KL The End

Posted on 27 February 2009 by christao408

And so, dear reader, the weekend in Kuala Lumpur came to an end. After walking around the city, finally exploring some of the sights, watching domes being scrubbed and taking in the majestic phallicness of the Petronas Towers, we returned to the hotel, freshened up, packed our bags, checked out…

and had two hours to kill before our driver was schedule to arrive.

Not wanting to get sweaty again and a bit hungry from our explorations that morning, we walked back to the Pavilion mall. Here is the outdoor dining area that I was talking about – “the catwalk” along which people stroll or sit and sip coffee, to see and be seen.

Ignoring all our Lonely Planet sensibilities – local food only! – we stopped at an Italian restaurant along the catwalk called, originally enough, Michelangelo’s. They had a reasonably priced set lunch and since our flight wouldn’t put us back into Krungthep until after dinnertime, a late lunch seemed reasonable.

Mushroom soup for me, Caesar salad for Tawn. A simple pizza to share.

A seafood pasta dish for Tawn (sorry for the lousy exposure) and a hearty ossobuco for me.

After some coffee, a short walk back to the hotel as the first drops of afternoon rain started to fall. Below, the thing I like best about KL: beautiful old trees shading the sidewalks.

We made good time to the new Kuala Lumpur International Airport, a gorgeous white elephant an hour south of town. Air Asia flies from the cheapskate… er, low-cost, terminal which is an additional 20 km drive from the main terminal.

Upon checking in we dealt with the challenge of explaining to the agent that while we had paid to reserve a seat (something new for Air Asia), we would like to pay the difference to the higher fee to reserve an exit row seat (250 baht versus 50 baht). She didn’t understand what we wanted to do, so we ended up sitting in our original seats. Not too bad, but legroom is tight so a few extra centimeters would have been appreciated.

Smooth flight back to the Big Mango as we watched a beautiful sunset over the Andaman Sea. Good to be back home.

Posted on 19 February 2009 by christao408

I headed down to Kuala Lumpur today, and easy flight at just over two hours long. Tawn will join me Friday and we’ll spend the weekend here. I took Air Asia for the flight, the “Southwest Airlines” of Southeast Asia. I’m not a big fan of the airline: 29″ pitch is a bit tight for me (I’m 6′ tall) even if the flight is only a few hours.

But the price can’t be argued with: 4300 baht including taxes versus 6900 baht on Malaysia and 10000+ baht on THAI. I don’t want to contribute to this race to the bottom by flying based on price alone, but a 50% premium isn’t justifiable for two or three more inches of leg room for two hours.

While I generally don’t find our new airport to be that attractive, I did find one angle from which is looks nice:

It was a very humid day in Krungthep and while boarding, the air conditioned air was condensing inside the cabin, creating a fog-like effect that was really funny. You felt like you were walking through clouds just to get to your seat!

The picture doesn’t do it justice, though. Please view the video below for the full effect.

While waiting to push back, an Aeroflot IL-96 pulled up alongside us. Aeroflot is the remnant of the U.S.S.R.’s sole carrier and the IL-96 was the last Russian-built plane they added to their fleet. In years since, they have bought aircraft from Boeing and Airbus. The 96 is an interesting bird: not a very long fuselage but huge wings. It is designed to fly long routes with medium passenger loads, although it not the most fuel-efficient plane out there.

Arriving in KL at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal, I was struck by how much outdoor walking they have you do. All covered walkways, but it was quite a hike to get to the terminal. Along the way, beautiful views of the airplanes. Of course, they are all Air Asia planes so it gets boring real fast.

I’m staying at the Novotel in central KL, quite close to the Petronas Towers. In fact, I can see one (vertical) half of one of the towers from my room. I can’t wait to show Tawn!

The area nearby the hotel is quite a popular stretch. Lots of outdoor seating at restaurants and cafes for cuisine from around the world. Very nice, actually. I don’t understand why Krungthep doesn’t have anything like this? KL is very similar weather to Thailand, so that’s no excuse for not having outdoor seating.

Day trip to Pattaya

Posted on 11 February 2009 by christao408

First of all, let me make this clear to those of you who might think we’re running around enjoying adventure after adventure: these blog entries are not chronological. Instead, there is a delay as I process photos and videos and then I arrange entries to provide some variety.

With that administrative tidbit out of the way, let me share a day trip we recently took to Pattaya, the beach side city of sin located less than two hours to the southeast of Krungthep. I’d never before been to Pattaya because its scuzzy reputation (although the beaches are supposedly gorgeous) kept me disinterested.

“I wonder how long it will be before we see our first fat farang on a scooter with a tiny Thai girl behind him?” Tawn asked as we pulled into town. Within two minutes, we had our answer.

We didn’t go to Pattaya to explore the town or even to try and dispel my perceptions. Instead, we went to exchange some silk that Trish had purchased from the factory in Nakhon Ratchasima province that, upon inspection once we returned to Krungthep, turned out to be 1-ply instead of the 2-ply for which she had paid.

The factory owner has a retail shop at a recently opened faux floating market in Pattaya, so we arranged to meet her there to do a swap.

While there, Tawn wanted to find a boulangerie that had opened recently and had been featured in Thai Vogue. It looked very cute in the magazine but of course we left home without noting its address and location.

Using the tiny internet browser on Tawn’s phone, I was able to find another boulangerie called, appropriately, Le Boulange. Turns out it is the cousin (or sister location?) of one on Convent Road in Krungthep, owned by a real Frenchman. The Pattaya location is just a modest storefront and is mostly a bakery, producing for stores and hotels in town.

While there, we witnessed the chef talking with a French expat and his Thai fiancée about a wedding cake. In this case, the expat was much closer in size to the Thai and they were not riding a motorbike.

The sandwiches – only available combination is baguette de jambon et de fromage (ham and cheese) were très authentique. A robust crust that fought you back when you bit into it and a wonderful textured crumb. And for only 35 baht (about $1) for a mini baguette, a real bargain.

Left, Tawn poses with his baguette as a local woman looks on. Or, at least, pretends not to.

The desserts were less spectacular, but what can you expect? At least we enjoyed a good lunch.

The chef came over after settling wedding cake decisions and asked how our lunch was. Answering him in English, he quickly apologized and explained in French that he only spoke French and Thai. So we continued the conversation in Thai, since neither Tawn nor I remember enough French.

Afterwards, with the disinterested local’s directions, we drove to the outskirts of the city to Talat Naam Si Pak – the Four Regions Floating Market. Floating markets are very much a part of central Thailand’s culture, as the myriad waterways in this flood plain made waterborne transportation the easiest way to get around until the 20th Century introduction of the traffic jam.

For the tourists – and, most noticeably, for the Thai tourists – Pattaya now boasts an entirely artificial floating market that runs from dawn till dusk, every day. Located to the south of town around an manmade lake, the shops and boardwalks connecting them are ostensibly divided to represent the four regions of the county.

Sadly, there is little to distinguish the regions as the building are identical except for tiny emblems on the roof line meant to evoke the different regions. From a central cooking area, vendors paddle their boats around the “canals”, offering authentic Thai food (and two-litre bottles of Pepsi products) for sale. The Thai tour groups we saw seemed to love it, setting up mats and eating in the shade, reveling in a near-cultural experience.

While wandering about, we located the Silk merchant’s shop. As it turns out, she changed plans and decided to come to Pattaya the following day, but had not called Tawn to tell him. When Tawn tried to call her, she didn’t answer. After explaining the situation to the clerk in the shop, the clerk called the merchant, who answered the phone promptly.

The clerk then handed the phone to Tawn as he proceeded to read her the riot act in a polite, nice way – as Thais can do so well.

She promised to bring the correct fabric to us in Krungthep the following day, so we left the single-ply fabric and a sample of what the correct fabric should be. Needless to say, she never showed up or called Tawn, and we’re now two weeks later with no resolution.

We decided not to waste any more time at the floating tourist trap, but on the way back to the car park we found something endearing: a pen of baby goats and one sheep, all three months old. They were the center of everyone’s attention, young and old alike, and for twenty baht you could feed them a bottle of milk.

Here’s a brief video showing the scene as Tawn fed them… and plotted to shear the sheep so he could make a wool coat!

We were back in Krungthep just after sunset, delayed by my exploration of the route near the airport that Peter, Stuart and I would ride the following day.

Eating at the Chia Tai Agricultural Fair

Posted on 22 January 2009 by christao408

It isn’t enough to just go and see the fruits and vegetables being grown in the Chia Tai demonstration gardens. You have to eat them, too!

It turns out that they weren’t too happy when I attempted to pull a carrot out of the ground and see how it tasted. Instead, security suggested I head over to the food tents to satisfy any hunger pangs.

Sure enough, amidst the rows and rows of processed foods manufactured and sold by parent company CP Foods (they audaciously sell their label of frozen entrees called CP Fresh Mart, which you could select from a freezer case then they would microwave them for you on the spot – not a hundred steps away from acres and acres of fresh produce!), there was actually a few stalls selling freshly-prepared food items.

I counted three items for sale made from (presumably) local produce: steamed pumpkin buns, pumpkin donuts, and steamed corn on the cob.

The pumpkin buns, made from a yeast dough in a process described in the video below, were light and tasty and I could have easily eaten a dozen of them. The pumpkin donuts, below, were even more amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever had a lighter, less oily donut. Krispy Kreme take note!

Here’s a two-minute video that will tell you all about it.

Hope you enjoy.

Why Airline Employees Should Be Compensated As Professionals

Posted on 15 January 2009 by christao408

Thursday afternoon, US Airways flight 1549, an Airbus A320 with 150 passengers on board, took off from New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Just a few minutes later, after an apparent double bird strike that disabled both of the plane’s engines, Captain Chesley Sallenberger III and his co-pilot executed a flawless emergency landing, ditching the plane in the frigid Hudson River between midtown Manhattan and New Jersey.

First off, let’s give kudos to Captain Sallengerger (file photo right) and his co-pilot for bringing the plane down in one piece and avoiding the densely-populated surrounding areas.

Second, let’s recognize the superb performance of the three flight attendants, who performed their primary function – protecting the safety of the passengers – and evacuated everyone quickly and safely.

Those five crew members demonstrated why airline employees need to be fairly compensated for their work: because they are entrusted with the lives of their passengers. 99.999% of the time, everything goes smoothly. But in that 0.001% of the time when there is an incident, their training and professionalism are critical.

(Consider also the case of Air France 358, which overshot the runway in Toronto in 2005 and burst into flames. The flight attendants evacuated all 297 in less than three minutes without any life-threatening injuries, even though the entire plane was destroyed by the subsequent fire.)

As a former airline employee, son of an airline employee, husband of a former airline employee, and friend of many, many people who have worked and continue to work in the air transport industry, please consider the following two points:

First, the rush in the U.S. airline industry to turn everything into a low-cost operation, cutting salaries, demanding much longer work hours with much less time to rest between employee shifts, may get passengers lower price tickets in the short term. But in the long term, this “rush to the bottom” puts the lives of passengers at risk.

Second, an important note for passengers: Even if you fly weekly, take the two minutes to stop talking and reading and pay attention to the safety demonstrations at the start of the flight. Count the number of rows to the two nearest emergency exits and reach under your seat to confirm the life vest is there.

Even if you are a seasoned traveler and don’t feel you need the review, paying attention to the demo sets an example for other flyers who may not be as familiar with the safety of the plane. In an emergency, this information will be critical to your survival.

I’m thankful everyone survived this crash with no major injuries.

Return to the Big Mango

Posted on 4 January 2009 by christao408

After two full weeks in the United States, Tawn and I departed Friday afternoon from San Francisco en route to Taipei and, eighteen hours later, Khrungthep. The heavy drizzle which had greeted our arrival to San Francisco on December 18th had returned to see us off.

In the morning, we met with Brian and Keng (who had arrived the night before from Khrungthep) for breakfast at Chloe’s, a Church Street diner that has long been a favorite of mine. Below, a view of this cozy breakfast spot.

Chloe’s has a Thai connection. Several, in fact. Over the years there have been many Thai servers and it turns out that the man in the apron, above, lived in Thailand with his partner for many years, speaks Thai, and is planning on moving here again in 2009. I gave him my card and we’ll see if you end up seeing him again here in this blog.

Below, the pumpkin ginger pancakes and the tomato, basil and brie scramble.

It was fun to see people from home (Khrungthep) in SF, especially as we had gone to see a show with Brian and Keng just two days before we left on vacation. Below from left: Brian, Keng, Tawn and me.

The drizzle cleared as we returned the rental car to the airport. We checked in a bit early since the car was due back at 1:00 even though the flight wasn’t until 4:10. That gave us some time to browse around the largely empty SF Int’l Airport and then sit and read while waiting for our plane. Below, our EVA 777 taxis to the gate on still-wet pavement.

The flight out was on-time and smooth. We had a beautiful view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge as we climbed to our cruising altitude. While the flight was long (13.5 hours to Taipei, another 3.5 to Bangkok) our connection in Taipei was short and so we didn’t feel like any time was spent lingering.

We landed just after 2:00 this morning and were at home and in bed by 4:00. I managed nearly eight hours of sleep, although Tawn was up several hours earlier.

There were probably be some more reflection on this trip as I sink back into my normal routine over the next few days. For now, though, I’ll just say that it is good to be home.

Last Bites of SF

Posted on 2 January 2009 by christao408

As 2009 came to a start, our trip to the US came to an end. Wednesday morning, Jenn and Kevin and the girls drove us up to the airport for our flight back to San Francisco.

The girls had been moody all morning, their usual reaction when we are leaving them. Emily wasn’t willing to get out of the van when we reached the airport, right.

Seems mighty stubborn to me, especially since her sister was willing to get out of the van and join us on the curb of the terminal for one final photo, below. But then, Emily is a “cut off your nose to spite your face” kind of person.

The three and a half hour flight back to the West Coast was smooth. There was a heavy layer of fog over the bay and we actually didn’t pull out of the fog until we were crossing the runway threshold, something that appeared to be near the limits of acceptable landing visibility.

For these final two days in SF, we rented a car. With the New Year’s holiday, we knew that parking enforcement wouldn’t be much of an issue and as we had some engagements in the East Bay, having a car would be very helpful.

Wednesday evening, New Year’s Eve, I surprised Tawn with tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera, which is showing right now at the Orpheum Theatre. I have seen this show three times before but Tawn never has, so it was a nice treat. John Cudia made for a very effective Phantom but overall the show’s production was just okay. I think the audio system at the Orpheum is not very good, more like listening to an AM radio than is okay for such expensive tickets.

Still, it was fun and we spent the evening together, which is what is really important.

We preceded the show with an early dinner at Little Star Pizza. With two locations in SF, we walked to the Valencia and 15th street branch. They do deep-dish Chicago style pizza, along the lines of what Zachary’s in Berkeley provides. My one complain with Zachary’s is that their crust isn’t very good. Sure enough, Little Star has this problem solved with a buttery, cornmeal-laden crust that is much more substantive and tender than Zachary’s.

Click on a thumbnail for a larger version. From L to R: Caprese salad with tomatoes and wonderful fresh mozzarella cheese; a deconstructed garlic bread with bread, butter and a roasted bulb of garlic – spread it yourself; a “small” pie, half with the Little Star special (spinach, onions, feta/ricotta/mozzarella cheese) and half with the Classic (mushrooms, sausage, peppers and onion). Heavenly.

New Year’s Day we awoke relatively early since we were just climbing into bed when the fireworks went off the night before. We walked down to Tartine for one more taste of their lovely pastries. Below, a view into their kitchen with Guererro Street reflected.

Above, the best croissant I’ve tasted outside of Paris with a bowl of latte.

The Mission District is a fascinating neighborhood with lots of little gems like Tartine. Another gem, just down 18th Street from Tartine, is the Bi-Rite grocery store. Lovingly maintained, it has a retro feel but a very contemporary selection of foodstuffs.

Above, Tawn ponders the selection of fresh fruits and veggies.

We walked back through the Castro and then back down Market Street to Anita’s in order to get some exercise. There was a pretty side street with leaves that looked autumnal, strewn in the gutters and on the cars.

Speaking of cars, we rented a Toyota Prius hybrid, the first time I’ve ever driven one. What a weird and wonderful vehicle! No ignition switch; just a on/off button. I spend the drive watching the efficiency display, moderating my speed and trying to keep the efficiency as high as possible. So far we have driven 120 miles and have a 44.3 miles per gallon average. The needle on the gas gauge has barely moved.

After Tartine we drove over to the East Bay, stopping in a my aunt and uncle’s house for a New Year’s brunch. Everyone was there, including my cousins Alex and Bill who had flown up from Long Beach the night before. Below, my cousin Patrick holds Logan, the son of family friends and a frequent topic of Alex’s blog.

After a visit to Bruce and Howie’s in San Ramon, we returned to the city to face the most difficult task: packing. The last item we purchased on our list was a new comforter at Macy’s. There was a sale and we paid a nice, low price, but getting a comforter into our suitcase is proving to be a challenge. One that has not been solved eight hours before our plane departs.

We enjoyed some mid-afternoon bottles of champagne with Anita, Lilian and Tanya, then set out for Cha Cha Cha, the “all-powerful” Cuban tapas restaurant that is always on our to eat at list. The Mission District location was busy but the wait wasn’t too long, a wait shortened by a pitcher of sangria.

From the left: Tawn, Anita, Tanya, Lilian and me.

We ordered all of the usuals. From upper left, clockwise: fried calamari, fried new potatoes with garlic-chili aioli, chicken paillard, sauteed mushrooms, fried plantains with black bean sauce, warm spinach salad.

We had a wonderful time and once we returned home, were too exhausted to do any further packing. Which is why, as soon as I finish this paragraph, I’m going to return to tackling the comforter problem. We leave this afternoon.

Eating our way through KC

Posted on 31 December 2008 by christao408

Sitting right now in the Midwest Airlines departure lounge in Kansas City, waiting for our flight back to San Francisco. A quick recap of the final few days in KC, most of which were spent sampling local delicacies and enjoying the company of friends and family.

Right: Emily and Chris go out for fried chicken.

Monday afternoon we took my niece to lunch with my grandparents at Stroud’s, the “home of Pan Fried Chicken”. They claim to be the only restaurant in KC that pan fries chicken. Whether that is true or not, I don’t know. But they sure turn out some tasty home style cooking.

Below: chicken noodle soup

Above: three pieces of Stroud’s crispy pan fried chicken.

The verdict: Stroud’s makes tasty fried chicken, very crisp. The meat itself, though, doesn’t have a lot of flavor. The side dishes, especially the heavenly mashed potatoes, are great. And their slogan (“We choke our own chickens”) is priceless.

Later in the day I scanned a lot of old photos from my grandparents’ photo albums. I’ll share more of these in the coming weeks, but here’s one from when I was just about six months old. My uncle, who is a photographer, took the picture.

Monday evening we stopped by the Honorary Royal Thai Consulate. Yes, there is a Thai consulate here in the greater Kansas City area. I applied for another one-year business visa, something I will have to do every year for the foreseeable future. A year ago when I applied, the Consul General, who is an American woman, didn’t spend a lot of time talking with me.

This time, however, I brought Tawn along and we ended up spending a half-hour at her house (the family room of which is the consulate), talking about Thai politics, etc. She told us that she thinks we should have children and went on about her frustration that proposition 8 passed in California. Kind of unusual, huh?

That evening, we continued that Thai theme and met Jack, a Thai friend who has lived in KC for a decade or more, down on the Plaza. Country Club Plaza is beautiful this time of year with all the holiday decorations. Here’s a view:

We ate at Houston’s, a small chain operated by the Hillstone restaurant group. For a chain restaurant, they have a good wine list and excellent pork ribs. Knife and fork tender, which is how I like them because I don’t like to gnaw on rib bones. From the top down: Ribs with cous cous and fries, Hawaiian rib eye steak with baked potato, double-cut pork chop.

There’s a little more to share but I’ll have to do it from SF as we’re about to board. Have a happy and safe new year’s eve!

The Second through Fourth Days of Christmas

Posted on 28 December 2008 by christao408

Technology is not entirely a foreign thing for our family. On Christmas Day my grandfather fired up Skype and we had a video chat with my aunt and uncle and cousins in Seattle. They were nearly snowed in and turned the camera out the study window so we could see the several feet of snow covering their yard, sidewalks and streets. Was that really Seattle!? That would be much more likely here in the midwest.

Friday morning we had family portraits down at the photo studio. I think it takes a person with a very special personality to be a good family portrait photographer. Not only a good photographer but patient, funny, and a child psychologist.

After the photo shoot, Tawn and I took Emily off her parents’ hands for a special afternoon with her uncles. First off we headed to the Plaza, a nice shopping area down near the country club. This is the oldest shopping district in town and is still a very nice place to visit. Emily chose our dining venue for lunch: McDonalds. Sadly, after several years of avoiding McD’s, I wound up eating there.

In the afternoon, we went to the book store to spend a gift certificate Emily and her sister received for Christmas. At first, Emily tried to sell me the story that the gift certificate was only for her, but my sister clarified and so I insisted that Emily choose a book for her sister, too.

We stopped by the Gap and found a nice top for her on sale, something light enough that it can be worn into the summer. Finally, we waited for uncle Tawn at Starbucks while he went shopping at a few other shops. It took him a long time to return and after reading through all the new books together, Emily started to get a little impatient.

Saturday morning Tawn and I drove to Overland Park to meet one of the owners of the Gasper Family Farm. They have a small, diversified family farm that runs in a sustainable manner and offers only 100% grass-fed, pastured cows, pigs, and dairy. The more I’ve been reading about food safety and sustainability issues (Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma) the more I want to better understand what is actually available as far as sustainable, locally-produced food.

A few months ago I signed up for the Gasper Family Farm’s e-newsletter and decided that when I was back in KC I would buy some of their produces. I emailed Susan, the “mom” of the farm, and placed an order for ten pounds of beef (combination of steaks, a roast and ground beef) and five pounds each of ground sage sausage and ground cayenne pepper sausage.

When I arrived at the designated pick-up point, one of her customer’s driveways on the corner of 80th Street and Hemlock, on a drizzly, freezing cold Saturday morning, Tawn thought it looked rather like a drug buy. Sure enough, she pulled the frozen goods out of a cooler in the back of her Chevy Suburban, cash changed hands, and I bought a dozen freshly-laid eggs, too.

Back at home, I decided to put some of my sustainably made food to the test, baking a lasagna for dinner. Mixing a pound of the beef with a pound of the cayenne pepper sausage, I had a nice bubbly lasagna ready a few hours later. It was lovely.

I still want to try the eggs, comparing the pastured eggs with the conventional ones my sister bought at the store. I noticed that with the two eggs I used in the lasagna, the yolks looked much more vibrant than with conventional eggs.

Speaking of sustainable eggs, I was tickled to see that the eggs came out a rainbow of colors from pale pink to greenish-brown to beige to brown. Emily and Ava thought this was pretty cool.

To accompany the lasagna, I did a roasted beet salad with a honey dijon vinaigrette.

Dinner was lovely.

In other news, here’s the video of our sledding last Wednesday. With all the crazy weather we’ve had here, the snow was entirely gone by the day after Christmas and then a little bit of it was back by this morning.

Enjoy!

Christmas Day

Posted on 26 December 2008 by christao408

Recapping my continued adventures here in Kansas City over the Christmas holiday:

At 6:50 Christmas morning the lights snapped on and two little girls bounced onto our bed. “It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas! Santa came!”

So we threw on some clothes and headed upstairs. Sure enough, Santa had paid us a visit overnight! The snacks and eggnog that had been left by the fireplace had disappeared. All that was left were a few crumbs. Santa must have been hungry.

First things first, we checked our stockings, which had been hung by the fireplace with care.

There were all sorts of little goodies inside. Thankfully, no one received any lumps of coal, so we must have all been good this year.

Then I prepared breakfast: homemade biscuits with sausage and gravy. Very nice start to a holiday, if you ask me.

After breakfast we went to the family room to unwrap the gifts that Santa had brought. Amazingly enough, Santa had heard that Tawn was celebrating the holiday in Kansas City and had brought his present here: a picnic basket and set, complete with plates, glasses, corkscrew, cutting board, knife, etc.

Above: Emily and Ava don’t even look as Tawn shows off his new picnic basket.

In the afternoon we headed to my grandparents’ house for dinner. It was a tasty dinner but what I really want to share is this picture from the candied yams. My grandmother ran out of small marshmallows halfway through completing the dish, so she had to switch to large marshmallows. I thought it was kind of funny.

Later, she served us a special dessert that she hasn’t made for years: homemade cannoli. This Sicilian dessert is a pastry shell filled with a mixture of sweetened ricotta cheese and chocolate shavings and candied citrus peel. Very rich. She’s quite a cook and this was a really nice treat. Below, my grandmother and a close-up of the cannoli.

My grandmother is very talented. Below is a picture of my niece Emily’s Christmas gift from her: a dress that my grandmother made. On the piano in the background are two dolls that my grandmother made, too. Not only did she make the dolls, she made the costumes for them. She’s made dozens of these dolls over the years.

Very talented lineage I come from, eh?

In the evening after we returned home (I have a hard time getting used to this midwestern schedule, eating dinner at 5:30!) we were nowhere near ready to go to bed, so Tawn and I went to watch the new John Patrick Shanley film, “Doubt”.

A brilliant screenplay and no doubt an amazing stage production. However, I don’t think that it translated so well to the big screen. The film felt very claustrophobic and I was so relieved in the one scene where Meryl Streep’s character and another character go for a walk outdoors.

The acting was superb, especially Philip Seymour Hoffman as Father Flynn and Viola Davis as the mother of the first black student at the school. Meryl Streep did a good job as Sister Aloysious, who suspects Father Flynn of abusing the boy. But she is such a strong actor that I couldn’t really ever get past seeing her and thinking, “That’s Meryl Streep acting like a really uptight nun.”

Still worth watching but maybe only a three out of four stars.

All in all, a relaxing Christmas.

christao408

The adventures of an expat American who moved to Bangkok for his husband.

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