Friday, February 6, 2009

Six Months Later, Feb 2009

(My dryer) Yes, it has been that long or short. The funny thing is I still do not have a credit card yet because we have no tax record. It is nothing short of incovenience but not the end of the world. I will get a new cell number tomorrow (8th). PCCW really bumbled my phone. First they persuaded to keep my old cell number from the phone I was using which my relatives do not mind me keeping, then Smartone would not release it, later PCCW gave me a new number which did not work out, now they give me another new, new number. Already I miss the new number they previously gave me because my year of birth is on the number, what a mess. Fortunately I did not start using it yet.

Hong Kong media reported Li Ka-shing's fortune dived from US$32 billion to US$16.2 billion, as of January 23. The wealth of No. 2, the Kwok family of Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) remained at No2 on the list, with a net worth of US$10.8 billion. eroded by 55 percent.
Self-proclaimed investment guru Lee Shau-kee saw his wealth fall to US$9 billion from US$23 billion. Casino mogul Stanley Ho Hung-sun lost 89 percent of his wealth. It dropped from US$9 billion to US$1 billion.

Riverside church member Patrick dropped into my class completely unannounced tonight (10th), taking me by surprise. I did not know he was in town. He called my office while I was away and knew that I was at TST teaching a night class. We took a picture and he had to go, but later he decided to wait another half an hour till class is over to walk me to the subway, how considerate. Well, the phone finally worked on the 10th - two days late, on the day of PCCW strike. TST students in my Kings class finally made a breakthrough tonight - on the sixth week of class. I couldn't be any prouder.

I just found out yesterday (10th) that Hong Kong is the fifth most expensive place to live in the world, at an average price of US$16,125 (HK$125,775) per square meter, according to the 2009 Global Property Guide. The most expensive residential real estate market is Monte Carlo at US$47,578 psm, Moscow second at US$20,853 psm, followed by prime London's US$20,756 psm and Tokyo in fourth at US$17,998.

My manuscript on Paul was rejected this week (10th) a week after I submitted it to a publisher. The VP told me they were interested in some blog series I have posted but not on Paul, which made me curious enough to ask her which one in particular, but she replied she did not read it; her editors read it. I did not know what to make of it. Well, I will have to cut my losses and look elsewhere.

The streets of Hong Kong really did a number on my shoes today (13th). It almost broke apart today, but for the sole that held it together. To be fair, I have been wearing it for two years now, but I have never had a pair of shoes tearing up on me before. Worse, I was on my way to Macau, so I have no time to change into another pair. All I hope is for it to hold up for another two days before I return to Hong Kong, returning to speak in a local church on Sunday morning. I still have two pairs brought home from USA that I got from the now defunct Mervyn's. Wife said I should buy immediately, but I will risk it.

It is such a strange weekend, my weirdest day yet in Hong Kong. First, my shoes almost split in two on the way to Macau two days ago on Friday. The weather on Saturday made things worse, drizzling each time we went out, slightly wetting my only pair of socks. Today (15th) I left Macau at 8am to catch the 9am ferry back to Hong Kong, where I am scheduled to speak at 11am. The ferry and disembarking take 75 minutes and the chapel is just minutes walk from the ferry, so I have ample time. Unfortunately, I took the wrong bus, 26A instead of 28A to the ferry, and ended up at a remote spot 媽祖花園 where taxis do not run, says a gas station employee there. By the time I took the return bus back, I had only ten minutes to catch a taxi. I found one that got me there 2 minutes before the ferry leaves. I rushed to the counter and requested those in front of me to let me pass the immigration counter first. When I reached the counter the officer changed shifts and another few precious seconds ticked away. I entered at 9:01am, thinking the ferry had left, but a fog enveloped the harbor before I arrived, so the ferry was delayed. In fact, the ship did not even arrive the harbor yet. I paid $40 for the taxi but saved $160 for another ticket I would have to buy, since I was late. To make matters worst, the delay was for another hour, not minutes. I asked the manager to loan me his phone so I can call Wife to alert the church I was held up. In return I was his English interpreter over the bullhorn.

We were set to board and leave an hour later, but another delay was ordered. This time I asked a passenger next to me if I could borrow his phone, since I do not have carrier service in Macau. I called the pastor twice with the phone, the man hesitating to help me on my second call. Upon reaching HK I called the pastor but he did not answer since church is on. In the process my phoone batteries ran out. There is nothing else I can do but call a taxi to the church, arriving just as members were leaving. I had lunch and fellowship with the pastor, and all was well because they had sharing instead. I had advised him to download my sermon from the web and read it to the congregation since the church already had my powerpoint, but he said he could not process the sermon as he speaks. Besides tedious questiions to employees about when we are leaving, one frayed passenger wanted to speak to the manager and another questioned why ships can come in and not go out. The only good news is that my shoes made it home without bottoming out. I even stopped at a cafe, read papers at the library and bought grocery on the way home. Wife had frantically called me but my phone was dead, so we did not touch base until 3:50pm. This day has no equal, it could not be more dramatic than this.

Hong Kong's population has officially passed the seven million mark. The number of people living here was 7,008,900 at the end of 2008, up 56,100 or 0.8 percent on the previous year, according to the Census and Statistics Department (February 17, 2009).

It's been eleven days since I last blogged. If you do not understand y typing fro now on, it's because y PC is on its last leg, as witnessed by the issing "m" letter, the last one which I cut and paste fro previous files. Today (28th) we had a wonderful dinner at ho-e thanks to y good friend fro the States who visited three days ago, bringing drunken chicken in a jar fro a store in Taiwan on his transit there, besides the truffles and Taiwanese beef jerky. On top of that, we also bought sashi-i fro a local store, ate vegetables donated to school, and consued soup Wife boiled. It is so filling that I even skipped rice altogether so that I can finish the fish.