International Relations: Week 3 (August 16

An Anniversary and A Birthday: Attempting to Celebrate ~13,000 km away

So what do you get when you cross a wedding anniversary, a birthday, and an one ocean and one continental land mass between the primary parties in question?

Homesickness? Frustration? Sadness? Happiness? Renewed perspective on life? All of the above?

Well thinking how that situation may have played out 25 years ago, I can imagine a couple of carefully planned letters sent weeks in advance, a few expensive international phone calls of questionable quality, and with enough foresight perhaps some gifts from a mail order catalog or something wrapped and tucked away hidden somewhere in the house a month before the actual occasion.

But today is not 25 years ago. An additional answer the question posed above would be, a profound appreciation for the internet, Skype video conferencing, and Amazon.

As a token of celebration of these events, I gave away my wedding ring. Well, not really gave away, but left it at a jewelry store. In fact, it just so happens to be the company and city where it was purchased years ago when Eliza and I tied the knot here in Hong Kong. They have been charged with restoring it to its original splendor and glory.

So while I cannot be there in person, I can be virtually. Furthermore, of all the places I could be, I happen to at least be in the one of most symbolic importance with access to the same jewelers that originally forged the wedding band she placed on my finger years ago.

I did ask if they could also add the invisibility feature as they serviced the ring this time, but they said the guy who can do that passed away a few years back at the hands of a couple of short people. Figures.

Tuesday, August 18 9:00 A.M. Eastern Time- 58,400 People All Trying to Access One Site at the Same Time

I can't claim all of them were trying at the same time, but, as I was one of them, it sure felt like it. The fact that the server was hosted on the other side of the earth probably didn't help my chances. Yet, there I was at 9:00 P.M. hitting my refresh button for 28 minutes until slowly but surely the login screen appeared. I frantically typed my name and password but the "submit" button still had yet to load. I waited, nervously tapping my fingers against the desk as if subconsciously hoping the vibrations would magically speed up the process. Finally, the button appeared. I had already seen the pass rate: 41%. So what were my odds? Did I really want to hit submit? Was I ready for defeat if I was among the 59%?

I clicked...swallowing down the nervousness lodged in my throat and had been building for 28 minutes.

There it was...the CFA Institute Logo...the date...Joshua Tomsik...and then in big bold letters the verdict:

Level 2: Pass

Relief. Rapture. Joy for the reward of many long hours of preparation over the course many months. Approximately 16,000 people around the world passed level 2 of the ~39,000 people who took the test (the other 19,000 assumed to be accessing the web site had taken the final test, level 3).

Now I must celebrate while I can...Level 3 registration has begun and the exam is now less than 10 months away. I can feel the butterflies already.

Explorations

So I figure I might as well try to get as much exploration in as I can before the changing of diapers, the feeding, the burping, and hitting the books. First stop this week, the White House.

Ok, so it's not called that. It is known as the Government House and served as home to British Governors for over 100 years. Now it houses the "Chief Executive" of the SAR (Special Administrative Region) of Hong Kong. Obviously, Sir Donald Tsang was not out waiting for me that day (in spite of my test results). Could it have been the 90+ degree weather and drowning humidity (oddly no one else was around on the street)?

Off to the west, nestled between high-rise apartment buildings sits the Man Mo Temple. The temple is over 150 years old and dedicated to two ancient gods: one is the god of literature and the other the god of war. The temple is frequented by those searching for prosperity and good fortune.

One feature that sets this temple apart from many other in the region is the distinct incense coils. The coils range from small to large. Some of the large ones shown below are rumored to burn up to 3 weeks! I suppose that smoke carrying one's wishes to heaven for 3 weeks instead of just an hour or so can't hurt one's chances.

Down the hill a few blocks is the HSBC building which is renowned for its architecture. One element is the free standing escalators to the main floor. Rumors online say that these may be the world's longest freestanding escalators...however, I think the CNN building in Atlanta actually holds the ownership to that claim. Regardless, they are quite remarkable going from the concrete into the glass above. Furthermore, the direction and angle adhere to the tenets of proper Feng Shui in case you were worried.

In spite of my best efforts to get lost and wander aimlessly, I always seem to find my way back home. I guess my strategy of randomly jumping on a bus or subway and seeing where it goes makes for good adventure but I always know I can jump on the same bus or subway back to where I came from. Perhaps I could try not looking at the bus number and see how that goes...either that or get in a taxi and randomly say some Cantonese words hoping the driver will understand it for something and then just nod when he repeats to confirm the location. Maybe next weekend.

One of the places I ended up was on the Kowloon side. There numerous streets look like the one below.

I can't help but think to myself each time I see streets with a thousand signs all competing to get in front of one another whether I can actually find the store I'm looking for. Here I wandered around looking at shops, finding a restaurant with no English, walked in, threw the hostess and a few waitresses into a frenzy as they tried to see if anyone spoke English. Eventually the chef came over to me to try and begin what he supposed was going to be a communication adventure pointing to menu pictures. Luckily I just said what I wanted and he chuckled taking my order and turning to his coworkers declaring they could let go of their panic since the gwai lou (or "Gringo" loosely translated) could speak mandarin.

On the way to the next adventure I encountered a magic tree in the middle of a luxury shopping court.

Still wondering whether they built the whole shopping plaza around the tree, whether it was transplanted, or whether it grew from magic beans because the complex is too new to have it grow from a small sapling in such a short time. I tend to go with the magic bean theory as it is the most logical.

From there it was onto another bus and off to a small port town called Stanley. Here I enjoyed the ocean view, a beach, a quaint market, a group of modern dancers and some mediocre nachos.