I'm heading up to San Fran in about 12 hours.
I've been back in the US for just over a week, but jet lag has really slowed me down. But I'm doing everything to ensure that my three months' worth of experiences in Asia will continue to influence me for a long time.
Given that the Pope is joining the Moonies and the Republican Party (both the main US party and the puppet branch party in South Korea) in calling for extermination of all LGBTs worldwide, I had to make sure to cut all my ties to the Pope's biggest corporate sponsor, BMW, in a timely manner. As BMW had also supported Bill O'Reilly and his calls to destroy San Francisco, I had to get a more conscionable car in order to be able to make the drive tomorrow. My 3-series was sold at a pittance, primarily due to the tanking economy caused by policies and politicians supported by BMW worldwide.
As previously indicated here and at my main blog, the replacement vehicle is a Hyundai Genesis, which reflects the cooler heads prevailing among the everyday South Koreans, as well as the spirit of Kwan Yin that I had soaked up during my Asian sojourn. I even named the car Gwaneum One (Gwaneum being the Korean pronunciation of Kwan Yin), and ordered a vanity plate to that effect. Its luxury amenities are outstanding. I got to use Gwaneum One's car phone for the first time, when my BMW dealership called my cell phone for a service reminder, and the call was routed via Bluetooth to the car; I was very happy to ask to be taken off their phone list due to the sale of my old car.
This trip will primarily be a photo op for my new car, but will also lead me to Sarah and Kirsten's church in Berkeley. I'll also get some inspirations from other places, just like Seoul and Hong Kong provided me with many unexpected inspirations.
22 December 2008
10 December 2008
Looking forward to the end of the year
My lengthy Asian sojourn is nearing its end. Before I know it, I'll be back in California, where some ass-kicking will have to take place, starting with the retirement of my BMW.
When I get the Hyundai Genesis as the replacement car, I'll need to spend some time to break it in. My original plan was an overnight trip to Las Vegas. However, after doing my fair share of gambling here in South Korea (and doing pretty poorly while at it), I decided to scratch that. Most likely, I'll try to go to San Francisco right after Christmas.
This should give me an excuse to write out a new interview, replacing my initial plans for visiting Kirsten in Hollywood. I'll probably change the date slightly to Christmas Eve or something, and drive to Sarah's parents' place. There, I'll find Kirsten's new red Audi A4, with some lesbian pride bumper stickers and the vanity plate reading "SAPPHIC" - I'll immediately know that it's hers. I'll find out that the car is only a month old, but the plate is already on it, having been transferred from Kirsten's own retired BMW. Initially, it'll be just Kirsten and me - but Sarah will arrive a bit later, returning from another flight assignment. I haven't figured out if I want to have Sarah's parents join us, however. I might have an interesting talk with Sarah's mother, as she shares her memories of raising Sarah, as well as some trivia about Grandpa Warren.
This should be an interesting scene, and a way for me to get to know all my key characters. But I must finish my Sarah interview from Hong Kong first.
When I get the Hyundai Genesis as the replacement car, I'll need to spend some time to break it in. My original plan was an overnight trip to Las Vegas. However, after doing my fair share of gambling here in South Korea (and doing pretty poorly while at it), I decided to scratch that. Most likely, I'll try to go to San Francisco right after Christmas.
This should give me an excuse to write out a new interview, replacing my initial plans for visiting Kirsten in Hollywood. I'll probably change the date slightly to Christmas Eve or something, and drive to Sarah's parents' place. There, I'll find Kirsten's new red Audi A4, with some lesbian pride bumper stickers and the vanity plate reading "SAPPHIC" - I'll immediately know that it's hers. I'll find out that the car is only a month old, but the plate is already on it, having been transferred from Kirsten's own retired BMW. Initially, it'll be just Kirsten and me - but Sarah will arrive a bit later, returning from another flight assignment. I haven't figured out if I want to have Sarah's parents join us, however. I might have an interesting talk with Sarah's mother, as she shares her memories of raising Sarah, as well as some trivia about Grandpa Warren.
This should be an interesting scene, and a way for me to get to know all my key characters. But I must finish my Sarah interview from Hong Kong first.
08 December 2008
Update from Seoul
Although I'm back in South Korea in relative peace, I am not feeling good.
The treasonous Republican colonial government and/or its supporters (either within South Korea or in the Korean-American community) appear to have placed a virus in my laptop, and it's severely hampering my ability to go online and access certain types of content. They are chickens, so they won't just put up a firewall along the lines of those in China and Muslim nations just yet. (South Korea does operate a firewall, but they are, officially, only for North Korean websites.) Of course, if I were a South Korean, or a long-term foreigner with South Korean alien registration, it could be worse, as the authorities would have my current address at all times, and could arrest me at will.
My time management is falling apart as a result. A short blog post with a few photos could easily take two hours to complete and post, due to the timeouts and delays. I canceled all plans for today, including my meditation commute, since late-night blogging tends to really cut my sleeping time.
I guess I could spend part of today doing some Sarah-related writing, namely work on the Hong Kong dinner scene, if I am not too PO'd. But other things I want to post here, including tons of Kwan Yin photos from Hong Kong, will not work out until I am back stateside. Fortunately, that is not too far away. Sure, back in California, I must continue to live with the consequences of the devastating actions of South Korea's government and the Korean-Americans - including Proposition 8 - but I do look forward to getting rid of my BMW.
At that point, I will also do a lunch interview, right in Hollywood, with a pregnant Kirsten at her place, with our BMW retirements (and new replacement cars) as initial conversation pieces. Kirsten's car will have a vanity plate reading "SAPPHIC" - it could only be hers. I'll probably have Sarah, returning from another flight assignment, join us toward the end. And at least one among the three of us will make a religious analogy to me and Kirsten; Kirsten will be compared to Virgin Mary for her ability to bear a child without a man's help, while I'll certainly be compared to Kwan Yin, for my similarities to Kirsten (paralleling Kwan Yin's own similarities to Virgin Mary) while being transgender.
The treasonous Republican colonial government and/or its supporters (either within South Korea or in the Korean-American community) appear to have placed a virus in my laptop, and it's severely hampering my ability to go online and access certain types of content. They are chickens, so they won't just put up a firewall along the lines of those in China and Muslim nations just yet. (South Korea does operate a firewall, but they are, officially, only for North Korean websites.) Of course, if I were a South Korean, or a long-term foreigner with South Korean alien registration, it could be worse, as the authorities would have my current address at all times, and could arrest me at will.
My time management is falling apart as a result. A short blog post with a few photos could easily take two hours to complete and post, due to the timeouts and delays. I canceled all plans for today, including my meditation commute, since late-night blogging tends to really cut my sleeping time.
I guess I could spend part of today doing some Sarah-related writing, namely work on the Hong Kong dinner scene, if I am not too PO'd. But other things I want to post here, including tons of Kwan Yin photos from Hong Kong, will not work out until I am back stateside. Fortunately, that is not too far away. Sure, back in California, I must continue to live with the consequences of the devastating actions of South Korea's government and the Korean-Americans - including Proposition 8 - but I do look forward to getting rid of my BMW.
At that point, I will also do a lunch interview, right in Hollywood, with a pregnant Kirsten at her place, with our BMW retirements (and new replacement cars) as initial conversation pieces. Kirsten's car will have a vanity plate reading "SAPPHIC" - it could only be hers. I'll probably have Sarah, returning from another flight assignment, join us toward the end. And at least one among the three of us will make a religious analogy to me and Kirsten; Kirsten will be compared to Virgin Mary for her ability to bear a child without a man's help, while I'll certainly be compared to Kwan Yin, for my similarities to Kirsten (paralleling Kwan Yin's own similarities to Virgin Mary) while being transgender.
02 December 2008
Leaving Hong Kong
I'm logging on from Hong Kong's airport departure area, having checked in and cleared immigration. I'm at the gate, which has yet to see my Seoul-bound Asiana flight come in.
Some photos as I made my way (reminders of Sarah, of course):
I'm awaiting the Airport Express at Kowloon Station. This sign shows that these airlines have check-in counters that are nearer to the front of the train. Interesting Chinese names for various airlines, most of which, despite being proper names, are translated into Chinese equivalents.
Yes, Sarah's airline is listed here. United's Chinese name here translates into "Union Airline Company." The "American" label is often added to the front, in following with Chinese-style airline conventions, and to differentiate United from a similarly-named domestic airline in China.
I'm in the departure area. Mostly the traffic here is Cathay Pacific, which calls Hong Kong home. A good number of Dragonair flights are also around; Dragonair is Cathay's subsidiary in charge of Cathay's flights into mainland China. However, in this photo, I am seeing two EVA Air widebodies, operated by Taiwan's Evergreen Group; Taiwanese airlines operate lots of flights to Hong Kong, and Taipei is only just over an hour away. While EVA Air couldn't name itself Evergreen Airlines due to a US-based cargo airline of the same name already in existence, its Chinese name is indeed Evergreen.
And of course, in the far distance, I can see Sarah's airline. That 747 in the older paint scheme will operate as United 862 to San Francisco later today. And according to my dinner scene here in Hong Kong, Sarah should be working that flight today. Glad to feel her presence right here, though in reality, I never saw a single redhead around in Hong Kong. Granted, there are lots of Westerners in Hong Kong, far more than in Seoul, and they come in lots of different hair colors. But nevertheless, I never saw a single redhead. Sarah will surely stand out here due to her height and her hair color, even though mainland Chinese women, particularly those from the north, are also known to occasionally get even taller than Sarah.
Interestingly, here in Hong Kong, United shares check-in counters with Korean Air, the one airline that I'll never fly on. And there is a Korean Air 747 right next to my gate. (And my Asiana plane, also a 747, is coming in right now.)
Once I return to Seoul, I won't be doing much until I return to the US, as I am utterly fed up with the government there. At least I'll have plenty of time to do some writing - including finishing up the dinner scene.
Some photos as I made my way (reminders of Sarah, of course):
I'm awaiting the Airport Express at Kowloon Station. This sign shows that these airlines have check-in counters that are nearer to the front of the train. Interesting Chinese names for various airlines, most of which, despite being proper names, are translated into Chinese equivalents.Yes, Sarah's airline is listed here. United's Chinese name here translates into "Union Airline Company." The "American" label is often added to the front, in following with Chinese-style airline conventions, and to differentiate United from a similarly-named domestic airline in China.
I'm in the departure area. Mostly the traffic here is Cathay Pacific, which calls Hong Kong home. A good number of Dragonair flights are also around; Dragonair is Cathay's subsidiary in charge of Cathay's flights into mainland China. However, in this photo, I am seeing two EVA Air widebodies, operated by Taiwan's Evergreen Group; Taiwanese airlines operate lots of flights to Hong Kong, and Taipei is only just over an hour away. While EVA Air couldn't name itself Evergreen Airlines due to a US-based cargo airline of the same name already in existence, its Chinese name is indeed Evergreen.And of course, in the far distance, I can see Sarah's airline. That 747 in the older paint scheme will operate as United 862 to San Francisco later today. And according to my dinner scene here in Hong Kong, Sarah should be working that flight today. Glad to feel her presence right here, though in reality, I never saw a single redhead around in Hong Kong. Granted, there are lots of Westerners in Hong Kong, far more than in Seoul, and they come in lots of different hair colors. But nevertheless, I never saw a single redhead. Sarah will surely stand out here due to her height and her hair color, even though mainland Chinese women, particularly those from the north, are also known to occasionally get even taller than Sarah.
Interestingly, here in Hong Kong, United shares check-in counters with Korean Air, the one airline that I'll never fly on. And there is a Korean Air 747 right next to my gate. (And my Asiana plane, also a 747, is coming in right now.)
Once I return to Seoul, I won't be doing much until I return to the US, as I am utterly fed up with the government there. At least I'll have plenty of time to do some writing - including finishing up the dinner scene.
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