Nothing you can say can stop me going home

My mother asked me to pick up some unidentifiable Chinese herbs at a store downtown.

I can't imagine any other type of pharmacy just stuffing its wares into filing cabinet drawers, heedless of sanitary issues.

Of course, Chinese herbs are brewed and not ingested.

Wiki » Chinese herbology:

The use of parts of endangered species (such as seahorses, rhinoceros horns, and tiger bones) has created controversy.

Hmm… A flu shot or "parts" of seahorses?

On one hand, I don't like needles. On the other, the prospect of drinking brewed seahorse anus repulses me.


My mother insisted that I wear green underwear and a burgundy shirt on Chinese New Year's Day for good luck this Chinese calendar year.

I didn't think I owned a burgundy shirt.

Turns out I do. I dug up a burgundy shirt I bought at a Salvation Army in Vancouver because it read "Justice Institute of British Columbia."

"The Justice Institute of British Columbia" — hee! I love how that sounds.


At dinner on Chinese New Year's Eve, my cousin's son Ethan invented a game called "Stick a finger in my nose and then wipe it on Uncle Jon's pants."


For two days of spending time with my family, I received a red envelope payout of $703. Not bad.

The $3 was from my mother. 3 is my lucky number this Chinese calendar year.