IMR: Entries: 2001: August: 29 — Wednesday, August 29, 2001

Reconnecting The number one typhoon warning signal has been hoisted. In fact, it's been up all day.   The arrival hall at the Hong Kong airport. My hotel room computer setup (minus digicam). Sharon takes Sue and I to a Thai restaurant. I'd go with the pork ribs in green curry. The view from my hotel room window. At left, the HSBC building, where we're meeting. Not a particularly busy afternoon downtown. The lobby of the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. The colorful streets of Lan Kwai Fong. The bars and clubs tonight were packed. I just love the deep seas of neon. Sharon and I dined at Yung Kee Restaurant. Jessie joined us at Häagen Dazs for dessert. We three wrap up a lovely evening. So reported signs and electronic displays placed throughout the city, from hotel lobbies to street corners. I learned quite a bit today about Hong Kong's fascinating typhoon preparedness system, as there's a tropical depression about 400km offshore and already there have been incredibly heavy downpours. I know that the Hong Kong Observatory issues warnings on major weather concerns, and that for typhoons, there are three levels of severity — one, three, and eight. (No one I talked to knew why the other numbers were skipped.) People in this city know the numbers, color codes (amber, red, and black), and other symbols, and specifically which combinations mean, "Stay home from work." Right now there's a number one standby signal in force, which is the mildest of the bunch. Low probability of a direct hit. Nevertheless, it has been very humid and very wet since I arrived. We landed rather roughly after passing through a thunderstorm, and after I got through customs to the bus station, everyone was scrambling about under an incredible downpour. Much as I was looking forward to the drive into Central Hong Kong, I didn't see much more beyond blurry lights and windshield wipers. I got into my hotel room a little after 2 p.m., considerably later than expected, but I still took the time to unpack and set up my little geek zone on the desk. Getting online via the hotel's high-speed Ethernet network was a breeze, and they provided all the transformers, plug adapters and multi-outlets I had asked for in advance. I didn't even undress before crawling into bed, and slept like a somewhat sweaty, jetlagged baby. Steve mercifully let me sleep in, calling at 8 a.m. to set up a meeting a half hour later. I went to his room and got my marching orders for the day, mostly scheduling half a dozen media interviews for the boss, doing a bit of research, and a bit of gushy PR writing. I did better than I expected on the first point, and soon had my boss' calendar jam packed with journalists. Before getting started on the rest, though, I called up Sharon (a former coworker who was now working just up the street) and we met up for lunch. Sue, one of our Canadian directors, joined us. We walked over to Pacific Place to eat at a Thai Basil Bar & Cafe, a restaurant both Sue and Sharon had fallen in love with some time ago. There was a long line to get in, so I knew it would be good — and it was. I'd almost forgotten how much I liked Thai cuisine. Soon enough, though, it was back to the hotel, and back to work. Google helped me barrel through my research, and then I headed down to the rather fancy Business Centre to write and print a couple of pieces. Although I felt like I'd breezed through everything, it was still nearly dark when I got done, and again I called Sharon to see what was up for dinner (she had offered, before I left Hawai`i, a late graduation celebration for me). She came to the hotel to pick me up, and we then walked around Lan Kwai Fong, a bustling, cramped part of the city that I'd almost gotten to know well the last time I was in Hong Kong. Although Sharon had reservations for a Shanghainese eatery, we walked past another Chinese restaurant that looked more appealing and ducked in there instead. It was Yung Kee Restaurant, and apparently, one of the best places to eat out of the hundreds of restaurants nearby. I let Sharon do the ordering, and she picked all winners, including roast goose, pad thai, and shrimp-stuffed bean curd. At one point during dinner, jetlag made a serious go at knocking me out. I didn't even see it coming. Suddenly I was lightheaded and dizzy and weak, and Sharon was so worried she wanted to just cancel our order and get me back to the hotel. I was kind of concerned, too, simply because the exhaustion and ickiness came on so suddenly. I had taken some Tylenol earlier to beat a mild headache, but I didn't think it could be that strong. Fortunately, it passed. Time was part of it, but Sharon's asking about Katie and Jen had an effect as well. Soon enough I was animated and talkative as ever — it was all Sharon could do to get a word in edgewise. We had a wonderful, all-encompassing, rich conversation, in part about how rare such conversations tend to be in life. We discussed priorities and careers and friendships and nearly everything else. We talked for a good 45 minutes after we'd finished all the food, and the restaurant staff seemed visibly relieved when we finally walked out. Then, we called Jessie, one of the Hong Kong students who interned with us during our conference there in 1999. As luck would have it, although she wasn't sure she'd be able to meet up with us, she was still in Central Hong Kong, so we met up at Häagen Dazs for dessert. The last time I saw her, she was 18 and just out of high school. Now she was a senior at the prestigious Hong Kong University, studying law, having just completed a yearlong exchange at UBC in Canada. And today was her 21st birthday. She and Sharon immediately traded dozens of observations about Hong Kong life, Jessie comparing it to Victoria, Sharon comparing it to Hawaii. Sharon and Jessie educated me on the Hong Kong economy and job market, and then Sharon and I educated Jessie about life in Hawaii. Once again our varied and meandering conversation far outlasted the food we ordered, and in fact, we ended up staying long past the store's closing time. Fortunately, the staff was very patient with us. We first walked Jessie to her train station, then I walked Sharon to the ferry dock. Then, wonder of wonders, I made my way back to the hotel on my own, and... here I am. Tomorrow brings the heart of the work for which we're here, a whole day of meetings (with a break in the middle to attend a luncheon featuring Michael Eisner of Disney). Some pretty big issues are going to be tackled, and while I'm nervous, I'm also glad I'll be able to be a part of it. History in the making! But first, sleep. Beautiful sleep.

Comments I can't believe you're in Hong Kong, Mr. World Traveller. You're getting more miles under your belt in a couple of years than most people do in a lifetime. And with all of your computer equipment too, I'm glad I'm not the only one who takes up a whole desk with geeky things while overseas. (Of course, I do it for vacation, you do it for work, so, that says something about me, doesn't it?) Enjoy yourself, stay dry and out of the typhoon, and keep posting the pictures! —Dreama (August 30, 2001 5:38 AM) E kala mai! Comments have been disabled due to overwhelming abuse by spammers. Please click through to any of the video hosting services linked above to leave a public response, or feel free to send an e-mail. Mahalo! < August 28 · August · August 30 > © 1997-2008 Ryan Kawailani Ozawa · E-Mail: imr@lightfantastic.org · Created: 13 November 1997 · Last Modified: 14 January 2008