Moving forward...

I was meant to publish this post 2.5months ago... O well, better than none...

I struggled big time when I lost LeiLei (a clever girl, mix spitz I think), our first family dog when I was a teenager.  We only got Lucky (a playful pug) 12 years after LeiLei has passed.  We were all devastated.  I cried for the whole afternoon and everytime I thought of her I cried.  This went on for a few years.

We got here, and then Gizmo stumbled into our lives.  He was our first dog in HK.  He left us too soon.  And I thought to myself, no more, not anymore.  But, everywhere we go, there he was, his smiley face, his silly moves.  It was really really hard.  So we have decided we should give it another shot.  We went for an adoption. 

We first tried HKDR, but they are worried about the dog being alone in the house during the day Mon-Friday and that it will become frustrated.  They obviously think that having some dogs isolated, kept in a 4' x 5' wired up area the whole day with 2 short walks a day and minimum attention is a good idea.  We pity the dogs.

Then we turned to LAP.  We have decided to stick to small breeds (not as small as Chiwawa!!) simply because of the size of the apartment.  LAP have a black Pom called Hope.  A female rescued from a breeder.  Hope spent all her life in a cage (except when she was on heat or after she has given birth) as small as she is until she was rescued.  Very timid little girl.  We decided to adopt her (if she was healthy enough, I don't have a strong enough heart to handle losing another dog anytime soon) and she was supposed to be desexed and checked last Tuesday.  But she started to go on heat before the vet got a chance.  It will take another 6 - 8 weeks.  But, there's another one up for adoption during their adoption drive 26/08 in Happy Valley.  And so we went.

It's another Pom.  2 years of age, multicoloured, very active and lovely.  She had to be given up (together with another dog, a poodle) because of some changed circumstances.  Her name, Tinkerbell.  But we both think that it's a bit long, it's like "terminator" (what we were considering when we first got Lucky), so I shortened it to Bell and Adrian thought Bella would be better.  And so she's now, Bella.  She's the new member of our family. 

地球上最廉洁的国家：芬兰

今天朋友给我发了以下的电邮... 好想移民到这里...

地球上最廉洁的国家：芬兰

 

 

芬兰地处北欧，全国人口只有520万，大体上只相当于中国的一个大城市。这个国家1/3的土地在北极圈内，是不折不扣的寒冷地带。

但就是这个小国寡民的芬兰，多年来在全世界的评比中，拿下了多项世界第一：世界经济论坛认为芬兰是全球最具竞争力的国家；

芬兰有世界最好的学校系统，中小学生的阅读能力、科学素养在全世界名列第一，数学排名第二，问题解决能力排在第三；

芬兰人热爱大自然，全国67%的国土覆盖了森林，平均每25个人就拥有一个湖泊，在绿色排名中，芬兰是全球环境质量最好、最具可持续发展能力的国家;

芬兰人热爱自然，也能拥抱科技，它的互联网普及率世界第一、移动电话普及率世界第一，它甚至能够抢在信息产业超强的美国前面，率先迈入信息化社会……

在透明国际近期公布的《2005全球腐败排行榜》上，芬兰的廉洁排名全球第二。此前，芬兰在这项排名中，已连续5年获得第一。

很多芬兰人都说，已经有许多年没有听说过有什么腐败的事情了。最近的一桩案子，还是发生在3年以前。2002年5月芬兰《晚报》披露，文化部部长苏维•林登批准向一家高尔夫公司提供17万欧元的政府资助，而她和她的丈夫及数位亲属都拥有该公司股份。政府司法总监闻讯立即展开调查。事件见报一周之内，林登便旋风般被迫下台。这种在我们看来小儿科的案子，已经算得上是芬兰几十年间惟一的一个大案。

据统计，1985年至1992年间，芬兰只有25起贿赂罪。现在在芬兰，全国的法院每年受理的行贿受贿案件加起来也不足10起，而且几乎都是一些鸡毛蒜皮的小案。芬兰政府干净得已经快要让人们忘记还有腐败这回事了。在这次的《腐败榜》上，芬兰的邻国冰岛成为全球最廉洁的国家。自1918年冰岛成为主权国家以来，快90年了，一共只有４名高官因腐败而辞职，最近一次还是在上个世纪80年代。北欧地区的国家，差不多都是如此。

廉洁自律是社会风气

2001年美国《读者文摘》杂志曾在全世界范围内作了一项很有意思的试验。试验内容是要测试30多个国家(地区)民众的诚实程度。测试方法是在每个国家选择几个地区，故意在每个地区丢下10个钱包，里面装有相当于50美元的当地货币。钱包里同时附有失主的联系方式，拾到钱包的人如果想物归原主，可以轻易地联系到失主。最后统计钱包交还给失主的比率。试验发现，最诚实的5个国家是挪威、丹麦、新加坡、新西兰和芬兰。其中挪威和丹麦的钱包归还率竟然达到100%，芬兰也高达80%！耐人寻味的是，这5个国家，在《腐败榜》中，全部入选最廉洁的前十位。

社会风气的好与坏，对公务系统的廉洁影响极大。一旦贪污受贿成为社会普遍的一种习惯，送钱送物办事易如反掌，循正常渠道难比登天，守规矩的人吃亏，不守规矩的人发达，甚至腐败成了制度，星期一你贪污，星期二我贪污，人们不以腐败为耻，反以堕落为荣的话，可想而知反腐败的阻力和难度将会有多大。一项小小的拾金不昧的测验，折射出芬兰这个国家里人民对不属于自己的财物的态度。在芬兰，就算是在车流稀少的深夜街头，当红灯亮起，司机也会安静地停车等在那里，你看不到有谁会去闯红灯。芬兰人在日常生活中奉公守法的习惯，以及整个社会形成的强大的正气，你想在这样的国家里搞腐败，是不是很有难度呢？

所以芬兰的总检察长马蒂•库西迈基说，公民的自律是防止腐败最有效的手段。

透明处处可见，监管无处不在

但是公民的自律不是从天上掉下来的，要靠人们努力去争取。在历史上，芬兰也曾经是一个贪污受贿横行，腐败成为习惯的国家。芬兰治理腐败的经验，其实与全世界所有成功根治腐败的国家或地区一样，不外乎民主、法治、制衡、监督、公开、透明、教育等这些老生常谈的东西。讲理论，写10本书都可以，问题在于，你有没有决心去落实。

管住公务员的嘴。芬兰人热情好客，民间互相请客送礼也是人之常情。但是对芬兰的公务员来说，受礼和吃请绝对是天大的事，人际交往必须谨守分寸，法律规管十分严格，甚至到了苛刻的地步，一不小心就把前途和事业搭了进去。因此，芬兰的公务员进入政府工作后的第一件事，就是要赶快向有经验的公务员请教，到底界线在哪里，以免误触法网。

老公务员会告诉他们，一般的经验是：可以喝一杯啤酒，或者吃一个三明治，但如果不小心喝了别人的葡萄酒，那么每分钟都可能出问题。芬兰的法律规定公务员不能接受价值较高的礼品，而他们对价值较高还有细化的定义：根据物价指数调整，一般在24美元(20欧元)左右。芬兰的物价水平较高，在一些餐馆里，一杯白开水可能都要收你5美元，这样看来就算你在餐馆里请公务员喝白开水，也要数一数能喝几杯才可以。

这是公务员受请的规定。而如果是公务接待，也就是出于交际应酬的需要，公款请客，上至总理下至普通的科员，一起吃饭的有些什么人，点了什么菜，花了多少钱，都要巨细无遗地在网上开列清单，人人可以看得到，件件能够查得清，一切摊在阳光下。媒体发现问题可以曝光，公众发现不妥可以举报、起诉。法律不仅细化可操作，更重要的是法律非常严肃，你绝对不能当它是摆设。芬兰就曾有中央银行行长级别的高官，在公务接待中一不小心上了一道鹅肝，传媒上网查阅菜单后曝了光，行长为了这道鹅肝而下台！

也许有人要对此嗤之以鼻，认为多此一举大可不必。小数怕长计，据统计中国公务吃喝每年的花费高达3000亿元人民币之巨！管住公务员的嘴，谁说是个小问题？

中国人去芬兰，对芬兰人的廉洁更是深有体会。曾有作者在报上发表文章，讲述他应在中国驻芬兰大使馆工作的叔叔之邀去芬兰，得知了这样一件事：每年的新年前夕，当地民间也有送礼的习俗。中国使馆的礼很简单：一瓶茅台酒一筒茶叶，另外再加一瓶红酒，略表对他们一年来给予帮助的感谢。事后才知道他们用自己的薪水买回了礼物。

芬兰的公务员的确需要小心。因为在芬兰，不仅接受金钱和实物算作受贿，就算是接受低于市场利息的低息贷款，甚至是接受不花人家一分钱的荣誉头衔，也可能被视为受贿。芬兰的人口少，生活圈子小，政府的人员也少，公职高薪，但谋职不易。一旦公务员被坐实了腐败，不仅会被立即革职，严重的话还会入狱，私营机构不愿雇佣，也会被社会上的人看不起，更重要的是在亲朋好友、街坊邻居面前永世不得抬头。腐败成本是十分高昂的。

要知道，芬兰可是世界上最富的国家之一，2004年他们的人均GDP高达35885美元。我们不妨大概算一下，考虑到收入比例，如果按照芬兰对公务员的要求来要求我们中国的公务员，会是一个什么样的情况。中国人均GDP1200美元，按照芬兰24/35885的比例，中国公务员可以收礼的界线就是0.8美元，6.5元人民币（如今美元走低，大概不到5块钱），只能吃一个盒饭。

看好公家的车。意大利西西里岛有个倒霉的市长，他和夫人出去私人旅行，让司机用公车把他们送到港口，旅行回来又让司机接了一次。似乎再平常不过的一件事，不料被人告上法庭，市长公车私用，补回汽油费都不行，公职丢了不说，还被判入狱6个月吃了官司。

这是在意大利，2005年廉洁程度排名第40的国家发生的事。意大利的事已经让我们吃惊，那么，排名第二的芬兰，又是如何管治公车的腐败呢？

说来你可能不相信，芬兰可以说根本就没有公车腐败。除总统外，芬兰整个公务员系统中，只有总理、外交部长、内务部长和国防部长4个人享有固定的专用公车待遇。而且他们也只能在上班时使用。据说虽然贵为一国元首，芬兰的总统常常骑自行车出去。

为了管住其他公务员集体使用的公车，芬兰政府曾设计了一套监控系统。公车上装有两个按钮的发射器，一个刻有公务字样，另一个刻着私事字样。如果是私事，就要照章纳税。公务员用车需要事先向政府办公部门申请并讲明去向，上车时还要分情况按下按钮，让监控中心收到信号具体掌握公车一路的行踪。如果按下了公务按钮，而汽车实际行驶的方向不对头，车上的无线电话就响了，监督人员会打来电话询问和提醒开车者……令人感慨的是，这个监控系统在芬兰装了近5年，竟然没抓到哪怕一个违规者。不是因为系统不灵光，而是公务员实在是太守规矩了，政府试了几年后发现多此一举，干脆把系统都拆了。系统就算拆了，车上没有了眼睛，也没有人拿公车去办私事。

公务员如果有需要出差的话，自然有专门的部门替他订好交通和酒店。政府对出差的审批相当严格，想出趟差也不太容易。不过一旦获准出差，在外面的食宿不会差，但是一般的原则是在出差地要尽量搭公共汽车。出差的补助每天有定额，政府做得更绝的是：如果出差少于一天，就要按小时来发放补助--连这种抠门的事都干得出来。想要趁出差之机逛旅游景点？自己掏钱吧。政府的补助可没有多给一分钱。

这不由得让人想起一件事。前几年，中国某市的一位市长与美国雷德蒙市的艾文市长一起参与中央电视台的一档视频对话节目。节目尾声时，两国市长互相邀请到对方城市做客。但艾文面有难色，表示办公费用来自市民缴的税款，每一笔开支必须对纳税人负责，访华不在预算之列，她需要筹够了钱才能来。中国市长不仅愉快地接受了访美邀请，没有任何顾虑，而且还慷慨地表示，由中方支付艾文市长访华的一切费用。艾文市长喜形于色，表示当晚就可以收拾收拾上路了。主持人带头鼓掌，现场观众采声一片……相信看出门道来的人，只会感到难受吧：不知道是由公家出资，还是由中国市长个人出资？没说。似乎这个问题不值一哂。顺便提一句，美国雷德蒙市，是微软公司、任天堂美国公司和许多大企业的总部所在地，钱他们是绝对不缺的，缺的是政府官员滥用公众的钱。

话题再转回到芬兰。如此富裕的国家，财力丰沛的政府，饭不让多吃，礼不让多收，车不让私开，玩不让尽兴……比周扒皮还过分，象吝啬鬼那样的小气，时时刻刻提防公务员贪贿腐化、滥权渎职，真是令人叹为观止。

芬兰的国有经济比重只有8%，而且这部分打理得也很好。政府几乎所有的收入都来自于人民缴纳的税收。政府很小心地花这笔钱，除留下维持政府运作的必要开支外，将其大部分投入到教育、医疗、科技、公用事业、社会福利救济等领域中，以另外一种方式返还给人民。而事实上，芬兰国有经济这8%，也多集中于这些社会公益或半公益的领域之中，而且监管得法，效率颇高。政府很少会去主动兴办经济实体，更不会去垄断某个赚钱的行业来与民争利。芬兰、瑞典、丹麦、挪威、冰岛这些北欧国家，我们注意到，在廉洁程度都位列前十名，社会福利好，但税率也很高。但是北欧人并没有太多抱怨，因为一方面他们普遍有社会责任感，另一方面政府廉洁，纳税人知道钱用在哪里、钱用得其所，人民缴税也缴得服气。

Gizmo the Wizmo...

I've never blogged about Gizmo.  I don't know why.  Maybe it's because he had been keeping me busy whenever I'm home.

Gizmo is a Pomeranian, a little git.  Gizmo was born on the 15th of October 2009.  His first owner took him in for a while and then left him in a pet shop for sale - he spent just about 9 months in a cage.  Then, finally, he met his previous owner, one of Adrian's South African colleagues.  The family was going back to South Africa and would not bring him with them.  Poor sod was going to end up in a pet shop again.  we took him in, as we took the apartment over.  He was their toy.  I don't doubt their love for him but the poor sod was only walked once or twice a fortnight....

We first met on the 27th of January this year when we came and looked at this apartment.   We moved into this apartment on the 28th of February.  And that was the day we first officially lived together.

At slightly more than 2 years of age, he wasn't the fittest dog in the world.  We taught him how to sit and wait to be fed.  How to run, how to climb up and down the stairs and how not to worry about the manhole covers.  We walked him at least twice a day, slightly more than an hour a day in total, sometimes more.  He looked so happy and he looked forward to each and every single walk.  I would walk him every morning, and night if Adrian  couldn't do it.  Boy, did we enjoyed our walks.

Every time we walked through that door, he would be there greeting us.  Every morning when we woke, he would be greeting us promptly as well.  he loved the little biscuit snacks, the sofa, sushi rice, pasta, dumplings, fruits and everything else that we ate in the house.  He would demand for hugs and cuddles by scratching our arms non-stop as if he was saying, "hey, hug, hey, hug hug... hey...", well he'd only stop when he got the cuddle and he would kiss us back affectionately.

We also brought him to the park and the beaches, although he didn't like the water.  We even bought him with us to Stanley when Adrian paddled in the Dragon Boat race.  There we met the biggest dog we've ever met - a Great Dan called Harley.  It was so wonderful.  How our little git was behaving among people and other dogs.  We were so proud.  As if our child has graduated from university or something.  Aside from the fact the he still ate his own shit occasionally and pissed in the house at least once a day.

Not too long after we got him, we realised that the little sod had weak tracheal rings in his windpipe.  Sometimes he would breathe as if he had asthma or something but would get better soon after.  Besides that, the common problem that the breed would have, he had - Luxating Patella, and we were planning to get that fixed by the end of the year.  Before all that, our little git had developed mange at the elbows of the fore legs after just about 6 weeks we had him.  And so the medication and solutions started.  We also needed to wipe his eyes, give him shower, take him to the groomer, etc.  Exactly like taking care of a kid.  The only difference is he didn't know how to talk and they do not grow up and become independent.  He slowly got better, the mange was gone and he was into his last week of medication and he would be spayed straight after he's off the medications.

And then, things got wrong.  he was struggling to breathe a little bit the night we got back from Stanley.  The next day, I sent him to the vet but they couldn't do much and then I had to send him to a 24-hour animal hospital.  They couldn't do much about that because whatever they do, they will have to give him anesthetic and he could stop breathing because of that.  What do we do?  It was a tough choice.  And the vet was going on holiday.  Great.

It was the 28th of June, 2012.  I was seriously doubting the hospital.  And straight after the noon visiting time.  I spent a couple of hours trying to make arrangement to get him to another hospital.  At 4pm in the afternoon, he passed.  They couldn't revive him.  Maybe it was his time.  We could never have known.  Bottom line is, he's gone.  And he was cremated today.  We said proper goodbyes to our little git.  Brought his ashes back to the apartment.  Where he spent the happiest times of his life.  Where we gave him all the love we could.

Walks down the roads in the area, lift rides in the building, coming back to the house, the kitchen, the bathroom, the dining and living area, the balcony, the parks, Stanley, Repulse Bay, bus & train & taxi rides, will never be the same, ever.  And we don't even need to leave a light on for him at night anymore... Losing him also reminded me of Lei Lei, our first family dog.  How their departure would leave a void in our hearts.

Rest in Peace, Gizmo.  You're missed dearly.

a strange place...

It's been a couple of years now, since we've moved to HK.  The longer I'm here, the less clue I can make out of this place... is it the people here?  or is it me?  No doubt, I have met some very nice and "normal" people here, but some of the things/people that I've come across really puzzle me.

In a housing estate, flowers and seed pods on kapok trees must ALL be plucked (removed) because some district council member thought that the fiber from the seed pods may be bad for the health of the residents in the area (the news report in Chinese here).  In another housing estate, frogs that make noise at night, on the podium of a few blocks, have to be removed because some residents complained about the noise (the news report in Chinese here).  Trees on a slope near where we live have to be chopped for no obvious reasons, and I'm not talking about branches that stretch over the road/sidewalk (some of them are big trees, obviously been there a long time).  AND, durians don't stink here (of course, to me it's scent, but, how??)!!  Obviously, a lot of people here cannot cope with nature!

And then, I notice that most girls/women have very fancy and expensive handbags that they don't carry -- their boyfriends do that for them.  Most women are descendants of vampires -- not only they  have to cover their faces with 5mm thick sun block, on top of that, they have to carry UV protected umbrellas and possibly face masks!  O, there's a sunroof in this shopping mall, I'd better open my UV umbrella!!  And when it rains, they make full use of their umbrellas as well, even on the covered sidewalks...

And then, there are people that don't buy sugar, tooth picks, salt, pepper, wet tissues, tissues, chili oil, soy sauce, etc... because whenever the family visits anywhere that provides these items for free (and individually packed), they would grab a whole lot... and this particular family owns a Mercedes Benz S-class, sent their children to universities in the UK (no, they didn't get a loan and the children did not get scholarship), who now have very well paid jobs.  And the most important thing is, this family still lives in a public housing unit.  

These are just a few of the many that I've seen/read recently.  I wouldn't want to list it all out...  that would mean that I have to write a few thousand words in this post.

Where you come from, is it the same?  Certainly, where I come from, it is different.  Well at the very least, flowers grow as they wish, frogs can make as much noise as they want, trees get removed after they have collapsed and durians stink (you can smell it 50 meters away!!), big time!

The DARWIN Awards this year

Received an email about The Darwin Awards today, thought I'd share it here...

It's that time again. The DARWIN Awards are out. The annual honor is given to the persons who did the gene pool the biggest service by killing themselves in themost extraordinarily stupid way.Last year's winner was the fellow who was killed by a Coke machine which toppled over on top of him as he was attempting to tip a free soda out. This year's winner was a real rocket scientist... HONESTLY! Read on...And remember that each and every one of these is a TRUE STORY!!!And the nominees were:

Semifinalist #1

A young Canadian man, searching for a way of getting drunk cheaply, because he had no money with which to buy alcohol, mixed gasoline with milk. Not surprisingly, this concoction made him ill, and he vomited into the fireplace in his house. This resulting explosion and fire burned his house down, killing both him and his sister.

Semifinalist #2
Three Brazilian men were flying in a light aircraft at low altitude when another plane approached. It appears that they decided to moon the occupants of the other plane, but lost control of their own aircraft and crashed. They were all found dead in the wreckage with their pants around their ankles.

Semifinalist #3
A 22-year-old Reston, VA, man was found dead after he tried to use octopus straps to bungee jump off a 70-foot rail road trestle. Fairfax County police said Eric Barcia, a fast-food worker, taped a bunch of these straps together, wrapped an end around one foot, anchored the other end to the trestle at Lake Accotink Park, jumped and hit the pavement. Warren Carmichael, a police spokesman, said investigators think Barcia was alone because his car was found nearby. 'The length of the cord that he had assembled was greater than the distance between the trestle and the ground,' Carmichael said. Police say the apparent cause of death was 'Major trauma.'

Semifinalist #4
A man in Alabama died from rattlesnake bites. It seems that he and a friend were playing a game of catch, using the rattlesnake as a ball. The friend - no doubt a future Darwin Awards candidate - was hospitalized.

Semifinalist #5
Employees in a medium-sized warehouse in west Texas noticed the smell of a gas leak. Sensibly, management evacuated the building, extinguishing all potential sources of ignition; lights, power, etc... After the building had been evacuated, two technicians from the gas company were dispatched. Upon entering the building, they found they had difficulty navigating in the dark. To their frustration, none of the lights worked. Witnesses later described the sight of one of the technicians reaching into his pocket and retrieving an object that resembled a cigarette lighter. Upon operation of the lighter-like object, the gas in the warehouse exploded, sending pieces of it up to three miles away. Nothing was found of the technicians, but the lighter was virtually untouched by the explosion. The technician suspected of causing the blast had never been thought of as ''bright'' by his peers.

And Now, for the winner of this year's Darwin Award:

(As always, awarded posthumously): The Arizona Highway Patrol came upon a pile of smoldering metal embedded in the side of a cliff rising above the road at the apex of a curve. The wreckage resembled the site of an airplane crash, but it was a car. The type of car was unidentifiable at the scene. Police investigators finally pieced together the mystery. An amateur rocket scientist had somehow gotten hold of a JATO unit (Jet Assisted Take Off, actually a solid-fuel rocket) that is used to give heavy military transport planes an extra 'push' for taking off from short airfields. He had driven his Chevy Impala out into the desert and found a long, straight stretch of road. He attached the JATO unit to the car, jumped in, got up some speed and fired off the JATO!

The facts as best could be determined are that the operator of the 1967 Impala hit the JATO ignition at a distance of approximately 3.0 miles from the crash site. This was established by the scorched and melted asphalt at that location.

The JATO, if operating properly, would have reached maximum thrust within 5 seconds, causing the Chevy to reach speeds well in excess of 350 mph and continuing at full power for an additional 20 -25 seconds. The driver, and soon-to-be pilot, would have experienced G-forces usually reserved for dog fighting F-14 jocks under full afterburners, causing him to become irrelevant for the remainder of the event.

However, the automobile remained on the straight highway for about 2.5 miles (15-20 seconds) before the driver applied and completely melted the brakes, blowing the tires and leaving thick rubber marks on the road surface, then becoming airborne for an additional 1.4 miles and impacting the cliff face at a height of 125 feet, leaving a blackened crater 3 feet deep in the rock. Most of the driver's remains were not recoverable.

Epilogue: It has been calculated that this moron attained a ground speed of approximately 420-mph, though much of his voyage was not actually on the ground.

You just couldn't make this stuff up, could you?

PEOPLE LIKE THIS WALK AMOUNG US,

AND THEY ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE KIDS AND VOTE!!

Proud wife Vernette

So Adrian has gone back into swimming lately - long distance ocean swims.  It's pretty hard core for me.  If I had to walk 5km on a Saturday afternoon (not in a shopping mall or something similar), I'd die within the first couple of km!  And my superman husband did it last Saturday, swam 5km from Stanley to Repulse Bay.  Pretty impressive, huh?

One thing I noticed about hard core swimmers in HK lately - most of them don't have a tattoo.  Well, nothing visible to be exact, even when they had only small swimming trunks on.
So when I wait for Adrian to get back ashore, I'd look out for those old fashioned dragon tattoos - all arms were clean but his, besides, it's so difficult to spot him by just looking at the splashes!  His splashes is not that distinctive.  ;-p

I posted about Adrian's successful 5km trial on FB the other day and received some funny responses by his friends...

definitely not very impressed with the hippo suit comment...

He sure did make me proud.  I'm so glad that I encouraged him to get back into swimming.  And of course, claiming to be the perfect man, he got me a new handbag to thank me for the support! wahahaha  how good is that?  It is also a form of compensation for I had 8 bug bites whilst waiting for him on the beach and they are still bloody itching!!

He's going to be swimming in the real race in less than a couple of weeks and if he sorts out the cramps, I figure he could probably slash 5 - 10 minutes off his time.  Let's see how it goes.

company junk trip

from left, me, Ben, Bonnie & APAC boss, Joerg Zobel

Last Friday, was our company junk trip.  We all left for the junk trip at 12:30pm, you can opt for not going but if you did, you've just gotta stay in the office and work~!

Some of my friends think that this is absolutely a great company to be working for, well, I sort of think the same.  Put it this way, which employer would let all the staff have half a day off and then pay for a couple of junk trips for everybody?  Not that many I would guess.

Anyway, we arrived at Lo So Shing Beach (Lamma Island), played some beach volleyball, dipped in the sea for a bit, had a few beers and some form of food, karaoke sessions and a fall into the speed boat... hehehe

looking alright there...

Bruised! Around the knuckle of the right thumb.  The forearm felt bruised as well, just not visible that's all.  Should not have played beach volley ball at this age, especially it's been a couple of decades since I last played!!   Having said that, it was really a lot of fun.  Chasing the ball, doing the serve, falling over... fun fun fun!

I still remember we had to take tests for PE when we were in the girls' high school.  We had to do running, jumping, throwing, basketball, volleyball, soft ball and all!!  And those were not the only sports I did (not good at them at all though), I also was a gymnast (school team), trained at least twice a week; went swimming with my brother every Saturday, rode a bicycle everyday and played badminton quite often as well.  So, I was fit, skinny.  Now, if I walked up 20 steps quick I'd start panting!  But swimming is OK, cycling should still be OK, Yoga is OK, dancing to the right music with a few pints of Guinness is OK as well.  Hehehe

Anyway, we had an awesome time out of the office and hey, don't get jealous, let me know if you want to join the company hahaha

The long distance swimmer is back on the attack!

Yes, this day the 14th of August, 2011, Adrian completed his first long distance ocean swim in HK, in a long long time.  Close to 2 decades to be exact.

I have always known that he's a good swimmer, therefore encouraged him to go back to long distance swimming because he was a good swimmer when he was a teenager.  He swam in a relay team across The Channel twice when he was a teenager.  Put it this way, how many people do you know that has swam The Channel?  Though he was in a relay team but it is still impressive, and he did it not once, but twice.  Now, that, is something that you can brag about when you sit down with your grand kids when you're 60.  I always thought that it's a pity he didn't go further in swimming.  There wasn't a platform for him to do it, the school wasn't doing enough for their swimmers.  He thinks otherwise though, he said, "we wouldn't have been able to meet if I continued swimming and eventually make it to some international races."  Well, this I must agree hehehe for I did not know how to swim until I was about 14!

And so, with only a few sessions of swimming in the pool downstairs and some snorkeling in Pulau Tenggol, off he went to take part in The Deep Water Bay Ocean Swim.  It is a 1.4km swim, not a lot compared to what he did in The Channel but it was definitely a lot of hard work considering how long it has been.  Here's the course map.  

Before he decided whether or not to take part, I actually did some research on the past races and found out that the fastest bloke did it in just over 17 minutes.  But cheeky me told him 24 instead hehehe.  So he jumped into the pool and did some laps.  The last practice he had, he swam about 1.8km under 30 minutes.  But of course, that was just swimming pool.  It a totally different story when you swim in the ocean.

We got up, well Adrian got up at 5am and I got up just about 5:45am.  We got to Deep Water Bay at about 7am --  we were the first ones there.  Registered and then waited for the other participants to slowly turn up.  It rained for a little a bit just to terrorize me, the one who didn't bring any form of rain gear.  Of course Adrian wasn't worried because he's going to get wet anyway!  But luckily it only lasted for about 10 minutes.

So we arrived, one of the earliest to be there, Adrian got himself registered and numbered and wristband on.  Looking good, eh?

The event started at 8:30am this morning.  There were 278 participants, aging from 10 to 60+.  We were quite intimidated by the amount of super fit people participating.  V-shaped bodies, six packs... But I said to Adrian, "that doesn't mean that they are good in the water (of course he knew that), but you are more streamlined to do it!"  My theory is, their stiff and squarish bodies get more resistance in the water than him.  Have you ever seen a skinny shark/dolphin/whale?  In fact, look at the fastest fish, they are not skinny at all!  ;-p

Despite the lack of training and the "age" factor, he completed the whole course in just about 26 minutes!  100th in the overall placing and amongst the 39 swimmers in his age group (35-39), he finished 10!  Not bad, eh?  He is quite impressed by the results as well, although he didn't think he did as well as he did when he first got out of the water.

catching his breath

And of course, we are all very proud of him.  And, Adrian, has decided to participate all 3 races next year!

Have a look at all the photos here.