I Want Mine to Be Pink
September15
okay people, i have a new obsession – MAHJONG! i have spent the last couple of years mercilessly making fun of my mom who plays several times a week but oh my god, it’s like the best thing that has ever happened to me. okay, the best thing that has every happened to me this week 
. when i went to westport two weeks ago i had exactly two goals – 1. read all the books i would be ashamed for anyone i know to see me read and 2. learn to play mahjong. i figured i had the time, i should leave with a new skill. and its what women of leisure do…right? i have to prepare for my future…kidding…sort of…i wish you could have been there to see my mom try to teach me – it definitely included my mom running in circles around the table trying to play 3 of the 4 hands, and both of us laughing so hard we had tears rolling down our faces. i sat next to my mom as she played in two different games with two very different groups of women. by the end of the week i even played a hand on my own – and totally lost. i have no strategy and mostly no idea what i’m doing. but that doesn’t stop me, not one bit. 
. when i went to westport two weeks ago i had exactly two goals – 1. read all the books i would be ashamed for anyone i know to see me read and 2. learn to play mahjong. i figured i had the time, i should leave with a new skill. and its what women of leisure do…right? i have to prepare for my future…kidding…sort of…i wish you could have been there to see my mom try to teach me – it definitely included my mom running in circles around the table trying to play 3 of the 4 hands, and both of us laughing so hard we had tears rolling down our faces. i sat next to my mom as she played in two different games with two very different groups of women. by the end of the week i even played a hand on my own – and totally lost. i have no strategy and mostly no idea what i’m doing. but that doesn’t stop me, not one bit. i came back to SF itching to play and just like that, 3 of the girls who i worked with at camp this summer wanted to start a regular game. i was super intimidated because they had all been playing for years with their bubbies (what were NANI and GRANDMA doing all this time?) but when i got there and had a glass of wine i realized that we were all basically of the same skill level. except of course for our host, MISS ORLANDO. this girl is amazing to watch, not just when playing mahjong, although i believe that mahjong paints a crystal clear picture of why i think she’s great in general. we’re sitting at the table and she’s munching on peanut m&ms (which she points out are dark chocolate), sipping her wine and talking a million miles a minute about her trip to LA last week, all while throwing tiles, calling i want this and i want that and stealing jokers. she’s like a major pro. the three of us just stared at her in amazement, our mouths hanging open, missing our own turns as we watched her her perfectly manicured hot pink nails move at lightening speed across the table. i aspire to be just like her.
i’ve spent most of the day envisioning my mahjong future. i ordered my 2009 score card (which apparently i made a big mahjong faux pas ordering from AMAZON rather than the NATIONAL MAHJONG LEAGUE – now i won’t get their newsletter with answers to FAQs and details about upcoming mahjong cruises!) and googled to see if it was possible to find a hello kitty mahjong set. the girls are coming to rosh hashannah lunch on saturday and i’m hoping that at the end of the day, when the crowd (because when i entertain there’s always a crowd) peters out we’ll still have the energy to play. MISS ORLANDO is bringing her set and her bf is bring his Wii (ABN became quietly intrigued when he heard the news…”whatever,” he rolled his eyes, but i could see the interest when he remembered it wasn’t shoot ‘em up games but instead he could bowl!). now…if only i could find a card table. time to venture into the basement!
Thank you 
Well I do not know how to play mahjong but my friends find the game so addictive and fun
ughhh mahjongs for nerds!
Wow….. I have never heard of mahjong. So I had to laugh when you were curious to see if you could find them in hello kitty. Are you a closet collector like I am.
Hope all is going well your way. Miss ya.
Kerry
Miss Orlando sounds just like me and my friends! It’s the only way to go! Good friends, good wine, good food and yapping the night away all the while saying, 1 bam, 4 crack, etc. etc.