Today is an American holiday, Thanksgiving. If you are a US citizen you probably consider it to be one of the big three along with Christmas and Independence Day. In many ways I think it is my favorite holiday and is one that I am surprised that more people outside the US do not adopt.
The story of Thanksgiving is familiar enough. The Puritans came to what is now the Boston area in 1620 and landed too late in the year to grow food for the winter. They almost starved and would have all died without the help of the natives in the area. The next year, 1621 they were able to plant crops and build adequate shelters and knew that they would have enough to carry them through the winter so they held a feast to celebrate and even invited the native American tribes that had helped them.
Other cultures, almost all of them in fact have similar stories of people being grateful that they have enough to eat. Indeed, I cannot really think of a better reason to celebrate than knowing that you will not starve. Lots of people in the world don't know they will not starve.
So in the off chance that someone reads this most obscure of Hong Kong blogs today, take a little time to be thankful. Take some time to say thank you to someone who has helped you when they didn't have to.
Get into the holiday spirit, if only a little bit.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The blogger who really does like roasted turkey and pumpkin pie
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Hey Ho, Hey Ho
Tomorrow is the beginning of the Spring Semester so I go back to work.
I am not by training, personality or desire a natural teacher though I have through effort and diligence become at least acceptable in the job. Indeed, I've come to really enjoy it in many ways but I did have to make an effort to do so. I guess it is sort of like learning to eat all those bitter, stringy, green leafy Chinese vegetables my really smart-good looking-hard working- looks twenty-five years young than she is wife introduced me to when we were first dating. I choked them down for several months before I got to the point where I could tell one from the other and for a couple of years before I actually came to like any of them. Now I actually look for my favorites in the wet-market.
I do like the holidays that teachers get. They are probably the my favorite part of the job. Wow!
Two and a half weeks at Christmas and New Year.
Twelve weeks or so in the summer!
Plus Spring Break.
Plus assorted other official holidays like Ching Ming and Buddha's Birthday and that many people do not get.
That has to be worth quite a bit as a benefit.
But now it is time get that nose back to grindstone.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who isn't as lazy as this post makes him sound.
How much would
I am not by training, personality or desire a natural teacher though I have through effort and diligence become at least acceptable in the job. Indeed, I've come to really enjoy it in many ways but I did have to make an effort to do so. I guess it is sort of like learning to eat all those bitter, stringy, green leafy Chinese vegetables my really smart-good looking-hard working- looks twenty-five years young than she is wife introduced me to when we were first dating. I choked them down for several months before I got to the point where I could tell one from the other and for a couple of years before I actually came to like any of them. Now I actually look for my favorites in the wet-market.
I do like the holidays that teachers get. They are probably the my favorite part of the job. Wow!
Two and a half weeks at Christmas and New Year.
Twelve weeks or so in the summer!
Plus Spring Break.
Plus assorted other official holidays like Ching Ming and Buddha's Birthday and that many people do not get.
That has to be worth quite a bit as a benefit.
But now it is time get that nose back to grindstone.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who isn't as lazy as this post makes him sound.
How much would
Monday, November 19, 2007
Happy Holidays
Presented as a morning devotion for teachers in a private school in Hong Kong on November 19, 2007
Singapore and I decided to not pursue one in Fort Worth
So as we enter another holiday season may the Blessing of the Christ be manifest in you. May the joy of heaven fill your heart and the beauty of the Son of God become a light to your eyes.
18: Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened like this: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
19: Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately.
20: But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21: And she shall bring forth a son, and you will call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
22: Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Matthew 1:18-25
She put up and decorated a Christmas tree. Seeing as it is almost Thanksgiving and some of the buildings in Central already have their gaudy light displays that change from Christmas to Julian New Year to Chinese New Year up I shouldn’t have been surprised by this but I was. I realized on Saturday that this was the first time I can remember that I was not really looking forward to the holiday season. This has been a tough year for us and the end of the year is going to be even tougher.
The school I work for moves to a new building in a month and I’m somewhat stressed about packing and moving. But more than that, my wife and I have made plans this year for our careers that God has set aside three times. We’ve canceled airline tickets that were non-refundable, lost a couple of friends over our changed plans and generally been in a state of uncertainty about where to live and what to do. The wife decided not to take a job inAnd then I thought of Mary. I find it odd that we don’t know more of her family in the Bible. Imagine your reaction if your daughter came in and said “Dad, I’ve just talked to an angel and he said I’m going to become pregnant with the Messiah even though I’m a virgin.” Try explaining that to your neighbors! I bet Mary’s parents were not looking forward to that first Christmas. I doubt that Joseph was in much of a festive mood either. It would appear to me that there would be a lot in such a narrative that would be of spiritual value. All we can know is that it was probably a stressful time for everyone concerned. Yet, out of this very difficult situation came the greatest of blessings.
Anyway, while thinking of Mary and her family and Joseph and his concerns this weekend I realized anew that I simply need to be thankful for what has gone on in my life this year. I was reminded how easy it is to focus on what is wrong and the things I don’t like and to miss the blessings falling from the sky all around me.
So as we enter another holiday season may the Blessing of the Christ be manifest in you. May the joy of heaven fill your heart and the beauty of the Son of God become a light to your eyes.
Merry Christmas
Let us look forward to a new year
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger looking forward to the holidays
Friday, January 19, 2007
Putting on Weight
Like many people I put on a little weight over the holidays. This is a particular problem for me because in Hong Kong the holidays are not over until after Chinese New Year. So, I have National Day, Lantern Festival, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, Chinese New Year and Ching Ming. Not to mention Buddha's Birthday. That means that for ex-pats with Chinese spouses living here your holiday season is 6 months long. So, in Hong Kong we start with Moon cake, progress to turkey and then eggnog and then finish off with champagne and beer. Not exactly a low calorie 6 months.
I don't under stand how so many of the Chinese are so skinny! Pencil-necks, skinny-minies, milquetoast are way over represented on Hong Kong streets. If you see a girl with boobs you can bet that she either was born somewhere else or is wearing a padded bra. The teenage boys often times look very effeminate because they have no muscles, but perfectly mussed ugly hair cuts that look like something right out of "America's Next Top Model."
They even let their Filipino maid carry their school bag for them. How girly is that?
That said I wish was that skinny sometimes rather the moderately tall slightly overweight Westerner that I am. Gaining weight is a pain in so many ways but mostly because if you don't plan on staying fat you don't want to buy new clothes. So, you continue squeezing into those old trousers and praying that you won't split a seam, bust a button or have to breathe for the rest of the day. Just before Christmas I was down to two pairs of blue jeans and one pair of shorts that I could wear comfortably. My employer was, at that point kind enough to inform me that wearing those to work on any day but Fridays was a violation of the employee dress code and I needed to look more professional.
Well, the last couple of weeks the lovely, gracious, smart, makes more money than me, loving and caring wife and I were in Shenzhen and I purchased several pairs of new trousers with a larger waist. I actually had to look for a shop that carried a 38 to 39 inch waist. Most stores stopped at 34. Because I don't plan of being this big very long I bought cheap pants. They were only $39 yuan each. These not only fit better but they appeal to my innate sense of cheapskatedness. They even look nice and I have worn them to actual complements every since.
While I don't pay a lot of attention to trousers I won't wear cheap shirts. I don't know what it is but there is just something about a cheap shirt, even a t-shirt. They never fit right. They are uncomfortable. They either wrinkle up like an old man's face and have to be ironed with a steamroller or are made of recycled plastic bags and are thus both hot and clammy which seems strange in print but is true on your back. I prefer silk dress shirts. Good, high quality permanent press cotton shirts with about 30% rayon are also OK but, a silk dress shirt is simply the bees-knees of comfort. The only real problem with a silk shirt is that you need suspenders because your trousers slide down the shirt even with a belt. But the need for suspenders is far offset by the way that the silk feels on your back and shoulders.
There are, generally speaking, two types of things in the world. Things you care about and things you don't.
For me, trousers fall into the "I don't care " category. If they fit, are not a strange color and don't smell funny I'm OK with them. While shirts can fall into this category if you are talking about t-shirts or the old sweatshirt you've had since high school silk shirts are another story. I didn't buy a shirt in Shenzhen because I couldn't find any silk ones. Silk is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than cotton and a silk rayon blend can be nearly as low maintenance as a cotton permanent press shirt. Silk shirts make me feel good.
We constantly look for things that make us feel good. Not all of those things are clothing or food. Hong Kong recently passed an absolutely draconian smoking ban which is, essentially a feel good law.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a smoker. But to ban smoking in all restaurants, public parks and all buildings that are not your personal home is bit extreme. They justified this by trotting out all these arguments about second hand smoke. Fine, great, it may be a problem in a perfect world where the air-pollution rating isn't 95 a day every day or where your eyes don't water from the smog or where you don't develop that little cough from breathing the air.
The fact that the government here will pass an anti-smoking law that is this drastic but takes absolutely NO action regarding the ubiquitous air-pollution here is almost comical! Or would be if it were not so sad.
Which is the greater problem, second hand smoke in a Wan Chai bar or (Assuming you buy the theory) Global warming? Which will gave more children respiratory problems in Hong Kong Second hand smoke in a Karaoke palace or air pollution?
Which problem did the HK government address? Smoking.
Why? Because being a bully to smokers doesn't require them to upset their masters in Beijing or make hard economic decisions which a land developer or factory owner might criticize. They gain brownie points with organic food crowd but don't lose a lot of political capital with anybody else, even smokers because smokers know that smoking isn't good for them.
Unlike my penchant for silk shirts this is a dangerous thing for government to do. Laws should not simply make us feel good. Hong Kong is facing a huge problem with air pollution that is basically not being dealt with in a meaningful way.
What about some work place laws?
How about legislation limiting the number hours that employees can work like every other developed country has? Indeed, forbidding employers from forcing people to work 75 hours a week would go a long way towards alleviating the need for a minimum wage. (The logic here is that if a workers suddenly gets the same salary for 30 hours less a week they have received a huge raise.) Not that I'm necesarrily against a minimum wage.
The Hong Kong government needs to get past the touchy-feely warm and fuzzy and deal with real issues. That means they need to take on the endemic corruption that plagues us here in the form of cartels and cabals that control the economy. We need fair competition and anti-monopoly laws.
We need them now. Instead, we got a smoking ban.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Silk-Shirted Blogger
I don't under stand how so many of the Chinese are so skinny! Pencil-necks, skinny-minies, milquetoast are way over represented on Hong Kong streets. If you see a girl with boobs you can bet that she either was born somewhere else or is wearing a padded bra. The teenage boys often times look very effeminate because they have no muscles, but perfectly mussed ugly hair cuts that look like something right out of "America's Next Top Model."
They even let their Filipino maid carry their school bag for them. How girly is that?
That said I wish was that skinny sometimes rather the moderately tall slightly overweight Westerner that I am. Gaining weight is a pain in so many ways but mostly because if you don't plan on staying fat you don't want to buy new clothes. So, you continue squeezing into those old trousers and praying that you won't split a seam, bust a button or have to breathe for the rest of the day. Just before Christmas I was down to two pairs of blue jeans and one pair of shorts that I could wear comfortably. My employer was, at that point kind enough to inform me that wearing those to work on any day but Fridays was a violation of the employee dress code and I needed to look more professional.
Well, the last couple of weeks the lovely, gracious, smart, makes more money than me, loving and caring wife and I were in Shenzhen and I purchased several pairs of new trousers with a larger waist. I actually had to look for a shop that carried a 38 to 39 inch waist. Most stores stopped at 34. Because I don't plan of being this big very long I bought cheap pants. They were only $39 yuan each. These not only fit better but they appeal to my innate sense of cheapskatedness. They even look nice and I have worn them to actual complements every since.
While I don't pay a lot of attention to trousers I won't wear cheap shirts. I don't know what it is but there is just something about a cheap shirt, even a t-shirt. They never fit right. They are uncomfortable. They either wrinkle up like an old man's face and have to be ironed with a steamroller or are made of recycled plastic bags and are thus both hot and clammy which seems strange in print but is true on your back. I prefer silk dress shirts. Good, high quality permanent press cotton shirts with about 30% rayon are also OK but, a silk dress shirt is simply the bees-knees of comfort. The only real problem with a silk shirt is that you need suspenders because your trousers slide down the shirt even with a belt. But the need for suspenders is far offset by the way that the silk feels on your back and shoulders.
There are, generally speaking, two types of things in the world. Things you care about and things you don't.
For me, trousers fall into the "I don't care " category. If they fit, are not a strange color and don't smell funny I'm OK with them. While shirts can fall into this category if you are talking about t-shirts or the old sweatshirt you've had since high school silk shirts are another story. I didn't buy a shirt in Shenzhen because I couldn't find any silk ones. Silk is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than cotton and a silk rayon blend can be nearly as low maintenance as a cotton permanent press shirt. Silk shirts make me feel good.
We constantly look for things that make us feel good. Not all of those things are clothing or food. Hong Kong recently passed an absolutely draconian smoking ban which is, essentially a feel good law.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a smoker. But to ban smoking in all restaurants, public parks and all buildings that are not your personal home is bit extreme. They justified this by trotting out all these arguments about second hand smoke. Fine, great, it may be a problem in a perfect world where the air-pollution rating isn't 95 a day every day or where your eyes don't water from the smog or where you don't develop that little cough from breathing the air.
The fact that the government here will pass an anti-smoking law that is this drastic but takes absolutely NO action regarding the ubiquitous air-pollution here is almost comical! Or would be if it were not so sad.
Which is the greater problem, second hand smoke in a Wan Chai bar or (Assuming you buy the theory) Global warming? Which will gave more children respiratory problems in Hong Kong Second hand smoke in a Karaoke palace or air pollution?
Which problem did the HK government address? Smoking.
Why? Because being a bully to smokers doesn't require them to upset their masters in Beijing or make hard economic decisions which a land developer or factory owner might criticize. They gain brownie points with organic food crowd but don't lose a lot of political capital with anybody else, even smokers because smokers know that smoking isn't good for them.
Unlike my penchant for silk shirts this is a dangerous thing for government to do. Laws should not simply make us feel good. Hong Kong is facing a huge problem with air pollution that is basically not being dealt with in a meaningful way.
What about some work place laws?
How about legislation limiting the number hours that employees can work like every other developed country has? Indeed, forbidding employers from forcing people to work 75 hours a week would go a long way towards alleviating the need for a minimum wage. (The logic here is that if a workers suddenly gets the same salary for 30 hours less a week they have received a huge raise.) Not that I'm necesarrily against a minimum wage.
The Hong Kong government needs to get past the touchy-feely warm and fuzzy and deal with real issues. That means they need to take on the endemic corruption that plagues us here in the form of cartels and cabals that control the economy. We need fair competition and anti-monopoly laws.
We need them now. Instead, we got a smoking ban.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Silk-Shirted Blogger
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)