Sunday Night Nails

After seeing a fashion spread in the latest Elle HK, and thinking, hey, I have nail polish colors like that, I felt inspired to replicate the manicure, which is basically a french manicure with a modern twist, with a metallic base and electric blue tips. Now if you take into account that I am the worst nail polish painter ever, this was quite an ambitious task for me. I always end up putting on too much polish and getting bubbles, or not waiting long enough for it to dry and I end up getting dents. My attempt turned out quite well!

Pump up the Volume

Then Don and I headed to Volume, which is apparently the #1 Gay Venue in Hong Kong according to HK magazine.

We drank Hoegaarden out of giant glasses

And posed with random gay men

On to LKF

Then, I said goodbye to my dinner companions and headed to Lan Kwai Fong to meet Don. At first we grabbed a few beers at 7 Eleven, then we walked around, then we ran into this guy, who clearly had way too much to drink:

Notice how he's in costume

Complete with a sword!

While I thought it was hilarious, others did not. This anal American girl came and bitched us out for taking pictures and not being concerned.

Happy Birthday Matilda!

After wine school I headed to back to work to drop of the camera, then on to New Territories to celebrate Matilda's birthday (which unfortunately was on typhoon day).

China Club Lunch: Part Deux

Where Hookers Used to Bathe

So I noticed that the private rooms in the China Club, which is located in the Old Bank of China Building, had full bathrooms, complete with a bathtub and everything. Really bizarre, I thought to myself. I asked the wine course instructor if someone used to live there. "No, this is the Old Bank of China Building," she answered. "The top executives used to bring their mistresses up here, that's why there are bathtubs in the bathrooms."

Wine School: Part Deux

I went to my second and last Barry Bros. & Rudd Wine School course bright and early Saturday morning. Since I sat through the entire 16 hours of instruction, the teachers are trying to convince me to take exam for the WSET Level 2 Intermediate Certificate in Wines and Spirits. I don't know if I should. What do you think?

1st Flight

1. 2003 Von Blauem Schiefer Dry, Bly Slate Heymann-Löwenstein, Mosel, Germany
2. 2005 Chianti Classico, DOCG, Brolio, Italy
3. 2003 Barolo Prapo, DOCG, Bricco Rocche, Piedmont, Italy
4. 2001 Valpolicella Classico Superiore, Bussola, Italy
5. 2000 Gran Reserva, VIna Salceda, Rioja, Spain

2nd Flight

1. 2004 Côtes du Rhône Rough, E. Guigal, Rhône, France
2. 2005 Crôzes-Hermitage, Alain Graillot, Rhône, France
3. 2oo4 Mamre Brook, Saltram, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia
4. 2004 Côte-Rotie, Michel Ogier, Rhône, France

3rd Flight

1. Green Point Brut, Victoria, Australia
2. Jacquesson, Cuvée 732, Champagne, France
3. 2002 Ch Doisy Vedrine, Souternes, Bordeaux, France
4. Tio Pepe Fino Muy Seco, Conzalez Bypass, Sherry, Spain
5. 1994 Warre's, Late bottled Vintage, Portugal

Typhoon Hagupit Aftermath

No major damage, just a few fallen branches:

Something They Don't Have in the States

Chocolate filled Ritz cracker sandwiches!!!

Up close...they didn't taste very good. Not gross, just a little processed (and maybe stale)!

Since You're Bailing the Financial Industry, Can You Bail Me Out Too?

Dear American Government,

I heard that you're going to help several financial companies dig themselves out of this mess that they've created for themselves. While you're at it, can you help me out too? I think I need some bailing out. Here's what I need:

$80,000 (give or take) for my Louis Vuitton education. It's not fair that kids whose parents have money finish college without any debt, while I'm chained for the rest of my life, is it?

$25,000 for my dental bills. That kid in DC died because you wouldn't pay for his dental treatment. You don't want me dying too, do you?

$200 for my ER co-pay. Sorry, can't afford that either.

$Unspecified amount for my credit card bills. How else was I supposed to live when I was unemployed? Mommy and daddy don't make enough to pay for my adulthood as well.

Since you're giving all those big compaies $700 Billion US, what difference is a little over $100,000 US going to make? Thank you! I really appreciate your concern and generosity.

XOXO,

Ann Binlot

Typhoon Hagupit Hits!!!

This evening we were told to go home before Typhoon Hagupit, which was at signal no. 8, got worse. Unfortunately, I had to wait outside for 30 minutes for my bus to come. At times when the wind was blowing really hard, the rain drops that were blowing on to my legs felt like tiny pins lightly poking me. Umbrellas flipped out as people walked by, and I even caught a hat blow by and a lady delivering a dish from one restaurant to another one next door lost the lid of her plate. Bus after bus drove by, and I started to wonder if my route got canceled. Luckily, it wasn't. Here's video footage I shot:

Tagalog Lesson: Hagupit

It means lashing, which is a perfect name for a typhoon!

AP: "Typhoon Hagupit Approaches Hong Kong"

What a Signal No. 8 Typhoon Warning Means

Here's what a signal no. 8 typhoon warning means, according to the Hong Kong Observatories website:

Gale or storm force wind is expected or blowing generally in Hong Kong near sea level, with a sustained wind speed of 63-117 km/h from the quarter indicated and gusts which may exceed 180 km/h, and the wind condition is expected to persist.

Action - Complete all precautions now before gales commence. Lock all windows and doors. Fit bars into positions and insert reinforced shutters and gates if available. Adhesive tape fixed to large window panes in exposed positions will reduce damage by broken glass.

Do not stand near windows on the exposed side of your home. Move all furniture and valuables away from these areas. Make sure you have a safe place to shelter, should windows be broken. Now is the time to decide which rooms you will use to shelter if the windows on the exposed side of your home become broken.

Owners of neon signs should arrange for the electricity supply to their signs to be switched off.

Park your car where it is least likely to be damaged.

Avoid staying in the street. Return home as soon as possible if conditions so permit.

Live from Hong Kong, It's Typhoon Hagupit!

I'm trying to post a video I recorded of the current conditions in Hong Kong while waiting for my bus. For now, all you get is this fuzzy photo:

Street Food

Same Name, Different City

Hong Kong has its own Times Square:

At the China Club

Wine School

I was sent out to cover a Barry Bros. & Rudd Saturday wine school course. I learned all your standard wine basics, like grape varieties, how to judge appearance, nose and palate and wine jargon like grand cru, cuvée and domaine, and various wine regions around the globe.

1st Flight

1. 2005 Fume Blanc, Robert Mondavi Winery, Napa Valley, California, United States
2. 2007 Pinot Grigio Verduzzo Masianco Masi, Italy
3. 2006 Fleurie Domain Andre Colonge, Beaujolais, France
4. 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Wolf Blass Yellow Label, South Australia, Australia
5. 2000 Ch. Gruaud-Larose, 2eme Cru, St. Julien, Bordeaux, France

2nd Flight

1. 2003 L'Ecole No41 2003 Columbia Valley, Washington, United States
2. 1999 Ch. La Conseillante, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France
3. 2006 Sancerre, Damain Adre Dezat, Loire, France
4. 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Alana Estate, Martinborough, New Zealand

3rd Flight

1. 2006 Chablis, Premier Cru, Fourchaume, Auffray, France
2. 2005 Meursault Les Clous, Bourchard Pere & Fils, Burgundy, France
3. 2004 Art Series Chardonnay, Leeuwin Estate, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia
4. 2006 Pinot Noir, Marlborough, Isabel Estate, New Zealand
5. 2002 Chapelle Chambertin Grand Cru, Pascal Lachaux, Burgundy, France

China Club Lunch

I had lunch at the China Club during the wine course I took:

Hong Kong Taxis

Frozen in Hong Kong

After the opening Don and I went to an ice room located in Balalaika, located in Hotel LKF. I was expecting it to be freezing and I thought everything was made of ice, but it was a disappointment. People wore these cheesy fur coats and it wasn't even that cold! The room had fake ice walls (lame!) and seats made of ice. We acquired a bottle Moët somewhere along the night and continued to imbibe.

Don getting off on the fake ice wall

The two of us scaling the fake ice wall

Don on the real ice seat

Adidas: "Sport in Art"

Last night I attended an opening at the Opera Gallery for Adidas sponsored exhibit called "Sport in Art".

There was lots of Moët

And there was a sculpture of a big boobed chick

And a sculpture of a stretched out man sitting on a bench

And a runner painted on top of a photo of a naked Asian chick (I bet this artist has an Asian fetish!)

And mobile of flying military man birds!

Racist Remark of the Day

Last night at the Adidas opening I started talking to this woman about racism in Hong Kong, and how I've never felt more racism towards Filipinos in my life until I arrived here, and she told me that one of her Chinese friends said something very racist to her when they were at the beach the other day:

"I don't want to be in the sun too much because I don't want to look Filipino."

How HORRIBLE! I happen to like my skin color. I think it's beautiful. And I don't mind getting super dark!

Special Delivery!!

I got a package on my desk with my name on it

And in it was a limited edition tin designed by New York architect Evan Douglis

And in that was a bottle of Chivas 12 yr! Now I can be just like the guys on Mad Men (which you all should watch!) if I'm stressed out or if I need to celebrate at the office!

Naomi Klein on the Global Crises Happening Now

I interviewed Naomi Klein in July, and she said something that I think really relates to the whole financial industry mess going on in the States. It really stuck with me:

"I think we’re in a really powerful political moment right now with all of these crises hitting at the same time. The food crisis, the subprime mortgage crisis, the super high oil prices—and you know all of these crises are really messages telling us that there’s something wrong with the system that created the crisis."

Come on, people, let's help create CHANGE! (Not to sound like Sen. Obama or anything...)

Making Mid-Autumn Festival Wishes Come True

The Hong Kongers told me that during Mid-Autumn Festival you light a candle, make a wish, put it into a boat (in my case, the boat was an empty San Miguel beer carton), and send the wishes off into the water so that they'll come true. Here's a slideshow of Matilda, Suki, David, Chris and me sending our wishes off:

How to Light a Mid-Autumn Festival Lantern

Mid-Autumn Festival

This weekend was Mid-Autumn Festival. Most people got Monday off and apparently it's an excuse to get together with your family, eat, then eat mooncakes. Yes, I figured out why there are mooncakes all over the place!!! People also go to the beach, where they light lanterns, make wishes, and build things with sand, glow sticks, lanterns and candles, in order to celebrate the moon (which was full). In order to get the most authentic experince, I celebrated with my favorite Hong Konger Matilda Chan, her boyfriend Chris and her friends Suki and David. We went to the beach at the Gold Coast to celebrate:

Celebrating at the Gold Coast

Building sand/candle sculptures

Another one

Matilda, David, Suki and Chris building

Me and my lantern

The end of the night (and the lantern!)

The Coolest Soda Bottles

Don't these bottles rock?

When You're Waiting for the MTR (HK's Subway)...

...Just watch TV!

Hong Kong Cool Kids