smiley smiley night

yesterday was chinese national day ... or something. the important thing to remember about yesterday, in my opinion, is that it was a holiday that fell on a workday. and really, is there anything else i need to know about it?

(incidentally, i have great timing when it comes to holidays. there's always some holiday when i'm in town. i think of it as the cosmos cooperating with my laziness.)

the other important thing to know about it is they usually have fireworks on that day (and other days, i suppose, but this entry is not about firework-associated hong kong holidays). i was very fortunate enough to be invited to the flat of the friend of a friend of a friend (don't think about that too hard). his place was set on the side of a hill, and had a balcony with a great view of the harbor (harbour, if you please).

as someone who has never seen grand fireworks displays, i was stunned by this particular exhibition. there were the usual exploding balls, the great spheres of twinkly white lights (which i really like), the run-of-the-mill shooting light type of thing (i have the terminology down pat) ... but what was really spectacular and intriguing to me (aside from the immaculate state of this guy's flat) was the exploding smiley.

you see the ball of light zoom up into the sky and when it explodes, it turns into a smiley in mid-air. HOW??? i don't care about the concentric rings and the hearts (ok, now that i've mentioned it, maybe you can explain the hearts as well). just tell me about how you can get two eyes and a smile to find their way in the smoky air and stay where they are meant to be! my champagne-soaked brain and i couldn't let that thought go the whole night.

i, of course, wanted to talk about it some more, but being the only filipino in the group, i felt like i had to stick to the practical, sensible issues at hand (like if i was open to marrying a man who already had 10 wives. don't ask. they already did).