5 years gone......

September 11 is a day that will never be forgotten.  To many people around the world who lost loved ones in those towers, it is a horrible day to go through every year.   This year being the 10th anniversary and earlier in the year, Osama Bin Laden was taken out in a hunt that lasted nearly a decade.   The day will forever be marked in sadness.

Sept. 11 is also a sad day for me for other reasons.  It's rather small compared to what people lost in those attacks but it bothers me on a personal level.  This was the day I had to leave my life behind in Hong Kong and move back to the US and pretty much start over with almost nothing.  I originally moved into HK on 9/2/05 in the Yuen Long then to the Tin Shui Wai area,   I had big plans to execute over there and was in the start up of a new business venture.   First it was going to be a Japanese toy and cute item shop but after seeing 1000s of them, back to the drawing board.   My business partner and I settled on a two fold plan.  He wanted to start up a designer clothing line, I wanted to open a cafe.  We met in the middle which would have had the cafe and a little store front that would sell the limited runs of clothing and hats at a counter.   I wound up teaching english to little kids in the meantime.  Life was great and enjoyable everyday, I made a great group of new friends and had a really great girlfriend.

Then everything fell apart.

Nearly $234,000 HKD disappeared from the business account and I was reduced to living on the streets and parks and my amazing girlfriend left shortly thereafter.   I had to go to the US Consulate and have them buy me a plane ticket back to the US. Sept 11 2006 was the date they flew me back.  I lost most of clothing due to mold growing on it and having to throw away a bunch more at the airport to get my bag to weigh less to board the plane.   And I came back to the US homeless again and trying to work and get my life back.   I was miserable for about a whole year til I found an exciting new thing in life.   It opened a lot of doors for me and I have been following that path since! 

9/11 marked the end of my life in Hong Kong but it won't be the last time I visit there by no means.