A Brand New Life

A Brand New Life (Ounie Lecomte, France/South Korea, 2009)

What kind of story would attract the acclaimed South Korean director Lee Chang-Dong's support and serving as a producer? (So far he has only served as a producer of two films. He was even only an executive producer of his own work "Secret Sunshine." I have to also mention that the film's French producer Laurent Lavolé was the guest who I honorably hosted in the Taipei Film Festival in 2008.) "A Brand New Life" is such a simple but moving film from the new French Korean filmmaker Ounie Lecomte. Based on her personal experience as a child, she sincerely shares this poignant but very inspiring childhood memories to the audience around the world.

Jinhee was taken out on a trip by her father. Her father bought a wide range of gifts, they ate lots of delicious food, and he even gave her a big cake, but it all turned to a different direction once they set their feet into a children's monastery shelter. It turned out that Jinhee's life will never be the same ever since. This has a similar premise as the famous fairy tale "The Little Princess" by the British writer Frances Hodgson Burnett. Though we think that there would be another harsh supervisor and several kids who try to bully her here through Jinhee's eyes, fortunately, the reality is not entirely so tragic.

The supervisor seems harsh, but in fact, she has a loving heart under her icy face; the crippled sister, who's the oldest among the children, sadly took her fate after the unsuccessful struggle; Sookhee is already an older child than most, she seems capricious at first, but she's very sympathetic underneath. She and Jinhee soon to become inseparable friends. But they still have total different perspectives toward the future. Sookhee, who has watched many of the adopted children left, wish that she would find a good home before she becomes too old, so she tried her best to promote herself once she gets the chance. But Jinhee, who's still waiting for her father to fulfill his promise and come back to pick her up, but the wait seems to be increasingly long and increasingly remote.

Lecomte showed her great talent in this film she wrote and directed for the first time. She presented the very personal story in a very modest and earthy way, but it's even more effective and moving than letting the sentiments taking over. Take the part where Jinhee and Sookhee secretly took care of a dying bird after they found it as an example, it simply conveys the profound meaning of the fine line between life and death. Kin Sae Ron, who was casted as Jinhee, successfully performed as the crucial key to make the film work, whether it's the look when being helpless, or the fake smile when she has learned to be sophisticated, they are all hard to make the audience not be moved.

After Sookhee was gone, Jinhee, who had hope once again in her heart, had lost someone she could rely on. In the meantime, she learned that her father and the family had moved to somewhere no one knows from the headmaster of the monastery. It was the first time in her life that she felt all alone and was left in helplessness and despair. but she eventually learned to face the difficulties of life with strengths. She quickly got a new hope that might become a turning point in her life with her adorable looks. When on her way towards the unknown destination, the warmth when leaning on her father's back on the back seat of the bike suddenly appeared in her heart, but it may only be deeply buried in the memory as the song she sang from her heart.

UK Journal: Day 36 05/Sep/10 Sun

Though I wanted to make the most of it and thought about going to a screening of "Certified Copy," I still gave up the idea and made it a relaxing day before leaving.

Kevin and Tracy took the kids to come to say goodbye to us, but it was a shame that it was time for CarO to set off for the train, so we couldn't stay with them longer. After seeing CarO off at Romford, we went for a last minute shopping for souvenirs and things we wanted.

We took our time to walk home and chill out. Finally, we left for Heathrow at 4. The way to the airport was longer due to the traffic but still not too bad. We had dinner before entering the custom.

It was an incredible five-week holiday, and I still hadn't had enough of it. But it's never enough. So with the gratitude for Mr and Mrs Sloan's generosity and kindness, this was definitely the most memorable trip in my life so far. I believe I will come back for sure and get to see more of it. London has probably become my favorite city in the world.

The journal ends.

UK Journal: Day 35 04/Sep/10 Sat

CarO and I got up early so that we could get to the destination of the day, Portobello Market, as early as possible. We got on the bus to Romford Station around 10.30 and made it to Marble Arch, the end of Central line of the day. We had a nice walk passing by both Hyde Park and Kensington Garden and finally reached to Notting Hill.

Portobello Road was definitely a lot more fun on the weekends. The shops were all opened and the venders were one after another. We could get almost anything there I think, but the priority was of course the food. I got the paella, and CarO got the salty pie and roll. We had them in a lovely small garden, and the weather was lovely,too.

We walked all the way to the very end of it. I am glad we did cos I found some £2 secondhand DVDs and got "Away from Her" for CarO and the 2 disk edition of "Oldboy" for myself. Just we we almost walked back to the bus stop on the main street, I found another secondhand DVD shop and couldn't help to go in. But because of the limited time, I had to grab the letter box set of "Casino" and "Insomnia" I was very happy to find very quickly.

CarO was gonna meet up with her friend who lives in town, so we went separately at Marble Arch Station. I made it just in time to get to the restaurant where we're celebrating Kevin's birthday. It was Liberty Bell, where we went for dinner after our arrival on the first day, so it was like a circle to finish the whole trip at the same location.

UK Journal: Day 34 03/Sep/10 Fri

The first stop of the day was Postman's Park, where Jude Law and Natalie Portman went to in the beginning of "Closer." Again, I didn't realize that it was very close to both St. Paul's and Barbican, but thankfully I made the stop eventually.

The follow-up was Tate Modern. There were definitely some impressive modern masterpieces in it such as Picasso, Pollack, Bacon and my personal favorite, Monet(even there was only one). The free galleries were not as big as the other ones which was good because we could get enough time to get the following destinations. Surprisingly, the gift shop was the first place I saw Christopher Nolan's first feature "Following" on the shelf. But I still didn't get it because I knew it would be cheaper on Amazon. But maybe I should've got it since Amazon charges delivery fee out side of UK. And it was only £2 less.

Anyway, we left and walked to Borough Market where only opens on Friday and Saturday. We couldn't wait to get there to get food since we were all very hungry. Steve got half of a pork pie, a sausage roll, a piece of brownie and a half pint of fresh cider. CarO got a veggie burger which she didn't enjoy as much as she thought she would. I got an order of fish n' chips from the seemingly only shop called "Fish!" It was good and I got really full. But the only pity was that I couldn't find the ginger ale that Paul got.

Steve soon left for home because he wanted to spend more time at home before leaving, so CarO and I carried on to the next stop, Swedenborg House, where there was a free screening of "Jacob's Ladder" which I'd never seen and booked two weeks beforehand because I saw the add on IMDb by chance. We took our time to get coffees before entering the hall. The format was DVD which was a bit disappointing even I'd thought it might be. The movie was not bad but not great either, but it's for sure worth watching.

I was trying to meet up with Simmon ever since I got in town, and it was finally the time we were available for each other. CarO and I walked to Soho since there was still quite some time before Simmon getting off work. Because I wouldn't dare to go in any bar or pub for the fear of the expensive prices, so I took CarO the area I was familiar with. We went in Duke of Wellington, where there was always crowded outside and cheap on drinks according to Steve.

We got our drinks and chatted while waiting for Simmon, but he still didn't how up after we finished our round for a while. Finally, we met him outside of G-A-Y bar, but because CarO wanted to go somewhere that not just full of guys, so we ended up in a traditional pub called "George Orwell." Then we were on our way back after merely another round because Simmon had to work the next day, and we had our plan for it as well.

UK Journal: Day 33 02/Sep/10 Thu

Today's schedule was originally planned to start at a lunch at Fifteen, the Jamie Oliver restaurant. But I suddenly realized the previous night that it would be the last chance during this trip to see the actual changing the guard in front of Buckingham.

So CarO agreed to go with me, but I didn't want to make Steve to go again, so we agreed to meet up at Fifteen afterwards. Although it already passed 11.30. we got there just in time and got a good spot soon enough. The weather was also beautiful. The parade was so much better this time. I even took a picture with an officer.

When we were setting for Fifteen, there was something wrong with the district line and the train was suspended indefinitely. Luckily, we could still take the Jubilee line and transfer to the Northern line which took us to Old Street Station very fast. But poor Steve wasn't so lucky though. He got stuck in the tube for quite a longtime because of the breakdown of the district line apparently.

CarO and I ordered Carbonara and Gnocchi, and they were simply belicimo! I also tried a house special soft drink called "Joe's Authentic Cream Soda" which contains actual vanilla seeds. It was delicious and refreshing. We had some bread with olive oil as well.

We finally met up with Steve at Camden Town. We took a long walk around and saw some lovely shops with special stuffs. But the most exciting to me was the discovery of the 2 disk edition of "Pulp Fiction" and made the whole trip there worth while. CarO also found an UK flag for her friend.

After leaving Camden, we walked to Regent's Park where just very close by. But we didn't have time to do the boat rides on the pond like the characters did in the last scene in "Happy-Go-Lucky." After showing CarO Sherlock Holmes's residence(yes, I didn't realize they were only one street away the last time). It was already 6 when we reached to Baker Street Station, so we set our way to Romford for the dinner with Claire, Mike and Gemma.

The place was the World Inn. We got there just on time luckily. The guys were already inside. We all ordered their special Indian offer. I, for sure, got vindaloo again. It was just also nice and spicy. After a few rounds, we were on our quest to look for another pub, and ended up in Brannigans, where they said they always went to when they were young.

UK Journal: Day 32 01/Sep/10 Wed

Because this was the last week, so I made a schedule and try to make sure we would make the best of it. So CarO went to the British Museum which she didn't go to the previous two times she was there, and Steve and I went to Natural History Museum which we finally went to.

It was a very good and educational museum. Kids would definitely be thrilled by the dinosaur fossils and all kinds of animal specimens. But honestly, I was really interested in biology when in school. Still, we spent a good 2 hours in it.

We then walked to Harrods, the one department store that can get you anything in the world. It was an impressive building for sure. I probably took pictures with every giant Harrods bear there and took a short look(comparably) in the HMV.

We got in the tube at Kensington High St. Station and set for Shakespeare's Globe, where we were gonna see a play called "The Comedy of Errors" that evening. Steve found out that Adrian was only available that day, so he decided to skip the play and go for the one last catch up with his old pal.

Even it's a standing ticket, £5 was still a pretty good price. CarO and I enjoyed the play very much even we stood through the whole play. But we still got the sit on the floor during the intermission. After the play, we walked to Temple Station to meet up with Steve, who also finished the rounds with Adrian.

UK Journal: Day 31 31/Aug/10 Tue

Mr and Mrs Sloan decided to take the kids to go on a boat to cruise Thames. We arrived at Westminster Pier around 12 at noon and barely caught the one left at 12.30. It was a perfect day for it. The weather was simply beautiful. The trip was just to Katherine's Pier(where Tower Bridge is at) and back.

We stopped there to have lunch at a pub called "The Dickens Inn." The meals are decent. When we were on our way back, there was a commentary on the boat which was quite nice. It soon reached to the time we had to set off to St. Pancras again to pick our third visitor, CarO from Paris.

Thankfully there wasn't a signal failure this time, and we arrived there before time. I was gonna check the flat where Zac, my Canadian friend, said he used to live in in King's Cross, but the Facebook happened to proceed the location checking at that exact time and prevent me from getting in on iPhone. So it also had to be next time.

CarO came out around 4.50pm and we started to head back. It was really nice to see her in Europe, even not in Paris. So there started another fun week and our last week in town.

UK Journal: Day 30 30/Aug/10 Mon

We went to the Notting Hill Carnival as planned despite of everyone was warning us that it might be dangerous in the huge crowd. Mr Sloan kindly gave us a lift to the closest station where the tube was still going. We got there eventually after being on the very crowded train. The amount of people were actually very scary. We only stopped at the first section of the carnival instead of going in further. We would've definitely had trouble getting out if we got in.

So we took a walk toward the Queen's Way Station and accidentally found the Whiteley's department store where a scene of "Closer" was shot at. I gotta check in the HMV in there as always and got "Dirty Dancing" which I'd never seen.

After saying goodbyes to Paul and Summer, who went back to the Netherlands that evening, we took a long walk in Kensington Garden, where I miss-judged as another small park when passing by. It was very lovely park, and the weather just couldn't be better for it. We found Albert Concert Hall at the north corner, went to Diana's memorial fountain by the pond and made the gorgeous Kensington Palace as our last stop of the day.

UK Journal: Day 29 29/Aug/10 Sun

Because of the off-service of the train during that Bank Holiday weekend, we didn't go anywhere but stayed in the whole day. But it wasn't entirely wasted since we ordered Indian takeout for dinner in the evening. I got vindaloo which was spicy enough for me. The other dishes were lovely, too. It was a very enjoyable dinner.

UK Journal: Day 28 28/Aug/10 Sat

We maintained our routine laziness after a night out and relaxed inside during the daytime, and also because that it was the day Paul and Summer made a reservation at one of Gordon Ramsey's restaurants which is in the north central called "The Warrington."

Thanks to Mr Sloan's research on the internet, we took the fastest route we could get to get there where was actually quite a long way away. We got there 30min before the schedule and got drinks at the bar while waiting for Paul and Summer.

Finally, it was the moment to find out how good that is. Summer and I ordered their special of the day, lamb with stir-fried spinach on the side. Paul and Steve ordered the house special sausage with mash. Mr Sloan got the roasted pork and Mrs Sloan got, if I remember correctly, the pan-fried trout. My dish was heaven, and I believe so were the others. It was a great choice and thanks to Paul and Summer who treated us for the meal.

UK Journal: Day 27 27/Aug/10 Fri

Because Mr Sloan finally got the vultures from Tesco for Madame Tussauds, so it was our destination of the day. It began with the famous celebrity room with film stars. I had pictures with Keira Knightley, the Beckhams, Brangelina, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Dame Helen Mirren and Nicole Kidman etc.

Then after going through all the famous sport, historical, spiritual, political and dictate wax figures, we entered the haunted house where there were actual crew of the museum who would scare you with a sudden move comes out of nowhere, but I never enjoy haunted houses that much in fact.

Then there came the final show which is there latest attraction, "Marvel Heroes 4D." It was very entertaining honestly, and it was even cooler that we didn't have to pay extra with the Tesco vultures.

Afterward, we took a walk along Baker Street to look for the Sherlock Holmes Museum. It turned out that we took the wrong direction, so we turned around and finally found it. That was also where Holmes's address was at, 221B.

After the dinner at Pizza Express(yes, again), we began our way to meet up with Adrian and finally his significant other half Jay in Soho. Instead of setting off the rounds at The Yard this time, we met them up at the one with the chandelier first. The second stop was Ku Bar cos I was asking for a cheaper one, but it wasn't so cheap after all. For the third one, we went back to Admiral Duncan which we also went to on the first evening. Soon enough Paul and Summer came join us there.

After a proper amount of rounds, we went to G-A-Y for the camp night. It was also very fun. The extra strip show of the brother from Same Different was hysterical. Even Jay, who planned to go home after the pubs, joined us. Despite of a little bit of drunk impatience of mine, it was a nearly perfect night out.

UK Journal: Day 26 26/Aug/10 Thu

I'd actually planned the day to be a trip to Oxford, but we got up too late and it was too late. So we simply went to Romford again to do some shoppings, but I have to admit, it was because I had this obsession when I found out the DVDs I got weren't the best price comparing to those on the internet, so I was eagerly wanting them to be replaced. It actually made me had a hard time sleeping the previous night. I know it sounds very weird, but sometimes I can't help to feel so biased when it comes to things I want. Even I hate myself for being like that.

Anyway, we got it taken care of. Then we found some really cheap t-shirts in Primark to get for the friends in Taiwan, there was even one that cost only £1! Insane!

Besides, I could take some pictures and film it a little since I didn't have my camcorder with me the last time. Another significant discovery was the £8 DVD of "Lebanon," a great war movie I saw at the Taipei Film Festival this year, in Sainsbury's. That was a real bargain for a new release. It ended perfectly with the pictures taken of the one and only X-Factor booth.

UK Journal: Day 25 25/Aug/10 Wed

It was a cold, rainy Wednesday. Thankfully I had planned to go see Les Misérables on that day, and the price was finally lower again at TKTS. But we got there too late and couldn't get the matinee show, so we had to go for the evening one which was strangely cheaper actually.

But it actually gave me the time to see "Scott Pilgrim" on its first day of release in London. We had trouble finding the Cineworld at Shaftsbury Ave. at first, but we found it in time thankfully. It was another absolutely cool movie from Edgar Wright again, but the stereo was crap in the theatre. I couldn't believe they didn't feel guilty to offer that poor quality with the price. It still cost £6.80 each for the screenings before 5pm.

Anyway, after the dinner at the Burger King at Leicester Square, the main show was finally on. I've been dreaming of seeing the show for 15 years ever since I knew about it, and it was already off the theatre when I went to NYC 5 years ago. So it was like a dream come true to me. The show was absolutely amazing with the songs that recalled my memories of it. Despite of the chilly temperature outside, the heat went on and will still go on for another long time I believe.

UK Journal: Day 24 24/Aug/10 Tue

So there came Paul to join us from the Dutchland as well. Summer went to pick him up at Liverpool St. Station, and we met up at Notting Hill, where the Coronet Theatre is at. I planned to see "Gainsbourg" which was showing there, and it's there special offer day every Tuesday with thickets for £3.50 only!(why oh why can't we get that kind of theatre here in Taipei)

After the movie, we went for a walk along the famous Portobello Rd., where the famous movie "Notting Hill" took place at. It was a cool area but very pricy according to the field study of Summer and Paul early on that same day.

Just as we almost finished the walk toward the end of the road, Paul said he saw Amy Winehouse just in front of the pub across the street from us. We of course immediately tried to take a good look to confirm, and it was confirmed, but not because we saw her face but because that there was a big black guy who came toward us to tell us not to take pictures as I was holding my camcorder aiming at her. So it was probably the most interesting coincidence in this whole trip.

Summer suggested to go on London Eye, so we went back to Waterloo Station again. Because Paul and Steve wasn't keen on taking it with the shocking price, there were only Summer and I who got on it. It was definitely another great way to see the city, especially during the evening when all the lights were on.

UK Journal: Day 23 23/Aug/10 Mon

We went to Barbican that day. Mainly because there's a special Monday price at the movie theatre in Barbican Center and they were playing "The Illusionist." We got the thickets the first thing we we got there which I was glad we did because we could only get the seats in the first row even it was 5 hours beforehand.

Luckily, Museum of London is close by to let us spend the time before the movie. It was actually a very nice museum, better than I though it would be. We spent approx. 4 hours in it and had to even grab sandwiches from Pret-A-Manger.

The movie was fantastic, an excellent follow-up of Sylvain Chomet's acclaimed last effort "The triplets of Belleville." It was also very meaningful because it was based on Jacques Tati's screenplay that never went on to the production state.

Steve suggested to go to Liverpool St. to get something to eat, but it was too late unfortunately. The Indian restaurants on Brick Lane seemed to close at the time. So we basically walked around and chose KFC when we were mostly out of choices.

UK Journal: Day 22 22/Aug/10 Sun

Because of the night out, we became lazy again on this Sunday. We joined Mr and Mrs Sloan to visit the local Costco properly this time. Mr Sloan got a great chunk of beef that we had for dinner later on that day.

We stopped by Best Buy which is known for their good price at electronic equipments. I was, of course, lost in the DVD section again and eventually got "Ghost(special edition)" which we watched after dinner and "The Truman Show."

UK Journal: Day 21 21/Aug/10 Sat

It was another barbie day for the visit of Steve's aunt Mary and cousin Liz. Once again, I had one too many plates of food and got really stuffed. I think Summer really enjoyed her first British family barbie experience as she enjoyed the steaks completely.

The kids seemed to be not so keen on their plays so much that day, but there were still a couple. I was very honored to be chosen by Abigail as well.

When the day seemed about to finish, Adrian asked us to go out very eagerly(according to Steve), so we eventually met him up at Limehouse for a pub called "BJ's" which was having its 25th anniversary celebration. It was very campy with the Shirley Bassey's double act but fun. We had another great night out for sure!

UK Journal: Day 20 20/Aug/10 Fri

This Friday was very back as we only made on stop which was the O2 Arena. It was unusually busy when we get there. It seemed like a large amount of Africans were there to join some sort of cult ritual or something.

We were there for the British Music Museum which should still be quite new in town. Because it was probably the site Steve was interested in the most out of the whole trip, we spend a good 5 hours in it even it only takes small space. It was informative and educational, but I think not many would pay £15 to go in.

And we call it the day when we left for home around 6.30pm.

UK Journal: Day 19 19/Aug/10 Thu

Finally, it's time to visit where the longitude and latitude were invented! Greenwich was a gorgeous place to visit. Besides the Observatory Museum where the 00'00" line is at, where also visited the Maritime Museum(mainly because that "Sense and Sensibility" shot a scene there as well) and the Royal Naval College(where the distinguished kings and queens such as Henry VIII and Elizabeth I were born at) and its chapel where the second wedding in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" took place.

Afterwards, we went to Canary Wharf which was close to Greenwich, it happened to be the off hour so the bars and pubs were insanely crowded. As we were searching for a decent restaurant with decent prices to have dinner, I think I saw a great British Actress Brenda Blethyn when we passed by the All Bar One. I regret that I didn't ask her, maybe it was her.

Summer already finished her course of the day and came join us there. We went to the Pizza Express in the end since we had the vultures that came with the movie tickets.

When we were on our way to the tube, we saw that there was an free outdoor concert going on. It was very nice to see people enjoying themselves outdoors, too. Later on, as Summer requested, we went back to Westminster again. After a short stroll around it, we took the train back at Embankment.

UK Journal: Day 18 18/Aug/10 Wed

Because neither Steve nor I had any idea where to start for the day, we went back to Oxford St. again as Summer desired. She purchased a £25 t-shirt which I thought was outrageously overpriced but apparently reasonable for her as always. We went shopping happily in Top Man as well while Steve got a few more t-shirts, and I got a very cheek british coat.

By the time we'd done with it, we walked to Leicester Square where the premiere of "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" was going on in front of Empire Cinema. We arrived just right on time. Michael Cera was signing autographs along the red carpet. There were quite many people trying to have a glimpse of the stars.

Surprisingly, Simon Pegg was there, and it suddenly occurred to me that I could get him sign on my just-purchased "Hot Fuzz" DVD cover. It tried very hard and finally got it. He's such a nice guy. But my luck didn't continue when I was trying to get Edgar Wright's signature as well. But the biggest souvenir must be the left poster board they were giving away, I nearly missed it but made it mine eventually. Oh, and Chris Evans(not the British host here) is not bad looking really.

We were gonna have some noodles in a bistro that Summer was interested in, but we ended up in Covent Garden as Summer wanted to draw some more money out. So we had the Paella that I wanted to try since when I saw it the other day.

UK Journal: Day 17 17/Aug/10 Tue

It was the day Mrs Sloan gets her day off again, so we joined them with Steve's nephews to Transport Museum at Covert Garden. According to them, it was Matthew's first time in London, so that made the day more significant.

The museum was mostly as what I expected, but I would've never known it was founded by Vivienne Westwood. I finally got a little tin box set with tea as the souvenir to the friend in Taiwan after over 2 weeks.

We then waled to Leicester Square to have a late lunch. After comparing the menus, we went in Yate's, the other pub restaurant with reasonable price according to Steve, but his parents apparently didn't feel the same way as he does about it.

After lingering at Trafalgar Square for a short while, the folks took the kids back, and we accompanied Summer to search for the London University of Art which is located at Holborn. It didn't really take us long to find it.

We walked back to Leicester Square as we planned to see "Greenberg" with only £1 tickets! Without a doubt, it was a sold-out, but the full theatre and the tiredness from the daytime actually made me doze off a bit in the beginning. But it was an overall interesting film even with some quirky moments which is Baumbach's trademark now.

After showing Summer around in the China Town, I suggested to have the Tuesday steak special offer at Moon in the River that we saw the last time. It wasn't nearly the best steak in town I could be very sure, but it was ok for it's price.

UK Journal: Day 16 16/Aug/10 Mon

We sadly didn't get out of the lazy mood and spoiled the day technically, but we still had to make the trip to St. Pancras Station to pick up Cia Cia, or so-called Summer by herself now, who came to join us from the Dutchland.

The only notable interval was that I were stuck on the train for a whole hour because of the signal failure, and apparently it has always been very common in UK and other cities in Europe. We finally met up with whatever her name is and had coffee in the Costa, a local chain store which is Starbucks's main competitor, right outside of the station.

Mr and Mrs Sloan prepared us a nice dinner again, though I can't recalled what it was instantly since there were too many times. But they were all very, very nice indeed.

UK Journal: Day 15 15/Aug/10 Sun

It was a barbecue day for Steve's whole family to get together. Steve's middle brother, Richard, his other sister-in-law Lisa and their two girls Abigail and Madeline just got back from a three-weekend vacation in Florida.

Thankfully we got in early-ish in the morning, so Steve and I didn't suffer from the hangover to much. Once again, Mr Sloan made superb barbie, I was stuffed by the delicious steaks, lamb chops and many more that I couldn't have anymore even if I waited to very badly. The kids were busy with their plays with special guests chosen by Abigail, the oldest among all.

Lisa's parents Gloria and Ray were there as well. It was a very merry family gathering that I felt very grateful to be a part of. Besides, what's there to pick on when you get endless food and drinks.

UK Journal: Day 14 14/Aug/10 Sat

We simply stayed relaxed for the parting out with Adrian again that evening. Mr and Mrs Sloan decided to do the shipping mall in the nearby town, and we went along with them. Turned out they only shopped for the friend's anniversary celebration cards, and Steve was the one who did a major shopping. He finally got the jeans and pants that fit him to keep him good in Taiwan for at least a longer period.

We made a brief stop at Costco to get food for the evening. We soon rushed out after getting back. The traffic was alright for us for the limited weekend routes. We were late inevitably, Adrian was already at The Yard. But his significant other half could't make it unfortunately.

Out route was almost the same as the one on Thursday, except that we went to a bar called "The Village" with pool dancing guys which charged us outrageously. We soon left for another more friendly bar for money wise. Soon enough, it was almost midnight and the time for clubbing.

The club is called "Heaven," but they have regular weekend parties for the closed "G-A-Y club." The saturday was featuring a girl group called "The Saturday," but we missed them apparently. The music could be very retro which was very good for us. We danced to the cheesy Madonna's, Whitney's and Kylie's etc from the 80's, but they hoped to be our kind of music.

The taxi driver called on time at nearly 3, and the two guys actually didn't feel as tired as they thought they might be, but it was still a better move to stop at there. It was absolutely a fun night out!