Professionalism

i must say, i have never worked in such an entertaining environment before. today we had another blowout. there have been many but i have not written about them until now because to outsiders, i dont think it would be as good but this one, this one was priceless!

so a manager is off on a business trip this afternoon and suggested to a coworker that she get him a meeting so he could go see them in person. as of this morning, she still had not made any effort to contact the company. they went back and forth a few rounds and then it eventually exploded. it all kind of went like this:

manager: did you call XYZ Company and set up a meeting?
coworker: no because they were on holiday yesterday.
m: ok, well you could have emailed since they probably all have blackberries
cw: i dont know so i didnt do it.
m: i am trying to help you - why didnt you do what i asked you to do?
cw: OK! i will do it now!
m: i am just trying to get a meeting for you. they all have blackberries so there is no reason why you shouldnt have contacted them
cw: well i dont know. when you meet with them you and ask them yourself if they have blackberries
this went for a few more rounds and escalated until
m: lets go into the conference room and talk about this
at this point "cw" was now loud enough for the entire office to hear
cw: no, i do not want to
m: lets go, i do not want to talk about it out here
"cw" now stands up and demands
cw: i do not WANT TO!!!!!!!!!!
and sits down again
cw: do whatever you need, give me disciplinary whatever, disciplinary notice but i will not go in there
m: lets go now. you are directly disobeying a direct order and making this worse
cw: i dont want to go in there because we will get into a fight
m: i am not discussing this out here
cw: we are going to fight, we may as well just do it out here...
this dragged on for a bit until they finally went into the conference room to yell at each other in there.
and when a senior manager was asked to help intervene at one point, he said, "not interested".

hahahahaha - oh baby jesus, do i REALLY work here? it has to be a joke. i have NEVER worked in a place where yelling at your coworkers is completely tolerated. if i were the manager i would have grabbed that person by the scruff and tossed 'em out the door. but then again, maybe that is why i am not the manager ;)

maybe you had to be here.

Firsts...

i will miss another tofurkey day since i am in hong kong (obviously). the last tofurkey day i missed was back in 2002 when i was living in london. it was dreadful because i had JUST moved and i had no friends. however, this time around i have been here for 5 - thats right FIVE - months now and i actually have friends this time around. believe it or not...its true. an americana friend of mine and her aussie husband are hosting a lovely meal on thursday and i am very much so looking forward to it. i am bringing my brit mate who is very excited for his first thanksgiving and we are going to be amongst a bunch of aussies...go figure.

anyway, i had a lovely week with my friend in town. the only thing is with the current market conditions we were relegated to the marriott instead of the four seasons, sadly, and the marriott is less than nice...especially compared to the four seasons. however, it was another great week and we even hit up macau! we went to the exhibition match of mcenroe, borg, federrer and blake. it was lots of fun but the trip to macau is a bit of a headache. but we also went to the peak. we had dinner at pearl on the peak and is was DELISH.

here are two pics, one of my friend's boyfriend spilling beer on himself and me laughing at him at the tennis and the other i took from our TABLE at the restaurant (we had the best table in the place, by the way - it was corner with a magnificent view)...


































and then this saturday, i took a trip to disneyland with a mate. it was fun and really cute but very small and in comparison to disneyworld...it was kinda sad. nonetheless, i had a great time :)

all in all - a GREAT week of firsts.

Pictures worth a Thousand Words

these first two are of me, a friend and some famous kiwi ruggers from two weekends ago at the bledisloe cup. i have no clue who the dudes are but i do know they are HUGE. i have never been so close to a man that large before in my entire life. (now dont go down the x-rated path on me) but in all honesty, it is so overwhelming- the one on my right was just so big its almost a bit scary - intimidating at least. again, the weekend was LOTS of fun and seeing the haka live for the first time was beyond words incredible...

the these other two are from a ny colleague's visit to the hk office. as you can see it was full of the usual antics...


on saturday i went mountain biking for the first time ever (yes, my bum still hurts) and i went to the cricket 6s on sunday which i LOVED. its a shortened test match (none of that 5 day crapola) and is a lot like american baseball. it was lots of fun - big hits, beer, food and outdoor action! i could defo get into cricket...

outside of work has been a blast but work itself has sucked hairy swollen ball sacks. i think the tail end of work last week was by far the worst couple of days of my life. i am so stressed out and unhappy in work, my hair has been falling out in clumps....

What? WHAT? Did THAT Really Just Happen?

i brought soy milk into work and i put my initials on it so people would not think it was communal. i can share but i dont want everyone just thinking they can polish it off. so i go into the kitchen this morning, pour my cereal and the soy milk and immediately think it looks funny. i tucked in to find that it was all watery and gross. clearly someone used some, which is fine, but dont ruin the rest of it by adding in water. fuckers.

sometimes it is just too much for me to handle...

Halloween Weddings

happy halloween, my americano friends!

i dressed up last week because i have a wedding to go to tonight and a friend had a party a week early. now, anyone who knows me, knows that i do NOT like getting dressed up for halloween. and it entirely has to do with the fact that cheap flammable "sexy cop" or "sexy witch" or "sexy medieval maiden" are all about 80 USD and you wear it once. so what did i go as? the "walk of shame". yep, thats right - i like to keep it classy. i wore one ripped thigh high, messed up my hair and makeup and drew a hickey in on my neck. pure class...with a capital k - Klassy...whatever, dont judge.

so yes, this is the wedding (http://www.mywedding.com/seungahsimon/) i am attending ce soir but i will have to call it an early night because i have a bike ride early tomorrow morning in the new territories as well as the bledisloe cup on saturday. and since i dont want to be barfing my way around the new territories on a bike, it should be an early one, kids.

and between the wedding and the bledisloe, i am sure to have loads of snaps. again, two words:

DAN
CARTER

(now swoon...)

Nnotes from Another B-Trip, Next Stop Manila!

when i told someone in the states that i was heading here they said, “oh, i am so jealous.” and for a moment, albeit brief, i thought i should be so lucky. i get to go to all these exotic places and travel for free – how freaking cool is that? well, it is cool if i had time to do something fun. my only down time consists of an extra 20 minutes in starbucks where i can have another snack i dont need with another chai tea latte i dont need. or there is downtime at night where i am trapped inside the hotel because i dont want to be kidnapped and forced into a sex ring or forced to ride the pole. but speaking of starbucks, all of them have armed guards at the door (come to think of it all buildings in manila have heavily armed men at them) but starbucks? because that is necessary? well, he is at starbucks and he has a huge gun and his name is jose. also, there is a dude outside the window with a small sign on the ground that reads “we buy empty cartons”. it seems like they buy empty cigarette cartons and…do…what with them? make a small house? what would they do with them? and to boot, it seems all the starbucks employees are in the back having some sort of rally as I am hearing cheering and laughter and general ruckus. according to my first meeting, that must be the “latin” side of filipinos – the side that “doesnt want to work too hard”. his words, not mine.

admittedly, i do love (in the hate sort of love way) the cabs in these developing countries. everywhere i have been in south east asia, i have taken some seriously dodgy cabs and manila is no exception. the cabs here are these run down looking white dodge neons with what looks like some sharpie action on the side that reads “taxi 632 1441”. i kid you not – i think they shapie-ed on their taxi sign. i only took one non-hotel taxi and it was gross. i might have caught some sort of fungus but i am praying not as i dont have health insurance yet. and yes, it is because i am too lazy to fill out the forms…

i do have to say, this city is fairly interesting in its genetic makeup as it was spanish conquered but obviously in asia. the people are this hybrid of eurasians but look kinda mexican to me. also, most of them have spanish names so it is fun to rock up and meet ricardo salazar and it is this 5 foot 5 140 lbs asian man standing in front of me. come to think of it, it is probably what people think when the meet me and find an asian chick…if it is called a duck, sounds like a duck and acts like a duck but doesnt look a duck…then what the heck is it? clearly not white meat.

and sadly since all i see really are the airports on these trips – let me comment on this for a minute…the one in manila is like a bus station and no i am not exaggerating. literally they use the same tv monitors and someone actually walks around yelling “singapore air, singapore air – last call for singapore air” before the bus leaves the station…err, the plane takes off. magical, friends , truly magical. but i do have to say my favorite is when you leave, you have to pay about 15 usd to get out. in indonesia, you have to pay to get in and i think paying on the way out makes so much more sense as youre itching to get out so bad you dont care how much it is or that you have to exchange monies again. but i did make friends with my driver on the way out to the airport and he was telling me about all the beautiful beaches to go to…yeah, i could definitely handle that. we are talking boracai or palawan here my friends…bring on the sandy white beaches and the clear water!

Manner-isms

it wouldnt be work if something didnt operate properly. today the phones are down. we cannot make any outgoing calls nor can we receive any incoming calls. there is nothing better than a newsroom without phones...no interviews to hold, no sales calls to make - cool. so as others go out for coffee or to do an ever important "errand" or socialize, i would like to discuss something uniquely hong kong - bad manners.

in first place and a personal favorite of mine is: some people will come up to you, stop and stare at you in the middle of the sidewalk instead of moving a bit to the left or the right.
yes, i am serious. people can be so rude here. often times you can be going down the street and your path will cross someone else's. instead of you both diverging, the person will come right into your face, stop and stare. they want YOU to move out of THEIR way. um. ok. i feel that people like this are the same people who do not give up their seat for old people/pregnant women on the subway. and all these behaviors DRIVE ME CRAZY. so how have i chosen to combat this? i barrel into them or sometimes yell if i am in a particularly foul mood.

for example, during one of our most recent typhoons, i was going through the mtr (the subway) to the airport with a colleague. it was dumping rain outside and we came to the stairs. since her arms are the size of my index fingers, i helped her with her mammoth case (for 2 days - apparently she packed a lot of "beauty products") and i had mine as well. suddenly, a woman appears and is coming up the stairs right in my path. NOBODY else is around yet she marches up to me and stops and stares - like "get out of MY way". so what do i do? i barrel into her and yell, "what the fuck!" she moves over but continues to throw me nasty looks. lady, do you not see me wet as a sewer rat with two pieces of luggage? you move, nasty old cow.

coming in at second place is: the people who do not hold doors.
now this would be ALL of HONG KONG. i am not kidding. nobody holds doors for anyone and they certainly are not letting women out of elevators first. yes, in hong kong not only is chivalry dead but so is general respect for man kind. i have actually seen men and women alike open the door a crack just for themselves and their tiny fish-only-eating bodies to come through. and the best is those people who hurry up to sneak through the door behind someone else so they dont have to touch it at all. now talk about NO EFFORT. hey, thanks for comin'. jerks.

and third and final is: the nose pickers and loogie spitter.
how wonderfully clean i find this one. i guess it has improved a lot since sars (three cheers for sars - hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray!) but it still happens and i find it ironic. this is a city that has signs in elevators that are covered in disposable plastic wrap with posted signs up that read "sanitize every two hours". there is disinfecting hand lotion at the entrance of many work buildings yet people feel it is completely ok to not just pick but "dig for gold" (as me mum would say) just standing there on the sidewalk with no shame whatsoever.

a while back, i was doing a free day at a local gym and in a full yoga class. as i was making my decision to join or not to join, i hear this man clearing his throat. in he was doing it in such a violent manner, i'd say he managed to pull up his toe-jam through his body and out his mouth as he spat it all on the floor behind me. and guess what? i didnt join the gym. shocker.

and in honorable mention is: the squatters in the ladies room.
now this is confusing and so contradictory. the women here do not like to sit on the loo so they squat and pee all over the seat instead. because that seems WAY more sanitary to me. that is why often times i have gone into public toilets and they have a "toilet" with areas for your feet where you can stand. i am sure most of these delicate asian flowers thighs cannot hold them up to hover so instead they just stand. and what? pee all over their leg? now that makes sense.

but wait, this is supposed to be the worlds next super power? yeah, i believe that one. to my credit, i havent subscribed to the "if you cant beat 'em, join 'em" motto yet and i hope not to ever. i certainly dont think youll find me picking my nose on the street anytime soon. and if you do, please stop me.

Sickness Makes Life so much more Clear

there is nothing better than getting sick to knock your ass back into reality. sorry if i have been mia lately but between getting sick, working in this shite market, and traveling to scary "developed countries" (manila is my next trip and i hear they have a penchant for kidnapping us citizens...) has taken a toll on me. not to mention the vat of alcohol i drink almost daily. however, sickness has helped me turn over a new, healthier leaf.

i went hiking for the first time the other day during a bank holiday recently (pics to come). it was so fantastic and i saw how beautiful hong kong can be. we hiked through the new territories and ended up at a beach where you can only get there by walking (ie no taxi or bus or anything) so it was not very busy. the sand was so soft and there were some nice waves. if i closed my eyes long and hard enough, it almost felt like we were on a proper holiday. then we took a boat back to kowloon, had some dinner and came back into hong kong. was a wonderful day and i felt a bit healthier exercising my body versus my drinking arm for a change.

and my friend from australia is coming back next week so that means another free week at the four seasons!!! there are a few work dinners i can freeload off of and of course there is always the pool and turn down service...what a life! now if only i had a good territory that had money to spend, life would be grand.

more to come - hopefully - drop me a line people - feel so OUT OF TOUCH with the states!

xo,
e

In Jakarta and Scared Shitless

before i came here everyone said "be careful, be careful, have your wits about you" blah blah blah. i thought, ok, sure there are lots of muslims here but i am a firm believer that you cant group an entire country into one huge generalization. muslims arent all "bad" just like all catholics certainly arent all "good". well i have to admit, i am scared shitless. i had to go through a metal detector just to get into the hotel. yep, that is right, the HOTEL. anyway, i am going to meetings and back to the hotel and then to meetings and then i am LEAVING. i ended up booking the hotel car for the entire day tomorrow just because i am so worried about getting around and more importantly getting hijacked to some hill in jakarta and being raped and left for the wolves (are there wolves here?). the kicker is the car is just a bit less than my nightly rate here at le meridien jakarta - go figure.

and to boot, it is still ramadan. i hope i dont forget that i cant drink water or chew gum in public and get arrested. that wouldnt be good. and i forgot my camera but something tells me it is not a huge loss.

wish me luck and if i dont come back, remember that i love you all.

xo,
e

Permanent Holiday

i have heard these tales of people living and working in hong kong and thinking they are on permanent holiday. after this weekend, i know exactly why. on saturday, we pulled our hungover asses out of bed and climbed our way onto the ferry out to lantau island. after a quick trip to mui wo station on lantau, we took a quick bus and got off at cheung sha. there is a beautiful beach (and extremely beautiful for hong kong standards) and a sports "complex" where we stayed and were able to participate in windsurfing (but there was no wind), wake boarding and kayaking. it was really quite cute and sparsely populated oddly enough. see, hong kongers think a 30 minute destination is "sooooo long" of a way to go...ok, that is a cab ride from the uws to alphabet city for me but whatever...i digress. anyway, it was really quite fun and more importantly cheap as chips!!! we hung out all day in the sun and ate at a thai restaurant and stoup - a south african restaurant - next door which were both delish and again, cheap as chips. the thai dinner comprised of way too much food for even 4 hungry westerns and many many drinks (which prompted some to go skinny dipping in the warm water) for approximately only $50 usd.

now despite the fact that i am burned, i had a WONDERFUL time :)
here is a picture of the view from the room: