1 year ago
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Happy birthday little boy.
Happy birthday to my little angel,Jack Loreno. Happy 8th birthday little boy
And Happy birthday to his mother, my wife, may you find peace and happiness this year.
And Happy birthday to his mother, my wife, may you find peace and happiness this year.
one year
2 weeks away from a whole year.The last night I went into Jack's bedroom,I kissed him goodnight,trying desperately to hold back my tears.I told him I love him,and I hope he will be a good boy for his mother
Then I went into Joseph's bedroom,Joseph already knew something very wrong was happening.I explained to Joseph that I would be away for a very long time and that it was his job to be the man of the family and be brave.I also told him that my leaving had nothing to do with him or his brother,and that adults sometimes argue. I kissed him and held him for so long,I couldn't hold my tears back.He also cried but the same as me he tried to hide it.I then went downstairs and completely broke down and sobbed-alone. The next morning as they went to school I tried desperately to be brave,but instead was short(in time not temper) with them. I once again broke down when they left.Later as I was leaving and my taxi had arrived,my wife,who had not spoken to me for a month,came and kissed me. One year.
Friday, October 07, 2011
How to get out of a prison term in Hong Kong.
How to get out of a prison term in Hong Kong. 1. Be a very rich banker 2. Have an expert invent a fictional mental illness.
"But he (the judge Joseph Yau Chi-lap)accepted a defense submission that Yan Shen suffers from "dependent personality disorder."
http://bit.ly/n0U0vY
"But he (the judge Joseph Yau Chi-lap)accepted a defense submission that Yan Shen suffers from "dependent personality disorder."
http://bit.ly/n0U0vY
Thursday, October 06, 2011
iquote
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. Steve Jobs (2005)
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. Steve Jobs (2005)
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Robbed
I have just been well and truly fleeced.Bought a battery charger,which charges everything at WanChai computer centre yesterday for $235.went to the bank today and was surprised I had no money,I went home and found out I had been charged $2350! Went back to the shop and basically they told me to fuck off.twice I had asked them the price and both times they had said 235,I remember shit like that! In the cop shop now Sunday at 2:53pm via BlackBerry
But it is their word against mine-not a good day! Sunday at 2:54pm
Police basically won't do anything,but I got a case number and officially requested all their notes on the case so I can show the bank and consumer council. I now have the world's most expensive charger,anyone looking for a portable universal charger?
If the shop had made an honest mistake,then when I took the unused boxed product back 12 hours later, then they would have given me my money back,but no, these people are robbing bastard mutherfuckers.
The shop is on the first floor of Wanchai Computer Centre. If you know the layout,it is at the back right hand corner.It sells some laptops and accessories,there is a camera/phone shop opposite. If you don't know the layout it is called Manu Digi Creation Co. Shop number 114-115, 1st floor e-mail manudigi@hotmail.com.hk
Tel 34899822
But it is their word against mine-not a good day! Sunday at 2:54pm
Police basically won't do anything,but I got a case number and officially requested all their notes on the case so I can show the bank and consumer council. I now have the world's most expensive charger,anyone looking for a portable universal charger?
If the shop had made an honest mistake,then when I took the unused boxed product back 12 hours later, then they would have given me my money back,but no, these people are robbing bastard mutherfuckers.
The shop is on the first floor of Wanchai Computer Centre. If you know the layout,it is at the back right hand corner.It sells some laptops and accessories,there is a camera/phone shop opposite. If you don't know the layout it is called Manu Digi Creation Co. Shop number 114-115, 1st floor e-mail manudigi@hotmail.com.hk
Tel 34899822
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Hug
I arrived home one day a few years ago in Lantau,to what could only be described as a raging storm which started off with "Who is she?" Never a good sign, "Who's who?" "The girl you were seen with at the ferry pier" I protested my innocence,and couldn't for the life of me remember who I had been with that night.
I knew I hadn't 'been' with anyone,but I may well have been walking with one of my mates,a lot of whom are women.
Many,many hours of protestations later it hit me like a lightning bolt."AHHHHH! Philippa!" This didn't calm matters down,neither did my explaining that yes, I had been hugging Philippa at the ferry pier.I explained that it was the first time that I had seen her since her cancer had gone into remission and being a close old friend,that me hugging her was perfectly natural.
That was the last time I saw her-hugging her at the ferry pier,and how I will remember her.
The storm did subside,but never completely.
I knew I hadn't 'been' with anyone,but I may well have been walking with one of my mates,a lot of whom are women.
Many,many hours of protestations later it hit me like a lightning bolt."AHHHHH! Philippa!" This didn't calm matters down,neither did my explaining that yes, I had been hugging Philippa at the ferry pier.I explained that it was the first time that I had seen her since her cancer had gone into remission and being a close old friend,that me hugging her was perfectly natural.
That was the last time I saw her-hugging her at the ferry pier,and how I will remember her.
The storm did subside,but never completely.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
the Mercers on the move: 5 years
the Mercers on the move: 5 years
From 5 years ago.
5 years ago today, was of course 9/11, or 11/9 as it is in the UK, funny how everyone calls it 9/11.
5 years ago after finishing a really crappy teaching job that i had only accepted as it paid cash- I went to Kowloon Park to chill out, and have a couple of cans.I had just returned from the UK. Joseph was 4 months old, but was with his mother in the Philippines. I had decided that it would take too long to get Teosdee a Uk visa, and that i may not have been able to. Teosdee didn't have a Hong Kong visa either, as there were complications left over from her Domestic helper visa.
I had arrived back with less than £100 and was determined to stand on my own feet-hence the crappy job.
I was staying in Mirador Mansions-next to ChungKing mansions. I had my own room, in a guest house, which i paid nightly.
The room next to mine was full of Mongolian women earning some extra cash, I think they worked in TST East.They didn't entertain at the hostel, so it wasn't too bad. Occasionally, the South Asian guests would get pissed or whatever, and staying inside my room was mandatory.
They would often knock on the doors at night to check that none of the Indian prostitutes were there.A few years after I left, a couple of them were murdered in their room.
I can remember an Italian guy, who was sourcing for cheap textiles in China, and an English girl staying for a while-they seemed normal, but still not quite.
The room was tiny, and the door didn't open fully, as the bed was in the way. I would smoke outside on the landing, and listen to noisy goings on above and below.TST, was 'run' at that time by Pakistanis, Indians and others. These were not Hong-Kong residents but recent immigrants illegal, or semi illegal who ran the prostitutes from India and Bangladesh, and sold drugs to locals and travellers.
It was a dangerous place at night, full of people whose religion apparently forbade drinking and drugs. It was impossible to spend all your nights laying down, so I used to hang out at the 7/11 downstairs.
I was never bothered, but saw plenty of bother." Hey man! you wanna drink beer?", these drinking Muslims were friendly to me-the long haired westerner. The prostitutes would nod at me, but knew that I could never seriously be interested. The drug addicts were drug addicts, I would buy them a can of beer-if they didn't ask.I wouldn't if they did.
I spent 3 months there, saving, trying to balance 'cash work' with getting a decent monthly paying job.This wasn't easy when the rent was due every night.
This takes me back to Kowloon Park, on the evening of September 11th.
I didn't have that night's rent, so I was hanging out until my landlady had gone home, and the Northern Chinese girl, who didn't speak a word of English or Cantonese was on reception(a few doors down).She wouldn't ask me for money, as the next day was generally okay.
My room did have a TV, and after I had closed my door, pleased not to have to explain my lack of rent, I settled down to eat my noodles.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing or seeing.The first plane had just crashed.There is 12 hours time difference between HK and New York. I sat there for hours transfixed, shocked, and suddenly feeling a little scared being surrounded by so many Muslims.
I went out onto the landing to have a smoke, no longer caring about the landlady, I needed air, it was too much to take in, in that cramped space-alone.
I went down to 7/11, got some supplies, stayed for a while to hear and share reactions.
News is not the greatest forte of HK tv, and the chance to watch rolling coverage from the US was too much of a temptation for me, I watched the coverage overnight, and grudgingly dragged myself away the next day for work.
Over the next few weeks tensions heightened between myself and a few of our Muslim brothers, as I got into heated arguments outside the 7/11. It never came to blows though, even as the war in AAfghanistan got underway.
I was glad to get out to my own flat and bring my family over in December.
Over the next 5 years I dropped by occasionally to remind myself of the sights and sounds, and the danger outside the 7/11 or is that 11/9 in English?
From 5 years ago.
5 years
5 years ago after finishing a really crappy teaching job that i had only accepted as it paid cash- I went to Kowloon Park to chill out, and have a couple of cans.I had just returned from the UK. Joseph was 4 months old, but was with his mother in the Philippines. I had decided that it would take too long to get Teosdee a Uk visa, and that i may not have been able to. Teosdee didn't have a Hong Kong visa either, as there were complications left over from her Domestic helper visa.
I had arrived back with less than £100 and was determined to stand on my own feet-hence the crappy job.
I was staying in Mirador Mansions-next to ChungKing mansions. I had my own room, in a guest house, which i paid nightly.
The room next to mine was full of Mongolian women earning some extra cash, I think they worked in TST East.They didn't entertain at the hostel, so it wasn't too bad. Occasionally, the South Asian guests would get pissed or whatever, and staying inside my room was mandatory.
They would often knock on the doors at night to check that none of the Indian prostitutes were there.A few years after I left, a couple of them were murdered in their room.
I can remember an Italian guy, who was sourcing for cheap textiles in China, and an English girl staying for a while-they seemed normal, but still not quite.
The room was tiny, and the door didn't open fully, as the bed was in the way. I would smoke outside on the landing, and listen to noisy goings on above and below.TST, was 'run' at that time by Pakistanis, Indians and others. These were not Hong-Kong residents but recent immigrants illegal, or semi illegal who ran the prostitutes from India and Bangladesh, and sold drugs to locals and travellers.
It was a dangerous place at night, full of people whose religion apparently forbade drinking and drugs. It was impossible to spend all your nights laying down, so I used to hang out at the 7/11 downstairs.
I was never bothered, but saw plenty of bother." Hey man! you wanna drink beer?", these drinking Muslims were friendly to me-the long haired westerner. The prostitutes would nod at me, but knew that I could never seriously be interested. The drug addicts were drug addicts, I would buy them a can of beer-if they didn't ask.I wouldn't if they did.
I spent 3 months there, saving, trying to balance 'cash work' with getting a decent monthly paying job.This wasn't easy when the rent was due every night.
This takes me back to Kowloon Park, on the evening of September 11th.
I didn't have that night's rent, so I was hanging out until my landlady had gone home, and the Northern Chinese girl, who didn't speak a word of English or Cantonese was on reception(a few doors down).She wouldn't ask me for money, as the next day was generally okay.
My room did have a TV, and after I had closed my door, pleased not to have to explain my lack of rent, I settled down to eat my noodles.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing or seeing.The first plane had just crashed.There is 12 hours time difference between HK and New York. I sat there for hours transfixed, shocked, and suddenly feeling a little scared being surrounded by so many Muslims.
I went out onto the landing to have a smoke, no longer caring about the landlady, I needed air, it was too much to take in, in that cramped space-alone.
I went down to 7/11, got some supplies, stayed for a while to hear and share reactions.
News is not the greatest forte of HK tv, and the chance to watch rolling coverage from the US was too much of a temptation for me, I watched the coverage overnight, and grudgingly dragged myself away the next day for work.
Over the next few weeks tensions heightened between myself and a few of our Muslim brothers, as I got into heated arguments outside the 7/11. It never came to blows though, even as the war in AAfghanistan got underway.
I was glad to get out to my own flat and bring my family over in December.
Over the next 5 years I dropped by occasionally to remind myself of the sights and sounds, and the danger outside the 7/11 or is that 11/9 in English?
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