Not feeling so great these days.  Lots of health problems.  Wish me luck

Wish I could gain back some weight.   Lost a total of 34 pounds since January and none of my pants are fitting me and I look dreadful.  Anyway,   here in HK,  weather is rainy most of the time and yes, its steaming hot outside.  Lots of China visitors lately,  all former staff who are coming to shop and see the sights. Work is hard as usual but that life in this city.  My little dog Kita is doing very well and is happy as always. Love her so much.  My friend Greg Louganis back in California, has announced he will marry his boyfriend, Johnnie which is fantastic.  Really a nice couple and well,   Greg's just the greatest person on the planet. 

Returned from LA a little earlier than planned to settle my tax with Inland Revenue in Hong Kong who sent the bill to American instead of my HK address.  Totally ruined my holiday in America except for two wonderful lunches I had.  First lunch was at The Grove in Hollywood where I met up with Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner as well as Olympic gold medalist diving champion (4 golds 1 silver)  Greg Louganis who is without doubt the worlds greatest and most famous champion for that sport.   We had a great lunch at Morrels.    The following day I drove back up to Hollywood to the oldest and most famous restaurant on Hollywood Blvd.  to meet with Richard Dwyer and both Tai and Greg joined us again for a wonderful lunch and great service.  The restaurant was located near to Paramount studios and famous guests going back 80 years includes Charlie Chaplin,  Greta Garbo and many others and even rock stars.

I flew back on Korean Air  A380 upstairs in business as I did on the trip over which made the entire journey better but being inside an airplane for more than 3 hours really isn't my idea of fun no matter where you sit or what food they serve.

When I arrived in HK I had a terrible case of the flu which put me straight to bed with coughing, fever and a tremendous weight loss (nearly 23 lbs total) which I am now trying to regain although I still have the cough.  Losing that much weight takes away all your energy.  Just walking now is difficult and often makes me feel faint.

Chinese New Year is starting this weekend,   so I'll have 5 days of rest and hopefully some food to put some pounds back on.   The one good thing in my life is my dog Kita who is there for me 24 hours a day.  Just love that little pup.

OFF TO LOS ANGELES

Well its that time of the year again so I am flying off to LA on Friday, Jan 11th to LA via Seoul on Korean A380.  Great airplane for a long trip with flat beds,  and lounges upstairs to relax and read. I hate long trips so the stop in Seoul is great for 2 hours.  Can have a Whopper at Burger King,  go ice skating on the rink in the terminal,  shop,  and world's fastest wifi (free).   Will arrive LA at 130pm and then drive down to Orange County arriving around 4pm.  Will be good to see everyone and my lovely BMW which I only get to drive once a year for a few days. 

Will be meeting with Greg Louganis,  Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner for lunch on Tuesday the 15th up at "The Grove" in Hollywood, one of my favorite places to visit. Actually its the Farmers Market next door that I like the most.  Shops selling hot sauce,  fresh pecans and other nuts and soft drinks like Orange Crush,  Cherrywine,  RC Cola, etc. that haven't been made for years can still be found here.  Love it.

Will visit my god-nephew,  US National Jr Men's Champion Nathan Chen on Saturday 12th for a long lunch and before he flies off to Omaha for US Nationals.  Will defend his title so wishing him good luck.

Will fly back on night of 21st Jan to Hong Kong via Seoul arriving 2 days later at 11am and back to my little pup Kita.  I miss her the most when I walk out my door everyday, but a lot when I take trips to China or USA.

Have to visit my doctor again and perhaps get PET/CT scans done once again.  Some old problems have returned I am afraid.

Almost Christmas time around the world and while I am not so big on celebrations, this year will have a house guest,  Albert Zhu,  a skater from Shanghai who will come down for five days and visit his classmates here.   My helper Dennis will fly back to Philippines for a week so I'll be left tending to my little pup, Kita pictured above.  She has a walk each morning at 615am and another one at 415pm and she gently reminds me each time to get ready to go out. 

I will fly to the USA on January 11th to spend 10 days in Laguna Hills with the Novales family and finally get to meet that beautiful little girl,  Abigail Yang,  the daughter of Mark and Charlene.  While in California,  will drive up to Lake Arrowhead to visit US Junior Men's champion and my god nephew,  Nathan Chen.  Also plan to drive to Malibu to visit Greg Louganis,  a good friend and four time Olympic gold medalist for diving (and author and actor).  Greg recently signed with ABC to be a judge for Celebrity Splash,  a reality show like Dancing with the Stars but involving diving. That should be a real laugh to watch.

I am working hard on a big new project in Tianjin, China at the new Tianjin Kerry Center.  This is a large mall with 5 star Shangrila Hotel,  and 3 very tall residential towers located right next to the banks of a beautiful river in the downtown area of the city.

Photo of Albert Zhu

With Greg Louganis

Its almost time for Christmas 2012 and here in Hong Kong,  weather is still quite nice for this time of the year.  I've just returned from Tianjin, China where it was below zero most of the time, so I was anxious to get out of there quickly.  I love cold weather if I am going skiing but for business I hate it.  Will spend Christmas here in Hong Kong as my helper at home will return to the Philippines for Christmas, so its just me and my little pup Kita who freaks out everytime I am out of her sight.  Have to admit I am not so happy when shes not around as well so my trips outside of Hong Kong are always haunted by my missing the dog.

Will travel to USA on January 11th for 10 days holiday.  Again on Korean Air's huge A380 jet and in business which means a nice flat bed all the way on the upper deck.  Truth is I hate flying. I hate all the waiting, the security, the waiting,  the long flight,  the customs and immigration lines at LAX.  All of it is so exhausting that by the time I get to where I am going I am a true mess.

Anyway,  will get to see everyone in Laguna Hills and relax with another Dog,  a chirpy bird and Charlene's new baby girl.   Also get to drive my white BMW which I only drive once a year for a few days.    Back to HK on Jan 21st arriving on 23rd because of time changes and then a few days off before going back to work.

I am CEO of Ice Rink Concepts, Ltd.,  a division of The Development Studio,  a company whose chairman is well known all over Hong Kong, Mr. Keith G. Kerr,  the former Chairman of Swire Properties (Pacific Place, Cityplaza, Festival Walk,  Citygate,  The Village in Beijing). 

We're involved in projects primarily in China but talking to other developers about projects in the Philippines,  middle east and southeast Asia.

NATHAN CHEN / LINZ, AUSTRIA/ SHORT PGM