Cleaners - Bane of My Existence

so the cleaners in the office are so terrible.  the woman who cleans our desks uses this dirty old sponge that smells of wet mold.  it makes me sick and every time she pops round i have to shoo her away.  and the vacuum lady is great, too.  she comes by very early (not like in the states when it tends to be when most people have gone home) and she bangs about.  she will whack right into my cube wall without a care in the world and then gets mad like its my fault.

and dont even get me started on the filipino helpers.  you may as well take your money and burn it.  i think theyve all been trained at We Wipe Around Things University.  its truly a gift.  i am not sure what the point is as i'd rather do it properly myself.  people always say, "well its just so cheap" and i think so isnt mcdonalds but it doesnt mean its doing you any good.

In Between Travel

back from taipei.  taipei is always fun.  we left to escape the madness that is the hong kong rugby 7s and i am so glad we did.  gone are the days of drinking for 3 consecutive days for me, at least.  so we landed in the evening and went out to my favourite shabu shabu place and back to the hotel like the old farts we are.  saturday was rainy but perfect weather for the national palace museum so we went to check out all the stolen (ahem) goods and for some dim sum.  we later met up with a ny friend of mine who is studying mandarin for some night market action and of course, more food!  so 10 pounds heavier, i am back in hong kong.

ive got to get through this week and then off to nepal!!!!  the itinerary has been left up to the hagis as it was part of my christmas gift so i am very much so looking forward to it.

so in order to get out of here, weve been running around trying to source wonderful things like water purifying tablets, luggage locks and what not.  so that being said, i took a lock i could not remember the code to and asked the kind folks in the store to reset it.  they tell me they cant reset it but they will try all 999 combinations and call me if i leave my name and number.  only in china, friends, only in china.  but whats more scary is they called me in a flash having figured it out.

will be back with some pictures - until then, be well, me dears.

Gone Native

all of the girls around here barely eat and buy these "slimming" treatments.  so after a winter of doing very little other than couch surfing, i decided to give it a go.  clearly desperate here...

so i bought a twangoo (like groupon, etc.) for a cheap deal to a spa for these treatments.  they are 1/2 hour each of a machine called m6 slimming machine.  after a quick search, ive noticed this machine seems to clearly be an asian thing.  oh well, thank goodness it was cheap.  here is an explanation:

M6 is a short form for the patented hi-tech trimming technology Cellu M6 produced by French LPG. As the only cellulite-reducing instrument approved by the U.S. FDA, Cellu M6 turns fat into fatty acid to accelerate blood circulation and improve lymphatic drainage, consuming more accumulated fat to achieve body slimming effect.

Massage turns fibroblast cells in skin to different directions, the tension promotes skin metabolism, thus increasing the skin to produce more collagen and elastic fiber cells, 130% more than usual, making the skin glow.

The M6 rolling treatment gives out negative pressure suction, for just 35 minutes, it effectively reduces cellulite and improves lymphatic system, tightens loose skin and increases skin elasticity. Generally it takes 3 – 4 sessions to see effect, depending on the individual.

i went for my first treatment today.  you take off all your clothes, put on disposable panties and then this white body stocking.  its really charming and i am wondering where i can buy one for personal use...(barf)...and you lie down like any regular massage.  the machines feel like a massaging vacuum.  they recommend i follow up with consecutive session so i am back the end of this week.  i will update you on progress!

on a side note, somebody please stop me if i start bleaching my skin (which ive promised myself i will never do).

A Ticking Time Bomb

before launching into  a diatribe about the political-social-environmental catastrophe that is china, heres a quick hk update.  it is humid - so wet and oppressive.  my knees are buckling under the pain due to this humidity.  but yet, it is not truly hot yet.  my friends, this time of year is when mold creeps into your flat and the locals tend to smell a bit like wet dog.  yes, i said it but there really just isnt another way to describe it because that is precisely the smell.

anyway, so i was in early today and having a read on my own interests versus those that are purely financial and namely insurance based (zzzzzzzzzzzz) and i logged into one of my faves, the ft.  there is an article found here:   

http://blogs.ft.com/the-a-list/2012/03/05/china-must-rethink-its-economic-model-to-calm-growing-social-unrest/#axzz1oIKeR0UE

about the social unrest in china.  excerpts from the article include:

• Far more worrisome for the political elite is the question of how to deal with rising social unrest.
• For all of China’s economic successes – which lifted some 600m out of poverty – income disparities nevertheless have ratcheted up with the gini coefficient now at 0.47 compared with around 0.25 in the mid-1980s.
• A key weakness of the process of economic liberalisation is its failure to provide the fiscal means for the authorities to limit inequalities that came with rapid growth. 
• Rather than strengthening its fiscal system, Beijing relies on its banks to fund much of the growing demand for infrastructure.

i dont know about you but as long as ive live here, people have discussed how the mainland is going to implode someday.  wondering when, not if, that day will come...

I've Tried

you know, i whinge a lot about chinese people but i do try.  on my suggestion we make an effort, saturday night we went with one of the haggis' work colleagues, his girlfriend and some other friends in their crew.  there were two shining lights that were in the form of a guy who was born in dc but left for jakarta at the age of 9 and a korean guy who was fairly amiercanised.  otherwise, the rest of the chinese (both mainland and hk) were remaining to do nothing but pi$$ us off.

it started with us arriving maybe 10 minutes late and they were already eating.  the haggis tried to introduce me to his colleagues girlfriend.  she ignored both of us.  they, as in 4 people, spent the rest of dinner more or less ignoring us so much so that the girls especially would rather get up and walk to the end of the table to get food versus ask us.  the chat revolved around cathay membership tiers and why one was more superior than another because he had a higher status...with cathay...because that is what matters in life.  then we moved onto watches.  "oh, is that a cartier?" one of the guys asked.  "yes [nose held high in the air], it is," said in a such a way that you must be a fool to not know and who would dare to wear anything else?

thankfully dinner ended and we went off with the korean and indonesian guy to a whiskey bar.  the four of us a lovely chat - both of them interesting and nice.  otherwise the whole night could have been a write off.  i told the haggis we couldve had more fun cooking at home.

other weekend activities incuded seeing "safe house" on friday which was very good and hanging out with my girlfriend, her husband and their two little girls on sunday.  man...a LOT of work.  it was fun though and the older one took a shining to the haggis.  she even requested him to take her to potty - which he did after a little urging!

Dreary Dreamin' in Hong Kong

i dont think ive seen sun since japan.  its peeked through for a little on a couple of afternoons but nothing memorable - nothing thats been able to ease the pain of the oppressive rainy cloudy days weve been experiencing for quite some time now.

therefore, my thoughts have taken me elsewhere.  mainly traveling.  i am excited to get out of here towards the end of march for a quick weekend in taipei and then nepal for easter.

i do like taipei - its a bit 'cooler' than hong kong.  generally speaking, asia isnt 'edgy' the same way new york or london can be 'edgy'.  any culture where grown women worship hello kitty just cant be 'edgy'.  any culture that has a sticker programme for EVERYTHING just isnt 'edgy'.  but i digress.  off to taipei in a month so something to look forward to!

in a related but another somewhat digressive manner - technology.  my phone touch screen has stopped working.  i can control it through my earphones but that is all.  so i hold down the middle button on my headset to enable the voice activation and say a name that i want to call.  it says, "playing songs by weezer".  i try again and it gives me another name so far off i may as well be speaking cantonese on an old nokia.  i try again.  and again and again.  i have an appointment with apple today and i swear, if they dont fix it (ive been told its a hardware issue) or if i dont get a new phone, the apple store could potentially see some pretty ugly fireworks.

when times were much more simple

and to that - with all my traveling, ive got to buy a new camera as i lost mine in niseko.  anyone have any suggestions?

Cultural Differences

henry tang, the front-runner for the next dear leader of hong kong has blamed his wife for an illegal underground palace in her home.  he said, ""it was my wife's idea and i knew they were illegal. since we were experiencing a low ebb in our marriage...i did not handle the matter swiftly."  the apple daily, which is an anti-beijing paper had the headline of "sells out wife for power."

haha, i have to love it.  it just so perfectly encapsulates the pass-the-buck mentality that goes on here as well the do-whatever-it-takes to get money/power.

this is allegedly what it looks like - with an entrance via the pool floor as well...

between the us and china, greece and ireland, this world is one crazy place...

anyway, enough politics for one day as i have better things to do like think about my next trip.  weve decided to go to taipei for the 7s weekend and avoid the madness.  another couple is coming along and it will be good fun!  until then, its just plugging along in my regular role plus a new global role which i am very excited about!

The Joys of Living in Asia

hey there,

so i was hit with a mild strain of H1N1 or gracefully called "swine flu" for the more pedestrian.  yes yes, i dont eat meat and to that, its contracted by humans from other humans despite what you saw in "contagion".  now dont fret, it was only a  mild case, so my doctor told me and that i just had to ride it out.  "riding" it out meant i had a fever + symptoms similar to a bad case of food poisoning = lovely times.  i am better today - still a bit iffy around the edges but better enough to be back in the office slogging it out.

so these symptoms here - they were all mine...just imagine...

Meh.

made tacos last night but today my stomach is hurting pretty bad.  cant decide if it was the faux chicken or the refried beans or the fact that i ate about 4.

happy valentine's day to you all, me dears.  xxxxo

Another Weekend Come and Gone

this weekend was, in a large part, spent recuperating from the week.  we had dinner in on friday where the haggis cooked for the first time (insert gasps of horror here) for me.  and then dinner on satruday out with friends.  the days were filled with errands around town and some good old fashioned chilling out.  speaking of, weve taken to the series "community" and "the league" as they are a bit light and fun versus the other dark stuff weve been watching like "true blood" or "dexter".  however, all four i recommend.  and i started reading "tiger mom" which I CANT HANDLE her already as she is soooo judgemental and delusional.  i realise it is her opinion and shes entitled to it but man, is she a piece of work.  she writes things like "chinese parents have bigger dreams for their children [versus western parents]" and that people wonder why most chinese are successful.  um, really - most, really?  i can show you approximately a billion that are pretty poor and sad living right nextdoor to me.  or how playing the drums inevitably leads to drugs - really?  because i bet pushing your kids like you do and acting all high and mighty could push your kids towards drugs.  in fact, anyting can lead to drugs so why dont you just stay in your bubble with your gross generalisations and leave us alone, cow.

anyway, moving on, what did the haggis whip up, you ask?  a butternut squash chili with quinoa.  at first, i thought "ewwww" but didnt say anything as criticising it would be the fastest route to him never cooking for me again.  so thankfully, i held my tongue (for once) and it was very good, surprisingly.  here is a picture:

in other news, the hong kong rugby 7s are coming up.  i thought i bought tickets online as i received a confirmation page, even tried to order more but my IP address was already recognised but yet, i have not received any confirmation emails or anything.  i looked into it and low and behold - no tickets.  i emailed them telling them they better improve their IT systems as this is just ridiculous.  thankfully, neither of us really want to go this year.  it would be my 4th 7s and the haggis' 6th - been there, done that.  therefore, we are looking into a short mini break.  the options are:  penang, bangkok, cebu, or sanya OR if we get really desperate - macau.  where do you think we should go?