Commentary: Athletic Greatness

I would of course, like to speak about greatness with respects to the arts, or humanity, but over the past weekend, I got to thinking about the great athletic feats that occured. The absolute dominance by Federer, Woods, and I'll even throw in Nash, over the past couple of years has been great to see. Federer won his 10 Grand Slam title over the weekend, and did it w/o dropping a single set! It took him a mere 3 1/2 years to do it too. At this rate he'll proably surpass Sampras in total grand slam wins by next year, and the kicker is that he's only 25 (the same age as me, but we won't go into that).

Next we have Tiger Woods, winning 7 straight for his 55th PGA tour win. Can you imagine what he could have done if he were 100% asian? It's scary to just think about it.

And honourable mention goes to fellow Canadian Steve Nash is poised to win his 3rd MVP award, leading the Suns to a 17-game winning streak (ended today by Minnesota). The way he runs the floor is just so damn good. If you had bet me that he would have even been in MVP contention, I would have laughed and mocked you for knowing absolutely nothing about basketball. But hindsight being what it is, the last laugh is on me.

Commentary: Back on the Raptor Bandwagon

ok, so I'll be the first to admit that I underestimated the team this year. I expected Bosh to play great. I thought Calderon and Garbosa would play well coming off a great performance at the World Championships, and I thought Bargnani would be like 8 and 4. The only thing I didn't expect, was that it would translate into actual wins. I missed most of the games in November and December since for the most part, I wasn't in the country, but since I've been back, I've watched a few games, and noticed one very important element that the raptors have lacked in the past few seasons. Talent? Team cohesiveness? No. What they lacked was the ability to close out games. The ability to get those crucial baskets in the waining minutes to get the W. That's what some of the best teams in the league are able to do. San Antonio for instance isn't the best team in the league. But come playoff time, I never count them out. In a 7-game series, they know how to pull it out and win 4, and that's what makes them a contender. The raps are far from contenders for a title, but look bound for a playoff spot, and more importantly, they offer us that shimmer of hope that one day, they will be contenders.

On another note, one of the reason's for their new found success (trust me, .500 is a success compared to the last few seasons), is their bench. I don't have any stats, but Toronto's got to have one of the deeper benches in the league. With Calderon, Peterson, and Bargnani coming in for about 15 -20 minutes a game, and providing 30 or so points, it really helps hold on to those tight games.

On an unrealted Raptor note, when Carter stepped on Maggette's foot, I couldn't help but feel slight jubilation. It's not really personal, and I'm actually glad that he's not hurt, but what can I say, old wounds run deep. They lost anyways, so that's all that matters.

Commentary: HK subway system

I forgot to mention in my last post how amazingly clean and tidy the HK subway terminals and trains are. A handful of laws preventing eating in the "paid" areas, littering, and vandalism, coupled with people who actually respect (or fear) these laws, have made it the nicest subway system that I have ever seen. The fare depends on how far you travel, and can be paid in one of two ways. The ticket can be bought prior to your departure, or you can buy a rechargeable metro card, that you just scan when you go onto the platform, and scan again when you leave, automatically deducting the fare from your account. Another feature of the HK system that I thought was great, are the enclosed platforms. Essentially, the tracks are blocked off by a glass wall/doors, preventing people from throwing garage on the tracks, or themselves for that matter. Of course, when the train arrives, it lines up perfectly at the platform, lining up with the glass doors, allowing passengers to enter and exit through it's illustrious design. They have the enclosed platform system somewhere in Europe (I can't remember where exactly), however, the absolute cleanliness of the HK subway system (enough to have actual bakeries, banks, and clothing stores in there) is something the TTC could learn a thing or two from....oh, and the fare is usually cheaper as well.

Journal: After One Month In Hong Kong

After one month in Hong Kong, i'm finally heading back to Canada. For the most part, all I really did here was 1) eat alot with family and relatives, and 2) go shopping. When you don't really know anyone here, that's about all you can really do.

Of course there were certain highlights during my trip that made it well worth coming. our trip to Macau, 2 visits to China to go shopping, Christmas with my relatives and grandparents, New Years with my family and relatives, our big family walking tour, and just reuniting with everyone.

Our trip to Macau included my mom and sister, and my aunt Olivia and her family. Much like Hong Kong was given back to China from Britain, Macau was given back to China from the Portugese. If you go to Macau, you'll see that it's like a mini-Las Vegas. Macau grossed such high profits from it's casino's that it prompted the Sands and the Wynn to build casino's there as well. In the next few years, the MGM, The Venetian, the Mandarin Oriental, and whole slew of casino's will be completed, creating the Cotai strip. I spent an hour in the Wynn myself, and made about $100 HKD playing machine Black Jack. I'm not a big gambler, so that was enough for me to cash out and run. Aside from it's Casino's Macau is also rich in culture including art, temples, fortresses, and cathedrals.

I didn't travel anywhere outside of HK except for my trip to Maucau and two trips into China to shop. It's the most interesting type of shopping as well. We went into this little Mall that basically sells anything and everything. The one rule to keep in mind: Never pay what they ask. Ask how much it is, walk away, and wait for them to chase you. It's something that you hear about, but at that mall in China, it's the only way to shop. My aunt Yento is a pro at it. The way she bargains is almost like an artform.

Christmas in Hong Kong wasn't like any Christmas that I could remember. One of the reason's it was so great was because of the amount of family that was there. We had a Big BBQ at my aunts house, opened gifts, and then some of my younger counsin's displayed their musical talents for my grandparents and relatives. I've never wished I could play a musical instrument so badly in my life. It just seemed like a nice family moment.

New Year's was more of the same. I went to a Chinese Banquet thing with my family and relatives. I can't remember the last time I spent New Years with my family, but it was really great. There was bingo, a raffle, dinner, and dancing. Some highlights included my aunt Porine winning the grand prize in Bingo, and my Aunt Yento winning one of the raffle draws. Now, when most people won, they have maybe one or two family members come up to the stage with them to cheer them on. But when one of my relatives wins, 15 or 20 people rushing the stage, screaming and taking pictures until they tell us to get off. Much of the same can be said when the dancing portion of the night started. Most people left, but 50 or so people stayed around to dance, 25 of which were probably my relatives.

ok, last highlight. It's taken me weeks to write this, but I'll wrap it up now. Just after New Years, all 10 of my mom's sisters, two of her brothers, her parents, and a slew of cousins took a walking tour of Lan Tau. One of the major attractions there is the world's largest outdoor bronze buddha, standing 34 meters high and 250 tons. We also saw some temples, and other sites, but for the most part, we just did alot of walking. Anyways, it was just great to have a bunch of family together.