Contemplating Home and There are Always Thoughts of Cheese

so now that mass amounts of snow have hit the northeast, i am not sure how excited i am to be heading back stateside.  it is "cold" here in hong kong and i can barely handle that - cold being an average of 18 degrees celsius or 65 degrees fahrenheit.  we all walk around like its the arctic though - soft as marshmallows.

honkers has emptied out a bit but there is still a decent amount of people staying here for the holidays including the boy.  we celebrated christmas with a really nice dinner at caprice in the four seasons.  i had a salad and scallops and he had soup and some land grazing animal (i think it was veal - i tried to repress that detail) but most importantly CHEESE.  the cheese platter was to die for.  i mean to.die.for.  caprice is one of the 3 michelin star restaurants in hong kong and i have to say it was the best meal ive had in honkers.  well done.  here is a picture of the cheese, it was just that impressive.  needless to say after all that fromage, we went home and passed out on the couch.  hot.

see you all soon!

xo

"On the Tram" in the Press

one of my photographer's book has been picked up by hong kong press.  pretty good!!!!

here is one of the releases from time out hong kong:

Back in the US

hello party people!  hope you are doing well.  i am :)  i will be landing in the states for christmas and am looking forward to seeing people.  i will have a day in new york and hope to see people sunday, 3 january for a small dinner of those who are around.  then i fly back out to honkers the 4th.  so who is with me?  am thinking mexican...YUM.

however, i do have mixed feelings about coming back.  my life feels like it is here.  i am afraid the hong kong bug has truly crawled under my skin now.  there are so many people here for christmas (including my hot man) that it feels weird leaving.  however, family & friends stateside are so important to me, i hope it will be a wonderful (if chilly) return.

so for now, here are some pictures of a beautiful saturday spent sailing and an aggressive sunday spent paintballing:

HAPPY TOFURKEY DAY!

hello to you all, tomorrow is tofurkey day.  i am celebrating.  cooking even.  i hope it will be good.  i just made the smashed potatoes and will do the rest tomorrow.  since it is only a deux and i dont eat meat, i am cheating a bit ;) but please dont tell.  he's aussie anyway - like he will know the difference between real and jarred cranberry sauce.

other than that, all is going well.  am happy, healthy and free.  but i do miss each and every single one of you.  so until i see your faces, here is a picture of "tofurky".

Update

yes, am still alive.  yes, am doing well.  i have been beyond busy doing my own business, i cant seem to think straight.  the first delivery came yesterday and i have 200 books scattered throughout my flat...better get rid of them soon!  we are doing deliveries on monday and i am looking forward to running around hong kong with 100lbs of books.  despite all my ups and downs of freelance, not a day goes by when i am not happy to have quit that wretched company and to be doing my own thing on my own terms!

additionally, life is pretty grand.  i go out, i stay in, i am loving life :)

as for christmas, i will be back stateside for a week.  not looking forward to the cold but looking forward to seeing friends and family.

see some pictures of the book below.

xo,

e

Stranded in Golden Pavilion

since i have not been working full-time, i have taken to drinking.  a lot.  i need to cut it out.  seriously.  thursday night found me drunken in wanchai at girly bars and public street make out sessions.  i am sorry, did i just turn 30?  time to grow up.  and my health has taken a bit of a hit.  i am inside on a beautiful day with bronchitis like symptoms.  however, after speaking with a friend, he now has me scared i have swine flu.  i dont even eat meat.  har.

however, i am bored sh*tless as i am stuck indoors trying to recuperate.  i am now watching the newest episodes of "the office" and all i have to say is "jimmothy" - hahahahahahahahahaha

xo

Enter Title Here...

hello all, how are tricks?

my friday night started drunken, including me being sick in the sink of a ladies room (can never go back there) which i know was KLASSY. being on a budget, i have found the best deal ever - hkd30 drinks and hkd45 snacks. however, i dont think i can show my face there any time soon. the best bit is that i do not remember any of it so i guess i could go in there and play dumb. oi, as my mate gregg said to me, "get a job".

saturday was volleyball day out on mui wo but since i was so hungover, i just watched. the boy and i rested on a blanket with a book (one my little brother gave me called "sex, drugs, and cocoa puffs" which is fantastically funny) and instead of us fighting over, we read together (collective "awwww"). i finally felt a bit better and joined in a little frisbee action. but still feeling the pain, my saturday night was spent indoors.

on sunday, i went out with a new friend - a sweet québécois. he took me to cheung chau which is another surrounding island that i surprisingly have not visited until this past weekend. it was really cute with some of the nicest beaches ive seen in hong kong.

here are some pictures below:

the week i spent running around for meetings about the book as well as interviews - i am probably the busiest non-employed person around...

show me some love, people!

xo,

e

Birthday Time and Miscellaneous Updates

so my birthday is tomorrow. the pre-birthday blues started today. it did not help that i was severely hungover from a saturday junk. i dont know what the boy has planned but if you know me, i do not want to have a party. i didnt plan one and i dont want one. the boy and i went out for a nice date night on friday - movie (the time traveler's wife) & dinner (sushi) which was really nice.

and as a side, i have taken to a lot of day drinking. i drank three days this week starting at either noon or two-ish. COMPLETELY unnecessary but i did it. i need to stop it.

and here is another project i am working on selling to banks, law firms and hotels - CHECK. IT. OUT.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/860347

And the Worry Starts NOW

as much as i am happy with my decision to quit, i am a bit worried about cash flow. i have started babysitting to earn some spending money as a good friend of mine just had a baby and she knows every new mum in hong kong. however, i am spending it faster than you can say "unemployment". of course i have money saved up but i also dont feel like blowing it all. nor do i want to live like a hermit. however, i have made a few instant changes that include taking lots of public transportation (shock, horror!) including the mini buses (lord help me). and i am eating at home as much as possible (pasta again...). i have toyed with the idea of teaching english which pays quite well or working with this guy that does speed dating events (hong kong dating is so crap i think there is a big market). so we shall see...english, match making and babies...my future!

other than that, things are going well. i am relieved to be done with that company despite the fact they are being completely nasty towards me. i think in tough times we see people's true characters and there are two grown men in that office who should be ashamed of themselves. but when the option was work in a terrible environment (they have had about 20% turnover of staff in a month...that number speaks for itself) or be worried about money and finding a job, i am glad i made the decision i made. for me.

on a sunnier note, here are some pics from the boy's boat party last weekend. enjoy:

I QUIT I QUIT I QUIT

last friday, i quit my job. no, i dont have a new one lined up and no, i am not nervous...yet. i will have some more money coming in and until it stops and i start to run dangerously low, i am trying to figure out "stuff". so as of now, i am babysitting and dogsitting to make spending money and i have turned over a new leaf of taking public transport including the mini buses...eeeek!!!

people drop me a line.

xo

Weekend Rumblings

a great weekend...started off friday night with a couple of drinks with friends and then off to a dinner a deux with a mate who was leaving for a bit of a holiday. civilized.

on saturday, i went hiking with the boy and two other mates. it was beyond hot and what should have taken us an hour and a half took more like two and a half hours. we stopped and rested a bit too much, perhaps, but it was worth it in the end. the hike ends at the most beautiful beach in hong kong. you can actually go in neck deep and still see your feet! and those of you who dont know hong kong water, that is a HUGE accomplishment as the water is beyond gross here. often times you are swimming and little "floaties" pass you by...like wrappers, feces, brown bubbly stuff, etc. fun. i was so knackered by the hike, we just stayed in and went to sleep around 9 - ha!

sunday was spent watching "the boy in the striped pajamas" which is incredibly sad and i balled like a baby at the end. and then off to a pool (swanned into a hotel pool pretending to be guests) and then the boy hosted a night of mahjong and drinking...just what i should be doing on a sunday. it was a blast though.

what did YOU get up to?

xo,
e

Massive Photo Update

i have been traveling a TON with my potential impending move back to the states. so here are loads of pictures to share. i am not going to write much just know that i went to ho chi minh and beijing and had a BLAST in both cities. enjoy!!!! by the way, the best one(in my opinion) is at the end...

Limbo Ain't Just a Bimbo with a Limp...

here i am, stuck in hk without much idea what to do next...i am in limbo. i hate it. the work environment is killer. every morning i wake up and think of reasons why to call out sick. i am in a great mood and begin my "commute" down to the office to find the dark cloud that looms over my head get bigger and bigger until its just encapsulated me like a cold, wet, nasty blanket. yuck.

Off to Shanghai and Suzhou

if you ask any expat in hong kong what they like about living here, they will say "it is so easy to travel". while that is true, i find it amusing that one of the best things about hong kong is that it is easy to leave it. however, on that note, i am off to shanghai and suzhou this weekend. i cant wait to get out. the office is crippling and i need a break. i am happy when i am at home or out and about around hong kong, but being in this office makes me want to pull out all my eyelashes one by one.

the only issue with leaving is that i havent found a home for my frisky foster pup. she has met two families and ruined the opportunities by being a right bitch. she has attacked them and they have quickly brought her back to me. the woman in charge of the organization told me today "it is like she doesnt want to leave you". it is cute but kind of a nusance.

i do have to say it totally serves me right to have a dog that is chalk full of attitude...

Petite Cherie

here is a pic of the pup...who is licking my leg as i type....if she could talk she would say "love me love me love me love me"

Puppy Love

i have started temporarily taking in dogs.  in hk, they (the government) kill about 20,000 to 30,000 dogs per year.  dogs here are like handbags - you buy the latest one and throw it out when youre done.  so i brought home an 8 month old french bull dog.  she is completely skittish and it is very sad.  she has clearly been abused, has a skin condition and needs lots of love.  her chinese name sounds scarily close to "no no" which means "pretty girl" or something like that so i am trying to think of something else.  perhaps something french.  any suggestions?

so in other words, i am waiting to hear about this promotion.  i hope i get it.  i hope i dont.

ok, off to bed.  will try to get a picture up of the pup soon.

xoxo,

e

Stuck in China

i havent written anything in a while but the crap news first - i am not going to make it back to the states in july like i planned and i am immensely disappointed.  however, i have had a couple of nice trips as of late (SMALL silver lining...).

lets see - since april, i had a visitor come and it was a blast!  we had some wild nights in hong kong, went to guilin and yangshuo and she was able to enjoy the rain... :(  enough words though, pictures are worth a thousand words so check these out below - we are doing some sweet "chinese" poses too!

and i went to sanya (the "hawaii of china") recently as well and it was REEEEALLY relaxing.  we left thursday night and came back this past sunday.  and i figured out the chinese are best people to holiday with as they dont want to be dark so the pool (largest in sanya) was completely empty except for me and my mate.  we went out one night and did some SICK chinese karaoke, did tequila shots in front of a horrified bartender and my mandarin speaking mate was asked many times "what is wrong with your weird friend?  why isnt she speaking?"  when told i wasnt chinese, my blonde haired, blue eyed mate got "well she looks more chinese than you." ahhhh, and THIS is the worlds next super power?????  in good hands, we are.  so again, here are some pics, enjoy!

Weekend Recap

it was a great one but it doesnt sound too hot when i put it into written words....oh well, here goes.  i have been sick since last week but friday past, i was determined to go out.  i organized an impromptu hen doo for a mate (see pic of the ladies with me looking fat to the left and one of us giving people going down a staircase a little show down below - and as a side, i AM putting myself on a diet...) as well as had a big bash my crazy neighbor was spinning at.  so i was out of the office around 4 to begin the surprise hen do activities - we did some girly stuff, ate, drank and were merry and then i went off to see my neighbor around 11.  after hours of dancing on chair at drop and going home around 4, i did nothing saturday (shocker).

yesterday was my "special day" - the day i came home to the states - which my family always celebrates like a birthday.  i have to admit, i almost forgot...i ended up celebrating by grocery shopping, cleaning my flat and going on a date.  yawn...

but i am probably  back in the northeastern seaboard mid july and i CANNOT wait!!!!!!

xoxo,

e

Oldies but Goodies

so my colleagues leaving doo was a while ago but i was going through the pictures tonight.  i think i discussed it already but it was drunken (shocker) and totally messy (even more shocking) and therefore have some stellar pics to share: