Hong Kong Brother

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.

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

If you walk into a public space where people are going to be seated, and there's only one person there already, where do YOU go to sit?

Let's say you are at the airport, and you're at the gate, waiting for a flight, and the boarding time is, say, 45 minutes away -- so you get there early and there's only one other person sitting there already waiting. Where would you sit?

My feeling is that most Americans would choose a seat based on what's convenient (maybe sit next to the door, so I can board faster), but ALSO very much keeping in mind that you don't want to sit too close to the person already there. I mean, if there are 24 seats, and the other guy is the "O", like this:

Okay, whatever, maybe this is just me, but I would probably sit somewhere like this, all things being equal (I'm the "8"):

Do you see what I mean? Not trying to avoid the other guy likes he's got the plague (or SARS, ha ha -- sorry, little HK "epidemic hysteria" joke there), but I'm just saying we choose our seat in such a way as to make sure we both still have our "space" -- dig?

If you are the first person somewhere in HK (and now YOU are the "O" in the chart below), then when four other individuals arrive, they will sit somewhere like THIS:

But okay, that's a small space, not so many chairs. Let me show you what that same chart looks like if you've got LOTS of chairs:

If you imagine the chart above being the seating chart of a movie theater, then you will have a pretty good idea of the seating arrangement of just about every single movie I've gone to that only had 5 people there -- ME, sitting in the seat I chose, and then the 4 guys who came in after me and sat RIGHT NEXT TO ME.

Now of course I don't understand this, if it's something conscious that HK people do, or what. And I've not yet asked anyone about it, but I will... TRUST ME...

But let me explain this more. In my movie example, for instance, you need to know that in HK you buy your ticket for a specific seat. So when you get to the window, they have a computer screen showing all the seats that have sold, and which ones are left, and you tell them, "Oh, give me seat C41" and you get a ticket for that exact seat. So when these guys buy their ticket, they KNOW they are buying the ticket for the seat next to the ONLY person there. So what's up with that?

Just so you know, I don't get the creeps or anything by it, but it DOES bug me sometimes. So much so, and I am NOT kidding when I say this, but I have actually VERY seriously considered buying TWO tickets to the movie, so that I could make SURE that no one sits right next to me. REALLY, it's that bad. Because the thing is, if someone sits right next to you, then where do you put your stuff?!? Do you see how much of a PAIN it really is? Okay, so NOW I've got to hold my freaking book bag in my stupid LAP for the entire movie, all because this guy is scared of the dark. I mean, give me some SPACE, people!

And this kind of thing happens everywhere... it happens at airports, it happens in movies, it happens on the train, it happens in restaurants (at least ones where you choose your own seat) -- dude, it happens EVERYWHERE...

Another example (and what makes me write this today in the first place) is on the bus. I'm fortunate in that I mostly avoid the rush times of bus travel, so lots of times when I get on a bus there are just a few of us there. Well, last night I was coming home about 11:30pm or so, and it just so happened that on the top level of the bus (HK busses are double-deckers) I was the only person. There were several on the lower level of the bus, but the top level was just me. And since I was catching the bus at the terminus, we sat there for about 5 minutes until it was time to begin the route, if you see what I mean.

Well, just as the bus is ready to pull away from the curb, ONE OTHER LADY gets on and comes upstairs -- and she sat right next to me (across the aisle). I'm serious. An entire BUS of empty seats, and this old woman, carting about 6 shopping bags, sits RIGHT NEXT TO ME. Okay, so my first thought, and please forgive me if this sounds too "missionary" for you, but my first thought was, "Okay, maybe we'll strike up a conversation and I'll get to invite her to church"... But NO, as soon as she sat down, she got out her phone and called The Funniest Person In Hong Kong. Now, of course, I can't know for sure the NAME of the person she called, but whoever it was, they were a comedian who is worthy of world-class media exposure. I feel certain of this, because the jokes they were apparently telling her were making this woman crack up beyond belief. Remember, it's a Friday night, it's after 11:30pm, there's a long 30 minute ride ahead of us, we're the only two people on the upper level of this bus, and she is yelling: "NO!!! NO!!! Really?!?!? HA HA HA HA HA HA! ... No?!? Yes... REALLY?!??!? OH, my goodness, HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! ... Okay... Where?.... She said what?!?... Really?... HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

This woman laughed and snorted and screamed -- SCREAMED, I tell you! -- the entire 30 minute ride. I think you could even say she guffawed, which is a word I've very seldom if ever used in my life. But yeah, there was DEFINITELY some guffawing going on.

The weather has FINALLY broken here in HK, and I'm so comfortable, while everyone else is freezing. Of course, in a few days it really WILL get cold, and then I can come on here and complain about THAT, ha ha.

Ha ha, that's just a joke, actually, because it really, really isn't a holiday here in HK. But you knew that, didn't you....?

The good part, if you can call it that, is that I honestly don't feel any sadness or homesickness at all -- NOT because I don't miss home, and I promise it's NOT because I don't miss the food and fun of Thanksgiving -- I just LOVE that holiday! But in fact, I just haven't thought about it, so I sort of "forgot" I'm missing it. I mean, I just read an e-mail from my mom saying, "I have to frost this cake and then get over there for dinner" (to my Aunt Judy's house), and that was the first time it REALLY struck home that THIS IS THANKSGIVING.

Being a missionary -- (I am one, you know) -- I think I ought to say, "But I give thanks every day -- so for me, EVERY day is Thanksgiving!" -- but that would be corny, and it would be cheesy, and it would also be lying. You dig?

Anyway, now that I remember it's Thanksgiving, I hope we all give thanks to the God who made us and sustains us and saves us. I'm thankful for so many things -- my health (such as it is these days, ha ha), my friends, my family, my little niece, Madie -- the list is so long that I already realize I have to stop or otherwise it will be embarrassing for my having left someone or something out.

"The fanatical Muslims despise America because it's all lap dancing and gay porn; the secular Europeans despise America because it's all born-again Christians hung up on abortion; the anti-Semites despise America because it's controlled by Jews.

"Too Jewish, too Christian, too Godless, America is also too isolationist, except when it's too imperialist." -- Mark Steyn

It's Sunday today, and I've had a busy day running all over HK. But it's been fun, the weather is FINALLY nice and cool, and despite having almost ZERO idea what my lessons will be this week in my classes, I feel pretty good tonight.

Having TOLD you that I have no idea what to teach this week, I will NOW spend the next hour or so adding some photos up here of the school picnic last Thursday (instead of the lesson preparation I ought to be doing). Behold...

Here are a couple of P1 (first-grade) cuties -- I just LOVE the missing tooth.	One of the biggest hits of the picnic this year was feeding the fish -- here Loria (a P2 teacher) is busy handing out some fish food to her kids.	The fish in the lake were HUGE, and there were massive swarms whenever anyone would even LOOK like they were gonna drop some food down there... Here's Fi and some kids getting in on the feeding frenzy fun...
Here are four of my favorite girls from Class 6D. From L to R you can see Phoebe, Rebecca, Jasmine, and Fanny. They are among the sweetest, brightest kids at our school, and I'm telling you -- I LOVE THESE GIRLS!! We really laugh a lot together...	This girl tried EVERYTHING to get me to take her photo, and then see how she acted!!	This is my friend Ann with her students in Class 3D. Really cute kids, but crazy. The girl who is third from the left is just so tiny and cute, and she raises her hand for almost every single question I ask in class -- but I swear, she NEVER has any answer. I don't mean she gets it wrong -- I mean she raises her hand, but if I call on her, she just stares off into space for a moment, and then shakes her head... But I simply can't HELP it -- I love her to death!!
We did have a few boo-boo's, like this girl who was terribly embarrassed to have been hit in the forehead with a frisbee...	...and then there was THIS girl from Class 4F, who cut her hand on something. The whole time they were giving her first aid, she was trying her best to cry, but by the time I snapped this photo, I think we had pretty much convinced her she was going to live...	Then there was this poor guy -- I thought this was a really funny shot of a kid napping at the time, but an hour later we discovered he had a fever and they actually called an ambulance for him. (He's FINE, trust me -- just post-SARS freaking out).

One of the REALLY cool features of this particular picnic grounds was the monstrous rope play set. This is a panoramic shot taken with my
digital camera, but I'm not sure it really conveys how great this thing was. In this shot, there are about 100 kids playing on there at once!!
At one point someone told me that this was supposed to be the largest rope play set of its kind in all of Asia -- pretty cool, huh?

And finally, I give you a shot of your debonair host (me) along with my friend, Heidi. A few months ago I started tutoring Heidi's son, Sam, in English, but we ended up quitting so he could attend a "professional" night school. Anyway, Heidi and her husband, Teddy, have been really cool to me... I appreciate them a whole lot.

Heidi says she wants to give me "smiling" lessons, so she was "showing me how it's done" in this photo... (seriously)...

Oh, I did find one more photo on my hard drive that I've been meaning to put up here, but always keep forgetting to add it.

When I was home in the USA back in August, I got to visit with my friends from my old workplace a couple of times, and that was just a BLAST. We always have fun, even though I've been gone from there for what, 2 years now?

Well, one of the times I visited with them my former employer, Jamey, took us all to lunch at this great restaurant we used to go to sometimes overlooking the Ohio River. It's a beautiful place, and while in some ways the food is "nothing special" per se (it's just good old home-cooking), the atmosphere is really GREAT. I just felt so thankful to Jamey for taking us all up there -- I had so much fun!

Anyway, Jamey brought his camera and was taking photos, and my friend Dale was making funny faces, and, well...

I don't know WHAT made me do this -- I was just experimenting with getting a certain file size to import over the top of another file size in Photoshop, paying NO attention to what I was doing, and it just so happened these were the two photos I was using -- and lo and behold, about halfway through I realized, "Oh my gosh -- his head fits PERFECTLY over hers!"

Anyway, it's my friend Dale on the left, and the amazingly beautiful HK superstar Sammi on the right.

(And my apologies to Dale, who will probably want to punch my lights out now)...

"It's really hard for us," said Pascale Hatot, a 37-year-old fan from the suburbs of Paris. "I haven't been able to sleep or eat for three days." -- excerpt from a news report about a French vigil for Michael Jackson.

If we are having a conversation about the size of your house, and I make a statement asking you a question, like, "Oh, your house isn't very big?" -- and if that's a true statement (your house really is small) -- then in English we would normally respond by saying, "No!" because in fact we are interpreting the question as being, "Your house isn't very big, is it?" (adding the extra little "is it" at the end makes us say, "No, it isn't very big").

But in Chinese, if I say to you, "Oh, your house isn't very big?" -- and if that's a true statement (your house really is small) -- then you should say, "Yes!" -- because you are affirming that I am correct, "Yes, it isn't very big!"

Now, I don't know if I actually explained that correctly, but if I did, you can see how that can be a pretty crazy thing to get your head around.

It means that if someone in Chinese asks you, "You don't make much money, do you?" -- and if in fact you do NOT make much money -- you should say, "Yes!" -- even though in English responding that way means the exact opposite: "You don't make much money, do you?"... "YES, I DO make a lot of money! Who told you I don't make much money?!?"

This is actually very similar to another problem that I have all the time here in HK, and I can't remember if I've talked about it before or not, but here goes...

You know how when you eat at a restaurant, and at the end of the meal, the waitress will come around and ask you, "Are you finished with that?" -- meaning that she wants to clear the plates, so she is asking you, "Can I take that for you?"... So she asks you that question, and if you're done you just nod your head, "Yes" and she takes them off to the kitchen...

But in Chinese (or in HK, anyway), when the waitress comes around to ask you that question, she is NOT asking you if you are finished, she is asking you if you want to KEEP IT... Something like, "Do you still want that?"... So she asks you that question, and if you're done (you DON'T want it) you nod your head, "NO!" -- the exact OPPOSITE of what we do in English.

This may seem like a small thing, but I want to tell you that I simply MARVEL at how difficult it is to respond correctly!!! What I mean is, I can't explain it, but there is a deeply ingrained, gut-induced, knee-jerk reaction when the waitress asks me that question (which I can't understand since it's in Chinese, get it?), that I nod my head, "Yes" to say, "Yes, I'm done, please take the dirty plates away" -- but when I nod my head, "Yes," she thinks I'm still "working on it" and so she walks away, leaving the plates.

I'm trying to explain to you that what is so amazing is that even though I KNOW that she is asking the opposite question, and I even can try to THINK about it as the end of the meal approaches, and I can even tell myself, "Glenn, nod your head NO when she asks" -- "Just say NO!" -- even though I do all that, when I hear the question, I AUTOMATICALLY -- and without any possibility of controlling myself -- nod my head, "Yes." Maybe it's because she holds her hand out to point to the plates, so that even though I can't understand her I just can't help interpreting that hand motion as asking, "Can I take that?" -- but anyway, I just can't get my mind to realize she is NOT saying, "Are you finished with that?"... Does that make any sense at all?!?

And I doubt this would work (assuming any of you were crazy enough to actually TRY it), but I wish I could convince you, the next time you are at a restaurant, when the waitress asks you, "Are you finished with that?" and you ARE finished, try saying, "No" even though you really mean, "Yes."

From a news report about Haiti's demands that France pay $22 billion in restitution for past wrongs:
When Lionel Etienne (a Haitian who heads the French-Haitian Chamber of Commerce) heard about the Haitian government's plans to demand restitution, he said, "It was like finding a hair in my soup."

It is WET here. I promise I've emptied my dehumidifier non-stop the last 5 days, which means I've been pouring out upwards of 3 liters of water that's been sucked out of the air every 8 or 9 hours. That's wet.

And the weather forecast says it should get to around 77 degrees today. That's NOT cold. When it's 77, you don't need a sweater. You don't need a scarf. You see, 77 is actually quite WARM. Now, there's a breeze blowing, and that might make you THINK it's cold. And it's November -- oh, yes, it's November alright -- but what you're not getting, see, is that I'm TELLING you it's 77 degrees. It SHOULD be colder, I know, dear -- but it's 77 degrees.

When it's 77 degrees, and you are doing something "active" -- like trying to teach a 1st-grade class, 40 kids all screaming at once -- you will get hot, and you might even start to sweat. Sometimes, in the height of the day's humidity and heat, you might sweat a good little bit. You might even feel pretty darn MISERABLE, let's put it plainly, okay? It's hot, and it's humid, and you are soaking wet because all you're trying to do is teach these stupid classes. All you're trying to do -- I know all about it -- is you're trying to make the class interesting and you're trying to control those kids, even though they will NOT stop talking, and they will NOT listen, and they don't care WHAT you are doing, they just keep laughing and not paying attention. And you, you're just trying to HELP them -- I know all about it. You didn't come all the way around the globe to stand in front of 40 kids who won't listen, and just waste your stupid life. You thought you were going to do something MEANINGFUL, you crazy guy.

So no matter how many times the kids keep asking you, "Aren't you COLD today?" -- sometimes they ask in Engrish, sometimes they ask in Chinese -- and no matter how many times the other teachers say, "Wow, Grenn, you're just wearing a short-sleeve shirt -- you're so STRONG!!" -- it doesn't matter, those things.

No, I don't like talking about the weather here -- but you keep asking, you crazies.

Okay, well, it's cloudy today, and 77 degrees. Quite humid, but with a mild, occasionally-fresh breeze. Oh, yeah -- you might notice the date again, see, because it's NOVEMBER SIXTEENTH!!!

The Matrix Convolutions
I just went to see the new Matrix. Wow, that was stupid. I mean, the action was really good, I was on the edge of my seat for a lot of the time there, but the dialogue somehow devolved into the most melodramatic drivel I could imagine. Didn't they film the last two at the same time? So at what point did they definitely say, "Okay, now we're shooting the last film, bring out the dumpy dialogues!"

Admittedly, I am NOT a deep thinker. Not that I don't have deep thoughts, but I mean I seldom am just sitting around thinking about deep philosophical things. So maybe that's why there were several parts of this film where I just totally could not understand what they were talking about. Oh, I understood what they were SAYING, but I couldn't help wondering why they were trying so hard to be deep and psuedo-spiritual about it all. I just kept thinking, "Geez, is this really THAT important?"

My friend, Sam, said, "I hated it!! It made me think too much about religion and philosophy"...

And there is also this thing where, when you have battle after battle after battle, throughout three feature-length films... when you finally get to the FINAL battle -- I mean, this is like the Armageddon of the Matrix world, right? -- and it's the battle to end all battles of the entire story, you know? But it's like, thousands upon thousands have been killed, and the heroes have fought and come back from death and then died again about 4 times, and it has all built up into the ultimate, world-and-universe final championship -- there ain't gonna BE a "next year"! -- and all this stuff... When the music builds and builds, and the ultimate, monster, Divine Machine has revealed itself, and the ultimate final outcome of all history is on the line... When you just go up and up and up and up with the fights, and you FINALLY get to that last scene, the Mother Of All Fights, as it were -- WHERE DO YOU GO?!?

Because when they've had, like, seven nuclear explosions of punches, and the city has been rocked up and down and the sky has been blown into pieces, and they are both broken in the bottom of a 50-foot crater where their last fit of punching blew the very core of the city into dust -- when you get THERE, it's pretty hard to make the next, final-final, "we really mean it this time," ultimate double-secret final punch -- the one that will end everything and save all mankind -- it's kind of hard to make that even BIGGER.

And one last thing -- in HK when a movie is over (and I mean the second the dialogue ends and the credits start to roll), an usher comes in the theater and yells something which I'm sure is to the effect of, "Hey! Movie over! You come here watch phillum, have good time -- go home now!" -- it's SOMETHING like that, I know. But so everyone gets up and starts leaving and it makes you feel like YOU have to leave, even though you may want to stick around and watch the credits or whatever.

But anyway, the reason I tell you that is because I left with everyone else and didn't stick around to watch the credits -- but I wish I had, because I am DYING to know if they have that Rage Against The Machine song which closed the first two films. In this one, the third film, they just have this faux choral thing, sort of a post-modern Handel-type tune, and TRUST me I felt even FURTHER let down by the film just because of that.

OH, and here are a couple of great photos of my niece, Madelyne, and my sister, Lisa:

Last night I was supposed to have my Chinese lesson. But not just any lesson, see, because basically I have not been able to meet with my teacher since I left HK for the States at the end of July. That's approximately three and a half months without my formal language lessons, for those of you who need help understanding the calendar (meaning those of you who are like my 6th-grade students, who -- despite the fact that in Chinese the months are named, literally, "First Month" for January, and "Second Month" for February, etc. -- STILL can't tell me "what is the first month?")...

So I was anxious to finally meet with Mrs. Chan, and to get back on my "official" track to Cantonese fluency.

I needed to rush out from school as soon as possible in order to make it home and then get across town to Sheung Shui in time for my lesson. But of course, I had about 6 students asking me to stay late to help them with stuff -- okay, they didn't actually ASK, they just sort of showed up in my path as I was walking from point A to point B, and having been thus blockaded, how could I possibly turn them down?!? I would never do that.

"I've GOT to get going," I kept screaming to myself, but it just wasn't possible. As soon as I'd finish helping one kid work on their dictation homework, I'd have another one asking for help with their English speech-contest poem. You get the idea.

So I was late -- VERY late. I called Mrs. Chan and asked if she would mind if we made it 6:30 instead of 6:00, and she said it was fine -- but I was still gonna be cutting it close.

I finally rushed home and was still hoping to catch that 6:05 bus, which would have JUST put me at Sheung Shui in time. I quickly changed clothes and cleared out my book bag, and was just running out the door when I saw/smelled the garbage I needed to take out. "I'll just rush this out, otherwise it might not be too pleasant by the time I get back here in a few hours!"

I grabbed the garbage bag, threw open the door, and stepped across the hall to the trash bin. A quick dump of the bag into the bin and now all I need to do is get my... get my... hmmm... that's funny, I can't open the door, ... all I need to do is... man, it's not opening... what's up? ... wait...

I admit I had a moment of total panic. But then I tried to think calmly about my situation -- and that's about the time I began to REALLY panic.

NO, not really. But I had no keys, and no money. Fortunately, I had just thrown on my book bag before I stepped out the door, so I had my phone with me, and my Octopus card (so I could have taken the bus somewhere if I'd needed to).

So as I really stood there, in front of my locked and seemingly-impenetrable door, I just had this wash of THANKFULNESS. Because do you know, if I hadn't had my phone with me, I would have been, as they say in the bottle-capping business, "screwed." Because do you know how many phone numbers I know in HK besides my own? (Zero). Because do you know that all my phone numbers are ONLY saved in my mobile phone's contact list? (They are). And do you realize -- as I was realizing, standing there -- that if I didn't have that phone, there is not ONE SINGLE PERSON in Hong Kong that I would have known how to call!! I don't know their numbers, and I don't really know how to say anyone's Chinese name correctly so that someone could have looked up a number for me with "Information"...

About 60 to 90 minutes of mayhem and craziness followed, and by my figuring about 20 people had their lives interrupted by this episode of stupidity. There was ME, duh, then there was Mrs. Chan who had traveled all the way to the church for my lesson by the time I was able to let her know what had happened. Then there was Becky at the church office, and then Pastor Yeung, then my friend/neighbor Fonna... Then there was the POLITE (but-non-English-speaking) guard of the building... then the estate building management office guy, then about 3 other guards who came around after a while just to chuckle and discuss the fact that the fat, bald white guy got locked out of his apartment (the POLITE guard warned them -- before they said too much, I noticed -- that "he understands Chinese")... Then there was my friend Kam Yiu who was on her way home from school but before going home got a locksmith from HER estate (also in Tin Shui Wai) and brought him over to let me in (at half the price the management office quoted).

But anyway, after it all, Kam Yiu and I went to dinner at my favorite restaurant in Tin Shui Wai, and later Fonna even joined us to make it a hilarity-soaked affair. And with those two guys helping me, I ended up having a pretty good Chinese lesson over dinner anyway!

Bottom line: I often feel "alone" in HK, that's just the nature of my situation -- but I sure felt thankful to have so many great friends who were willing to help me out when I really needed it, especially Kam Yiu, Pastor Yeung, and Fonna.

OH, and wouldn't you know, I was wearing my t-shirt that says, "Errors have been made, others will be blamed" -- I deserved the poetic justice of having that t-shirt on through this ordeal.

Not too much happening in HK tonight, I suppose, except that an Australian crocodile hunter has arrived to try and catch the crocodile that has been running loose in the river over in Yuen Long (the next town over from where I live). I guess they first spotted this guy (the croc, I mean) about a week and a half ago, he's about 6 feet long, I think they said, and they've tried all kinds of traps and gadgets to catch him, but with no luck. They suppose that he was someone's pet until he got too large -- "too large" meaning "large enough to kill somebody"...

So the TV literally has LIVE coverage of the croc hunt as it's happening -- now THAT's excitement for a Saturday night...

"You know it! I mean, look at what I'm wearing today -- I've got a t-shirt, then a shirt on over that, then a sweatshirt on over that, then my heavy winter coat!"

"That's nothing, look at ME -- I've got all that you've got, PLUS I've got my knit scarf, earmuffs, and some mittens."

"I know! I mean, this has GOT to be the coldest day of the year so far! In fact, I'm not sure I can EVER remember it being this cold..."

"Do you think? It's cold, but the coldest day so far? I'm not sure about that..."

"Take a look for yourself -- I mean, I knew it was cold, but I had no IDEA it was THIS cold!!!"

"I just bought that thermometer -- it really is that cold! No WONDER we are freezing in here!"

"And today is only November 10th... think how much colder it's gonna get!! This looks like it's gonna be one cold winter in Hong Kong!"

[voices trail off in conversation as the camera slowly pans in and focuses on the thermometer... haunting music grows louder, feeling of menace and horror increases... getting closer in on the thermometer... closer.... closer.... CLOSER.....]

"Innocence was never so vulnerable. Life was never in such danger. They never believed this day would come -- the day when Hong Kong would become a frozen, arctic tundra. But it came, alright. It came, when they least expected it... It was, THE DAY IT TURNED..."

[finally the screen is FILLED with the thermometer, as shrieking "Psycho" music blares...]

(TRUST ME -- most HK people are absolutely FREEZING tonight, in this "frigid" 60+ degrees... "Think it'll snow?!?"...)

I'm fine, by the way -- sorry for all this delay of updates. I should say that I have approximately 1,462,778 things to tell you about, and I will get around to it some day.

In the meantime, I'm still crazy busy, and in case you need to know, I am still HATING the weather in HK. Today it will be about 82 degrees, but since it's November, HK people believe it is "cold" -- it doesn't MATTER that it's 80+, it's November, so that's cold time, so they will all be wearing sweaters and scarves today -- this is not a joke. Maybe next time I'll write more about this weather group-think. But it's evil, I tell you. Evil.

As I sit here writing tonight, almost every single person in HK is either at home, or struggling at all costs to get there. Kind of weird, huh?

The HK Weather Observatory raised the Number 8 Typhoon signal a while ago -- you know, the signal that indicates the most severe weather -- and as traffic usually comes to an abrupt stand-still when that signal is raised, there are probably still thousands out there making their way home to "safety"... Already the gale-force winds are buffeting the windows in this place.

Don't worry about me (yet)... I had groceries delivered last night, so I've got plenty of supplies and vittles to last me a few days, should this blasted storm decide to park itself over the region.

(But you prayin' types might say a few for us -- this same typhoon went on a rampage thru Taiwan earlier and caused quite a bit of damage)...

I don't have time to write much because a HUGE storm is making it's way into HK tonight, and I need to unhook this computer so there's no lightning to fry it...

But in a nutshell, today was the first day of school -- fairly uneventful, I think, for me anyway. But it is so cool to see the kids again, and it's especially funny to see all the first graders stunned like deer in the headlights.

Anyway, I'll write more tomorrow or the next day -- whenever these storms (typhoons) let up and I can get back online without worries.

Ye Olde Prayer Requests:
1) Pray for the new school year, we sure can use it (more info later).

2) Pray for my new schedule this year -- it is very, very heavy, and in fact the rumors are already flying about whether or not I can swing it. I don't think anyone's taking bets one way or the other, but I think a few people are wondering about it. Pray I can stay focused and take advantage of every chance to do something good. Even the puny things. I tend to let stuff slide when I get in over my head -- but I don't want to do that this time around. So really, pray that I can just focus and keep pushing through it. Like I always used to say to my friend, David Skidmore, "I can always sleep later, dude." (I'm too old to say that now -- "must... get... sleep!" -- but it's still a valid concept, if you see what I mean).

3) Pray for Xi Lin Church, they are looking to move locations and struggle through who-knows-what changes in the next few months, it will be a dramatic transition time but I am excited for them. (This is the main church I've been attending for the last two years).

4) Pray for a special "spiritual retreat" we are having this Saturday at Xi Lin Church, and especially for our friend, Angel, who will attend but who is not into this whole Jesus thing yet.

5) Pray for my family, who this week are all off on vacation. They've done this about 4 years in a row now, and I've never -- NEVER -- been able to go along. I sure hope they have fun, but safely.

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