well guys I made it to Sri Lanka last night, I couldn't eat the pre-ordered meal of sea bass, I was too full of crabs. [have fun with that one]
I really enjoyed the evening and looking forward to meeting several of you in the future. What a great bunch of people.
Thank you for everything.
MJM, put me down agian.
Regards,
Robert

It was yet another flawless weekend executed by mjm. Typical of FTers, I-FlyByNight left the dinner to fly to Sri Lanka. Zvedza flew in from Vilnius, Lithuania, coming in from the airport solely for dinner. He then continued his RTW trip to Tokyo.

The UA flyers now scatter to various points of the UA flight map. We had mjm, Jan AZ, msy msp, prncess674, chemist661, wwee, violist, bennie and myself on the UA flight from Singapore to Narita this morning. Everyone's upgrade cleared, we earned mega miles, and we each qualified for UA's triple bonus promo, so we were all happy.

Has mjm hosted more Dos out of his home country than anyone else? I remember two in Singapore, one in NYC, another in the south of France...... here's a toast to Mike!


[This message has been edited by SanDiego1K (edited Jan 19, 2004).]

Ah shucks ma'am.

Kind words, but the weekend evolved so smoothly, and on the inspiration of an absent guest, mauld. Next year Michele.
Speaking of next year we have, I believe, decided unanimously that it is to henceforth be the Pepper Crab Do. The hands down winner for everybody right?

I will even make an effort to get next year's attendees to a place that does White Pepper Crab also. Wilson you know the one right?

My heartfelt thanks and hugs to my chat buddies, Carol and Jan. See you guys next month.

I was lucky to meet a few new people this time as well. That is perhaps one of the best things about these Dos, the ever growing circle of flying fanatics to hang out with. Hope to see you guys again somewhere soon. Bennie, make that an FT handle and come hang out with us more often. And of course Nathan and Rachel, a great team I hope to see again this summer with any luck.

Finally a special thanks to the fellow whose food sense I think has got to be second to none. A gentleman who made it possible for me to have a seat with all the rest of the gang in C on the way back. The one and only, violist. First aged rum is on me next time I see you sir.

Next year is on the cards everybody so plan accordingfly and I will look forward to seeing you in SIN again soon.

Mike

Soooo sorry I missed it this year! Hubby's arm is healing, so I should be in HKG in a months time. Mike, are we planning the Pepper Crab Do for 'same time next year' ?? If so, I'll book my trip as soon as the airlines allow !!
Can't wait to see the pics!

Sounds like a plan to me

I am fairly flexible on that.

You have to wait about 32 more days to book though because this year is a leap year.

Look forward to it.

Mike

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FT Pictures Page (hosted by markbach)
My Starbucks City Mug Collection Page

Oooh, I'm tickled to see that many have seen the light and converted to pepper crabs - they've always been my preferred choice! Jumbo is okay for black pepper crabs - many other much more delightful options if you guys are ever up for venturing beyond the East Coast options.

There's a great place in the 'burbs that serves a really impressive crab-noodle soup -- the broth is fantastic. Unfortunately the location lacks the fun of going to the sea-side. If anyone is interested I can pass on the contact info for the place. My friends and I usually get the crab soup, pepper & chilli to go, and pig out at somebody's place. Excellent grub.

What about No Signboard Seafood? They have got to be one of the best!

Post next year's date asap and I will try to make it.

Just said goodbye to Jan, who had to catch
a flight to Phoenix.

Thanks to all for making this a great trip:
special thanks of course to mauld, the
inspiration, and mjm, the impresario and
terrific host.

Cheers from the SFO-RCC, my third home.
ML

That's the name of the restaurant mjm mentioned to me. Guy Betsy began raving about white pepper crabs over a year ago to me, so I've already got a hunger built up for them - and I've only come in from Singapore!

I would guess that next year's pepper crab run would be the weekend of January 15/16, 2005, if we are sticking to Martin Luther King's weekend. I believe that Chinese New Year will not be a conflict in 2005.

For those who love massage, Bennie, Jan and I boldly entered a massage parlor in Chinatown. We were on Telok Ayer, where every second shop appeared to offer massage. We got a head, shoulder, and hand massage for 40 Sing Dollars for one hour, or about $25. The massage quality was superb. On a separate visit we paid just 20 Sing dollars for foot reflexology (40 minutes). Highly recommended!

And msp-msy got such a cool new cell phone that we are thinking that we may need to do another SIN run for cell phones!!! ( paging kanebear and ScottC )

Seriously we all had a good time - some of us even had Singapore Slings at the Long Bar at Raffles - the first 3 or 4 sips didnt taste to good - but after that it was yummy

I am sorry to have missed this event yhis year and glad eveyone had a good time I will make every effort to attend next year as I look forward to the Black Pepper Crab Do.

A very nice trip! Had a very nice time meeting everybody & having some great pepper/chili crab. Will have to do it next year!

Enjoyed my fav seat 15A LAX-NRT & NRT-LAX.

which phone did MSP-MSY get? i'm eyeing on the sony erricson one, but will have to wait till my phone contract runs out in 6 mths time. Will have to agree that cell phones in Asia is far more advanced than in the US, but careful with the voltage though cuz SIN uses 220~240V.

Truly enjoyed and had a great time at the SIN Do....now I'm tempted to go to the HKG Do....Will see if I can get back from the US in time for it.

I am also very sorry to have missed it..I was called for Jury Duty which I 'd already rescheduled...and as luck was have it I only had to attend one morning! dang...tryiing now to figure a way to get to the HKG do..

next year in SIN...

Well I got the Nokia 6820. It is really cool, and of course I like gadgets. This thing has all the bells and whistles. (bluetooth, GPRS, camera and a full qwerty keyboard that flips out)Price was about $100 US less than if you could find it in the states.

It was great to meet everyone out there. For a second DO it was quite fun. Made it home in one piece and now am eyeing a good night sleep, been up since .... well that is a good question..

MJM thanks for putting the whole thing together, and I look forward to the first annual run for pepper crabs. SanDiego1K thanks for letting me crash the tea, when the list starting getting shorter, and my client bailed on the meeting. Also an appology to jan-az and SanDiego1K for creating serious gadget envy

Hope to see you all soon