A Horse with No Name

At the moment living in Hong Kong I have really enjoyed being a hermit, and having some time to really think about things I want, where I am, and where I want to be.  

However its nice to be back in the land of the living.  I started my training to become a volunteer for the Riding for Disabled here in Hong Kong (it finished tomorrow).  In it I got to meet loads of new people, who I will eventually get to know better as time goes on. However just today I met this lovely lady, code name S, who I had a great time chatting with.  

Occasionally in life I find that I meet people who I end up chatting with about very serious things without really ever knowing them.  It happened once in New Zealand which helped me at that time in my life.  It happened another time more recently (I guess I have needed a chat more than I thought recently) which helped me realise how much my friends matter to me.  

Today I chatted with S about life here in Hong Kong.  Really I have only been talking to my hubby about stuff, who is amazing and always supportive in my decision to find a life I want to live instead of just getting a job that pays (I really don't think I could have found a better partner - I am so very lucky!).  But the conversation with lady S was different.  Its nice to hear from a stranger that its okay - that decisions you made for whatever reason are okay and that maybe I can do this - figuring out what I want to be without losing my mind. The words she said were different from those above, whatever they were they made me feel better (even if she meant something completely different and actually I got it assbackwards) but it too late now - I have taken the message I needed to hear.

Just in case anyone who is reading this needs to hear it too - IT IS OKAY.  Whatever you are doing in your life (as long as its legal) its okay if you want to change something or pursue something that is "not normal" or just enjoy life to the fullest - which I highly recommend. 

So back to real life after that revelation.  My picture for today is a horse I saw today:

Okay so I am sure this horse does have a name, but I don't know it.

Seaside

Today was supposed to be my first training day for being a volunteer for Riding for the Disabled in Hong Kong, but that was cancelled.  So instead I took a bus from Central Hong Kong around the back side (south side) of the island where the open ocean hits the coast (mostly).  I mean there are loads and loads of outlying islands out there, but basically there isn't much beyond the south side of the island, which I find an interesting thought.  In the 15 miles of open ocean between this island and the next biggish one - perhaps nothing is out there but sea creatures living their sea creature lives and trying not to get caught by the billions of fishers in the waters around here.  Poor Nemo and Dori!

So here are my photos from today.

My other thought is that there is something out there.  Atlantis - only way cooler.  A island of people who talk telepathically and move things with telekinesis - Can you tell I have been watching too much Fringe this week?-Then I realize that the likelihood of an island like that being right off the coast of Hong Kong is a bit far - so maybe its actually in the Pacific Ocean some where.  They have kept us away by subtlety suggesting in our minds that we don't want to go to THAT island. Their vocal cords -from generations of non use- have evolved out of their species causing their neck to become significantly smaller than ours. Also they do most labor through mind causing their heads to become twice our size and connected straight to their shoulders.  The only reason their body isn't smaller, is to support the large head.   Hmm I wonder what we should name these people we have yet to discover - and who are actually only 3ft 9in tall - any thoughts?  I quite like the name: Tazelmic.  I also wonder - since their head is so big and their body smaller - if they run will they just topple over.  Haha - great mental picture of the Tazelmic toppling over while trying to run down a hill - heels over head over heels over head.

Scaffolding and Hong Kong High Rises

So today I was walking around and thinking about what could possibly be interesting enough to post.  I really enjoyed looking around because it made me pay attention to little things around Hong Kong.  Today I found two guys installing scaffolding atop a high rise - but to get the bamboo scaffolding up there they would tie it to a rope and then pull it up.  It was definitely entertaining for me.

Looking around

I have decided to post 31 days of photos.  Each day anything that I find interesting or funny or just plain weird around Hong Kong I will post.

Today my hubby and I went hiking in New Territories for a couple of hours. It was really a great day for it, the sun was out, though there was enough cloud cover not to burn, and enough shady spots on the hike to be enjoyable.  Anyway we had a great time, so here are the pictures for today - day 1 of 31!

It takes a little more than an hour to get out of the city from our house.  Then out of the city you come across the most amazing things, like cows in Hong Kong!

More pictures of the area we were walking.

To end the day on the way back to the bus we saw:  Freakin' Enormous Spider!

Man Climbs out a window and Cookies

So today was a very exciting day.  My air conditioning got fixed.  Basically the contractor had to hose the whole thing down to clean it out.  When I thought he was done, he proceeded to climb out the window.  I mean there are other ways out of my house and I live on the 45th floor - so really I was a little surprised.  Actually what he was doing was standing on a 7inch ledge and cleaning the outside part of the A/C.  But if you ask me I think he is crazy because he didn't have one strap of safety equipment with him.  You couldn't pay me to have that be part of my job!!

He made me think of Parker from Leverage - who as you can see in this video, she is slightly crazy and tends to just jump off stuff.

Anyways I was so excited that the A/C has stopped dripping on my oven - that I made cookies.  Here is a picture since whoever you are can't have any.  They are delicious :-)

Today

Today was a great day and I just wanted to share.

I found a really great online community which sets up regular hikes all over Hong Kong, so I am excited about getting involved with them.  I started my art classes again, which is wonderful because I enjoy art and its nice to be around other people who enjoy painting and art like I do.

I am still looking for a paranormal romance book club (which I am not sure exists) and I am looking for a roleplaying group here in Hong Kong, but for once I feel like there is hope living here in Hong Kong.  I am definitely starting to really enjoy it here.

Plus it was a beautiful day today and I love being near these mountains.  Thats all for now :-)

Raining Inside and Pink Dolphins

Its raining inside my house right now and every time I turn the A/C on.  Its not like I can live without it though - its a billion degrees outside.  I took pictures so everyone can understand my crisis and sympathise :-)

PLIP PLOP PLIP PLOP PLIP PLOP

And close up it looks like this:

PLIP PLOP PLIP PLOP PLIP PLOP

AND I FEEL LIKE THIS:

Well until we tell out landlord not much is going to change, but thats how it is as the moment. 

PLIP PLOP PLIP PLOP PLIP PLOP

Now for the dolphins!

My hubby and I went on this Hong Kong Dolphin Watch tour about two weeks ago.  It was amazing and fun (and hot out there on the boat). I learned all kinds of stuff about these dolphins, which are actually called Chinese White Dolphins.  They are only pink in the south pacific area, though they can be found in South Africa to China but they are grey/light grey most everywhere else.  Even dolphins further south than HK, like in Australia are grey/light grey. They are called white dolphins because they are all born a dark grey and lighten as they get older, but the ones in Hong Kong and southern China are special because they are pink!

There is no definitive answer as to why they are pink in Hong Kong, the theories are they don't have any natural predators here so they have lost the need to have pigment - or that over time because this area is so full of sediment they loose their pigment.  A third theory is that as they move around and exercise their blood moves to the surface of the skin to cool them, making them pink.  

The sad part is that although they are really special, they are loosing habitat with all the reclamation of land in Hong Kong.  Also this is one of the busiest harbours in the world and many die from boat strikes or fishing net disasters.  Another sad thing is that the dolphins in HK live about half the time of the dolphins everywhere else (20 years instead of 40 roughly), because of sewerage and chemical pollution and various other things. There is hope though there is a marine reserve off the coast of HK - though it isn't well regulated, but its something!

Anyway the awesome news I have is that I will be working for the Dolphin Watch! I am so excited.  I will be an assistant for a while and then be able to be the main guide.  I am very excited to be doing something that is worth while! (even if it is part-time).