Hong Kong Brother

ARCHIVE: Home | News | Ramblings | --------------------- | Back to MAIN SITE

Each month I will keep a running list of news items, including info on my schedule, etc. It's in order from LATEST entry at the top on down to the OLDEST entry at the bottom. I can't promise how often I'll add things, but I'll try as often as I can.

Here are the "News" archives, feel free to browse them for some interesting tidbits:

April/May 2002 Archive	October 2002 Archive
June 2002 Archive	November 2002 Archive
July 2002 Archive	December 2002 Archive
August/September 2002 Archive
=============================================
January 2003 Archive	June 2003 Archive
February 2003 Archive	July/August 2003 Archive
March 2003 Archive	Sept/October/Nov 2003 Archive
April 2003 Archive	December 2003 Archive
May 2003 Archive
=============================================
January 2004 Archive	June/July 2004 Archive
February/March 2004 Archive	August 2004 Archive
April 2004 Archive	September 2004 Archive
May 2004 Archive

Okay, sorry I've been offline so long, but my cable modem went out and the guy just NOW came by to replace it -- 10 days after it went out!

I'll tell you all the last week's news in the next day or so -- I've got some cool stories!

No real news to report, sorry. So I'll just talk about what's on my mind tonight.

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is having our General Assembly this week, I'm sorry to say I know NOTHING of what's going on, so that's pretty sad, but whatever. I've said to several people that surely we could find SOMEONE to do a daily update on a website somewhere with a few photos and "highlights" of the day's events. I mean, SURELY I'm really not the ONLY person on this planet who is not there but would like to know what's going on... ? (I know, stuff like that is never as easy to actually do as it is to think of it, but still)...

We decided today that on Friday after school several of us (teachers) will run over to a restaurant to watch the HUGE World Cup match between England and Brazil -- many are suggesting that this will be the "real" final of the World Cup, and these are the two teams that most HK people seem to support, as best as I can tell. The game comes on at 2:30pm here, which is "tea" time, and so the restaurant (which has a big screen TV) should be plenty packed with rowdy people. Then after the game we will go have a HK-style BBQ!! I hope the weather holds out, nothing better than a nice HK BBQ... and nothing GROSSER than a BBQ in 95 degree heat with 99.9% humidity, which seems to be the typical HK weather these days.

My friends Chris and Michele Hayes have reported that their youngest son Benjamin (see below) is doing better, he did NOT have to have a tracheotomy as I originally thought they said, so we're VERY thankful for that. He might get to come home again tomorrow, but I know that Chris and Michele are pretty nervous after all the problems he had the LAST time he was home -- so keep praying for them, if you don't mind. They report that other son Peter (my godson) is still rockin' like a hurricane (a "terrible two's" hurricane, that is).

Speaking of rockin' like a hurricane, I haven't had a chance to work much on the Music part of the website lately, but I bought a new CD by the band Delirious? on Monday -- wow, these guys ROCK. Their record Mezzamorphis was one of my favorites, but the one I just got is called Glo and it's quite a bit BETTER, though I would have found that hard to believe before hearing it. So whatever, I'm going to talk about them in my "Music You Ought To Know About" section on the Music page -- but I just had to interject NOW that they are WAY cool.

(I swear, if I could just make ONE record like this one... Like I told my friend Bobby Carby, it's just full of PRAISE and worship and yet it is still absolutely a rocking record that blows me away with it's coolness.)

LAST THING:
I have ZERO idea what the climate is, culturally speaking, in the U.S. right now, regarding Afghanistan and the Middle East and terrorism and all that crap.

But I tell you, my heart is REALLY heavy these days for the way our world is turning. I'm not trying to be all dramatic, I'm just this chump sitting here in a tiny room in a tiny apartment in a whole building of tiny apartments in a whole CITY full of buildings of tiny apartments -- it's like I'm sitting here at my computer in this one little window in a whole freaking world of little windows... So whatever I say can't be too Earth-shattering, you know?

But I mean, when I think of what's happening I just get so... not "depressed" or "sad" (though it's something like that)... I get so melancholy, maybe that's the word. GOD IS IN CONTROL, I believe that truly. But I love my country, too, and to think of what the future may hold is frightening. I'm sorry -- it is...

There have continued to be big breaks in our "war" on these horribly misguided people who are trying to kill us. I BELIEVE IT IS BECAUSE WE ARE PRAYING.

Are you praying enough? I mean, praying for George Dubya? For Colin Powell? For Tony Blair? Are you praying for the people in Israel? Are you praying for the Palestinians? For those who are NOT trying to kill people? They want peace and justice, just as much as the Israelis, though it may still take a LONG time to find solutions that WORK... Are you praying for the zealous, militant Muslims of our world? For the thousands of guys, some of them quite literally GENIUSES, who are RIGHT NOW trying to figure out how they can kill a bunch of people? Are you praying that God might stop them? Are you praying that they may see LIGHT instead of anger and darkness and hatred?

1) USA beats Mexico 2:0 to continue march forward in World Cup action!
I didn't get to watch the whole game because it started at 2:30pm here, during school hours -- but I am not teaching this week, and the computer lab guy knows some way to hack into a live broadcast on the Net, so I saw some of the game.

Once again Friedel, the American goalkeeper, made a case for his being the MVP for the U.S. -- this guy looked great.

Anyway, Germany is up next on the 21st at 8:30pm (is that 8:30 HERE, or Eastern time in the U.S.? I have no idea, but I got the info from the Yahoo site).

2) Okay, so, tonight I had to go down to Tsim Sha Tsui (downtown HK) for some things, and decided (rather lavishly) to splurge and go eat at TGI Fridays restaurant. IT WAS PACKED WITH PEOPLE TO WATCH THE BRAZIL vs BELGIUM GAME. I really couldn't believe it. I mean, I've been in there several times the last 10 months, but geez, it was really crowded this time. They had this big-screen TV that lowered down from the ceiling, and man, people were yelling and shouting like you wouldn't believe. It was like what I imagine it would be like being in a bar during the U of L - UK basketball game... it was THAT raucous! Every 5 minutes they were yelling, "Hiyaaa!!!" and slamming the table with their fists, what a wild time. It made it really fun to have dinner with all those people!

(OH, and also in case you're wondering, YES... TGI Friday's is almost exactly like the version you've been to, except it's in HK and the waitresses are all really cute but they have to wear all the crap on their uniforms here, too... (did you see the movie Office Space? well, "flair" abounds, even in HK)).

USA loses to Poland 3:1, but STILL makes it to second round
Our boys lost kind of bad to Poland, the last-place team in our Group -- but it didn't matter, as Korea won their match which, I'm not sure how or why, but that assured our team of going to the second round.

So now we play MEXICO next -- it won't be an easy game, but I'm hoping for a nice result. I'm not 100% positive, but I think at this point the tournament becomes a single elimination affair, so we can't afford anything less than a win.

USA pulls a draw 1:1 with S.Korea -- IN Korea!!
It's pretty amazing, folks -- the U.S. team is now the favored team in their final first-round match coming up against Poland. They put up a hard fight against the Koreans (who had the overwhelming "home court" advantage), and tied them at one goal each. No one, including the members of the American team, would have predicted this! But here we are.

The current scenario, and I'm not sure I've got all this correct, is that the only way we can NOT make it to the second round is if Korea and the USA both LOSE, and Korea loses by as many or fewer goals than the US, and/or Korea loses by one more goal than the US loses but scores two or more goals MORE than the US, and/or the Korean team has 4 goals divisible by 7, but the US scores 10 goals (carry the 2 and add 4 goals), and/or a player from the Polish team wears a funny hat, or, uh... wait... GEEZ!! Oh, well... Forget it... It's probably really easy but I can't make sense of the scenarios they are talking about on TV! Suffice to say that we have a VERY good chance, assuming we don't get POUNCED by Poland, to make it to the second round. And remember, we were the LAST PLACE TEAM from the previous (1998) World Cup!

Alright, now -- I'm tempted to try and think of some funny "Polish" jokes about soccer, but never mind...

1) USA upsets Portugal 3:2 in World Cup match!!!
Now, listen up you guys: I know almost no one in the U.S. cares, but the World Cup is THE World sporting event -- it's MUCH bigger than the Olympics because people actually CARE about the World Cup. Seriously, unlike the Olympics (which are grand and noble, I'm not taking anything away from that), but unlike the Olympics most countries in the world actually come to a GRINDING HALT while their teams are competing in the World Cup.

Hong Kong is no different. This city is almost on FIRE with World Cup fever, some of my friends have even been to Japan to watch China's team -- which has, unfortunately for them, already lost 2 games to be "out" of the running (which is okay, most people felt they were sort of lucky to be in it anyway, it's their first-ever appearance).

So now all the football (remember, what we call "soccer" the rest of the planet calls "football"), well, now all the football fans in HK are rooting for England, since the English Premier League is what most HK people follow anyway. I guess I am also rooting for them, by virtue of all my friends being so emotional about it (geez)...

But against all odds the USA upset Portugal in a stunning game, and suddenly I'm SERIOUSLY into this thing. Maybe it was a fluke? I don't know, but I'm staying tuned to find out. Now they take on South Korea (on their home turf!) in what will undoubtedly prove to be a difficult match.

2) Website updates
I'm still hard at work on this website, adding and tweaking things in almost my every free moment -- I wish I had $1 for every time I've nearly fallen asleep at this keyboard the last 2 months!

(Actually, I just wish I had a $1!! -- ha ha, a little "poor missionary" joke there)...

Recent highlights are a few more entries in the Ramblings section, and the (finally) completed webpage for our school's singing group, called "Little Rabbits" -- please go check out that page and listen to their singing!!

The news about my friends Dr. Chris and Michele Hayes' son Benjamin is worse than we expected. As I told in my entry from 1 June (below), Benjamin is having all kinds of problems and complications resulting from the doctors' earlier attempts to keep him alive (since he was born so premature).

Tomorrow (uh, actually, it's TODAY to me -- on 3 June is when I mean) they will do a tracheotomy on the little guy, and naturally we are pretty upset. He was on the ventilator so long, and being so small, that his windpipe was damaged and they feel "either the airway will open on its own, or they will have to split it open." They are predicting that he may have to have this opening in his tiny, tiny throat for up to a year.

The GOOD side is that Benjamin is calmer, though Chris is pretty sure it's actually because of the medication they have him on. He is up to 6 lbs and 12 oz. Also his big brother Peter (my godson!) is reportedly the World's Coolest Older Brother, always hugging and kissing Benjamin, and just generally letting him know how much he loves him (Peter is 2-years-old).

I know not everyone who reads this is into the whole "pray for people" thing, but if you are (*I* am!), PLEASE keep these loved ones in mind. Some of you know first-hand the kinds of things Michele is going through as Benjamin's mom, PRAY for her especially.

Well, another month gone by! Is it just me or is time actually moving incrementally FASTER?!?

---I've posted three new "articles" in the Ramblings section in as many days, if you've got absolutely nothing better to do then check them out. I'm still working on about 7 or 8 more things, but I'm still pretty busy with school getting ready to end in a few weeks, so I'm not sure when I'll get any of them finished!

---Like I say, only a few more weeks left of school... Well, actually school's not out here in HK until July 13th -- can you imagine?!? But my teaching will theoretically wrap up in about 2 weeks' time. It's not over yet, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel -- MY FIRST YEAR! Wow, I'm so thankful to God for having let me come here. Lots more to learn but I'm praying I can "keep the faith" and keep pushing forward...

---I agreed today to trying to teach an English class at our Shatin CP Church in July, it's just 5 sessions with a max of 8 students per session, but they are expecting a range of ages from P1 (1st graders) to P6 (6th graders) -- that will be hard to handle! The youngest ones won't have any idea what the older ones are talking about! They said someone will be there to "help" but I have to come up with the "curriculum" myself. Of course I've been doing that all year at Yao Dao, but still, this may be a whole new ballgame since I'm never quite sure what level(s) to shoot for. I sure wish you Jesus people would pray with me about this. The church is doing it for a reason, you know, and I want desperately to help out...

---I am currently planning on returning to the States during summer holiday for a visit, probably sometime in the first two weeks of August. It's a long story but I can only stay a maximum of 14 days, so I'm going to be hard pressed to: 1) see all the people I want to see; and 2) eat all the American food I'm DYING to eat!! And on the way back I am planning, GOD WILLING, to visit with the family of Pastor Fumitsuta Yano of the Fuji Mineyama CP Church in JAPAN!! I am so excited, I really pray God helps this all to come together. I've never been to Japan and am very interested to go, and especially since I've been told by several that the church is in a beautiful area right at the foot of Mt. Fuji.

---My friends Dr. Chris and Michele Hayes, in Athens, OH, are VERY dear to me... We go way back, lots of late nights just sitting around laughing our heads off... Their son Peter is my godson, if that tells you anything about how much they mean to me. Anyway, there are two things to tell. FIRST, they have a new son named Benjamin who was born quite premature, I guess he just couldn't WAIT to get here and see what the fuss was all about -- but he was born SO premature that he's really seen a mess of problems from Day One. Well, he came home for a few weeks but now he's back in the hospital and they are finding that lots of the things they did to keep him alive at first are now causing further complications. He's got problems in his breathing from having used a ventilator for so long, and kidney problems from medication they gave him, the list just seems to go on and on and I know that Chris and ESPECIALLY Michele are weary and heavy-hearted and just looking for some hope and a break in the clouds. I'M BEGGING YOU, IF GOD BRINGS IT TO YOUR MIND, PLEASE PRAY FOR THEM and for little Benjamin. The SECOND thing I'll mention (which is not so serious) is that Chris and I are working on our first major musical project together, it will be for trombone and recorded accompaniment (he's doing the t-bone part and I'm doing the recorded background part), and YES, it's a "serious" piece of (hopefully) modern music, as in what them there high-fallutin' types would call "classical" music. Anyway, it's a new thing for BOTH of us and we're pretty excited, and I'm hoping and praying that over the next several months it will all come together nicely. But even MORE exciting is that we are planning on debuting this masterpiece of modern creative effort HERE in HONG KONG!!! So I'm praying also that the arrangements for all that will fall into place as well -- as God would will it -- and that we can both have that thrilling experience of an international debut of our first major work...