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defrogWhat a day. A property deal closed, taxes filed and another deadline defeated, just in time for another public holiday – Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day, in which we all celebrate the day the UK gave Hong Kong back to China.
Re-dependence Day, you might call it. Wa-hey.
[As I’ve picked up some new readers in recent weeks –trillsie, daysinger, scifigal, mary52, welcome – here’s an answer to a frequently asked question: yes, I was here when the Handover took place in 1997. One day I’ll tell that tale. But trust me, there’s not much to tell.]
There will be the usual parades and flag waving and such, and probably the usual protests, though they’re probably less likely to be about universal suffrage and more about petrol prices and The Chicken Problem. I’ll probably spend it watching Kung Fu Panda with the bridal unit, getting a haircut, and then heading off to the airport.
For I fly to Sydney, Australia tomorrow night.
Which sounds cool, except that it’s (1) a business trip and (2) only two nights. A quick hit – in and out in 72 hours, including elapsed flight time. I land Wednesday morning and leave Friday afternoon. And the company arranging it is putting me up in a hotel in the industrial park section of town. If Sydney’s industrial parks are anything like the ones in San Jose or Orange County, there’s probably little to recommend apart from the hotel bar.
Oh, and it’s winter there now (though with highs around 21ºC, it’s not like I’m risking getting snowed in).
And for that I have to sit in coach for 11 hours. Each way. Maybe a CIO will get TB at the last minute and I’ll score a free upgrade to business class. Or the flight attendant will look at me and have pity. Why not, Jim? It’s happened before. Okay, it’s happened twice in 23 years of international travel, but the last time was in the late 90s, so maybe I’m due.
Probably not.
The bright side is that Team Def Agent N works nearby, and she is willing to risk blowing her own deadlines to let me buy her a drink so we can catch up. That’s likely to be the highlight this trip, but you never know. Maybe there’ll be a Borders or something in the lobby.
Anyway, I’ll post this now in case there’s no time tomorrow.
Meanwhile, enjoy Australia’s “controversial" tourism campaign, which is responsible for dozens of posters in the HK subway asking “Where the bloody hell are you?”
Back to Oz,
This is dF
Re-dependence Day, you might call it. Wa-hey.
[As I’ve picked up some new readers in recent weeks –
trillsie, daysinger, scifigal, mary52, welcome – here’s an answer to a frequently asked question: yes, I was here when the Handover took place in 1997. One day I’ll tell that tale. But trust me, there’s not much to tell.]There will be the usual parades and flag waving and such, and probably the usual protests, though they’re probably less likely to be about universal suffrage and more about petrol prices and The Chicken Problem. I’ll probably spend it watching Kung Fu Panda with the bridal unit, getting a haircut, and then heading off to the airport.
For I fly to Sydney, Australia tomorrow night.
Which sounds cool, except that it’s (1) a business trip and (2) only two nights. A quick hit – in and out in 72 hours, including elapsed flight time. I land Wednesday morning and leave Friday afternoon. And the company arranging it is putting me up in a hotel in the industrial park section of town. If Sydney’s industrial parks are anything like the ones in San Jose or Orange County, there’s probably little to recommend apart from the hotel bar.
Oh, and it’s winter there now (though with highs around 21ºC, it’s not like I’m risking getting snowed in).
And for that I have to sit in coach for 11 hours. Each way. Maybe a CIO will get TB at the last minute and I’ll score a free upgrade to business class. Or the flight attendant will look at me and have pity. Why not, Jim? It’s happened before. Okay, it’s happened twice in 23 years of international travel, but the last time was in the late 90s, so maybe I’m due.
Probably not.
The bright side is that Team Def Agent N works nearby, and she is willing to risk blowing her own deadlines to let me buy her a drink so we can catch up. That’s likely to be the highlight this trip, but you never know. Maybe there’ll be a Borders or something in the lobby.
Anyway, I’ll post this now in case there’s no time tomorrow.
Meanwhile, enjoy Australia’s “controversial" tourism campaign, which is responsible for dozens of posters in the HK subway asking “Where the bloody hell are you?”
Back to Oz,
This is dF
