As I See It

In many parts of the world, dinner parties are a time honored tradition. Self-respecting men and women open up their homes to regale friends with home-cooked food and stimulating conversation. The cultural significance of these gatherings is evidenced by the prominent role they play in literature and films. In Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf devotes an entire book to describing a house party. In the 1967 classic Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, the taboo subject of interracial marriage is dealt with at one of Hollywood’s most memorable suppers. A time-honored tradition Dinner parties are also a source of endless intrigue. They provide the perfect setting for a “whodunit” murder mystery, as they do in Agatha Christie’s Thirteen at Dinner, Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope and more recently in Gosford Park. The tradition has even made it to the list of most frequently asked questions at job interviews... _______________________ Read the rest of this essay in No City for Slow Men , avai...

I was standing in line at Citibank to deposit a check. It was lunch time in Central and the branch was bursting at the seams. The customer in front of me, a middle-aged gentleman in a tailored suit, asked to take out five thousand Euros in cash. Behind the counter was a teller who couldn’t have been more than six months out of university. Her name was proudly embossed on her lapel pin: Trainee. “I’m sorry, Mr. Cheung,” said Trainee to the gentleman, before explaining that she didn’t have enough Euros and that a day’s notice was normally required for withdrawals over a certain amount. Bank policy. She asked him to either collect the cash the next day or try the main branch. There is a green monster in all of us What followed, however, was an unstoppable tirade from the not-so-gentle-man over a situation he called an “outrage” and a “waste of everyone’s time,” all delivered with the usual hysterics: clenched jaw, flapping arms and a face as red as a ripe tomato. This Br...

My older siblings are professionals in their 40s and early 50s. They have hunkered down at the same companies for decades and seen their stress levels rise in lockstep with their seniority. With their children heading off to college, they have one thought on their minds constantly: retirement. The earlier the better. It is a topic of conversation that dominates every family dinner and gets all of us scribbling numbers on the back of a napkin. On that napkin is a game plan, an exit strategy and a light at the end of the tunnel. It is our midlife euphoria. Retirement planning for dummies The idea of being emancipated from our cubicle and lying on a sandy beach all day is enough to make any overworked middle-aged parent crack a smile. On the other hand, the notion that we must work another 15 to 20 years before reaping what we sow seems unpalatable, if not downright depressing. We want to taste the fruits of life while we still can, when our knees are strong enough to ski an...

Late March in Hong Kong brings clammy air, frequent drizzles and the gradual return of the subtropical heat. It is also marked by a spike in beer consumption and hotel room rates, caused not by the arrival of spring but a spectacle known as the Hong Kong Sevens. The three day rugby tournament is much more than just an international sporting event. To expatriates living in Hong Kong, it is a celebration bigger than Christmas and New Year . It is a cross between the Super Bowl, Halloween and Oktoberfest. It is Mardi Gras without the parade and Spring Break with bam bam sticks. The annual carnival fills the Hong Kong Stadium with cheers, beer breath and spontaneous eruptions of song and dance. That's why they call it a contact sport Rugby sevens, as the name would suggest, involves fewer players than regular rugby. Each game consists merely of two seven-minute halves. Think of it as beach volleyball or five-a-side soccer. To prove that size doesn’t matter, rugby sevens...

It is said that the best things in life are free. Children’s smiles, glorious sunsets and the soothing sounds of ocean waves. Of all the simple pleasures in life, sleeping is the most beneficial to our bodies and minds. It is also the most underrated. When alpha cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York fall over each other vying for the dubious title of "The City that Doesn’t Sleep," it is the citizens who pay the price. Our mounting workload, overdeveloped social life and that black hole called the Internet all contribute to our sleep deficit. Every now and then when we get to stay in bed for a couple of extra hours on a lazy Sunday morning, we are reminded what a real treat those forty winks are. City that never sleeps An average person in Hong Kong sleeps 6.6 hours a day. That means for every one of us who gets the recommended eight hours of z’s, there is a poor soul scraping by with just five. While some blame it on the Asian work culture, others point to...

My big sister Ada is one of the bubbliest people I know. She has a contagious laugh and takes a genuine interest in people. A consummate hostess, she loves entertaining and throws elaborate dinner parties , the kind that are lifted straight out of a Martha Stewart magazine. On paper, the forty-something mother of two has it all: a loving family, a well paying job and a comfortable life. It is therefore all the more shocking when she told me recently that she is suffering from depression. Depression is often a lonely battle It all began shortly after she got a promotion at work. At first it was the usual urban angst: headaches, low energy and erratic eating habits – signs that she had reached a higher rung on the corporate ladder. Then her mood swings began. At home, she would sit idly in a corner and cry without provocation. Things she used to enjoy, like... _______________________ Read the rest of this essay in No City for Slow Men , available at major bookstores in ...

America is a bizarre country. To be an American — or to live in America — is to accept a few things that defy common sense. For starters, pizza is considered a “vegetable” under federal law. Two tablespoons of tomato paste on the dough is enough to make the pie healthy enough to be served at every public school cafeteria. Speaking of health, emergency rooms across the country routinely turn down trauma patients who fail to produce proof of health insurance. Facing skyrocketing healthcare costs , the uninsured are left for dead and the insured are worried sick about rising deductibles and annual premiums. Not bizarre enough? Here's another good one: gun shootings have become so commonplace that the evening news no longer reports them unless they are deemed a “shooting rampage.” And each time after a massacre, gun enthusiasts line up outside Wal-Mart to stock up on assault weapons for fear of tougher gun laws. That’s right, in America you can buy a military-style semi-automatic rifl...

One of the advantages of living in the 21st Century is that we get to choose the way we live our lives. When it comes to love and marriage, some stick to the white picket fence, while others cohabit without ever tying the knot. Still others stay blissfully single for life, free as birds. Same sex couples, ever the scourge of conservative society, can now legally marry in eleven countries and several American states. It is therefore all the more surprising that, in our age of live-and-let-live sexual liberation, one segment of society continues to be stigmatized by a stubborn social prejudice: married couples without children. No longer the only way to happiness I am not talking about infertile people who can’t bear children — they get their fair share of pitiful looks from friends along with unsolicited advice on how to raise their sperm count. I am referring to married folks who, for financial, emotional or philosophical reasons, decide to stay child-free. While no one ...

Four years ago, I wrote an article titled New Year in November about Barack Obama's historic victory. That's what it felt like — a new beginning, a rebirth – even to a blogger half the world away. Four years flew by in the blink of an eye and the president was up for re-election this month. This time I wanted to be there — in America, in the thick of things. I planned my annual home leave in the second week of November and arrived in New York just days after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the East Coast. Expecting the vote count to last all night, I stocked up on junk food in my hotel room in Midtown Manhattan. I had my laptop showing the electoral map and a calculator to tally the votes. I toggled back-and-forth between CNN and Fox News on the flat-screen TV while posting the latest election results on Facebook. I was a ready for a showdown. New Year in November (Reprise) I’m not an American citizen and so I can’t actually vote. Even if I were, my vote wouldn’t have ma...

It’s 9:30 on a Monday night. You are waiting for the bus to take you home after another long, dreary day in the office. Your head droops to the side, your shoulders slump, and your leather briefcase sags with the weight of existential angst. The woman in front of you pulls a soggy pastry out of a wrinkled Starbucks bag and takes a bite. You think to yourself: I can make a better one and sell it for half the price. The dream of running your own bakery and wallowing in patisserie bliss once again rushes to your head. No more 14-hour days, no more suits and ties, no more crowded buses and microwave dinners. Leather briefcase be damned! That sinking feeling What you just read is a familiar scene to many salaried men and women. Tired of the ball and chain of a desk job, you fantasize about a “Plan B” to take you out of the rat race and put your God-given talent to use. If baking is not your thing, then it may be designing jewelry, becoming a wedding photographer or running an ...