Understated Elegance

This beauty was spotted on our ferry at 3pm in the afternoon.

No, she (yes, SHE) was not a clown.  They aren't pajamas or hospital scrubs.  It was a legitimate outfit (in her mind) that she wore with a straight face...on a Thursday afternoon.

Street Art in DB

You've gotta love DB-ers.  Someone decided to create this street art (?) near the ferry.  I'm not sure what to make of it...but think it's totally blog-worthy.

You've Got (no) Mail

One of the things I miss most about living in the States?  Getting mail.  We don't get any mail here - and what we do get is total crap.  We get bills, about 10 circulars from real estate agencies (all showing the same 20 properties) and 5 completely random, typo-riddled fliers from contractors and illegal massage parlors.  We also get the latest version of InsideDB - a "magazine" (not sure it qualifies) that is so boring I don't even bother opening it anymore.  (I stopped when I found a typo in their cover story headline! How hard is it to proof your cover?!)

Oh how I remember the days of mindlessly throwing out my J Crew and Pottery Barn catalogs. Now when I'm back in the States I covet them and try not to flip through them all at once.  No more excitement when my Vanity Fair or New York Magazine arrives (because they don't ship to HK).  No more "We know you like this [insert Magazine or Store here], so we thought you might enjoy [insert Magazine or Store here]."  Not even a freakin menu!

Just my lonely little metal mail box filled with air.

Secret Ziplock Stashes (and the People Who "Guard" DB)

Here is another random, bizarre element of Discovery Bay... Have a look at the pictures below and note the Ziplock bag containing some sort of pamphlet inside, which is zip-tied to the railing. 

This is one of many secretive little stashes that can be found hidden in spots around my neighborhood.  This one is pretty conspicuous.  Most are hidden behind shrubbery or between slats in a fence.  I've even seen one hidden up underneath someone's window!

They came to my attention when I saw a guard writing in one with her stubby little golf course pencil (also attached via string to zip lock bag) and then furtively stuff it back in in and walk away like nothing happened.  I was very curious, but late for the ferry so I didn't stop to check it out.  Now, when I'm out walking Victor, I see these little hot pockets hidden everywhere!  In our neighborhood alone (La Costa, for all you DB-ers reading this), I've spotted at least six.

So what on earth is kept inside these sandwich bags?!  Is it a census - are they keeping track of the number of bike-riders and dog-walkers they see in a given day?  Or is it a weird version of a time card - seems like a clandestine spot for punching in on the clock.  Or is it their way of tracking anything out of place - like "3:20pm Friday - child's bicycle leaned up against house #12"?? It's all in Chinese, so I can't tell.

Whatever it is, I love that they're storing it in Ziplock bags out in the open.  Cutting edge storage system, don't ya say?!

Cheeky and Chuffed

Sounds like the title of a really bad porn, but these are actually terms used in everyday life around here.  If you're ever traveling abroad or are a total Cliff Clavin (a know-it-all who knows just enough about a topic to show off at a dinner party), here's a few more you should know:

Cheeky:
~A way someone acts that is cute and desirable
~An annoying person who plays sneaky tricks on people
~A bit on the mischievous side
Usage: "Did you see the way she winked at my boyfriend?  Cheeky bee-atch."
**Full disclosure, I'm not even sure I used it correctly there.  It's like Italian - I know it when I hear it, but struggle to speak it.

Chuffed:
~ Delighted, pleased, satisfied
Usage: "I was quite chuffed when the scale showed I'd lost 5 lbs."

Happy Days:
OK, get The Fonz out of your head.  It's more like...
Usage: "I will go on this diet because I want to get healthy and if I just so happen to lose weight - happy days!"

Much like "mate" it's very hard to get away with saying these things if you're American.  I've started saying "happy days" but won't go near "cheeky" or "chuffed".  Just can't do it...  To clarify, I would *like* to say them, but it would sound forced coming from me.  It's like hot pants or a string bikini - I'd love to wear them, but just shouldn't.

While we're on the topic, you'll find that Aussies say:

"Good on you" instead of "good for you"

"How are you going?" instead of "How are you doing?"

They also love to shorten things and will say "uni" instead of university and "dero" instead of "derelict" which apparently is a common insult to throw around Down Under.

And that concludes today's anthropological language study...

Hamburger: Used or Unused?

Perusing the menu at our local Japanese restaurant and came across the following:

Call me crazy, but I prefer my hamburger unused.  :(

April 9, 2011

The stand-off is over. 

The duffel bag was put away (and not by me). 

Are you as relieved as I am?