Adho Mukha Vrksasana

There are certain cues that help with a handstand. Squeeze your shoulder blades and lock your scapula. Spread the fingers and keep your weight evenly distributed under the top knuckles. Look slightly in front, between your hands. Keep the hips above the shoulders. Squeeze your core and buttocks. Slowly pull your feet off the wall. One foot. Two feet and there you have it, Adho Mukha Vrksasana aka the handstand.

If at any point in the pose you hear a loud snap, it's safe to say that you've probably done something wrong. In fact, a pop sound in any facet of life probably mens something is not right. Unless of course you break joints and ligaments for a living.

It started with a handstand. Ended with an ankle eversion. I'm going to be sore tomorrow.

New phone!

I'm honest not too sure how I last ten whole months with a busted up mobile phone. In any case, I finally have a new phone. I'll admit, it's strange using a phone that doesn't have a splintered screen.

Month of Fraud

Citibank Premier Miles, Cathay Pacific American Express and HSBC are probably the most prevalent Credit Cards in carried by people in Hong Kong. I challenge you to find somebody in Hong Kong that doesn't own at least one of them, particularly in the expat sample space. This, combined with the fact that merchants in Hong Kong rarely verify that the signature on the receipt matches the signature on the back of the card. Given these two pieces of information it's easy to see how Credit Cards can be misplaced.

It's commonplace to split a bill over multiple cards, the merchant will simple create separate bills for each card. So when the cards returned for signing and my card was nowhere to be found, I looked at the remaining card. It looked like my card, except for one distinguishing factor, the faded name on the card was not mine. I immediately called American Express to cancel the card. "Sure sir, we can cancel your card, can you please let me know when the last time you remember using it?". After explaining that the last time I remember seeing it was at least a day ago, the operator proceeded to read out the most recent transactions "Did you use your card last night at Common Room at 1 am?". Nope. "How about 3 am at Volar?". Nope. "5 am at Bloop?". Nope. "Sorry sir, looks like somebody has used your credit card, you'll need to get a police report".

In total, somebody had racked up approximately 4000 HKD on my card, which in the grand scheme of Credit Card fraud seems quite reasonable. There were no attempted transactions of bottles, or laptops or luxury watches, just the odd round of drinks here and there throughout the course of an evening. The reasonable answer is, the person using my card probably didn't know it wasn't their card they were using. Regardless I still needed to file a police report to claim back the charges. I don't think I've ever felt like I've wasted a public servant's time more effectively than having to sit down for almost 2 hours recounting the last moments I remember using the missing card.

I remember profusely apologising to the detective, she shrugged it off and suggesting that all crimes needed to be reported and that it wasn't a waste of time. The first thing they ask you when you file for a missing/stolen/lost credit card is "Is this the first time you've lost a card?". Strangely enough, after so many years of owning plastic it's the first time I've had somebody else use my card. First run in with the Hong Kong law and I can say they were more than hospitable. 

Update: Two weeks later, I lost my Citibank Card. Turns out somebody had purchased a bottle using my card. Two cases of fraud in one month, his has not been a good month for me...

T8 in Shanghai

It turns out touch football has quite the following in Asia. The migration of antipodean expats has expanded throughout the region with a large percentage of the major cities running domestic leagues. As a result, the governing bodies have put together and Asian Touch Rugby circuit, where teams fly to different destinations in attempt to win the country title and claim bragging rights for the year. These annual tournaments are held in Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok and even Hong Kong.

As a new joiner to the T8 Touch Team I was both flattered and thrilled to be invited to play in the upcoming Shanghai International Touch Tournament. The reality was, they were short players and it was an excuse to tell people the reason for traveling was to participate in an "international touch rugby tournament".

By the time we had landed in Shanghai, cleared Chinese Customs and checked into the hotel it was already time for bed. It's an odd feeling to be taking a Friday after work flight and going straight to bed. Most weekend trips have a set routine, after work flight, check into hotel, and head out to experience the local nightlife. It was one weekend, where we were trying to be athletes. No alcohol through out the week, calculated carbohydrate loading and going to sleep early.

The hotel we stayed in was less than desirable. Many team mates complained of cigarette infused bed sheets and the incredibly thin walls. The 6 am wake up call and strange "Continental Breakfast" interpretation solidified the fact that we would forfeit our second night's stay and look for a more appropriate abode. After a rushed breakfast we jumped into a minibus and were soon on our way to the rugby club for the tournament. The sun was out and the weather was amazing, a perfect day for sport.

For a lot of us, it was the first time playing together and the lack of cohesion was obvious. We were pooled in group A, and came out with 1-3-1 record. Despite feeling a little disappointed with our performance, we had adrenaline surging through the body which delayed the soreness and stiffness that would eventually arrive. We sat down in the cafeteria after the group stages and treated ourselves to a feed. Pizzas, pies, hamburgers, fries and beer. It was then when somebody ran in screaming "T8! We're in the shield semi-finals! All the teams are waiting for us to field a team!". We booted up and ran onto the field in a semi-dazed state only to lose in the semi-final by one point.

The rest of the trip was spent exploring the city, changing hotels and consuming a lot of dumplings. So. Many. Dumplings. Excellent trip with a nice balance of activity and debauchery.

The Gang head to Taipei

Weddings aside, it's rarity that the Australians and the Texan steal away for a holiday. In fact, over the course of my Hong Kong stay we have managed to travel a total of two times; both for weddings. Considering that we as a group spend so much time together here in Hong Kong and that we always have a great time overseas it was decided that we should try to arrange a non-wedding trip somewhere in Asia. To avoid problems with annual leave and destinations it was decided to travel somewhere close. Taipei.

The funny thing is, this trip went from a initial group size of eight to final number of twenty two people.

Monday night blues

There is a moment of confusion when you're suddenly CC'd into an existing email thread. The confusion is magnified when you see a large list of email addresses and you have to scroll down to see the initial seed message. Sometimes if you're lucky, the agenda of the chain is obvious - this email thread read "Monday night Touch Football @ Happy Valley". Monday nights would never be the same.

Hypothetically speaking, if I could engineer a perfect start to a week it would incorporate the elements of Monday Night football at Happy Valley. 8 pm, a group of 20+ people head down to Happy Valley Racecourse for a social game of pick up football. Let's breakdown why this works. 

Firstly, it's Monday, and nobody looks forward to Monday. Any Hong Kong denizen will tell you that weekends in the Administrative Region are usually quite destructive; excess alcohol and consumption leave most feeling less than 100%. Combine that with the thought of having to endure another 5 days until the next weekend and Mondays really lack the redeeming qualities found in the other days. 

One way to rectify the Monday slump is with exercise. Touch football is less about football and more about cardio. Don't let the adjectives "social" and "pickup" fool you. It's 60 mins of high intensity movements: sprinting, changing levels, moving laterally and constant back-peddling. My first night was a shock to my cardio-vascular system. The lungs, the lactic acid, my body was red-lining and exposed to some severe stress.

Secondly, the group of people who participate are really awesome people. Admittedly majority of them are Australian, but you do get the odd, English, South African and Hong Kong local. Best part is, you always get the odd random person who was "walking by and decided to have a go".

Finally, it's not just about the sports but more about the post game feed. On the first night I made the mistake of ordering a water and a grilled chicken salad. As anticipated, as soon as my order was brought out it received raised eyebrows and silent judgement. Healthy food has it's place, Monday night is not that place. I've since adopted a more rewarding/satisfying meal plan, some ale and a hamburger with a side of fries and a slathering of tomato sauce. Is Monday the new Friday?

"You don't win friends with salad" - Homer Simpson

Wash before use

Not the worst thing that I've found in my salad.