My one personal New Year’s resolution this year is to get back into tennis. I’m posting this newsletter from Vancouver Lawn Tennis Club back in 1989 where I won both the under-14 and under-16 events. This wasn’t a particularly amazing feat at the time (there were better, more impressive wins), however, it’s about the only digital item I have from that era and it will do fine as a reminder.

Here’s what I did, and enjoyed every minute of it.

- Stay at the Island Shangri-La and get VIP pickup services from HKG
- Check-in with impeccable service at the Island Shangri-La
- Fast track direct to room, welcome package in room, business cards, etc.
- Dinner at Va Bene in Lan Kwai Fong (LKF) for some great Italian food
- Walk around and be amazed by the action in LKF – all the expats are here
- Go to Mong Kok to check out ladies market – lots of cheap tourist junk there but fun.
- Sit at the Chef’s table at Bo Innovation, Wan Chai for a 4-hour, 17-course dinner – “Extreme Chinese Cuisine”
- Meet people from Barcelona and Boston sitting and chat with “Demon Chef” Alvin Leung at Chef’s Table
- Grab breakfast at Petrus on the 56th floor of the Island Shangri-La for stunning views
- Go check out the big brands (e.g. Louis Vuitton) in Pacific Place mall – take note of which models you’ll want to buy later in Shenzhen
- Visit Sogo department store near Times Square
- Purchase an Octopus card and ride the MTR subway around Hong Kong like a fiend
- Day trip to Lowu Commercial City in Shenzhen (Guangdong Province, Mainland China)
- Arrive in Shenzhen by MTR/train, dress down to maximize bargaining position
- Negotiate on some Louis Vuitton bags ($80 for 3) and goodies (e.g. Dr. Dre Beats headphones for $25)
- Go for authentic Chinese food in Shenzhen with JJ, cool guide
- Pay equivalent of $0.75 for a beer out at a nice restaurant in SZ
- Learn about the extensive underground industry in SZ
- Take a taxi to Star Ferry Terminal at No. 7 pier and ride across to Central
- Grab a massage in Lan Kwai Fong (LKF) at Happy Foot – 19th Floor, Century Square, 1 D’Aguilar Street, Central – 2522 1151 ($450 HKD for a *GREAT* 100 min body massage)

Coles notes version of Thursday, Oct. 20th in Bali:

* 13 hour flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong, 4 hour layover, 4.5 hour flight from Hong Kong to Densapar
* Sat next to stinker the whole way from Vancouver to HK
* Met Yudi, cool bar manager at WOO Bar – suggested Hu’u as a good bar to go out to in Seminyak
* Went for an 11pm 90 minute BLISS massage at the W Away Spa

Time for an 11pm Bliss Massage

The WOO Bar at the W, apparently pretty good on a Friday and Saturday night

View from the Cathay Pacific flight taxiing into the gate in Densapar (Bali)

I first started CrossFit in December of 2007, nearly 3.5 years ago. Since that time, I’ve increased my fitness, well-being and overall health probably by an order of magnitude. I’ve accomplished things I never thought I would, such as 10 consecutive handstand pushups, a 400-lb deadlift, a 225-lb clean & jerk, a 6:30 mile…. and many other things I give myself a pat on the back for.

However, one of the things I’ve never been able to do (until this week) is a muscle up. Here is a quick description of a muscle-up from CrossFit.com:

“The muscle-up is astonishingly difficult to perform, unrivaled in building upper body strength, a critical survival skill, and most amazingly of all, virtually unknown.“

Anyway, without further ado, here is mine. I’ll work on making it prettier to look at over time!

This one was from June 2010: