me Da . . .

My father died last night, and friends advised me to share stories to work through the grief, but most of my stories of my father aren't fit for sharing.

It is probably appropriate that I got the news from a half-sibling, who has become a good friend and family member to my sisters but who I have avoided getting to know. I didn't want to see my bad dad become somebody else's good dad - it was easier to have that void in my life if I pretended he wasn't capable of being a good dad.

I'm sad that it took our father's death for me to talk to my brother. I won't go to the funeral. I didn't go to my mother's either. I would like to visit my Dad's latest family (he was a one-man United Nations, children everywhere) and get to know them, but not right now.

For now, I'm going to look at this picture, and remember him carrying me on his shoulders as he strode down the beach.

He made me, literally. He also made me who I am, for better or worse. I look at this photo and can't help but smile - I got some of the adventurer genes from him (from my amazing Mum also, she was brave enough to marry him!). He gave me my love of the sea, he gave me the gift of storytelling, he gave me life and the desire to live it well.

Edward Patrick Joseph Barrett - farewell. I wish you following winds

Welcome to the SAR . . .

It's just over a week since I moved to Hong Kong and this evening I finished my first week at my new job. Which I am really enjoying and, best of all, is where I'm learning new skills each day. I've always believed a day is wasted if you don't learn anything from it and my colleagues here, who are all incredibly friendly and friendly, have much they can teach me.

As for Hong Kong itself, as I expected from previous visits, I'm loving it so far. I haven't seen much of it yet as I've been concentrating on the job and learning the area around my workplace, which has a lot to offer. The hotel I stayed in for the first week was literally five minutes walk from work so I explored the area in ever-widening circles for that week. I had stayed in both Causeway Bay, where the office is, and neighbouring Happy Valley on previous trips and it hasn't changed that much in the 10 or 12 years between. (Note I have gone back to British English spellings, that's what I use at the new job so it's best to make a clean change.) It's a different style of exploring when it is where I will spend five days a week though and I've found great markets, fabulous food options and a wonderful public pool that I overlooked from my hotel room and never seemed crowded.

Yesterday I moved further out to stay in my friends' apartment with their kittehs for six weeks while they enjoy Mongolia and Italy. They took me around the neighborhood last weekend to show me their favorite places and I'm again exploring each evening as I go out to gather (purchase) food items. It's great to have a kitchen again after a week in a hotel but I'm very glad I spent so long living on small yachts. I'm accustomed to cooking in a confined space and at least this postage stamp kitchen isn't being violently thrown around by stormy waters as I prepare food.

I'm incredibly fortunate my friends planned to travel just as I was moving here, allowing me the time to decide where I really want to live, but I must say I'm tempted by their neighborhood. I've barely looked elsewhere yet, however, and intend to spend my weekends doing just that for the next month. I really look forward to getting my own place and setting it up but am enjoying my time here with the feline overlords as well.

I'm also blessed to not only have my own network of friends here but to have been put in touch with friends of friends to help me settle in my new home. I'm having lunch with one such on Sunday and look forward to learning more about Hong Kong from a long time resident.

The adventure is back on track . . .

the new home . . .

after three years in China and far too many years in Korea, I'm suffering severe culture shock on my arrival in Hong Kong. Pedestrians wait for the light to turn green before they cross (at the pedestrian crossings, even!). Taxis obey traffic signals also. People are polite and helpful. 

First thoughts on flying in, which coincided with sunset - I love the mountains and the water. I probably didn't sleep enough the past week (packing out after too long) so I keep seeing Blade Runner and Mission Impossible in the silhouettes. There seem to be three 7-11s on every block, and taxis are very expensive. The MTR can be confusing when you're tired but after wandering a while, I found my way back to the hotel. No more taxis! 

The view from my window is a mountain, lush and green. I have kittehs to look after and friends to catch up with. AND a mountain of paperwork to fill in. it only seems easy until you arrive. Then the bureaucracy kicks in.

Zaijian ...

It's time to say goodbye to mainland China.

It has been an eventful three years and I have made many friends and learned many lessons, but I look forward to more freedom, at work and play.

I don't regret coming here - even the most difficult times come with lessons and learning, and I need and welcome both. I will miss the friends I have made, but I'll take them with me, and try to remember fondly those who didn't make it to friend status but still enriched my time in China.

Wherever I end up living in Hong Kong, I plan to have space for friends to visit. This is an open invitation to those I care for. (Tom, please don't lock me out again.)

life is a beach ...

... the really sucky thing about getting old is that people die, and you forgot to tell them how much they meant to you while they were alive ...

I misspent my late teen years roadying for touring cover bands in New Zealand and tending bars before I was of age to drink in one. Both brought me into contact with Peter Martin, the rough-and-tumble bouncer at the Lady Hamilton who looked after the bands (if he liked them) and the female staff. A former band friend let us know today that Pete had died. I'm sad, but mostly because we lost touch and I never thanked him enough. I'm also happy at the memories his many friends are sharing.

My favorite moments - waking in Hamilton Hospital after a car accident and Pete was there (and unka Phil - love you too buddy) grinning at me. Missing teeth from the life he led but still looking out for one of his girls.

Then there was the time I was working the ground floor bar and he tossed a tosser off the second floor. Landed in front of the bar but didn't want a drink anymore (it was a different time, but I think the guy had disrespected one of our waitresses and laid hands on her - deserved to be tossed).

So, to all the Lady H alumni - Tim and Donna, LA Dreams, most of all Phil Walsh and Murray - thank you for the memories.

Leaving the mainland . . .

Having decided a few months back that it was time to move on from China Daily after three years, I was offered and accepted a job with CCTV. The visa requirements have become much more onerous in those three years, however, and I was told to expect it to take at least five months. Add all the costs associated , including not working for a couple of months while I waited. Censorship has also gotten more noticeably silly of late.

Then, out of the blue, a recruiter approached me asking if I'd be interested in relocating to Hong Kong. A series of rapid turnaround stages later (about two weeks in total) and I was offered a Senior Sub Editor position with South China Morning Post, where a couple of former colleagues also work. I'm very happy with the offer, and even better, it will take only about six weeks to process with none of Beijing's arbitrary conditions. I finish here in just over seven weeks so the timing is ideal!

I've not lived in Hong Kong, having only visited, but love the beaches, markets, hiking opportunities and, best of all for me, sailing opportunities. I have quite a few friends already there who I look forward to catching up with and expect to see many others when they visit.

Now to find a rich yacht owner who needs a live-aboard caretaker . . . 

Mustang Sally . . .

I love words, love to bury my head in their hellacious awesomeness and inhale deeply . . .

I work in an industry where I am blessed with colleagues who feel similarly, but also cursed with copy writers who have never heard a cliche they don't want to buy a drink and take home.

Yesterday, I got to play with two 8-year-olds and try to help them love words also. We started with "Where The Wild things Are," moved on to them creating their own wild things and describing them to me. Ended up throwing/bouncing a Swiss Ball to each other while going through the alphabet with animal names (no, Giraffe can't be both "g" and "j").

I also asked them to name my motorcycle, which has been sadly nameless, despite them calling their wild things the most boring white folk names of Lisa and Tom. (Sorry Lisa and Tom, I don't mean you!)

They called her Sally, which I also thought a little dull, but I can't get "Mustang Sally" out of the soundtrack of my mind today.

"All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride . . . "