Week Recap

Let's start with the bad stuff first.  This week has been a series of interminable days.  Work has been a series of toil from early morning to late night, requiring a lot of concentration on the phone and in front of the computer screen, attention to detail, organization and responsiveness as well as a lot of deep thinking.  There have been administrative matters on the house and other general housekeeping matters to keep straight.  I made it to the gym for five days in a row, which is great, but it also made my work days that much more hectic.

My body, usually the epitome of health, has decided to show me exactly how stress will wreak havoc on an immune system.  A weird itchy pink patch of skin on my face broke out last week.  This week I stopped putting off the inevitable and went to see a dermatologist.  Then I woke up Friday morning unwell, so I pulled myself out of bed through sheer force of will, participated in an early morning call, ran to a last minute doctor's appointment right after, and was dispensed some drugs fast.  Thank goodness for the efficiency in Hong Kong.

I will confess to a very vulnerable moment in the ladies room though, where whatever wobbly semblance of control and grasp I had on reality fell away, and I gave in to blessed relief as tears slipped unheeded down my face.  I guess sometimes you have to bawl it out.

And this morning I looked in the mirror and noticed for the first time a shockingly deep wrinkle in my forehead, of such a length and depth that it looks like someone took a scythe to that space between my eyebrows.  Is this how it happens?

...This week wasn't all bad though.

I had a wonderful conversation with my sister one morning, which buoyed my spirits considerably.  A few weeks ago I told her in a spurt of enthusiasm that I would like to live wherever she lives after law school.  Taking me literally, she laughed and asked if I planned to move in.  But what I meant was that sometimes the physical distance between me and my family is unbearable, and that I would like for my sister and I to be able to pop by each other's places and hang out, or see each other on a whim for lunch, because we haven't been able to do that since I was in school.

Then one of my friends serendipitously mentioned that she had an extra Wicked ticket, for the tour that is coming to Hong Kong.  Yaaaaas!!!  Who can't use a feel-good pick-me-up like Wicked, any day of the week or month or year?

And at a particularly low moment on Thursday night, my friend invited me to her apartment for a home cooked meal, and sake.  A lot of sake.  It was delicious and comforting!

Thank goodness for the little bits of glimmer and light that manage to shine through the gray.

Here are some pictures from the meal, and a bonus one of her very cute dog (who didn't really want his picture taken - so I got him on the move).

 The setting for our meal:

I am all about this sake set.  The bowls for dipping sauces aren't bad either!

 We had a white rice-sticky rice combination specked with dry plums and topped with cilantro.

 I loved this dish - pork belly and napa cabbage with ginger, liberally doused in mirin and cooked in a casserole pot.

This was stir-fried chicken wings with white radish, topped with scallions for taste.  The white radish really soaked up the flavors.

 Action shot, in mid-course.