Recently I took up the responsibility of monitoring the University's Staff Quarters.

We have 6 three-bedroom Staff Quarters that are about 800 ft² each.

Priority for moving in to the Quarters are given to the teaching guys whose contracts have promised for an on-campus accommodation.  These teaching guys are essential to our Liberal Arts education --- sometimes they are our artists- /writers-in-residence.  As part of the Human Resources' role, I am to briefly spot out who's here in 2008-09 academic year and notify the University's estate management to reserve space for these teaching guys.

It is like when I was in CBC, I looked for new apartments to move in and reserved space for my potential roommates!

In terms of social power, (1) Medicine and (2) Weather are one of the most established systems in Hong Kong that can intervene people's lives --- work / study...etc.  To put it another way, they have the legitimate authority to interrupt your way of living.

For example, last night the Hong Kong Observatory announced through TV/Radio/Internet that Typhoon Signal No.8 is issued (defined as having sustained wind speed of 63-117 km/hour), and the signal lasted until this morning.  Most employers have set rules beforehand such that its employees do not have to return to office to work if this Signal is issued before the start of office hours.  The Government's Education Department also announced that, since the Signal is still hoisted in the morning, all classes in the morning will be cancelled, and if the signal is not cancelled before 10:30am, all afternoon classes will also be cancelled.  One more example:  The Hong Kong Observatory also has some kinda Rain Storm Signals.  If a Black Rain Storm Signal is hoisted before office hours, most employees do not have to return to work as well.

Now, if in another country, where there are no such established signals as legitimate points of reference for employers, people would have to go to work no matter how heavy the rain is.  Or, if you choose not to go to work due to the heavy rain, you would have to provide justification to show that you have the genuine excuse to not returning to the office.

There are reasons why some country did not establish such signals: (1) perhaps the location does not have typhoon and rain that often; (2) perhaps the government concerned do not have sufficient technology and facilities to do weather forecasting; (3) perhaps the culture does not honor that safety is important.

Put aside weather, let's talk about Medicine.  Most countries would agree that health is important.  To be exucsed from work/school due to health, proper justification/certification is usually required.  When the doctor wrote, "fever --- not fit for work for 2 days", or "diarheea --- not fit for work for this morning," you cannot be blamed by the school/employer!

However, do not take this for granted.  Some countries do not honor its medical system.  There are cultures that do not trust medical certificates.  Even in cultures that DO accept medical certificates, you always see that people go to work even if they are coughing and sniffing for the whole day.  And you ask them, "hey it seems like you have TB, why don't you see a doctor and stay home?"  They say, "I did, but no choice...I gotta get this project done by tomorrow."

Today is a long day.  We got baptismal service in church today.  Then we had lunch with fellowship friends, especially among the baptised ones and their friends.

After lunch, Meow and I was shopping around in Kowloon City - Lion Rock Road.  The clothing stores are getting more similiar to those in Stanley.  I don't say Stanley for nothing --- I do see some white families shopping around in Kowloon City --- how excited!  Parents and kids are shopping at those all-ages boutiques...so funny.

Ok!  After Lion Rock Road, we shopped around in the Kowloon City Plaza.  Spent much time inside Two Percent.  Of course, she is the one who needed to buy things.

After Kowloon City Plaza, she took minibus to Wong Tai Sin to have dinner at her grandparents' home.  I returned to my home for dinner.

After dinner, I watched this movie with dad.  Bread and Roses (2002) is a must watch movie about illegal immigrants in Los Angeles.  Illegal immigrants forms part of the core US economy.  Without them, no one is doing the dirty and tedious work.

I have much feeling about the movie because I studied Sociology abroad in Los Angeles before!  Los Angeles is such a funny place.  You love and hate it at the same time.  In terms of living/lifestyle, Los Angeles always give you some kind of guarantee and some kind of uncertainty at the same time.  This like investing in a single-country equities funds --- high potential gain but high risk at the same time!

In Janice's recent blog entry, I left a comment and said I will write some follow up entries about "I love USA".  I do think that USA has its bad side, but it also has styles in it that I like.

But I can't write them tonight because i'm too sleepy.  Today after I finished my work at around 7pm, my colleage and I went to our school's gym and work out until 8.  I played the boat machine and the track mill.  I've got enough cardio exericse for the week...I gotta sleep.

Yes, this is Hong Kong.  Double-deck buses are everywhere.

So I boarded onto this 12A bus heading home.  Today it was raining all day long, but the bus is air-conditioned (windows cannot be opened), so the rains could have no way of getting into the bus through the windows.  I sat at the upper deck.

However, when the bus starts/stops, I always heard some kind of "river" sound.  It really sounded like a flowing river.  It sounded like your stir a tank or water with a stick.  It also sounded like you shake a tank of water.

OK, I SEE IT !!!  When the driver steps on the brake, the water flows towards the front of the bus!  And when the driver steps on the gas, the water flows backward!  The water really formed a "river" underneath the seats!  I was like  ,  , and  : how / where did the water sneak in / come from!  There are broadly 3 possibilites:

1. The source of water came from the pouring rain through some cracks on bus exterior.
2. The source of water came from inside the bus, which could be:
1. Human waste, such as....so ill; and
2. Non-human waste, such as bottled water, cans of soda, etc.

During the bus trip, I almost lifted my legs up at all time!

 The Counterfeiter (2007) is such a good one!   I just watched this DVD borrowed at the school's library.  I guess the DVD is from outside of Hong Kong.....because Hong Kong is now showing the movie in cinema:

Last weekend, I watched The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian with Meow and our fellowship friends:

Our worship team led the worship today for both the Morning congregation and the Late Morning congregation.  In the Morning congregation, we're not very satisfied with it because of lack of practice.

5 minutes before the start of the Late Morning session, the team leader said, in one of the songs, there shall be a long pause before the last sentence was sung.  On the music sheet, there is no fermata (the bird-eye sign, see here).  But the worship is starting very soon --- there's no time to practice the fermata.

We just move onto the song praise.  But...somehow...we're all able to give a fermata!  If it isn't HS' guidance in us, we wouldn't have sung the fermata all on the beat, especially we haven't practiced the fermata before!

Must read this short but eye-opening news story from the CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/04/28/body.scanner/index.html

But, after reading the TSA's blog, I found that many photos on the web are simply misinformation.  See TSA's blog for its clarification: http://www.tsa.gov/blog/2008/05/which-is-it-millimeter-wave-or.html

In my generation, to get into secondary schools (i.e. at the age of ~12), we are all required to take a public exam, called the Hong Kong Academic Aptitude Test (HKAAT, or 學能測驗).  The HKAAT has 2 papers: (1) Verbal Reasoning and (2) Numerical Reasoning.  Back then, for me as a kid of 12, it was too hard for me.

I recently realized that many reasoning/logic skills that were learned for the HKAAT was extensively used in my workplace.  But you might not be aware of that.  For example:

1. It didn't say you can, but it doesn't mean you can't do it (無話可以，唔代表唔可以);
2. It didn't say you can't, but it doesn't mean you do it. (無話唔可以，又唔代表可以);
3. It didn't say "it's present", but it doesn't mean "it's absent" (無話無，唔代表有); and
4. It didn't say "it's absent", but it doesn't mean "it's present" (無話有，唔代表無).

I didn't do good, so what I captured are these...and bad translations.  Everyday I'd dealing with these logics.

I think most people would have to do admin things at home.  Lots of paperwork: checking utilities bills online; make sure they are right; pay bills; reading investments details; fill out some necessary forms.  It really takes my time!

Recently I filled out a tax-return online in eTax, which is the tax-return system provided by the Hong Kong Government.  This is very facinating if you compared that with the United States, where there are no such government-provided online tax-return; the US's online tax return was made possible by external companies such as TurboTax.

While the HK Government encourages people to use online tax-return to save the environment, I use it primarily for the sake of electronic submission and the assurance of receipt (no worries on lost mail..etc).  Next year, the Inland Revenue would pre-fill out some financial information based on the info I entered in the current year.