HFE Office Things - April 28

So Monday was my boss' birthday so we did a cake celebration. These are my peers either fellow Category Leads or Functional Leads.


It also happened to be Richard's birthday over the weekend so we got him a cake too!

They painted the stairs! Very cool.



On my walk back to the office from lunch, we noticed the USS Michael Murphy. I had to do my research when I got back to the office... the vessel is named in honor of Lt. (SEAL) Michael Murphy, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for valorous service during Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan in 2005.

Sunday Funday in Kennedy Town

Sunday Keeley and I went to Kennedy Town for brunch. Yummy!

After brunch we visited the Lo Pan temple.

This is the view of the temple from the road above it. It is just sitting in between regular apartment buildings.

 

And here is the front of the temple.
 

The detailing on the building in just incredible. We stood and stared for a while at the really cool carvings and paintings.

After visiting the temple we wanted to visit a book store on Hong Kong University campus. Unfortunately, the book store was closed but the campus was very cool. Keeley and I liked the grass in this area because it was spotty and reminded us of New England grass.


 
  Kennedy Town and especially the area around HKU definitely gives you the feel of a college town.

Sarah's Junk Boat Birthday

Saturday night we celebrated Sarah's 30th birthday with a junk boat tour of the harbor and we "docked" in front of Disney World for the fireworks display.


Here is the full group of us on the front of the boat.

Birthday girl is on the far left in the sash!

The boat was a little rockier than expected in the harbor since there were a ton of other (and much larger) boats making waves. It calmed down a bit later once we moved out of the harbor.

Shing Mun Reservoir Hike

Today (Sunday) a group of 11 of us went hiking. Some US visitors and some HK people. Some Hasbro, non-Hasbro and former Hasbro. 

We ended up hiking almost 4 hours. 

We started at Shing Mun Reservoir and hiked for miles (some of our devices said it was about 6-8 miles but we can't confirm).  At the highest point we were at elevation of 450m (or 1400ft).

We saw old tunnels used in WW2. We even climbed through one of them

Then we entered monkey land. And there were monkeys all around. 

Some nice views even though the weather wasn't the best. 

Oh the stairs! 

After our hike we were famished so we went to Lok Fu area and had a great Chinese lunch with a few beverages. 

Wonderful day! 

Tedx Hong Kong

Saturday Clare and I went to Tedx Hong Kong.

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a global set of conferences run by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, under the slogan "Ideas Worth Spreading". TED's early emphasis was technology and design, consistent with its Silicon Valley origins, but it has since broadened its focus to include talks on many scientific, cultural and academic topics.

We saw 18 different speakers throughout the day. Some were inspiring and some very thought-provoking but all were very good. Definitely people with a story to tell and share.

Dragon Boat Training - April 19

In June is the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Tueng Ng Festival. Hasbro always has a few boats that race. So I decided to join the team this year. We start practices in June and practice once per week. 

Hasbro arranges training each Friday morning in Stanley bay. It is about a 40 minute bus ride from Central bus terminal. I went to my first training this past Friday and there were about 35 of us at practice. 

So dragon boat is a boat of 18 people max per boat and you paddle in different manner than canoeing or kayaking. Instead of having paddle horizontal, rowers lee the paddles vertical. 

Friday we had two boats. One with new boaters and one with more experienced. 

We all wear padded shorts while sitting in the boards as seats and we wear gloves to protect our hands. 

I am 4th back on the left in this boat.

It was a nice day out so we had water fights between the boats in addition to racing each other. 

Here is a video of us dragon boat racing! Form isn't perfect yet, hence the need for more practice!

Chicago April 2015

So I traveled to Chicago for my class on Thursday and Friday and then spent the weekend here. My friends, Jaime and Erin came in from Massachusetts to spend the weekend with me. 

Good to be back in America and with friends. 

Saturday we did the architecture tour on the Chicago river. It was a great tour and I highly recommend it. The weather was beautiful for a boat ride too. 

Super cool curved building. 

Old Montgomery Ward building. 

Willis (aka Sears tower)

Super cool Chicago City map on the side of the building with a red "you are here" marker. 

Sunday we visited the Cultural Center which the building has the most amazing mosaics and stained glass. 

And of course a trip to America wouldn't be complete without pizza and shopping at Target. 

Back to Hong Kong tomorrow.