Last night

I don't know how anyone can get so excited about meeting our contractor for the first time (formally) that he can lose sleep over it and stare at excel sheets for hours.

We did that last night - well, jason mainly.

I'm usually the more excelsy person and like to note things down in excel. It was a reversal of roles last night.

Not to say that I didn't contribute much - but it was getting late and the list of construction / renovation items listed in Cantonese did not help. Many times, I kept asking j what this is and what that is.

Since we've decided on this contractor Yeung, j has been on his toes, pledging to be an asshole and make sure the contractor do a superb job.

I have my concerns about Yeung - mostly cos I didn't really like the look of him, and how he slashed prices just to win our bid. But, after some thought, we figured this is only our first flat, let's learn the works first, get a decent renovation done (since we are pressed for time), and talk about interior design later when we next move into somwhere bigger.

As long as this Yeung fulfills his part of the contract and not have any hidden costs, I suppose we are safe.
As j like to say, "if he does not do a good job, I'm gonna bust his balls".

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Someone cleaned the house last night and waited up for me. I only got home at 1am and the report didn't go out to client. Wth, she's not going to enjoy Xmas any less if she can't read the report this morning.

Happy holidays :)

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With each day

With each day, my resistance against the cold strengthens.

It's 16 degrees today and I left home without a coat.

With each day, I know my limits better.

I voice out, and simply stop trying to achieve the impossible. It's simply unrealistic. I'm not wonder woman.

With each day, I know you better.

Last night, you were an asshole. And I wasn't afraid to tell you that.

With each day, I think about home more.

In particular, the laughter of my mum. And I realise mum is indeed mostly right.

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Finding the right one...

This weekend was spent working over time, sourcing for contractors and flipping through interior design magazines.

The working part was tough; the housing part is even worse.

Jason saw 3 potentials on Friday - the sweetie took the day off. We met another guy on sat morning. I prefer him to another particular mr yeung. The latter seems sketchy and quoted us a sky high price for a small unit - I didn't think he can be trusted.

Then we went on to look at some friends apartments to get some ideas and tips. Man! Interior design is not easy. We had to match practicality with the whimsical.

I decided to give up my bathtub idea so there is more storage space in the bathroom. Jason promised me a bathtub (or rather - onsen style + Jacuzzi) when we next move again.

Let's just get this over and done with first mannnn....

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Shopping of a different kind

Apart from the one hour of mad rush shopping at tung chung outlet, this weekend was crazily packed. And I'm kinda exhausted.

Sg friends visited. Hku MBA talk. And a lot more talk and shop on the house renovation stuff.

The renovation planning and works is a nightmare. The next 4 months will be a challenge to go through.

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Push back

My client sometimes ask us to do the most ridiculous things - to the point that we are like their slaves, at their every beck and call.

I told my juniors to take a minute to think, before agreeing to do everything. We don't have to do everything, and certainly not by TODAY, certainly not when the request comes in at 5.30pm on a Friday night.

Research is not A&E department - so if it doesn't kill anybody, just push back and give a reasonable time to attend to that request.

Voice out if it can't be done - there's no wrong in that.

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Question of the day, and everyday

What's for dinner?

It has come to my attention that this question is more difficult to answer than most of the business issues I encounter on a daily basis.

A typical exchange with jason at the end of the day.

Pc: are u off work?
J: yes. On way home
Pc: are we going to have dinner together?
J: yes we can
Depending on who responds faster and hits the ball across the court: What do u feel like? / what shall we have for dinner?
......

I do have an answer to that on days when I have a severe craving.

So on those days I say:
How about Indian/ Korean/ Japanese/ Chinese/ Western?

And j says: hmm... my stomach doesn't feel quite right today / I had that yesterday / recently / Any polite form of rejection
What other would u like?

Pc: ......

Or at times when I don't have a particular craving... I say : hmm... anything will do.

J goes: what's anything?

Pc and j both: .....

Or when we both have zilch idea and one decides to bravely suggest something despite fear of rejection.

I go: how about that Japanese place round the corner which is always crowded and with long queue?

J says: ok. Let's do that!

Finally an agreement! And then that restaurant is closed. And we end up walking around the neighborhood aimlessly.

Bugger.

Why do we need to have dinner.

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Laundry

2 rounds of spinning, 4 hours later.

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Home alone

In another 1.5 hours time, jason will be done with his CFA level1 papers.

The house is quiet now. Jason's cfa books still on the table, with his eraser left over rubbish (what are these things called exactly??).

I'm just done with one week's worth of laundry. The thing about hk housing is - there is just no space to hang your clothes. Everyone hangs their laundry in-house, or go to the Laundromat to get it done. My bye bye arms are becoming flabbier now without the weekly hanging out of clothes using bamboo poles.

Anyway I digressed.

So, jason will be a free man from 5pm onwards. We can finally enjoy weekends going for nice brunch, tea/coffee, catching movies on the big screen and just... start dating again.

We've got a short window period before both of us start to bury our heads in books, or start to brainstorm and agree on the look and feel of our future home.

Today I'm just going to enjoy the peace and quiet of being at home, alone. :)

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A half yearly affair

Had my regular scaling and polishing session today. I'm not a stranger to dental clinics - considering that I've made frequent visits there in the past 3 years cos of my braces.

Still, going to dental clinics scares me. I tense up, no matter how much I tell myself to relax.

I think its being placed in the spot, trying your best not to move, as the dentist uses her various metal steel tools to scale, dig, scrape, and poke around your mouth. And you have NO idea what she's doing. You can only IMAGINE.

Imagine from the sound of those machines and tools. How uncanny those sounds are to the sounds of construction works and .... SAW.

I felt like my mouth had just been raped.

The dentist said my lower left gum is receding because I'm brushing them too hard. What?! Price to pay for clean teeth.

Word of caution to those who use electronic toothbrushes. I think I need to alternate between that and using my good old hand to do the brushing.

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Easily sold

I spent the past hour folding clothes and changing the bed sheets, with eyes half closed, while jason buried his head under the cfa textbooks.

He dropped in when I was halfway through folding the clothes and commented that he would be very surprised if I told him I've done housework before - cos apparently I don't fold the t-shirts right.

I told him if he wants someone who knows how to do good housework, then go get a housemaid, not a gf.

When I'm finally done with the bedsheets, he came over and said, "I really appreciate you doing this".

Now, aint that all worth it. :)

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