Exciting Events

the weekend was a busy one!  we went to an engagement party as apparently hell has frozen over.  never did we think but one of our friends proposed.  her first response was "are you sure?" which is just so fitting.  anyway, when it happens, it will surely be a par-tay to remember.

then, i had 'around the island' outrigger race which is a 44k (approx. 4 hour) race around hong kong island.  it was a beautiful day for it and then we had a nice bbq at the club after.  there were lots of old dragon boat friends there as well so it was a great reunion.

not surprisingly enough, i went home, ate a pizza and went to be around 7:30!!!

生日快乐

otherwise known as 'happy birthday'.  another year older and potentially wiser.  i am definitely another year older as my clothes are a bit more snug and no matter what i do, it seems pointless as my metabolism has just slowed way down.  i am definitely another year older as people, at work and in general, expect me to behave like an adult.  and on a related note, i am definitely another year older as hangovers dont go away so easy anymore.

but am i any wiser?  i like to think so.  ive finally realised i will not go where i want in my career without a bit of assistance and planning so last year i hired an external career coach.  ive stopped dating jerks and found myself a really great, loving boyfriend.  and weve even moved in together and are trying to save money.

"old" age inst so bad, is it?  have to say, i hope this will be a good year!

however, i am still "young" enough to celebrate.  on friday, the actual day, i had a dinner at a semi-private kitchen.  the food was french and did the job well of lining our stomachs for the copious amounts of alcohol we consumed and the long night we had.  it was great - spent with a handful of friends from odd pockets in my life in hong kong.

saturday was pathetically spent hungover though so...enter "old" age.

sunday, the haggis and i went to the four seasons for a couples spa treatment.  it started with our own very large private room with a big jacuzzi bubble bath and a glass of champagne.  then we had scrubs and massages.  we looked out over the hong kong harbour and really had a great time.

he gave me a tooth brush (sonicare for my obsession with dental hygiene), a book and printed & framed photos from our trip to the states.  but that evening we went to sushi sase for my "real" gift and it was one of the best meals ive had in hong kong.  the haggis and i enjoyed ourselves with the chef's tasting menu.  all the fish comes direct from tokyo and i was wonderful.

yep - liking "old" age for sure!

not me but you need to see...and this is JUST the jacuzzi tub!

General Ramblings

the weekend was as always, good but short.

las week during the start of the haggis' gardening leave, he painted the sitting room ceiling and walls which has freshened things up.

saturday night we went out with a friend and sunday afternoon was spent at a typically hong kong champagne brunch.  we went to one of the hotels in tst and it was an oyster fest.  the oysters were good and fresh so would definitely go back with selections from the us and australia.  my friend who organised it cannot come to my birthday dinner so she surprised me with a little birthday treat.  very sweet.






















sadly, both the haggis and i have been hit with a bit of a cold.  the haggis worse than me, i think.  he was all sweaty and stuffy yesterday but he was so funny - funnier than usual.  i think the fever made him a little wonky and he was just cracking me up.  i felt bad laughing as he was so sick but we could have discovered the secret to true comedy - a fever!

so this week will culminate with my birthday dinner on friday and a spa visit for both of us to the four seasons - cannot wait!!!  and then off to borneo for the bank holiday.

speaking of travel, we have two really long breaks for chinese new year and easter.  we're looking into skiing in korea nd then a bit of travel around the country for chinese new year and india for easter.  does anyone have any good suggestions on what else to do and see in both korea and india?

Money Obsessed Asia

there has been small town news (in print and word of mouth) lately about high paid people losing their jobs that has got me thinking*.  so, some banker-wanker lost his job at japanese bank.  his wife uses a self-promoting blog to try to convince herself shes happy and fabulous and more recently was interviewed by a small singaporean newspaper in a section called "money and me".  in both mediums she talks all about money money cars money more material goods money and how much money they have but she doesnt want to talk about money because it is tacky.  after all that, i have to wonder when she will post about how her husband lost his job and what cuts they plan to make.  like, "redundancies are difficult as we had to sell two of our 7 mercedes and i no longer have a fleet of people to raise my own children.  life is just SO hard!"  in all honesty, their lives are probably unfazed and just fine in comparison but it seems for some, its never enough.
*yes, i do occasionally think but like to keep it to a minimum.
 
then there is another exec around town who agreed to a very long gardening leave should they go to a competitor.  but first, while running out of the last employer's office, it has been said the message was basically, 'smell ya later, losers - i am off for more money money money'.  the short-sightedness of this has repercussions as 1) you dont burn bridges and 2) there are certain people in hk business circles you do not mess with.  since, ive heard conflicting stories about the status of current employment and the latest rumour is the former employer is now being sued.  unsure if there is any viable case but at the end of the day, NOBODY wants to hire someone who has sued a former employer...i think i see a departure from hk as the best option but sadly, there are not many options left.  i hear brazil is beautiful and the market needs talents like that...um....not - regardless, bon voyage!

next, meet closeted guy marrying rich chinese girl.  i just met the latest guy to snag a chinese girl from a wealthy family where the guy seems pretty camp.  there seems to be a small niche group of western men who settle down with these girls yet they seem gay.  theres nothing wrong with being gay - anyone who knows me knows i love gay men - but marrying a chick for money when youre so clearly closeted seems a bit off to me.  call me traditional but i think if youre straight you go for someone of the opposite sex and if youre gay, you go for someone of the same gender  kids these days...

what is is about money that makes us do such things?  do we need MORE?  i realise that money is important and admittedly, i like nice things (mainly shoes and handbags) but there is a limit, no?  living in hong kong, it is a complete money bubble.  we think this is normal life.  it is not.  we live such a privileged life of travel, easy living, buying most things we want, not need, but want, eating out all the time.  after a long weekend of catching up with friends and spending time with my haggis, i feel fortunate to have what i have and blessed to have the people i have in my life.  isnt that what life is about?  well, its what mine is about.

To the US and Beyond

a flash trip to the states was action packed as expected.  the haggis and i spent a few days in new york then off to the cape and back to new york for one more day before heading back to hk.  highlights of the trip include catch up with friends, food, more food, fishing on the cape and all the trains, planes and automobiles we needed to take in order to do all this.

a big thanks to family and friends for making the trip memorable as always, time is never enough but i guess something is better than nothing.

we didnt take loads of pictures, but here are a few:

Latest News

so the case in china continues...this is some interesting coverage here.  not wanting to write much more - i think a link is sufficient.

otherwise, things are going well here.  up early mornings to paddle before work has reset my night owl status to an early-to-rise, early-to-bed person.  go figure.  i do like exercising before work though - there is something nice about it.  and although the water is absolutely foul, it is still really nice out there paddling around the islands watching the sun rise.

here is a picture of an outrigger - for those of you who do not know.  you can go out in an OC1, OC2 or OC6 - the one is for one person and so on...

i have a busy work week next week and then i am officially off the account ive been looking after for the past 2 years.  it is time for a change!  my role will be 100% global now and hopefully it will help with some exposure into markets outside of hong kong.

so, thats all for now folks - have a great weekend.

Tokyo, My Favourite Geisha

tokyo is my favourite geisha.  it isnt home but it certainly is a lot of fun!  it started off, as i mentioned here, in first class.  let me just say on the record that ive never experienced anything like it.  the cathay first class lounge is redonkulous.  real silver, massive amounts of food, white linens and service like what i havent seen since new york.

then i get onto the flight in seat 1a to find a MASSIVE seat which could fit me and my haggis (but sadly he stayed home) to snuggle and watch a movie on my very large tv.  here, the charming (if a bit over eager) flight attendants fed me and fed me until i was ready to pop.  at one point, i rang the bell and not one but two flight attendants scurried over to me before i could even bring my hand back up from the panel.  i let them know i was beyond full and the sigh of disappointment they both let out was if they worked long hard hours in the kitchen themselves to prepare it especially for me.

after getting into tokyo and overcoming a small amount of confusion, i found my dear friend waiting for me on the platform of sugamo, which is apparently is 'harajuku for old ladies' and oh so fitting for the two of us to meet there!

otherwise, the weekend was spent hanging out, talking about life and love, visiting museums, drinking and eating and drinking and eating!

this exhibit was very cool - it was a room lit only by what the light provided and black ink being shot up to land on this bouncy surface with the landscape of tokyo behind it.

it is a same this photo didnt come out :( 

Aikido and Nutters

off to see my dear friend who left me in honkers for some adventures in learning aikido.  yes, she quit her job to embark on a year long aikido course.  you can check out her blog here and learn more about aikido here.

not only do i get to see my nutter of a friend who i miss dearly (and would only sleep in a dorm with bunkbeds and a shared shower for a very small handful of people) but i also get to fly first class!  ive never flown proper first class before.  the flight tickets were so expensive due to summer holiday so i used miles (which were due to expire) and am going first class (as that was all that was left) - YIPPIE!!!  is it wrong i wish the flight was a wee bit longer...?

Adaptation

sitting here enjoying my spicy laksa, ive realised ive adapted.  i now love soggy romaine.  when i first moved, i thought it was so weird that the chinese boil romaine lettuce.  i mean, whatever small nutritional value is in romaine is just boiled right out of the poor leafy vegetable.  and to add insult to injury, it tastes even more like nothing after it is boiled than when served raw.

go to any chinese restaurant and you will see plates and plates full of wet soggy lettuce pass by.  i would frantically wave my hand no to the waitress bringing a serving of it my way.  in fact, this guy in front of me today went BACK for his soggy lettuce as they forgot to give him his plate which is a treat only if you eat in.

so, as i have been enjoying my MSG fueled lunch, i realised i was actually looking for some good ole soggy romaine in my noodle soup...HUH?  what has happened to me?  i chalk it up to the fact that the soup base is aggressively spicy and i added even more heat with red chili peppers - so that and the little shrimp and a bit off udon noodle, the boiled romaine aint that bad.

go figure.

Haggis' Birthday

the birthday celebration was great!  we went out to dinner at a new "new york" style steakhouse called the blue butcher.  its received a lot of hype and i have to say, it is worth it (unlike brickhouse - which was terrible from the service to the food!).  although i dont eat land grazing animals, the seafood was still amazing - a true mark of a good steakhouse.

there were about 14 friends for a lovely time...and then it got rowdy.  about half of us walked over to a bar in soho for some arm wrestling and wild dancing - photographic proof below.   needless to say, the next day was fairly unproductive but it was definitely worth it.  we havent had a big night out in a while.