I got a birthday angpow from my aunt yesterday and so off to the plant retailer I went. My plan was to get two plants for the office. It is a defensive strategy: I'm defending my orchids from my father, and as a bonus, I'm trying to use it to dispell the 'sha qi' from my boss who sits diagonally across from me.

I almost blew it all on a phah. [A PHAH!, my brain screamed.] Out of whatever small puddle of discipline left in me, I walked right by and got a brown mini den with fantastic messy roots and leaves and a yellow phal. (The phal is just pure stubbornness: I refuse to believe they will die even in air conditioned environments. The den is an indulgence. While I'm not so keen about dens I love how they grow this way and that: they remind me of a rich rainforests.)

I'm crossing all my fingers for the yellow phal.