第三天，康西草原騎馬

凌晨2時多才睡，卻一大清早起來，趕在10時前到東直門，跟幾個同鄉去康西草原騎馬。

吃了一餐不太好吃的農家菜後，就去騎馬了。

我們幾個人，沒有一個懂騎馬，所以就花了一些錢給兩個馬伕。那兩個馬伕在途中竟然說：「你們想馬兒跑嗎？那就多給我們200元吧。」那些馬，都只聽馬伕的指示。

既然這樣，就多給他們100元吧。

騎了兩小時，屁股痛得很，但幾好玩。




那草原不算小，但沒有一望無際的感覺。
估計下次要去內蒙或蒙古看更大的草原。到時是不是先要重溫一下狠圖騰？

在京城的中秋節 – Home Away from Home

中秋節有三天假﹝註：嚴格來說，其實並不是額外的假期，因為在平常原本休假的日子上班，中秋三天只是補假而已。﹞，每一天的節目都安排得滿滿的，過得非常充實。

第一天， 跟同事去了天津。

同事N的家在天津，既然她願意一盡地主之誼，就跟同事們一起去了天津兩日一夜。

基本上沒有什麼行程安排，就是很悠閒地逛街，看看外國人以前留下來的建築﹝五大道﹞，吃了一餐豐富但價錢算便宜的西餐，再在咖啡館待了兩個小時。

雖然當天下雨，卻無阻大家要休息及玩的興致。站在那些歐式老建築前，同事CK高興得在叫「很有巴黎的感覺。」


「很有巴黎的感覺。」

晚上去了吃便宜海鮮，兩斤蝦兩只河蟹加上蜆等，每人65元。後再去吃豆腐砂鍋。回酒店後，跟同事玩牌，凌晨兩點入睡。

酒店就在寧靜的五大道，雙人房每晚約250元。房間的設備不錯，但空間有點小，而且浴室的門是半透明的玻璃，除非你不介意給人看你的裸體，又或是你可以超快的洗澡，或者其他人都在睡覺，否則你實在不會願意洗澡。又不是情侶酒店，實在不明白為何要這裝修。


第二天， 天津、在京海鮮餐

清早起來，吃了豐富的早餐，食物包括豆腐、雲吞、油條及燒餅。吃得飽飽的回京。

回京後稍為在卡拉OK休息了一會，再跟香港同鄉﹝教會朋友﹞聚會，又吃海鮮。

京城的海鮮比天津的貴，一斤蝦要40元。點了龍蝦、三文魚及魚等，我們勝在人多﹝好像在16人﹞，價錢就不致於太貴。之後去了一個會友的家吃月餅及玩。



今年中秋，跟同事及同鄉玩得實在開心，開心得有一點Home Away from Home的感覺。

主日學

上週日教了一課主日學。主日學的意思，大致是指在主日﹝即週日﹞上課，學習一些與信仰有關的內容。主日學的對象，一般都是學生或年輕人。
這是我首次教主日學，教授的內容是教會的歷史，由啟示錄後開始，直到君士坦丁堡把基督教列為國教為止。中間要提及當時皇帝對教會的迫害及異端等等。
由於準備有一點倉促，不太能引導少年人討論。我與partner大部份時間都在讀稿。
那班少年人，反應快，願意提問題，亦願意回答問題。希望下次可以跟他們有更多互動。
下次的內容包括十字軍及教會分裂等。
我一直都不太了解教會歷史，必需要花多些時間找多些資料。
可以負責這個班，我其實很開心。

可以做什麼

幾個月前，與一位教友分享了一些工作的問題，教友問了一個重要的問題。教友問：「你求神的同時，你又為祂做什麼？」
這個問題是一很好的提醒。我整天求神保守紀念什麼什麼，我究竟為神付出過什麼呢？不是說人與神的關係是公利的，你不為神付出，神就不當你是祂的子民。打一個比喻，父母含辛茹苦養育子女，即使子女不為他們付出什麼，他們也不一定會把子女逐出家門吧。
最近，把教會印制的一本小冊子給人看，也為一些人代禱。教會好像有一些計畫，我希望可以幫手。

下一站：天國

Written by 紀曉風, Published in Hong Kong Economic Journal, 26 August, 2010

下一站：天國



未樂極，已生悲，這是什麼道理？

其中一名獲救人質梁太只懂不停問：「點解咁多個鐘，都冇人幫我哋？都冇人幫我哋？係咪為咗錢？」

至於救她的人，是其丈夫，現已列在死者名單上。

究竟儆惡懲奸救急扶危的警察都去了哪裏？莫非都在「勿越警戒線」以外？難道都以為即便是革職警員畢竟是警員？

八月二十三日，農曆七月十四，馬尼拉的天空飄滿了香港死者彎曲的倒影，他們搭乘「身心康泰巴士」到天國，誓不暝目地反覆追問：「點解咁多個鐘，都冇人幫我哋？」




下一站：天國
人間道 煙花墓

當菊花綻放，你出發的笑容已經泛黃；當槍管發光，你回歸的熱淚已經盈眶；當車子靜躺，你乾涸的血水已經流得滿城滄桑。

昨天，呂宋蒼穹下有路祭，以明日黃花銘記，八月的天空很低，低得燕歸人不歸。





下一站：天國
失樂園 離恨天

三十三天，離恨天最高；九百九園，失樂園最大。

八月二十五日午後，菲律賓的天空很深，黑色的眼睛聚滿灰色的密雲。

密雲中的光環本來是天國的福音，如今卻成了地獄的裂痕。

裂痕是紅塵顛倒的烙印，好讓八個亡魂以回鄉的姿態看這個異鄉最後一眼，然後留下一句：「菲律賓別為我哭泣，我死的時候，雨，已經下得夠多。」

但雨，還是下了，彷彿仍在為菲律賓洗脫罪孽盡最後努力。

起飛時，國泰包機裏的生還者都在望窗，卻都像在八月二十三日入夜後的康泰旅遊巴士上一樣，永遠都不會再見到太陽。

晚上，把文章寫好後，走進會議室，桌上滿佈的是這日的照片，獨有一張抓緊了視線！那是稚女似懂非憧向眼前的棺木揮手說再見，靈柩內，是她的爸爸，而抱著她的媽媽，早已是淚流滿面。

照片沒有聲音，但那陣的哀哉，卻穿越了時空直透心底，如同當時親在現場一般，據知不少在場的同行，整夜目睹過程，亦忍不住垂淚。

周一晚上那數個多小時，如同夢魘；周二梁太的悲哭控訴，在腦海久久揮之不去；這夜，在香港機場，儀式進行時，正埋首於字海，未有留意直播畫面，但每一細節中的淒滄，卻一下一下把內心割裂，原來，在最慘痛時，文字與言詞，真的不足以把感受表現。

願你們安息

數個香港家庭參加康泰旅行社到馬尼拉的旅行團散心，行程已到尾聲，快要出發往機場回香港的時候，一名槍手突然衝上旅遊巴，脅持所有旅客。事件擾攘十一小時後，槍手被擊斃，但同時，有8名旅客被槍手殺死。其中一個家庭，5人中死了3人。
我起初還以為事情可以完滿解決，因為下午的報導說槍手冷靜，而且又有人質被釋放。怎料晚上7時多，報導說所有人質已被擊斃，到最後說有8名旅客死亡。真傷心。
我起初以為兇手是惡怖份子，他們都受到什麼民族宗教情仇推動作案。原來槍手原是一名出色的警員，後來因為涉嫌搶劫、敲詐和與毒品有關的罪行被革職，他聲稱清白，要求復職。
原來有人覺得自己的工作，比8條人命及他們的家庭重要。
願所以死傷者都得到安慰。

爨底下川 Cundixiachuan

爨，意思是爐灶，粵語讀村，普通話讀cun4。這是一條有400多年歷史的小村落。




一直都想去北京的郊區旅遊，但卻一直沒有實現計劃。
上週未，跟2位人去了這條村。
早上5時起床，趕往車站坐7時半的大巴，熬兩個小時，終於到達爨底下川。
在這條村亂行閒逛，十分寫意。剛好當天遊人不太多，天氣不熱，更有微微的涼風，配上小村寧靜的環境，完全可以放下平日磨人工作的煩惱。



是夜住在村中，3個人合共50元。客棧的餐廳，面對大山與小屋的屋頂，清晨在餐廳發呆半小時，簡直是人生一大快事。



I want to visit suburb of Beijing for long, but I have never gone to such place until last week. I went to a 400-year-old village, Cundixiachuan, with two other people last week.
We got up at 5am for the bus scheduled at 730am. It takes two hours to reach the village.
I hang around the village, which is relaxing. There were not many tourists on that day, and this was a breezy day. I could forget my troublesome job in this tranquil village.
We stayed at a village house at night, costing 50 yuan for three people.
The restaurant at the village house faces the mountain and the rooftops of other small houses. I just sat at the restaurant doing nothing for half an hour, which I enjoy very much.

信樂團 - One Night In 北京

前天跟組長唱K FAREWELL，他唱了這一首歌。我只有一個字形容：勁。

Goodbye team leader, and wish you all success

Work over the past two weeks is not smooth because the supreme leaders screw everything up with their “new” and “revolutionary” ideas, which makes me more frustrated with the management.

And added to that negative sentiment is the departure of my excellent team leader, S, who is willing to take responsibilities, considerate to team members, and, say no to the unreasonable and impractical demands of the supreme leaders.

He has helped me a lot over the past months in getting used to the company, which I increasingly dislike.

I have expected his departure few months ago. Well, no one will stay in the company forever, and it is normal to have people coming in and out. But still I am saddened hearing his departure not only because I am worried about my work, but also it feels like that a friend is leaving for studying in overseas.

One of my colleagues described the team leader as a “robot,” who is energetic all the time dealing with various staff – both trivial and important ones. He is always caught in the middle of the management and team members, but he is not frightened to truly express his views to the management and not frightened to make decisions even though it involves risks. He bears a lot.

A robot needs to be recharged, and the leader needs to take some rest.

S, you are a great people to work with, and one of the best people I have worked with. You truly are. I truly wish you can put your mind at rest before stepping into a path that leads to a bright future. You truly deserve a promising future. May God bless you. Goodbye.

June 23

In Beijing. Nothing special has happened actually. My aunt was here with me. She cooked some good dishes, including abalone.
I bought some ice-creams for colleagues, who later treated me a night meal after work.
Nothing special, but satisfied.

School life – Episode Five, Rise in chocolate ration

The new year was approaching, and the Globe International School wanted to make up some good news. Remember, just make up, and no one was sure whether the good news would really happen at the end as the school management claimed.
Students of the school receive chocolate ration each month.
The big brothers of the school, which are nicknamed by some students as Gang of Four, and the supreme leader announced on the eve of the new year that the chocolate ration for each student will be increased.
Everyone in the school wants more chocolate, and they are all excited about the announcement.
However, right after the new year holiday, the Gang of Four made another announcement.
“For better management of the school, and to encourage you to work harder, we have imposed a work quantity for you. That means you have to hand in more homework and writings. Those who have done homework more than the quotas we have imposed will receive more chocolate, and those who have done less will of course receive less chocolate.”
Again, the students are all confused. Writing is an abstract thing. Sometimes it takes a week to write an excellent piece because of the extensive research work and it is not easy to write beautifully and vividly.
But the students are willing to work hard, and most of them have handed in more than the quotas.
That means the school will have to give more chocolates, and it is of course a burden to the school. Where can they find more chocolates to give out?
So the Gang of Four announced another policy. The homework and writings will be graded. Only those who have an A grade will receive full chocolate ration. Students with B grade will see their ration reduced by 10 percent, and a 20 percent ration reduction for C grade. Therefore, no one is sure whether they can get more chocolates at the end.
If it is a burden to the school, why does the management announce the chocolate rise?
The answer is not difficult to guess. By announcing a chocolate rise, the management can surely tell people that they are a good and healthy management who do want to give students more. Some students cannot get more chocolates just because they are not up to expectations. It is the students fault, and there is nothing wrong with the school.
The truth can really be distorted and manipulated.

My church in Beijing

I have been joining the Beijing International Christian Fellowship in recent months. I cannot join all of the activities because of my work schedule.
Basically, I have joined two fellowship groups of the church. Most, or probably all, of the members are from Hong Kong.
One of the characteristics of an international church is that you can constantly see people moving in and out. There are newcomers to the church almost every week, and, of course, people leaving Beijing, either go back home or other cities because of work requirement. I have been in the church for a few months, and three people I know have left already.
This is an international church, which is established for non-Beijingers who come to the capital for studies and career development. And it is normal for people coming and leaving.
The church has congregations/ worships in about 10 languages, such as English, Putonghua and Cantonese. I go to the English and Cantonese worship.
The sermons over the week are about shedding lights and salt in workplace. I do believe it is an important message that I should learn. I occasionally lost temper at office. I think I should somehow control my temper.

P.S – I have not written for this blog as frequently as I used to. This is not because I have nothing to write about, but I do not know how to put them into words. I still wish to continue my school life story, and I will go to the remote part of Beijing for weekends. Hope I can take some pictures and write about the trips.

司馬台長城 Simatai Great Wall

Spent a weekend with colleagues to go to the Great Wall (Simatai section). I had once thought of not joining them because my boss also would go there (Sorry, I do not want to meet my boss on days off.) Luckily, he and his family could not climb up very high, and they waited for us at the cable car station.
We spent about two hours walking up to the top of the section. The route is quite challenging because there are many big steps and steep slopes. But we can finally make it. The scenery is of course nice.
I have been to the touristic Badaling Great Wall. Badaling is not attractive. It is only a crowded place with loads of tourists, and it is heavily renovated.

在對上一個週未，與同事去司馬台長城。其實，因為老闆都去，我當初是想過不參加這活動(實在不想在假期看見老闆)。幸好老闆與他的家人沒有登頂，走到一半做到纜車站休息。
我們用大約2小時登頂。這條路線是挺難行，而且有陡峭的山坡。但這裡的風景比八達嶺好得多。
八達嶺只是一個人多的地方。八達嶺長城，經過多年的修復，已經沒有古代的風味。

Seek Ye First

An old song. Sing it in the worship this morning.



Seek Ye first the kingdom of God,
And His righteousness,
And all these things, shall be added onto you,
Alleu, alleuia

Man shall not live by bread alone,
But by every word
That proceeds from the mouth of God
Alleu, Alleuia

Ask and it shall be given unto you,
Seek and ye shall find.
Knock and the door shall be opened onto you.
Alleu, Alleuia

Seek ye first the kingdom of God
And His righteousness
And all these things, shall be added onto you.
Alleu, Alleuia

令人想爆粗的宣傳片

下面是香港政府宣傳2012政制改革方案的短片：



看完後，真係火起。

無野呀，依家係我有好多關於設計一條裙的ideas比左你，你無理到我d ideas，做左一條褲比我，仲expect我要好開心咁著條褲去party？現實情況同片入面阿媽照住個女的設計做條裙係完全相反。唔該講清楚，信任條件係你聽我同採納我ideas呀。

性與關節 Sex and arthritis

最近因為關節有點痛，去看中醫調理一下。中醫博大精深，既然來到內地，就試一試。
醫師在我身上按壓檢查，問了一些問題。這些問題完全是我意料不到。
「你結婚了嗎？」
「沒有。」
「那你與女朋友每月進行多少次？」
「嗯‧‧‧‧‧」
「行房」
「我沒有女朋友。」
「那自慰呢？」
「嗯‧‧‧‧‧」

我在想究竟這些問題對關節痛有什麼關係。

醫師解釋說：「腎管骨。行房時，你用上身體的五臟六腑。但在自慰時，五臟六腑不是全都用上。所以行房是對健康有益的。」

醫師繼而進行針灸，並說我要好好補腎。

正當我在疑惑他是否會建議我去召妓時，他嚴肅地說：「找個女朋友吧。」

他很嚴肅，我卻想笑。

一位朋友知道我的信仰，說：「女朋友是沒有用的，你要結婚。」

I feel pain in the joins these days and some people believe it is arthritis. Believing that I should try Chinese medicine on the mainland, I went to see a Chinese medicine practitioner yesterday

The doctor did some checks by pressing my body and asking some questions. The questions are really out of my expectations.

“Are you married?” the doctor asked.
“No.”
“How often do you do it with your girlfriend?”
“Ah…..”
“Lovemaking.”
“I have no girlfriend.”
“How about masturbation?”
“Ah……” I am wondering how is it related to arthritis problem.

“Kidney is related to the bones and joints,” the doctor said. “In lovemaking, you are actually exercising the vital organs of your body (heart, spleen, liver, lungs and kidneys). However, not all vital organs of the body is in use during masturbation. So Doing it several times a month is beneficial to your body and health.”

Then the doctor performed an acupuncture on me and advised me to do something to “preserve my health.”

When I was about to ask what can I do without a wife or girlfriend, and whether I should hire prostitute, he said, “Go find a girlfriend.”

The doctor is serious, and I have difficulty restraining my laugh.

My friend, who knows my religious belief, said, “Merely a girlfriend is useless. You should get married.”

Can I say our youngsters are spoiled nowadays.

An elderly man came to our office a few months ago. He approached the supervisor and said his granddaughter or daughter had sent a job application letter to the company, and asked if the company would hire her or grant her an interview. The supervisor, of course, did not give any affirmative answer to the question.
A few days ago, I went to Tianjin with my parents. We stumbled upon a large group of people in their late 40s, 50s or even 60s in a park. These people are not protesting against the authority, nor enjoying a day-off in the park. They are looking for a spouse for their children.
These parents write down the basic information of their children on a piece of paper. The information includes job and whether the child has an apartment.
The parents just keep waiting to see if the parents of other children will be attracted to theirs.
I talked to one of the parents, and he said he comes to the park every day.


One of the parents.

What’s wrong with youngsters, or parents, nowadays?
If the girl really needs a job, why doesn’t she come to our office asking for it? It seems that the girl has done nothing apart from writing an application letter, and she lets her father or grandfather begging for a job for her. Or the old man is so desperate that he comes to our office without telling the girl?
And why let your parents standing in the park a whole day to find you a spouse? I personally believe that this kind of match-making isn’t work. And if you are not destined to meet your Ms/ Mr Right, then so be it.

School life – Episode Four, Nationality counts

Peter enjoys the writing class of Globe International School (GIS). He loves writing, but he is not good at it, and therefore, he will ask the native English teachers (NETs) of the school to polish his composition before submitting to the writing teacher, whose mother tongue is not English.
The writing teacher spotted some grammatical mistakes, like missing an “s” in the verbs, and some repetitive words in a sentence.
Well, Peter believes he can have a good laugh about these mistakes, and some minor corrections will fix the problems. These are careless mistakes, or probably typo errors.
But the writing teacher is a fussy man, who fails to appreciate creative writing style but think big of himself by picking up minor errors.
“Who polish this writing?” he marked on the composition, before sending a copy to the Big Brother.
He repeatedly asked Peter which NET polished his story, and Peter reluctantly said the name.
“Even junior primary school student will not make such mistake,” the fussy teacher said.
“OK, I’ll fix it,” Peter said.
“Where does the NET come from?” the fussy man asked.
What the heck? Peter thought. How does one’s nationality relate to his English standard and capability?
“He is back home,” Peter replied, trying to divert the topic.
But the fussy man did not back down. “Where does he come from?”
“Canada,” Peter said, of course reluctantly.
“Oh, Canada,” the fussy teacher said, before going away.
Peter believes asking someone’s nationality after something wrong has happened is offensive, insulting, and disrespectful to others, and it may be an offense in some countries.
The school has been established for several decades, and employing NETs for quite a number of years. And the people here still behave like that.

School life – Episode three, Involuntary volunteer

As a self-claimed well established school, Globe International School (GIS) sometimes does charity work and encourages students to contribute. On several occasions, students are encouraged to donate money or be volunteers for charity groups.
This week, a NGO approached several schools in the district, including GIS, and asked for some volunteers to help them build an orphanage for children whose parents died in disaster.
Most of the students are willing to give a helping hand, and have signed up to be a volunteer. Some signed up for 100 hours of volunteer work, and some for 30 hours, some for 10 hours, depending on their availability.
When the students were happily doing the good deeds, the Big Brothers seemed unhappy and summoned all students to the assembly.
Here is the message of the Big Brothers.
“Thank you for signing up to be a volunteer. But you know, the total number of volunteer work hours signed up by you guys is the least compared with that of other schools in the district. In that sense, we are not performing up to expectations. I encourage you to do more volunteer work for the orphanage. So think about whether you can do more and how you can do more. And of course, whether you want to do more is up to your decision. It is your time.”
OK, the students thought, It is up to our decision and let us think whether we could do more.
But shortly after that meeting, the Big Brothers summoned the top student of each class to another meeting. And the message, or perhaps order, is as follow,
“As the top student of each class, you will need to do 500 hours of volunteer work. That’s it. Dismiss.”
Encouragement is a lie. Enforcement is true.

School Life – Episode Two, Penalty

Students of the Globe International School (GIS) were anxiously waiting in the classroom. This was the announcement day of the mid-term examination result.
When Peter got the exam result slip, he was shocked. He found out that his attendance grade is deducted, and that his general exam points have also gone down.
Peter demanded an explanation from the headmaster, who is dubbed as the Big Brothers by students.
The headmaster, Lion, told Peter that his attendance grade is deducted because he skipped school for one day.
“Aren’t we supposed to have one day off from class each month?” asked Peter.
“No, we do not allow that anymore,” Lion said.
“When? Why there is no one telling me that the policy is cancelled?” asked Peter, confused but angry.
“It has been cancelled. I don’t need to tell anyone. I can change policy whenever I want,” Lion replied.
Fine, Peter thought, because he really took an extra day off from class last month. But he was still puzzled about the deduction in his examination points.
“Because you took an extra day off, so you could not complete some class work and thus your examination points were deducted,” Lion told Peter.
What a ridiculous explanation, Peter thought. Yes, he has taken an extra day off, but he always does extra class work on other school days, and the quantity of class work he has completed is no less than his classmates.
“You already lowered my attendance grade. How can you also deduct my examination points? It is double penalty!” yelled Peter.
“Bingo. It is. It is my job, constantly finding excuses to lower your exam points,” Lion said.
When Peter wanted to say how unfair the policy is, his classmate Sherry interrupted. Sherry’s exam points were also deducted and Lion said it was because she took a day of sick leave last month.
“Are you kidding me?” Sherry said.
“No, I am not. I am serious. Because you took sick leave, you could not complete some class work, and thus your exam points were deducted,” Lion said.
“I am sick,” Sherry defended.
“That does not matter,” Lion said.
“I still have to go to school even if I am sick?” Sherry asked.
“I am afraid you have to,” Lion said.
“What’s the point of that? If I was sick or had a fever, I still could not do the class work even though I came to school,” Sherry said.
“You still have to come to school and try to do some class work,” Lion said.
“I would be spreading the diseases to others if I came to school when I was sick,” Sherry said.
“I don’t care about that. You have to be present even though you are sick, or you pay the price for being absent. This is an order,” Lion said.
Sherry was speechless, and she was wondering whether this Mr Lion had been sick before. Mr Lion had been sick and needed to stay in hospital for days, and Sherry wondered whether he had been penalized for that.