Old Friends... New Friends

It's been a couple of days since I've written -- mostly because I have been busy trying to finish some work before we got to Hong Kong.... to no avail. It looks like I still have some proofreading left before I can fully enjoy this trip, stress free.

Anyway, Saturday in Vancouver was a good day for me because I got to see an old friend of mine whom I haven't seen since 2001. Logan Garrett -- some of you will remember him as "Brooks"-- drove up from Seattle to catch up on the events of the past 6 years. While Patty was finishing up her convention obligations, Logan and I did a little exploring and a lot of talking. I also took him to try out my new addiction: DRUM HERO!

Okay, I don't really know what it's called, but it is the percussion equivalent to my other addiction: GUITAR HERO! And let me tell you... IT ROCKS!

Here's a pretty dull picture of an AWESOME game! Look out, Tawny Lee!

Patty eventually met up with us at some sports bar on Robson Street, and we downed a couple of pints watching the semi-finals in the NCAA tournament - which, believe it or not, I had little-to-no interest in this year.

We then headed off to dinner at another favorite of mine: ALL YOU CAN EAT BRAZILIAN STEAKHOUSE! It's basically a meat-fest where they parade out all different types of meat that have been marinated and prepared rodizio-style on giant skewers and you eat until you can't eat no more. This place had the added bonus of live Brazilian music and dancing girls.

We told the dancers it was Logan's birthday and got this classic picture.

After dinner, we hit a couple more bars, had a few more beers, and eventually called it a night.

We woke up Sunday morning (April Fool's Day) and headed off to the airport for our 14-hour flight to Hong Kong. The flight was as expected: long, cramped, and noisy. Fortunately, we landed safely early Tuesday morning -- it's 12 hours ahead of New York -- and arrived to our hotel where we were met by our new friends and hotelmates: Lenny and Squiggy (pictured right).

Apparently the housekeeping service in Hong Kong hotels are charged with the duties of making the bed, changing the towels.... and feeding the fish?!? Welcome to Hong Kong!