What I Miss

Wow! This is the biggest gap from when I started writing my post and then actually making it live. I started this on the 4th but only got back to it today, the 21st.

I've had a very full schedule since my last complete post. Of course work takes up most of my time here. But that's ok, 'cause for the most part I enjoy it. During the first week of the new year I taught my first workshop at PolyU. I was a little nervous, but was happy to receive mostly positive evaluations from the students. From 1 to 5 (5 being highest) I had 2 students who gave me all 5's and the rest averaged around 4. Certainly there's room for improvement, but overall it went well.

I also spent the last two weeks preparing for two meetings with a toy company and a movie studio. Very exciting possibilities are developing here which I won't get into (I don't want to jinx them). But I was very happy with how well the PolyU staff and students rallied to help me put together the presentations. The two companies were very impressed and appreciative of what we showed them. I took out a bunch of staff and students for drinks yesterday to thank them for a job well done.

I have so much to get done before I head back to the US next week. But as much I love it here, I have to admit to being excited about returning to the US. During the first week of the New Year I remember listening to Ebert & Roeper's top movies of 2005. Both of them had "Syriana" and "Crash" in their top two. I saw Crash but I'm dying to watch Syriana. That made me think about how much I miss being able to add movies to my Netflix queue. So that got me thinking about what I miss and look forward to when I get back the the US. So in no particular order, here's a list:

Things I miss about the US:

1) Friends: I have met and bonded with so many very cool people since I've been out here. But I'm really looking forward to catching up with some very good friends in the US. I'm very excited to go back to the East Coast which I haven't been to in nearly 2 years. I can't wait to catch up with so many people in SF!

2) Netflix: I miss being able to conveniently watch as many high quality DVD films, documentaries and TV shows as time would allow. The only way to catch some of this stuff here is through pirated media; which is not the most convenient or consistent in quality.

2) Tivo: I don't watch much TV out here. Surprisingly, I don't really miss it much. But I do miss having the convenience of watching shows anytime I want or the simple ability to stop and rewinde live TV. However, I really don't feel out of touch with the US media. Through podcasts, Websites and blogs I feel very on top of things in the US. From the SNL Lazy Sunday bit to O'Reilly's spat with Letterman and all the corruption of the Bush administration coming into the spotlight, I don't feel like I'm missing much.

3) Space: Everything is so compact here. Having a little more elbow room will be nice.

4) Fresh Air: Ahhhh, sweet fresh air. I've been sick several times since arriving in HK. Many foreigners say they had a tough time adapting to the air quality here. Eventually, they did. But I do miss the fresh mountain air where I did so much hiking. I'd definitely like to fit in a few outdoor runs and a mountain bike ride when I get back to SF.

5) Food: HK residents are proud of the international culture and cuisine in HK. But there are some things I'm looking forward to eating and drinking when I get back to the US. When I'm in NYC, I can't wait to get a few slices of the best damn pizza in the world! I also look forward to the best chain coffee in the world: Dunkin' Donuts! When I get to SF, I'm gonna have a Mission St. Mexican Burrito! I also have to stop by my favoriate SF jazz club for some Ethiopian food with my jazz.

6) Reading, writing and talking: I'm illiterate here. My spoken Chinese Cantonese has improved. But it takes quite a bit of effort to communicate and my vocabularly is not good enough to have deep business or intellectual conversations. It will be nice to give the new language part of my brain a little rest.

The above might might seem like a lot of things. But overall, I'm still lovin' it out here. But ready or not America; Here I come!

A New Year!

Woohoo! Last night I rang in 2006 in Hong Kong. It wasn't my first New Years Eve in HK, but it was far better than my first one from 15 years ago in which I spent it in the bed of a hotel room. We went to a jazz club at the swanky Shangri-La Hotel and it was a swinging good time. But for me it doesn't get much better than ringing in the New Year with my favorite genre of music surrounded by good friends and lots of free flowing alcohol!

If anything, it may have been a little too good a time as I probably had a few too many martini's. I don't really believe in New Year Resolutions; as I read somewhere a long time ago that most resolutions aren't kept. But I do believe in setting goals. I've got many of them which I think are quite achievable out here in HK, China and Asia which is a major reason why I'm out here. But in order to achieve them, I think I'll need to hunker down a bit. Which I think means, a little less partying. So if I were to believe in resolutions; I resolve to continue to work hard and play hard, but I'm gonna try to explore other forms of play other than just the bar and club scene. Luckily, I've met many wonderful people out here who are willing to show me around some of the other things HK has to offer such local museums and hiking paths.

So here's to a wonderful, productive, happy and healthy New Year to all my friends here and in the US!