Even SockMonkey is worried about H1N1

My Faineance vs. My Impetuosity

After I push the up button, my baby-boomer, age-of-instant-gratification impatience collides with my middle-age, suburban-bred aversion to self-propulsion. Do I continue to wait for the lift, or do I hike up three flights of stairs?

Am I lazier than I am impatient?

It turns out I am more impatient than I am lazy.

I take the stairs.

Tennis Protégé

One of my eighth-grade students has been absent three days this week.

Back in August Eudice played in two tennis tournaments: one in the Philippines and one in Malaysia. While she came in 5th in Malaysia, she won the tournament in the Philippines.

Because Eudice is relatively new to the game of tennis, she is not ranked. But her victory in the Philippines was enough to get her a wild card invitation to a big international tournament here in Hong Kong this week. Because she was an unranked wildcard, she was paired against the number-two ranked player from Great Britain.

Eudice won in an upset victory.

It was the story to emerge from the tournament Monday. In fact, the Hong Kong Tennis Association has Eudice’s upset victory as their lead story on their web page: www.tennishk.org

If Eudice wins her next match against a player from Thailand, she will move into the quarter finals.

Congratulations Eudice!

By the way, your English project is still due on Friday.

-Jack

It is Well

Not sure why, but it gives me a tremendous sense of well-being to get the smallest bits of news from home.

Dad went to the Tiger’s game Tuesday night. The pond is up. The pears are coming in nicely. Mom will be going to her high school reunion this weekend.

The big news eases my mind, but the small items warm my heart.

Gotcha!

A few weeks ago, Julie and I had the chance to see the Hong Kong skyline at night. It was impressive. Saturday evening we had the chance to bring the girls down. Along the waterfront is the Avenue of Stars. It’s kind of Hong Kong’s answer to Hollywood’s Walk of Stars. Every twenty feet embedded into the sidewalk is a bronze star with the hand prints of some famous Hong Kong actor.

Being the tourist-y destination that it is, it was crowded with people from far and near. Lots of people gawking and taking pictures. I was hoping to find the Bruce Lee star but was doubtful because it was dark and there were so many people. I shouldn’t have worried. It was easy to spot. It was the one with all the people crowded around it waiting to get their picture taken with it.

Yes, I got my picture taken with Bruce Lee’s star and yes, I also got my picture taken in front of his statue. I’m such a tourist. In fact, it was while Julie was busy taking my picture in front of the Master of the Martial Arts, that a middle-age Chinese women tapped Elise on the shoulder and pointed to her camera. At first Elise thought the lady was asking Elise to take a picture for her. But before Elise knew what was going on, the lady saddled up next to her, put her arm around Elise, and had her friend take a picture of her with Elise.

And then –poof- the two women disappeared into the crowd.

Wow. What was that all about?

We’re just going to go ahead and assume those were tourists from the mainland who haven’t seen their quota of blonde-haired nine-year-old girls. I guess Elise should be flattered in a strange sort of way.

It was all over before I even knew what was happening.

Bruce Lee of course would have had a much quicker reaction time.

-Jack

N*Sync

For the last twenty years, Julie has worked second shift as a nurse two or three nights a week. And of course, I had that whole wedding photography thing happening on Saturdays. This has meant that as a family we have never really been a nine-to-five, weekends-free kind of household.

That’s all changed now.

In the morning, Julie and I get up together. The girls and I leave the apartment at more-or-less the same time. Monday through Friday evenings, we reconvene at home for dinner together as a family. We spend our weekday evenings together doing homework, grading papers, and paying bills.

Weekends are free to do things together as a family.

We’ve finally managed to secure something more akin to the all-American household schedule.

And to think, all we had to do was move to Asia.

-Jack

Relaxing on the Bed

Staying in Touch via Email

Happy Birthday China

One of the fascinating things about living in Hong Kong has been watching Hong Kong’s views and take on China. It’s a bit of an interesting nexus because Hong Kong is definitely Chinese, but for 150 years it was not part of China. In 1997, Hong Kong was ceded back to China, but Hong Kong has been allowed to retain much of her autonomy. The official line has been “One Nation. Two systems.”

In my brief time here, it seems to me that Hong Kong is glad to be reunited with China but is also quite happy to observe China with a watchful eye from a safe distance.

I have started grabbing day-old, Hong Kong newspapers from our school library. It has proven to be a great way to get a feel for Hong Kong’s complex attitude toward the Mainland. In the same issue Monday, I read an editorial that was highly critical of the iron fist with which Beijing still rules China, and an op ed piece that waxed poet about how China’s command-and-control economy has recently proven superior to the free markets of the West. (A pretty presumptuous conclusion after just five winning quarters out-performing the West which have come after five decades of a slow-motion economic train wreck with untold casualties)

Today, October 1, China is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Communist regime by Mao Zedong. This year –which is not always the case- the anniversary happens to coincide with the Mid-Autumn Festival. So as you can imagine, Beijing is pulling out all the stops. Rumor has it that tonight’s firework display is going to be the biggest ever in the history of the universe.

Because it’s the mother country and because they love a good party, Hong Kong seems to be joining in on the celebration despite their antipathy toward the Communist leadership in Beijing. But just to make sure that Beijing doesn’t get the wrong message, Hong Kongers will get on board the 60th anniversary celebrations now, and then they will take to the streets in June to commemorate and protest the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

It’s a complex relationship.

Every year, the communist party leadership in Beijing commissions a film that re-tells some aspect of the founding of the nation in 1949. Most everyone in Hong Kong recognizes it for what it is: unrepentant propaganda. But it will still do half-way decently in the theaters here. This year’s movie “The Founding of a Republic” is a big-budget, star-studded event. More than a few people have confessed that they are going just to be able to pick out the 150-plus stars including Jacki Chan and Jet Li.

Me? I’m gonna go have another mooncake.

-Jack

Vine on Fence