Hrm.
Who is Your Ideal TV Boyfriend?
Created by BuddyTV
*points up* Who is that? I know of a show called 'Heroes' but I know nothing about it.
*bounces* I've been cooking! I've been making meals big enough to freeze or at the very least, have for lunch the next day. And it's all been good! Last night was eggplant parmesan. The night before that was steamed veggies with cheese sauce, and purple rice (I have discovered the fun that is food dye!!). Before that? I made chicken chunks in a mango-chutney sauce. *dies* I made a batch of pancakes a few days ago and froze them so I can have them in the morning. And today's success? I made Tempura veggies with home-made Tonkatsu sauce!!! I had an excess of veggies in my fridge that were in danger of going bad so I dipped them in tempura batter (which I made form a very simple recipe) and they turned out really well!) and OH MY GOD SO GOOD! I used veggies I think are not common to tempura - I used the last of the broccoli, snap beans, carrot wheels and celery. My favorite was the carrot, followed closely by the broccoli.
I *like* tempura. I want to try it again and use chicken.
It makes up for the idiocy of today. Not only did the repairman come at 9:30am (and my god, is it not possible to just hit the doorbuzzer once and wait one freaking minute? Must you lean on the button for the entire time it takes me to wake up, throw on a housecoat and stagger to the door still half-asleep?) but he took apart the shoddy outlet, left all the wires exposed and did something so that NONE of the outlets in my bedroom currently work. If I did not have a 10 meter extension cord to plug into the living room, I would be so beyond angry right now, especially since he left the room a mess and failed to return. So yeah, open wires everywhere. *rubs temples* Memo to self - call landlord again tomorrow. I don't care HOW ticked off he gets.
He showed up last night as I was heading out the door to catch a taxi. I *told* him I had to leave but he insisted on coming up to LOOK. Why, oh WHY do people with no expertise in these matters think that LOOKING is going to solve the problem? He wound up calling both the phone company AND the electrician because there was nothing he could do. And I temporarily solved the internet problem myself through judicious use of duct tape. That stuff really does hold the world together. ^^
Anyway, last night was AWESOME. I was invited to attend the 2008 Shanghai New Year Gala Performance in Honor of High Level Talents ad Foreign Experts (as so printed on the ticket and invitation) on behalf of the company, at the Grand Theater.
It was wonderful! They had a wide range of top notch performers, including the Shanghai Symphony, world class violinist Mengla Huang, soloists Liu Lian and Wu Bixia (whom I'm actually a fan of) and so much more. Dn was the other teacher who was invited, and we were cracking comments all the way through the Peking Opera performance of the Drunk Concubine (the makeup and freaky wide-eyed look of intensity she wore scared the crap out of me) and the Inner Mongolia Acobatic Troupe performed the Pagoda of Bowls on High Vehicle - meaning they juggled bowls with their feet while balancing 10 feet in the air on tall unicycles.
The China National Song and Dance Ensemble performed several breathtaking dances - the Peacock dance (which was absolutely gorgeous), and returned later for the Russian Dance (fantastic) and lastly the Spanish Dance which was utterly captivating. The female dancers flowed around the stage in costumes that skimmed the floor and they exerted the most amazing muscle control to appear as if they were hovering at high speed around the stage. It was unbelievable - I was convinced they were wearing roller skates under those gowns. And the men were awesome - mixing formal dancing with gymnastics with official international dances. I want to see them again.
The performance that made me laugh the hardest (internally) though? Believe it or not, was the violin solo by Mengla Huang. He performed Carmen Rouge, and I recognized it as soon as I heard it. If any hard-core Sesame Street fans are reading this, do you remember the segment from the 80's where the orange rolls through the kitchen and develops a face by adding bits of kitchen debris to her 'face' (i.e flower halves for eyelashes, a mop for hair) and then sings Carmen?
*covers face* Yes, I had the singing orange in my head throughout the entire performance. I'm sorry, I couldn't help it.
Anyway, it was a fantastic night (nearly 3 hours long) and Dn and I both fought the urge to snatch the white baseball cap off the idiot who wore it INDOORS at a FORMAL PERFORMANCE at the THEATER. I may the basic manners of a yard-ape, but even I know the basics. Come on.
Oh - to the mother of the two children who sat directly behind me? While I question your decision to bring two young children to this type of performance late at night, I do appreciate the fact that when I asked Wl to translate 'Tell your children to stop kicking my chair!' you made your son stop immediately, and the only time he did it again, you disciplined him right there. THANK YOU. You get a Parenting Gold Star.
Gotta go. Tutoring time, and I still have to put Ru's winter coat on. ^^