Season change

Today I'm thankful for hoodies, colourful scarves and warm socks.

(It hit 15'C in HK today! Finally!)

Schoolbus of death

" 美國總統說過，我們不知道哪輛校車里的孩子將來會是美國的總統。所以校車安全性是中國的40倍。 中國領導人知道，不論哪輛校車里的孩子都不會是中國的主席。因為領導的孩子不會坐校車 . 幾萬元的校車，裝60多個學生。幾十萬元的公車，裝一個領導干部。他們對醫療不重視，因為他們有高干病房； 他們對教育不重視，因為他們的孩子留洋； 他們對食品安全不重視，因為他們有特供食品；他們對堵車不重視，因為他們出行警車開道； 他們對國家未來不重視，因為他們妻兒已經移民美國！ 他們對維穩很重視，因為他們怕失去這些!這就是我們的領導！能買光全世界的飛機，卻買不起一輛校車；能把衛星送入太空， 卻造不起一座小橋；能給別國花數億，卻不肯多蓋幾所小學；一年能吃掉幾十艘航母，卻逼著孩子捐出午飯錢.

An American president once said, we don't know which one of those school-buses is carrying the future President of the USA. Which explains how school buses in the US are 40 times safer than those in China. Whereas on the other hand, Chinese leaders know that those children in school buses won't be the future Chairman of China, 'cause future leaders don't ride on school buses.

A school bus that costs a couple thousand dollars will carry 60 children. But future leaders ride in million-dollar limos. Medical policies are not important to them, because they have private hospitals. Education is not important to them, because they send their children to study abroad. Food-safety issues are not important to them, because they have their meals provided for them. Traffic jams are no issue, because they ride around with police escorts. What the future holds for their country is not important to them, because their wife and children have immigrated to the USA! They do, however, care about stability, because they're scared they would lose all their special meals and police escorts. These are our leaders. They can buy all the airplanes in the world, yet wouldn't spare any change for a schoolbus. They can send satellites into space, yet wouldn't build a simple bridge. They'd spend billions in other countries, yet wouldn't build a few more schools. They'd build aircraft carriers just like that, while robbing the children of their lunch money."

Today, I'm thankful my country/city has its own laws, government, and civilised and colonial-influenced public policies.

15 places you should travel while you're young

http://www.buzzfeed.com/capitalone/15-places-you-should-travel-to-while-you-are-young

1. New York, USA (2001)

2. Barcelona, Spain (2003)

3. Sydney, Australia (1997?)

4. Bangkok, Thailand (1990)

5. San Francisco, USA (2001)

6. San Jose, Costa Rica

7. Cancun, Mexico

8. London, England (2003)

9. Hanoi, Vietnam (2000?)

10. Paris, France (2006)

11. Tokyo, Japan (2005)

12. Delhi, India

13. Amsterdam, Holland (2010)

14. Cape Town, South Africa

15. Berlin, Germany

....so, 5 more to go and then I can grow old.

Just go: Bangkok, N-th time round

If you're an average upper/middle-class Hong Konger, I think it is safe to say that you've probably definitely been to Bangkok more than twice in your lifetime. There's something about Bangkok that keeps drawing you back. Perhaps it's because it's so close and so cheap. It's somewhere you just...GO. But on the other hand, you've done all the touristy stuff, the big night markets where they rip tourists off, the floating market aka tourist trap, the grand palace, the museum...what else is there to do?!

Well, who says you need to be a tourist to be on holiday? Indeed, lazing around on your precious annual leave days is a waste of time. But lazing around in a foreign country on your precious AL days is therapeutic. Here's how I spent my 10th-time-round Bangkok holiday.

(OK so it might be a bit different for me as I had family aka my dad living in Bangkok...but still)
Day one:After checking into dad's little boutique hotel, my dad, my gal pal and I jumped on a taxi to Jatujak Market. Before you scream "been there done that cliche tourist blah blah..!", let me remind you that this was a Monday, where the main part of Jatujak is closed, all except for the food market - cooked and fresh produce. We strolled along a massive covered, well-ventilated & well-sanitised complex, meandering through stalls with mountains of mangos and gigantic durians, as well as big pots of curries and grilled meat on sticks. We put our stuff down on a table at a foodcourt x "dai pai dong" type area, and went around ordering sticky rice, noodles, nutty dumplings and colourful fruit juices. We sat down and food shortly poured onto our table, whilst only very little money trickled out of our pockets. We could've carried on eating here for hours and hours, but the heat and the lack of sleep stifled our appetites.

The rest of the afternoon was your typical girly 'vacay' - shopping, bargaining, manicures, eating, tasting, getting lost...(all in the area of Siam Square/MBK/National Stadium etc) before heading back to Sukhumvit Road and gorging on hummus, chicken shawarma and moussaka at the Beirut Restaurant in Sukhumvit Plaza, opposite Sukhumvit Soi 1 (even the local Arabs go there - gotta be good). On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at a random Thai massage place for some cheap foot massage.

Back at the hotel we polished off a good kilo of delicious mangosteens that we got from Jatujak earlier. DELISHAS.

Day two:

Slept in, had a healthy English breakfast (it's not an oxymoron when there's lots of fruit and vegetarian bacon), sat by the pool, swam, sunbathed, read books & emails... We then headed out down the street for some street-side fried rice & ice-milo, more fruit from the cart-pushing vendors, before jumping on a taxi to Bangkok International Dental Clinic (BIDC) to get our teeth cleaned. Half an hour later, with squeeky clean teeth and only 1000baht poorer (my dentist in HK can forget about seeing me ever again), we went for a bit more shopping and pedicures.

Day three:
Even though our flight was booked for tomorrow, my friend decided to leave BKK today because her family was worried about the floods in Thailand. After another chill morning by the pool, we headed back out to the streets, sat next to some friendly English-speaking locals who helped us order our last minute street-pad-thai and ice milk tea.

The rest of my holiday was spent mostly with "family" - helping them with camera shopping, having pizza with the kiddies, watching a movie that was out 4 weeks before coming out in HK cinemas, more big breakfasts and reading by the pool and massages. It was good mix of family- & relax-to-the-max time.

Bangkok is just...easy. And being a cosmopolitan Asian city, it's yummy, it's convenient, it's a little less rules-bound, but it's bound to be full of quirky cultural happenings around the city.

The new to come

Rather than thinking "did I make the right decision", I'm going to pray that

God will use me there
God will bless that place through me
God will challenge me with new things
God will challenge others through me
God will transform me by renewing my mind through the Holy Spirit
I will look to Him for fulfillment and satisfaction
I will trust Him to shape me and mould me into who I'm supposed to be


Amen

Tea ladies & Goliath

Giants are populating this tiny island, and we're pushing our own tiny tea ladies aside to make room for more giants.

After 25 years of teas and canapes, dimsum and scones, swinging salon doors and old Chinese waiters, the iconic China Tee Club is closing down to make room for a 4-storey Abercrombie & Fitch store in the old Pedder Building. It pains me to think about how A&F will strip out the charming tiled floors, slowly rotating ceiling fans, rustic brass taps and the rest of its colonial 19th-century Hong Kong ambiance. They're also kicking out another Hong Kong icon Shanghai Tang as well as On Pedder to make room for its fat (American) arse. One can just hope that rather than gutting out the place they'd work sympathetically around the old woodwork and classic interiors.

But, A&F are not the ones to blame. It is the real fuel behind giants like these, LV Gucci Coach etc (just throw in any brand name) - China money. It's a love-hate relationship, this one, between us here in former British-colonised Hong Kong, and those in the big country up north aka Mainland China. The number of cash-rich millionaires that flock to Hong Kong with their stacks of notes and eagerness to blindly sweep up branded goods like Chinese people at a buffet will only go up and up and up. Businesses in Hong Kong love their money. We NEED their money. But this rocket fuel for big international chains and oligopolies are wiping out what little remains of a colourful and interesting sino-colonial history that made this territory stand out from so many other big cities.

But then again perhaps mine is the last generation that will reminisce over something so 'old school'. When the we-don't-use-textbooks-anymore-we-use-ipads-generation takes over they won't even know what they're missing.

I will be still

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today...The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14


All my fears that hold me back
Every worry on my mind
When I’m trapped and breaking down
Free me Lord

Every doubt that fills my life
I’m a prisoner of my own mind<
When I feel I can’t go on
Free me Lord

Let's not go into politics

But let's talk about human decency. Or the lack thereof.

One year on, still no apology, still no compensation, still no closure for the victims and families of the victims of the 8.23 manila hostage crisis.

"It is too much really to issue an apology," says Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

On top of that, apparently the government is not even "minded to do" that at this point.

"Too much"?! How is an apology "too much"?!! Yes, the actual murdering of those 8 innocent hostages was the act of one man, I agree. But what about the events surrounding the incident, what about the complete lack of professionalism on the part of the Philippines police? What about the fact that the chief of police went for lunch during the hostage crisis? What about the fact that they managed to let the media broadcast the whole thing live, when they knew that the gunman had a TV on the bus and that he knew exactly where the police were? And what about the half-hearted so called "inquiry" at the end of all this?

If they were half-decent there would've been a formal apology long before the 1 year anniversary of this tragedy. Long before all the families of the victims had to make, for them, what must be such a difficult journey back to Manila to demand compensation and justice to be served.

Com'on, Aquino. It really isn't too much at all to apologise. Nor is it too late. Salvage some decency while you still can.

Danger zone

1 month after I visit New York - 911.

7 months after I leave Japan - Tohoku Earthquake.

2 weeks after a wedding in Oslo - the shootings.

4 weeks after my London trip - violent riots.

1 week after being away from Hong Kong - stock markets plunge.

RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIIIVVVVVESSSSSSSSSSSSS

Cynical, in China

I'm not going to lie. I did for a split-second think that I might actually die, as the Shenzhen Airlines aircraft rattled through the thick cloud and fog as it made its descent to Yichang, Hubei.

There would, however, be more than the one cause of death-by-crash-landing.

I thought I would die of boredom.

Or that I would die of overworking.

Or that someone would eventually kill me for my lack of tolerance to certain cultural practices and behaviours in this country.

OK, perhaps to say that I'd die is a bit of an over-exaggeration.

But rational thought was running on the low side after
- being told I was going to China for a "2 to 3 week" business trip with less than 24 hours;
- frantically packing til 12am last night;
- getting up at 4:30am this morning;
- being driven over the border and straight to Shenzhen Airport,
- waiting behind a massive queue to check in while loud Chinese people push and shove and yell their way across the terminal;
- waiting behind yet another queue for security check
- waiting at more queues - queue to get to your gate, queue to get on the bus, queue to get off the bus, queue to get on the plane...
- waiting in the plane on the tarmac, delay unknown but typical

I was also served two boxes as a "snack" on the plane. The first box contained a strawberry-milk-flavoured drink, a small packet of pineapple short-cake, a wet tissue and a fork. I opened the second box, and found a slab of congealed thin-flat noodles which looked and tasted like plastic (it probably was...), with mince-meat-like bits and mixed-veg-bits swimming in (or rather, stuck in) this gooey dark brown "sauce" that seemed to ooze radioactivity and rat-diarrhea.

Call me cynical, but....well there really is no but. I am quite a cynical person, and being in China just brings out the worst (or best?) of that.

Off-mind

Please tell me all of your problems..
..so I don't have to think about my own.

Rain and rainbows

(Dedicated to you, Gee)

I should be grateful.

I am grateful.

I'm grateful for the opportunities that surround me.

I'm grateful for the opportunities that I was given, that I took, and experienced.

I'm grateful that I was given plentiful education, which expanded my horizons, and stirred up my passions, and revealed my potential.

I'm grateful I'm in Hong Kong, for freedom of speech & religion, for it's stable economy, stable public order, unrivaled metro system, and ever-expanding restaurant selection.

I'm grateful I have a rent-free home here in HK (where rent is one of the most expensive in the world).

I'm grateful that I have loving parents, who never once gave up in order to provide the best for me.

I'm grateful for the friends around me, who were my sources of joy, who shared my burdens, who lent me their patience, who were my lifesavers.

I'm choosing to look beyond the rain, and see the rainbows that come with it. OK, there might not always be rainbows, but it isn't always rainy either.

Still - I'm most grateful for my daddy G, who "delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14)

Stolen Thoughts

Psalm 13

¹ How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
...

⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;

my heart rejoices in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing the LORD’s praise,
for he has been good to me.

Colossians 3

¹ Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

For too long I have been stuck in that "Psalm 13:1" state of mind, like the writer David who, in the confusion of the moment, thought God had forgotten him. I have almost been indulging (or letting myself indulge) in that confusion and fear and hopelessness for too long that it was, and kind of still is, hard to come out of. My mind had been so focused on those "earthly things" - worrying about my career, about direction, about what I want to do and where I want to be.

But today's Daily Bread was a constructive first "fist in the face" of the battle against all that.

My life is, for sure, hidden with Christ in God.

What career I choose, what I want to do, how I want to do it...is essentially of minute importance and relevance compared to the hope of glory that I have in Christ Jesus!

Wishlist

New Zealand

Brazil

Peru

Chile

Greece

Tibet

Palau

Morocco

Egypt

India

Germany

via Larry

Re-bleeting (blog/tweeting) Larry's tweet

"Joy! Christ is more faithful and true than faulty feelings and evasive emotions. His salvation is eternal!"

Thanks.

Resource allocation

DEAR MANAGER PLEASE HIRE MORE PEOPLE YOU CANNOT MAKE AN A1 AND A B2 REPRODUCE WHAT WAS DONE BY A B1 AND A B3 LAST YEAR IT IS SIMPLY. NOT. POSSIBLE.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

It is the lack of it, which is the root of the problem.

This race was born without it.

You can beat them, drown them, bury them in mines, make them toil over building a 5500-mile long stone wall, ship them to foreign countries as slaves, conquer them, silence them, shoot them...they will not rise up. They will not protest. They will not make a sound.

And that's why when they take up positions of authority, they will in turn make their own people work 18 hours a day, make you work on weekends, toss you a pile of work and not teach you how to do it and then giving you sh*t for handing in something below their expectations, call you up on a holiday pushing you to hand-in work you said you will hand in.

It's all because they were never given any respect.

And therefore they don't know how to give any. And those underneath don't know how to speak for themselves and speak for their own rights. Because they don't know that they have any.

People here are driven by fear. They don't speak up because of fear. They will toil and slave away to meet expectations because of fear. And those at the top don't realise how suppressed and bitter those below are feeling because they don't let it show, and yet they manage to meet those expectations.

Perhaps it all boils down to history. The centuries of repression and war and hardship and turmoil has produced a tough, hardworking, thick-skinned race. For decades they have been torn apart and colonised by the west. Today, though not used and abused by foreign powers anymore, they suppress their own people.

It's time to rise up. But it probably won't happen. And that is why so many people leave this place eventually. Maybe it's my turn too.

"Sweatshops for the educated"

http://offbeatchina.com/25-year-old-auditor-at-pwc-shanghai-worked-to-death-time-to-rethink-work-life-balance

25 year old auditor at PwC Shanghai worked to death.

What can be a more apt description of the industry than "sweatshop from the educated", quoting one of the comments on this article. Low pay, long hours, high demands, belittling...

Maybe I'm just not 'local' enough to put up with it. I feel significantly different from everyone around me. I feel significantly incompetent for the tasks that are dumped on me. And I feel my English is deteriorating as quick as my Cantonese swear-words vocab is increasing.

How much longer can I put up with this?

The fuse is getting dangerously short.

The switch is about to flip.

Someone jab me with a needle before the pressure gets too much to take...

Switch on, switch off

.....Regret. It nibbles at your subconscious. Then it bites on your hopes and dreams. Then bites big and you're falling down a spiral of despair and self-blame...

.....What the...the woman in front of me has mullet. And a leather jacket. Is she....yeah she's a she.

It's scary how my thoughts fluctuate so radically on one (long) walk home. It's equally scary that I'm sharing them here in public.

.....(Looking at all the white people in the pubs and restaurants on a warm Saturday afternoon) What do they all do? Most of them look quite young. What brought them to HK? What do they do that does not require Chinese language abilities, yet allows them to live in the Soho area and sip drinks on most nights as well as saturday afternoons?

.....I miss the life I had outside of HK.

.....(And then I notice how my thoughts fly from superficial to deep and troubling in a matter of milli-seconds) Am I crazy? Am I crazy for thinking that might be crazy? Am I a hypochondriac? Or is this normal? Do other people ever actually wonder about their own sanity?

.....That girl really shouldn't be eating ice-cream. It might fro-yo, but still. No it's not even fro-yo its McD's sundae. That's even worse. I'm a horrible person. I really should do some exercise when I can find the time.

.....Time. Oh where hath thou gone?! The hours flee like the gusts of wind when the metro arrives, the days like modern day internet speeds. If I have say 50 more years to live, that's 50 times 365...that's...(tapping the buttons on my phone) 18626 days!!! ONLY!!!!! And I'm wasting my time, blogging?!?!

Why!?

Why do we have to change the references that we're all already done with??

Why do we have to work on public holidays??

Why do we have to work OVERTIME on public holidays??

Why do we have to rush all this work that is obviously too much for the amount of time and people available!?

Why are they doing this to us?!

Why am I doing this to myself???????????????

Fly

Listen to my prayer, O God,

do not ignore my plea;

hear me and answer me.

My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught...

"Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest -

I would flee far away

and stay in the desert.

Working in a place at such proximity to the airport really does make that urge to flee ever stronger. All I want is out right now. Out of these habits, out of this city, out of this life.

This morning, on the platform waiting for the MTR..

I asked, "What do I want to do with my life????"

And He said, knowing very well what I'm asking, "Your job is not your life. You're asking the wrong question".

"Right...then what should I do with my career?"

"Anything. Whatever. You're still asking the wrong question. In fact you know very well the answer to the question that you ought to be asking."

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,

as working for the Lord, not for men,

since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.

3 Philippians 23-24

My funeral, a royal wedding

Solemn, heavy, silent . Monks mumble and hum inaudible hums in some ancient language. Everyone circles his coffin, take one last look at his face with overly excessive make-up, and cries. I wish I could say he looked like he was resting in peace, but no. He just looked sad. And unnaturally tanned.

His brother, a colleague and some friends share memories of their beloved lost one. We watch picture after picture of his short but colourful life.

Everyone leaves in silence and mourning.



I left thinking how I would want my funeral to be the exact opposite of what I had just attended. So friends, I put my faith in you, that if ever I have the privilege of going earlier that you, you would make the following happen:

My funeral should be full of song and dance and celebration.

No one should wear black, but everyone should dress a fabulously and as colourfully as they can.

The only tears allowed are tears of joy.

There should be NO testimony about how great a person other people might have thought I had. Only testimonies of how great Jesus Christ is and what he offers his children.

Worship songs should be led by an awesome worship team.

All my family and friends, Christians and non-Christians, should attend.

There should be cake, a lot of cake. Many different flavours of cake. And then all leftover cake must be given away to the poor and homeless.

All my possessions should be sold and given to the poor, along with the cake.

My funeral should be as big as a royal wedding.

When we arrive at eternity's shore,
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more;
We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring,
Your bride will come together and we'll sing
You're beautiful...

My head feels like a rock

If you have forgotten what it's like to have a cold, here's a friendly reminder:

You first wake up with a burning sore throat.

But you're too tired and brainless at that time of the day to make good judgments...

..so you power through your morning routine just like any other day because your late because you spent that extra few minutes on the toilet thinking why you're feeling like you haven't slept.

Your nose then starts to run and won't stop all throughout your commute on the metro, as you get disapproving looks from the people around you for not wearing a biohazard suit.

For the rest of the day your body feels defeated and you sort of wish you had called in sick but you also think that would've been a bad idea 'cause you have so much work that needs to be done today.

Then you pop into the supermarket and, even though you know that chocolate and junk food gives you phlegm and know you shouldn't eat it you buy all that junk food anyway 'cause you think you deserve a treat for :
A) being sick, and
B) going to work while you're sick

The next day you roll into your office, your head is throbbing 'cause your nose is blocked and you've left your nose spray and lip balm at home and the dry lips make you feel worse.

Your manager gives you a ton of work and you're running around like a headless chicken with that blistering headache trying to get everything done before dinner.

You don't have much appetite for lunch but at 5pm you're starving and you're now addicted to the nose spray you bought during your lunch break.

At the end of the day you're in bed and you're really tired but the germs have messed up your brain and you're blogging about what it's like to have a cold.

Calm before the peak

I had turned around, put away my camera, was ready to run down the mountain and to not be cold and regain feeling in my feet, when Monik stopped me. Slightly above the Horizon a bright but tiny orange dot peeked through the clouds. It grew larger and larger, and this salted-egg like figure emerged.

First sunrise of 2011 witnessed.

And then I turned around, put away my camera, ran down the mountain and regained feeling in my feet.

It's now the 4th day of the 1st working week of the year. Also the 4th day of the 1st week of, what is known in the profession as, "Peak Season". Peak Season means long hours and maybe Saturdays in normal world language. But Peak Season, in Hong Kong, from what I've heard, means ridiculously long hours, working til midnight and beyond, not seeing your family and friends for weeks, not being recognised by your family and friends 'cause you've either gained so many pounds from sitting and snacking and cheap dinners and midnight snacks; or the stress has stripped you of your appetite and your flesh and revealing the shape of your cheekbones. (Although it's usually the former...unless you're suicidal.)

Luckily for few including me, this week has been very relaxed - I've been getting off work between 5:30-7pm, and actually went shopping after work and saw friends for dinner a couple times.

But that's about to end, and I'll have to face the oncoming reality that is the 4-month wave of slap-in-the-face corporate labour.

God be my strength and shelter.