food and corrections...

First and foremost, I want to thank my wife for opening up what used to be a semi-private blog that I was able to vent my feelings on without too much exposure.  Ever since she posted it on her facebook page, I have realized that many eyes have gazed upon my most private a thought.  I hope I don't bore you, but then again, I don't write this for you.  It is a simple way to clear my head of the oddities and discrepancies I find in daily life, and some meandering childhood memories that I sprinkle in the middle.  Please enjoy the blog, and if you don't, go waste your time somewhere else.

Okay, I have gotten numerous emails today regarding the Lobster on the recycle sign.  I am sorry, but for all of you that thought it was a red jacket, you are wrong.  You have probably heard many wrong things about China, but let me clear a few things up.  Yes, they are generally shorter than us.  Yes, they do smoke much more than us.  But, come on, they don't have four arms.  Why would they have jackets that have fours arms???  Then again, maybe you are all right, I would recycle my jacket if every time I went to put it on I had the choice of 4 arms.  Anyway, its a lobster!

So the next clarification is on the food.  Some people have thought that everything was like the chicken heads.  Well, here are a couple of pictures of some other meals I ate while I was over there.  This was a classic sushi meal.  It is Japanese, but for as much as the Chinese and Japanese don't seem to like each other, they do seem to enjoy each other's food!

The next meal is a picture that I was hoping someone could at least help me identify.  It somewhat resembles the recycling can image, so that scares me a little.  It was actually pretty good so I am not going to knock it too much.  

But, that is enough about the food. How about the drink you ask??  Well, I have a good story on this one.  I was in Hong Kong for meetings and they happened to be at Walt Disney World Hong Kong.  Strange place I know, but it was interesting nonetheless.  For all of you who will ask, Mickey looks the same, the park is smaller, and yes, the Chinese love the park.  Hopefully, that answers all of the dumb questions.  

So for those of you who do not know my wife, I will let you in on a little secret, she loves the Mouse.  It was a little scary in the beginning, but I have come to accept it.  I only have to wear the mouse ears once and a while and, well, nevermind...

Back to the story, I was at Disney Hong Kong and I knew I could not come home without some cheap, imported (well, probably not imported) souvenir.  So, I went down to visit Pocahontas as the gift store and she offers me a beer.  No joke.  Strangest thing I have ever seen.  A chinese woman, dressed as Pocahontas, in Disneyland, in Hong Kong, offers me a beer at check out.

So that is not the best part, here is a picture of the San Miguel Cerveza she offered me:

Only in China.  This is an authentic pull tab beer.  You know the one.  Of course, many won't remember this because it was outlawed in the US over 20 years ago.  Yes, for safety reasons we decided more than 2 decades ago to not take a chance of losing human life due to an inferior product design.  I remember these cans very well.  Please take a trip down memory lane with me...

My father drank Budweiser.  In fact, I am not sure he drank anything else short of coffee.  He was as loyal to a product as you could ever be.  I remember sitting on his lap while he mowed the backyard and he drank Budweiser the whole time.  Now, as an adult, I am not sure I would get on anyone's lap, while they are drink beer, sitting on top of a razor sharp blade spinning at 1,000 rpms!  Anyway, he would drink Bud, with the pull tabs.  He would discard the pull tabs right into the backyard.  Now, back then, no one worried that they could be shot out of the lawn mower at 500mph and the shrapnel could de-head someone.  Or, slightly less gory, a kid could trip and maim themselves on the sheared aluminum can.  Anyway, I just remember those pull tabs from those hot summer days.  The good thing is all the young children in China will still be able to create those memories with their parents.