Halloween coming ...

With Halloween coming tomorrow , this reminds me of something I did . A few years back , I'd put on my Answering Machine (still had a Land-Line then) something that to this Day I haven't forgotten .
That was a time , I recorded for every Holiday a special Message for anybody that called our Phone .

Goes like this :

With special sound effects of noisy Doors & Wind in background .

Heeello , you have reached the " Duschstein Castle " ! All dead People are OUT at the moment , so please leave your " Tombstone " and message .... and we'll " Haunt " you right back ! hahahahaha .. haaaa !

I really think , this was one of my best for Halloween .. except the way I was dressed up to hand out Candy . " Marty Feldmen " character from Young Frankenstein , with a Paperback over my Head .. with two holes cut for the Eyes only and a hidden Flashlight to only light up my Eyes .. whenever I wanted to scare them little Trick/Treaters . Boy , it really did the Job !
hahahahaha .. haaaa !!!

Getting the urge all of a sudden to Travel .

Has anyone been in my Shoes ( I'm sure they have ) and get the traveling Itch ? Well , this I seem to find myself in now . One reason , I guess .. is because Qing is getting her Perm. Green Card and that makes me more at ease for her to go Overseas .

Talking about Overseas , I'm balancing two thought of where ? I have checked Flights to Germany already . As my Mom seems that she can not come to Visit us , so thinking .. she's not that young anymore . Anyway , all my Family ( Cousins and all ) want to see us in the old Fatherland .

Then again , I feel for my LaoPo .. she has been here with me now almost two years and I'm sure misses her Family too . So what is the most logical solution to this ... ? I prefer Germany and there is a good reason for that . Qing's Brother / Wife and her Son will come next year .. after the Son get's the Visa to join us here . On the other Hand , I miss Qing's Parents and I know that is even harder on my Sweetheart .

There is something else that bugs me . That is I have fallen in Love with China and I really miss it . I miss the City ( Shanghai ) the Food and the People . I know I'm somewhat crazy , but I miss the Traffic .. the Noise and the daily Night Life .
I remember Beijing , how the Great Wall almost killed me . Moments that I treasure and grateful for .. ever have been given the chance to see this wonderful/lovely Country that China is . After all , she's given me .. the greatest Treasure of all . My beautiful Wife , what this Blog is all about .

We'll see what will happen in the next couple of Months . I also have to think of my now Business that I took over . Yes , getting older is not making it any easier .. so little time and sooo much to do !

Hockey Night at Staple Centre .

So Saturday did finally arrive , and it was off to see the LA "KINGS" battle the Dallas "STARS" .

Getting there is always a Pain with the Traffic , having 18,000 + Fans fill the Streets of Downtown . First it was finding a place to Park ( away from the Staple Centre own ) at a lesser Price . That of course included walking somewhat , near three four Blocks to the Arena .

Having done all that with thousands of Hockey Fans flooding the Entrance for a Night of some .. what was to be a near Play-off style Game . Dallas , that just the night before beat the Anaheim "Ducks" ( great ) came in with having Won five Games in a row . On the other Hand , the KINGS were on a three Game winning streak .. with back to back Shot-outs ( 5:0 + 2:0 ) . Something had to give . Expecting a close Game also , this is what exactly happened . It was 0:0 til late in the third Period with about 5 minutes to Play .
At that time , I had told Qing already .. what happens when there is a Tie . Here , it was my LaoPo's first Hockey Game and no Goals til the very end . So , here I was looking forward for a Shot-out after the five minutes Over-time .

This wasn't to be and I'm glad though , after all the KINGS recorded a third straight Shot-out .. that no other KINGS Team ever managed to accomplish in their History . So , witness of somewhat of an Historic Moment for both of us .

To the question , did Qing like it ?
Yes she did ! Besides being a little Chilled inside the Ice Rink . If she knew beforehand , she would have brought her heaviest Coat she has in the Closet . Myself , haha .. Tee-Shirt ( which made her worry that I would freeze to Death ) .. but was Okay . What I got out of that actually .. was that She cuddled me during the whole Game . In a way , that was smart from Me .

Wonderful to leave the Place as Winners and that she could see the Crowd ( including  myself ) go Bananas on close calls either ways .. that also included Yelling at the Referee's and calling out "Dallas Sucks" ! What does that Mean .. she asks me ? hahaha

Great time , that we definitely will have a repeat some day .

Ps: Good thing we Ate before the Game .. as I did not like even their Beer Prices .. $ 11.25 a small Beer . They got to be out of their Minds !

Is it Saturday yet ?

This coming Saturday , Qing and I will go see our first Hockey Game together here in the States . First ever for my LaoPo . Is she excited ? Not really sure , but I think ones she'll get a Taste of the Fighti.. I mean Game .. she'll love it .

This brings me to the other day , when Qing told me ; that at work .. her Manager ask my LaoPo ( after she told Her she's going there ) a question that kind of Offends me somewhat . She ask Qing .. " Do you Drink " ? Now , what in the world has that to do with going to a Hockey Game ?


Does this Lady really think , one has to Drink to go to one of those Games ? I guess , anywhere there is a great/good Atmosphere .. their all Drunk . I'm glad she didn't tell that to my Face . I could of ask her back , if she thinks .. all Soccer Fans are Hooligan's also ? While I'm there , might as well throw in the Raider Fans and see what she thinks of them ?


Anyway , looking forward taking my Sweetheart to the Land of .. "California" Ice Hockey . 


Go - Kings - Go !!!

One more thing , it's funny that I happen to receive those Ticket's through the Mail and one of the Ticket's is = Row 8 - Seat 8 . I guess , this is just how it is .. when you get married on 08-08-08 ?
"Seven" is also a Lucky number for the Chinese .. thus , Seat 7 in Section 304 = also "Seven" .

Good old Farmer's Market .

 Boy , it was good to find and spend some time down in Los Angeles's Farmer's Market . First , as I have expected .. was limited Parking everywhere . So being brave , we parked in a Shopping Center .. that had ( from what I could see ) at least three hired Patrol Guys making sure .. whoever parks their Car there , is also going into the Stores not over the Street to Farmers Market . Heck , I took the risk .. as he was looking at us .. we just entered the CVS Store . Staying a few minutes , coming out and checking if the air is clear . It was , so we walked away from the Lot and back again on the other side of the Street to .. you know where .
Parking was allowed for one and a half hours , the Sign posted .. said . Planning on going back and moving the Car later , was our plan .. but of course that was overlooked/forgotten quickly . Three hours plus later our Car was still sitting there , with no Ticket either . GREAT ! Felt like I commited a Crime thought and got away with it . haha

Anyway , not having been there for some .. at least 20 years .. it really hasn't changed much . Lot's of Food of all kinds , quite a mix .. just like the People .. from many different Countries . Sweets around every corner and of course Souvenirs . The little Store , housing the hundreds .. if not thousands of available Hot Chili Sauces . Picking four was some challenge , as I had to answer with each I looked at or picked up to check .. why this one .. to my LaoPo ? All I could come up with .. is ? I don't know ? How can anybody in the World know all of them ? I just look at the Skull/Flames on the Sticker , if I like it .. it's let's try this ! I like when it tells you , don't let it come in contact with your Skin . Sounds like they selling Acid . Guess , one has to use Cast Iron Pot's/Pan's or it will burn a hole in them while Cooking .

After buying some Sweets/unusual Dried Fruits and Ice Cream's of course , couldn't just walk by those on a warm day . Good thing , we had a good Breakfast before leaving Home . Otherwise , we sit down and try oh so many wonderful smelling/looking Treat's .. that seems hundreds of People enjoy .. either for Breakfast or Lunch . These Places are Packed everywhere . Almost looks like they are giving the Food away Free , when it fact .. nothing is really cheap there . Then again , $ 11 for Ice Cream for two .. is better then San Diego $ 24 for three . Makes you think , where is a Thrifty Store of old ?

So sneaking back to the Car , it was my Idea to show Qing the Staple Centre .. as we are going there .. to see the Kings ( Ice Hockey ) . First time for my LaoPo , so need to tell her some of the Rules beforehand .. so she at least follows somewhat .. whats happening on the Ice .

Going home , was up the old/pretty 110 Freeway towards Pasadena and Home from there . Wonderful Weekend ones more , then again .. why wouldn't it be ? Being with/near my Sweetheart is always Wonderful , yes .. even Shopping with Her .

Seems strange .. somewhat ?

Now that it's only Qing-Myself and Columbus at Home , there seems something is missing . It's almost , like what do we do with ourselves after Work ? There is no more Building to do in the Backyard ( all done ) and no Travel plans for Sister In-law to make .

I know , Qing has yet to see many places of interest in California .. so I guess it's back to what she would really like to see/visit .

The first place I thought of , was Farmer's Market in Downtown Los Angeles . I haven't been there in some twenty years or so . All I remember , is the place they sell ( one can actually taste ) some 500-1000 different Hot Sauce's from all over the World . All marked by a Scale of 1-10 on the Heat factor . That's funny , as some I remember .. are so Hot .. I'd thought I will die right there . Ohhh .. they warn you of course , only use one drop of this and that . I think , those are at least a "50" on my Scale . Just sniffing the top of the Bottle , is enough for the very Hot . This is why , they all have a Skull pasted on them .. makes a lot of sense .

Qing will like it , as there are dozen's of other Stores .. from Food-Produce-Clothes-Sweet's-Ice Cream to Tourist/Gift items . It will be Fun !!

Other then this , only going tomorrow to the Immigration Office for Finger Prints and Photo taking for Qing's Green Card . Also to the DMV for her License with proof of the Green Card extension , so she'll get her 10 year Lic. instead of the Temp.

Time to take it easier .. I guess ?

The Visitor has left the Building .

So yesterday , our Sister In-law's two week stay came to an end .

It wasn't an ending one would have looked forward to , hence finding out while checking in her Luggage .. her Plane will leave LAX three (3) hours late . Nice , when they tell you to be at the Airport three hours early .

Anyway , she has enjoyed her stay/visit with us tremendously . Starting out on her arrival day ( morning hours ) , first thing we took care off .. was go and see two Houses that we were waiting for her to see and choose one of them . I of course had made up my mind already on one , but it is her buying .. so need her final approval . This was done in a few hours and we placed an " Offer " seven K's over the asking price . Why ? Because our first offer on an House before wasn't strong enough and we lost a nice House then . So this was going to be different , if someone wanted it .. they had to beat us with more . Now this/our offer is with the Bank , waiting for their approval .. which looks good of course .. but takes time . It is a Short Sale and time is in the Banks hand .

This out of the way , we now could concentrate on other more joyful things to pass our time .

In the two weeks , besides heavy Shopping .. we did do many wonderful relaxing Dinners .. after getting to places she wanted to Visit . From Hollywood to Venice Beach to Santa Monica .. Pasadena to San Diego . Most of it was done on weekends , as I had to work during the week . Having only two full weekend , kind of limited us for any further Trip which might have included an over-night stay away from Home .

Back at Home , what surprised me the most .. was .. not ones did we eat Chinese Food . It was Western Dishes everytime we ate at Home . We did manage to take her to an Asain Buffet though , one of our favorites .

Overall , it was great .. especially .. since she speaks English and Shanghainese . So never short for any words here .
Now , waking up this morning and not seeing her at the Breakfast table .. seems kind of strange . Funny , how it effects us .. like almost .. did it really happen or did I just wake up from a Dream ?

Ahhh .. at least it wasn't Qing leaving ! Having anybody else saying goodbye til next time is easy to overcome . With Qing and myself , we did our suffering .. not looking to ever repeat that period of our Life's apart by a large Ocean .

Here are a few Photo's from our time together .