Kirst Afloat

The Healing Power of Reflexology

Can't remember if I blogged about this already, but I've picked up a second hockey team.  In addition to playing Division 2 on Dragonback on Wednesdays, I'm now also part the the Monday night Division 3 Huskies team.  (Division 3 is a lot slower than Division 2 but the guys are SO nice!  The Huskies haven't had a goalie this season and have been relying on LPP's.  But with the upcoming playoffs, they need a goalie on their roster---enter me.)

After playing with the Huskies last Monday (which we lost), I had an incredible game with Dragonback on Wednesday.  We played PPG, the number one team in our division.  (Have I mentioned that Dragonback is the basement of the division?  We will be playing PPG in the first round of the playoffs.)  Our team really pulled together and played like we haven't played all season.  We had a lot of pressure in the offensive zone but couldn't put the puck in the net.  It was a tight game all three periods---we were 0-2 with less than 3 minutes to go.  PPG got a penalty and with the power play, I came out of the game early.  Unfortunately PPG scored an empty netter which ended our quest for a comeback.  Fantastic, fun game...I had a blast.

PPG 3 – DragonBack 0
Ø  PPG – Tom Jessop 1G, Thomas Ng 1G, Ryan Harper 1G
Ø  DragonBack – No Goals
Ø  Saves – Eric Wai 14 & Kirsten Rendell 26
 
The 3 Stars of the Game –  1) Thomas Ng 1G 2) Eric Wai – Shut Out 3) Ryan Harper 1G 1A

This way also the late game which supposedly begins at 11:00 pm.  We were still on the ice after midnight.  The next morning, I was dragging---very tired & sore.  I ended up having coffee with a friend and then we went to the gym together.  While showering, I mentioned that I should go see Ben at the Mandarin for a Shanghainese pedicure.  She replied that she knew a place where you could get one for a lot less money but no nail polish is involved.  We ended up going to Gao's Foot Massage in Central and had foot massages.  Bliss!  A seated back massage was included at the beginning.  Then a fantastically hot pad is draped on your back while your feet are massaged.  Incredible!  And a bargain--50 minutes for HK$ 188. 

This week the Huskies won on Monday night but Dragonback did not fare so well.  We lost 2-5 against the Canucks.  I wasn't having quite as much fun during this one---especially with Norm's last goal (#5).  I should have skated out and cleared the puck before he got there.  Next time.

Canucks 5 – DragonBack 2
Ø  Canucks – Norm Chin 3G, Art Tam LPP 1G, Vincent Chow 1G
Ø  DragonBack – Nick Moorcroft 1G, Ryan Grimes 1G
Ø  Saves – Keith Fong 22 & Kirsten Rendell 19
 
The 3 Stars of the Game –  1) Norm Chin 3G 1A, 2) Nick Moorcroft 1G 1A, 3) Vincent Chow 1G

Thursday morning is definitely a tough one for me.  I delayed going to the gym but eventually made it.  Then I decided "Gao's...must go back to Gao's".  So I did.  A foot massage followed by a Shanghainese pedicure.  The pedicure wasn't the same as the one at the Mandarin...I quite liked the fact that my feet were dry as the man cut away all of the dry skin.  Great value---three pedicures at Gao's cost less than one at the Mandarin.  If I feel the need for varnish (and don't want to do it myself), I'll probably go over to The Feel Good Factor.

Anyway, back to my main point (which I haven't addressed yet).  This morning I had terrible tendinitis in my right wrist...didn't have full range of motion AND it was very painful.  I took some Advil which dulled the pain a bit.  I had a Eureka! moment later in the day when I realized that all of my pain was gone---a happy by-product of the reflexology!  I never mentioned it to the lady who did the massage and nearly 12 hours later, my wrist is still "right as rain".  Amazing! 

Long Day

James had his HKIS "pre-entry test" yesterday morning.  I guess it went well although when asked what he did, James replied, "I'm not telling you".  As far as we know, he read a book about families with the admissions officer.

He then went to school, played outside on the playground for a few minutes after school, then played at the HKIS LP playground while Claire was at her Faust Class, had McDonald's for dinner & fell asleep on the way. 

After carefully transporting James back to the boat in style, he woke up when I placed him on his bed.  "Are we playing cards now?" he queried.  Unstoppable James!

Top Gear Live in Hong Kong Review

Yesterday, our family went to see Top Gear Live in Hong Kong.  As of mid-week, there were still quite a few tickets available. We thought that the show was probably a bit of a wash in terms of numbers attending in Hong Kong, but were wrong.  It was packed!  There were a few empty seats, but not many.  The audience was comprised of many Westerners, quite a few with children, but there were also a lot of Hong Kong Chinese as well. 

Jeremy Clarkson and  Richard Hammond were both part of the live show.  Jeremy Clarkson would never make a living as part of the diplomatic corps but he was amusing as usual.  I also quite enjoyed Richard Hammond aka "The Hamster".  His motorized tricycle was a big hit with both of the kids although the suitcase vehicle driven by Marchy Lee was even funnier.  Marchy Lee, by the way, did a much better job presenting than I envisioned.  Brought in by the HK organizers to appeal to the local audience (and to speak Cantonese), I thought Marchy would do the traditional "scream into the microphone thing at top volume" but he was a pleasant surprise.  He was funny, could banter and was a positive addition to the show.  Marchy's hairstyle is an improvement over the one worn by James May (who wasn't part of the Hong Kong show).  Marchy also drove faster than Captain Slow with the exception of the time spent driving his suitcase.

We all enjoyed the show, James and Claire especially.  The motorcycle stunts, especially when the four cyclists drove inside a small sphere at the same time, going around and upside down was amazing.  We also loved the three aside football match, played with cars.  It was an entertaining afternoon.

Last night James had Top Gear Live in his room.  He had his poster, the tickets, 3D glasses, the red/green handouts from the show, etc.  But instead of cars performing, he danced.  (He is an excellent dancer, not sure where he gets that from.  Certainly not from his parents!  I would love to find a hip hop class that he could attend---the one at our club is on the same day that Claire attends Faust in Repulse Bay.)

He's Reading!

When it comes to math, we know that James is a star.  He loves it!  Reading hasn't come as quickly, but we knew it would once James was ready.  And ready he now is.

Miss Jennifer, his teacher, said that to watch for his reading.  James has been doing really well with the phonetic cards and he's been sounding out words that he encounters in daily life (whether it's a package, a sign, a book, cereral box, etc.).  Today James came home with a Bob Book.  He was thrilled.  James read to us in the car, at the doctor's office and at home.  (Claire hasn't been quite herself for the last couple of days---she's had a headache off and on and a sore throat.  Dr. Kennelly couldn't find any specific infection---Claire's rapid strep test was negative but her glands are somewhat swollen.  She seemed more energetic tonight.  Tom and I thought that Claire might have another sinus infection.)  He is so proud!  I will have to take some video of James reading one of the books. (I'm assuming that he'll be bringing a different book home each day.)

Unfortunate News

Please follow this link to read a post from the blog of my former principal.  I know the economy is in the toilet, but that's a major downer.  I'm not sure what the answer is, but I don't think throwing more and more at the problem (economic stimulus plan) is going to help.  It's just going to delay the inevitable while digging our country deeper into dept.  People need to change this behavior, live within their means and not expect instant gratification.  But difficult times are definitely ahead for a tremendous amount of people.

Entitlement

It's interesting to watch how other people act.  There are some people who are gracious, generous and follow the Golden Rule.  Then there are people who are selfish. And, of course, there are people who fall somewhere in between, depending on their mood, events of the day, situation, etc.

This week I had several instances where I was flabbergasted by the selfishness of some and the grace of others.  And in many cases, the more wealth a person had was directly related to the level of selfishness.  The opposite was true with regards to grace.  But not always.

Feeling very hip while writing this...I'm IM'ing with my step-daughter on Gmail AND IM'ing with a classmate on Skype.  It's fun but probably not the best way to gather my thoughts for a post.

More about this topic later.

Winning isn't everything...but it sure is a lot more FUN!

Last night my hockey team FINALLY won a game.  The wins this season have been few and far between.  In fact, I don't remember the last time we won.  Seriously.

DragonBack 4 – Simon Int’l 1
Ø  DragonBack – Ryan Grimes 1G, Colin Shea 1G, Charlie Musgrave 1G, Neil Gough 1G
Ø  Simon – Alvin Sham 1G
Ø  Saves –  Kirsten Rendell 7 & King Ho 11
 
The 3 Stars of the Game – 1) Ryan Grimes 1G 1A 2 Penalties 2) Charlie Musgrave 1G 1A 3) Kirsten Rendell
 
Ryan Grimes talks about his Game MVP performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTQ1idGUnkw

Most likely we will finish the season at the bottom of our division.  We have 4 games left.  Unless we win every single game, we're in the basement.  That means we'll be facing the top team when play-offs begin.

Guest Blogger: Claire writes about her Chinese New Year holiday

There is a chicken pox epidemic of sorts happening at Claire's school.  Unfortunately her teacher, Mr. B, is a victim and has been home in bed, down for the count.  Part of what Claire did this week was write about her CNY holiday and then type it on a lap top.  She then emailed it to herself on her new Gmail account (she's very proud of having an email address).  When I asked if she'd like me to post in on my blog, she was thrilled.  Here it is...in her own words (and with her own spellings).

Take it away, Claire!

MY CHINESE NEW YEAR

During my Chinese New Year holiday I had lots of fun well but not on Sunday.

Monday

On Monday I got up early to go to

Philippines

birthday

party which was held at Bamboo grove.

We played games and had fun.

Tuesday

On Tuesday I got up early to see Bolt in 3D!!!!!!!!!!   

It was so cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I liked the beginning best. After we went to Starbucks 

And then my little brother had a tantrum it sounded like                           This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I want coffee wa  wa waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. 

Than my mom said NO and asked me what I wanted 

And I said I wanted a Chocolate Chip Frapacheano.

                                        ON

   Wednesday      

I wore my Chinese outfit and we went to the club

To see the lion dance first their was a normal Lion

Dance then there was a Hip Hop lion Dance it was

  So  cool.

Then we when the Chinese restaurant.

And sang to every table and earnd over

780 H Kjthat=100j us

We were so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then we played games!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Thursday 

On Thursday I went to the beach I also

Did the same thing on Friday 

Saturday

On Saturday I basically jest relaxed .  

              

Sunday

Sunday was boring because I had to do all of my

Home work I was mad sad and board all day .

Better Than Halloween

After the Lion Dance, we ate lunch in Ocean View (along with 300 hundred people).  Downstairs, at Oasis, there were 450 people at a buffet luch.

The lion always goes table from table during this meal.  The drummer and cymbalist were in the doorway to the restaurant quite close to where we sat.  James was very unimpressed with the volume of the music.  (He was fine outside even though we stood directly behind the drummer).  He was slightly appeased when a fellow diner asked the musicians to quiet down.

Once the lion dancers exited, our kids got right to work.  They went from table to table and sang a Chinese New Year song in Mandarin.  They ended up posing for pictures at some tables.  At all, they received lai see.  Many of the diners, especially the grandparents, were amused as Claire and James went from table to table.

Our monetarily-motivated children were thrilled to receive 37 red packets each.  They actually collected a few more today after singing Happy Birthday in Mandarin to a table (again at the Chinese restaurant) while we were having hot pot for dinner.  (We like them to practice their Mandarin.  We were not expecting them to receive additional booty tonight.

  

Lion Dance @ Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club

Every year, on the third day of Chinese New Year, our club holds a Member and Guest Day.  The highlight of the event is the Lion Dance which is performed on the back lawn of the Country Club.  We've seen quite a few of these dances.  This year's performance was the absolute best ever!

The Lion Dance at the Club always features the Lion jumping from pedestal from pedestal.  These are of varying heights, from about 5 to 8 feet off of the ground.  It is amazing that the two lion dancers working together can bring life to the lion, jump from pedestal to pedestal AND make it look effortless. 

A lion dance always begins with the eye dotting ceremony which brings the lion to life.  Later, during the dance, the lion always "eats" some sort of Chinese green vegetable which he later spits out of his mouth.  Then a scroll is opened from the lion's mouth.  At our Club, confetti always shoots out from the lion at this point as well.

     

 

This year, like last year, featured a solo performer climbing up a pole which is held steady by other members of the team.  He then twirls around, dancing, very high up.  It's unbelievable!  At one point (which I unfortunately didn't capture), the dancer twirls around one time on his stomach---his legs kicking in the air the entire time. 

This troupe, Yau Kung Moon, tends to do something a bit different each year.  Last year's theme was the Olympics, with each lion representing one color of the Olympic rings.  This year's performance featured a "Hip Hop Lion Dance" which was very cool.  Talk about fusion!  The "big head dancers" hip hopped along with the lions.  We all loved it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterward, we had a great Chinese meal in Ocean View.  What happened during the meal caused Claire to exclaim, "It's better than Halloween!".