Where is the love?

My Turkish neighbour in Hong Kong and his local girlfriend have a peculiar relationship. Rather frequently I wake up to him yelling the most abusive satanic verses at her which can go on for an hour, and 2 hours later I see them holding hands, walking her dog clad in a pink dog-sweater.

When Raphael arrived in HK, we were at the garden rooftop chilling, when the yelling started again. I wrote on a Stick-it "Where is the Love?" and stuck it on their door. I left HK soon after that, forgetting all about it.

My maid phoned me today to say there was a note on my door that read "Fuck You". She was worried.

It got me thinking. The man loves to abuse to love later.

I conclude he is on his way to loving me. He just does not know it yet.

Joy in the brief moments

It's when you live in a place for a long time, each weekend resembles the other. It's when you move away, you make the best of it; find the greatest joy in the brief moments.

Raphael and Jutta came over the weekend, we did all my favourites in HK which I feel are always a good introduction to the city; Aqua, Cheong Sha Beach lunch & games (pictionary and charades), Joyce Was Not Here bar, art galleries, massage, Life café organic lunch, the ugly of Wan Chai’s including Dusk to Dawn. Saw the people I care most about in HK; Alice, Sarah & Jono, Danno & Jo.

Sunday I stayed in to pack for Israel (since I'm flying off from Shanghai), while Raph and Jutta went out with Gab and Scotty. Gab took things into her good hands showing them the dodgy parts of Kowloon; sober people snorting shit, drinking water on a Sunday nite. I woke up alone in bed at 5.30am on a Monday, to learn that they were on the ferry, just having been escorted down by the captain from the ferry roof (anally forbidden). I made them coffee, jumped in a shower to catch the 830am flight to Shanghai to find them passed out.

Israel - Walking on thin ice

I’ll be traveling to Israel and Turkey over the May week-long holiday. I’m going to get a first-hand introduction to Israel through my Shanghai-based Israeli friend Yifat who comes from an orthodox jewish family. Her family won’t welcome non-jews at their home. It made me realize how far Yifat has distanced herself from them. The trip was originally triggered by Ehud Banai’s concert in the desert which I found too hard to miss. Ehud is one of Israel’s most talented musicians, I was mesmerized by his music ever since I copied it from Yifat a few months ago.

On the other hand, Brenda Campbell tells me I must go to the West Bank and see what goes on there. Being highly ignorant of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict details, I have some work to do before I go. Brenda is one of my dearest friends; full of fire, smart, talented, big-hearted, spirited, sporty girl, one you do not meet often. I’m lucky to have her as a friend.

I told Yifat today I would like to spend half a day at the West Bank, expecting discouragement and perhaps disappointment from her side. She wished me good luck, said she won’t be able to go but she will check the security situation. A display of open-mindedness and tolerance, which to me, are the prerequisites of a friendship.

Huang Shan Mountain Bike Festival/Race

Collin of cityweekend.com.cn suggested we do something different from the usual intensely party-focused weekends, everybody said they were coming, in the end it was just Collin and moi. I met some people on the way from Shanghai, and the weekend turned out to be a blast.

Set in the Anhui Province, near the city of Huang Shan, the race was set in some pretty awesome bamboo and pine forest, taking us through remote villages, lakes and rivers. They filmed parts of the Crouching Tiger there.

I signed up for the 50km, thinking that with little training, I will do half for time, the other half to take photos. Well, the competitive gene took over, chasing Collin up the hills and giving in on the downhills.

I came 11th in the women's category which wasn't too bad... More on the race and biking in Shanghai.

Flying low

Today is the official day of the toughest day on the job. Ever. I thought it would break me and send me home in tears, but I’ve managed to hold it together.

With Challenges come Learnings.

I’ve developed a campaign which is exactly about that – “Journey to True You” takes women in China on a self-discovery path, facing difficult moments in life and learning the most about themselves. I got the first-hand experience of my own concept today.

We were all excited about the program’s premise; how different it was from plain product selling, competitor messages, touching the heart and soul of a sensitive and self-aware woman. New execution ideas, social media, reality-style webisode styling, pool of expert contributing, prominent blogger support, the works.

Then we hit the tough parts; we had an accident/injury while filming, having to do crisis-management for the past week. But the tough one came last Thursday - new people stepped in and demanded new creative direction, dictated by some brand equity issues we never communicated properly. This comes with many consequences that put your emotional intelligence to test.

Things will be good. Good things happen to good people. Eventually, at some point.

I love to hate my job for the thrills it gives me and how it puts me in place when I think I’m on top of the world.

The Studio, Shanghai

My very talented friends in Shanghai have opened The Studio, a nest of 5 people inspired and consumed by photography, graghic design, T-shirt ideas, product development and music. To Nicky, Sarah, Alonso, Jutta and Aric: the place has a vibe and it's only because of you guys.