All Quiet on the Far Eastern Front
I believe it's time for a deep breath both to unwind from the pressures of the past (new role, relocation, baby anxiety and preparations, exams, etc.) and to prepare for the frenzy of the future (new role redux, re-relocation, baby arrival, one more exam, etc.). Furthermore, the summer has all but ended. Work thus far has been busy but relatively stress free as almost everyone has been on vacation and off capitalizing on the final days of summer. Yet now the quiet is threatened as Labor Day in the U.S. marks the beginning of school, the end of vacations and consequently increased market activity which will carry through the end of the year (remember I do work for a New York-Centric financial company). Thus, with one final act of prolonged respiration, many in the global community relax, reflect, and refocus on the coming months.
December 31. The date strikes me as interesting in its passive power. An arbitrary date but yet a date which silently dictates "the end" and marks a significant cut-off point to measure performance. Is the money manager beating the market? Have organizations meet their goals? Did I (or you) fulfill the list of New Year's resolutions established at the beginning of the year?
(And just because I've never been a fan of New Year's resolutions, I think I'm going to move my goal-setting to March next year and enjoy the hiatus between the deadline of when I was supposed to do things and the new arbitrary date when I supposed to start doing things again. Plus, winters in the Northeast are too long anyway.) If the answer to those questions is "No," now is a realistic time to ponder on what needs to happen between now and then to increase levels of performance and potentially reach those goals.
So to make a long story short, this week was quiet, a time of reflection and yet a welcome respite knowing what has already past and what lies ahead. And I'm completely happy to simply savor the calm before the storm.
This Week's Stops: Plum Nest and Tai O Fishing Village
And speaking of storms and respite, this week I ventured again to Lantau island. There one can experience both the hustle and bustle of the city with the international airport, shopping centers, residential high rises, Disneyland...and yet just across the hilly landscape, one can escape the concrete labyrinth and enter landscapes filled with rolling green hills, picturesque beaches, and quaint villages which I find is a combination perfect for reflection. One such village on the far end of the island is known as Tai O, a fishing village, where many of the houses are built on stilts over the waterways leading to the ocean. This village is easily affected by storms and in fact was severely damaged by flooding in typhoon Hagupit last year.
And what do you expect to see in a fishing village? Fish. However, not as you may think. Scattered all throughout the town are shops filled with the scent and sight of all kinds of varieties of dried fish. And I must say the sight of the immense product display at some of the shops is nearly spell binding but the scent of those same shops can quickly help unbind the spell.
One house has their catch out to dry. Notice the multitude of hanging fish but also below in the baskets the matrix of fish also arrayed in the sun in a process of unpretentious desiccation.
A couple more views of stilted houses and fishing boats semi-silhouetted by the distant hazy sun.
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