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