busker

Northern Voice

Am grumpy at not being able to cruise up to Vancouver for Northern Voice's Feb 19 blogging conference and our own Julie Leung's contribution.

"Making Masks" sounds really interesting and just Julie's presence on the "Personal Blogging" discussion panel would justify the trip.

The idiotic thing about not being able to go is that I have so many friends from my life in Hong Kong and this would be the perfect chance to meet up and kick off our Rooster year in suitable form.

Almost *too* many friends, come to think of it. There was a time when hardly a bustling Hong Kong week went by without someone leaving or some scion of a distinguished family jetting off to prepare the post-1997 home.

It even acquired the ghastly word joke name of Hongcouver ... yuk.

What I laugh at when I hear of Vancouver is the memory of bumping into TK Woo outside his favorite D'Aguilar Street tea house and, remembering that son Vincent was over buying up downtown BC, I asked TK what it was like.

"Terrible! Listen, Chris'fer, don't bother go there! I was there five day, couldn't wait to come back."

"But TK, you're moving there? I thought it'd be like home ..."

"You know how many Chinese there now? Soo many! Really crowded. Terrible. Just like Hong Kong!"

It'd've been good to look up the Woo clan ... another time, another conference.