The sky is falling!

What Chicken Little so famously uttered was almost reality this week.

The lack of a landfalling typhoon does not mean the lack of inclement weather affecting Hong Kong. Really, this past week has been extraordinary. The black rainstorm signal was issued again today. That makes for twice in a week. And "black rain" is supposed to be less common than typhoon signal 8 (equivalent to a tropical storm warning). Also, there were a total of 5 reported waterspouts over this same week. So all in all, some pretty crazy stuff from the skies.

Anyways, it's the middle of the second week of work now, and it's definitely less "nice and fresh" than at the beginning. Still, I guess it's better than just sitting at home and rotting every day...now that I am no longer a child. Although there are still many many things that make a part of me wish for another shot at childhood. Oh well...there's no take 2 in life. Hah, if only I'd managed to tell myself that before. I need poetic release.


Hell, If Only I'd Managed to Think of That Earlier

Such is life. Sometimes you only see things
after the fact. With the benefit of .thgisdnih
Or maybe I was just nearsighted. Maybe I just lacked

foresight.

Whatever happened, it was too -- l...a...t...e...

Life goes on
But only for a certain amou//_____ it can be cut short, at any time
nt of time. ____________________ we never know.

If only I could have thought.
If only I could have known.
If only I could have seen.
If only I could have done things right the first time.

Upon reflection, I wish to revisit.
And still life goes on.
You can try to fxi ifx fix it,
But still life goes on; it won't wait,
Because fixing won't erase anything,
It will just scratch out the past,
And the rebuilding will take up more time.

It remains possible --
sometime in the future --
It remains possible.

I hope.

Let the skies fall! Let the earth gape!

Still I hope.
I dare to.
I hope.

A recap of the week

I sat in the office for 4 days...on Wednesday I went up to visit the company factory at Dongguan. That was quite the trip. I could never have imagined the amount of heavy machinery and modern technology that goes into a board game. Never again will I take for granted what appears to be a simple board game. Oh, by the way, a shout out to all you Monopoly owners out there...chances are that board came out of our factory. And have no fear, for this is the cleanest factory in China. It may not be largest, but size isn't everything.

Also, this week was rather eventful for weather. No, Typhoon Chanthu did not manage to come even remotely close to a direct hit, but it did generate the first black rainstorm warning of the year. Hong Kong's rainstorm warning signals range from amber to red to black. Amber means 30 mm/hr has fallen or is expected to fall. Red is 50, and black is 70. Yes, 70 mm/hr. Once you've been in the tropics, you really can't complain about the rain in Vancouver. It's almost pathetic what passes as a rainfall warning back there. I believe the criteria is 40 mm/DAY. It's also embarassing what passes for a snowfall warning in Vancouver, but I won't get into that today.

Right, so I got vaccinated today. On both arms. It was necessary since I'm going to Guizhou soon for a short volunteering trip. So it's all good. I'm vaccinated, the stuff is generally all set to go, and the mood is positive. Except my arms are slightly sore, and I'm golfing tomorrow. Whoops. We'll see how it ends up.

Well, that's about it for this week...you can't really say THAT much about sitting in an office. Even though it consumes the better part of the day, nothing of true excitement happens but for once a blue moon. If something even distantly resembling action happens at work, be sure that it will wind its way onto this blog. For now, the pillows and sheets beckon. A good evening to you all.

Office hours

Well...9:30 to 6:30...so slightly staggered office hours, but office hours nonetheless. Honestly it's not quite as boring as some poeple make it out to be. You always see those cubicles on TV, everyone's slacking off trying to find something to occupy themselves with until the boss walks in, at which point everyone sits up straighter and makes haste to appear to be busy with work.

I can tell you it's not like that. People actually do stuff, and the atmosphere isn't tense with "WHEN'S BIG BOSS WALKING IN?!" It's actually fairly relaxed, you can walk about to talk to other people, and the time actually passes by fairly smoothly if you're occupied. There is no office bully that everybody kowtows to, people are all nice and respectful to each other, it's almost all first name basis.

Of course, there is etiquette and manners and whatnot of the working world, and there's the challenge of those assignments you're given, but you know, that's exactly the stuff I expected and wanted to face and learn when I told my aunt I would do it. I just hope that I get as much as I possibly can out of this, and keep it in my life for future use. It's a brave new world out there, and I'm going to embrace it.

Slowing down

People in Hong Kong are generally pretty hurried. It's a bustling financial centre, and time is of the essence. Have you ever sounded the horn on a car? What does it sound like?

HONG KONG! HONG KONG!

But, bad joke aside, this was the reason I expected to be accustomed to speeding vehicles on the streets of Hong Kong.

Apparently not. For whatever reason, maybe the rampant radar setups or traffic cameras, people in Hong Kong just don't speed. They may change lanes on a whim and be amazingly adept at squeezing their cars into puny parking spots, but they DO NOT speed. Hell, I'd probably have an easier time finding a speeding driver in the streets of Flin Flon, Manitoba than in Hong Kong.

Yes, Flin Flon is a place.

All I can say is, thank goodness I don't have to drive in Hong Kong, because with my level of patience, I'd probably never get through a day without flashing road rage at another driver, nor would I manage to go a week without a speeding ticket.

Once again all passengers...

Welcome to Hong Kong, Part II.

Yes, I wasn't done yesterday night, just overwhelmingly tired after being unable to sleep all flight long. I am NEVER able to sleep on planes. It's so damn cramped and the seating position is too upright. And for 14 hours too. It's like a nightmare, except you're awake. Or, rather, half-awake because you're so tired. Why don't they give people more leg room? After all, we're not all just tall enough to take the kiddies roller coaster. However, you can't expect too much, and really, Cathay Pacific is among the best already. You will not believe what they dished out for dessert: blueberry cheesecake and tiramisu. It really doesn't get any better.

And, never mind the sleeping blurb, cause I did manage to get in 8 hours of sleep on the first night. Really, jet lag isn't an issue when you arrive in Hong Kong. It's going back to Vancouver that's the problem. There's just so much to do during the day, you can't help but stay awake until it's a proper time to sleep. Such is Hong Kong. The brain gets the message after the first day. The kidney, however...will take up to 72 hours...

Speaking of 72 hours, a storm brewing in the South China Sea was supposed to be near Hong Kong in about that time, but as of now it is heading in a more southerly trajectory than originally thought, and will probably miss Hong Kong to the south and west. Damn. Oh well, I have a month and a half, so plenty of time for more tropical weather to brew.

So that's that. More to come in the days to come.

Once again all passengers...

Welcome to Hong Kong.

Ah, yes, the great hub of Asia, where East first met West. And the first thing I notice stepping out of the airport building is, alas, the suffocating heat. It was 9 at night, and the temperature was 31 C with a heat index of 42. Joy.

Thank heavens for air conditioners.

Of course, speaking of tropical weather, once has to mention cyclones. The Asian Pacific, after being dormant for most of the season, manages to eke out a storm in the South China Sea to welcome me to Hong Kong. Currently there is still a distinct possibility of a landfall in Hong Kong...should that be the case, this blog will be on storm watch mode. =D

But alas, it is currently midnight, and I will be sleeping shortly. Good night.

Go ahead, roll your eyes...

I probably play golf on Wii Sports Resort way too much. How do I tell? Well, it's not very often when the golf ball bounces into then out of the hole...and I managed to accomplish this feat twice in the span of two hours today. Yes, let the eye rolling begin.

That aside, what you are currently reading is also something that doesn't happen very often. I just started a new blog! I have been pondering lately about the number of people who would bother to read my other blog who could actually understand the political [insert expletive here] I put into it. The answer I arrived at would be...5. Including myself. It was a rather deflating conclusion. So, pondering became thought, and thought became an idea, and an idea was put into action, and behold, we have a new blog under my penmanship.

Aren't your eye muscles just getting quite the workout?

But, all jesting aside, I hope this can attract a less embarassing viewership...so FOLLOW IT!!!

As an aside, I will be taking off to Hong Kong for a month and a half on Monday the 12th, so I will not be around. Perhaps some interesting experiences from the other side of the world will work their way onto this page...

And that's it for today!