As it usually happens at this time of the year, DBW was surfing for next year’s holidays, last week.

And, for some weird reason, she found out that British Airways was selling return flights to Hong-Kong (from ZRH) for CHF. 900.

Which immediately initiated a flurry of activity within our family: hotels? Hong-Kong Island or Kowloon? Dates? February? Nah: Chinese New-Year falls smack-bang in the middle of that holiday period and the whole city closes down for three days. April? Definitely more feasible. If slighty more expensive.

I suggested we’d wait for a couple of days; the time to purchase a travel guide which might give us a couple of tips and tricks, or do’s and don’ts that would turn our 10 days into the perfect holiday.

They were to be the couple of days too many: by today, the flights were back up to CHF. 750 per way.

It’s all my fault..

Upon being asked what she would like for Christmas, Sarah announced that a laptop would be very nice (something about being able to sit on her bed while on MSN instead of being “forced” to sit at her desk).

Understandable..

So I spent a couple of days checking out my various sources for second-hand IT equipement until I had came up with a pretty good solution which wouldn’t break the bank.

Until she went and ruined it:

Errm, Dad: please note, I don’t want an “IBM”, I want a Mac.

I always thought socks were a GREAT Christmas present!

If you are given fresh lobster for Christmas, there is one thing you definitely do not do:

Cook and freeze the stuff

After all, you could just as easily take a trip down to your local supermarket and purchase a couple of those “incredible-frozen-in-sea-water-lobsters-that-shrink-from-500g-to-75g-upon-cooking”.

Trouble was: it was Friday evening and, as usual, the kids were out and about.

So we were left with 2 kilos of the stuff to eat all..by..ourselves:

It was atrociously difficult and we both suffered a lot.

But I can now cross off yet another item from my life’s ambitions: I gorged myself on fresh lobster until I couldn’t stand the sight of the stuff!

Next item: purchase a Caribbean island, hmmmm…..

Advent is a lovely period.

Friends pop by and visit you. And if you’re really well-liked, they sometimes even bring a gift or two.

Which is exactly what our crazy Italian pals did today:

Carefully check out the pic and you will notice:

• 4 live lobsters
• 3 live crabs
• 2 kilos of Venus Mussles
• 2 kilos of fresh tuna
• 4 fresh daurades (a.k.a. bream)

Totally nuts, I tell you. And that’s only when the fun actually started: I mean, what do you do late on a Wednesday evening with 4 live lobsters? Stick them into the freezer? They’re alive, remember.. Cook and eat them? It’s already past 20:30..

Pre-cook and eat them the day after? RIGHT!

So how do you humanely kill a lobster before cooking it? WRONG.. There is no other way than the one you all know about:

1. Boil water
2. Stick in lobster head-first
3. Throw-up over the balcony.

So I sat there as the water was starting to boil, talking to the things:

If you’ve never plunged a living being into a pot of scalding liquid before, believe me: it’s not worth trying out. I did it 7 times in a row and it took me the rest of the evening to recover.

We devoured the vongoles and treated ourselves to some tuna tartar. But I couldn’t help thinking about the murderous acts I’d just committed.

And no: I can’t tell you if they scream when they die. I held my hands over my ears to be spared their (eventual) agony..