My daughter Micaela, 14 is getting really good at snapping away on my camera, nogal!

She took this picture of a crescent moon over Kowloon’s Tsim Sha Tsui just before 7pm tonight (Thursday, August 12):

If you’re Muslim, Ramadan Mubarak to you and yours.

If there’s one challenge for an expatriate family living in Hong Kong (or any family for that matter), it is how to keep our eating habits on the straight and narrow.

With the plethora of fast-food outlets in this cosmopolitan city, it is just so easy to pop into your nearest McDonald’s, Ebeneezer’s or 711 for a quick bite.

Also, life in Hong Kong can be quite a rush sometimes.  Rushing off to work or school can be really tiring and finding the time or energy to cook a healthy meal can be really challenging.

I have recently joined a healthy living programme (note: not a diet) but I have problems finding some of the supplements required locally.

Japanese chain Yoshinoya abounds in Hong Kong

If you’re familiar with the Aim range of nutritional products and know where I can find them in Hong Kong, please let me know, will you?!

When your 14-year old daughter asks to borrow

YOUR Cannon EOS 450D,

Given to you as a gift by your Missus,

To take a picture of her lunch,

Because she “likes how the light is falling on it.”

Do you feel “jealousy” or pride,

Because YOU are still trying to get the light right?

You decide…

From a proud Dad.

And a proud Hubbie with a Missus who can put together a Saturday lunch like that.

My iMac’s desktop from today:

Click on both pictures to get a better look.

Today, 10 July, the year of our Lord 2010, I celebrate my 21st (cough) (cough)-st birthday!

I also celebrate 4 years of living in Hong Kong, and 10 years in Asia overall.

生日快樂 !

At the stroke of midnight last night, the family surprised me with this, amongst other goodies:

And look who ended up enjoying most of it!

Yumm!

Last night the family and I visited our local “fanpark,” the Empire Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui East to watch a scintillating match between the Netherlands and Brazil.

The groundfloor was already packed to the rafters by the time we arrived, so we made our way to the first-floor balcony.

The kids made themselves comfortable on the floor and we joined the crowd cheering and groaning (and blowing our vuvuzelas!)

Until this drol decided he had to fumigate his restaurant.

I’m all for eating at restaurants without roaches and rats scurrying around and would have been fine with Mister Gasmask cleaning his establishment.

Had he been fumigating behind closed doors.

The restaurant’s wall facing the mall is a ventilated structure while the door consists of mere horizontal bars.

So all the patrons watching on the first-floor also got fumigated.

Mr GasMask was not happy about my complaints but thankfully I got the mall security to stop him.

Fans of Brazil were also not happy because their team was beaten by the Dutch.

This morning I woke up to another Fathers’ Day in Asia.

My tenth Fathers’ Day here in Asia.

However, as I have this online platform, I would like to share this Fathers’ Day with my own 2 Fathers.

Both absent and passed on on this special Dads’ day.

The one who gave life to me and, in my early years in his own special way, taught me about life.

The other, in my later adolescent and early adult years, who gave me his youngest, to love and care for.

On this day, I share with you (Not only a Marks & Spencers package, a pot of Fruits-of-the-forest tea and an English fry-up from my kids Micaela & Ethan with their own version of MieliePap) but most of all:

A Very Happy Fathers Day.

Happy Fathers Day Donald Daniel Richard Jansen and Harry Hofmeyer.

You are both missed today…

Your son and son-in-law.

Michael Frederick Jansen

My family (the Missus, a daughter, son and I) have been living in Asia for just about 10 years.

In this time, we’ve been very fortunately to be able to go home once a year.

Home for us will always be Rustdal… a home dug from the earth by others, the resulting trenches kept dry by the Missus and I over extremely wet winter weekends so that the builders could carry on their work during the week.

A home toiled over by a retired father-in-law who thankfully happened to be a proud bricklayer by trade.

A home situated just outside of Kuilsrivier and on the edge of the world-famous Stellenbosch wine-route.

Taiwan for 6 years and Hong Kong will always be just that:  home-away-from home.

We will go home one day when our stint in Asia is over.

Home to our place in Rustdal.

Home to rus/Home to rest.

In the meantime, happiness is receiving a care-package from home, on your birthday nogal!

Happy 10th Birthday Ethan!

Thanks for the package, Ma…