Part 1: Hong Kong - a place to be

I originally posted this on March 15, 2007.


The flight to Hong Kong takes a little over 11 hours * groan * and I do not look forward to that. Unlike the others in the plane, I don’t manage to get some shut eye before breakfast and landing in Hong Kong the next day (they’re 7 hours ahead of CET – Central European Time). I have to say I like flying with Cathay Pacific; the food is very good. I watch a "Lilo & Stitch" episode, "Flushed away", "Alien" and a snippet of "Marie Antoinette" (didn’t like the movie much, from what I saw, but it has a killer soundtrack).
I arranged a transfer to the hotel when I booked this trip. However, after waiting for almost an hour I don’t see anyone with a sign that carries my name. I ask a few people who do carry signs where I can arrange transport to Mayfair Garden, my hotel in Kowloon, Hong Kong. An older gentleman directs me to a counter with a large "Vigor" sign. And from there on things go smoother. I show the lady behind the counter my voucher and she arranges a ride – free of (additional) charges.
I think it was a 50-minute ride to the hotel (without heavy traffic). Lots of BMWs and SUVs, and the buildings look worn out on the outside. In the bus the air con was on full blast, so even though I noticed the higher temperatures when I got off the plane earlier that morning, and was sweating when I kept an eye out for my ride to the hotel, I was glad I wore one of my heavier hooded sweaters.
I had already noticed a wonderful landscape with sea, islands and mountains as the plane landed on Lantau Island – so vastly different from that Dutch flat one.
Because I was early, I had to wait an hour before I was assigned a room and could actually dump my stuff. The young woman at the counter (the bell boy as well) was very helpful and called TourAsia, a local touroperator, to go through my transfer back to the airport. Even though people in Hong Kong speak English very well, I sometimes had trouble understanding them; their pronunciation of words and names sometimes differ from how Brits would pronounce it. For example: my hotel, the Mayfair Garden, was pronounced as "Mayfay".
Since I hadn’t booked any tours (I’d brought a Lonely Planet and Time Out guide to Hong Kong) the person from TourAsia asked if I was interested in a tour. Since it was my first time he recommended me the Hong Kong Island tour. I agreed on doing that tour in the afternoon of the next day. He said he’d send someone to the hotel later to hand me a voucher to the tour, and so I could pay for it.
That someone turned out to be Damian, who to my surprise, spoke almost flawlessly Dutch! Turn out he’s lived in the Netherlands for quite a while (enrolled in elementary school, and studied at a Dutch university), but worked as a guide for Gray Line Tours for two years now. He recommended me things to visit and see (I ended up booking two additional tours; one to Lantau Island - where the giant Buddha resides - and one to Macau). He gave me his phone number and told me to call him if I had any questions or if anything came up. Wow, I never got a guy’s phone number that quick and that easy ;p
I finally set foot in my room around 11 a.m. and without further ado I crawl into bed for a few hours of much needed sleep. I intended to wake around 1 p.m. but wake up (refreshed) a little before 3! Oops… I get up, take a shower and go out to venture the neighborhood I’m staying in.
I quickly find out there’s a 7-Eleven on virtually every street corner, which is very… Convenient. Bustling streets, familiar and unfamiliar smells of food and other things, and loads of people. My tummy’s rumbling, so I decide to go look for a place to eat. And with a vast array of choices, it takes me a little while to settle on something: after walking around for over an hour I decide to eat at a little hole-in-the-wall place, near my hotel on Jordan Street. I have beef satay and rice. It’s cheap (about €3,- / $4,-) and very tasty: the veal is so tender it seems to almost melt on one’s tongue, the green peppers are crunchy.
After my meal, I head for the Avenue of Stars near the harbor: every night at 8 p.m. there’s a free laser and light show. (This show is mentioned in the Guinness book of records!) Due to road works I have some trouble finding the Avenue, so I end up using an extra half an hour to get there.
FYI: Avenue of Stars is Hong Kong’s version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and besides a statue of Bruce Lee, it also has hand prints of Jet Li (tiny hands!), Michelle Yeoh, Yun-Fat Chow – and many others.
There’s a light drizzle and a chilly wind. And it’s foggy. Despite all this I’m looking forward to the show, and I happily snap pictures to kill time.
The 15-minute show wasn’t as spectaculair as I hoped it would be (I blame the fog), but it’s nice entertainment. I do recommend it, though!
There are loads of first impressions at the end of my first day in Hong Kong: the majority reminds me of mainland China (Beijing) and even Indonesia. There’s more racial diversity here than in Beijing: I’ve seen Indians (from India), Indonesians, Brits (locals as well), Americans, Germans, French… And I’m constantly addressed to in Cantonese! I admit I blend in perfectly, but I don’t think I look Chinese.
I’m plagued by jetlag my first night here. I wake up every now and then and around 3 a.m. I am really hungry and wide awake. I decide to ask for a supermarket nearby to stock on fruit and bread in the morning – in case I wake up with a rumbling tummy again the next nights. Also, I wish I’d brought my laptop with me: I have WiFi in my room!
***
The tour of Hong Kong Island was great. I saw Man Mo Temple (I somehow missed the famous escalators nearby), went to Vistoria Peak by tram (I’m glad I didn’t hike the 3K uphill; it’s very steep – and once up there it was quite chilly), Aberdeen (a fishing village), Stanley Market and Repulse Bay (where there are nets in the water to keep the sharks at bay).
Joelle, our guide is a riot: she says the most hilarious things with a straight face. A British couple – clearly jetlagged – assure her that if they do fall asleep it won’t be because of her. I find myself talking to another British couple, a young Indonesian woman who came to Hong Kong accompanying her husband who’s here for bussiness. And there’s a cute American chica, from a Californian town near the coast (majored in Psychology, with Sociology on the side – she thought I my job’s cool). We actually started a conversation when she noticed we wear the exact same watch… Boy’s watches – heh.
That night I have dinner at Yoshinoya, a Japanese fast food chain (in no way comparable to the fast food served by Mickey D’s or Pizza Hut). I go for the "terriyaki chicken bowl", which is basically a bowl with rice, chicken breast with some kind of soy sauce and veggies (carrot, French beans, brocolli and cauliflower). And a tall Coke. It’s fresh and really tasty, and it costs €2,40 (which is roughly about $3,-).
***
I start International Women’s Day with another breakfast consisting of French Toast and fruit juice. This morning there’s company: some young Chinese guy – who finishes with a helping of rice noodles. I notice he keeps looking at me, and it’s not until a couple of minutes into my breakfast that I know why. He was entering data into his Palm Pilot when he looked up and spoke to me. In Cantonese. He repeated his question, and I replied I don’t speak Chinese. He then repeated his question in broken English: he wanted to know about my T-shirt (I was wearing my Deftones/Dickies logo T-shirt). I told him it’s a band. A music band.
After finishing breakfast I head for the post office, which is about a brisk 5-minute walk away from the hotel (head north on Nathan Road), to mail postcards for a few relatives in Indonesia. Walking out the post office I notice an Internet terminal and I couldn’t resist sending friends and relatives an update, as well as quickly checking my E-mails.
The afternoon tour of Lantau Island was an interesting one. After a (relatively) short bus drive, we went up a mountain by cable car called the Ngong Ping Skyrail 360. Unfortunately, the higher we went the foggier it became. And very cold. After stepping off the cable car the tour guide gave us some time to wander through Ngong Ping village (which basically lies at the feet of the Buddha.) I saw three Buddhist monks (there actually was one female monk, dressed in brown) and I couldn’t resist taking a picture of them. It was fun to watch them talk quietly, but excitedly amongst eachother.

The giant Buddha was also shrouded in fog – which sort of added to its air of… Spirituality. The tour guide told us that this was the kind of weather they usually have in April. Say what?! There’s also a very long stairway leading up to the Buddha. I went down (and up again) in less than 10 minutes – including taking several pictures. (I outwalked a few American girls on my way back up – heh.)

Shek O was once a flourishing fishing village, but now the waters around Hong Kong don’t contain any fish and Hong Kong actually has to import its fish from countries like Malaysia and Indonesia(!) and so Shek O is slowly emptying out. Watching the remains of that once thriving village somehow makes me feel sad.
I have grilled duck for dinner that night at a place called "King’s Taste" on Chatham Road South. I like the stylish design like interior. The grilled duck isn’t half bad either, but I realize I like it crispy. The entire meal costs me about €7,- (which is about $8,50 I think).
I’ve shot 4 rolls of film in a short period of time and I’ve taken them to a photo shop to have them developed. I can’t wait to see how they turn out!

My TOOL fix

This was originally posted on November 9th, 2006.



I went to see Tool play the Ahoy in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. (Mastodon was their special guest, but they had crappy sound - as in way too loud; my ears are still ringing!) I remember they opened the show with "Stinkfist" and the men continued their set playing up tempo songs. As far as I could tell they played songs from all their albums.
They had four video screens mounted on racks at the back of the stage (as you can see on the picture above), making the concert a visual feast as well. Earlier this year (when Tool headlined at the Pinkpop festival) they had a similar construction, but then the videos showing were mostly their own music videos, heavily edited. The clips showing this time were other stuff. I could see the crowd from where I was, and I can safely say that people were watching on mesmerized - instead of dancing to the music. 
Two thirds through the show the band took another short break; all the lights went out and they assembled in the middle of the stage, sat down and bass player Justin Chancellor got his lighter out. Soon everybody in the audience with lighters joined in - and I couldn't resist taking a picture :) Click on it to see it full sized.
But what on earth was Maynard wearing on his face?! It was some kind of mask, obviously, with his microphone attached to it - not remotely homo erotic, but rather odd looking. Anyway, when they return in 2007 Maynard will wear an even bigger mask (he said so himself).

There's one word to describe the concert: superb... And I think my friends agree.
UPDATE: Dit is Jaco's recensie van het concert (ook zijn oren piepen nog na).

Museumn8 2006

I originally on November 5th 2006.


This is what I did on Saturday night *G*
I participated in the 7th "Museumn8" (Museumnite) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which is a great (not to mention cheap) way to visit several museums.
A coworker of a friend of mine recommended a visit to the Portugese Synagogue; she was told 1,000 candles would be lit. That sounded like something I'd love to see!
The synagogue was a small complex of smaller buildings (a little museum was in one part) semi-surrounding a large building that is the synagogue. Upon entering the complex everybody got subjected to a search, which mainly consisted of walking through a metal detector and showing the contents of one's bag. The security measures surprised me; surely they weren't expecting some nut to burst in to attack?
Anyway, I went to the museum first to learn a little about the Jewish Portugese community in the Netherlands.
A young man was handing out yarmulkes (is that the proper term?) at the door of the synagogue. I got one, too, which I put on... Only to find out inside that yarmulkes are for boys and men. OOPS! I figured it would seem even more inappropriate to put it off, so I didn't. Looks like I had my Yentl moment :p
I visited the Hermitage (Amsterdam's the Dutch department of the original Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia) after the incident - for a shot of vodka. I took the shot glass home as a souvenir (I was being very bad). It also exhibited a small collection; the "Angel of Death" was my favorite...
Then it was off to NEMO, which is my favorite museum in the country: can you spell hands on experience? Besides the many fun and educational experiments, the architecture of the building's also impressive :) I think it was my third visit to Nemo in three years (I think)... The museum's primarily aimed at children from age 6 or so and up, and their parents, but Saturday night showed a lot of adults gleefully participating in experiments. Yes, I admit: I love NEMO (both the animated movie and the museum, because it feeds my innerchild.
Finally, we went to the Scheepvaartmuseum, since my friends have never visited it before (they live nearby!) and wanted to check out the VOC ship, I showed them around. (Yup, I'm the one who's from "outatown".)
Anyway, it was a long night - even though the time literally flew by - and we enjoyed the nocturnal boat rides through the canals of Amsterdam by the light of a full moon :)

Artful dodging and Sharleen's bout of flu

I originally posted this on August 6th, 2006.

Arnold and I went to a Heather Nova concert on Thursday, August 3 - she and her band played Effenaar, a small venue in Eindhoven (the Netherlands).
We found a spot about four yards form the stage that enabled us to see Heather and guitarist Berit (we're both not exactly tall). We were people watching and I soon found myself dodging women's boobs. Why was it that when a lot of  women tried to walk past me they actually turned to face me and before I knew it I was staring at a pair of boobs passing me. Thankgawd it didn't cause a whiplash or something...
Even though he's younger than I am, Arnold and I are very similar in a lot of ways: sense of humor, sense of fashion (or my lack thereof). I watched a documentary several weeks ago on Discovery Channel about twins and got the eerie feeling that even though Arnold and I aren't twins we do share the same kind of connection. We regularly say the same thing simultaneously or finish eachother's sentences, because we were thinking the same thing.
At one point two attractive brunettes walked by and I couldn't help myself and looked at Arnold to check whether he had noticed them, too. He had, and we found ourselves snickering "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?": our gaydars pinged.
I actually got more into Heather's music through my brother who has almost all her albums.
The opening act, Sylvan (a Dutch band) was alright but didn't do it for us; my brother and I both felt that after two songs everything sounded exactly the same.
Heather and the band kicked off the set with "Maybe an angel" and (one of my personal favorites) "With or without you" "Heart and shoulder". After a while it was obvious that the songs actually rocked - I can't listen to an entire Heather album in one session, since the songs are a little too tame for my taste. Heather seemed to be having a good time, taking a few opportunities to talk to her audience, and she also alerted staff when someone in front of the stage fainted.
Guitarist Berit was obviously enjoying herself, and it's great to see her step into the limelight more; she's kinda shy and when I first saw her play several years ago. Berit mainly focussed on playing the guitar and she was practically glued to the spot. Now she actually moves around a bit and does backing vocals. Until Thursday I hadn't heard her singing voice clearly and I was surprised how well it blends with Heather's. It was a delight to see her handle her guitar - signaturely slung low ;p ..... I was fascinated by her technique; she can make her guitar scream and wail with just the flick of her wrist, and I was curious about her gear.
The setlist: Maybe An Angel / Heart And Shoulder / Motherland / Redbird / I Wanna Be Your Light / Walk This World / I Miss My Sky / New Love (acousticly performed) / Everytime (acousticly performed) / Winterblue / Done Drifting / London Rain / Island / All I Need / Just Been Born / Make You Mine.
(Encore 1:) Drink It In / Someone New (Heather's duet with Eskobar)
(Encore 2:) Sugar.
On Saturday, August 5, my friend Myrtle (she got us tickets) and I drove down to Lokeren, Belgium to see Scottish band Texas headline their festival that night. The funny thing is that when I checked the festival site shortly before my vacation in Chicago, Il. I found out that Heather Nova was also plying that night; I got to see two great bands for a little over 16 Euros :)
We went in search of a little place off the crowded Markt to have dinner. We had a good time exploring the city center and watching people while doing so. I spotted lots of lesbians (there to see Sharleen?) and somehow somewhere I started a joke that became the running gag for the rest of the evening: "D.Y.K.E. - the new fragrance" (would I be sued by DKNY?)
We found a Grand Cafe that had a small but excellent menu. The food was good and around nine we walked towards the festival site - which we had tried to scope earlier (I only recognized sound checking for Heather Nova). Myrtle and I managed to get reasonably good spots at the site.
Heather and her band played a set that lasted a little over an hour (pretty much the same songs as they'd played in Eindhoven, minus the acousticly played songs). They didn't sound as well as they did in Eindhoven and Berit started out singing backing vocals in a slightly lower key - which was a little odd to my ears. Heather's music wasn't exactly up Myrtle's alley, but she had a good time watching the band and Berit. She agreed with me that, even though Berit is too butch for her taste (Myrtle is straight), Berit playing the guitar is very hot.
Texas kicked off their set with "I don't want a lover"; I was pleasantly suprised (it was their very first single in 1989). I was watching singer Sharleen Spiteri on a screen when I noticed she didn't look well. A little later she told the audience she was actually suffering from the flu and that she'd seen a doctor earlier that day who "put a needle in her arse" (lucky guy *lol*). I love listening to her talk: that Scottish accent is just sooo sexy. Myrtle got what I meant with the accent thingy after this concert (it was her first Texas concert), heck even if Sharleen speaks French (she's lived in Paris, France for a while) c'est sexy.
The band played a mix of their greatest hits and songs off "Red Book": In Demand / Summer Son / Halo / Everyday Now / Getaway / Sleep / Black Eyed Boy / When we are together / Can't Resist / So Called Friend (especially for Belgian superfan Dirk) / Say what you want (I will try and post the setlist later).
Sharleen and the boys in the band were visibly having a good time and Sharleen, despite the flu, was horsing around (her accent came up, too *lol*) and talking to her audience - or as she had said it: "I'm standing here with a microphone going yak-yak-yak" (complete with hand gestures).
She wore a shirt that she didn't care to button up - I didn't mind. The lights somehow made it see through and I could tell she wore a black bra ;p Somewhere during the show the shirt started shifting, revealing more and more of Sharleen's front. And I think Sharleen noticed too, because she immediately buttoned up a bit... (Too bad, eh?)
Those 90 minutes went by way too fast: kudos to Sharleen who gave an awesome performance.
I don't know whether she's writing new songs or when a new album will be released. I only know that I'm hoping to catch another concert of their next tour :)

Driving home I certainly was in a hormonal mode... I was singing along to "I don't want a lover", altering the lyrics slightly into "I don't want a lover, I just need a f*ck" - instead of "... I just need a friend..." (I was being bad.)

Last update from the Windy City

This was originally posted on July 24th, 2006.

This is my last update from the Windy City since I'll be flying home tonight (not to mention the 3 hours in advance check in...). I just ordered a cab to pick me up later this afternoon; both Mark and Dave have returned to the real world and are at work now. It's been a crazy fun and hectic week, especially for Dave - unfortunately, his volleyball team didn't win any medals.

I'm practically done packing and my cab will be here in three hours, so I won't be going out to Millennium Park anymore :( I'm saving that for a next time... I said goodbye to Mark & Dave last night, which felt a little odd and sad, and I'm now trying to contain the jittery bugs I get every time I'm about to travel long distance.

Due to circumstances I didn't meet up with Edgar and Alberto, and Steve and Larry cancelled due to a power cut in St. Louis - so I remained Mark & Dave's sole guest this weekend. Anyhoo, I enjoyed BBQ food the entire weekend (and had interesting conversations with men at the BBQ yesterday; again, I was the only woman amongst a dozen or so gay men).Dave got tickets to the Gay Games Closing Ceremony from a befriended (lesbian) couple. So Mark and I got to go to the Closing at Wrigley Field after all. For free! WHOA...

There was a stand up comedienne, I think her name was Poppy Champlin (?), and she had me cracking up with a new take on the old U-Haul joke: "You lick, we stick." (Note to self: do not lick. *LOL*)

The DC Cowboys did their line dancing thing, which went down well with the guys in the stadium :) The funny thing is I didn't know what was happening (I forgot all about the binoculars in my backpack) until I heard that guitar theme that was repeated throughout "Brokeback Mountain". The guys went wild and I was thinking: "Hey, that's the Brokeback theme." Mark & Dave persuaded me to have my picture taken with the cowboys (after the Closing was over) which is a very American thing, I suppose. 

When a violinist dressed as Abe Lincoln (couldn't really see whether it was a man or a woman) started the intro to "True colors"  and Cyndi Lauper (dressed as the Statue of Liberty in rainbow colors) walked out onto the field I got goosebumps. I knew then that that was going to be my highlight of the closing - and thankgawd it didn't last four hours! Cyndi got a standing ovation (rightfully so, because it was a beautiful rendition) and did another song, "Shine", which I'd never heard before. It was very clear the crowd loved her performance and she'd have gladly sung some more, but she wasn't allowed to. Check this out.

Finally, the deputy mayor of Cologne, Germany, was there to take over the Gay Games flag: who knows I'm going to see some events in four years, because that city isn't too far from where I live :)

I went to a women's party at Navy Pier after the closing on Saturday. I ogled the eye candy (unfortunately, all taken - of course) and watched the incredibly hot go go dancers. They did some naughty fun things alright! ;p The DJ played a good mix of 80s, R&B and alternative top 40 music - and I spent some time out on the dancefloor shaking my booty... Woo-hoo!

Mark, Dave and I had a quiet night in last night and watched "Mrs. Henderson presents", which is a wonderful movie. Boy, if I feel as sad as the last time I left Chicago... I had a great time and I can hardly believe it is almost time for me to go. Anyhoo, my tattoo is healing up nicely - and quicker than I anticipated (which is good!) and my mom will be at the airport tomorrow to pick me up :) I hear it is incredibly hot in the Netherlands now - again. Looks like I'm going from one heat wave to the other - just like last year.

Stay cool!

Will hussy for beer...

This was originally posted on July 21st, 2006.


This is perhaps my last update before flying back to the Netherlands on Monday. So here goes.
There's been severe thunderstorms and rain showers yesterday and it's definitely cooled off, thankgawd. And I finally made it to Navy Pier to watch some volleyball matches... Only, when I got there I was in time to see who got the gold medals. Shite! Navy Pier is nice, but there are lots and lots of little kids so for that I hate that place.
Dinner with Stef was nice, and finally meeting her in real life was good! This woman has traveled a lot (outside the US as well) and has interesting stories to tell, too. I took her to Kopi (how come I keep taking people there? They should start giving me a discount or sumthin with all the new customers I'm providing them) and she, too, liked the place and the food :) If she ever visits the Netherlands again, I’m going to show her around. Oh, that gong in the window? In managed to knock it down! Oops.
We went to Star Gaze after dinner, which is a "pink" bar and there were three female singer/songwriters playing and there were pretty good: Lindsey Hinkle, Stephanie Callahan and Kristi Neumann. Cathey Stamps was their rhythm machine. (Watching them perform and having a good time reminded me of a certain time in my life where I'd go out and play to make a little extra money - and get lots of free drinks. And a couple of phone numbers...) Halfway through their set they each played a cover, but I only recognized two: "I alone" by Live and "Fast car" by Tracy Chapman. Stef was joking about "angry lesbians" and their songs, which I learned is one of the American stereotypes. Thankgawd they weren't angry. That'd surely would've gotten me running out the Star Gaze in no time ;p Another stereotypical lesbionic thing, according to Dave, is any drink with gin... It just so happens that a straight woman taught me to appreciate gin and tonic (really!). And the number one lesbionic sport here is softball, while in the netherlands it's football (or soccer, if you will). Interesting, eh?
Stef and I sat way in the back (on very comfy stools) and when I needed to go potty I had to walk past the stage. When I got back I spotted a readheaded hottie and we were checking eachother out :) One of the singers (the cutest of the three) referred to her as the "hot redhead" to go to if you wanted to buy any of their CDs. Sarah Bettens move over!
Some Miller (that's US beer y'all) representatives were at the bar so all the people could have free beer - as long as they were drinking Miller... Needless to say both Stef and I switched to Miller. "Will hussy for free beer." *lol* She almost tricked me into dancing on tabletops ;p
The set was ended with Melissa Ferrick's "Drive". I couldn't help but notice it's a huge hit with a lesbionics (Melissa Ferrick is virtually unknown in the Netherlands), but listening to the lyrics closely, well, they leave nothing to the imagination...
My friend Doug recommended me Reza's on Clark. I had dinner there last night and I have to say that the food is just wonderful. (Thanks, Doug! Did you go on that swim?) I had lamb chops and dille rice – and the flat bread they serve is really good! And for just a second or so I could’ve sworn I had a “Shane” moment. Now, it could have been because I was having dinner by myself is why that hetero woman looked at me with vague interest, right? (I wish my friend Cecile was there to help me out.)

I finally saw “Gillery’s little secret” (with Annabeth Gish) on LOGO online (somehow my Dutch/European internet connection doesn’t allow me to watch anything on LOGO, which is stupid if you ask me) and I liked it – not because Annabeth’s in it. I liked the short because Gillery’s relationship wasn’t downplayed or portrayed as “alternative”; it was portrayed as “ just another relationship, like any other”. I can see that one being aired on Dutch public TV (Nederland 3..?) Also, I watched BRAVO's "Work out" with hottie Jackie Warner. She seems like a very nice woman, but I just can get over her girlfriend (what's with the biting?) who is extremely jealous. And I do mean extremely jealous... Jackie thinks that comes from dating younger women. Say what?! I think this Mimi is either insecure in the relationship or does not trust Jackie. Or both. I don't know. There's just way too much drama than I can handle; if I had a girlfriend like Mimi, it would certainly drive me up the wall and I'd walk...
I still haven't been to the Millenium Park. I wanted to go today, but by the time I exited Navy Pier and walked to the red line "El" stop on Grant, it was starting to rain... I didn't bring a jacket nor an umbrella, so... I opted to go home. It's almost 5 pm now and I'm going to meet up with Edgar and Alberto later - I've met them here in Chi-town five years ago and I've stayed in touch with Edgar ever since. Last time I visited Edgar cooked me a really tasty dinner (isn't that sweet? I felt so spoilt!) and I can frankly say that it impressed me.
Two friends of Mark and Dave will be staying here, too, this weekend: Steve and Larry. And it looks like we're going to have a little BBQ tomorrow around noon... I'm not sure if we're going to the Closing Ceremony of the Gay Games - that'll start at 3 pm. Ah, we'll see. I'm enjoying my vacation and I'm not going anywhere. Well, at least until Monday.
TTYL!

Inked (again) and what about that heat?!

This was originally posted on July 18th, 2006.


Have a seat and get ready for another update from Chi-town aka The Windy City (and I'm not talking gas).

... When I got home from my little get together with Mark & Dave took me to Indie Cafe on 5951 N Broadway St. It's a little Japanese/Thai restaurant (BYOB)that has the potential to become really big, but is now a little undiscovered gem.

I had yummie chicken gyoza and veggie sushi :) We had brought a bottle of wine (Indie Cafe is BYO) which reminded me of Lambrusco. That pleasantly surprised Marcella and Dan, two friends who had come along; Marcella's family lives in the region where that kind of wine is made. It soon became clear that Lambrusco is virtualy unknown in the US...

Now yesterday.. I didn't do as much as I wanted to. Just walking three blocks to the grocery store and back took a lot of energy - the heat and humidity was worse than during my visit to Beijing, China. Whoda thunk it possible? I was literally soaked by the time I got home - and I'm not one to break into a sweat easily. I heard on the news that one man had died from a heat stroke a couple of days ago. And really, yesterday's wind? Hair dryer would have been more appropriate.

I watched "Hoodwinked" which I found very entertaining. I liked the squirrel :)

By the time I went to bed it was pouring outside and there was a heavy thunderstorm as well.

Today's decidedly cooler - compared to yesterday. Woo-hoo!

I started with brunch at Urban Tea Lounge on 838 W. Montrose Ave. I had a Jackie Chan Chai and a yummie (I do use that word a lot, don't I?) Honey Smoked Turkey sandwich. It's a small place, but inexpensive and very tasty. And it is possible to have high teas there, too.

The owners, Cece and Ryan, may not look conventional (they're both pierced and tattooed) but they totally rock! I somehow found myself talking to Ryan about 80s music and he asked me where I was from etc. I actually got a lunch special, which in my case meant I only had to pay for the sandwich - dang, I hope I can come back to this place before I fly back next Monday ;p

On my way back to the El (anyone who's seen ER or Blues Bros. know about the elevated metros) I walked into Chicago's Tattoo Factory. And before I knew it I was getting tat no. 4. I have to add that getting the inside of my arm tatooed does hurt a great deal more. DANG! I still feel it... It turned out a little larger than I initially wanted, but it turned out great and I am content.

I visited Boys Town (Wrigleyville, near the Cubs stadium) where Mark used to live and, boy, has it changed! There were a lot of stores I couldn't recall being the five years ago. Anyway, it was only to visit a certain bookstore - after a little while I needed to go home to tend to my new tattoo. I'm hoping to go back and walk through Halsted St (which is the gayest street here).

Anyhoo, Mark's got a night off and wants to spend some quality time with me, so I postponed dinner with Stef. I called her yesterday evening and, luckily, she was alright with it. Mark is happy I am meeting up all these women; I think he's kinda dating through me - ha ha ha.

Well, ttyl!

Chocolate - or: the way to bond with women

This was posted originally on July 17th, 2006.

I met up with Stacey, Anne and Hilary yesterday - we all share a love for Strangers in Paradise (a graphic novel) and we met on the SiP forum.
Prior to meeting I talked to Stacey on the phone, and believe it or not she sounded exactly as I expected. She's quite a character in real life - and I do mean in it a good way! She's very funny, she's smart (Arnold; her job is sorta like yours) and even though she's a self proclaimed dork I think she's super cool. She's also in theatre and from the little that I've heard it sure makes my job pale (read: borrrrrrrrring) in comparison.
Anne is sweet and knows a lot of interesting trivial facts (I'm a sucker for that kind of shite). She shared a few of them with us yesterday, and I still remember her Benadryl story. (Cat owners: ask me about it if your kitty has ear mite.) I hope she'll graduate soon!
Stacey has the kind of crushing hugs that can do some serious damage. Girl; you should start wrestling! ;p We went for a bite to Kopi on N. Clark St where the food is good and cheap. (I had dinner there with David on Friday night, since Mark doesn't want to go there with him - Mark thinks it's too crunchy/granola for his taste). I am so glad both Stacey and Ann like the food - and the place.
When it was time for dessert, we all needed just a split second to pick what we wanted: chocolate fudge cake! It was orgasmicly good... And I think Stacey wanted to take some home to have Bogan sample it ;) Check it out here.
After we finished desserts it was time for us to head out to Albany Park and meet Hilary. Again, Stacey filmed it so you can watch it here. She turns out to be incredibly talented. She showed us some sketches which were all amazing. Just looking at them makes me feel glad I didn't go to art school - although, on the other hand, I had (I haven't been drawing/painting/sketching seriously after I finished university) a very different style. I think it's appropriate to do my Neo imitation here: "Whoa."
It is all too true that time flies when you're having fun. I really enjoyed my time with them - even though we are all very different people... There was a lot to take in, and by the time Stacey dropped me off at Mark & Dave's place I was pooped.
Stay cool!

Hunky guys, geriatrics club and the longest opening ceremony ever

I originally posted this on July 16th, 2006.

Is it as swelterlingly hot where you are as it is over here? Today temperatures will reach 105 degrees (Fahrenheit) over here, but with the humidity it will feel as if it's 45 degrees Celsius - trust me: no fun. Mark & Dave are going out in a bit to play some beach volley. Not this little kitty; I'm going to meet up with Stacey – and a couple of other people from the Strangers in Paradise forum – later on and have dinner. Mark keeps saying it's my booty call everytime she calls the house, but she's not! She's just a friend...

The flight into the Chicago was long and tiring. (The guy next to me had stinky feet and I wonder if he's ever heard of cotton socks...) I’d forgotten how friendly people in Chicago are! So not like people at JFK Airport in New York. 

I got "sir"-ed both at the airport and on the plane (no shit). Dave and I sort of analyzed it, because I can't imagine why people keep mistaking me - especially after I start talking... He thinks that even though my speaking voice is high it still could be a man's since my pitch might actually be slightly lower than Mark's. Huh - what? I cannot imagine that for the life of me. Plus if I were a man I would be a very very effimate one (can you spell "nelly"?).

I sorta checked out the neighbourhood on Friday and got my brother Arnold a little present :) There are really beautiful houses here (or rather: mansions). I saw one that could house my entire family in Indonesia. Yes, it is that big. I also picked up anti-histamine pills at Jewel Osco’s – just in case… I had lunch at Noodle Zone on N. Clark Street. It was yummie and cheap! And the chicken broth actually reminded me of my mom’s at home. And on my way home I almost ran into a group of elderly women. I don’t know whether they were having a field trip or something, but they were moving and shuffling along the sidewalk with their canes. One of them was talking to her lady friend and started gesturing wildly with her stick to point out something and almost poked my eyes out in the process. Good thing I ducked away in time ;p

Mark & Dave keep introducing me to friends (I'm skipping a friend's BBQ tonight because I'll be having dinner with Stacey) and I've met a couple of very hunky men. Thank gawd I'm not straight; I'd be so in trouble! Unfortunately, apart from a little eye candy, there haven't been much on the women's department: no offense, but why are the majority of American lesbians so fat? Don’t they care about their bodies?

Mark & Dave's friends are all so nice and they seem to like me, too, and I had a blast going out with them after volleyball practice on Friday night - I was the only woman amongst 9 gay man. One of them spoke a fair amount of German! That impressed me alright. Oh, te funny thing is that everytime I get introduced to new folks they all ask me what sports I participate in and I have to tell them I'm just a spectator to the Gay Games ;p

Mark took me to Cafe Too on 4715 N Sheridan Rd for dinner. I like their concept: a part of their proceeds is used to school homeless people to help them get a job and to break their cycles of homelessness. Ok, now on to the opening ceremony last night: it lasted 4 hours and fifteen minutes! I think that's the longest opening ceremony I've ever been to! Goodness. Mark and I were sweating our asses off, waiting for Dave and team Chicago to come out last (nice pun, eh?).

I saw a lot of supposedly famous people (there were a bunch of 'm that I had never heard of - and I'm pretty much American minded according to some of you, eh?). Megan Mullally was there (that's Karen from Will & Grace) and what I liked about her was that after she did her thing and had stepped off the stage the took time to shake fans hands and give out autographs! Margaret Cho (a Korean American stand up comedienne) was a riot - loved her! Andy Bell performed two Erasure song: "Victim of love" and "Respect" (DEBS anyone?).

I do have one huge point of critique: all of the speeches and references where (with the exception of mentioning Amelie Mauresmo) very American minded. I do realize that most of the participants/contestants are from America and Canada, but still the Gay Games should include EVERYONE: gay, straight, abled and disabled from all over the world. I can imagine that some people just didn't get the speeches - or couldn't relate to them entirely. Btw who wrote those speeches? Some of them were just horrible and boring. Dave used the phrase "bored to tears", ha ha ha. He's a funny guy.

There was only one participant from Uganda who got a very warm welcome, just short from a standing ovation, from everybody at Soldier Field stadium. What guts! And there were three from Indonesia - I am so proud!

I hate to say it, but I think I'm growing milder as I grow older... Just being there with all kinds of people from around the world somehow touched me. I think I actually felt a loving vibe there. And apart from traffic control I didn't see much of Chicago's finest. (Unthinkable in the Netherlands if there's a football game.) Oh, there were people picketing, but I could not care less. I pretty much felt elated throughout the ceremony...

Mark and I visited the Chicago Botanical Garden yesterday and stayed for almost two hours - despite the heat. It was nice, even though the Japanese Garden was a bit of a disappointment. Let's just say that's the garden's a work in progress... On our way to the exit we came across a little chickie bird, who - according to Mark - has probably fallen out of it's nest and momma bird was nowhere to be seen. It sat very quiet and still in the shade, but I could tell the chickie wasn't doing fine. I didn't scamper off as I carefully approached it and I soon found myself giving it some water. It was screaming for it's momma, but it sure loved the water! A few minutes later it hopped towards my feet to bask in my presence (I am not kidding - I was afraid it might actually start following me home). We left the little birdie and we hope it's doing better now...

Stay cool!

Pinkpop festival

I originally posted it on June 5th, 2006.


SATURDAY, JUNE 3
Weather in the days prior to the festival was pretty, well, shitty; rain being the keyword here (lots of it). So naturally everybody attending the Pinkpop festival were hoping there would be no rain.
After picking up Kim and Marelle in Maastricht, the Netherlands (I'd be crashing on their comfy couch this extended weekend), we headed for the festival site in Landgraaf - about 20 miles east towards Aachen, Germany.
We caught cabaretesque opening act THE DRESDEN DOLLS at 3 pm on the mainstage: they're quirky and I like that about them. I don't think many people in the Netherlands have heard their music, but the audience enjoyed it. They played a couple of songs off their new album "Yes, Virginia" and old ones, including my favorites "Coin operated boy" and their Black Sabbath cover "War pigs".
Next up was Canuck NELLY FURTADO. Even though I'm not a fan I gave it a shot. Her setlist mainly consisted of her singles, but we left after a couple of songs: did they have a proper sound check? Their sound was awful, Nelly sang off key, and her voice and the voices of her back up singers did not blend well. We headed for Belgian band ADMIRAL FREEBEE instead. This band had a much better sound and the singer was interacting with the audience - who were clearly enjoying themselves.
After Admiral Freebee ended their set, we headed back towards the mainstage where British band KAISER CHIEFS took the stage; upbeat songs and singer Ricky Wilson who wanted the audience to have a good time - Kaiser Chiefs know how to party. Ricky also showed his great sense of humor.
PAUL WELLER played the smaller stage (3FM stage) where Admiral Freebee played earlier and we stayed the greater part of the set. His set consisted (as far as I can tell) off solo material only - so no "Town called Malice" or "My ever changing mood". Unfortunately for me. A total professional who still loves playing live, but I think only real Paul Weller fans thoroughly enjoyed the show.
Kim, Marelle and I left early to find ourselves a decent spot (no, not way in front) to check out PLACEBO. Normally a threesome, they are now touring with an additional guitarist who also plays the keys. Singer Brian Molko is still going for an androgynous look, and he was playing around a bit with his bassplayer when he (Brian) went on his knees in front of him during a song. That certainly got my imagination going ;p The front row mostly consisted of young women... Their performance was good, but I missed that extra spark that could make a show special. We left an hour into their set - I hoped TOOL won't be disappointing.
Festivals make good people watching events. My friend Marelle mentioned that sometimes people go out revealing too much (I'm not just talking skin here) and I agree: some things are beter left covered up. I even took a picture to illustrate what I mean...

It's a pretty grainy photograph.... but do you get the picture?

SUNDAY, JUNE 4
I had a good night's sleep (we all did) and was rested. We had a tasty breakfast before setting off for another day at Pinkpop. For all you non-Dutchies: Pinkpop is a music festival which has its name derived from Pentecoste - "Pinksteren" in Dutch.
We arrived around 2 pm, in time to catch Dutch hard core band VANKATOEN. Musically, they remind me of Biohazard (in their good old days). Just as I mentioned to Marelle Vankatoen had a number one single in Indonesia, the band played "Lef" (translated: "Guts"). Vankatoen rerecorded that number one hit in Bahasa Indonesia and called it "Siapa brani" (translated: "Who dares") and having that hit also enabled them to tour Indonesia for 5 weeks. The band played a tight set.
DREDG were scheduled to play the same stage an hour later. I was anxious to see them play live. Dredg played at two German rock festivals prior to coming to the Netherlands, where they experienced one type of weather: the rainy kind. Today, the sun was out again and at the end of the day there were lots of sunburnt people walking around. (I wasn't one of them.)
It seemed that Dredg wanted to give the audience its money's worth (they were allowed to play an hour) and they played an almost non-stop set. I recognized two songs; one of which was one of my favorite songs of 2005 "Bug eyes". The drummer was fun to watch and his style reminded me of Animal of The Muppets. He broke a drum stick with almost every song. He threw them into the audience and I guess we'll be seeing those back on Ebay ;p He actually kept drumming after everyone else had left the stage and roadies were wrapping things up. When he couldn't use his drumkit anymore he turned to his keyboard... Did I mention Kim and I managed to get a spot way in front? Also, maybe it's because the way the singer moved, but it reminded me of Keith Caputo of Life of Agony...
After Dredg finished their set we walked towards the mainstage to see Dutch band RACOON perform (I'm pretty sure my friend Astrid in Ottawa, Canada would have loved to see them play live). Racoon played most songs off their most recent album "Another day", which is also their most successful one. It was obvious they were more than happy to play at Pinkpop.
We walked back to the 3FM stage to see Canuck DANKO JONES perform. D4MN, they rocked! (That's all I can say.) Danko got the crowd going and I'm pretty sure he won himself some new fans - partly because he paraded around on stage carrying a Dutch flag. Danko played my favorite song: "Don't fall in love".
We then watched Belgian band dEUS (on the main stage) from a little distance, while we had "dinner". It was around then that soneome suddenly slapped my arm. It turned out to be Inkie who was at Pinkpop with her boyfriend and his two brothers. Funny how somehow, despite thousands of people present, you run into friends.
We also listened to HOOVERPHONIC, another Belgian band who were playing on the John Peel stage in a large tent.

Finally: TOOL. Fashionably late (as Kim said - they made us wait fifteen minutes longer, but ended up playing for lost time...) the band played a mix of old and new songs. Singer Maynard James Keenan was sporting a mohawk (covered by a cowboy hat during some songs), a couple of pounds heavier and he was doing his weird little dances.
The visuals supporting their performance were incredible! A couple of the songs Tool played were "Lost keys (Blame Hofmann)", "The pot", "Stinkfist", "Schism", "Lateralus", "Ænema", "Vicarious" and my all time favorite "Sober" :) If I were to go home I'd be happy: Tool totally rocked and made my weekend. They will be playing Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on June 27 and I'm trying and hoping to catch them again, then.
MONDAY, JUNE 5
Kim wanted to see SOULFLY, but we ended up leaving the house a little later than planned. That was alright... Till we got stuck in a serious traffic jam. (Later, my mother told me that Monday was sold out solid, which came as no real surprise since the Red Hot Chili Peppers were headlining.) I started kidding that we might be able to make it in time to hear Soulfly frontman Max Cavalera say: "Thank you!" But time went by and we weren't making progress: I wanted to see SKIN, but we had to let that go by as well.
Kim called some friends from The Hague (if I recall correctly) who were already on the festival site and they suggested a tiny detour; we managed to avoid the traffic jam congesting the roads the last several miles leading to the festival site. Marelle and I joked that we might be able to catch Skin's last words "Thank you! I'm Skin and I hope to see you next time." *lol*
By the time we reached the festival site we'd probably be late for singer/songwriter David Gray's set (he played the 3FM stage from 13:30 - 14:30 and we arrived about ten minutes before the end of his show). Thank you, I'm David Gray. Enjoy the rest of Pinkpop! *lol* Since we were hungry we went for chicken wings instead ;) and the first performance of the day we saw was from Dutch band BLOF on the main stage - we were enjoying the sun sitting on the grass. (Astrid, you'd surely loved it.) I finally had the opportunity to meet up with my brother Arnold and his girlfriend Joyce.
We went to see EDITORS play the John Peel stage together. I admit that their songs sounded better live. And somehow I half expected them to suddenly burst into Joy Division's "Love will tear us apart" - that's how strongly they reminded me of the late Ian Curtis and his band. They didn't. Editors did play their version of Talking Heads' "Road to nowhere"! Excellent performance.
Kim went to check out Deftones on the 3fm stage, but walked away after a few songs: they sucked.
By the time I exited the tent with Arnold and Joyce, Brit band KEANE were playing on the main stage. It was hot in the tent and Arnold and Joyce wanted to get some beverages. I tagged along. Marelle and try to establish contact, but somehow my cell gave out and I was unable to call her (or Kim) nor send them text messages. That was really strange. (I did receive their text messages after Marelle called me; Kim let me know they were going to see The Flaming Lips. Unfortunately, I couldn't reply I was going to see Canucks Nickelback.)
NICKELBACK played a predictable set and I learned that they recently did a concert in the Netherlands as Bon Jovi's supporting act... Arnold, Joyce and I watched the band from a distance and had a little fun in the sun. (I hope that didn't come out wrong.)
We parted after Nickelback; Joyce was supposed to meet a friend of hers. I found Kim and Marelle basking in the sun, while Brits FRANZ FERDINAND were playing the main stage. I'm no fan of them after having seen one too many televized live shows on which I heard the singer sing off key.
Again, Marelle and I noticed a lot of people with sunburn... By the time I introduced Kim and Marelle to Arnold and Joyce it was time for me to head towards the 3FM stage where Morrissey was to perform. Joyce and Arnold came along with me. Arnold made a wise ass comment about the avarage age of the people coming out to see the former frontman of 80s band The Smiths.
MORRISSEY and his band walked on stage, made a bow together and then took their places. They launched into "Panic", an old Smiths cover - with the infamous line "Hang the DJ". I got the idea that the greater part of the set list consisted of songs off his last two albums ("You are the quarry" and "Ringleader of the tormentors") AND they also played two other songs by Morrissey's old band The Smiths: "Girlfriend in a coma" and my personal favorite "How soon is now?". I enjoyed the show, and for me, this was today's best performance (with Editors on a close second).
Then it was time for me to part ways with Arnold and Joyce and meet up with Kim and Marelle. My brother and his girlfriend were spending another night at the camp site, I was going to drive home after the festival was over. Walking back towards the mainstage I felt someone slap my arm and scream "HEY!". Turned out to be Elisabeth and her boyfriend. *lol*
Kim, Marelle and I were watching RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS perform on the main stage while enjoying some more chicken (no wings this time, though). Their performance wasn't bad, but it quickly sounded a bit uninspired to me. I saw the Peppers perform at a Belgian festival a couple of years ago and it wasn't good (and Anthony Kiedis sang off key - I learned today that they now use a gadget to minimize off key singing...). We left after finishing our chicken - tired but content. Well, I had a great weekend! (And thank you Kim and Marelle for having me crash at your place.)