Week 6: 5/8/05

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFCC80" TEXT="#080000" background="67cc8b83.jpg"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Random Things to Make You Giggle"><B>Random Things to Make You Giggle</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id77.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hong Kong Disneyland"><B>Hong Kong Disneyland</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Parkview Apartment"><B>Our Parkview Apartment</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 1: 4/3/05"><B>Week 1: 4/3/05</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 2: 4/10/05"><B>Week 2: 4/10/05</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 3: 4/17/05"><B>Week 3: 4/17/05</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 4: 4/24/05 "><B>Week 4: 4/24/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 5: 5/1/05 "><B>Week 5: 5/1/05 </B></A></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f00000cc00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Week 6: 5/8/05 </B></div> <div> <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 7: 5/15/05 "><B>Week 7: 5/15/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 8: 5/22/05 "><B>Week 8: 5/22/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 9: 5/29/05 "><B>Week 9: 5/29/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 10: 6/5/05 "><B>Week 10: 6/5/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 11: 6/12/05 "><B>Week 11: 6/12/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id53.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 12: 6/19/05 "><B>Week 12: 6/19/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 13: 6/26/05 "><B>Week 13: 6/26/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 14: 7/3/05 "><B>Week 14: 7/3/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 15: 7/10/05 "><B>Week 15: 7/10/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 16: 7/17/05 "><B>Week 16: 7/17/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id64.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 17: 7/24/05 "><B>Week 17: 7/24/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id65.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 18: 7/31/05 "><B>Week 18: 7/31/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id67.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 19: 8/7/05 "><B>Week 19: 8/7/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 20: 8/14/05 "><B>Week 20: 8/14/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id71.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 21: 8/21/05 "><B>Week 21: 8/21/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id74.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 22: 8/28/05 "><B>Week 22: 8/28/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id76.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 23: 9/4/05 "><B>Week 23: 9/4/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id79.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 24: 9/11/05 "><B>Week 24: 9/11/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id80.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 25: 9/18/05 "><B>Week 25: 9/18/05 </B></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Australian Sunrise" ><B>Welcome to Chase family planet!</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Australian Sunrise" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >    |    </FONT> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome to Chase family planet!">home</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Adventures in Asia">Adventures in Asia</A>   ·   <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us">Contact Us</A></div> <bR> <div> Week 6: 5/8/05 </div> <div> <B>Hello Fellow Warriors!</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Well, that's what I feel like after all that we "conquered" this week! Monday in Hong Kong was a holiday, Labour Day. Of course, Michael had to work that day, as it was a major milestone for him: The handover of the theatre! "Huh?", you say? That means that the construction of the building that Mike's show will be performed in has been completed, and now the interior starts to take shape, as lights, speakers, sets, and everything else that turns an empty building into a theater is installed. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Lifestyles of the not-so-rich but oh-so-famous</B> </div> <bR> <div> Back in another lifetime when my job description did not include changing diapers and wiping runny noses, I actually used to work for Disney as well. My primary job was for the (at the time) two Disney hotels, coordinating wholesale reservations for large tour operators. It was madness and a constant race against time but I loved it. However, the thing I loved most was that at the same time I also got the chance to work through the Disney University, teaching orientation to bright eyed and enthusiastic new "cast members" (as Disney employees are called) as well as a class where I trained trainers how to train other new cast members (go ahead, say that out loud, it's just fun). As a result, I got a lot of exposure, leading a class of 15 to 40 people every couple of weeks or so. It's was hard to remember everyone that I came into contact with, but they remembered me. And in the strangest places, people would come up to me and say "aren't you Heather Rose?" (yes, I was very young when I married and thought keeping my maiden name would be "cool", especially since Heather Rose is a cool name. Now married nearly a decade, I think it's a pain and a half, especially since filling out forms takes a long time thanks to my four names, and my last name isn't the same as my children's so I now feel a little awkward like I'm in limbo between two families. But hey, when I start getting published, Heather Rose Chase will have a nice ring to it). So anyway, it seemed everywhere I went, my name preceded me. I would show up at an event, and be asked my name at the door, and upon answering, the response was always "<I>You're</I> Heather Rose?". It was so incredibly strange. It got so bad that my friend JoAnne and even her husband (followed by my own husband) began teasing me, saying "Are you <I>THE</I> Heather Rose?". I remember thinking at the time that I wouldn't be cut out for the celebrity life - I value my privacy way too much (not that you'd know that by all I'm willing to spill here!). I had forgotten all about those days back at Disney until this week, while Michael's sister Holly was here staying with us. </div> <bR> <div> Everywhere we went this week, we were asked to be photographed. I had a lot of experience with people wanting to photograph Nathan when he was a baby in Japan, but no one has ever necessarily wanted <I>me</I> in the picture! This week, we got mobbed. We went to Avenue of the Stars, which is similar to California's Hollywood Boulevard with stars and handprints in the sidewalk along the waterfront of Victoria Harbour. We weren't even a block away from the Ferry when a group of teenage boys asked to take a photo with me. A few steps further, and a family sweetly asked if they could take all of our photos, the kids included. I didn't mind it when people were polite about it and asked, but we had a couple of "paparazzi" types that would be sneaking photos of us and then act like they were just standing there doing nothing. Or the worst thing was people trying to grab the kids to take their picture. Benjamin will not go with strangers without screaming a heartwrenching "Ma-Ma!" while instant tears run down his face. In fact, many times he won't even go with his dad! So it was making me quite upset to have people grabbing at him and crouching down to hold him and then try to take a photo. Nathan is in a bit of a rebellious stage when it comes to taking photos, so whenever someone would try to takes his photo, he'd turn his back or scowl or even growl at them. Finally one wise young lady bribed him into smiling for a photo with her by giving him a huge chocolate bar. His smile was just as huge, as he held a mushy, melting chocolate bar in the hot, humid, sun. Bleh. And it wasn't just the blue eyed blondes that the mobs were after. Holly had one gentleman who appeared to be traveling with his family, a wife (sister?) and a young daughter (niece?), who took half a dozen photos with her while we were waiting for the fireworks show to begin in Victoria Harbour. Then, figuring his camera wasn't enough to truly capture her beauty, he grabbed one of the roaming professional photographers, who took another photo of Holly with him, and then had it blown up to 8x10 size. He and his wife and daughter all thanked Holly profusely and were so polite about it, it was hard to know whether to be incredibly flattered or a little creeped out. Now that the big holiday week is over, I'm hoping the fans will pull back a little! It's a lot of pressure to be fabulous all the time, you know? </div> <bR> <div> <B>Speaking of Fabulous...</B> </div> <bR> <div> I have been saying for about five months that I need to get a hair cut. I don't really do much with my hair, but thanks to the wonderful hair-baker, uh, I mean hair dryer, here at the Parkview that I used for a week, my hair has started looking really damaged and unhealthy. So, due to an unexpected day home for Mike (more about that later) I got shipped off to the hair salon for a new 'do. Out of two thousand hair salons in Hong Kong, I chose the one with the coolest website and made my appointment. The salon was amazing, I was given a kimono robe to put on, a stack of magazines, and a menu with forty choices of beverages. I was looking at the giant photographic murals on the walls that depict the hair stylists, when a man walked up to me and I realized it was the same guy on the wall. First, he took inventory of my hair, inspecting it and the damage. He brushed it and combed it and played with it and I tried to tell him what I wanted, nothing dramatic, just a trim and a tiny, tiny, amount of layers. He said okay, and another man led me to the shampoo area and the most incredibly comfortable loungers I've even laid on. Not only did I get a shampoo and conditioner, but a full scalp massage. I could barely walk back to the stylist chair, I was so relaxed! Then, yet another man came and combed out my hair, and started blow-drying it just a little. The original man from the mural came back with scissors and began sculpting my hair, snipping all over the place, hair flying and metal clicking. It was almost like a cartoon, he was moving around so much it was getting blurry. Well, part of the blurriness has to do with me being blind without my glasses on, but I promised myself I wouldn't freak out no matter how bad the haircut was, as this was just way too much fun. After the cutting was done, one more man began combing a conditioning treatment through my hair. He wrapped it in Saran Wrap and then placed a machine over my head that spun slowing around my scalp like I was the planet Saturn and it was my ring. Then I got a second shampoo and scalp massage, followed by a styling session unlike any I've experienced before. In the end, my hair is exactly how I wanted it, nothing fancy, just easy to take care of in the limited time I have to devote to it. And it only took three hours and a team of six men to get it that way! </div> <bR> <div> <B>Honey, I don't feel so good...</B> </div> <bR> <div> Monday was a holiday which meant Nathan was home from school but Mike was compelled to show up at the office, being day one of installation. Holly, the boys and I explored the Kowloon side of Hong Kong, and dined on suckling pig and goose for lunch while the boys had hot dogs. After my little bout with a stomach bug while Mike was in America, I'm so cautious about what I eat. But it wasn't me who got sick. In the middle of the night, Mike woke me up with the sounds of someone who has a seriously angry stomach. For most of the night Michael was based in the bathroom. The next morning he felt like he'd been run over by a dragon parade, and when I took his temperature he had a fever. Throughout the day on Tuesday, nothing stayed in him for very long. By Tuesday night, things we're not looking any better. He seemed very out of it, and when I took his temperature again at Midnight and it registered at 104.5, I told him we were going to the hospital. All I can say is <I>thank goodness Holly was here! </I>If we were alone here, I would have had to wake the kids and drag them along too at midnight. The nearest hospital is within walking distance, but Mike was in no shape to walk, just getting him into a taxi proved to be a difficult task. Upon arrival, the hospital seemed deserted. I poked my head in a window labeled "information" and found a lady who got Michael registered. We were told it would be $800 Hong Kong Dollars to be seen by the urgent care doctor. $800 HK is roughly $100 US, and I thought it would be worth that to get some meds that would stay in Mike. So we were led down a hallway and told to wait on a bench. Finally a nurse and a doctor showed up, both dressed in biohazard gear (well, not quite, but close). They both spoke English, but since they were wearing face masks, it proved nearly impossible to decipher what they were saying. Michael was pretty out of it, so it fell on me to give Mike's medical history and the long list of prescription medications that he takes and what the doses are and what they do (the doctor had never heard of two of them). </div> <bR> <div> Then the doctor said that Mike would need to be admitted. This shocked me, as back in California, Mike probably would have received and IV and some medication and then would have been sent home. I called the relocation company coordinator (it's her joyous job to receive the calls at one a.m. when someone is sick) and she told me that it would certainly be in Mike's best interest to be admitted, as these "tropical stomach viruses are nothing to play about with". I wouldn't say that Mike was "playing about" with anything related to his stomach, but this convinced us to stay. Then one minor issue was brought up. Payment. Here you pay up front, you aren't billed, and insurance isn't accepted. We pay up front and then submit documentation via fax back to the heath insurance company in the U.S. and we are reimbursed that way. Which is great, except that being admitted to the hospital costs a lot of money. The nurse showed me a list of options for a "VIP" room, a private room (one bed), semi private (two beds), or standard (three to five beds). Watching poor Michael get up and run for the bathroom in the hallway, I opted for the private room for him at $2,880 Hong Kong dollars, about $375 US dollars. Then we were moved down to and admitting office, Michael groaning and barely conscious. There we were told to cough up $4,800 US. My stomach did a somersault of it's own and I tried to decide if I'd heard correctly or if we were the victim of the surgical mask mix up again. No, it turned out that is what they were asking. The cost of the room alone was $375 as they had quoted me, but they have to take a huge deposit to cover everything else that Mike might have needed. I called the poor lady at our relocation coordination company again and asked if that sounded normal, while Mike grabbed his jacket and said "Let's go". I was not about to let Mike leave, so we looked at our options, which didn't take long. First we (or should I say "I") decided Mike should stay, especially since all our efforts for the past 24 hours had done nothing to stop the constant "tide" in Mike's body. Then, we asked if we could cancel the order for the private room and get him a standard room, in the hopes that the standard room might be close to empty instead of having four other ailing occupants sharing. Getting nervous about the obviously very sick man with his obviously very stressed wife sitting at her desk, the admitting lady called the duty manager, who said that they could give us a "special" - a semi private room with one other person at the four-other-person price. This was a considerable bargain, as that meant we only had to fork over $1,400 US instead of the original $4,800 they were asking for. We still had a slight problem, as our credit card just expired, and the replacement card arrived at our P.O. Box in Paso Robles, but was no use to us there. We had the money in our savings account, but there are no handy Washington Mutual's around Hong Kong, especially not one open at 1:00 a.m. So, knowing we had only about $400 in our checking account, we handed over our debit card and prayed that it would somehow go through. It did, and we were ushered to a room with a man whose appendix had burst. I perused the patient dining menu, and was totally repulsed by what I saw. I thought American hospital food was bad, but this was a menu of "foods of the world" and could not imagine being so sick and ordering sautéed shrimp with spicy fish balls in a porridge (which was listed under the "bland diet recommendations"). When Mike was dressed in his very stylish hospital jacket and pants and an IV was quietly dripping away to rehydrate him and the shots of anti-nausea medicine and antibiotics began to work their magic, I made my hasty departure to rush home and transfer $1400 to our checking account online. </div> <bR> <div> Holly had planned to go to Macau the next day (Wednesday if you're keeping track) and I encouraged her to go anyway. Macau is small country that is another "Special Administrative Region" to China, just like Hong Kong. We'll go sometime in the future and we'll let you know all about it, but I'll tell you now that Holly loved it. Around 1:00 p.m., Mike called to say he had been released and he was getting into a taxi to come home. I put him straight to bed, then put Ben down for his nap and I crashed too. </div> <bR> <div> Thursday Mike was still having a fever but his stomach was no longer in peril. I still made him stay home from work since he was still pretty week. We had tickets for that evening to see a Cantonese opera, and the poor guy was subjected to multiple temperature takings and several gallons of Gatorade before I'd consent to let him come with us. By Friday, he was all better in time to go back to work. Lucky him! </div> <bR> <div> <B>"Cantonese Opera" is the Chinese word for "Bleeding Eardrums"</B> </div> <bR> <div> Holly is a huge fan of Cantonese Opera and she was desperate to see one while she was here. I've been told that if you look hard enough, you can always find one somewhere in Hong Kong. I found one, but it turned out to just be a concert of opera songs, not a performance with costumes and makeup. We went to the Hong Kong Cultural Arts center and a man hooked us up with tickets for a show being put on by the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts, the same Academy that put on the Fantasticks show we saw. The tickets were almost free, less than $4 US apiece, so off we went to the east side of Hong Kong Island. Cantonese Opera is unlike anything I've experienced before. Well, I take that back. I live with two small, noisy, children and the fights that they get into are about as loud and disconcerting as what we were hearing onstage. Mike and I made it to intermission (but only barely) before we had to bow out to save our hearing while we could. Holly, as I mentioned, has had a lifelong dream to see Cantonese Opera, and even had the opportunity to have her face painted and her hair and costume done so she could dress up like an opera princess. So we encouraged her to stay. But Mike and I found a small, very quiet French restaurant to sit and have a late dinner (Mike's first "real" food all week) while our ears continued to buzz. When we got home, our babysitter asked where we had gone. We showed her the program which was all in Chinese. Reading it, she said "You saw <I>this</I>?", and then started laughing so hard. She said "Pretty costumes, not pretty sound", and that about summed up our "once in a lifetime" experience with Cantonese Opera! </div> <bR> <div> <B>Let's Hear it for the Weekend!</B> </div> <bR> <div> Other than our flight into Hong Kong, the boys and I have never been to Lantau Island, which is where Hong Kong Disneyland is being built. We've been waiting for an excuse to go exploring there, and having Holly with us was perfect. Almost every day this week was overcast and foggy, but Saturday was incredibly clear so we decided to head up to the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau. This is where you can find one of Hong Kong's most recognizable landmarks, the giant Buddha. Not being Buddhists ourselves, it holds no special meaning for us, but while in Japan we visited the giant Buddha in Kamakura and took baby Nathan's photo in front of it, so we thought it would be cool to take not-so-baby Ben's photo in front of it's Chinese cousin. We put both photos on the website so you could see the differences. The boys enjoyed climbing the 268 steps to the top, and we all enjoyed the breezy South China Sea air from the peak at 2,460 feet, with gorgeous 360 degree views far into the distance thanks to the very rare clear air. On the grounds is the Po Lin Monastery, which conveniently houses a restaurant. We paid for a VIP meal ticket, and sat outside while we dined on various vegetarian Chinese dishes. There was some comfort in knowing that none of the unknown items we were eating were formerly alive and breathing (since we have seen some very strange food here) but as Mike commented later "I feel like I didn't really eat anything, my stomach feels empty. No more vegetarian food for me". Of course, I hardly ever cook meat myself, so he does eat a lot of vegetarian meals on the rare occasion that I actually make us dinner. The bus ride to and from the Monastery was a lot of fun. You are going from sea level to nearly 2,500 feet in roughly 40 minutes up a winding single lane road. The boys loved it! And the views were amazing, so a good time was had by all. </div> <bR> <div> Sunday was Mother's Day, and to all you Mom's out there Happy Mother's Day! For me, it was the best ever. It's such a weird holiday, one I'm still getting used to, having only every been the at the center of the celebration five times in my life to date. As a mom, I feel so much guilt in having a day that you are applauded for simply doing your job. I'm just not used to it! Maybe if it came round more than once a year... Anyway, the day started with the boys giving me a deluge of cards, and a very special gift from Nathan - my very first handmade (by him) piece of beaded jewelry! Blue beads strung in a pattern only Nathan could create made up a necklace and a bracelet. Nathan said he picked blue since it's his favorite color and he wanted me to know it was from him. Then all three of the boys gave me another gift - a gorgeous jade and diamond pendant necklace that probably cost the boys their entire allowance for, say... I don't know... maybe the rest of their lives! I'm astounded at their good taste, and proud of Michael for taking both boys with him... <I>alone</I>... to pick it out and purchase it without any help from me. That right there is an awesome gift! We hurried downstairs to grab a taxi for church, and found that it was raining incredibly hard. We were all dressed in shorts and skirts (the girls in the skirts) and so we rushed back up for raincoats and umbrellas. The doorman was astounded that we would go anywhere in that weather, the sky was black at 9:45 a.m., but it sounded like an adventure to us, so we piled in and headed down the hill. The boys were THRILLED at the wild weather, it was better than any ride at any theme park on earth. The mountain to our left created waterfalls that came rushing down onto the cars, and we couldn't help but think of how the poor California drivers who freak out when it starts sprinkling would handle the deluge we were experiencing! </div> <bR> <div> After church we headed to another major tourist attraction in Hong Kong, the largest floating restaurant in the world (so they say) Jumbo Kingdom. To get to it, you take a "shuttle boat" into Aberdeen Harbour, on the south side of Hong Kong Island. Benjamin fell asleep on the ride, and gave me the nicest Mother's Day gift a mom could want - peace and quiet in a fancy restaurant! We were ushered into a plush "VIP Room" and seated at a huge banquet with comfy velvet pillows, which we laid sleeping Ben on. Although it is billed as a tourist destination and I know lots of foreigners who go there, we were the only ones in the room. We ordered Dim Sum and had fun teaching Nathan how to use chop sticks. We have heard rumors that the food there is only so-so, but everything we ordered was completely delicious and the service was fabulous. We felt like royalty thanks to the incredible serving staff who kept our drinks refilled and made several excellent recommendations. I don't know, maybe they heard how we're the Famous Chase's that everyone has been photographing all over town this week! After lunch we went to the ground floor and walked through the "Seafood Exhibit". This is where you can actually walk through and pick out your lunch while it's still alive. Bleh. After leaving Jumbo, we hired someone to take us for a ride on their sampan, a little boat, through Aberdeen Harbour. This was very strange as we wove in and out of other people's sampans, which are actually their homes. It felt like taking an after dinner stroll through the slums! The water was badly polluted with trash of all sorts, and it felt so intrusive to float past the homes of these people, although many of the small boats had refrigerators and stoves and even antennas for their TV's! Very strange, but the boys enjoyed it and Nathan begged us to go again another day, which I'm sure we will. All in all, a wonderful day for all of us, and doubly special that Holly was here to enjoy it too. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Coming Soon...</B> </div> <bR> <div> The answers to all your frequently asked questions! So if you've got questions, we've got answers! Send 'em along! I even have a prize for whoever sends the best question! But for now, go check out all the awesome pics from this week (including pics of us getting our pics taken, now that's mind blowing!).</div> <bR> <div> <B>Heather, Michael, Nathan, and Benjamin Chase</B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="771" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 382 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="22010680.jpg" border=0 width="272" height="360" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Ben and Heather on the Star Ferry</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="222680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Heather's adoring teenage boy fans.</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 305 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="21a680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Holly at Jackie Chan's Star on Avenue of the Stars</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><bR> <div> <IMG SRC="224680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>  "Mommy, why are you making me do this?"</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 382 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="2260e680.jpg" border=0 width="270" height="360" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> One cool cat.</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="228680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Sunset over Hong Kong Island from the Star Ferry.</div> <div> Two IFC, the tallest building in Hong Kong </div> <div> towers above the rest.</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 308 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="22a680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Nathan at night in Kowloon, </div> <div> Hong Kong Island in the background</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="22c680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Holly's biggest fan, who may or may </div> <div> not be married with a child.</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 430 WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="22e680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Michael models a hospital kimono and the proper way to utilize an emesis basin, should you ever find yourself in a hospital in Hong Kong and are about to loose your lunch.  </div> <bR> <div> Poor guy, I cannot believe he allowed me to take a picture of him so near death, and then let me put it here on the website for all the world to see.  Maybe he still has a fever.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="26055680.jpg" border=0 width="341" height="360" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> This man cut Heather's hair.  </div> <div> A little frightening since the only </div> <div> hair <I>he </I>has is on his chin, but it all </div> <div> turned out okay in the end!</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 415 WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="2320e680.jpg" border=0 width="270" height="360" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> We love this photo of Benjamin, a huge ball of almost two year old energy who can't be still long enough for a photo!</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="234680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> This man was video taping Benjamin on the train to Lantau.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 382 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="2380e680.jpg" border=0 width="270" height="360" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Holly and Nathan at the giant Buddha on Launtau</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="2400e680.jpg" border=0 width="270" height="360" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The Chase's climbing the 268 steps to the top.</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 308 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="23c680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> This is bald baby <B><U>Nathan</U></B>, age 5 months, </div> <div> at the giant Buddha in <B><U>Kamakura, Japan</U></B>, <I>2001</I>.</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="23e680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> This is curly toddler <B><U>Benjamin</U></B>, age 22 months,</div> <div> at the giant Buddha in <B><U>Lantau, Hong Kong</U></B>, <I>2005</I></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 308 WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="242680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The vegetarian meal served to us at the Po Lin Monastery on Launtau Island.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="244680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> What happens when the Chase men eat vegetarian meals.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 398 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="2520e680.jpg" border=0 width="270" height="360" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Nathan with some adoring fans</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="2540e680.jpg" border=0 width="270" height="360" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Benjamin pointing out the warning sign.  </div> <div> Warning us about what, I'm not sure.</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 382 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="2560e680.jpg" border=0 width="270" height="360" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> I'm the great stone dragon Mushu!</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="246680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Traveling by train.</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 308 WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="248680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Nathan demonstrates how to hold on very tightly to the pole while the train is in motion.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="25a680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Happy Mother's Day 2005</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 308 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="24a680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Mother's Day lunch on Jumbo, </div> <div> the world's largest floating restaurant.</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="24c680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The outside of Jumbo, </div> <div> which you access by a shuttle boat.</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 325 WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="24e680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The best Mother's Day gift ever - a baby sleeping through a fancy lunch instead of screaming and throwing food!</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="250680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The Seafood Exhibition on Jumbo - come pick your meal!</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 373 WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="25c680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Welcome to Jumbo!</div> <div> I was excited to realize that four years after my last lesson I can still read the writing in Japanese </div> <div> (lower right hand side).  It kind of took </div> <div> away my bragging rights to have the </div> <div> translation right there in English though...</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="25e680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Our Sampan ride through Aberdeen Harbour.  </div> <div> The small boats are people's "houses".  </div> <div> The tall buildings in the back are government housing, nearly as small as the boats at about </div> <div> 300- 500 square feet apiece.  The waiting list for government housing is almost five years long.</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>