short comings

been one of those weeks, loyal freedomites, where the weather hasn't engaged the adventure in me. been a bit quiet, but i'm pleased to announce that i will soon be taking the Freedom on the road for some international man of mystery blogging to London (England, not Ontario). more details to come next week and yes, it is notably a bit odd to take my first trip while living in Asia to the UK. alas, i simply go where the wind takes me (aka Aline).

so quick rundown for the week starting with perhaps the most exciting bit of news - i'm back on the iTrain, the iPhone has come home to daddy. reluctantly had to give up my previous iPhone when Tribal was done with me. i had been on a pretty good streak, about 5 years of company mobiles, alleviating any need for me to worry about my own personal device. having lived here for over 2 months, i was going a little stir-crazy without a phone; how would my 2 friends & modeling agencies ever get a hold of me??
so, biting the proverbial bullet, i decided it was time to throw down for my own phone.
easier said than done.
you see, in Hong Kong, and pardon the expression, but you ain't shit without an HKID. nothing crazy about that acronym, it is what it sounds like - a Hong Kong ID card. to get one, you either need to be born here or be lucky enough to be married to someone with one. scratch both of those and i'm out of options. no HKID means no to a lot of things, including a mobile phone. one loophole is to register a business, which is fine, but you also need to provide proof of a business address.
i'm screwed again.
fortunately, the wisdom of team America shone through and i was told of a great deal through HSBC provided Aline would be my guarantor. done.
perhaps the best part of the whole experience was the fact that 3 days after the first communication, the phone was delivered to my door...(another cool thing about HK, everything can be delivered, and usually free or minimal cost).
i've missed you so much, iP4.
for a good time, not a long time, call 9506 6205.

as i was saying, deliveries are super common here. once a week, i get groceries delivered, same-day couriers for about $2 CAD, and even master Romo's fancy organic pine fresh litter comes to the door. no wonder i never leave the flat. although, i did motivate myself to pop down to the local post office this week. you see, we had a rebate cheque sent to us here, from Canada, and i needed team Parents to help me get paid. yes, i'm riffing on a snail mail bit here......tough crowd. anywho, i was thinking this postage would run me at least dbl digits, so i packed my pockets with shrapnel and set forth. here's the payoff - for an air mail stamp and even a nice crisp envelope, it cost me $4. $4 hkd or $0.50 CAD. are you kidding me? basically i'm making money on this deal. what a shame that snail mail is total crap, short of greeting cards to the grandparents. otherwise, you'd all be getting a personal note signed & sealed from your fave asian misfit.

finally, i'm happy to report that i was 1 for 3 this week on the circuits. figure it should increase as time goes on, but for now, it's something i need to build up to at the end of each week.
today's rating - a 3 out of 10. i would agree for the most part, aside from the 'warm-up' which usually always kicks the two scoops out of me. we actually had a bunch of groupies today in the park, some mimicking our movements and some giggling and pointing as we finished up with some downward dogg style stretches.
for what it's worth, i gave them a few extra pumps of the guns, my version of the cap tip.
also, it looks like i've found my way onto a hockey team through the circuit crew. first game is this Thursday, and do not fear, i'll be keeping track of my stats for you all.
and before you say it, allow me - "they play hockey in Hong Kong??"
sure, a few anyway. it doesn't compare to the pick-up gymnastics on every corner, but it's growing...