Kirst Afloat

The Beach

After days and days of rain, we finally saw the sun this weekend.  The weather yesterday was a bit schizophrenic but there was a good deal of sunshine.  After one tennis lesson (James), a piano lesson (Claire), the very filthy car being washed (Mariz) and lunch being cooked (me), we headed to the pool.  Brrrrr...it sure was chilly after all the rain and lack of sun.  It didn't bother the kids, though, and Claire was especially happy to be back in the water.

I decided that we should hit the beach today.  James, for some unknown reason, was completely against the idea.  I vetoed his veto, though.  At about 11, we headed to Clearwater Bay Second Beach.  Unfortunately, many other people had the same idea and we could not park.  We drove back to the club and parked up near the Country Club.  Fortunately a staff bus was heading out and we were able to catch a ride back to the beach.

The beach was hopping even though it was overcast the entire day.  I really like Clearwater Bay Beach as it is much more local and family orientated than Repulse Bay Beach.  At RB, there are coach loads of tourists who are dropped off and traipse around taking photos.  It feels a lot less friendly there, in my opinion and the sand isn't as nice.  (I think the Leisure and Cultural Services Department created a lot of the beach there---trucked in loads of sand.  The water is also a bit mucky, especially at low tide.)

We had our usual beach lunch.  Hot dogs from the Marina Shop (which we bring along with us), bottles of water, chips from the shop at the beach and, later, ice cream.  I could not find the beach toys on the boat (I bet they're underneath all of the car washing paraphernalia in the outdoor storage locker), so we went without.  The kids were completely fine with that and we built the largest sandcastle (more of a mountain, actually) ever.  With just our hands.  It created a stir in our section of the beach and a couple of people got competitive (but no one built a taller castle).

Later Claire built several fairy dwellings---one villa and two hotels.

My favorite pictures of the day (I love action shots) are of James demolishing our castle/mountain:

 

I used my new (small) camera to take these photos.  The Panasonic DMC-LX3 is not in the same league as my Canon EOS 450D but it sure is easier to carry around for casual photo taking opportunities.  It also has a very cool retro case that you can buy.  Thanks Tom & kids for the great Mother's Day gift!

After the beach we walked all the way back to the car.  I'll have to measure the distance tomorrow but my guess is that it was at least 3 or 4 km with a fair stretch that was uphill.  The kids didn't complain but I know Claire was hoping that either the club bus or a taxi would head our way!  She was happy later when the "pod trees" had pods on them.  We collected a bunch of pods and the kids later "planted" seeds near the marina.

Last, but not least, the complete set of photos from the beach:

Hockey Canada Public Service Announcements

HKL Women's Division: What a Blast!

I had a blast the other night playing hockey.  The lead up wasn't as much fun as a pulled muscle near my hip seriously limited my movement earlier in the day.  However, ibuprofen followed by Voltaren later in the day and then an Icy Hot type product before hockey did the trick.

Results from Thursday night:

Empire Skate 2 – Penguins 1

• Empire Skate – Pearl Lam 1g, Claudia Ieong 1g, Cheri Chow 1a, Stephanie Cheung 1a..
• Penguins – Cheryl Kong 1g.
• Saves – Kirsten Rendell with 27 and Zulia Mitchell with 11.
• The 3 Stars of Game – 1) Kirsten Rendell 2) Pearl Lam 3) Cheryl Kong.

 
Daikyo WIHO 4 – MI5 0

• Daikyo WIHO – Estelle Ip 1g 3a, Annette Kerr 2g, Cindy Chu 1g, Maureen Wong 1a, Pearl Lam 1a.
• MI5 – No Goal.
• Saves – Kirsten Rendell with 17 and Virginia Wong with 11.
• The 3 Stars of Game – 1) Estelle Ip 2) Kirsten Rendell 3) Annette Kerr.

The MVP's

I had a lot more fun in the first game than I did in the second.  I like to be busy! 

The following is completely my opinion and does NOT reflect anyone else's.  For next year's tournament, I would go completely local for the WIHO team.  No overseas players.  That way we could work together as a team beforehand and really know our teammates and how they play.  I would also get some younger players on the team.  Estelle Ip and Katie Gwozdecky would be my first two selections.  I would also include some players from the HKAHC (at least I think that's where they play---perhaps I'm wrong about this).  The Women's League will definitely help improve our team for next year's MegaIce 5's.

Lost Tooth

It's official. James has lost his first tooth.  Literally.  Who know where it went?  It was there at lunch (at Pizza Express after his doctor's appointment).  And it was there (I think) when I picked him up from school.  It was gone by the time we were in the car to go from the boat to Claire's tennis lesson.  Was it swallowed?  Or did it just fall out somewhere?  That will remain a mystery. 

No cute gap, I'm afraid.  James' permanent tooth is already about 1/2 way in.  It must have been coming up behind the baby tooth.  I have the feeling his other bottom front tooth is undergoing a similar process.  I can see a big lump of gum behind his baby tooth.  I believe another permanent tooth will erupt from there.

Evidently losing teeth is pretty common if I go by some Facebook comments I received:

that's funny, my daughter did this too and I found it days later in her bed! Shows you how often I make her bed, it took days to find it there :) 

 

I swallowed a couple as a kid. I didn't like pulling them, so I'd let them dangle by a "thread" until they just came out when I was eating or sleeping.

Does the toothfairy come at your house... even if you don't have proof for her?

 

Adrienne's son was visiting me when he lost his first tooth and I mean LOST. It is in my car somewhere. However, the tooth fairy knows where it is 'cause she left a tooth reward!

 

 

Hong Kong League: Women's Division

For the first time, there is a women's hockey league in Hong Kong.  This is an exciting development.  (I initially thought that we should enter an all women's team in the HKL Division 3 but I now see the wisdom of taking this historic first step.)

(photos by Victor Kwok)

The inaugural night of women's hockey action at MegaIce was May 21st.  It was great to see a lot of familiar faces as well as some new ones.  (It's fantastic that many female hockey players have joined from both the HKL as well as the HKAHC.)  Already (since last week), I can see improvement especially with regards to positioning. There is still room for lots of improvement but everyone is very excited (and pumped to be playing together).

Results from last Thursday:

MI5 2 (SO) – Penguins 1

• MI5 – Annette Kerr 1g.
• Penguins – Katie Gwozdechy 1g, Cheryl Kong 1a.
• Saves – Kirsten Rendell with 22 and Zulia Mitchell with 18.
• The 3 Stars of Game – 1) Cheryl Kong 2) Kirsten Rendell 3) Zulia Mitchell.

Empire Skate 3 – Daikyo WIHO 1

• Empire Skate – Trisha Kong 2g, Cheryl Kong 1g 1a, Dazy Zhang 1a.

• Daikyo WIHO – Cindy Chu 1g.
• Saves – Vivian Low with 12 and Kirsten Rendell with 21.
• The 3 Stars of the Game – 1) Trisha Kong 2) Cheryl Kong 3) Cindy Chu.

Let’s hear what the MVP duo has to say about the first women ice hockey league in Hong Kong

Results from May 23rd:

MI5 3 – Empire Skate 0

• MI5 – Claudia Ieong 2g, Adrienne Li 1a, Mona Ip 1g.
• Empire Skate – No Goal.
• Saves – Zulia Mitchell with 19 and Cheng Ho Lun with 22.

The 3 Stars of Game – 1) Claudia Ieong 2) Zulia Mitchell 3) Adrienne Li.

The MVP

 

Claudia got the MVP on her debut for HKL Women division.

After Saturday's game, a ranking system went into effect:

Thank you for a very successful first week in the inaugural HK Women’s League. The games have been very competitive and overall the scores have been close.  Please note that the teams were made in order to balance the level and to have competitive games.  However, we will allow the players to play extra games if some of the teams are short.  In order to have a better system to facility the level of play and keeps things fair, we will implement a ranking system which we have established in our Hong Kong League.
 
Each team will consist 2 players that are ranked ‘5’ and 2 players that are ranked ‘4’ and the rest of the players on the team will be ranked ‘3’ – please see attached. If a team is short on players, they may request other players to take the spot given the fact that they are the SAME or lower ranking of the missing player.  For example, Vivian Low who is ranked ‘4’ and cannot play, she may request another player that is also a ‘4’ ranking or lower.  She cannot request a ranked ‘5’ player.
 
This way, we can still keep the balance of the teams and ensure a fair game. Teams should make arrangements for replacing the missing players however, the league should be informed on all requests. 

(excerpt of an email from Keith Fong)

This ranking system will definitely keep the teams more competitive as the LLP players on last Thursday night definitely helped certain teams.

It's great to have women's hockey in Hong Kong!

A Traumatic Tale of Tooth

I've occasionally asked James if any of his teeth are loose.  He's getting to that age when the front teeth begin to wiggle.  He keeps telling me, "No."  Tonight, however, I checked it out for myself (in the middle of brushing his teeth).  Sure enough, he has a bottom front tooth which is VERY loose.

Instead of being excited about another sign of "big kid-dom", James was quite upset.  And he continued to be very weepy about the whole matter until he eventually fell asleep.  He's worried that he will swallow his tooth.  Very worried.  And he's also concerned that there will be pain when his tooth does fall out.

Poor guy.  I'm hoping things will look better tomorrow morning.  However, I've already emailed Miss Jennifer so that she's aware of the situation (in case James is emotional at school tomorrow).

The tooth fairy had better be prepared for her first journey to collect one of James' teeth!

Ladies who Lunch

The weather in Hong Kong has been very dreary the last few days (monsoon, torrential rain at times---the awful kind that beats down diagonally so you're soaked pretty much no matter what you try to do, especially if you're walking up or down the dock, thunderstorms, etc).  However, lunch today was a definite bright spot.

Jan and Pam both used to live in the marina and both moved to the Gold Coast.  However, Pam at the Gold Coast in Hong Kong and Jan is back in Australia.

We had a great time catching up over lunch at the China Tee Club. I've always wondered what the Tee Club was like but had never actually been in the nearly 13 years that I've lived in Hong Kong.  It has a very colonial feel to it and the food was lovely.  It was wonderful to hear news about the kids (and grandchildren!).  In my memories, the children are much younger---Benjamin is always around 8 years old and Jan's kids are teenagers.  Ha!

They're IN!

If you heard joyful screaming today in Plaza Hollywood, Diamond Hill, I was the culprit.  I received the following news at around 2:00. 

An excerpt from the email:

Congratulations! It is my pleasure to inform you that James and Claire have been accepted for admission to Hong Kong International School (HKIS). We are looking forward to having them join us in Grade 1 and Grade 4, respectively, for the 2009-2010 academic year. We are confident that this offer will result in a mutually rewarding experience.

Yes!  I know don't have to worry that we may have to move back to the US due to the fact that the kids have nowhere to go to school after finished their elementary years.

Both Claire and James are excited and happy although I believe Claire's also feeling a bit bittersweet about the news.  She's nervous about starting at a new school with new kids and she's already concerned about missing a special friend in her current class.  ("We JUST became friends this year", Claire vocalized.)

But they're in.  Yes!!!

Teacher Claire

For the last two weeks, Claire was excited about going to Casa to read to the younger kids.  Well the day finally arrived and she had a fantastic time.  Claire first read to the Antarctica class (James' current class, Claire's previous class) and later to North America.  Stephanie's Ponytail by Robert Munch was a big hit!

Miss Jennifer, James' teacher, was very kind.  She took these photos of Claire reading to the Antarctica children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here's the email I received along with the photos:

Dear Kirsten,
 
We thought you would enjoy these photos of Claire’s visit today.  We enjoyed the Robert Munch story very much.  Claire looks like a teacher in the making!  James was very proud. 
 
Have a nice afternoon,
Miss Jennifer

 

(Cue the) Hallelujah Chorus

Just checked online with the Florida Department of Teacher Certification and my certificate has been renewed!  Yea!!!  This is the earliest that I've ever completed this task.  My certificate is now renewed through June 30th, 2014.  Yes!!!