so this is HK summer

There was a drowning on Pui O Beach last week. Just as the lifeguards went off duty at precisely 6 oclock, a 19 year old university student who was here for a day of sand and surf, drowned. Fire trucks pulled up followed by hoards of cop cars and ambulances, and half of South Lantau too. I'm not sure of the details, but this is just one tragic incident that seems to be occurring more often than not in HK's waters. According to an article in the South China Morning Post, drownings have increased 155% after the government decided to swap the full-time more experienced lifeguards for younger, part-time (aka CHEAPER) ones. See pic.

Heavy rain and wind whipped through Hong Kong the past few days. At work, the waves were crashing right into the sliding doors of the restaurant as we yelled to each other over the roar of the waves. It was a "Heavy Rainstorm", The Hong Kong Observatory says. And so they only issued a warning signal #3 which, in my opinion, was way off the chart. It should've been closer to a signal #8 (which means everything shuts down and people are sent home). According to reports, where we were on Lantau Island, winds were recorded to have reached 209 km/hr. That is no mere 'heavy rainstorm'. Trees were completely uprooted, and anything that wasn't bolted down was sent flying in every which direction. Matt even saw a yacht washed up to shore from his office window and a mast of another boat snapped in two! The HK Observatory has defended its issue of the #3 warning signal but has promised to revamp its system.

Work has been extremely busy. We managed to finish the document for Friday's meeting where we presented it to 'a very special lady in the education field in Hong Kong who will have a lot of say in the success of our outdoor ed programme.' It was a lot of revamping the old programme into a new 'look' and also ensuring the aims of the national curriculum were met. It was fun and challenging and we've only just touched the surface. It's been good team-bonding to say the least. We've been taking our regular breaks of brownie&tea and the occasional dip in the sea (we all abandoned our computers after an intense meeting and went surfing for the afternoon - it was fantastic, what a rush!) Now our task is to write up the meat of the program in terms of lesson plans and training manual. But i get to skip out for a week...

In about 12 hours, we'll be making our way to the airport. Mom should be boarding her flight in Ottawa any time soon. It's been go go go the past few days and not that i don't welcome a change of scenery, but i would like a day of R&R here at home to do absolutely nothing first. Have been feeling a bit moody and today i'm plagued with stomach cramps and my bed looks so tempting...

After the summer, I'll be returning to University to do my postgrad degree in Education. I just went to pick up my schedule; that anxious/excited feeling of starting school again is growing strong. Dad will also be going back to school, to fulfill a dream he's had for a long time: to retire as anAssociate from Shoppers Drug Mart and take the Executive MBA course at Queen's University in Canada. He wrote the entrance exam the other week and passed - well done!

There is something very nice about going 'back to school' with Dad, well, at the same time i mean. We can talk about studying, reading, researching and making deadlines together. We can give each other moral support on assignments and exams. We can be proud of the other for following through with his/her dream of going back to school.