MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas is one of the biggest 'family' holidays for Westerners (and others). The best thing about Christmas (ideally) is being with family.Well, the best thing is actually to be withretired AV stars, but family is nice too.

Christmasbrings family members together to talk, exchange gifts, and preserve the family's secret gravy recipe through drinking excessively such that no one can remember it. 

But for those of us who don't live near family, or choose not to be around them, Christmas can be bittersweet. I can confess to getting a little maudlin when I hear Christmas carols, because Christmas is my family's biggest holiday. It's my mother's favorite. The day after Thanksgiving, she starts singing Christmas carols.

The fact that she now lives in Florida has made absolutely impact on her willingness to suddenly start singing "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

I like to tease her and say it looks a heck of a lot more like Cinco de Mayo. That's when she says "Ho ho ho and shut the f@#$ up."

It's hard for me because I grew up in New England, and lived within easy walking distance of the house where Clement Clarke Moore wroteYou know the scenes on Christmas cards, with all the snow, etc.? Well, I grew up in that environment. So Christmas anywhere else just seems... not right.

I mean, how would you feel celebrating Chinese New Year in Romania? Cha m'do lah...

Even so, Christmasaway from family and/or home, wherever and whatever that may be, is not easy. If you're not with family, then the next best thing is to be with friends.

Tonight I'll go play mahjong with Rick, his wife, and others.

But last night is what I want to talk about now. The AnD Christmas party was held at Rack's.

If we keep adding parties to the calendar, I may end up in Lan Kwai Fong six times a year, which is six more than usual.

I got there right at 10, because, frankly, I had nothing better to do. I mean there was nothingbetter I could have been doing. I like to go to parties early because you can talk to people, the music isn't too loud (yet), and it's easier to move around.

I got a chance to talk with Patrick about some of the things he's been doing as well as some of the things AnD may be doing in the future. "You can trust us. We're from the government..."I also got to meet Kirt Kishita, a very nice guy with a great sense of humor. I am fairly sure I'm in a picture with him, I just didn't take one.

Another early visitor to the part was Michael Wong, who was his usual funny and tanned self. Another photo op missed.

I also met Rebecca, a friend of ReneW. She lives in Beijing and is here visiting. I'm sure I'm in a picture with Rene, but I didn't take one of her. But I did get this photo of Rebecca:That's her on the right. 

I saw JuJu Chan, who not only had a great dress, but a smile so radiant that it lit up the room.The only I'm not smiling is because JuJu is doing all the smiling that will fit in one photo, so there was none left for me.Faye Leung was there, also dressed in an outfit much nicer than my  own, though that's not a hard task to complete."If Sean asks me the difference between plie andreleve again I'm going to scream..."Speaking of well-dressed and radiant, Jane Wong was there, looking fabulous as per usual. "He is waaaaay too close to me..."The party started gaining momentum and Rack's got fuller (and louder). Between taking photos and posing for them, I was busy, but happily so.

Gloria Wong was there, which made Etchy (and all the other guys) happy.He thought the green antlers were mistletoe.Or at least hoped they were.Merry Christmas!Hikaru was visiting from Japan with her friend (I can't remember he name but she was very nice), and it was nice to meet her in person. I won't say she's short. I'll just say I'm a lot taller than she is.Terence Yin was there, and I'm in a picture with him. It will hopefully turn up.

Also there was Terence's 'brother from another mother' (his words, the inimitable Simon Yin. He made his presence felt immediately.

At one point he was gleefully posing for a photo with two women sitting on his lap. As nearly as I could tell, the girls were kissing each other. Simon's got it like that. I just wish he'd share a little of it.He had to keep those Pimp Hands a safe distance from me. And he has really long legs.Simon can and does blow up a room with remarkable ease. Heis to parties what Nitrous Oxide is to car engines.JuJu's smile is infectious. It doesn't affect me because of a recent schedule of antibiotics. But it is still damn nice.Shan Chen was there too, back for a few days from her tour of South America to regale us with travel tales and her innate hotness.The Devil learned how to smile from watching Shan. Which is easy to do. The watching, I mean.Shan is the only woman I've ever seen wearing a tank top and Eskimo boots. It worked.

How well did it work? It nearly gave me an asthma attack, that's how well.

Bert Chang and Chung Tsang were there, and naturally there was ensuing hilarity. "This girl's armpitstinks!!!"There was merriment and cheer in abundance. Lots of jello shots, too. As a New England Catholic, I am quite accustomed to heavily alcoholic Christmases. It's standard inebriating procedure. It reminds me of Christmas at home.

But last night everyone remained cheerful and benign, and no one knocked over the Christmas tree or fell down the stairs. Even so, it seemed like Christmas.  "I'm so drucking funk!" "He's dro sucking funk!"I enjoyed myself thoroughly, and it was a very nice feeling to be among friends, and to realize I had quite a few of them.I'm grateful to Patrick and Etchy and everyone at AnD for allowing me to say I had plans for Christmas Eve, for throwing such a great party, and for providing an excellent alternative to Christmas with the family.MERRY CHRISTMAS  

to everyone. Have a great day and enjoy yourself thoroughly.

I know I will; I'll be playing mahjong!