fa ra ra ra raah, ra raah raah raaaah.

warm holiday greetings from the chairman and the people's republic. to be honest with you, i'm kind of glad to see this holiday season draw to a close for a number of reasons, but especially because the chinese -- bless their hearts -- do NOT know what good christmas music sounds like. they either play hollow techno remakes of jingle bells or some obscure country western christmas ditty about santa and his reindeer. thank goodness for utah's own light fm 100 and its listening online capabilities... just give me a little bing beltin' out some good ol' fashioned 'do you hear what i hear.'

matt and i spent most of our christmas holiday house-sitting for one of matt's superiors. the home was located on victoria peak, which is a completely different world from our crowded central hk neighborhood. we were able to breathe half-way clean air and take nice long walks with the family labradoodle along jungle-like trails... what a dream. the views of the city from up there on the peak are amazing. we thoroughly enjoyed the break from central.


speedo the labradoodle, our newest friend. don't panic gunther; you're still the champion of our hearts.

the peak is also the perfect location to ring in the new year, or so we thought. it was nice to avoid the crowds of the city and see the fireworks over victoria harbor, but matt and i apparently missed the memo about where and how the big show was taking place. here's what we saw:



and here's what we missed:



(the chinese love the theatrics of synchronized oooohing and awwwwing.) the irony of it all is that this building is literally only blocks away from where we live, so had we stayed close to home, we probably would've had quite a different new years 2008 experience. oh well, we still celebrated appropriately:



i did get homesick a little, which is to be expected when you're used to christmases being snowy, chilly and full of family, but matt and i agree that it was nice to spend our last christmas as a childless couple alone together; it gave us a chance to really reflect on the true meaning of the season and our innumerable blessings. we are so grateful for loved ones near and far and for old friends and new ones here in hk who help to make us feel not so far away from home. thank you to everyone who added to our christmas decor this year. getting mail makes everyday feel like christmas, and it also helped our little tree to look not so lonely and pathetic.