Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Changes in store
It seems with me, a lot of major changes all happen around the same time. First, my parents move far far away. I still am a little amused and annoyed by the fact they up and went to Wyoming. I took off for a great trip to Hong Kong, only to return to find out that my best friend Dave just got a major job and is moving to Seattle this month. Just before my trip, my roommate told me he's going to be remodeling and then selling his house, so that means I gots to move too. Both of us are moving this month, only I'm not moving so far. lol I'll be a lot closer to work, and in fact only about a mile from his current address. He expressed some annoyance at the fact that only now do I move so close to him, now, now that he is moving away completing. I agree. Oh, and I'm looking for a ring like object with a stone attached to fit over my g/f's finger. hehe It's no surprise, so I'm not spoiling anything by mentioning that here. :)
Monday, November 28, 2005
World of Hypocrites
Hypocrisy is part of the human condition, but it is not part of what it means to be human. We just have a bunch of people in our world that feel they have a right to tell others what to think or how to act while exempting themselves from those same rules (at least in their own minds). This is the classic scenario for over 2000 years since the rise of monotheism. It seems that the belief in only one god inherently creates a breeding ground for hypocrites and liars.
The world is full of popular people who instruct their believers one thing, then turn around and do the opposite themselves. They are also capable of saying one thing here, but say the opposite somewhere else to appease whatever audience to which they are speaking. Open lying is terribly obvious these days when one does it on TV for an audience of millions, yet the likes of Pat Roberts still do so freely in full view of everyone, and they are never held accountable. Many professed Christians are now getting caught up in possible crimes of their hypocrisy such as bribery, insider trading, stealing, false testimony, treason, violating National Security, etc. These are the same people that just a couple years ago called upon fellow Christians to vote for them because they held the same religious beliefs. Now that all these people are being held accountable for their misdeeds, their proponents are standing by their sides saying, “They are being attacked because of their faith.” Is corruption really apart of the Christianity?
I get the sense that these people are the same that claim that Christians are being persecuted by this world. ::cough:: This world is under the power of Christianity and has been so for a 1000 years. Who in this world is persecuting Christians on a large scale? Other Christians, perhaps? Ridiculous. It’s as though the word persecution really means that a Christian’s misdeeds aren’t being ignored and other people aren’t helping that Christian to commit their misdeeds. What else could it possibly mean in the context of today’s world?
These issues aren’t limited to Christianity. Islam and Jewish faiths also carry this burden, but the Christians are in control, and it is they who must take the lead to stamp out the hypocrisy. Of course, for the time being, they will not, at least in the U.S.
I get the sense that these people are the same that claim that Christians are being persecuted by this world. ::cough:: This world is under the power of Christianity and has been so for a 1000 years. Who in this world is persecuting Christians on a large scale? Other Christians, perhaps? Ridiculous. It’s as though the word persecution really means that a Christian’s misdeeds aren’t being ignored and other people aren’t helping that Christian to commit their misdeeds. What else could it possibly mean in the context of today’s world?
These issues aren’t limited to Christianity. Islam and Jewish faiths also carry this burden, but the Christians are in control, and it is they who must take the lead to stamp out the hypocrisy. Of course, for the time being, they will not, at least in the U.S.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Hong Kong Photos
This is the big Buddha statue at the Po Lim Monastery. Each visitor walks up the many steps to the statue and is allowed to walk around it and within it. Guests may only enter into the inner hall if they have a meal ticket (I guess to show they have just ate a vegetarian meal?). Although the statue is impressive to look up at, the site you seen when looking back down from the statue is a little less inspiring, with construction continuing on commercial projects just outside the Po Lim Monastery. They are going to build a gondola to the peak soon, and they are under way on making an underground mass transit point at the site. All of this kinda detracts from what I would've guessed to be the idea about building a giant Buddha statue in the middle of nowhere on the top of a mountain. Oh well.
I took this black and white photo from the top of a double decker bus. Buses are hella cheap in Hong Kong. It costs no more than US$1.25 to travel anywhere in Hong Kong. The old trolleys are even cheaper. They cost about 11 cents (US) to travel from one area to another, though they don't cover all of Hong Kong like the buses and mass transit rail do. The roads are mostly full with traffic from buses, taxis and commercial trucks. There are relatively few private cars in the main parts of the cities.
Many parts of Hong Kong have a special type of beauty when the sun goes down. Here's a scene of Jordan Street near my hotel. Even though it's pretty late, these businesses are all still open and making their bids to attract attention. This is a heavily touristy area, so many of the businesses are notorious for being rip-offs. I have not first hand experience with this since Allie prevented me to doing any shopping in this area. lol There were a lot of inexpensive goods to be bought just a block away on one of the side streets in various Lady's Markets and shops.
This is a shot of Hong Kong from the deck of a nearly authentic junk which cruises around the Hong Kong harbor on Thursdays and Saturdays. Apparently it's pretty hard to get the free tickets for this hour long cruise. Allie and I lucked out and got the last two tickets for this cruise earlier in the week. Many people try for weeks to get the cruise tickets of their choice. I recommend trying this tourist attraction, if not for anything else than the fact it is free.Other blog posts:
Hong Kong Vacation: The Flight and Arrival 11/10/05 11/11/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Next Day 11/12/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Shopping and the Traffic Jam 11/13/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Mountain Tops 11/14/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Experience 11/15/05
Hong Kong Vacation: I'm a Repulsive Giant with Bird Flu 11/16/05
Hong Kong Vacation: On the Harbor and XL 11/17/05
Monday, November 21, 2005
Hong Kong Vacation: The Return 11/18/05
The number 11 came up several times on this trip. I arrived on Nov 11th (11/11/05). I was in the eleventh room on the eleventh floor of my hotel. We visited Allie's uncle several times at his condo, which is on the eleventh floor of his building. One of Allie's cuzins told me this joke that we will be taking the 11 bus. 11 bus? Yeah, your legs form the number 11 (ya'no, like walking everywhere). Anyways.
11/18/05 is officially the longest day of my life, not because it dragged on, but because it was long by the number of hours. Our flight took off at around 5:30pm and arrived in San Francisco at around 2:40pm. It almost feels like time travel to see a sun set only to have it raise on the same day 14 hours later. Four inflight movies. The new Bad News Bears with Billy Bob Thornton (so-so), an imitation of Bad News Bears with Martin Lawrence but I forget its title (horrible), Batman Returns (great) and one other film I can't even remember right now but I had to watch to keep me awake in my effort to get back on California time ASAP. I was relieved to be back in California after such a long flight. Even with my nerves and sensibility, a flight as long as this does weigh on my spirit.
11/18/05 is officially the longest day of my life, not because it dragged on, but because it was long by the number of hours. Our flight took off at around 5:30pm and arrived in San Francisco at around 2:40pm. It almost feels like time travel to see a sun set only to have it raise on the same day 14 hours later. Four inflight movies. The new Bad News Bears with Billy Bob Thornton (so-so), an imitation of Bad News Bears with Martin Lawrence but I forget its title (horrible), Batman Returns (great) and one other film I can't even remember right now but I had to watch to keep me awake in my effort to get back on California time ASAP. I was relieved to be back in California after such a long flight. Even with my nerves and sensibility, a flight as long as this does weigh on my spirit.
Other blog posts:
Hong Kong Vacation: The Flight and Arrival 11/10/05 11/11/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Next Day 11/12/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Shopping and the Traffic Jam 11/13/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Mountain Tops 11/14/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Experience 11/15/05
Hong Kong Vacation: I'm a Repulsive Giant with Bird Flu 11/16/05
Hong Kong Vacation: On the Harbor and XL 11/17/05
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Hong Kong Vacation: On the Harbor and XL 11/17/05
Ya'no, I really don't enjoy eating Dim Sum. There's some items in Dim Sum that are ok, but for the most part, going for "Tea", as it's also called, is just not an enjoyable experience. The point of Dim Sum is supposed to be tea drinking, but it's really about all kinds of little round food items, like fried noodles, wrapped pork dumpling things, etc. Well, it's those little food items I don't like much, and the tea itself gives me indigestion. That said, Allie and I had Dim Sum with her family yet again today. Cantonese dinners I like, but the breakfasts leave me a little underwhelmed. Oh well. The chance to be with Allie's family makes the endeavor enjoyable even if the setting is something less than desirable.
Allie and I have had a long week. We capped it off with an hour trip on a cruise around the Hong Kong harbor in a converted authentic junk. A junk is a traditional Asian ship with three sails that are supported with several ribs on their masts. I learned this in school, but apparently Allie did not. She thought I was joking about the name of that type of ship the whole week before we took the ride. Ironic that she is from Hong Kong. :) Anyways, the cruise was very relaxing. We both almost fell asleep. It was a nice day for time out on the water trolling along around the harbor.
That evening, Allie and I had dinner with her mom and other relatives on her mom's side of the family. It was more traditional Cantonese food, and it was very good. Her cuzin Conan was very interesting, and only one of two males near our age group that I've meet from her family the whole time I've been in Hong Kong. It almost seems as though most of her cousins are women. Anyways, it's was a lovely dinner.
Afterwards, we did a little shopping, but didn't buy anything. We tried to find a nice formal jacket for me, but it seems that the jackets in Hong Kong are made for people with slender shoulders. It felt good be too big for clothes cuz of my broad shoulders and all, but hey, they didn't have sizes bigger than XL.
We tried to get back in time to get enough sleep for the next day's flight back.
Allie and I have had a long week. We capped it off with an hour trip on a cruise around the Hong Kong harbor in a converted authentic junk. A junk is a traditional Asian ship with three sails that are supported with several ribs on their masts. I learned this in school, but apparently Allie did not. She thought I was joking about the name of that type of ship the whole week before we took the ride. Ironic that she is from Hong Kong. :) Anyways, the cruise was very relaxing. We both almost fell asleep. It was a nice day for time out on the water trolling along around the harbor.
That evening, Allie and I had dinner with her mom and other relatives on her mom's side of the family. It was more traditional Cantonese food, and it was very good. Her cuzin Conan was very interesting, and only one of two males near our age group that I've meet from her family the whole time I've been in Hong Kong. It almost seems as though most of her cousins are women. Anyways, it's was a lovely dinner.
Afterwards, we did a little shopping, but didn't buy anything. We tried to find a nice formal jacket for me, but it seems that the jackets in Hong Kong are made for people with slender shoulders. It felt good be too big for clothes cuz of my broad shoulders and all, but hey, they didn't have sizes bigger than XL.
We tried to get back in time to get enough sleep for the next day's flight back.
Other blog posts:
Hong Kong Vacation: The Flight and Arrival 11/10/05 11/11/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Next Day 11/12/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Shopping and the Traffic Jam 11/13/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Mountain Tops 11/14/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Experience 11/15/05
Hong Kong Vacation: I'm a Repulsive Giant with Bird Flu 11/16/05
Hong Kong Vacation: On the Harbor and XL 11/17/05
Friday, November 18, 2005
Hong Kong Vacation: I'm a Repulsive Giant with Bird Flu 11/16/05
Yesterday represented the first truly sunny day for my visit to Hong Kong. Allie and I visited Repulse Bay. It is kind of a secluded little town in a little bay with tall mountains on three sides. It's funny that I call it a little town because several of the buildings were condo highrises, but that's just how Hong Kong is. It was the perfect day for strolling along the beach. We happened upon a Buddhist temple at one end where a group of tourists where rubbing this one little statue. I took a short video the interesting ceremony. Also, the water was warm and made me wish I had appropriately dressed for swimming in the ocean.
One a side note, I should mention that I feel like a giant in my hotel room. It's very small, especially the restroom. I have to sit at an angle to fit on the toilet next to the counter. I have to stand with my feet together when I take a shower because the tub is so narrow. With all these big buildings, one would think they'd provide more room for people to live within.
Oh, and the Bird Flu is closing in on Hong Kong, or so it would seem from the South China Morning Post with headlines like "Mainland's first bird flu death confirmed" and "HK to resume border temperature checks as authorities report three cases" I haven't seen more than a few tiny birds in the city areas of Hong Kong. I don't know if the birds naturally stay away or if all birds where killed off. Maybe I'm wrong on both counts, but it is very weird not to see any birds. Regardless, the Bird Flu still cannot spread from person to person yet, so I don't see what the fuss is about just yet. Plus, my company Cepheid already has a Bird Flu detention method that can give results in under 45 minutes. That means soon anyone that is suspected can get tested and know for sure hella quick so the appropriate action can be taken.
Well, I'm off for morning tea with Allie's family.
One a side note, I should mention that I feel like a giant in my hotel room. It's very small, especially the restroom. I have to sit at an angle to fit on the toilet next to the counter. I have to stand with my feet together when I take a shower because the tub is so narrow. With all these big buildings, one would think they'd provide more room for people to live within.
Oh, and the Bird Flu is closing in on Hong Kong, or so it would seem from the South China Morning Post with headlines like "Mainland's first bird flu death confirmed" and "HK to resume border temperature checks as authorities report three cases" I haven't seen more than a few tiny birds in the city areas of Hong Kong. I don't know if the birds naturally stay away or if all birds where killed off. Maybe I'm wrong on both counts, but it is very weird not to see any birds. Regardless, the Bird Flu still cannot spread from person to person yet, so I don't see what the fuss is about just yet. Plus, my company Cepheid already has a Bird Flu detention method that can give results in under 45 minutes. That means soon anyone that is suspected can get tested and know for sure hella quick so the appropriate action can be taken.
Well, I'm off for morning tea with Allie's family.
Other blog posts:
Hong Kong Vacation: The Flight and Arrival 11/10/05 11/11/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Next Day 11/12/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Shopping and the Traffic Jam 11/13/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Mountain Tops 11/14/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Experience 11/15/05
Hong Kong Vacation: I'm a Repulsive Giant with Bird Flu 11/16/05
Hong Kong Vacation: On the Harbor and XL 11/17/05
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Hong Kong Vacation: The Experience 11/15/05
Man, I am really starting to get tired of taking Mass Transit everywhere. I told Allie that next time we visit Hong Kong I'll be renting a car. I mean, it's nice that everything is accessible from public transportation, but taking it everywhere all the time just starts wearing on me. Even she was complaining about it a little, even though she still claimed that she would disown me if I ever rented a car in Hong Kong. Humph.
Hong Kong isn't as crowded at I thought it'd be. I mean, there is people everywhere, but it's not so bad. San Francisco is about as crowded. Maybe I haven't see it at its worse yet, but given the fact that we've been everywhere, I'm not thinking I've missed much.
Hong Kong isn't as crowded at I thought it'd be. I mean, there is people everywhere, but it's not so bad. San Francisco is about as crowded. Maybe I haven't see it at its worse yet, but given the fact that we've been everywhere, I'm not thinking I've missed much.
Other blog posts:
Hong Kong Vacation: The Flight and Arrival 11/10/05 11/11/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Next Day 11/12/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Shopping and the Traffic Jam 11/13/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Mountain Tops 11/14/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Experience 11/15/05
Hong Kong Vacation: I'm a Repulsive Giant with Bird Flu 11/16/05
Hong Kong Vacation: On the Harbor and XL 11/17/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Mountain Tops 11/14/05
Allie and I took a ferry and bus to the mountain top Po Lim Monastery to see the big Buddha statue. It rests at the top of a peak over looking the Po Lim Monastery. The only way to the statue is a long set of stairs, which we walked. The Buddha statue is big and bold. Temple staff hawked Buddha idols at various locations in the statue and at the base of the peak, in the tradition of most temple based religions as far back as time records, although modern mass production has changed the experience a little bit with mass produced idols and such. After exploring the big statue about as much as we could, we headed back down the stairs and explored the monastery itself. It was beautiful. Many large idols of different gods are placed around for offerings of prayer, incense and food. I think there must be an understanding that even though the idols are just statues, their power comes from the act of worship and not from the idols themselves.
We arrived back in Hong Kong/Kowloon city area in the evening. We took a night ride on the Peak Tram to the top of The Peak, a mountain top overlooking Hong Kong. The ride was fun. At times the tram rose at about a 45 degree angle up the mountain side. I couldn't find any name for the top of the mountain other than just The Peak. The view of Hong Kong from the The Peak was both beautiful and impressive. Even at this height, we didn't stand much higher than the top of Hong Kong's tallest buildings. There was sumfin romantic about the view.
We arrived back in Hong Kong/Kowloon city area in the evening. We took a night ride on the Peak Tram to the top of The Peak, a mountain top overlooking Hong Kong. The ride was fun. At times the tram rose at about a 45 degree angle up the mountain side. I couldn't find any name for the top of the mountain other than just The Peak. The view of Hong Kong from the The Peak was both beautiful and impressive. Even at this height, we didn't stand much higher than the top of Hong Kong's tallest buildings. There was sumfin romantic about the view.
Other blog posts:
Hong Kong Vacation: The Flight and Arrival 11/10/05 11/11/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Next Day 11/12/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Shopping and the Traffic Jam 11/13/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Mountain Tops 11/14/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Experience 11/15/05
Hong Kong Vacation: I'm a Repulsive Giant with Bird Flu 11/16/05
Hong Kong Vacation: On the Harbor and XL 11/17/05
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Hong Kong Vacation: The Next Day 11/12/05
Allie and I woke up kinda late, but I was now on Hong Kong time. I was glad that I didn't need more than a single night's sleep to get adjusted.
We headed down to Tsim Sha Tsui and hit up the buffet restaurant in the International Hotel for breakfast, but Allie insisted we wait and do the lunch buffet there instead because they had a really good lunch buffet. I got a little grouchy about this cuz. I was hungry and we took the Mass Transit and also walked quite a distance to get there. All was right when we finally got to set down and eat though.
Right outside that hotel was the Avenue of the Stars which honors the stars of Hong Kong's budding film industry. We explored the area and got some information about various Hong Kong attractions. It's funny that even though Allie is from Hong Kong, we still ended up at the Tourist Information Center like we were a couple of normal tourist. Allie's Cantonese does help speed thangs along though, no matter where we find ourselves.
We then toured the nearby Space Museum. The exhibit areas where fairly basic with no significant exhibits, but it was nice to get out of the heat and stroll around. Allie enjoyed some of it and I enjoyed adding extra info to better explain some of stuff behind the information presented.
We then visited Causeway Bay to shop at the inexpensive places and in a Lady's Market.
After heading back to the hotel and resting, we ended up in Kwai Lan Fong for a night out. This is a block of streets that are shut down in the night for one big party around a bunch of European style pubs, bars and clubs. A lot of the local Europeans end up here for drinking, dancing and socializing with other White people.
We headed down to Tsim Sha Tsui and hit up the buffet restaurant in the International Hotel for breakfast, but Allie insisted we wait and do the lunch buffet there instead because they had a really good lunch buffet. I got a little grouchy about this cuz. I was hungry and we took the Mass Transit and also walked quite a distance to get there. All was right when we finally got to set down and eat though.
Right outside that hotel was the Avenue of the Stars which honors the stars of Hong Kong's budding film industry. We explored the area and got some information about various Hong Kong attractions. It's funny that even though Allie is from Hong Kong, we still ended up at the Tourist Information Center like we were a couple of normal tourist. Allie's Cantonese does help speed thangs along though, no matter where we find ourselves.
We then toured the nearby Space Museum. The exhibit areas where fairly basic with no significant exhibits, but it was nice to get out of the heat and stroll around. Allie enjoyed some of it and I enjoyed adding extra info to better explain some of stuff behind the information presented.
We then visited Causeway Bay to shop at the inexpensive places and in a Lady's Market.
After heading back to the hotel and resting, we ended up in Kwai Lan Fong for a night out. This is a block of streets that are shut down in the night for one big party around a bunch of European style pubs, bars and clubs. A lot of the local Europeans end up here for drinking, dancing and socializing with other White people.
Other blog posts:
Hong Kong Vacation: The Flight and Arrival 11/10/05 11/11/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Next Day 11/12/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Shopping and the Traffic Jam 11/13/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Mountain Tops 11/14/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Experience 11/15/05
Hong Kong Vacation: I'm a Repulsive Giant with Bird Flu 11/16/05
Hong Kong Vacation: On the Harbor and XL 11/17/05
Monday, November 14, 2005
Hong Kong Vacation: Shopping and the Traffic Jam 11/13/05
Allie and I got up late, ate breakfast in the hotel room. We headed to the central Exchange at central and took a bus to Stanley Village on the other side of the Hong Kong island. There we visited a street market and got some pretty good deals on stuff. We then visited the Buddist temple as well, and had a lovely lunch on Stanley Street.
On the way back to the hotel, the main route back to the main part of Hong Kong was blocked with a major accident. The delay was reported to be at least two hours, so we got out of the bus and walked for 3/4 hr, mostly downhill, back to the main bus terminal to catch a bus that was heading back to Hong Kong thru the only other route out of the area. Fortunately, Allie had discovered the only bus route that would take us back, though still through thick traffic on narrow mountainous roads and bridges. Traffic everywhere in that area was a mess as people where trying to get out. We where lucky to beat the rush of people to the bus headed out of there. Everyone else was still waiting for the main buses and didn't realized the way was blocked until everyone was started lining up for the only bus heading the other way. Felt a little like survival of the fittest and we got a jump on everyone else. :)
After getting back to the hotel, we had dinner and then visited a nearby Lady's Market. According to Allie, a Lady's Market is any alley or street filled tightly with vendors selling their goods. The walk thru a Lady's Market is usually very cramp and crowed. She added that they are also great places to get a pocket picked. At this Lady's Market I found a great deal on knock-off Polo luggage that was pretty good quality.
Both of us where beat, so we headed back to the hotel and knocked off to sleep quick.
On the way back to the hotel, the main route back to the main part of Hong Kong was blocked with a major accident. The delay was reported to be at least two hours, so we got out of the bus and walked for 3/4 hr, mostly downhill, back to the main bus terminal to catch a bus that was heading back to Hong Kong thru the only other route out of the area. Fortunately, Allie had discovered the only bus route that would take us back, though still through thick traffic on narrow mountainous roads and bridges. Traffic everywhere in that area was a mess as people where trying to get out. We where lucky to beat the rush of people to the bus headed out of there. Everyone else was still waiting for the main buses and didn't realized the way was blocked until everyone was started lining up for the only bus heading the other way. Felt a little like survival of the fittest and we got a jump on everyone else. :)
After getting back to the hotel, we had dinner and then visited a nearby Lady's Market. According to Allie, a Lady's Market is any alley or street filled tightly with vendors selling their goods. The walk thru a Lady's Market is usually very cramp and crowed. She added that they are also great places to get a pocket picked. At this Lady's Market I found a great deal on knock-off Polo luggage that was pretty good quality.
Both of us where beat, so we headed back to the hotel and knocked off to sleep quick.
Other blog posts:
Hong Kong Vacation: The Flight and Arrival 11/10/05 11/11/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Next Day 11/12/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Shopping and the Traffic Jam 11/13/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Mountain Tops 11/14/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Experience 11/15/05
Hong Kong Vacation: I'm a Repulsive Giant with Bird Flu 11/16/05
Hong Kong Vacation: On the Harbor and XL 11/17/05
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Hong Kong Vacation: The Flight and Arrival 11/10/05 11/11/05
The flight was long. Fortunately, me and one other person had a row of 4 seats to ourselves. Other than the two empty seats next to us, the plane was pretty full. This made for a fairly comfortable time, though I did share my extra seat with another couple with a kid from time to time. The first leg of the flight was 13 hours. I was only able to force about 3 hours of sleep, though I pretty much tried to sleep the whole time. The flight arrived in Taipei 15 minutes early...but the flight to Hong Kong on the second leg was about an hour late.
I had only brought one carry-on bag. When I arrived in Hong Kong, all I had to do was wait in line for visitors and get my passport stamped. Because I didn't have any luggage, I just walked thru the luggage claim area to the Arrival area, called Arrival Area A or sumfin like that. Well, Alice was waiting for me at Arrival Area B. I had noticed that my Treo phone worked in Taipei when I was waiting around bored at that airport, so I tried my Treo at the Hong Kong airport, and it worked. I called her and we found each other pretty quickly. She was prepared with a mass transit card for me and we hit the Express Train to Kowloon, where my hotel is.
I was annoyed that my shades broke somewhere on my trip, so the first thang we did in Kowloon is stop off at one of the many malls while walking to my hotel. My first purchase in Hong Kong was a rather decent pair of Guess shades.
We checked in to the hotel and then headed to Northpoint to visit her uncle and meet up with her mom. Alice, her mom and I later meet up with her mom's friend and had a late lunch.
Later, some cousins, her uncle, mom and us meet up for a late dinner at a good Chinese style restaurant. Of course, here it's not called "Chinese" lol Anyways, I was so lagged that I almost passed out at dinner, so Alice and I headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.
I woke up the next morning on Hong Kong time. :)
I had only brought one carry-on bag. When I arrived in Hong Kong, all I had to do was wait in line for visitors and get my passport stamped. Because I didn't have any luggage, I just walked thru the luggage claim area to the Arrival area, called Arrival Area A or sumfin like that. Well, Alice was waiting for me at Arrival Area B. I had noticed that my Treo phone worked in Taipei when I was waiting around bored at that airport, so I tried my Treo at the Hong Kong airport, and it worked. I called her and we found each other pretty quickly. She was prepared with a mass transit card for me and we hit the Express Train to Kowloon, where my hotel is.
I was annoyed that my shades broke somewhere on my trip, so the first thang we did in Kowloon is stop off at one of the many malls while walking to my hotel. My first purchase in Hong Kong was a rather decent pair of Guess shades.
We checked in to the hotel and then headed to Northpoint to visit her uncle and meet up with her mom. Alice, her mom and I later meet up with her mom's friend and had a late lunch.
Later, some cousins, her uncle, mom and us meet up for a late dinner at a good Chinese style restaurant. Of course, here it's not called "Chinese" lol Anyways, I was so lagged that I almost passed out at dinner, so Alice and I headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.
I woke up the next morning on Hong Kong time. :)
Other blog posts:
Hong Kong Vacation: The Flight and Arrival 11/10/05 11/11/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Next Day 11/12/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Shopping and the Traffic Jam 11/13/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Mountain Tops 11/14/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Experience 11/15/05
Hong Kong Vacation: I'm a Repulsive Giant with Bird Flu 11/16/05
Hong Kong Vacation: On the Harbor and XL 11/17/05
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Hong Kong
November 10-17, 2005 with Alice Leung visiting Hong Kong, including Repulse Bay, Kowloon and 寶蓮禪寺. This was an awesome trip! (Original post/backup link)
Other blog posts:
Hong Kong Vacation: The Flight and Arrival 11/10/05 11/11/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Next Day 11/12/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Shopping and the Traffic Jam 11/13/05
Hong Kong Vacation: Mountain Tops 11/14/05
Hong Kong Vacation: The Experience 11/15/05
Hong Kong Vacation: I'm a Repulsive Giant with Bird Flu 11/16/05
Hong Kong Vacation: On the Harbor and XL 11/17/05
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
How many great loves
How many great loves does one have in a life time. Some say you are lucky to have it once. Maybe each of use are supposed to have that great love and only some of us are unlucky to have missed it. Or maybe it goes unappreciated, of course I guess that's the same as missing it. I don't know how many great loves I'm going to have. I know that each experience is different. Does the uniqueness itself stand as the defining quality? Naw. Does the strength of feeling and level of emotion investment qualify? Again, maybe. I know I've had one relationship that would qualify on that merit. Maybe it's also when you really really get a chance to know a person deeply and understand them and not fault is found regardless of the imperfections that are laid bare. But the only way to know if you have such a relationship is to experience a test that pushes the limits. Is this a defining quality? Perhaps. But many loves fail that test. But does the failure mean the relationship is a failure? I think that it doesn't matter. Losing love helps define it as great in some cases. Sometimes it develops over time. It becomes what it is meant to over time. The test is not a great moment, but the fact that it does last. If all of this is so, then I've been doubly blessed in this life.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
So, like what?
I have to move out. I don't know if I wanna get a small-ass 1 bedroom apartment, or share a house or large condo with someone. I've got awhile to make my decision, but I have some time. I have until like the end of Jan, but I do wanna get sumfin in the works before then. hmm.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Weekend
This last weekend have been pretty busy. I guess it's fitting. My cuzin and I hung out and saw Jarhead on Friday night. It's ok. There's a moral lesson in the movie somewhere, but it was lost to me. It feels like a docudrama with some funny bits. There's good acting and the story was interesting to a degree. However, it seemed to be missing something. Maybe it was made just for U.S. vets. Maybe they see sumfin in it that I'm not.
Anyways, we hung out on Saturday too. We ended up in SF with some friends of hers. There was couple of interesting places we hit up that I might return to. I can't remember the names of either, but I could find them again. :)
Today, I hung out for awhile with Jenn. We had a late lunch, hit up a play for go-cart racing and have a fun time hanging out. Right now, I'm catching up on chores I need to get done before my big Hong Kong trip in a few days. I'm excited.
Anyways, we hung out on Saturday too. We ended up in SF with some friends of hers. There was couple of interesting places we hit up that I might return to. I can't remember the names of either, but I could find them again. :)
Today, I hung out for awhile with Jenn. We had a late lunch, hit up a play for go-cart racing and have a fun time hanging out. Right now, I'm catching up on chores I need to get done before my big Hong Kong trip in a few days. I'm excited.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
What a Trip
My g/f is leaving town for Hong Kong tomorrow morning. I'm going to meet her there sometime the following week for another week or so. I'll be meeting some more of her family there, and taking in the culture from a local perspective instead of from a superficial tourist point of view.
Although I haven't travelled outside the U.S. in any significant fashion, I'd hafta say this is how I prefer to visit other regions. Many years ago, I visited Mexico with a friend and his family who lived there. It makes the experience more enjoyable and serves as a good way to see thangs as they really are. Mexico is a depressing place, but you can't know how depressing until you travel to a city's outskirts and see poor families living in tin huts made from junk (same as little as 4' high) for as far as you dare to look. It helped me realize that some countries are afraid to take the steps necessary to allow their citizens opportunities. Maybe afraid is the wrong word. Maybe it is intentional, to hold down the masses and keep them under control. I don't know, but either way, it would not take a lot of effort to charge up the Mexican economy if its government would loosen economic controls. The Mexicans that can get ahead are the ones that are able to find work in the U.S., at least along the boarder.
I wonder what I'm going to discover about Hong Kong?
Although I haven't travelled outside the U.S. in any significant fashion, I'd hafta say this is how I prefer to visit other regions. Many years ago, I visited Mexico with a friend and his family who lived there. It makes the experience more enjoyable and serves as a good way to see thangs as they really are. Mexico is a depressing place, but you can't know how depressing until you travel to a city's outskirts and see poor families living in tin huts made from junk (same as little as 4' high) for as far as you dare to look. It helped me realize that some countries are afraid to take the steps necessary to allow their citizens opportunities. Maybe afraid is the wrong word. Maybe it is intentional, to hold down the masses and keep them under control. I don't know, but either way, it would not take a lot of effort to charge up the Mexican economy if its government would loosen economic controls. The Mexicans that can get ahead are the ones that are able to find work in the U.S., at least along the boarder.
I wonder what I'm going to discover about Hong Kong?
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Recent quote from AP
From the AP: "Danforth, a Missouri Republican and an Episcopal priest, commented recently
'I think that the Republican Party fairly recently has been taken over by the Christian conservatives, by the Christian right,' he said in an interview. 'I don't think that this is a permanent condition, but I think this has happened, and that it's divisive for the country.'
He also said the evangelical Christian influence would be bad for the party in the long run."
Ya'think!? This is obvious. It happened when Bush Sr. weakend the Republican Party from 88-92. They lost their way. In the void, the extreme religious right stepped in and started consolidating their power within the Republican Party in the same manner that the Nazi Party took over the Germany government. Then they used their momentum to take over the U.S. Government, and now we have a mess to clean up that will be an embarassment to American generations to come.
'I think that the Republican Party fairly recently has been taken over by the Christian conservatives, by the Christian right,' he said in an interview. 'I don't think that this is a permanent condition, but I think this has happened, and that it's divisive for the country.'
He also said the evangelical Christian influence would be bad for the party in the long run."
Ya'think!? This is obvious. It happened when Bush Sr. weakend the Republican Party from 88-92. They lost their way. In the void, the extreme religious right stepped in and started consolidating their power within the Republican Party in the same manner that the Nazi Party took over the Germany government. Then they used their momentum to take over the U.S. Government, and now we have a mess to clean up that will be an embarassment to American generations to come.
Acura troubles again
The trouble with my Acura TL is it now has had THREE Transmissions in under 62,000 miles. THREE! Acura extended all the warranties of all TL owners to seven years, for 2002 and 2003 awhile back. Well, I'm getting full use out of that warranty extension, except...well, I purchased the standard extended warranty when I bought my car back in 2002. Well, with all the little and moderate thangs that have gone wrong with my car, I'm glad I did get the extended warranty. Anyone that doesn't buy the extended warranty for their car are facing higher costs than they may realize. Even on the luxury cars, issues come up. All of my issues are covered, as long as I keep up with the maintenance schedule. Without the extended warranty, I would've had to spend an addition $1500 or so by now. I think I paid that for the warranty, but I don't remember exactly. I know I'm breaking even. It's not to be able to take a car in for repairs and not hafta pay out hundreds of dollars, except for schedule maintenance.
Anyways, three transmissions. I'm told that even my previous transmission was known to have problems, so the dealership expected to hafta replace it again. Supposedly, this new transmission will not have the same issue and last longer than 30,0000 miles.
Anyways, three transmissions. I'm told that even my previous transmission was known to have problems, so the dealership expected to hafta replace it again. Supposedly, this new transmission will not have the same issue and last longer than 30,0000 miles.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Vote No on everything in California Nov 2005
Well, we again encounter a No On Everything on California’s Ballet. Again, people who do not represent the state are trying to sneak through their agenda on Californians, forcing their beliefs, limited understanding, bigoted, and power mongering vision on our entire populous.
No on Prop 73: It is being billed as a waiting period prop to give doctors time to notify parents of their underage child’s intent to have an abortion. However, it is very sneaky. It is an attempt to define terms like “Unborn Child” in very unscientific and extremist anti-abortion terms, creating the stepping stone necessary to legally taking away a women’s right to choose in the near future. Even if you are anti-abortion, this bill should scare you! It is an attempt to trick a populous to accept concepts to which the populous is opposed. If they can get away with this, they can get away with anything. Every right taken away from one class of citizens is a right taken away from all citizens. This isn’t about the right to abortion. This is about the right to have a say over one’s own body. To take away that right puts us on the same track as countries like China where abortions are enforced by law. Why are abortions enforced? Because the government’s authority exceeds the individual’s authority over their own body! Even though most of us are against government enforced abortions, we need to realize that government prohibition of abortion has the same result: the government having control over our own bodies. With this right taken away, all other rights are pointless. The government, even with the will of the people, does not have the right to tell any of us what to do with my own body. The will of the people does not supersede the will of the individual at the individual level. Allowing the government to take a person’s right over their own body leads to forced operations, and later, forced implants. If you don’t think this is possible, I will remind you that some of our fellow Americans are currently promoting such government intrusions right now; some who are very overt about their intentions, and some who are very quiet and sneaky, like the writers of Prop 73.
Props 74, 75, 76 and 77 are scams dealing with a governor’s power and money usage to oppose the governor. The point of these props is to consolidate power in the office of the governor and limit the ability of citizens to oppose the governor. The problem that its proponents don’t realize is you can’t keep Democrats out of the White House, or the Governor’s House either. The same power they are trying to grab for themselves right now will end up in the hands of a Democratic Governor sooner or later. As an independent voter, it scares me to have that much power in anyone’s hands, regardless of party affiliation. So, the answer here is No. Remember, Hitler was Germany’s legally elected leader. The Nazi Party was the legally elected dominate Political Power. They snaked their way into power by lying about their agendas and openly consolidating power with the populous’ permission.
Props 78 and 79 are competing props purportedly trying to clean up health care in California. Both are nonsense. No system is better than either of these. Prop 78 is supported by pharmaceutical corporations. Hmm, these are the same guys charging Americans like 100 of times as much for medication here than they do in other countries. Do I trust them? Uh, no. Prop 79 is a response to Prop 78, but a very poor one that isn’t very well thought-out.
Prop 80? Yeah, what’s that about? The regulations on our current power system need to provide sustained power for our populous, but Prop 80 looks like a power grab by someone. Even in its own description, it sounds bad. Who wasted their money trying to promote this prop?
No on Prop 73: It is being billed as a waiting period prop to give doctors time to notify parents of their underage child’s intent to have an abortion. However, it is very sneaky. It is an attempt to define terms like “Unborn Child” in very unscientific and extremist anti-abortion terms, creating the stepping stone necessary to legally taking away a women’s right to choose in the near future. Even if you are anti-abortion, this bill should scare you! It is an attempt to trick a populous to accept concepts to which the populous is opposed. If they can get away with this, they can get away with anything. Every right taken away from one class of citizens is a right taken away from all citizens. This isn’t about the right to abortion. This is about the right to have a say over one’s own body. To take away that right puts us on the same track as countries like China where abortions are enforced by law. Why are abortions enforced? Because the government’s authority exceeds the individual’s authority over their own body! Even though most of us are against government enforced abortions, we need to realize that government prohibition of abortion has the same result: the government having control over our own bodies. With this right taken away, all other rights are pointless. The government, even with the will of the people, does not have the right to tell any of us what to do with my own body. The will of the people does not supersede the will of the individual at the individual level. Allowing the government to take a person’s right over their own body leads to forced operations, and later, forced implants. If you don’t think this is possible, I will remind you that some of our fellow Americans are currently promoting such government intrusions right now; some who are very overt about their intentions, and some who are very quiet and sneaky, like the writers of Prop 73.
Props 74, 75, 76 and 77 are scams dealing with a governor’s power and money usage to oppose the governor. The point of these props is to consolidate power in the office of the governor and limit the ability of citizens to oppose the governor. The problem that its proponents don’t realize is you can’t keep Democrats out of the White House, or the Governor’s House either. The same power they are trying to grab for themselves right now will end up in the hands of a Democratic Governor sooner or later. As an independent voter, it scares me to have that much power in anyone’s hands, regardless of party affiliation. So, the answer here is No. Remember, Hitler was Germany’s legally elected leader. The Nazi Party was the legally elected dominate Political Power. They snaked their way into power by lying about their agendas and openly consolidating power with the populous’ permission.
Props 78 and 79 are competing props purportedly trying to clean up health care in California. Both are nonsense. No system is better than either of these. Prop 78 is supported by pharmaceutical corporations. Hmm, these are the same guys charging Americans like 100 of times as much for medication here than they do in other countries. Do I trust them? Uh, no. Prop 79 is a response to Prop 78, but a very poor one that isn’t very well thought-out.
Prop 80? Yeah, what’s that about? The regulations on our current power system need to provide sustained power for our populous, but Prop 80 looks like a power grab by someone. Even in its own description, it sounds bad. Who wasted their money trying to promote this prop?
Friday, October 07, 2005
Lunchtime
Well, ever since my company put in the food vending machines, my cost of living has dropped a bit. With the exception of Tuesday (when I meet up with Miriam for a mid-day movie - saw 40 Year Old Virgin for the second time), I’ve spend less than 10 dollars for lunch this week. It’s packaged food, so it’s not the best in the world, but it’s not overly fattening or anything. The reason I stopped going to McDonalds years ago is cuz of the fat and sodium in their food. These items are not nearly as bad and even a lot cheaper. Plus, I'm saving money cuz I'm not out driving around to the local places. Ok, now’s time for lunch.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Leave my jamas alone, you llamas!
So, I wasn’t able to let this go. I've been around Spanish speaking individuals my whole life, and never heard the LL pronounced so strongly as J. I jumped in and asked her to repeat it to make sure I was hearing her right. Again, she pronounced the LL in her name as a J. So, now I’m even more confused. Normally a person knows how to pronounce their own name. After several attempts to get her to say it, I started up with, “Doesn’t the LL make a Y sound?” She agreed, but then said it as a J again, this time only the letter itself. Ok, so now I’m even more confused than before. I asked her to say the common Spanish question “COMO SE LLAMAS?” and it came out of her mouth as “Como say jamas”. I said, “Como say yamas”, and she corrected me, “Como se jamas.”
Needless to say, my main confusion now is how a native Spanish speaker doesn’t know how to say letters in her own language. So, we started into a rather flavorful and light argument about this. It lasted long enough to entertain a few nearby co-workers. She was all, “How are you going to teach a native Spanish speaker my own language. Let me teach you English.” So, I printed a pronunciation chart of Spanish letters with their English equivalents. She was still not convinced. She even mentioned that she spoke Castilian version of Spanish. I wasn’t buying that.
The funny thing is, I know she speaks Spanish as a first language all the time. We live in California, where one can find peoples representative of many Spanish speaking regions. I know she has had to have talked to other Spanish speakers before. But she’s convinced that everyone says the LL as a J. I’m kinda starting to think there are a lot of Latin American’s that say the LL as a J without realizing it, as an accent. I’m not sure that she (or many Latin American people) can even hear the difference between the Y (you) and J (jam) sounds. Very strange. Either way, she still insists on pronouncing as a J. After all, that’s how she’s been saying it all her life. If this is how a lot of people are talking, Latin American television must be impossible for Spaniards to understand.
Ok, so later in the evening, I met up with my friend Dave, who was raised in Spain and has a significant European background. I told him and his Latina girlfriend this story and gave the example of the J sound. He immediate laughed. But his girlfriend said, "Yes, you said it right!" I looked at her oddly. (My co-worker and Dave's girlfriend are from two completely different regions.) Dave looked at his girlfriend funny too and pointed out her error. She wasn't even aware that she was saying the J sound herself. We were both pretty amazed.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Monday, October 03, 2005
President knows how to pick 'em
The President refuses to learn the lesson of error of choosing the wrong people for the job. With his latest Supreme Court nomination, he has shown the same lack of skill for finding the right people to fill posts in government as he did in choosing Rumsfeld and Brown (head of FEMA). He's a very poor just of skill and character. I'm pretty sure he's also very poor understanding the responsibilities of the positions for which he hires or nominates people. His cronyism has hurt and weakened America in so many diverse ways that it is past the point of being a humiliation. He is an embarrassment. Those who blindly follow him are an embarrassment. How can someone continue to blunter so openly and still have an ounce of respect from anyone? Now, it's beyond outright foolishness.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Last Night's Party
Last night's birthday party for Kate was fairly tame as house parties go, but it was a lot of fun. This picture shows Jaime's first ever Keg Stand! Just turn your head 90 degrees to see her Keg Stand properly vertical . :) There was also a permanent batting cage in the backyard. The ball hurling machine wasn't working (or at least their drunk asses couldn't get it to work), so some of the guys switched between batting and pitching. Not smart. I watched as one line drive drove right into the ribs of the pitcher. Funny thang, and funnier that he keep pitching afterwards! lol My buddy Nate randomly meet a girl (Keg Stand Jaime, actually!) who he's only talked to through Myspace and emails before. Must be fate. lol Even with all of this going on, Miriam and I still took off by midnight. I was the double-d, though I don't think either of us had any possibility of getting too drunk.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Teaching Bible in Public School
As a matter of literature and religious studies, elective courses on the bible (covering Jewish, Christian, and secular perspectives) should be available to High School students. Learning about the bible allows people to understand the origin of much of Western Civilization's art and history. The only danger to teaching about the bible is when it is taken as undeniable fact. As long as this isn't happening, education about the bible is beneficial.
I mention this cuz I just read a news article about this topic. The only contrarian point I can bring up is the fact the most High School kids never remember what they learn in High School besides basic skills they end up using in real life. Knowledge about history, art and pretty much any other pursuit is usually forgotten soon after the final exam (if even committed to memory in the first place). This is a different issue though.
I mention this cuz I just read a news article about this topic. The only contrarian point I can bring up is the fact the most High School kids never remember what they learn in High School besides basic skills they end up using in real life. Knowledge about history, art and pretty much any other pursuit is usually forgotten soon after the final exam (if even committed to memory in the first place). This is a different issue though.
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