guineapiggie101

If you are gonna wash your jumpsuit, I would advise getting it dry cleaned so as not to cause problems with the fabric and colors.

Not sure if people from here have been to Hong Kong, but for those who have, do any of you guys have hotel suggestions? I haven't been there in over 20 years. I don't want to stay with my uncle because I don't want to inconvenience them and I also want time to myself. If I stay with my other relatives, it just causes issues. My uncle lives on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong. This will be the first time I have ever been overseas without my mom or husband making the hotel arrangements. So, I'm a bit leery. I am hoping not to have to spend over $200/night for hotel, but if it comes down to it, I will.

Emmy, thanks for your vote of confidence. It wasn't easy and I was in tears after I stood up to my mom about hanging out with my uncle. I purchased my air ticket today. I will be in HK from 1/24 - 1/31/13 . Flying non-stop from LAX. Tix was $1238. Not too bad.

Hey, that is a good idea. This should be interesting.

Are you friends with Tyana? Reason I ask is that I was approached by her on FB (she is an old SCA friend of mines) asking if I could do this for a friend of hers. For the rest of those skydivers that are reading, is it easy to hold a sign in your hands, as a tandem passenger? I told my friend I would do it this weekend, provided the DZ doesn't have an issue with it. Any suggestions to make this go smoothly?

That'd be cool. Maybe next year. I haven't been to Seattle since I was a kid.

Did you think I would have more jumps????

I ended up emailing them my original email. I decided beforehand that I would stay in a hotel (so I wouldn't inconvenience people). Also, I like time to myself instead of being in people's faces all day. It's a stress reliever thing for me. My uncle wrote back that he would be happy to show me around and to let him know my itinerary once it is finalized. He did agree not to tell my mom. I do plan on telling my mom before I go, but not before plans are finalized. I don't need the headache. I plan on buying the air ticket today or tomorrow. I am both excited and SCARED about doing this. I get to see my uncle, but I am going against my mom in order to do so (which I highly dislike doing). Can't wait till end of Jan comes.

I think I am going to HK. I already found a ticket that is priced not too badly. Planning to go the 1/24 - 1/31. I am gonna email my uncle and ask him are those days good. I will be there for a week. Gonna stay in a hotel and ask to hang out for a day or so. Also will ask him NOT to tell my mom until my plans are finalized. What do you think of my email: I am thinking of taking a week off aand flying onto Hong Kong and paying you guys a visit. It would be the perfect opportunity. I plan on staying in HK for one week (1/24 - 1/31) and will be staying in a hotel. If you are available one or two of those days to show the sights to me, that would be great.

Skymama, you hit it right on, my mom would give everything to be able to mother me again. I can tell that, especially last year when I had my tib/fib. I moved home for a few weeks so I could heal up faster. My mom was happy to take care of me. I know she misses being a mother. She wants grandchildren to care for and she is also pressuring my brother to marry his gf so she can have grandkids . I emailed some pics I took this weekend to my uncle, and he was pleased with them. He also reiterated that I should come visit. I just have to step out of my "comfort" zone and make a decision and stick to it. I'm almost 40 and I can take care of myself and I am NOT a bother to people (contrary to what my mom says), by visiting them. Hoping to firm up plans to go sometime in Jan.

I'm actually quite a bit smaller than my mom. :( I'm barely 4'5" tall.

Skymama, thanks!!! Yes, she is from an older generation, and she isn't very Americanized at all. My uncle is pretty Americanized, even though he lives in HK with his family. He went to college in the States and lived, for many years, in Canada. I do try to accept her the way she is and that she probably will not change. I know she loves me. For most of my adult life, I have chosen to try and avoid dealing with her and her idiosyncracies. I moved away to go to college when I turned 18, even though there are many distinguished, excellent universities in CA. I wanted to grow my own life, far away from her. I rarely travel together with her because I find it hard to deal with how she treats me. I spend time with her in situations that I can control (where I can go back home to my place, at the end of the day, or the end of a few days). This was the first time I've traveled with her overseas, since I was teenager. I knew it was gonna be difficult, so I was kinda prepared. I know my mom cares about me, and she has seen some of the bad decisions I've made in my life, and maybe she is trying to protect me from doing things that cause me issues. I dunno. I do plan on going since I enjoy traveling, and I haven't been to Hong Kong in ages. People tell me its changed so much and that I will have a good time. Right now, I am hoping to go towards the end of Jan. when tickets are not that expensive. I hope to stay a week out there. Still need to see about my vacation time and stuff.

I'm not sure about going "nuclear" on her, mainly because she is my mom and parental respect is big within the Asian culture. Normally, my life with her is on a "need to know" basis. I don't tell her everything about my life, where I go, etc., just to avoid her nagging and sticking her nose in my business. She doesn't know I do tandems, or that I once did AFF stuff. This was the first time since I moved away 21 years ago, that I have gone on an overseas trip with her. I want to go to Hong Kong to visit my uncle and his family, but I'm not sure how much repercussion I will get from my mom. I know she will try to convince me not to go, or else come with me and watch my every movement. I can't really just go and not tell the rest of my relatives or have my uncle NOT tell people, since that would be considered disrespectful. I do kinda know why my mom keeps me away from my relatives. I think (and she has hinted this to me), that she is embarrassed by my height and how I look. It's a sore point with me, since it isnt something I can change.

Last week I was in Shanghai for a cousin's wedding. Got to see relatives that I hadn't seen in almost 25 years. It was nice to reconnect with people and get to hang out with them. My mother, as usual, was being a "fly in the ointment". She would NOT leave me alone, constantly watching whatever I was doing, criticizing me, coming at all hours to my hotel room (that I was sharing with my brothers gf - he couldn't come to wedding because of work). She gave me flak about staying after the wedding to go out with some of my other cousins for a drink at another hotel bar. She was like "you shouldn't go out, it's late, no taxis, etc. The "cherry" on top of all the crap she was dishing out to me was on the last day. Each day (besides the wedding day), we went on tours around the city with most of my relatives. Not everybody went everyday. On the last day, my favorite uncle (that I had NOT seen in 25 years) wanted to hang out with me. I also wanted to take him and his family out for lunch and chat. My mom FLIPPED out and told me it was not a good idea, that I would be a bother to them, and she even LIED to me about them coming on the tour with us. That morning (with the advice of my brother's gf), I stood my ground (which is unusual since I give into my mom most of the time), and told her that I was gonna hang with my uncle. She then said I would be a bother to them and would annoy them. She then proceeded to give me a guilt trip and belittle me :( I'm really happy I stuck to my guns since I had a lot of fun with them. I get along with my uncle a lot (he was always my favorite uncle). He says I should visit Hong Kong (where they live and where most of my relatives live), since it's changed so much in the 25 years that I was last there. I KNOW my mom will tell me not to go. She goes to Hong Kong twice a year, and each time I ask to come with her, she tells me "its not a good idea". When my grandma died 7 years ago, she refused to let my brother or I come to the funeral. She wouldn't tell me the exact date of the funeral (she went back for a whole month) and at that time, I didn't have any contact info for my relatives there. I have no idea why she is so against me going there. If you were in my shoes, would you go against my mom's wishes and go if you want? I wish I could understand why my mom is the way she is. If I visited, I'd stay in a hotel and maybe hang out with my uncle for a day or so. I also like to explore HK by myself, and I do speak the language fluently.

Right now I only do tandems (previously I did AFF for a while). My parents have no idea. My brother knows. I recently told my uncle (he's cool and won't tell my mom) and he thought that was dangerous, but he said if it makes me happy, I should go for it.

Thanks!!! I took a look at the messageboard and it says that it is harder now to get proxy sites because of increased govnmt censorship. I'll survive. Don't need to draw trouble to myself. I come back on Monday!!! Yay!!!

What's a proxy site and how do I access that??? It would be great if I could get on FB :)

Ha ha!!! I don't plan on it. I'm having a good time. My relatives are fun, esp my Aussie ones. Boy can they drink After the wedding dinner tonight, a few of them are planning to hit the clubs out here, so it should be interesting. My Aussie aunt is going too, so it should be a rollicking good time. I'm rooming with my brother's gf (he couldn't come because of work obligations). I feel sorry for her. My mom and my relatives are putting "pressure" on her about what their plans for the future are.

Didn't know how attached I am to FB and phone chatting (I'm not a big texter). I'm on vacation right now in Shanghai. It's really interesting here. Traffic is BAD and drivers and motorcyclists don't seem to care about pedestrians. FB is banned here :( . So, I'm suffering withdrawals from that. I haven't used my cell out here, so I rely on emails and with the time change and my busy schedule out here, that has been erratic. Can't wait to come back to the States. But it's fun to see relatives I havent seen in 2 decades and fun to sighsee and go on all the sights. Sorry to spill out like this. Just miss communicatiing Any cool shit happening on DZ.com???

For those of you who have traveled overseas recently (Asia, etc), did you bring your cell with you and use it overseas? I know the rates are gonna be higher with international calling. I have a Sprint iPhone 4S, and I am going to Shanghai, China on Tues. Will be gone for a week. Not sure if I should just depend on calling cards while over there, or will using iPhone not be an issue?

Thanks everybody for the reassurances. My last car was a 1998 Honda Civic and it's still running (my parents now use it as a spare car) and it has about 300K miles. Only major thing I've done for that car is replace the catalytic converter. No plans on reselling the car. Just hoping to drive the car a long time.

I speak English and Cantonese fluently. Sometimes when I go visit the old country, people think I am native to there, since I speak Cantonese so fluently.

Thanks everybody!!! I just don't want to lessen its life. I plan on driving this car till the wheels fall off. And yes, I am very big about the oil changes, etc. In fact, the car is due for an oil change this week.

Last Oct. I bought a 2012 Honda Civic brand new. It is one year later and I have 26K miles on it. Do you guys think I am putting too many miles on it? Besides the usual city driving to and from work (60 miles round trip) each day, I also do a 4 hr (round trip) drive every weekend. I have also taken the car on two long distance trips and there is a possibility I am driving it up to San Francisco again this weekend.

Not sure if we are in stagflation. Yes, prices are up for everything, esp gas prices in CA (gal of regular is over $5 in some places). There is still demand. If you go out on any day of the week, esp weekends, you'll see that restaurants are still crowded, people are still traveling, hotels are expensive, etc. I'm planning to go to SF this upcoming weekend and hotel prices are already sky high.