Most of the trees in our neighborhood are now bare-naked, with the exception of the conifer trees. Seasonal birds began their migratory route as the northern wind rolled in. It only seemed like yesterday when children were out in full force for their Halloween Trick or Treating. Streets now sit empty with occasional traffic. Winter season has begun.
One of my favorite songs 機 場, by 薛 岳 interprets it the best - 熱 帶 的 人 們 永 遠 不 懂 下 雪 的 冬 季. How true is that?! While there may not be any remedy to cure the winter blues, a steaming hotpot will surely help combat the winter cold. If there is one thing my wife and I love as much as having a hotpot, is hosting a hotpot gathering. We hosted our first hotpot gathering some 3 or 4 years ago. Since, it has become a family tradition for us.
A visit from two great friends north of the border helped kick off our winter tradition this year. Known to many of her online friends as DJT – 大姐頭, had finally decided to pay us a visit. It took some coercing and bribery, lo and behold, she and her better half, known as DP, booked a rental van and plotted their routes. The trip didn't start out as planned for the duo, as they got lost on the interstate's loopy loops. By the time they found their way, the traffic was at a standing still - Canadian & American border checkpoint.
I'm not sure how they maintained their sanity sitting idling for several hours. I remember calling them to check on their trip progress. At close to 1 pm, this happy pair had finally infiltrated into the American territory! Without a Marauder's Map like Harry (Potter), I could only guesstimate their whereabouts. At around 5:30 pm, just as I was debating whether or not to hit the gym and spike it up, then the phone rang. DJT with her trademark 中氣十足 voice informed me that they were getting close to Fort Wayne, which would place them ~ 2.5 hours from our place.
Woo-hoo, I could go and play volleyball for a couple of hours before the Mounties’ arrival, awesome! Old grasshopper packed up his gym bag, laced up his gym shoes, passed, bumped, set, spiked and worked up a good sweat. I checked the clock on the wall and hopped in the shower to freshen up. Wouldn’t want to offend our long-distance guests now, at least not on the “first date”.
I got home and rested for a while, it was about 9 pm then. “Hmm…where in the world are the two Waldos?”, I thought to myself. I peeked out the windows every time a car drove by, nope, not that one. It wasn’t until well past 9:30 pm before a mini-van slowly came down our street. Still, not quite sure if our guests had arrived, I stood and waited by the windows.
The van drove past our front door very slowly, it almost stopped but kept rolling. I was able to catch a glance at the Ford logo and the “foreign” license plate – Ontario! “It took them long enough, and they overshot our house.”, I stood by the door, waiting for them to come around. A couple of minutes passed and the van came around the corner, FINALLY!
I called out to my Mrs. “They’re here!”. Two strangers stepped out of the van, one of them actually looked familiar – from the back side. Yup, that’s DJT all right!
Part II to follow...
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