The sun is rising once again

konnichiwa & arigato, my peeps….
these, by the way, were essentially the only two words i muttered in public during the week that was Japan.
like Hong Kong, Japan is indeed part of Asia…but that's about the only thing they have in common. think of it as a little more Europe, and a little less China. although communication in English is not so forthcoming, the people we did interact with were extremely courteous and friendly.
very civilized, very orderly. my kind of people.
case in point - our taxi ride to the hotel in Tokyo. our cab driver, an older gent, welcomes us to his land with a free pack of gum. a nice touch, not to mention the fresh breath.
and so, it began….


Tokyo: Beware - the Japanese vampire funboy

there's no denying the 'wow' factor that Tokyo presents. perhaps lessened slightly for a couple of kids from Hong Kong, but entirely clear as soon as we stepped out into the neon playground - that city has a beat. it is also massive. we get spoiled a little bit in our highly condensed world, where everything is 5 mins away via essentially free taxis. not the case in Tokyo, confirmed by the daily aches running through my arches. taxis are stupid expensive in Tokyo, so you're left to gaze at the city from underneath. the metro, a system of snakes & laddering all across the capital, handy to get where you need to go, but just not all that quick going down + across + up.
and so we rode & walked, & rode some more, hitting the spots on our consolidated list of must-sees. first thing i wanted to see, for whatever reason, was what i refer to as the 'times square' of Tokyo….or more accurately, Shibuya Crossing. you've all seen it…, a chaotic block of thousands of people crossing from one side of the street to the other. sounds fascinating doesn't it…, and so we went, and i can confirm the chaos. unlike the cool shots you may have seen from a movie, elevated above the street, when you're actually down amongst the masses, it's really not that sexy, you just gotta move.

this is just down the line from Kabukicho, the 'red-light' district. i know what you're thinking:
did i happen to stumble upon any undergarment vending machines…?

oh, that wasn't what you were thinking?
well, either way, i was unsuccessful.

not that i was considering myself to be a buyer, but more so an interest in uncovering the urban myth of whether people in Japan do in fact ante for panty. sadly, i can neither confirm or deny.
i can confirm that 'love hotels' do in fact exist. again, playing the role of less patron, more witness. from the outside, they don't seem all that different from a regular hotel, aside from the ability to 'rest' or 'stay'. the former is by the hour…for what i can only imagine is a power nap in-between walking your ass across the city.
amongst all of this, i didn't really have a problem with this part of town, that is, until the Japanese vampire funboys arrived. picture Lost Boys, only with subtitles, and cowboy boots. they came out from the darkness, every corner you turned, there they were. shuffling around in their boots, flipping their manes off the backs of their cool black leather, they huddled in groups handing out fliers to the innocent walking by. maybe it was the creepy factor, or perhaps the panic, but we actually did get lost in a sea of hair & rented love.

other highlights -

Tsujuki Fish Market - sushi, served fresh at 8am. i'll still choose pancakes, but when in rome i suppose…

Park Hyatt Hotel, 52nd floor - movie geeks will know this as the setting for about half of Lost in Translation, the epic classic of adultery & inappropriate friendship. Bill Murray, Suntory whiskey, piano bar…it's all there, and the view of the city is definitely worth the yen.


Hakone: cold feet for hot springs

the trip to Japan offered a fine balance of big city & little country. Hakone, about an hour south of Tokyo, is a little piece of green heaven and a stark contrast to the bustle we witnessed our first few days. the big thing about staying out this way is the 'tradition' it provides. forgo the chain hotel and stay at a ryokan Japanese inn. quaint doesn't really describe the setting of sliding doors and flatness. no chairs, instead, you get to sit on a pillow. no permanent bed either, it's folded up in the front closet. traditionally uncomfortable i have to admit, but very unique and glad we did it. the other very 'unique' feature of the ryokan is the hot springs, aka bath houses. not familiar with these? let me catch you up.

step 1 - throw on a kamono
step 2 - head down to the bath house
step 3 - disrobe
step 4 - crouch on a stool & wash self
step 5 - join the party in the tub

yes, the hot springs are a communal jam, where everyone's getting really friendly. i must admit, my first pass at bath time was a let down…i was the only dude in the place. lame.
second time through, success! another gentleman was keeping it warm for me, as i quickly slipped myself into the boil. was it awkward? perhaps a little bit…but in this case, it was elevated, given the fact he was a local, and thus not a lot of English happening. so, there we were. 2 guys, enjoying a bath side by side, unable to even share a clever 'boy, it's really hot in here…' quip. i'm pretty sure he snuck a peek.
finally, the last piece of tradition was what we ended up with on our plates that evening, and sadly, sushi does not make that list. very interesting dishes…most of which was a complete shot in the dark to I.D., but like camp, you either eat or go to bed hungry. so, we ate.
would i order it at a restaurant the next time i swing through Japan? no.
again, it's all part of the experience.
wrapping up the evening, we checked the cliche box, by watching Lost in Translation….


Kyoto: [fill in Accord-related joke later]

i must admit, Kyoto was the most surprising part of the entire trip. not knowing much about the place, i went in thinking it would be a poor man's Tokyo, but i'm here to tell you it has some serious game. it reminded me a lot of Brussels (or is it Bruges). a rich history, being the former capital of Japan, with hundreds of shrines popping up all over the landscape. mix in an amazing amount of small restaurants, bars, and shops tucked away on small cobbleston'esque roads, and you have an amazing little town. the big thing in the area of the city called Gion is the tendency to see the elusive Geisha running from client to client. misunderstood, there is still something that seems very taboo about the profession, although i am lead to believe it's fairly PG-13 these days. still, i was intrigued when out of the corner of a dark alley, we say the billowing white umbrella pop-up, and a woman in traditional garb making a jailbreak. the only piece of Japanese lore that didn't stumble across our paths would be the mighty sumo. the big boys, when not in a tourney, train at stables, mostly in Tokyo. something for next time. final bit to add, we met a local bar keep named Kenji-son in an Italian Bistro, an odd choice, but a good one. as we sipped on sake, exchanging broken English stories of life and adventure, he was kind enough to give us a few freebies courtesy of the house. finishing like we started, another local putting the 'free' in freedom.

so that's that. another Asian country done & dusted.
now we're really getting into the dregs….

as always, enjoy my non-Facebook album HERE

moneyballz

rest in peace, Steve.
i'll keep this brief, as the tribute is a bit unintentional, but certainly necessary.
i can't begin to compare my experience with the man & brand that a life long Jobs/Mac groupie can. that said, from the days in Amsterdam with my 2nd-gen iPod to the MacBook Pro being used to scribe this in HK, my journey around the World continues to be enhanced in the company of i.
many people have shared their thoughts on the passing; his life, his legacy.
a friend had this sobering take -

Steve jobs actually had all the money in the world. Shows how valuable health is.” #rememberwhatsimportant

the rest of this post may seem trivial in light of this. yet so many of you have been waiting for days to hear about my softball debut. and there is your subtle segue.

one word can describe my take on the first game of the season - intense. these guys are definitely not your typical weekend warriors. grown men, in full baseball gear, staring me down, trying to get a feel whether this rook has what it takes. a little on edge, i got the feeling that i was still on tryout as i stepped up to the plate in the 1st.
batting second, i quickly proceeded to fly out to centre.
get those nerves out early, kid.
next appearance, considerably better, as i stroked a double into the gap. all in, 1 for 3 on the day, with a walk. our team fared just about as well, getting thrashed 15-3 when it was all said and done. no matter, we'll get 'em next time.
hands-in, boys.
'1-2-3, Doghouse!'
and of course, it wouldn't be baseball without a beer & a dog at the ballpark. play hard, eat hard.
a league website, including player stats, just so happens to exist. once i get into my groove, i may share with my fanclub.

in closing, Japan is on the horizon - and that's your guarantee that the next post will be more inspirational than me sporting cleats and throwing down a wiener. i will say this though - from what i've been told, Tokyo is a city like no other, and i'm excited to share my experience of this metropolis with you all. with that in mind, i decided to partake in a quick social experiment. a message was sent, to a select group of people, to inquire whether they had been to Tokyo. simple question - "have you been to Tokyo?" and if so, "could you share with me as a list of 'musts'". easy, i reckoned. however, like my batting average, my 'friends' whiffed on me - 3 for 15. 3 people, out of 15, actually responded.
shame....
12 of you just cost yourselves a postcard. it's called tough love.

Concussions, Crocs & Cebu dreams

it has been a week to remember…..or forget, depends on how you look at it.
where to begin….oh yes, let's start with the first 'C'.

Part 1: Concussion at the summer company mixer
for those that know me, this should come as no surprise, but i tend to enjoy staff parties. what better way to blow off a little 9-5 steam than with a few cocktails, shared with co-workers exchanging witty office banter. no harm in that.
this year, the festivities took place poolside at the Macau Hard Rock hotel. on route to the venue, via shuttle bus with my local Chinese team, i was perhaps calling my shot when i eloquently suggested it would be rude of us, while at the Hard Rock, to not 'rock hard'. i took their puzzled silence as acceptance of this challenge and we proceeded on. as per these occasions, the beverages flowed freely from the time we arrived, and i indulged in moderation. as the night carried on, the crowd dwindled and a dip in the pool seemed timely, given i would never expose myself to large crowds. perhaps the fact that, post-swim, i decided to remain bare chested should have been an early flag of the evening that was to come. skip to the lounge bar downstairs, a little hip hop on the cut, courtesy of local DJ 'Snoop'.
"another drink for the road", I said, "then i must excuse myself, as it is a Monday night."
the next part should have been simple - men's room. open door. exit back to party. instead, it went - men's room, open door into head, bleed profusely, blame DJ when others arrive. of course, a few minutes later, i did take personal responsibility for my actions…can't play Snoop like that. was i concussed? perhaps mildly. embarrassed? a little bit. bleeding? yes, although i was assured stitches wouldn't be necessary, by a total of 0 qualified doctors. so there i was…a bloody, haggard mess. with no shoes.

Part 2: Croc Rock
let's call that possible concussion back into question, given 48-hours later, I ended up buying my first pair of Crocs. the horror.....
how long until the fanny pack, minivan, and semi-detach in the burbs?
It's over….
now, to my credit, these are Croc flip-flops, not the 'other' famous shoe in the line. this makes it a little better, but the truth is, i walked into the store with no shame in my game, gazing at the rainbow palette of tool totes that hung in front of me.
i was compelled to leap into this situation for 2 reasons:
#1 - a trip to Cebu (Philippines) 2 days later
&
#2 - i lost my previous pair at the aforementioned summer party, after 'rocking hard' (hence the no shoes).
i have to say though…they are pretty damn comfortable.
@sweetlegs65 i hear ya, bro. keep on keepin' on.

bring on the beach.

Part 3: Cebu next Tuesday
Cebu is 1 of over 7,000 islands in the Philippines, all without a salad dressing to lay claim to. this sad fact aside, it's a very warm & pleasant place, in climate and in culture. typical of our recent trips, this was a quick 4-nighter jaunt, with the majority of the time spent parked on a beach chair, working on my million HKD tan. we made some time for a quick snorkel trip (no underwater camera = no pictures of fish), along with a dinner outside the cozy confines of the Shangri-La, where we dined on crispy pata and washed it down with a cold San Miguel Light. good times. the trip came to an end this afternoon, tastefully serenaded by a local Filipino band at the boarding gate, prior to flying back to the Kong.
pictures for those interested are here.

stay tuned, we go Japanese in 3-weeks.

Drafted

i'm old. i didn't foresee this admission coming so easily at the ripe age of 33, but there you have it. yes, it's true that a co-worker recently feigned surprise at this number, thinking i was closer to 31 (i credit this to a dedicated moisturizing regimen).

unfortunately, you can't moisturize a body that aches through the depths of every single muscle.
every inch of me is sore.
every time i get up to move around, i am sore.
i literally just sneezed, causing sheer agony.

what pains me even more is how I ended up this way.
of all things hardcore, can you believe this is a result of softball?
ironically pathetic, no?
now, to my credit, this wasn't just your average pick-up beer league kind of game. this was a proper tryout to join the softball league out here in Hong Kong.

yes, a tryout, and no, i'm not kidding.

the 'league' as we'll call it is made up of a bunch of guys, mostly US expats, all craving a little piece of Americana in Asia. enter the timeless game of softball…and trust me, they take the league damn seriously.
quickly recognizing this upon my arrival to the field, i knew i had to prove that Canucks can ball, soft, as well.
game on.

you may not take me as a super competitive guy, but i am, if for no reason other than a means to balance out skill deficiency. so with that in mind, i hustled my butt off to get under every fly ball. i got in front of the screaming liners. when i got to the plate, i made decent contact.
shit, i even knocked a little homerun jack.
and shit, i even struckout once, jack.

when the rubber turf pellets settled, i'd spent 3-hours in a softball gauntlet under the hot burning asian sun, with the goal of having my name called during this year's draft.
yeah, i said it. a draft. for any fantasy sports nerd like myself, this is a pretty cool concept. what's even better is that even if you get drafted in this league, you are still not guaranteed a roster spot. none of this 'everyone who shows up gets to play' crap. you either earn your playing time or you chew seeds on the bench.

so now i wait for the call email to see where i've been drafted, and gear up for the season.
things to do before said season:
1. replace golf glove with proper batting glove
2. find a drug store that carries A535
3. watch mr. baseball for inspiration
4. mention the latest freedomite, Kelly Kellie in this blog.

chicks dig the softball.

Maid in Hong Kong

i know what you're thinking, is it true???
is JLo getting her groove back by starring in a sequel to her 2002 pos movie, Maid in Manhattan?
the answer, of course, is god no.
simply put, we live in Hong Kong, and we now have a maid.
actually, the politically correct title is 'helper'.
we have a 'helper'.
a full-time, live-in, cooks us dinner, folds my underwear, 'helper'.
it still seems very odd, but yet very awesome at the same time.

prior to the move west (or is it east?) 8-months ago, we were given a floor plan to our soon-to-be new apartment. we were surprised how spacious it appeared on paper, especially coming from a single bedroom loft. most of the layout made sense, except for a little space at the backend of the unit. investigating further, we soon realized that this area was in fact the servant's quarters. an archaic idea for most of us libertarians, but in reality something that's fairly common over in this part of the world, especially in an expat compound. never did we dream that we'd actually use if for anything but storing my hockey equipment & mountain bike (total usage of both to date = zero).

let's be honest, when we first moved here, i was the 'helper'. fortunately, i was also treated well, and was allowed to sleep in the main bedroom. things were working out just fine.

we all know what happens next though, don't we....
someone put his big boy pants on and got himself a job. and how!
between AA & i, our schedules had us out the door before 8am and usually not back until after 8pm. we were burning the chicken finger at both ends….and working a ton too. after a few weeks of the inconvenient reality of a two-income household, along with the reassurance that i had properly acclimatized myself back into Jobland and was there to stay, we decided something had to be done.

enter Jackée, our 'helper'. she 'helps' take care of the place, keeps us eating well, and even keeps our little furball company during the day. i don't even see her as a 'helper', she's more our third roommate, with a little extra share of the chores. in all seriousness, she is great, and I think if anything, we are being very Canadian with our requests:

"If you don't mind, could you maybe, when you have time, if not too much trouble, make me some flapjacks?"

Hong Kong is a very different place. it's a densely populated bubble in Asia, where every expat belongs to a country club, taxis are taken for pocket change, air conditioning is life, and helpers move into your home to take good care of you. it's a phase for us, it won't last forever, so for now, please don't judge as we embrace the culturally diversities brought upon us. Don't hate the (former) helper….

Love Turns 40

Sunday marked a very special moment for my parents, as they celebrated 40 years of holy matrimony.
40 years!?
Perhaps best to assume they were young teens when they got married, and leave it at that.
Either way, a truly remarkable and amazing feat.

Their story unfolds like this -

They met each other for the first time on a boat.
Sounds like the plot from a romcom, but it's true.
It was 1967, and both were emigrating from the UK for frostier pastures in Canada.
To this day, my Dad still questions why he didn't choose to fly instead….joking of course.
So there they met, very cordial, very pleasant. They dined together, as a larger group, giving each other a little space, and spent the rest of the time at sea….reading, I suppose.
After arriving into Montreal, they went their own way to Toronto - Mum was starting a nursing position at Toronto General Hospital and Dad a sales job lined up before he left the UK.

Had it been fate that brought them to this land on the same vessel?
Yes, but seems fate needed just a little more time to develop.

They quickly started to adjust individually to Canadian living, enjoying the finer things the country had to offer, like Leaf Stanley Cup parades & centennial festivities - just your average annual events in TO.
Within three months they crossed paths once again. Where this actually happened, I'm not so sure….but the important thing is that it happened. All of a sudden, Toronto became that much more fun, as the pair became really close friends.
As the 60's wound down, the relationship picked up. One night, just after they'd cleaned up the fondue set and wiped down the mahogany, a funny thing happened. There was a look. A different look, like none before it. A sudden move lead to an embrace, an embrace leading to a kiss.
And that was it - the best way to end a perfectly good friendship.

A few years later, on a warm Welsh summer day in August, in the company of their families, friends and the holy spirit, Michael took Margaret, and in rightful turn, Margaret took Michael. The first day, of what has now turned to many, to be spent as husband and wife.
Skip a few years ahead (right past those honeymoon details), and along came a little bundle of joy, followed 3 years later by another little wonder.
2 was now 4, and family was formed.

From one coast to another, they would travel.
From one season to another, they would grow.
From one year to another, they would come, and,
From one year to another they would go.
But through all of it, the thick and thin, the good and the bad, there they were….together.
Just as strong as those first days in a foreign land, an inspiration to what love is all about.
It's with utmost pride and admiration that I congratulate you on this significant milestone.

Happy 40th, M&D.
Keep Making Magic.

i'm still standing

i know that's hard to believe, Freedomites, but i'm still here for you…even if you jest at the sheer mention of what 'pardyallthetime' even means anymore?
don't worry, i've heard them all -
'hardlyanytime', 'damnnearpassedhisprime', 'didntcaremuchforhisryhmes'....and so on.

do i blame the job for my lack of life sharing and general disappearing act? yes.
don't get me wrong, i understand we're all busy.
i'm not thinking i'm special simply because i have a job that has me out before 8 and back in after 9. i get it. i signed up for it, i'm a working stiff - plain and simple.

some nights i lay awake in bed, wondering if it might be best to just end the blogging for you, the fans. thinking about the constant checking of your feeds only to be disappointed, the 'toilet-read' that was and is now just 'toilet', the hope for some sign of "you've got Freedom 32' ringing out, and yet, it never comes.

…until now. and with this, the hope that the updates start to pick up again.
it feels like we've missed a lot since i last checked in.
about 30 ferry trip to/from Macau, 10 passport pages of stamps, 3 offices, and even some stuff that has nothing to do with work - friends from Vancouver here for a visit, a trip to Phuket, a Typhoon measuring 3/8 and probably a few little funny anecdotes that i normally would have shared but simply couldn't.

i've been sitting on blog post #99 for over a month now…thinking 'will I ever get to 100?'. well congratulations Mr. Hong Kong, this is your moment - #100.
but it's not about me, it's about you…those who have supported & encouraged. it's your numbers that i care more about….

40 - years of marriage for M&D in August
10 - years of wed for bro & sis'n'law
2 - jobs for Mags (for now)
1 - waterbug for Mabes & Leeroy (soon)
.5 - for the near miss, Mr. Chris

i'm still standing, thanks to you all.
and so, i leave you with this, a mere token of my appreciation.