Ugh, it has been one long week. Sorry for the lack of updates, but we've been massively overworked to the point of bodily harm. Yes, bodily harm...
So last week I gave my presentation on the first half of my thesis. It went pretty well, despite a single attempt at show-stopping. I think everyone was relatively satisfied with what was discussed and, aside from some complaints about my translations, my supervisor was okay with it as well.
I have to say that being done with the seminar is a huge load off of my back, although it left me with a few revision ideas for my thesis that I've been driving in ever since. Still, I think I'm finally at a point where I can just stop and relax for a while. My work in Hong Kong is almost done and soon we'll be on our way home for a brief respite before the final leg.
Oh, speaking of legs, Carina's are all torn up. Yeah, this goes back to the bodily harm bit...
So last week included Thanksgiving. Originally, we'd just planned to have a small feast in the apartment but Carina's boss was all over the idea of having a big T-day dinner at her flat in Discovery Bay. She also offered to pay for the groceries. Well, who were we to refuse such generosity? We went over on Saturday (Thursday was my presentation) to help with preparation and cooking. Of course, by "help with" I mean "do all of". Cara's boss is a bit ADD and tends to flutter around rather than just sit still and focus. This includes grocery shopping (I don't mind telling you how hard it is to figure out where someone totally random will be in a supermarket).
Anyway, after purchasing the groceries (which included pretty much everything but the turkey), we were getting ready to take the bus up to the apartment. This is when the injury occurred. One second we're just getting the bags distributed so we can carry the 75 pounds of supplies, the next Carina's boss has started dashing for a bus that, by the way, just pulled up and showed no sign of leaving immediately. Well, Carina and I followed suit. Unfortunately, Carina had (bravely, I think), opted to carry some of the most awkwardly-shaped materials and, given the weird distribution of mass, ended up missing a step when running off the curb. She took a nosedive (or, rather, a knee and elbow dive) across the ground. It was a bloody mess, but she toughed it out and clambered aboard the bus with all of her groceries intact.
When we did get to the apartment (a five minute ride away), we immediately set to work on preparing the meal...well, after Carina's boss tried to clean her up a bit...awkward. Anyway, Carina did a great job of organizing everything, taking inventory, and getting us started on preparation. I, lacking any Thanksgiving cooking experience, was more than happy to follow along, assisting in whatever way possible (preferably with a glass of wine nearby. By the way, avoid carmeneres, they aren't that great). We ended up putting together green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, cranberry relish, and sweet potato casserole in addition to the turkey and stuffing (which, by the way, included the most onion I think I've ever seen Carina eat). I did a lot of the prep work and Carina did most of the measuring and putting together of stuffs. Carina's boss talked...at great length...whether I wanted her to or not.
Finally, after almost everything was prepped, we were at the critical moment of the great switch of the turkey from the oven to...everything else. Unfortunately, it was at this point that Olga decided she wanted to go out for a walk. Lovely. Well, we couldn't just leave everything to burn. I had one of two options: either abandon my post and leave Carina to fend for herself in the kitchen while I had awkward conversation, or I could actually try to hold my own in the kitchen. I chose the latter.
As Carina and her boss left, I checked the clock: I had ten minutes to keep checking on and basting the turkey while boiling the corn and making the sweet potato casserole as I loaded in the stuffing and green bean casserole to bake. Okay, I have this: corn should be finished boiling within 15 minutes, sweet potatoes in 20 and they'd already been in for 15. The green bean casserole needed 20-40 minutes to bake and the stuffing needed 30. The sweet potato casserole would only need about 20. No problem, piece of cake.
I started prepping the corn for the boil. At the five minute mark I checked the sweet potatoes (they seemed done) and swapped them out for the corn; I also gave the turkey another basting. I returned to the sweet potatoes and, despite them being blazing hot, I peeled them as quickly as I could, just barely finishing getting the last one into the mashing bowl at the second five minute mark. Phew! I opened the oven and checked the turkey: it looked like it needed a little more time. I basted it again and left it for another five minutes. I turned back to my yams and started taking a masher to them. Then it happened: hard potatoes.
Despite having boiled for over twenty minutes, the yams still weren't soft enough to mash easily. I tried pounding away, but the masher kept falling apart. I decided to take a more primal approach: I picked up the hard parts of the sweet potatoes and started crushing them in my hands. It was a little messy, but it got the job done. Five minutes later, the yams had been mashed and I'd poured in the other ingredients to make the casserole. I quickly washed my hands off and pulled the corn, then the turkey: perfect. I carefully set it on the counter and replaced it with the green bean casserole and stuffing before returning to my sweet potato casserole-in-progress. After mixing the ingredients together I spread it in the casserole dish we'd picked for it and placed the marshmallows on top to coat it. I checked the time and saw I'd regained about five minutes. Perfect. I poured myself some more wine and, after the five minute down period elapsed, I added my casserole to the oven.
Thirty minutes later (than expected), Carina finally managed to drag her boss home again. As she walked in, the look on her face read: "I am so, so sorry...now give me some of that wine." No worries, Love, I had everything covered. The turkey, stuffing, and sweet potato casserole all came out beautifully. For some reason the green bean casserole never set properly, but it was delicious all the same. We sat down, had a nice dinner, and enjoyed our quasi-Thanksgiving.
The End...of that part of the story.
Since then we've still had a lot on our plates. Just yesterday some American friends of ours hit us up to say they were returning stateside and wanted to know if we'd like any of their stuff. Um...yes, please? We hurried over to Hung Hom and returned with what I like to call "Christmas Come Early". We have about HKD 2000 worth of groceries in addition to our own toaster oven, a decent cooking pan, a water filter, and numerous other items that will no doubt serve us well here in Hong Kong. Did we luck out? Yes, yes we did...now, excuse us while we collapse from exhaustion.
Looking forward to seeing you all soon,
Colin (and Carina)
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Crazy Week
Hey-o!
You probably noticed the lack of update this week. Yeah, sorry about that. We've been busy...and sick...and busy.
I've been doing a bunch of stuff for the department, including putting together a seminar presentation for this Thursday evening. Yeah, that's right. I'll be speaking before the people. Let's watch me make a fool of myself and then point and laugh over drinks. Looking forward to that! Seriously, though, I think it'll go pretty well. I've been working on this for quite a while and I'm in the dress rehearsal phase at this point. As long as my colleagues don't try to shoot me to pieces over my (probably unpopular) ideas, it'll be a good conversation.
I've also been revising my thesis so I can have a full draft together by the end of the month. I tacked on an introduction and conclusion, made some significant changes, and I now have a product that's roughly one hundred pages in length. This is officially the largest academic project I've ever done, and I don't mind telling you all that it feels awesome. I just hope it gets accepted so I can defend it and come home to relax a bit before my next endeavor.
Speaking of next endeavors, we submitted my application for Duke's PhD program last night (fees paid and everything). Now we just have to sit, wait, and hope for the best. If any of you believe in a higher power, now's the time to pray to it for me. I might even pray to a few myself, despite my agnosticism. I really need this position to carry on with my research effectively.
Finally, I've spent the past few days organizing and going through some..."official" stuff to help out a friend of mine in the department. Apparently it's stuff that guidelines are a bit fuzzy about, so I can't disclose the information here. I will say, however, that it has been both a rewarding and exhausting project, and I'm learning quite a bit for my potential future as a professor. I'm really just glad I can help someone out, though.
Carina has actually been even worse off than I am, though. Friday morning she woke up with what seems to be food poisoning and has been coping with it since. I also seem to have ingested something not so good for my gut, but my pain doesn't seem to be nearly on the same level that her's has reached. Fortunately, it's starting to get better. Unfortunately, it puts a damper on what kinds of food we can eat. With any luck this will be cleared up for both of us before Thursday. I have a lecture to give and the next night we have Thanksgiving plans. Come back next week to learn how that goes!
All right, proctoring duties call.
Colin-Man, away!
You probably noticed the lack of update this week. Yeah, sorry about that. We've been busy...and sick...and busy.
I've been doing a bunch of stuff for the department, including putting together a seminar presentation for this Thursday evening. Yeah, that's right. I'll be speaking before the people. Let's watch me make a fool of myself and then point and laugh over drinks. Looking forward to that! Seriously, though, I think it'll go pretty well. I've been working on this for quite a while and I'm in the dress rehearsal phase at this point. As long as my colleagues don't try to shoot me to pieces over my (probably unpopular) ideas, it'll be a good conversation.
I've also been revising my thesis so I can have a full draft together by the end of the month. I tacked on an introduction and conclusion, made some significant changes, and I now have a product that's roughly one hundred pages in length. This is officially the largest academic project I've ever done, and I don't mind telling you all that it feels awesome. I just hope it gets accepted so I can defend it and come home to relax a bit before my next endeavor.
Speaking of next endeavors, we submitted my application for Duke's PhD program last night (fees paid and everything). Now we just have to sit, wait, and hope for the best. If any of you believe in a higher power, now's the time to pray to it for me. I might even pray to a few myself, despite my agnosticism. I really need this position to carry on with my research effectively.
Finally, I've spent the past few days organizing and going through some..."official" stuff to help out a friend of mine in the department. Apparently it's stuff that guidelines are a bit fuzzy about, so I can't disclose the information here. I will say, however, that it has been both a rewarding and exhausting project, and I'm learning quite a bit for my potential future as a professor. I'm really just glad I can help someone out, though.
Carina has actually been even worse off than I am, though. Friday morning she woke up with what seems to be food poisoning and has been coping with it since. I also seem to have ingested something not so good for my gut, but my pain doesn't seem to be nearly on the same level that her's has reached. Fortunately, it's starting to get better. Unfortunately, it puts a damper on what kinds of food we can eat. With any luck this will be cleared up for both of us before Thursday. I have a lecture to give and the next night we have Thanksgiving plans. Come back next week to learn how that goes!
All right, proctoring duties call.
Colin-Man, away!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Hong Kong Cools Off...Kinda'
Hey, yo! What's up?
So Hong Kong entered into a bit of a rainy season this week (by "season" I mean two or three days) and, prepare for a shocker, actually cooled off a bit! Mind you, mid to high sixties in the morning and high seventies by noon is still entirely too warm for November, but it's a major improvement over the high seventies mid eighties weather we've been stuck with for the past, oh, three months. Yeah, it's a nice break.
One of the best parts is that this spring time weather means that there are fewer people out and about in the morning, as the locals break out their arctic coats to brave this frigid winter. Sorry, but I cannot help but be amused by the fact that shorts, T-shirt, and sandals weather for me is once again heavily-bundled weather for almost everyone else. Sure, I might look like a nut-job due to my stand-out-ness, but what do I care? The weather is finally sufficiently cool enough that I can wear clothes and not feel like I'm melting (and that's just when I'm standing around!).
Unfortunately, the weather isn't expected to last much longer. Come next week we should be back up to the seventies and eighties again, which means I won't be able to sleep under a blanket at night. Oh well, you enjoy these things as they make themselves available to you, and such pleasures are fleeting.
Speaking of fleeting pleasures, we have a new restaurant review for you folks. There's a little place near HKU that specializes in northwestern Chinese style food called "Ba Yi" (the restaurant, not the style). I first read about the place last year and noticed it had lots of great reviews. Apparently it's famous among the low to mid range restaurants and is frequently packed, requiring reservations on most nights during the prime dining hours. Fortunately, 9:00 PM on a Thursday is never really prime dining time, so after an enjoyable department seminar and several pints of beer a few of us sat down to give the famous food a shot.
Apparently, the staples of this food region are not the chicken and pork that we've become accustomed to (and sick of) over the past few months. Instead, sheep are a preferred protein source, and we enjoyed a nice pile of lamb dumplings and what was essentially mutton hash (we had hoped for the mutton skewers, but they were sold out). We also got to try another meat staple: camel. It was served in a manner similar to the mutton, ground up and spaced with a few diced vegetables interspersed. The hash was served to be rolled into the Chinese pancake (which is somewhat like a rice tortilla for those unfamiliar with the concept), and it made for an interesting and filling meal. Spicy and meaty, it wasn't half bad in terms of flavor.
Unfortunately, the meals are marred by a lack of vegetables and an over reliance on greasy sauces. Vegetables really are just used for flavoring and garnish in most Chinese dishes it seems, so it's not really a surprise that there were so few included. The overuse of oil also should not have come as a surprise but, based on all of the positive things I'd read about Ba Yi, I was surprised that they seemed to pour so much in that it left me with a stomachache with which I'm still coping. It's getting better, but I don't think I'll be dining at Ba Yi again anytime soon if ever.
Still, I don't want to discourage people from trying Ba Yi. It's not for me because I like lighter, healthier fare, but there are plenty of folks out there who enjoy rich, hearty meals. If you like spice, love lamb, and want to give camel a shot, then Ba Yi is definitely worthwhile. Plus they give you steins for your beer. How cool is that?
Other than that it's just been another busy week for us. Carina has started researching articles for her boss's projects...I'm helping. I really haven't had much to do myself aside from try to get things organized. Still nothing back on my thesis yet, and I'm pretty sure no one has even started working on a letter of recommendation for me. I'm sure it'll get done, but it's hard not to worry. I guess it's not so bad, though.
Well, I guess that's a wrap for now. Come by next week for more updates!
Viva la camel,
Colin
So Hong Kong entered into a bit of a rainy season this week (by "season" I mean two or three days) and, prepare for a shocker, actually cooled off a bit! Mind you, mid to high sixties in the morning and high seventies by noon is still entirely too warm for November, but it's a major improvement over the high seventies mid eighties weather we've been stuck with for the past, oh, three months. Yeah, it's a nice break.
One of the best parts is that this spring time weather means that there are fewer people out and about in the morning, as the locals break out their arctic coats to brave this frigid winter. Sorry, but I cannot help but be amused by the fact that shorts, T-shirt, and sandals weather for me is once again heavily-bundled weather for almost everyone else. Sure, I might look like a nut-job due to my stand-out-ness, but what do I care? The weather is finally sufficiently cool enough that I can wear clothes and not feel like I'm melting (and that's just when I'm standing around!).
Unfortunately, the weather isn't expected to last much longer. Come next week we should be back up to the seventies and eighties again, which means I won't be able to sleep under a blanket at night. Oh well, you enjoy these things as they make themselves available to you, and such pleasures are fleeting.
Speaking of fleeting pleasures, we have a new restaurant review for you folks. There's a little place near HKU that specializes in northwestern Chinese style food called "Ba Yi" (the restaurant, not the style). I first read about the place last year and noticed it had lots of great reviews. Apparently it's famous among the low to mid range restaurants and is frequently packed, requiring reservations on most nights during the prime dining hours. Fortunately, 9:00 PM on a Thursday is never really prime dining time, so after an enjoyable department seminar and several pints of beer a few of us sat down to give the famous food a shot.
Apparently, the staples of this food region are not the chicken and pork that we've become accustomed to (and sick of) over the past few months. Instead, sheep are a preferred protein source, and we enjoyed a nice pile of lamb dumplings and what was essentially mutton hash (we had hoped for the mutton skewers, but they were sold out). We also got to try another meat staple: camel. It was served in a manner similar to the mutton, ground up and spaced with a few diced vegetables interspersed. The hash was served to be rolled into the Chinese pancake (which is somewhat like a rice tortilla for those unfamiliar with the concept), and it made for an interesting and filling meal. Spicy and meaty, it wasn't half bad in terms of flavor.
Unfortunately, the meals are marred by a lack of vegetables and an over reliance on greasy sauces. Vegetables really are just used for flavoring and garnish in most Chinese dishes it seems, so it's not really a surprise that there were so few included. The overuse of oil also should not have come as a surprise but, based on all of the positive things I'd read about Ba Yi, I was surprised that they seemed to pour so much in that it left me with a stomachache with which I'm still coping. It's getting better, but I don't think I'll be dining at Ba Yi again anytime soon if ever.
Still, I don't want to discourage people from trying Ba Yi. It's not for me because I like lighter, healthier fare, but there are plenty of folks out there who enjoy rich, hearty meals. If you like spice, love lamb, and want to give camel a shot, then Ba Yi is definitely worthwhile. Plus they give you steins for your beer. How cool is that?
Other than that it's just been another busy week for us. Carina has started researching articles for her boss's projects...I'm helping. I really haven't had much to do myself aside from try to get things organized. Still nothing back on my thesis yet, and I'm pretty sure no one has even started working on a letter of recommendation for me. I'm sure it'll get done, but it's hard not to worry. I guess it's not so bad, though.
Well, I guess that's a wrap for now. Come by next week for more updates!
Viva la camel,
Colin
Friday, November 4, 2011
Dear Hong Kong Taxis...
...go die in a fire.
Oh, I'm sorry, I should be more polite.
Go die in a fire, please.
*NOTE: This was posted after an excruciatingly painful and frustrating week and should not be taken as a commentary on my genuine feelings toward the people of Hong Kong at large. As with comments about the US and any other country, these statements pertain only to a particular subset of the population. That being said, even those statements that are sincere should be taken lightly...for the most part. I apologize for any offense caused in reading this...unless you are, in fact, one of those Hong Kong cabbies who thinks it's okay to speed up when approaching a red light and almost hit people. Phew!*
Okay, yeah, this is going to be another one of my immature blog rants but, frankly, I think it's been earned after the week we've had (which Carina has been calling the Week from Hell; fitting for the time of year, no?).
It all started on Sunday when I finally succumbed to my most recent respiratory infection from the pollution and Heaven knows what else in the apartment thanks to Beanpole's inability to clean up after himself. As we move into the (barely perceptible) winter months of Hong Kong the air pollution seems to coagulate and you start to feel like you're just sucking down smog. It's gross both in terms of the damage to your health and the taste left in your mouth, yuck!
Anyway, so here I've been with a runny, swollen nose, itchy throat and eyes, and utter exhaustion for the past few days. Halloween comes around and Carina's boss has invited us over to her flat in Discovery Bay for dinner. Just a heads-up, Discovery Bay (DB) is the place for the beautiful people in Hong Kong, and by beautiful people I mean foreigners...except for us, obviously. I'm ailing, but I don't want to ruin this for Carina and, besides, maybe it'll be a good time even with my sickness. In fact, it was a pretty good time. We had some of the best food we've not cooked ourselves in a while and it was nice to be around some Halloween activities. They really go all-out in DB and the kids love it. Hell, we loved it, too.
Unfortunately my sinuses didn't, and I was miserable as soon as I came down from my high.
Fortunately, I've been healing pretty well and after that night I started to rapidly recover (although I'm still blowing my nose all over the place, and that's a little gross). Our bad juju seemed to transfer to Carina, unfortunately, and she has spent most of the week playing catch-up with work and school along with getting her visa information sorted out. This culminated in a random day trip to Macau (again) where we had some cocktails and not-so-great Thai food to celebrate her getting a visa. Hopefully this will all play out well in the end and she'll be able to start receiving a paycheck ASAP. Also, hopefully we won't have to blow any extra cash on Macau. We need that money for plane tickets.
That having been taken care of, Hong Kong's indeterminate spirit of ill-will seems to have transitioned back over to me for the morning. I woke up late and ended up having to navigate the taxi-infested streets of early morning HK. It's really disgusting how many people take cabs instead of public transport or, Heaven forbid, walk to where they need to go (which is usually only a few blocks away). In my frustration I decided to try a new route uphill to get above the pollution. The plan was to simply run up to a neighborhood I know and then turn off on a road that leads downhill into an area I usually run around.
Grr, and it would've worked too if it weren't for those meddling ill-conceived pedestrian walkway patterns!
Seriously, what is wrong with your city planners, Hong Kong? Why is it that if I want to cross a street in some places I have to vault over a railing just so I can cross a five meter gap? What is the point of that!? On the bright side, I got to practice my parkour, but that also really mucked up my timing...that and the fact that none of the roads are clearly marked and I totally missed my turn-off. Whatever, no big deal, I just ran all the way back downhill and found my usual path to run and make up for lost time...well, almost. I mean, navigating a maze of geriatrics does inhibit your ability to run at full speed.
Topping all of this off, of course, was the fact that whenever I wanted to cross the street this morning I had to dodge a taxi. This rule seemed to apply even when the cab had a red light and I had a green. This is not the first time this has happened, either, which brings me to the question of the week: What the Hell, Hong Kong!?
Seriously, do you people just not have the ability to wait five seconds for something? Do you have to crowd and wrangle every market, bus, and entrance? Is queuing so foreign a concept for you that you always need to be forced into lines to order yourselves, you can't just figure it out spontaneously? Do you not understand that a red light means "STOP" and that you should always give pedestrians right of way? Here's something for you: Red does not mean "GO". Yellow does not mean "GO". Only green means "GO".
Here's my advice to Hong Kong cabbies: grow a freaking frontal lobe and learn to exercise some patience and common courtesy. Your damn schedules and fares don't outweigh the value of human life. You drive up to me, threatening to hit me with your outdated deathtrap. Would you do the same to a little old lady? If you would, shame on you! If you wouldn't, still shame on you! A little old lady might have less resilience, but any human life is a human life. GET THAT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULLS!
Okay, okay, sorry. I just needed to take a moment to get that out. People ask what life in HK is like, though, and I tell 'em. This is what you deal with in HK: pollution, discourtesy, and an inability to engage with anything beyond the self or, at most, the immediate. Oh, that and rapid inflation. Pretty soon food will cost as much here as it does in the US, but most people will have far less money to use. Have fun with that.
Arrrgh,
Colin
Oh, I'm sorry, I should be more polite.
Go die in a fire, please.
*NOTE: This was posted after an excruciatingly painful and frustrating week and should not be taken as a commentary on my genuine feelings toward the people of Hong Kong at large. As with comments about the US and any other country, these statements pertain only to a particular subset of the population. That being said, even those statements that are sincere should be taken lightly...for the most part. I apologize for any offense caused in reading this...unless you are, in fact, one of those Hong Kong cabbies who thinks it's okay to speed up when approaching a red light and almost hit people. Phew!*
Okay, yeah, this is going to be another one of my immature blog rants but, frankly, I think it's been earned after the week we've had (which Carina has been calling the Week from Hell; fitting for the time of year, no?).
It all started on Sunday when I finally succumbed to my most recent respiratory infection from the pollution and Heaven knows what else in the apartment thanks to Beanpole's inability to clean up after himself. As we move into the (barely perceptible) winter months of Hong Kong the air pollution seems to coagulate and you start to feel like you're just sucking down smog. It's gross both in terms of the damage to your health and the taste left in your mouth, yuck!
Anyway, so here I've been with a runny, swollen nose, itchy throat and eyes, and utter exhaustion for the past few days. Halloween comes around and Carina's boss has invited us over to her flat in Discovery Bay for dinner. Just a heads-up, Discovery Bay (DB) is the place for the beautiful people in Hong Kong, and by beautiful people I mean foreigners...except for us, obviously. I'm ailing, but I don't want to ruin this for Carina and, besides, maybe it'll be a good time even with my sickness. In fact, it was a pretty good time. We had some of the best food we've not cooked ourselves in a while and it was nice to be around some Halloween activities. They really go all-out in DB and the kids love it. Hell, we loved it, too.
Unfortunately my sinuses didn't, and I was miserable as soon as I came down from my high.
Fortunately, I've been healing pretty well and after that night I started to rapidly recover (although I'm still blowing my nose all over the place, and that's a little gross). Our bad juju seemed to transfer to Carina, unfortunately, and she has spent most of the week playing catch-up with work and school along with getting her visa information sorted out. This culminated in a random day trip to Macau (again) where we had some cocktails and not-so-great Thai food to celebrate her getting a visa. Hopefully this will all play out well in the end and she'll be able to start receiving a paycheck ASAP. Also, hopefully we won't have to blow any extra cash on Macau. We need that money for plane tickets.
That having been taken care of, Hong Kong's indeterminate spirit of ill-will seems to have transitioned back over to me for the morning. I woke up late and ended up having to navigate the taxi-infested streets of early morning HK. It's really disgusting how many people take cabs instead of public transport or, Heaven forbid, walk to where they need to go (which is usually only a few blocks away). In my frustration I decided to try a new route uphill to get above the pollution. The plan was to simply run up to a neighborhood I know and then turn off on a road that leads downhill into an area I usually run around.
Grr, and it would've worked too if it weren't for those meddling ill-conceived pedestrian walkway patterns!
Seriously, what is wrong with your city planners, Hong Kong? Why is it that if I want to cross a street in some places I have to vault over a railing just so I can cross a five meter gap? What is the point of that!? On the bright side, I got to practice my parkour, but that also really mucked up my timing...that and the fact that none of the roads are clearly marked and I totally missed my turn-off. Whatever, no big deal, I just ran all the way back downhill and found my usual path to run and make up for lost time...well, almost. I mean, navigating a maze of geriatrics does inhibit your ability to run at full speed.
Topping all of this off, of course, was the fact that whenever I wanted to cross the street this morning I had to dodge a taxi. This rule seemed to apply even when the cab had a red light and I had a green. This is not the first time this has happened, either, which brings me to the question of the week: What the Hell, Hong Kong!?
Seriously, do you people just not have the ability to wait five seconds for something? Do you have to crowd and wrangle every market, bus, and entrance? Is queuing so foreign a concept for you that you always need to be forced into lines to order yourselves, you can't just figure it out spontaneously? Do you not understand that a red light means "STOP" and that you should always give pedestrians right of way? Here's something for you: Red does not mean "GO". Yellow does not mean "GO". Only green means "GO".
Here's my advice to Hong Kong cabbies: grow a freaking frontal lobe and learn to exercise some patience and common courtesy. Your damn schedules and fares don't outweigh the value of human life. You drive up to me, threatening to hit me with your outdated deathtrap. Would you do the same to a little old lady? If you would, shame on you! If you wouldn't, still shame on you! A little old lady might have less resilience, but any human life is a human life. GET THAT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULLS!
Okay, okay, sorry. I just needed to take a moment to get that out. People ask what life in HK is like, though, and I tell 'em. This is what you deal with in HK: pollution, discourtesy, and an inability to engage with anything beyond the self or, at most, the immediate. Oh, that and rapid inflation. Pretty soon food will cost as much here as it does in the US, but most people will have far less money to use. Have fun with that.
Arrrgh,
Colin
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