Hong Kong

A friend of mine once said that every time she goes back to Hong Kong it's like going home.

I never used to feel that way about this place, even though I share the same ancestry and migration patterns as her. However, having stayed here for nearly two weeks now, I understand a bit more of what she meant.

I am starting to understand the jumble of streets in Central, the smells of curry chicken rice everywhere I go, the crowds of Causeway Bay, the random big nights in Lan Kwai Fong. I have also come to appreciate the serenity of the Outer Islands, the (relative) quietness of mid-Levels and that just wandering around Hong Kong is a great way to take in the city.

Yes, I could live here.

The trip has been fun because of all the different activities:
Trish and Roy's Wedding - lovely and heartfelt, and the first time I have seen one of those "chairman's suites" in a 5-star hotel;
Mary-Ann's birthday bash, seeing all my relatives, catching up with old friends, making new ones.
I still have a week to go, to see my immediate family and Por Por's 91st (!!) birthday.

It's been good to be able to do some thinking as to where and what I want to do next year. There seems to be a few options on the table, need to see what is best.

Thanks Bjee for letting me have the run of your apartment. It's an awesome place. And no, I swears I haven't had any parties here!

Glee

I don't usually watch that much TV. Actually, the cable for my internet doesn't even connect up to the TV.
So it's lucky that they replay certain programs on internet to watch.

One of the shows that I am a big fan of is Glee. It's a high-school drama/comedy (mostly comedy), with lots of random musical numbers that people perform during the epidose. Glee Club, as it is known in US, is the equivalent of the Aussie "jazz ensemble".

The fact that they sing tons of catchy modern pop songs ("Thong Song", "Bust a Move", "Defying Gravity") is great. What makes it stand out is the Glee Club's teacher is very talented (both in singing and dancing), and all the kids in the club can really sing well. One of the main girl leads came from the musical "Spring Awakening", which was playing in NYC a while back. Side note: Don't watch Spring Awakening, I thought the storyline was quite bad, with nudity that really wasn't necessary in any way.

Now, many of you may associate Glee with High School Musical. Having never watch High School Musical, I can't comment on that, and hope that others may provide some insight into that comparison.

I think that liking Glee is probably for guys a bit of a "closet" thing (perhaps it's High School Musical and its association with wild teenage girls screaming for Zac Efron). There seems to be a certain shame in admitting that it's a great show and yes, that "I do sing along to the songs". To that I say, who cares?? It's good fun, buy the album :)

Here's to hoping Season 2 is as good as Season 1!

Cambodia, Thailand, Wedding

In one word, fantastic. Let's break it down in more detail:

Cambodia
Angkor Wat and the temples around Siem Reap are definitely worth seeing. It's great that we are able to walk through the temples. Yes there are lots of tourists there, but not overwhelming and there is a serenity to the place that no amount of people can detract from. Angkor Ta Prohm (otherwise known as the "Lara Croft" temple) has melted back into the forest, with all the vines that grow through the stones. Banteay Srei Temple (otherwise known as the "Women's Temple") has some of the most intricate carvings in stone that I have seen.

Of course Angkor Wat is very impressive. I would recommend going to the National Museum before going to the temples, it provides a much needed background on why certain things were carved on the stones. I have a much better understanding of Hinduism and Buddhism now, although all those names of entities gets pretty confusing!

We also managed to get out and about in the touristy town part of Siem Reap. Women are aggressive there, probably because they are of the "working" type. Couldn't look at anyone in case they came up to say "what's up"!

Got to do a Cambodian cooking class, that was a ton of fun. My aim is to make some coconut sticky rice soon!

Pictures here.


Thailand (excl wedding)
I have been told that Thailand is much better outside of Bangkok. From a pollution perspective, they are probably right. However, some good things to see there: the Grand Palace is bling! It's as good as the palaces in Europe. It's impressive that Thailand still has a constitutional monarchy, that's probably why those palaces are so well maintained. Wat Pho (with a massive gold-plated reclining Buddha) is worth a visit too.

I rate the outdoor bar on the top of State Tower. Only in Asia, where safety concerns are much less of an issue than they are in western countries!

Of course there was the bucks, good bunch of guys that went out. Yes, I went to a "Thai show" and yes, I saw things that I don't think I ever want to see again. I wonder what makes people decide to train to shoot darts from there?? Apparently the show that the hens went to was even more fascinating to watch!
We even hit the town, Bed Supper Club was swanky. There's a rule in Bangkok that all clubs close at 2am, except for the dodgy police controlled ones!

Pictures here.

Tax & Dex's Wedding
After a massive Friday night out, on to the bus to go to Hua Hin, a beach resort town 2 hours south of Bangkok. The wedding was wonderful. There was a slight comical hiccup when the celebrant couldn't pronounce Dexter's name ("Doctor Liu"), but everything else was flawlessly executed. Outdoor dinners are always risky (due to weather etc), but it was starry, balmy night. With the beach, fireworks and great food, everyone was happy and celebrating, and that's the main thing.

Congrats Tax and Dex, see you in Feb hopefully!

Pictures here.

Friends
Finally, the best thing was catching up with everyone. From UK, HK, Aust and everywhere else, it was a grand gathering. Partying and reconnecting with old friends (until sunrise) is just plain fun. Even made some new friends! Those animated GIFs are coming. Here's a preview



Until the next wedding :)

Halloween

A brief synopsis on getting a costume for Halloween

1. Don't think too hard about the costume until the day before the party.
2. Decide to change the outfit on the day of the party from normal pimp to Eastern European pimp
3. Proceed to wander around Chinatown looking for "fake Adidas" gear. Get blank stares from Chinese shipowners when asking for "sweatpants".
4. Receive inspired advice from a friend to go to Century 21 to buy discount sportswear.
5. Buy sports gear (only had Nike), move on accessories.
6. See the ridiculous lines outside Ricky's and other Halloween costume stores where everyone else is in the same boat, getting last minute stuff.
7. Inspired thinking on my own part to go to St Marks Place to look for fake bling.
8. For the first time in 2 years living in NYC, actually go into one of those St Marks Place "variety" stores that sell random crap.
9. Acquire fake gold peace sign necklace. Even bargained the guy down!
10. Get wig and sunnies off mate.
11. Also get wife beater singlet off mate.
12. After dinner, miraculously grow sideburns from black cosmetic outliner.
13. Decide that if I ever take off the jacket, I'll just have a singlet on. Proceed to desperately bulk up with a few push ups and pull ups.
14. Put the outfit together, drink and have a great time.


It's funny, being out in NYC during Halloween, you almost feel out of place WITHOUT a costume on. Some people go all out (I heard reports of a 12 foot tall Optimus Prime) so it's fun just to be costume wandering around. Good times, and more photos here.

New Record

I have had alcohol in my system every night since Wednesday. It's Sunday morning now.

Luckily, most nights have been on the "gateway"-level of 3 drinks, which is the point where any further drinking will lead to a rapid decline in ability to stay coherent. The exceptions to this have been Saturday...and Thursday...and maybe Friday.

In New York, with such good infrastructure, thoughts of drinking and driving are never an issue. So that "ok, one more..." comment never really has any illegal activity attached to it. I expect that Hong Kong would be similar in ease of alcohol intake.

I am sure my tolerance for alcohol has increased substantially. However, that tolerance is only reserved for the following:
1. Malibu and cokes
2. Strong cocktails, of the type produced in speakeasy bars
3. Random tequila shots

I am a lightweight when it comes to beers and wines, keep that in my if you are taking me out.

Does this make me a (semi) alcoholic? I sure hope not. In my assessment of other people in NYC, I'm not even close. Drinking is so prevalent here...plus Dad says that it has to be 5 drinks a night minimum, so if I only do that once a week, I'm sure it's ok. Right? Right? Cheers!

Side note to family: This post in no way represents my abilities to be a responsible son / brother / uncle.

Chicago

I like Chicago. I like the structure, the cleanliness, the hot Caucasian women that live there.

Two things struck me when I visited my cousin who is doing his MBA at Booth School of Business.:
1. Rent is cheap. The amount of space one gets is fantastic value, at least from the perspective of someone who is living in a small studio.
2. B-schoolers seem to be having a great time, living it up as uni students once again.

On the second point, it made me think once again whether I should do an MBA. However, I know that going to grad school just to hit it isn't going to do my career any good. And it's not for free (unless you get sponsored), that's a $150,000 party, not to mention lost income for the two years. If there is no expected career change or boost, then it's not really worth it. What one MBA'er did say was that it really opens your eyes to the breadth of opportunities that are out there in the world.

Go to check out a college football game. It felt more like "Friday Night Light" than the NFL. Northwestern (the home team) are apparently not that good a team, and yes they did lose. However, they did make a game out of it. Here's a clip of a touchdown that Northwestern (in the dark blue) scored. Action starts around the 20sec mark.



Good also to catch up with a friend who had moved back to Chicago from NYC. I'm impressed by the freshness of the sushi and sashimi I had at a place called "Coast".

I didn't need to do the touristy stuff (having done it last year) so it was a lot of chillin out and talking shit. That is sometimes the best thing for a holiday.

Age

So the more I get out and about in NYC, the more I am meeting people of a variety of ages.
I started high with those Korean cougars in L.A. but things have gone progressively uphill/downhill (depending on your outlook).

Am now meeting 22 year old women and even 21 year old guys. WTF?

I don't think of age as an issue, and that comes from the fact that I would hang around people in the same age vicinity as me. I still think the same way. However, for some of these young'uns, there is some surprise and the "why aren't you settled?" question has indeed come up. I'm tempted to reply, "because life doesn't always work out you the way you think it does at the ripe old age of 21."

Trying to remember back to when I was that age, I would think the same way as them. However, that was Sydney where no-one goes out beyond 26 and this is NYC where older people party just as hard, so I do feel I'm not that much of an outcast!

I did hear once a friend of a friend lied about their age when they first met a girl (I think he's around my age) but he told the truth later and now they are all good as a couple. There's a part of me that thinks, surely putting a lie out there that early is not conducive to a good relationship?

Thank goodness for the Asian gene :) Most people think that I look younger than I am. So maybe the key is to avoid the topic altogether!

Red Cross

I recently volunteered for the Red Cross. What surprised me was how strict they were in terms of making sure that the volunteers were proper, committed people. I'm subject to a background check as well as an interview. In essence, it's like applying for a new job! It's probably a good thing, it weeds out the people who thought "why not?" and sign up for it. And truth be told, a part of me is in that category. It's easy to volunteer for stuff, but it's harder to stay in it for a long period of time. Red Cross does emphasise the "we want you to be doing a job that you want" instead of the "throwing bodies at it" approach that many other agencies take.

So I did do some browsing and I'm thinking that the Disaster Response Reserves sounds interesting. I'd like to be able to use some of this project management skill (or lack thereof) to help out in disaster situations. And surely if I can work calmly in a disaster situation, everything else in my normal line of work will be a piece of cake!

I went to the orientation the other day, to get a history on the organisation and all that jazz. A few random facts:
- Red Cross symbol is the second most recognizable symbol globally, number one being Coca Cola
- Red Cross responds to about 8 "incidents/disasters" per day. Obviously a disaster is anything where bad stuff happens, right down to a family.
- Red Cross have about 4,000 volunteers in the Greater New York region, and they are aiming for 10,000. That's bigger than my company!

It will be interesting to see how this goes. My previous concepts of charity were more slanted towards teaching a person to fish, as opposed to giving the fish away. With disaster relief, it's really all about giving stuff away to make sure people get through the initial "survival" phase. Will see if it's fulfilling or not. Either way, any charity is better than none.

Poverty

It's probably because of my personality, but I like books that provide clear step by step instructions on what they are about.
With "The End of Poverty", Jeffery Sachs does this, providing an operations guide for countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals agreed upon in 2000.

What was interesting was understanding some of the causes of poverty, and getting rid of some of the myths, especially of African nations. Some causes, such as corruption and mismanagement, affect a countries state a lot less than I had previously thought, which geography, disease and nutrition causes countries to get stuck in the poverty trap.

What was also interesting was that birth rates for poverty countries are high most likely because parents understand that they will lose some of their children and in order to compensate have many more kids. This in turn leads to population growth that the country and land cannot support adequately. If mortality rates of children goes down, then there is less risk of losing their children and parents will naturally reduce their family size (similar to richer countries).

I read an article once about how the human mind has difficulty comprehending large numbers. When you see a statistic 1 million children die from malaria each year, it's sometimes harder to imagine that than the 4000 that died in the World Trade Centre. 1 million is a staggering number from a preventable disease, but these people are nameless, faceless. Say what you will about Bill Gates, he can comprehend that large number, and recognises that significant amounts of money needs to be invested to combat that disease.

Here's to hoping we reach those Millennium Goals by 2015. Given the financial crisis, it's going to be a tough ask.

Acting

Acting class is still going strong. Having asked for some new material, my teacher pointed me in the direction of some plays written for American-Asians. Playwrights such as David Henry Hwang and Philip Kan Gotanda have contributed to plays that address the issues migrants face in belonging to this country.

Frankly I never knew that these types of plays existed! And it is refreshing to read scripts that I can relate to, at least on some superficial level. My previous attempt at a monologue had me as some "Southern gentleman", out of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie".

Of course, we still have some shockers, Hangover being the current movie that I can think of. Unfortunately, Asians are now being typecast not in their mannerisms but more so in their job line. Great example would be that nerdy analysis guy in "CSI", the nerdy Princeton Korean guy in "Harold and Kumar".

It's also great to see that there have been more non-stereotypical roles for Asians in cinemas these days. John Cho seems to be doing well, acting as all sorts of roles (yes, I am a fan, did you know he's 37?), from space cadet to some cop.

I still have an aim to get in a play here, but given the sheer talent of the people around me, it's going to take a lot longer to achieve the goal. Still, it's good to use that part of the brain, and once in a while we all want to be someone else for a change!

Perhaps the best indicator that we are on even ground is when people don't write about these issues any more. It's just, "he's a good actor".

Achievements

Reading the book "Against the Gods" (thanks Baba!), it details the history of risk, and how society moved from thinking of the future as pure uncertainty to one where it can be (sometimes) quantified.

The book describes the many people that contributed to risk assessment, from philosophers who thought about probabilities in life to mathematicians that provided the theorems on calculating the utility and expectancy of events.

What was more remarkable was the amount of achievements that these people had acquired by such young ages. Fibonacci wrote his book Liber Abaci when he was 27. Edmond Halley was a member of the English Royal Society by the time he was 22. Daniel Bernoulli was Professor for Mathematics by the time he was 24.

I don't know if it's because the life span of people in those days were shorter, but people seemed to be awesome early. Of course, history would have a bias to people of note, so we only read about famous people who would have been the top 1% of their society.

We are definitely getting to an age where I can see some of my friends really powering ahead in their pursuits / professions, and it's fantastic to see that. It just makes me think that I need to do more with my life. What's my contribution? What can I do that will make an impact?

I could be approaching this the wrong way. Perhaps the better question should be "what strengths do I have so that whatever I do has the greatest impact?"

Of course, as I write this, having come off a massive night in town, perhaps the focus is in the wrong place at the moment!

I Feel Used.

I've heard about it here and there, but never experienced it myself until last night.
Random girl comes up and dances up close. She's fairly cute, I'm a willing partner.

I suggest to go have drinks at the bar, she obliges.
One mixed drink, one shot, of course paid for by me, as I asked her to go to the bar. Conversation flows fairly easily, I learned that she's doing dentistry.

Back to the dance floor, a bit more dancing, then it's "I gotta take this call, will be back". Never comes back.

Warning signs for the future:
1. The fact that she wanted to down a mix drink. Who does that??
2. The "let's get back on the dance floor" call quite soon after the drinks were finished
3. The (possibly fake, but I'll give her the benefit of the doubt) phone call to move away from the dance area

Let that be a lesson for all you single guys out there! Still, the dancing was pretty good :)

New York - Jun and Vegas

Catching up on pictures.

New York - Jun 09



Good to get some flower shots in again!

Las Vegas - Jul 09



Go the hungies!

Belated Birthday Review

I did a search on "birthday" on my site to see what goodies came up. Quality posts!

Obviously things have changed a lot since last year, let's look at some "age-changing" factors:

Things making me feel older:
- Heavier drinking has made my liver older.
- General fitness has declined. However, having just gotten a bike (fixed gear!) I'll be looking to turn this one around
- More responsibility at work, more engagement with global teams, talking to more senior staff
- Living by myself.
- Thinking about my next step in life, and working out the future

Things making me feel younger:
- A somewhat more "lax" attitude to responsibility, or rather, saying "yes" to more things.
- Having no savings (due to moving costs, lease break fees, excessive holidaying) has made my bank account younger.
- Getting told at dance parties "I thought you were mid-20s!". Must be the dance moves.
- Getting booked in LA by Korean cougars.

So overall I'm about square! That sounds about right. Perhaps the Asian gene of looking "ageless" applies not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well.

A quote from last year's post still applies:

I've heard that men are in their prime during their 30's, as they have got their shit together and are really making a decent contribution to themselves and to society at large. Perhaps this birthday milestone is just a sign along the road that I am traveling, an acknowledgment that things are now coming together and that I am finally starting to be a wise man.

New York Summer

Summer finally hit this weekend with some glorious weather. It was great just to walk around, soak up the rays and enjoy New York. Things on the hit it list:

- Play some pickup basketball
- Go to Hamptons, need to get on the party list of a friend who has a timeshare of a condo there
- Go to upstate New York, apparently there is some apple picking thing to do.
- Kayak on the Hudson river
- Check out another Jones Beach concert
- Play some beach volleyball at Long Island city
- More public theatre shows. If I can score a Shakespeare in the Park ticket, I would definitely go
- Back on the exercise routine, surely there are enough days left in summer to get ripped and then still have time to show it off :)

Other activities that have occurred / already booked in:
- Watched Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds. I am impressed at the energy of that guy (given he is late forties?), as well as the number of hit songs that he has written. One thing was that when he did sing those songs together, it was noticeable that they all have a very similar beat and style. Highlight was some of the classic Boyz to Men songs
- Seeing Bei and Reenie in consecutive weeks. Always fantastic to have friends come and visit, I once again marvel at how easily we can travel globally. See you guys in November and thanks Reenie for the present!
- Seeing some relos come from Kingston in Canada for the weekend.
- Late night funky Jazz at Blue Note. Makes me wish I could play a saxophone, or any musical instrument, for that matter.
- I cooked! Steamed fish and choi sum! And amazingly, no one got sick!

I've taken to saying "yes" to pretty much anything, and it's been good fun. One thing that I have refused to do is to start any form of long distance running. That, to me, is just no fun, plain and simple!

Sydney, Singapore and Hong Kong

Photos are up.

Sydney

Ben & Syl's Wedding

Singas & HK

La-La Land

I think weekend trips are brutal, leaving Friday, taking the red-eye back on Monday and straight back to work.

That being said, Los Angeles was great fun. It had all the makings of a good trip:

1. Key events ie NBA finals game 2 (go Lakers in OT!)
   
2. Stoopid photo opportunities at every turn
   
3. Travelling companion willing to go out, hitting random Korean clubs. Perhaps 2 people attempting to share one bottle of vodka was a bit too ambitious.
   

I think LA is too much car travelling. The pavements are empty, everything feels far away, it's not something I'm used to. Of course, if I did live there I would get some awesome car to cruise around in! It has this ecclectic mix of architecture, from spanish to modern to old school chateaus. This actually makes the neigbourhoods such as Beverly Hills quite fun to drive around.

Definitely need locals or friends of locals that can tell you where to go out at night, but that "close at 2pm, no more alcohol" rule is ridiculous. Remember, unlike New York, start early!

Would I live there? Nah, not my thing. Good to visit though.

Asia Trip

I believe that going to Asia (Singapore and Hong Kong) is like going to an alternate universe where clubs are easy to get in, sleep is an option, and work is something people do on the side of living it up.

I didn't think that my body could handle four days where:
- 2 nights I had 4 hours sleep
- 1 night I had 1 hour sleep
- 1 night I had no sleep as I got home at 6am, packed and went to the airport to go to Hong Kong (thanks for having me at your place Anton!)

Not surprisingly, I slept 14 of the 15 hours on the plane, and then another 12 hours when I got back home. I read somewhere that you can make up for lost sleep if it is done within the week of when the lack of sleep occurred :)

It was great fun. Both more livable than I had previously thought (maybe I'm easily influenced) and offering more than just the standard party / shop / eat combo. I was surprised to hear of hiking trails around Hong Kong, and we went out on a boat cruise to Clearwater Bay, which was a very relaxing experience.

Of course, the best part was catching up with friends, both local and overseas visitors, as well as my family there. My grandma (my mom's mom) is as sprightly as ever. Best conversation of the trip:

Me: "So you have to tell mom that I've been good here in Hong Kong" (this was after my grandma sees me coming home at 10am)
Grandma: "You know that I can't lie!"
My Aunty: "Well, you could say that Kev was good during the times that you were awake."

Indeed!

Sydney

The fact that I have a ton more work meetings in Sydney could mean two things:
1. People like meetings in Sydney and talk through collaboratively
2. I am a real nigel in New York.

It's great to be back, and having two weeks means, for both work and play, there is a bit more time to enjoy it. I have again sampled the goods of the fish market (so fresh!) and visited the old haunts of Privilege (so cheap!). Family is good, friends are good, work is good. Everything is just...good.

And perhaps that is why I'm not so keen on coming back here quite yet. It feels like settling and I'm not ready to settle. I feel like doing challenging things, to get out there amongst it, to have stories to tell my kids. Whether that is in New York or not, that probably depends on the job. But New York seems a good place to start.

The time constraint of my stay there had previously not felt as tight as it does now. It's time to hit it.

Sunday Art

So I "performed" in a street art production on Sunday. Here was the instructional blurb:

Each participant will carry a sign bearing different slogans taken from my stream-of-consciousness writings. Participants will be posted a couple of blocks away and when instructed will carry their sign with conviction and determination towards the gallery to create a silent picket line that slowly swells from on lone picketer to hopefully a group of up to 20 picketers. They will silently move back and forth in this formation until the lead picketer walks away and they will disperse one by one away from the gallery until the space is left empty.

It was part of this Rececssional performance, where groups of people would tour around a few galleries and different "movement art" things would be happening. You can tell that I'm not an artist as I suck at describing these things.

It doesn't mention that I had to have masking tape over my mouth, but that's a minor detail.

Having never protested anything in my life, it's a strange feeling to be stared at when I'm holding up a sign. I can see how people would feel empowered by protesting, but it would be quite dismal if you were the only picketer. The lack of noise (with the masking tape and the silence of the crowd) made the performance stronger, I think.

Back to the to do list for NYC....Public performance: check.

Wii

When people would as me about consoles, I would say "Wii was a console for party games such as Wii tennis, Wii boxing etc. It's good for a few laughs but it's not a true gaming console, as the single player games aren't that good".

So whilst in Toronto with my relos, there was a Wii console that my cousin had. Yes we played some tennis and boxing, but when everyone left I had to entertain myself. Luckily for me my cousin had this massive collection of Wii games.

And one game I played was Super Mario Galaxy. I was amazed at the execution of the game, and how well they used the contollers with their motion sensors. The sheer originality of the moves, from spinning the Wii remote to spin Mario, balancing Mario of a boulder to do a course, made it such an enjoyable experience that I ended up playing half the game until 2am :)

Is it worth getting a console for one game? Probably not, but I do have a lot more respect for the Wii now.

Dad

Having my dad here has been great fun, good to catch up and talk about the usual things: stocks, work, family. Like all good asian parents, they will put freely give their advice on matters both personal and professional. Sometimes the advice is good, sometimes it is bad. In either case, it's up to me to act on any advice. We have gotten to a point where he knows I'm not going to do everything he says, but I also hope that he knows that I won't always do the opposite of it either.

I know they worry about me, and that I should be living closer to home. I think every single person that lives overseas has this feeling to "do the right thing" and be with family. One day I will, but not today. I think that being here forces me to work out what I want, without the easy support structures that Sydney provides. It's a learning experience I don't want to let go of.

Of course he is sad at what happened and I think he now knows all sides of the story. Honesty is a great thing, and I'm glad I shared with him the full story. There should be no secrets in a family.

Next stop is Toronto, to go and say hi to grandma and meet some other relos. I might even get some quality Chinese!

Rollercoaster

If there's one thing that I have learned being single, it's that there is much less of a consistency to life. Really it is just higher highs and lower lows, and that's tough sometimes, especially when in a foreign city.

There is an unrivaled freedom in being single. Going hard on a Tuesday night, staying in on a Saturday, meet up with people on the spur of the moment...don't get me wrong, being in a relationship does not prevent you in any way from doing this, it's usually prior plans and consideration for your partner that would limit the number of those "why the heck not?" questions being answered in the positive. The calendar becomes a lot more fluid when I am single.

Of course, the loneliness can be quite depressing. Waiting for friends to call you back, staying in on Saturday because there are no plans, it's quite easy to spiral downwards with those "what am I doing here?" questions. This is the first time I have lived by myself as well, which magnifies these thoughts as there is no one to interact with. On the positive side, It is also a learning experience. To be able to rely on myself, back myself, it's something that I am slowly learning. At least my cooking is getting better!

The possible key is to just fill up the calendar with activities. Stop waiting for things to happen and make them happen myself. Let's see how that turns out. Acting class starts Monday.

Yoga In All Its Glory

I've had a neck injury (putting on my shoe, of all things) that's stopping me from continuing on the P90X regime. For some reason the tweaked neck hasn't gone away, and it's been about 4 weeks since I stopped. It's quite sad, all that effort from the last few months gone.

Of course, I haven't given up yoga, so there's still some exercising.
I got myself a yoga mat for home, so I'm still hitting that DVD, although some of the moves are proving even more difficult than usual.

A friend of mine was amused that I'm doing yoga at home on a DVD. Perhaps I'm training up so one day I can go to these actual yoga classes around the city and look the part. She did shock me by telling me about naked yoga. New York, being the city that it is, has its own website on the matter.

It got me thinking...I'm having enough trouble with concentrating on the moves now, if some guy does the downward dog in front of me, how in the world is that considered relaxing and therapeutic?

Hiatus

It's been about a month since the last entry. Many things have happened, some sadder than others. To everyone who has sent a "how you doing" email or call, much appreciated. Onwards and upwards is the motto.

So some enjoyable things that have happened over the last few weeks:
1. Attended my first Comic Convention (ComicCon) in New York. Surprisingly dominated by a lot of video game displays, although there were a substantial "Artist's Alley" where people were doing their sketching thing. Got to meet the authors of Penny Arcade, which was cool.

How awesome is this Yoda?



2. Skiing at Mont Tremblant. 8 hour drive across the US border through to Quebec. Unfortunately super cold temperatures (-20 celsius!) and a lack of snow meant that skiing was not that enjoyable, with multiple injuries to our party. Yes, I attempted another 180. No, it did not go very well. Yes, it was under a chairlift.

A panoramic of the place we stayed at.



3. Moving to the new place. East Village is where I'm now located, so no more walking to work, but I'm close to the train station so it's all good. I have made multiple trips to Ikea (the food there is great) and I'm getting much better at using a powerdrill. I'm quite happy with it, although my boss (visiting from Sydney) was shocked at what I was paying for rent, as all people who do not live in New York are! It's my place and it's good to settle in.

I've attached a view from the window out to the street. Probably the last of the snow for this year. Note: we had a "Snow Day" in NYC first time in 5 years, which means kids can stay home. It was only 9 inches.



Other things worth mentioning:
1. Boston vs Knicks game at Madison Square Garden (obviously Knicks lost)
2. Lovely roast beef made by Janey at Janey and Stephen's place
3. Yet another round of Benjamin Steakhouse. I think they recognise me now!

Full set of photos here.

Brick Fun

The good thing about living in the Northeast is the accessibility of the snows. A $73 ticket gets you a bus ride and all day mountain pass to some decent places. Add another $35 for the gear, and you're all set.

Unfortunately the gear was a bit rubbish this time (no edge on the skis) leading to a lack of ability to go down the slopes as quickly as I would like. Still, it was a sunny day, wasn't too cold, couldn't ask for more.

So not being able to hit the steep slopes (and it was a bit icy), the natural next choice is to go to the terrain park. My 180s are doing ok, but these brick walls were a new obstacle.

When one cannot visualise what the outcome of the trick should be, bad things happen.

The back of my skis actually caught into the snow at the bottom where the brick wall meets the snow and I landed on my ass. Man that hurt.

Of course, that didn't stop me from trying to go backwards into the brick wall. Lesson #101: Need speed.

December Photos

Are up, click here:

Yes they are quality.

Recession Proof

I got a strange rash swimming in a bay in South Africa (I was bitten by something in the water, probably a jellyfish or something). Ended up seeing a dermatologist to check out what was going on. The fees that they charge are phenomenal!
I checked out the invoice and found the following:
$180 - 10 min consultation (there was one visit where I swear the doctor spoke for 30 seconds and then left)
$250 - removing a wart, probably 2 min work.
Total bill: $430

Lucky for me the medical insurance I have covers the costs, so I end up paying $30.

Still, I can understand why people would want to do medicine so much. If you can charge like that, and people are always willing to pay for their health, it's all good!

Kevvy, I hope you hit this kind of earnings! :)

Fixing Up The Archives

I was following the "Getting Things Done" method of archiving everything into one folder, and attempting to do that with my pictures proved slightly difficult, having about 6,000 photos. It was actually stuffing up my ability to backup that folder!

So now it's all fixed up, with specific years and actual dates to each event.
Tip of the day #1: I split the photos into years first.
Tip of the day #2: I write "05 - NYC" for all the pictures that I take that aren't part of a specific event for the month of May, "06 - NYC" for June etc. For events, I would write "06 26 to 06 29 - San Francisco", hence the folders will all show up in chronological order.

Going through old photos is always a very entertaining process. When did this idiotic thing with the ties at weddings start?