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Well, it's already November 5th, which means I've been writing this blog for three months now.  Crazy.

I had my usual Saturday morning waffle, which I ate during a nice Skype chat with Liv (a very good friend who lives in New York), and then went back to visit Dr. Yang at the Chinese Medicine clinic.  I wrote a letter to her thanking her for her help, asking when I can do yoga again, and also asking for a brief description of what she did to fix me.  Carol was kind enough to translate it for me and then Dr. Yang wrote a response.  I still need to show it to Carol to know what it says.  It gave me such a feeling of excitement carrying it around.  Like a secret message.  Except it's only a secret to me.  Dr. Yang did tell me that I need to be very careful not to damage it again and was gesturing in a way that makes me think she wants me to wear a brace.  :(  That's a bummer.  She didn't seem nearly as thrilled with the outcome as I am and kept pressing the spot where it used to hurt and looking at me expectantly.  I think she's worried because there's still a larger bump on that side than on my good wrist.  But I have had zero pain since she needled me, and that's all I care about.  (Just a reminder that if you click on these images you can see a larger version.)  She also made it sound like I can't do yoga for another 3-6 months.  So much for trying to get back in shape.  I guess I could do other things, but yoga works so well.

 The secret letter

After the clinic, I went home and graded for a couple hours and then it was time to get ready for the University's 30th anniversary gala dinner.  Tenny, one of our wonderful administrative staff, offered to drive us.  The dinner was at The Venetian, one of the really large casino/hotels in Taipa, and it's like the one in Vegas. 

Yes, they even recreated the campanile in St Mark's Square and the Rialto bridge.  So tacky...

...and enormous.  In addition to being a casino and hotel, the Venetian also has a huge mall with fake canals.  These are complete with gondolas you can ride in, painted buildings and an eternally blue sky. 

I'm not used to driving anywhere here (in a car, I mean), so it's always an adventure when we do.  We arrived at the Venetian and were directed to this enormous warehouse-like room for parking in.  I have no idea what they normally use this space for.  Beth and I thought it would make a good roller rink.  Once inside we had to wait a little bit for the rest of our group to arrive.  As I said, the place is huge so we were basically alone in this enormous and ornate hallway.  So we did the only logical thing.

Yes, racing.  In dresses.  I can't take these two anywhere.  :)  Once our group was complete we walked around and window-shopped a bit and then went into the banquet.  They had a program prepared which included speeches, the singing of the new 30th anniversary anthem, and performances from the UM choir.  I tried to capture samples, but my phone is just not that good so I'm leaving them out.  Here's a good vid though, from before the meal began.

So we had a ton of food, as usual, but here are a couple of highlights.  This roast piglet was the first thing out.  The skin was quite crispy and when you bit into it you could feel the fat oozing out.  I mean this in a good way, but I can't think of a more appetizing way to describe it.  Yummy.  I could do without the head, though.

 

This was dessert, it's a steamed bun with lotus paste inside, which I think was supposed to look like a fruit.  The little green leaves are edible.  

However some of our coworkers decided they made better photo props.  These ladies are Sumi and Monica - they are both hilarious.  

Although the lighting in the ballroom was difficult, we managed to get this nice shot with Carol.  

And this one of the entire group.  It was a very enjoyable evening and then afterward we came back home and Carol followed us up to watch Napoleon Dynamite.  I think this might be Beth's favorite film on earth and she can quote it very well.  I had seen this movie once before and had a very adverse reaction to it, probably because it stirred up too many horrible memories of my high school experience.  But it was a lot funnier the second time around and I love a man who can dance well, even if he does have terrible hair.