Happy 2011

Here's the thing with "famous" people and their parties:

They might have better signs...

 

They still have awkward drunk girl who can't manage to stay on her feet.

And they still store ice in the tub.

Corrected.

I pulled up to the drive-through at Dunkin' Donuts and ordered a small iced coffee and one glazed donut hole and one chocolate.

The friendly voice from behind the menu said, "Um, do you mean munchkins?"

Yes, yes I did.  Munchkins.

Like a flashlight!

My brother's friends (and their kids) stopped by today for a visit and the Pontius family was in for a real treat.  An impromptu performance of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer by three singers under 4 feet tall.

I almost melted into the couch.

So, so cute.

Cheater.

Against some other people's suggestion, I decided to bring all the leftover cookies from my party to the airport.  Figured I'd give them out in the security line, on the tram, on the plane.

My friends thought I'd have trouble convincing people to bite (pun intended) -- but they were sorely mistaken.  I had a few people turn up their nose, but in general people were excited about cookies.  I mean, duh.

As I got on the plane, two guys in First Class spotted the cookies and said, "Oh, you brought some for everyone!"  I smiled and shrugged my shoulders, "Saawwry, only for Economy Class."  They laughed and said, "We'll send you a drink in return for a cookie."

I agreed that would be awesome and so did the woman behind me.  She butted in and said, "Seat 29F, cranberry and vodka."  I didn't bother telling them I had no idea who she was.

About half way through the flight, I went back up to First Class and offered them a cookie.  They politely declined (they were watching their figure) but wanted to make sure I got my drink.  I told them I hadn't and they said, "What?!  We sent you two.  Who the hell is just taking free drinks?"

That lady, obviously.

I went back to my seat and about 5 minutes later the flight attendant showed up with a cranberry vodka and said, "Purple shirt, blonde hair...you're in 10F...that is nowhere near 29.  And who just takes drinks for something they didn't do?  Sheesh."

Everyone wins really.  But come on lady -- come on.

Coooookies!

As usual, I tried to cram too many things into one day and as I was franticly cleaning dishes/making rice krispy treats/trying to make Pandora work on my TV -- I was second guessing trying to have a party last night.  What was I thinking?

However, once the first guest showed up (with the most amazing gift!) I knew it would all be worth it.  I was having a Christmas cookie party and it couldn't have been a better night.

There was:
Christmas music
Faces I hadn't seen in a month
Footy pajamas on miniature little feet
Instant decorations from the cutest family ever
Sharing old Christmas stories and memories
A surprise visit
and
Warmth, just warmth.


I loved last night.  More than I ever thought I would.

A year in review

Every year for Christmas, my brother and I (ahem, I) make a photo calendar for my parents.  I just take all the random photos of me and my bro from the current year and let iPhoto do the rest. 

Turns out it's a great present for me too!  It's such a cool way to review my year and remind myself of all the awesome things we did in a year.  I suppose it's the equivalent of everyone's new favorite past time of compiling all their Facebook statuses from the year.  Only prettier.

Can't give the whole calendar away, but man those Pontius kids like them some Hipstamatic.

Almost better than a sign with my name on it...

Even as much as Hong Kong loves Christmas decorations and synthesized covers of obscure Christmas music -- I was having a hard time feeling the Christmas Spirit overseas.  Who knew I'd miss too-early stocked Christmas isles in stores and radio stations that play nothing but old Sinatra holiday tunes?  But I did.  And my chauffeur from the airport couldn't have been more thoughtful.

My ride was equipped with:
One cheezy holiday sweater
Christmas music queued in the CD player
Yummy iced coffee
and Rice Krispy Treats!

Such a great homecoming.

Typical.

I'm good at things.  Specifically: making rice krispy treats, swimming and remembering to send thank you cards.

But you know where I particularly excel?  In living everyone's travel nightmares.  In my lifetime, I've missed more flights than I care to admit.  And today was no different.

Frantic packing, impatient navigation through automated phone menus, self loathing, $$$, deep breath, eternity cab ride, deep breath, lines, language barriers, not-so-cheery flight attendant who seemed to be typing her dissertation as she tried to help, deep breath and getting picked for a "special" security screening.  All in a day's work really.

Once I finally squeezed myself into my, since-I-missed-my-first-flight-and-don't-have-a-good-seat, middle chair...I realized this might just be the beginning.  The woman next to me seemed to either not notice there was a human being sitting next to her or simply had no concept of personal space.  She was leaning on me, poking me, elbowing me in the gut.

Normally, I'd sigh and lean away and hope she falls asleep soon.  But today, I couldn't be bothered.  I poked back.  I even ELBOWED back...tried to show who was boss.  She didn't seem to notice, so I closed my eyes and prayed the flight attendant would bring wine.  Quickly.

On the verge of tears (I swear the altitude gets me every time), I noticed the drink cart was almost to our row.  I perked up, ordered my wine, poured the entire little airplane bottle into my cup and closed my eyes for a quick toast to Hong Kong and all the things it had carved into my heart.

As I opened my eyes, I noticed my cup was making a b-line toward my lap and there was nothing I could do.  I just watched it slide, in slow motion, directly off my tray.  Ugh, there were those tears again.  Go away!

YES: High-altitude Eat, Pray, Love was getting the best of me. YES: I'd had a complicated morning. YES: My seat mate was a high-class poker -- but, PLEASE: just keep it together.

Ms. Poker McPokerton grabbed her napkin with ninja speed and threw it in between me and the cup.  Even though some of the wine slowly dripped onto my leg -- she'd saved me from complete disaster.  She hardly made eye contact when I tried to thank her.  But she'd won enough points to warrant a few free pokes for the rest of the flight.

A fountain walks into a bar...

Installing a show is never flawless.  In fact, it would be a little disconcerting if it was.

We have a lot of elements in our Hong Kong show and at some point, each of them hasn't worked properly or somehow has a mind of it's own.

Tonight, we had some fountains that were only half working.  When I texted the vendor to let him know:
Two of the fountains aren't happy.

 He simply wrote back:
Tell them a joke.

Made my day.

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

I had my roommate ship something to my hotel and she added a little surprise present.  So fun. (Thanks, roommate!)  My British (and all male) vendors haven't been on the silly band train and weren't interested in hopping on.  And the rest of the people in the office just looked at me funny when I offered to share with everyone.

BUT....when I came back at the end of the day, someone had created a little rock n' roll scene on my desk.

That snowman is killing it on the guitar.

The Internet is so cool.

One of my favorite local LA performers, Mr. Jim Bianco, did an online "concert" from his apartment today.  It was at 3pm PST, which means I had to roll out of bed at 6:45am HK time.  So worth it though.  I put on the hotel robe, made a cup of tea and set up shop on my sahweet balcony.

There was a realtime chat for people to request songs and have typical, fan-type banter. [Jim, we love you!  When are you coming back to the UK?  Are you wearing pants, LOL!  You're so sexy.] Barf.

At some point he asked who was the furtherest away from LA.  I piped up and typed in Hong Kong.  As he was reading aloud some of the cities, he said, "Hong Kong?!  No way, you're lying.....Rebecca?"

I sort of squealed when he said my name.  Only because my username was rhpontius, not Rebecca.  HE KNEW WHO I WAS!  Probably because I've practically begged him to play every fundraiser/event/party I've ever hosted (and he's actually supported FOEF).

But still...

The Hong Kong Shuffle

I've traveled before.
Driven on the other side of the road.
Followed Look Left crosswalk signs.

It usually takes a couple days to re-adjust...but normally, one catches on to the flow of traffic and avoids getting run over.

Somehow, there's a disconnect in Hong Kong. They drive on the left (that's that, there British influence) but walking traffic is sorely confused.  It's not just the tall white people with their maps and their cameras.  It's little old ladies and kids and business men.

It's willy nilly.
Theres no rhyme. No reason.
Up the stairs on the right, down the stairs on the right...or in the middle or sometimes the left.  
I feel like it makes everyone look a little bit confused all the time.  But it also makes for some awesome dance moves as I shuffle through the crowds.

Yeah, I don't watch The Sopranos...give me a break.

Just discovering the band Alabama3 and really enjoying them.  Thought I was all  -- Hey guys, check out this sweet UK band you've never heard of.  Then a friend (thanks, Josef) reminded me how I'm always one step behind on the music front. Meh, whatever.

First of all, really digging their music.  But also really liking what I found in their ABOUT section on their website:

And we want to make you feel good. We know you've had trouble in your life, real bad trouble. We know you've got debts. We know you've had your heart broken so many times you're still finding pieces of it in your pillow. Maybe you've done some good things in your life, maybe you've done some bad things. We forgive you. Forgive yourself. Then dress up real sexy and come and party with us sometime. We'll look after you.

That's a promise.

Too matchy matchy?

Today I bought socks that match my underwear.  I suppose there will only be a few people that would ever see that.  But I think it's fun(ny).

They're not just white and white, people.  They're aqua with big white stars. Wicked.

Ah, home.

Ran into some travelers on the street last night.  They were asking for advice on a bar with locals instead of guilos.  We tried to send them in the right direction but they were sort of arguing over where to go.  The American of the threesome spoke up:

"There's a sports field over there, let's just grab some beers from 7-11 and hang out in the bleachers."

Classic.

What if I'm wearing a skirt?

I was sort of half listening to my boss and our technical director researching 4D chairs for a new show and it was such a great conversation to hear just bits of.  (4D chairs are theater seats used in theme park shows that move, blow air, spray water, etc.)

Some of the sites were translated from Chinese and were fantastic.

"Okay, this one has ankle ticklers but doesn't have the butt kicker."
"Man, but we need a back poke."
"Oh, they don't even offer the leg tickle."
"This one says it moist his hair and cheek. Perfect."
"Oooo, the leg sweep: Mimic small animal climb trousers inside feeling.  What if I'm wearing a skirt?"

You know you want my job.

Loogies, duh.

Eeeeeeee!

At my apartment, our Love Actually DVD gets some serious play time.  Not just at the holidays, but all year long.  How good is this movie?!

While in HK, we all have local Nokia phones and everyone seems to have left their ringtones on default.  One vendor in particular has the infamous ringtone from the character played by Laura Linney.  In the movie, she is taking care of her brother and her phone is his direct lifeline to her. (If you need a reminder, take a listen.)

Here, every time his phone rings, I lose my concentration for a second and think of Love Actually.  It's a nice little break.  For a moment, I sit and remember one of my favorite moments from the film:  The lovely Laura Linney is awkwardly saying goodnight to her crush and they ultimately decide he should come in.  She tells him she needs just a moment and steps into her stairwell to have a quick holy-crap-is-this-really-happening-I'm-so-excited moment.  It makes my heart flutter.  Every. Single. Time.