Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate or marble.

OK, let me warn you this is a long one. This is a topic near and dear to my heart. So go pee, put on some comfy clothes and settle in….
……

Have you ever been asked that? For this of you who know me, you're probably not surprised. For those of you who have faced this unique question, you'll understand my obsession over this topic. And for those of you who don't have a clue as to what I'm talking about...be warned. You're about to engage into one of the topics that I'm most passionate about.Let me tell you a story...

I went into my local convenience store to pick up a scratch n' win ticket. I was coming from the gym so not looking particularly made up or dressed up. But perhaps that added to the confusion. Because when I got to the cashier, the guy behind the counter asked me,

"What nationality are you?" He just came out with the question, no small talk, no preface...he just bluntly asked."
I'm Chinese," I answered, slightly surprised by his question and not sure what the question was leading to.
"Are you sure?" he replied. What do you mean am I sure? Of course I’m sure. Are you sure you're male? Are you sure you're an idiot? I just smiled and stood there taken aback.

"Are you mixed?" he continued. Now this was getting interesting. He thinks I'm mixed. What does that mean? On a superficial level, I took it as a compliment because I generally think people with mixed ethnicities are beautiful, in an exotic way. But on the other hand...what was he implying about my cultural identity? Was it an insult? A compliment? Or just an ignorant statement?

"No, I'm not mixed. I'm 100% Chinese," I defended. How dare this guy, this complete stranger make ignorant assumptions about my ethnicity and cultural identity! Hmmph.

"Really?" he retorted. OK, honestly, at that point, it was getting funny. Why wouldn't he believe me? Better question would be why would I lie?

“You look like you’re a Spanish mix,” he continued. I grabbed my scratch n’ lose ticket, smiled at the clerk, and went on my way.

Now, that conversation was new territory for me. I’ve been called a Hawaiian, Singaporean, South Pacific Islander, Japanese, Native Canadian, “maybe Thai”, and even “Mediterranean-ish”…but never Spanish-mix.

Even more interesting, my ethnicity apparently changes depending on the part of the world I’m in and who I’m with.

· While in Hawaii, I was considered to be “like Hawaiian”. OK, this I can understand because Hawaiians have the same origins as the Chinese. Along with my tanned skin and my summer beach wear, I can absolutely understand why people made this assumption. They could have left China by boat since the Chinese empire was vast and covered much of the Asian continent, including the South.
· In New Zealand, I reminded someone of a South Pacific Islander. OK, once again, South Pacific Islanders is understandable because in general, they have a larger build and darker skin, characteristics that do apply to me. They too could have left China by boat, same explanation as Hawaiian.
· In Northern Australia, someone thought I looked “kind of Singaporean”. Fair enough, once again, at least we’re still in the Orient. Plus, proximity to Singapore.
· An elderly man I met had lived in Canada and thought I resembled the Native Canadians he had seen on TV. I’m figuring that Native Canadians came over on the ice bridge so once did share origins with the Orient because the Chinese empire did reach up to Mongolia. Native Canadians took the ice bridge while Hawaiians and South Pacific Islanders went by boat. Same difference.
· While in Japan, when mute, people couldn’t tell I was a foreigner. And since I was able to adopt the Japanese accent with the limited Japanese I learned, even if I spoke a simple sentence, people assumed I was Japanese thereafter and would continue an entire conversation with me in Japanese. On a daily basis, I had to interrupt and say “Sumimasen, watashi Kanada-jin desu.” (“Excuse me, I’m Canadian”). OK, although I can tell the difference between Japanese and Chinese, it is easily forgivable how others outside of the culture cannot distinguish the two. It’s like confusing the Spanish and Portuguese – will never make that mistake again! But this is also understandable because long time ago, Japan used to be a part of the Chinese empire (but don’t go around mentioning this point though!)
· Leaving the Orient and Oceania, while on vacation with my girlfriend, who is Spanish and Italian, for some reason, people thought I was “Mediterranean-ish”. Did her ethnicity travel to me through osmosis? Maybe it was my hair, make-up and skin complexion at that moment….but that’s why the convenient store clerk’s comments about being mixed-Spanish was so interesting to me.
· Back to the orient…on my vacation in Phuket, I confused the heck out of the girls at the hostel. Clearly, they knew I wasn’t local. But in combination with my Canadian Passport, my reservation made from Japan, my Chinese last name…they didn’t know what to make of me. They said I looked “maybe Thai” but not quite, but there was something more than just Chinese there.

That’s the general consensus of what I am. I’m something Oriental, perhaps a blend of a few. Maybe there were some torrid affairs among my ancestors generations ago…I’ve even asked my mother if she met some ‘foreigner’ hottie! But no such luck. In the end, there’s no explanation of why people don’t think I look 100% Chinese. Now, as for the question of what a Chinese person looks like? That’ll be my next blog. This one is already too long.

I'd like a rack of 34 Ds with a side of ass please

UNBELIEVABLE!!!
I went to Republik Nightclub tonight with a girlfriend, just the two of us. A friend told me it was good and she had had a good time there, so I suggested that we check it out. We have issues about the place but that's not the topic of this posting. But the people there...the girls were as skanky as usual. But they were younger dirtier skanks...(is there such a thing as a clean skank?) but they're not even the topic of this posting. Instead, I'm agog at the boys who were there. Yes, I say boys, not men, not even guys. The label of guys is too nice for those who I saw tonight. It was like they had never been to a club where girls dance and dress provocatively...it was like they had never seen a girl before! One example, where a quite skanky girl was dancing on a platform, she was gyrating like she was somewhere between Electric Circus (what happened to that show?) and a strip club. Fine...whatever..., my gf and I giggled and just kept dancing. However, we saw these guys walk right up to them, hold their arms open and reach out and touch the girl. Their eyes were popping out, jaw to the floor, tongue sticking out and another anatomy part standing up and ready to go. He just touched the girl's thigh, like it was a cut of meat at the butcher or a coat at the store. Yeah, cause when I see a hot guy, I go right up to him and touch his abs and examine him! Give me a break! Another example, these 2 girls next to us were grinding with each other. Once again, not an uncommon occurrence and not even particularly skanky in my opinion. However, these 2 guys saw and pounced right on them. Surrounded them, rubbed their hands and looked like they were about to help themselves and dig in. They were reaching out for the girls like kids holding their hands out for toys. When 2 girls grind, is it a self-serve buffet for dirty perverted boys? When I dance with my gfs, is it an openly invitation to all the dirty boys in the club to rub their nasty body all over me cause they like what they see? That must be a party that I wasn't invited to. Is it unreasonable for girls to just dance with each other? Yes yes yes, I know it's a nightclub, and stuff happens. I'm not saint but I had never in my life seen such overt behaviour. Never! Am I missing something? Does this happen everywhere but I'm just oblivious to it?
Maybe I'm just naive...afterall, it is evian spelled backwards. But next time I go out and I see that behaviour, I feel like asking them if they'd like a side order of ass with their order of a rack of 34Ds in a low-cut halter? Cause perhaps in the clubs, boys are entitled to supersize their orders by adding on free side order. Clubs shouldn't be called meat markets, they should be called late night drive-through windows, where boys only can have unlimited refills of anything they see.

A skank by any other name is just as skanky

Whenever I go to the bar or club, it's inevitable that my girlfriends and I comment on the skank factor de jour. So it makes me wonder...what is skanky?

Is revealing clothing? It can't be that alone, but probably a contributing factor.

Is an attitude? If so, can anyone be a skank? Can your 85 year old grandmother adopt a skanky attitude? I hope not!

Is it a personality trait? Some are proud of their skank status, while others try to hide it. Some people can turn it on and off, depending on the setting. So perhaps....

Is it an action? Does being loose and giving it up to anyone anywhere anytime define a skank? Some may use the labels whore, hoe, slut, etc...but I've always seen it this way. A slut is someone who follows through and is goal oriented. While a tease is just inconsiderate, selfish and lacks persistence. So hooray for the sluts out there! Way to get what you want, and help others get what they want too!

Is it a certain look? Does a skank require a certain degree of attractiveness, shape of body or size of chest? It can't be that alone, cause then many people would qualify.

Ah, it's late, and I can't come up with a definite answer. I guess this is one of life's mysteries that will remain unsolved...but invariably will be brought up each time I go to a club. Just wondering...

the new girl

It's scary being the new girl everywhere. But since I've returned from a year abroad, I decided to start a new life. And I don't mean that I've changed everything about me, but I've consciously adopted a new attitude to life. Trying lots of activities, meeting new people, not being afraid to act like a fool...just ask the people I've met! But why is it so hard to make new friends as an 'adult'? I remember being asked in grade 2, "Do you want to be my friend" and that was the start of a great friendship (in elementary school standards, which meant recess, lunch and birthday parties, until the start of the next grade). But as an adult (or at least that's what I'm labeled by society and the law), there's a social stigma of being a loser if you want to make new friends. It's like people have a quota of friends after the age of 21 and then they're full, no more people are welcome. They may have work friends, or acquaintances, but it's like their friendship building days are over. Well, I don't know about you, but I know I've sure changed a lot since I was 21, and that was just a few years ago! Who the heck stays the same throughout their 20s? Who would want to? So people, if you see me coming your way, watch out, I have a scary proposition for you. I may want to meet you and perhaps...are you ready for this...be your friend! OK, I promise, I'll invite you to my birthday party and I'll give you a cool loot bag with more than just dollar store toys in it. As I used to say when I was learning English as a 6 year old..."Will you p(l)ray with me"? I guess that has a whole new meaning as an adult...maybe I should try that line!

Can I take your picture?

I love photography & traveling. I'm taking a darkroom 101 course now and slowly getting into the more technical aspects of photography...
But in the end, I just love taking pictures and here they are, my precious...they're not all works of art, but they're my babies.

http://www.sogloriaso.myphotoalbum.com/