying is seeing someone weaving around on the road or going too damn slow and then seeing that they are on their cell phone. When will I get to watch a movie without at least one cell phone ringing and then seeing the blue-white glare from the screen light up the darkened theater? Apparently, no time soon.
I was hiking recently in the Smokies on Mt. LeConte. It was beautiful. Folks actually take cell phones on hikes and talk on them! What about emergencies, you say? Sure. Understood. But must you conduct business while you're hiking? Please. It’s a right I’d like taken away from all hikers. Work is what you go hiking to get away from. Right?

Laughing with Jesus (Not at Him)!

I spent this past weekend in Indianapolis, home of the Indy 500 (which I’ve never attended). It’s been over 15 years since I’ve been to Indy. I have many wonderful paternal relatives who live there. I took my mother to see her sister-in-law, P, whom we stayed with. We had a great visit and we should have done it a lot sooner. I not only reconnected with my Aunt P but also my cousins F and S, who are married with families. Above is a photo that hangs in Dick Sporting Goods. The handsome young man in the fishing hat with the fishing net is F’s son, my modeling cousin.
F, who I’ll just call Fiona, and I quickly learned that we share a lot in common. Growing up, Fiona was a little over a year younger than me. That was a big difference back then so when I would visit Indianapolis with my mother and brother, Salena and I spent more time together than Fiona and I. That’s just the way it is with cousins when you’re young. Fast forward to 2006 and over the course of one day spent viewing gravesites, having lunch, antiquing and enjoying dinner out....we shared lots of laughs. Fiona is raising a wonderful son who has a beautiful smile. We both agreed that we were meant to be "boy momma’s." We agreed that we indulge our sons and they are great men in the making. Throughout the day, Fiona and I laughed at our own jokes and one-liners. We think along the same lines and we have a similar warped sense of humor. I think Fiona would agree. It’s the kind of humor that is appreciated by some; tolerated by everyone else. Over dinner I shared with her what I haven’t shared with anyone else (at least I hope not) and now I’ll share with you. Remember the song, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by Annie Lennox and the Eurythmics in 1984? Sure you do. I remember hearing it for the first time during the summer at a little marina in Bear Point, Alabama. The first line in the lyrics is "Sweet dreams are made of these," right? Right. But for whatever reason, the first time I heard the song I thought she was singing, "Sweet Jesus, Meter Maid." Now THAT’S funny because, you know, Jesus would never be a meter maid. A construction worker perhaps, but never a meter maid. I’m not sure what possessed me to share such an old and odd (and frankly, a little stupid) story. Well, Fiona and I started laughing and laughing at the dinner table (most likely with visions of Jesus on a little moped checking meters). Not exactly appropriate behavior for middle-aged mothers. Our mothers and her son just looked at us like we were exactly who we were: crazy.
My cousin and I now share a few words that will forever create laughter.
That’s a good feeling.
Sweet Jesus, Meter Maid. What was I thinking???

Illiterate in China......

Max the Cat says to watch for a better post tomorrow, describing Lucy Blue's wacky adventure in Indianapolis over the weekend.
So....I'm taking Mandarin Chinese. Elementary Chinese 131, to be exact. I'm just "sitting in" on the class, which, in my opinion, is a little more loose than "auditing." It's up to me as to whether I want to turn in homework, take the quizzes and tests, etc. I like that part. I probably would have performed much better in my college days if I'd had those choices. :) Chinese is a very difficult language. I think I'll be satisfied if I can just speak and understand. This class teaches speaking, listening, reading and writing. Remembering how to write Chinese characters may be just too difficult for this "adult" student. Some characters have 10-12 strokes and....well, it's just not English, ya know? In the "dialogue" above it goes like this: Hello! Hello! Please, may I ask you what your family name is? My family name is Smith. What is your family name? My family name is Jones." Very simple, but very hard to read in Chinese characters. I have class every day from 11 to 12 and am using my lunch hour to attend. I can hear at least one person saying, "I wonder how long she will stick with this?" No. Wait a minute. It would be more like, "I'm betting this won't last long." Maybe. But at least I tried.

Flowers, Veggies and Dragon Boat Races

There is a small farmer's market on Market Square on Saturday mornings and it's an easy walk from my house. I made my debut visit with some friends last Saturday and discovered the wonderful breads and pasteries from a Farragut Bakery. We enjoyed a delicious herb and cheese foccacia and a maple pecan pastry.




The dragon boat races, held once a year on the river at Volunteer Landing, were interesting. These races are gaining popularity and are held in many U.S. cities every year with thousands of participants. Teams consist of 20 folks with a person in the front who beats on a drum so that teams will paddle in sync. The day started off early with a Chinese tiger dance being performed by a local Kung Fu studio.

First, you get a fish!

I took several friends to Wal-Mart last Friday night for food shopping. I noticed that Tracy and Hua purchased two whole catfish and I made a remark about how they would cook them. They invited me to watch the "Chinese" way of cooking fish and, of course, I showed up with my trusty camera. After pan-frying it in some oil, Tracy added a mixture of chopped green onion, soy sauce, Chinese vinegar, salt, sugar and some garlic salt. Then you add water and cook it some more. Very, very tasty. I kept remembering my mother's voice saying, "Watch out for those fish bones. They can get stuck in your throat and you could die!" :) Earlier, Hua had set out a bowl of plump, green grapes and said that Tracy could not have grapes because some medication she was taking prohibited it. Really? I said, "Can I see the medical information about the medicine. I can’t imagine why grapes would interfere with your medication." I read the information and smiled. It did indeed say that Tracy should be cautioned against eating a certain fruit while taking this medication. However, the word was grapefruit and even though there was no space between grape and fruit, they thought it meant grapes. We had a nice little laugh after I explained their mistake and Tracy laughed and began popping grapes in her mouth. I did, however, warn them about the actual "grapefruit", explaining that it is a totally different type of fruit and that I'd show them one on our next shopping trip. When you are living in a foreign country as Tracy and Hua are, it is important to be able to laugh about such mistakes. It is also, however, important to seek native help with such things as medications so that proper instructions can be followed. It's funny. An act we consider so basic and easy to understand is not always so easy to understand when you're not American or from a "western" country. I remember asking Liyin, in China, which way I was supposed to face when "utilizing" (nice word for "squatting") the Chinese toilets. Some things are just funny. You laugh and move on.

My Brain Hurts!

Growing up in Nashville, when global warming was still years away and there came big snows in the winter, my mother would make snow cream out of fresh snow. Not the first snow, mind you. That snow was dirty because everyone knows the first snow of the winter always brings all the dust and junk from the skies down with it. But the second snow? Now that was good for human consumption. So imagine about 4 inches of snow on top of a dense bush in your front yard. Take a spoon and scrap off the top layer of about an inch. Underneath lies clean, pristine snow. Perfect for snow cream. Scoop a large amount into a big bowl. Go inside your house. Add milk, sugar and vanilla flavoring (and maybe an egg, but then you’d be eating raw egg, right?), stir and then, if you do it like my Mom did, you freeze it while your children wait anxiously for you to say it’s now ready to eat! It’s not gourmet ice cream, mind you, but for kids it’s quite delicious. So now you’re eating your snow cream, rather rapidly because, after all, you’re just a little kid.....and HORRORS....your head feels like someone just used it for batting practice! Brain freeze! Today, when I was enjoying an Icee after lunch, I decided it was time to figure out what causes the horrendous but short-lived headaches caused from ingesting ice cream, milkshakes, Icees, etc. In an article by Joseph Hulihan, he theorizes that "when something cold touches the roof of your mouth, it triggers a cold headache. The cause is a dilation of blood vessels in the head. The dilation may be caused by a nerve center located above the roof of your mouth -- when this nerve center gets cold, it seems to over-react and tries to heat your brain." Heat your brain, you say? That’s what the man said. And suddenly that "this is your brain on drugs" commercial comes to mind where the eggs are frying. This is how my warped 45 year old brain works. Perhaps it got too cold and my body tried to heat it up.

Harbin, in north China

Harbin, the capital city of China's northernmost province, Heilongjiang (just across the border from Russian Siberia, is famous for its Ice and Snow Festival (January-February). The festival is one of the largest (featuring ice and snow sculptures) in the world. There are tons of ice carvings and snow sculptures. Blocks of ice are chainsawed from the Songhua River for the sculptures. It was absolutely amazing. Opening day for 2006's festival was January 6th and I was there. It was only a 2 hour drive from Changchun, where we were staying with Yeheng's parents and Yeheng's uncle drove us. We spent one night in Harbin. The only drawback was that I could not keep my feet warm. It was freezing cold and I do mean freezing. Walking around in the daylight was tolerable. Once night fell I simply could not get my toes to quit hurting from the cold (yes, we all know what that's a sign of). Opening day festivities included a great array of fireworks. I was shocked to see a firework that, upon exploding in the air, rained down beautiful small Chinese lanterns that were LIT UP inside! I wish I had captured it on film. Before the opening ceremonies (where important people speak in a language I cannot understand and the Ice Queen is revealed) we stayed inside one of the "warming" huts (small snack shops/bars). At one point we were all sitting at a table and the subject of karaoke singing came up. I admitted my fondness for it although I rarely engage in karaoke singing. That did not deter me, however, from singing a few bars of Country Roads by John Denver! ha ha After a few seconds of singing this song at the table nearly the entire room got quiet which is when I stopped. That was unusual behavior for me. Normally, I would have stood up and gotten louder, waving my arms around. Perhaps it had something to do with being in China. Most likely, I didn't want to embarass my Chinese hosts. Everyone knows it's fairly hard to embarass myself.
What a great side trip from within China. We had a wonderful hotpot dinner that evening (where everyone gets their own little fondue-like pot of seasoned oil and you cook your own beef; simply delicious) and did some shopping in shops filled with Russian souvenirs (Harbin also has a Russian history and there are many Russians living in Harbin).
I miss being in China. Maybe that's what caused me to apply for a position as the assistant to the CEO of a company in Shanghai. :) Yes, I really did. If I were buds with Shirley McClaine she'd probably tell me I was Chinese in a past life.

Tidbit Thursday

Breakfast of champions! ha I have read that eating an apple is like drinking a cup of coffee. That's not because there's caffeine in apples. There's not. But they are high in good carbs and give you an energy boost. And because it's "Tidbit Thursday," did you know that the seeds of apples have just a tiny bit of cyanide in them? They do. From the Urban Legends website:
Claim: Apple seeds contain a cyanide compound.
Status: True.
So now you know. Stay away from those seeds, man!
The photo above was taken over 10 years ago (okay, okay, closer to 15). Still, I want this photo to be what folks can see when I die. Not my pickled dead body. You know? When that person at everyone's funeral service says, "Doesn't she look good?" it will be because of an old photo of younger days, not because my sawdust packed face looks life-like.
Wow. That felt good to write. It's exactly how I feel.

She Can Drive?

This past weekend I was in Nashville helping my friend, Carrie, contribute to the welfare of Tennesseans at Opry Mills. She had a great time and ooh'd and aah'd when we took her through the Opryland Hotel. My mother met us for dinner and when Carrie saw her driving she said, "Your mother can drive???" I said, "Of course." She informed me that in China you must be younger than 60 in order to drive. She said the government believes that after 60 your reaction time is compromised and you might become a threat to yourself or others. Carrie didn't realize that the age limit of 60 was extended to 70 years old in China in 2003. You can also drive beyond the age of 70 by passing written and physical and driving exams. Now THAT seems like a good idea for the U.S., maybe starting at the age of 80 (but if I make it to 80 I probably won't think so).
Speaking of age, at 45 I generally feel very young. Is that a product of having many friends in their 20's and 30's? Maybe. So I wonder how "young" I'll feel when I'm 60 or 70. One of my favorite authors, May Sarton, frequently wrote of her bewilderment that she felt so young into her 60's and 70's (she lived to her 80's). She also had many friends and many of them were much younger. Ironically, when I was in my 20's and taking care of my young son, I felt very old. I remember remarking several times how I felt like I was in my 40's (yeah, 40 was sorta old back then) but being a single mother in her young 20's can do that.
I'm going to miss my young friend. She was a joy to be around and I got to play "mother-daughter" for a few weeks. Carrie will be returning to the States in the fall (Pennsylvania) and after taking another intensive English course will enter the University of Pennslyvania as a freshman in January. I'm sure we'll meet again.

A New Friend

This is "Carrie"; a new young Chinese friend. Carrie has been a student at the English Language Institute, although she's not one of "my" students. Her English is very good and she really doesn't need a tutor. She will travel to Orlando soon (just prior to her flight back to Shanghai) and will be alone for 2 days. She is going because she "wants to see Universal Studios." When I told her that I thought she was too young to be roaming around the U.S. alone she said, "Oh no, I am almost 20 years old....in two years!" Right. She's not quite 18 years old yet. Carrie is the most bubbly, vivacious young woman I've been around in a while. Her personality makes you laugh out loud. A lunchtime trip to Wal-Mart today became a complete adventure and was actually fun! She was amazed that it was okay to go ahead and eat the corn dog I got for us at the deli before we paid for it at the check-out counter. She tried on (and purchased) her first pair of low-riser jeans. In the photo above, I had taken Carrie to several shops in the Old City where vintage and pseudo-vintage clothing is sold. She wanted to buy an authentic, old American dress. She ended up with 5 dresses and a vintage housecoat. One of the dresses was actually a Martha Washington costume from a play and I think she loved it the best. The red dress above was also a purchase (one that I will keep here in the States for her and mail it to her when she begins her University studies in Philadelphia next year).
If I could just play matchmaker with Carrie and my son, I could have beautiful Chinese American grandchildren. (Lucy Blue is smiling).

More Party Pics

The girl on the right just received her master's in astrophysics and is returning to Taiwan this week for a fabulous job in Taipei. The girl on the left will be visiting Taiwan this Christmas. They would like for me to fly over and visit Taiwan this December. I'm thinking about it.
No one should leave Knoxville without a Knoxville Girl tee! You can get your own at www.yeehawindustries.com
Two friends head upstairs with cat toys to try and lure Purr out from under the bed.
Thailand and China brought together by Hello Kitty stickers! :)
Nothing like watermelon and a little Chinese music by the 12 Girls Band! They are so great! I wish I owned more of their music. www.twelvegirlsband.com