Sabbatical, more like hiatus
A decade ago: “What would you do if you could take a sabbatical?” the post read on our listserv message board. I lurked while my online colleagues responded predictably: read, study, learn new things, or travel some. At that point in my career, I was a curriculum...
Revisiting priorities, accommodating change
One of our neighbors died last week—he’d been ill for months and in pain. I wrote about buying a gift certificate for his retirement in this post from October 2014. When a customer at the local bistro remarked about my generosity, and I said: “A man in our...
Back in the day
“Ask the hotel to get you a taxi to the Conrad Hotel in Admiralty,” my daughter texted. “Ride should be about 30 HK dollars. Conference organizers are very happy for you to join this afternoon and said that you come for lunch—starts at 12:15. I’ll meet you in the...
The Second Mountain
Heathcliff and I took our short walk today, between this morning’s rain and thunderstorms due later this afternoon. As usual, we guarded our steps down the steep, gravel driveway, turned left to traverse the flat turn-around, then picked our way down the mountain...
When it’s important to hold Mama’s hand
My daughter, granddaughter, and I had cruised the aisles of a local grocery store called Fusion on Sunday morning and were walking back to Jessica’s flat in Mid-Levels, Hong Kong. My granddaughter was doing what most two-year-old children do: insisting on climbing...
Thoughts about home while walking Victoria Peak
My daughter Jessica and I amble along the road toward The Peak in western Hong Kong. It’s the rainy season—warm, humid, misty, and foggy. Welcome breezes cool us and ward off bugs, though we sprayed our exposed skin with repellent before starting out. There are...