This week is flying by. I think this can be attributed to the fact we have not been in the office much this week. Mostly driving around to visit sites. And the fact that I am going to Hong Kong this weekend so I am focused on that. There has been one event this week that deserves addressing and that is my Karaoke adventure.

So my bosses announce on Tues. That we will attend karaoke after work. Phil and I have talked to some people about it and we know it is a popular past time but we don't really get exactly what it's all about. We soon discovered that the U. S. Idea of karaoke pails in comparison to the grand event it is taken for in China. We leave work and arrive at the karaoke place at about 6:30. It is called KTV and it looks like one of the grand casino hotels you would find on the Las Vegas strip. When we walked inside, it resembled the hotel lobby of one. It had thee stories and was soo decorated very flashy and expensive looking. At this point, Phillip and I are just looking at each other, trying to figure out what is going on. So Sue gets us a room and we get up to the third floor. When we get out, the hallway is lined with lights and mirrors. I will try to post a pic on my blog but I am not sure if it will work. So we go into our personal room, which looks like a VIP lounge at some swanky LA club. It has a huge flat screen with a remote and two little tvs to choose songs from. We order our food, because of course you eat while you do karaoke, and the fun begins.

Now, what Phillip and I had been wondering about this whole karaoke thing was, do these people do it to be fun and silly, or are they actually serious. Turns out, its the second. KARAOKE IS SERIOUS! So even though nobody in our party of seven could sing decently, we all sat with straight faces or encouraging smiles. This is probably the cruelest form of torture I can think of. I had to get up and go into our private bathroom a couple of times in order to avoid offending someone.

Of course the first song they pic for me to sing in "my heart will go on" by celine dion. I swear I am not making this up, they picked the Titanic song. Luckily, my 50 something co-worker who sits in the back of the office always has this song on repeat during the day. And when I can't hear him snoring, I usually can hear him singing this so the words were fresh in my head. Other songs they had us sing were Whitney Houston "the greatest love" and "I'm saving on my love for you", several songs by the carpenters, who were apparently a big hit in China, Miss American pie, and many songs from artists who couldn't make it in America but were huge in Hong Kong. They did songs in Chinese, except for Chapman, who is from Hong Kong. He was the one picking all the songs for us from people we had never heard of.

After 5 hours of karaoke, yeah, 5, Phil and I were exhausted. Mostly because we had spent the better part of the night avoiding eye contact BC if we looked at each other, we lost it and also bc... We had been singing for five hours! So we ended up getting home around 12.

Now I am complaining like I didn't like it but in all honesty, it was amazing. When I get back to the states, I think I am going to open my own karaoke house. I mean, this would be so popular in a college town, and it is actually really fun to try and sing all the songs you usually cover in the shower. The only thing I would change is the background video played. I guess bc they do not have rights to most of the English songs, they can't play the artist's music video. Instead, they just play random footage like a dolphin show, a 1970's family picnic, or maybe a girl with a big sequin belt ad shoulder pads strolling in a park to the Beatles "let it be". I dont know, but they were funny.

I will write after this weekend when I go to Hong Kong, and I am trying to get my pics up as fast as I can. I am adding another album tonight. Miss you all!!!!!