Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
Jack Frost nipping on your nose,
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
And folks dressed up like Eskimos.

Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe,
Help to make the season bright.
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow,
Will find it hard to sleep tonight.

They know that Santa's on his way;
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh.
And every mother's child is going to spy,
To see if reindeer really know how to fly.

And so I'm offering this simple phrase,
To kids from one to ninety-two,
Although its been said many times, many ways,
A very Merry Christmas to you.

Ahh... I love that song. OK, Christmas is well over [can you believe it's already February!] but it's such a nice song -- so very smooth and relaxing -- no matter what time of year it is. And what do you know... Michael Buble has a wonderful version -- I love his style. =p

I'm still in New Jersey... this should be my last week here, thank goodness. Sigh, I can't wait to go home.

So until then, Merry Christmas to you. =)

So while we were supposed to return to Toronto the evening of the 5th, we were among the over 500 American Airlines flight cancellations at Chicago O’Hare that night and ended up staying the night after an evening of frustrating lines and chaos.

But, at least we got a relatively good night’s sleep at a hotel (*not* paid by American Airlines, but at least at a reduced rate) since our morning flight was further delayed until the afternoon. So last night, we arrived safe and sound, and not too tired – no jetlag! =)

Unfortunately, after I returned last night, I felt really gross in my stomach, and my body basically rejected everything I had eaten in the past day – so I didn’t know what caused it since I pretty much ate with my family for the entire vacation. Except for the sushi bar at lunch when I lost everyone before meeting to go to the Tokyo airport… it could have been any of the raw oyster, octopus, sea urchin, or fish that lunch… yuck. =P

However, there is always a greater plan, and I was able to rest up (didn’t go to work as I intended to) and finish my two assignments due today (well, yesterday – the 7th)! I had two assignments due for the CBV designation… one of which, I pretty much completed on the plane from Hong Kong; I just had to type it out. The other, I couldn’t start until this afternoon when I had to buy the replacement textbook … I left my first one on the train in Tokyo on the way to the airport.

When I realized my stupid, stupid mistake, the exact point when I misplaced my book on the train, up to the airport check-in platform completely flashed in front of my eyes. Sigh. So stupid – and a waste of time… which felt much worse with much idle time in Chicago.

Sigh, but, they’re all done and sent (half an hour past the deadline – hopefully it’s okay), so that my entire family can go to yet another Yam family gathering. My aunt and her sons (my indirect nephews) are going to London, England, whereas my sister is also returning back to Montreal tomorrow. So somehow, everything works out.

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.

Can you believe it, three weeks have flown by just like that.

We are now trying to fit everything into our suitcases in preparation for our departure for Tokyo tomorrow morning.

A brief rundown of my HK trip this year:

December
13 to 17 - arrival and shopping, some sights
18 - cousin's wedding
19 to 23 - Fuk-kien
24 - Choi day
25 - Yam day
26 - Choi day
27 - meet up with friends
28 - meet up with friends
29 - Macau
30 - Shenzhen
31 - Shenzhen and Choi night
1 - last minute shopping!
2 to 5 - Tokyo, return home!

So yes... I will blog about various things!!

As for our return home, we will be returning to Toronto on January 5 on the following flights:

Tokyo -> Chicago O'Hare on AA 154, departing 7:20pm and arriving 3:55pm

Chicago -> Toronto on AA 1952, departing 5:35pm and arriving 8:06pm

Be back soon!