long time, no see

it's been a while. we've been quite busy with work and entertaining guests, but i guess that's no excuse for such a long break from the blog.  angie's been working hard recruiting and getting clients for her job at manulife.  she's also studying hard for her cfp and cfa tests that are coming up. tyler has stayed busy working for laureate education and obsessing w/ doing research for some of his business ideas - hopefully one will come through sometime. he's also decided to study with angie for the cfa and plans on taking the test with her in december. i guess we'll find out who's the smart one (angie).

in exciting news...we are now certified advanced scuba divers. we completed our course this past weekend by doing 3 dives in hong kong, one of which was a night dive where we saw a lot of crabs and sleeping fish.  in our course we learned about deep diving, boat diving, wreck diving, night diving, bouyancy, and underwater navigation. we're heading to kota kinabalu in sabah, malaysia tomorrow and will hopefully get the chance to do some dives and maybe even see some sharks, barracudas, marble rays, and other underwater creatures. should be exciting. will post pictures when we return.

The Weekends

Stewie playing soccer

Sunset in Lamma Island, The Chan's and Whitlock's




The Whitlock Family



Hong Kong definitely has no shortage of things to do. Two weeks ago we met up with Angie's family and headed out to Lamma Island. Lamma Island is about a 20 minute boat ride from Central on Hong Kong Island and it is a place where most people get around by bike. Stewie got to experience his first boat ride though he slept most of the way. Also, the island has some nice beaches and Stewie got to run around in the sand, actually hop around like a bunny, and he had a lot of fun chasing after the girls - we're proud of him, he always ignores guys and goes straight to the ladies. After hiking through the hills and across the island we stopped for some of Hong Kong's best seafood at a waterside restaurant before taking a boat back home. It was a fun family day.

The 2 pictures above are from a Thai boxing tournament we saw last night. We planned on going to a free concert at the Hong Kong Arts Center but upon arriving realized the show took place the night before. So we decided to walk around and stumbled upon a Thai boxing tournament. There were 14 matches with fighters from at least 10 different countries. The highlights of the night were 2 TKOs, a girl fight with one beating the crap out of the other, and, best of all, 2 midgets having a go at it. It's fun to be able to find things to do almost every night of the week and what's even better is always having someone fun to do them with.

Curse of the Irish

Long about the 17^th century my Irish ancestors joined a mass immigration to America.  Through the years certain traits, superstitions, and traditions have made their way into the pages of history; but as we see time and again, each person tends to have at least one genetic predisposition that returns when least expected to make them rue their heritage of long ago.            

Now, what are the Irish known for?  Go ahead, we all know the answer – four leaf clovers, drinking, and red hair.  Clovers and drinking have done me no harm, but it is the last of these that is the basis of my grievance.  (And for my redheaded friends, I hold nothing against you.  This is merely a case of the swimmers in my gene pool falling behind on their synchronized routine.)

I have always admired a good beard.  Tragically up to this point in my life I have been robbed of the liberty to stage my own set of whiskers – first by my youth, then by the BYU Honor Code, and finally because of the need to follow a formal agenda in the workplace.  However, a recent change in occupation that now allows me the freedom to work from home presented me with the opportunity to pursue this lifelong dream. 

After convincing my wife that “the longer the hair, the softer the touch,” I was on my way to having my very own Chong face (Cheech & Chong).  This is where things started to go wrong.  The images of a thick, brown beard that I played daily in my mind turned out to be more like the burning bush of Moses.  Rather than Captain Ahab I was ‘Captain Redbeard: the Irish pirate.’  But instead of giving up on the dream, I turned to the first stage of grief – denial.  I told myself, “It’s not too bad.  Besides, the longer it gets, the fuller it will be and whatever redness there is will turn to a thicket of brown.”  I was wrong.  Longer hair only meant a larger canvas to be painted by the Sun’s rays, and the Sun painted it all shades of red – ruby, burgundy, sangria, rose, etc.  My face looked like a prized painting from the Jackson Pollock collection.

I finally came to terms with the inevitability of my future in bearding – natural bearding, that is.  I recalled the facial hair dye commercials I saw back home that featured a Paul Bunyan looking guy who longed for his days of youth.  Now, I am living in Hong Kong and I don’t know if you know this, but aside from the occasional fu Manchu, Asians are generally not blessed with the ability to grow facial hair from anywhere other than their moles.  So do you think facial hair dye is readily available here in the heart of Asia?  Not a chance.  My only option:  hair bleach to fade the color.

Determined to get the beard I had longed for, I chose to disregard all the warnings about the danger of bleach coming in contact with skin, especially the face.  Following two applications and a close encounter with burning my face off, a glance in the mirror revealed that after soaking my beard in bleach for half an hour, the color had only been reduced to a shining strawberry-blonde.

Despite my failings I have found it in me to stay positive.  I am open for suggestions, but as of now it seems I have been struck with the curse of the Irish.

Beginning hike 2010 - Sai Kung and weekend in Cyberport

Tai Long Sai Wan





Abandoned village







Wall made with bottles






The beautiful Sai Kung Tai Long Wan


This is Sai Kung, facing South China Sea. We started year 2010 with a 12km hike in Sai Kung Tai Long Wan, one of the most breathtaking hiking trails in Hong Kong with mountains surrounding waters. Along the 2nd section of Maclehose trail, we saw some old villages with over a hundred years of history, we passed through the beautiful Tai Long Wan beach and three other beaches, we saw fish jumping out of the river and birds singing in the trees. Everything seems to be so simple but so great. We imagined living in a place like this someday and becoming part of this beauty and quiteness.




Bird singing in the tree





Angie and Tyler in Tai Long Wan







A day in Cyber port



We are so lucky to live in Hong Kong, with such a long coastal line and amazing places. We spent our last weekend with Stewie in the Cyberport, an IT and leisure center in Western Hong Kong Island. Once we dropped off the car, we skipped all the tall buildings and the mall, running directly to the big park along the sea. It's where Stewie meets with his friends. There are dozens of dogs running around the big green field and you can see a big smile on all of their faces. We walked along the sea coast looking at the beautiful sunset, life couldnt be better.

A Merry Christmas

 

Stewie the lazy Santa Dog

 

Our Nativity Set and Christmas Tree

Time to open our Gifts!

 

Christmas Eve Dinner

 

Christmas buffet lunch in the Excelsior Hotel

It was our first Christmas as a family. We put up our small Christmas tree, the Nativity Set Mom and Dad sent to us, the tasty ginerbread house, a pretty Christmas light curtain in our room, and of course our very own little santa puppy in our home.  It is pitty that it hasn't snowed in Hong Kong since 1975, otherwise, it would be the greatest Christmas ever. We spent our Christmas Eve with a candle lit meal while listening to Bob Dylan's Christmas CD and some other beautiful Christmas music, sharing the best Christmas chocolate cake with friends, and unwrapping presents (we couldnt wait till Christmas day)!!  Angie got a very pretty necklace and a massage seat from her wonderful husband, Tyler got a very nice cotton shirt and his favourite Japanese comic book from his beautiful wife, and Stewie got a doggie tag, a sweater from grandma and grandpa, a Christmas card from his favorite security guard downstairs in our apartment building, and a soccer ball from his friends living upstairs. On Christmas day, we woke up late, then we opened our Christmas stockings from mom and dad and found our favorite hot chocolate along with some other goodies, then we watched a Christmas movie while having a cup of hot chocolate. Later, we joined our friends for an enjoyable Christmas lunch and a fun time in the arcade where we played Mario Kart. It was a simple but nice Christmas! I hope you all had a great time too! Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

The Times They Are A Changin'

 

Stewie got a new jacket!

 

Stewie is taking a nap

 

Play time

 

Stewie with daddy

 

Stewie doesnt like the cage

So it's been a while and we've got some exciting things happening. I guess we'll start with the bigger news first....we've got a new addition to the family. No, not a baby, well, not a human baby at least. We just bought a 3 1/2 month old French Bulldog and named him Stewie (after the baby on family guy).

It is hard to describe Stewie in one word. The first day he came to our home he was quiet and shy, but the next day he started jumping around like a rabbit and running around like a deer in the house. Sometimes, he would just bark at a fan and fight with it. His favourite game is crawling under the sofa, he just keeps coming out and going in nonstop. He also loves to lay on his back for us to scratch his belly.

It was a difficult first week with him because the potty training was out of control with a lot of pee and poo welcoming us every morning. Suffering from coughing, sneezing and runny nose, stewie got sick on the fourth day, something called the Kennel Cough, which was carried home from the Pet Shop. Luckily after a few days of antibiotics, Stewie is full of energy again. He is learning bit by bit every day, Stewie is a playful, friendly and a curious little baby dog.

The second and third changes in our family are that both Angie and Tyler are changing jobs. I guess we are the lucky ones in such a difficult time. Tyler is becoming a writer for an expat website, he is going to introduce everything about Hong Kong to people coming to live or work here. Angie will be working in another insurance company as senior unit manager starting from this coming December (although it won't be very exciting going back to work after a long vacation, but it is good to have another challenge in career). She is also joining the trailwalker organised by the charity oxfam and aiming to finish a 100km, 45 hr. hike in the New Territories from Sai Kung to Yuen Long.

Poem

GODSEND

by Tyler Whitlock 

Oh ne’er I thought could find the love

So white as heaven’s perfect dove

So high as space extends above

So thick as nature’s untouched grove

So elegant as Roman style

So free as horses in the wild

So innocent as eyes of child

So pure as angels in the clouds

So breathtaking as sunrise morns

So miraculous as children born

So promising as love forlorn

That’s found again and never torn

Yet, I have found a sweet angel

That brings me life and joy in full

Who is this perfect, God sent girl?

My Angie.  Stunning!  Beautiful!