SURPRISE!

Your Annual Leave has been approved: 25th December 2015 - 3rd January 2016.

Decisions, decisions. Do I, (A). Go to Phuket with people I hang out with in Hong Kong on a weekly basis, or; (B). Return to Sydney for my first Christmas in Sydney in eight years?

It's a no-brainer. I go to Phuket and stomp out the year with a flurry of Redbull Vodkas and Pad thais! That's what 19 year old Derek would have said. 33 year old Derek on the other hand locks in option B. No need to call a friend. No need to ask the audience.

I depart Hong Kong on Christmas Eve. The airport is not surprisingly busy, people are shuffling through security with purpose and spending a little longer in the the Duty Free outlets. The airport radiates warm fuzzies. I arrive in Sydney, bleary eyed, managed minimal sleep. It doesn't matter! It's Christmas! I'm in Sydney!

My sister, my conspirator, takes me home. "Hello! Merry Christmas!". No answer. Where is everybody? I dump my luggage and walk through to the kitchen. Mom and Dad are lounging in their PJs (actually, they're hiding). "Hey! What are you doing back?" "I was just saying, why does he sound like Derek?". Not exactly the reaction I was going for, but I'll take it. It's good to see them!

I sometimes dread going home, it's not because I don't want to go home. It's more I know that I'll be in the firing line for a certain set of questioning. "What's been happening?", "Where are you working?", "Are you dating somebody now?", "When are you coming home?". There's times I don't feel like I have an adequate enough answer for those meaty questions. Speaking of meaty, I sure did miss home cooked food. Merry Christmas!

"And this christmas will be a very special christmas for me" - This Christmas, Donny Hathway

Santa Claus is coming to town: Santacon 2015

There is always an excitement in the air around December. It could be attributed to the long year finally coming to an end, or the slightly cooler weather, but there is no mistaking the festive season and the buzz that Christmas generates. Wreaths and tinsel adorn retailer shop fronts while classical and remixed renditions of Christmas carols blend in with the car horns and chatter of the Hong Kong cacophony.

It's 11:45 on a Saturday morning and two men walk through Soho, Hong Kong. Young children stare, confused. Parents stare, disgusted. Locals stare, bemused. The two men are dressed in red faux velvet with white fur trimmings with matching hats both carrying cans of open beer. Both dressed as Santa Claus and despite the absurdity of the scene are on course to meet another hundred or so people similarly dressed. It's that time of the year again, Santacon.

What started in San Francisco has quickly become a global sensation (or nuisance, depending who you are). The Hong Kong leg, just so happens to be organised by two friends, Americans, no less. An annual pub crawl where participants dress up as Santa Claus. The typical route has seen an army of red and white move to various bars around Hong Kong. 2015  was a change in direction and the removal of the TST leg has not been popular with all participants. 

Regardless, the end point is always the same. Traffic on Lockhart Road has been blocked by a sea of red and white spilling out into the Wan Chai evening.

The BD Birthday: Taipei

I've slept 11 hours for two consecutive nights since returning from this Taipei trip. Feeling tired is an understatement.

Currently reading "Four Hour Work Week" - Time Ferriss

Production Freeze

It has been quite a frustrating year in terms of career. I can't help but feel as if my career has stalled. My desire to change jobs has consumed me. "At least you have a job" they say. I parse back through my CV examining the different companies and roles that I've performed and wonder where did it all go wrong. Are my expectations to high?

I want to blame the redundancy, but that's just me making excuses. The optimism of finding a new job is a internal struggle, replete with highs and lows. No reply from recruiter. Discouraging moments of soul searching and constant questioning of self worth. No news, is it good news? Hope.

Why do we place so much emphasis on salary and title? Hong Kong is such a driven environment. It perpetuates the drive and ambition and creates a perceived future that we think we want. The people I hang around are the creme dela creme; boasting education from the most elite schools in the world. Oxford, Harvard, Princeton, Cambridge, MIT, names that overshadow The University of Sydney.

These are the people that have come to Hong Kong for their careers, over achievers, scholarships at Ivy League schools, Managing Directors by the age of 30, owners of start ups, salaries up to a million USD a year. It's hard to ignore career success, I want to. I am, in my own right, successful. Just not, that kind of successful. Ultimately, this is the pedigree of people are competing with you for that position. It feels like an unfair advantage, like a Division 1, Championship Team versus a Premier League heavyweight. Is this what my parents meant by "Study hard so you can get a good job"?

Thankfully it's the quieter time of the year - Everything is out of my hands and I'm enjoying the down time. Maybe this is why people like the Christmas period? This is why I like it. It's time to reset and refocus.

"Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want" - Naval Ravikant

Escape to KL

Q4 signifies many things, another year older, another year ending and of course the liquidation of excess annual leave. The rules stipulate, no more than five days annual leave can be carried over to the following year without "exceptional approval" (exceptional approval, means offering a legitimate reason and for the application to be approved by the Head of Human Resources) meaning I have 6 days that will be forfeited unless consumed between now and January. With no strategy in mind; I have haphazardly taken off a slew of random Mondays and Fridays.

I have managed to convince myself that spending 2000 HKD on a flight is still less than what I would spend on a night out in Hong Kong. Delusional, or not, I sneak off to Malaysia for a weekend in Kuala Lumpur to attend a seminar based on Option Trading held by the group Wealth Mentors. The promise of turning "$10K to $2M" appears "to good to be true" or an "outlier case" and the program's high cost would suggest that a majority the organiser's wealth is generated by the greed of the unsuspecting. In any case, the strategies taught are simple and fill the audience with hope and expectation, with enthusiasm fuelled by greed and easy money. The days are long and demanding and  I am skeptical, only time will tell.

The rest of my trip was as expected. Obscene amounts of food, quality family time and TED Talks. Currently Reading: "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion".

There's no 'E' in this Whisky

Despite spending time living in Europe, there are still regions that remain unvisited on my travel bucket list. The non-exhaustive list includes: Santorini and the Greek Islands, Normandy and Northern France, Cinque Terre and the Italian Coastline and the Whisky Regions of Scotland. Unfortunately these destinations more often than not took the backseat to the twenty-something life experiences that Europe has to offer (think Pamplona Bull Run and Ibiza). I confidently reasoned these destinations could be appreciated irrespective of age and would be experienced at a later stage in my life.

Recently there has been an the explosion of award winning whiskies from both Taiwan and Japan making Asia now a reputable player in the the world of Whiskies. It was decided that Japan, home of Suntory and Nikka would be a fun side trip to experience an Asia based Whisky tour. We managed to get cheap flights from Hong Kong to Osaka for 1200 HKD. Unfortunately, the main distillery in that region also happened to be closed during this time of the year for annual maintenance. Not to be discouraged we managed to visit a handful of local Whisky bars and even managed to find some non-export priced age whisky!

The trip, my first foray into the world of Air BNB found four grown men sharing a one bedroom apartment in the Naniwa-Ku district just outside of Namba. The days involved eating. Lots of it. A typical conversation that would take place went along the lines of "If we have [dinner/lunch] in 4 hours, we can most likely have another meal in 2 hours time, take a nap and then go out to eat again". I repeat. Non-stop eating. Most of the time was spent in Osaka, with one day out in the Bamboo forest of Asashiyama, Kyoto.

 Asashiyama, Bamboo Grove

 CoCo Ichibanya, Katsu Curry

 Koyoshi Sushi

 Matsuzakagyu Yakiniku M

 Otsuka Steakhouse

The farewell continues: Taipei

Back to back weekends - this weekend, Taipei. One night.

Memorable tidbit #1
First time I've selected a "special meal" on a flight. I went for the "Low Fat" option. Surprisingly not too bad.

Memorable tidbit #2
Scheduled departure: 16:40, expected arrival in Hong Kong: 18:25. Actual departure: 21:00, arrival back in Hong Kong 23:30. Typhoon decided to batter Hong Kong, forcing the airport to temporarily shutdown and for the plane to be stuck in multiple holding zones.

Pander Panda

We've come to that age where a casual dinner is no longer enough to mark a birthday or farewell. Given the accessibility and access to more disposable income it's not uncommon for milestones to be used an excuse to travel and explore. Traveling forges new memories and reinforces friendships through new adventures and experiences. Chengdu, the Sichuan capital, famous for the apothegm, "Chengdu, can do" and the home of the giant Panda would be the next destination.

Chengdu is a destination that is not high on people's traveling lists with the question of "Why are you going to Chengdu?" being the most common question. The natural answer was of course "Chengdu? For Pandas and hotpot of course!" which meant we had to see pandas and have hotpot.

Due to the last minute nature of the trip and the unintentional coincidence with Mid-Autumn Festival this turned out to be quite a costly trip. We secured flights from Hong Kong to Chengdu for 4200 HKD, corporate rates at the Ritz Carlton for 1200 HKD and a half day tour at the Wolong Panda Club for 3000 HKD.

The first evening was spent carousing Chengdu's own Lan Kwai Fong. Unfortunately the rain and the national holiday meant that the scene was a little weak, none the less, we found late night dumplings, headed to Jellyfish and found ourselves in the psuedo-projects of the Poly Centre which still kept us out until 4 am.

Saturday morning 8:35 am we were greeted by our friendly driver/host who was assigned to give us a tour of the Wolong Panda Club. The astronomical prices (400 USD) for the panda club included entry into the reserve as well as the rare chance to dress up as a surgeon and take a photo with a panda cub. Upon arrival (we were late), we were immediately whisked to an aluminium bench where were we given protective gear and asked to line up 6 others.

The panda was brought out from his enclosure and propped up against the bench. Not the most natural environment but I assume pandas find human furniture just as comfortable. We were issued the following instructions "You can touch him, just don't touch his face" and then the procession started, the cub was busying himself with carrot sticks as the attendant screamed out "next person", each person shuffled in next to the camera took a photo before the attendant screamed "next person" with a sense of urgency that was not reflected on the cub. It lasted 20 seconds. The cutest panda. Over. What a quick but fun experience! The highlight!

The rest of the trip was spent exploring Jinli Street and devouring Sichuan food. So. Spicy. So. Good.

Currently reading "Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman!"

Chinese Visa for Australian Passport

Having recently renewed my passport it was time to apply for a new visa into China. I had always used my local travel agent CTS for China Visas and had read somewhere that it you had the time and patience it would be significantly cheaper to apply for a Chinese Visa in person. The process is straight forward enough, go to the China Visa office in Wanchai (see here for details). Bring the following:

1). An up to date passport
2). A photocopy of the passport page
3). A copy of your airline tickets/schedule into China
4). A copy of your accommodation/hotel itinerary
5). A photocopy of your Hong Kong ID
6). A pen
7). A photograph of yourself

Fill out the latest form and prepare to wait. The process for regular Visa applications takes four working days (you submit your application form on Monday and it's ready for pickup by Thursday). The upside for Australian passports is that it only costs 800 HKD for a multi-entry Visa that lasts a year.

SFO

Napa Valley

No matter what you read about Napa at the heart of each and every circumlocutory description will be the following adjectives: Picturesque, Perfect, American and Quaint. My memories of Napa remain entire and vivid. A adorable town that embodies 'Pleasantville' and the cliches of American life packaged with amazing climate, food and wine. For reasons unknown, I only have one photo from my Napa trip our extravagant abode (The Whitehouse Inn). 

The Whitehouse Inn ranks highly on my list of B&Bs particularly because it offered the first hot water, full pressure shower since emerging from Blackrock City.

My memories of the 3 days in Napa are still so vivid and entire. Yet, for some reason I only have one photo from Napa.

Burning Man 2016: Carnival of Mirrors

Burning Man; Where do I even start?

#Dusty #Player #Amazing #OMG #humbling #indelible #lifealtering #seeyounextyear #LOL #seeyoueverotheryear #burners #player #theman #decommodification #OMFG #lacalaca #robotheart #newfriends #offthegrid #shirtcocking #needashower #dust #cold

So key points. It's as close to Never Never Land as you can get. It's whatever you want it to be. Music. Party. Art. Self Exploration. Self Improvement. I'll stop now as nothing I write will do justice to the event.

I left with changed views, feeling refreshed and energised but also sad and empty at the same time - Back to Reality.

Burning Man: The preparation

I have procrastinated and delayed blogging this entry for the last six months. The trepidation stems from my fear of eternalising my time Black Rock City and that I would not be able to capture Burning Man properly. Ultimately, it would be an injustice to my experiences. Even now, I find it hard to describe that one week. Each account is different. Different stories, different anecdotes, regardless of who I speak to it it all ends with the same prescription "You have to go and experience it for yourself!".

(Noun) Burner: Attendee of Burning Man.

Hong Kong/Sydney

After failed attempts to secure tickets online during the main and OMG ticket releases my sister managed to source two tickets to Burning Man on the secondary market for the princely sum of 800 AUD per ticket (the RRP for a ticket was 390 USD + 10% tax, works out to be approximately 550 AUD). There was always a risk that the tickets were fake but we booked in our two weeks of leave and prepared for a mini-family adventure. In addition to traveling with my sister, some of my closest friends from Hong Kong, Sydney and San Francisco would also make the trip to Black Rock City.

We spent almost a month preparing for this trip. For a lot of us this was our first "burn". The difference between this trip and other trips was the Burning Man law of "Leave no trace" and the concept of MOOP which is difficult because 51 weeks of the year, Black Rock City is a desert. There aren't any convenience stores, or hotels, or restaurants, or concept of money. Which mean we had to arrange cars, water, food, tents, beds, bikes, torches, clothing, survival kits. I'll stop here because the list was insanely long and could easily be re-titled as "Zombie Apocalypse Survival Kit", well minus the chainsaw and shotgun.

I read somewhere that separating a day's worth of clothing into Ziploc bags was the way to prevent dust getting everywhere. So I packed everything into Ziploc bags. In addition to clothing that "would be absolutely ruined and most likely thrown out after" it also mean a lot of trips to outdoor stores and a lot of online shopping (3000 USD on Amazon). It also meant that my sister had 2 weeks to learn how to ride a bike.

San Francisco

28th August, 22:15: The Hong Kong contingent arrive into San Francisco International Airport. First item on our agenda, car hire. Not any car hire, the biggest cars available, Ford Expeditions. We had planned two days in San Francisco for logistics and arranging provisions, collecting the massive Amazon order that had been sent to our friend's workplace. Auditing the massive Amazon order that had been sent to our friend's workplace. The official order:

2 of: Kodiak 6044 8 person tents
1 of: ArcOne G­ACT­B1204 Action Safety Goggles
1 of: Glow Stick Party Pack
5 of: Wheel Brightz ­ Pink
2 of: Homeleo 2m 20 LEDs Cool White LED Strings 3xAA Battery Operated)
3 of: Dude Wipes ­ Flushable Wipes, with Aloe Vera, Singles for Travel (30 Each, Pack of Two)
5 of: Brightest Bike Light on Amazon ­ Comes With FREE TAIL LIGHT
5 of: Cosmic Brightz ­ Multicolored
5 of: Ultra Bright LED Headlamp Flashlight­
1 of: ArcOne G­FLY­B1202 The Fly Safety Goggles
2 of: AAA 121­Piece Road Trip First Aid Kit
2 of: Visol Products Raven Liquor Flask
1 of: AVEX Brazos Autoseal Stainless Steel Water Bottle, 24­Ounce, Matte Black
1 of: UV Glow Blacklight Neon Face and Body Paint ­ 0.34oz Case of 24
2 of: Homeleo 3 Meters 30 LED AA Battery Operated Pink LED Silver Wire String
2 of: Camo Coll Outdoor Anti­mosquito Mask Hat with Head Net Mesh Face
1 of: Flents Quiet Please Foam Ear Plugs 50­Pair
2 of: Camping LED Lantern,TaoTronics® Camping lantern ­Bright in 60LM but
1 of: Coleman Biowipes, 30 Count
5 of: Master Lock 8143D Self Coiling Cable Lock, 4­Feet x 5/16­inch
2 of: Khataland YoFoMat ­ Best Travel Yoga Mat ­ Green, Extra Long 72", 1/6"
4 of: Coleman Trinidad Warm­Weather Sleeping Bag
1 of: Purell Adv Aloe 8oz Pump (2 Pack)
4 of: Coleman ComfortSmart(TM) Cot
4 of: Coleman Oversized Quad Chair with Cooler
5 of: TETON Sports Camp Pillows
1 of: Multipack Chap Sticks

Sacramento

30th August, 12:20: Both Expeditions are packed, luggage, roof racks and 14 burners. We haven't left a lot of space for food. We exist San Francisco and pull into Sacramento Walmart and Dicks Sporting goods. Next items on the agenda: bikes, food and water. We do the math, our tents need 40 gallons of water, seems like a lot, but nobody wants to die of thirst. We attach the bikes to the back of the car, the cars don't drive with agility, they're big, slow and carry a lot of additional weight.

30th August, 16:00: We have In and Out burgers, and leave Sacramento. We're a bit behind schedule but should get into Black Rock City before 11 pm.

Reno

30th August, 21:12: Finally made it to Reno! We have a decision to make, it's quite late, do we just get a hotel for the night or keep driving. Reports are that the traffic from Reno into Black Rock City is heavy and delays are to be expected. It's also a desert so we will need to pitch tents in darkness. Group decides to push on.

Somewhere between Reno and Gerlach

30th August, 11:06: We're in the sticks bro, there's no more cellular reception, what's worse there's traffic. There's a procession of cars with there engines off on a single lane road. Darkness and and the distant sound of murmur and chatter, we've gone through a lot of road trip snacking, there's already a lot of trash we can't dispose of. Mental note, Walmart's Peanut Butter Trail Mix. Divine.

31st August, 12:41: We alternate drivers. This is painful, we will drive for 1 km and the sit for an hour. Occasionally we will see cars u-turn and drive back to reno. It's tempting.

31st August, 3:12: We're moving now. The car is pretty lifeless.

31st August, 5:35: There's a lot of cars, red tail lights leading up to Black Rock City. We've made it! It's cold. Dawn is breaking over a sea of break lights.

Black Rock City

31st August, 6:06: Half asleep, I'm driving. Burning ManTicket inspection. Moment of truth, our tickets scan and ... they're real.

The other car is in front of us, we see our friends being urged out of the car. They step out. Now they're rolling in the dust. First time burners have to roll in the player dust as part of the initiation. We comply. The gate keepers hug us, they're dusty, I'm dusty. That would be the last time I'm clean and dust free - Welcome to Burning Man.

Currently reading: "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings"

Gas meter, found!

So after 4 years, we've finally identified the location of my gas meter, and more importantly accurately reported my gas usage. Looks like I have been overpaying based on the the previous tenants estimations. Reimbursement! 6000 HKD!

Shoulder Soreness: Part 2

It has been over 6 weeks and unfortunately there hasn't been any noticeable improvement to the health and mobility of my right shoulder. Despite protests from my physiotherapist to keep working at it I impatiently setup an MRI appointment toget to the bottom of the injury.

First time in an MRI. The technician offered me headphones and hands me a rubberised bell to ring in the case of an emergency. I slip the headphones on and then another pair of ear muffs go ontop. Korean Pop music sings mellifluously into my world as I lay down in the large contraption. I don't understand a single word but that is soon replaced by the discordant sound of the machine. It's loud. Really loud. 25 minutes pass and even though I'm not usually prone to claustrophobia am definitely glad to be done.

So the results...

1. Supraspinatus tendinopathy or intrasubstance tear.
2. Small anterior labrum tear.
3. Mild sub acrominal-sub deltoid bursitis.
4. Small bone cyst in humeral head close to biciptal groove region.

I honest don't understand what any of this means however the words 'tear' scare me to no end. I take the results to a orthopedic specialist and am explained what each item means. In a nutshell, he says points 3 and 4 are most likely not the cause of my current pain however the SLAP, or the labrum tear although minor, may require arthroscopy or key hole surgery. The suggestion is to try physiotherapy for 4-6 months and see if there's any improvement. Time will tell.

Soups

Broccoli and pistachio, beetroot and tomato, mushroom and truffle, pumpkin and carrot.

Shoulder Soreness: Part 1

After 30 years of putting up with my antics it appears that my body has started to break down. It began 3 weeks ago, after a double session of BJJ and gym I went to bed with no noticeable afflictions. Unfortunately, I woke the following morning with an incredible soreness and the inability to raise my arm above the horizontal. Something is definitely not right.

So after a few weeks of resting, icing and compressing my shoulder health has not improved and I head to the physiotherapist for initial prognosis.

"Wow - Do you have a camera on your phone? I want to show you how imbalanced your shoulders are. Your right shoulder is a handful of centimetres lower than your left." - Physiotherapist

I have been prescribed a series of rotator cuff and rhomboid strengthening exercises. It still hurts to raise my arms above the horizontal. Something is definitely not right.

June 21st: International Yoga Day

I have a sprained hamstring and a discombobulated shoulder, both results of reckless abandon at jiu jitsu. I attribute this to old age, I am no longer that twenty one year old blessed with youthful recovery time. Despite all of this I'm unusually obdurate about attending the inaugural International Yoga event.

My left eye opens at 6:30 am. I rub my face, groan and desultorily search for my phone. First thing's first, I need to stop the alarm. Phone, found. Alarm, off. I open my second eye and peek under the curtains. The sky is cloudy. Ok, that adjective fails to paint the picture, the sky is threatening. It's a struggle prising myself out of bed at this ungodly hour. There's messages on my phone from a few hours ago - "Out?" - sender, last seen online 5:32 am.

Decision made. I have breakfast and put on my yoga gear. 7:30 I reach to open the front door, my entire apartment is enveloped in darkness and the early morning silence is replaced by a distinct muffled roar. It's raining. Wait, no, it's absolutely pissing down. Well, can't say I didn't try! I change back into my PJs and crawl back into bed. I can't sleep, the rain stops.

My life is unnecessarily complicated, the internal monologue that guides and directs me down paths is fraught with indecision and supreme laziness. I finally arrive at Sun Yat Sen, the field is filled with people. It's an excellent turn out, especially considering the weather. There's lots of families, a plenty of people from all walks of life.

I manage to grab one of the last remaining yoga mats. The event has not managed to escape the precipitate precipitation - I spend the next five minutes wringing the water out of the yoga mat. It's a relaxing yoga sessions, basic postures with nothing too intense. The final pose is savasana. I lie there on my back with my eyes closed whilst listening to the peaceful soundtrack being played over the loudspeakers. I feel the drops of water fall onto my face, the rain comes down steadily, some people stand and make for shelter, I'm already wet and I slowly drifting back into sleep ...

This morning, I spent five minutes

Trying to coerce a spider out of my apartment with a comb...

A weekend in

Finally, a weekend with no visitors, or no reason to go out. Hong Kong can be a demanding city. 

Managed to do a stack of reading, finally started watching Game of Thrones, a lot of massage therapy with my new Yoga Tune of massage balls, made a cream of mushroom soup and even got to the Asia Yoga Conference to listen to a talk with David Swenson.

Currently reading "Essentialism: The disciplined Pursuit of Less" by Greg McKeown