Such intensity

Working at an aggressive firm guarantees very intensive days.

My calendar is packed with meetings and tasks I cannot imagine of completing them.

A friend told me that you haven't earned your day's worth if you spent it comfortably at work.

But seriously, does everything need to be so intense?

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Jan'11 in Singapore

It has only been less than 3 months since my last visit when I attended Zee and ys' wedding. This is also the first year which I will not be spending cny in singapore. This arrangement seems better since my friends are not tied up with home visits (though I'm missing out on the red packets!) and I still get to spend time at home.

So I think I have become pretty good at planning my trips and I don't try to squeeze my time to meet everybody in the world. These trips are starting to tire me - maybe age is really catching up. And though many people say singapore and Hong kong are very similar, I feel the difference. I can't really put words to those feelings. I feel sad leaving both places and happy upon return. Perhaps such is double happiness (or sadness).

I must say my relationship with mum has improved by leap and bounds. As time passes, I become the adult and she the kid. Here's a picture of her having Peking duck at summer pavilion. :)

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Wisdom tooth no more!

20th Jan
With only 5 hours of sleep, I made my way to the national dental centre. The memories I have of this place is all hmm... not so good.

It all started in '06 when I had my braces made and the orthodontic treatment lasted 3 years, with bi-monthly visits stretching to half yearly since I was often travelling then and making appointments at ndc is not always a breeze. But that's all in the past.

This trip was to extract the last of my wisdom teeth, on the right side. I had almost forgotten how painful it had been 2years ago when I removed my left wisdom tooth until I stepped into the dental clinic.

As I sat there waiting, those memories and discomfort came back to me.

The procedure was the same this time round. My dentist went through my file and xray, told me how the procedure will be like and gave me a list of the risks involved (4% suffers permanent numbness, 1 in 300 gets saliva coming out from their nostrils and the like). All not very comforting facts.

After the consultation with the dentist, I was sent to collect my pills and take them before the surgery - these the antibiotics and painkillers. And I had my 'last meal'.

Back in the day surgery level, the nurse handed me a robe, shower cap and wraps for my shoes - all very germ-free. And then I was led to the room - the exact same room and chair I was in 2 years ago.

I said my last words and held my peace for the next hour.

The nurse laid a cover over me, to prevent blood stains / spills she said. And another cover that was place strategically over my eyes so I couldn't see what went in and out of my mouth.

The dentist came and gave me my shots of local anaesthesia which was in fact the most painful bit of the surgery. The needle was huge and it certainly did not feel good having that pierced into my gums. I cried instinctly - only my right eye tearing. Dr Tay kept on saying 'I'm sorry to put you through this, the most painful part will be over soon'. The physical pain really.

Emotionally I was a wreck. On came the drills and the slicing and those sound like mechanical saw. And then I felt the pressure and the tug - all in an effort to pull out the roots. For my impacted tooth, it was really tough to pull that out - the nurse had to hold my head down.

I felt some pain this time round - wondering if Dr Tay had damaged some of my nerves. I gagged and mumbled that its painful and begged for more anaesthetic after the extraction.

A comic moment happened when the dude next door was screaming his lungs out, yelling 'aw! Aw aw!' Poor dude had both sides of wisdom tooth extracted.

At the end of it, I sat down at a resting corner and the nurse came over to check if I'm able to walk out of the clinic on my own and went through a list of not-to-dos.

I didn't stop trembling until a good 45min later. The shock of it all, the numb swollen cheek and the bloody teeth were a bit too much to bear in an hour.

But I made it. And I can (hopefully) say goodbye to ndc for a long period now. :)

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Freaking cold

Its ten degrees in hk today and raining. I walked out of my building, exhaling mist.

Haven't experienced hk so cold. It's so cold I wear long john to sleep, socks and a red fish shape water bag. The down quilt bedsheets provide comfort so much so that its difficult to get out of bed.

Our windows are perpetually closed. I take a longer hot shower, letting the hot water run.

All these dries up my skin so badly they feel stretched. My nails are brittle.

And even in such cold weather, my office central air con runs at 17 degrees. So do the buses. Its even colder indoors than outdoors.

We're entering the decade of global cooling.

I'm reading this book about being more green and hopefully, I'd be able to contribute positively to this planet in my own little small ways. But firstly, can someone do something about the heating system in hk pls?

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Stepping into 2011

2010 came and went.

This new year countdown was spent discussing house renovation stuff with the contractor and then heading home to drop off our stuff before dinner.

We walked around the neighborhood - the Japan restaurant we always wanted to go to was packed. We walked further and saw this French restaurant completely empty though the aroma of fresh bread was extremely delicious.

We walked in, only to find out that it was completely booked for the second sitting of the night.

So we walked a few more rounds and found that Indian cuisine is hk people's least favourite choice - good thing it is one of me and Jason's favourite.

After dinner, we went to J's ex colleague's place - effectively transformed into an open bar and dance club by the amount of alcohol and the size of it's living room. Single guy - bachelor's pad.

Never mind that I don't know anyone well at the party. Just drink up. It's quite disappointing then when our view of the fireworks was blocked by the adjacent buildings and what we saw were reflections of the fireworks on the sea and on the buildings on the Kowloon side.

What's great is our kiss at midnight and us holding hands and hoping for another good year into 2011.

Happy new year, all my loved ones.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

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".

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

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 :)

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

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.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

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....

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

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.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

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.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

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.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Laundry

2 rounds of spinning, 4 hours later.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

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. :)

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

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.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

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. :)

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Run away

My second UNICEF 10km run - another mini proud moment of mine.

This year is different because:
1. J did not run with me, I was with the girls
2. I did not train prior to the run
3. I had a 13-course Chinese dinner the night before and had only 4 hours of sleep.

So under such circumstances, I think i deserve my mini proud moment given that I finished the run and within target of under 75mins, though clearly I am no longer as fit as the year before (68mins).

I didn't run continuously, even though my mind told me to keep on running. I experienced the classic scene where both the angel and devil of me debated with every step I took. The devil succeeded 4 times, but the angel won the last leg. :)

And all along the run, I like to observe people too. There was this pink lady wearing a Afro wig, an old uncle who is running at a slower pace just to accompany his wife, an Asian man with a whole bottle of sun block layered on his face so he looks really white, a Caucasian who is so tall that he looks like he's bouncing like a kangeroo when he runs, a man who has 'nice to meet u' printed on the back of his shirt, and hot girls with damn toned legs, and hot boys with hot buns....

So even with all the ache and lack of sleep, I think I may do it again next year!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Back to school

It's a humbling experience to go back to school.

I woke up at 9am, despite having slept at 3am, to get ready to head to hkust for the MBA program introduction.

The hkust campus is 75min away from Kennedy town, near Sai Kung. Since I was early, I decided to take the mini bus to the campus instead of jumping into a cab after reaching the nearest mtr station.

The line was full of students. You can distinguish them from the jeans and sneakers attire, with laptop and notes in hand. I felt old.

The introduction to the program started with the question of why take an MBA, followed by a list of quantifiable reasons of why choose hkust, and a sharing session of personal experience from recent graduates. I am inspired.

It's a good feeling. :)

(Before I left home this morning, I sprayed some perfume as I always do. And j asks, why are you spraying that, you are just going to school.)

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Happy thanksgiving!

It's not a tradition of mine to celebrate Thanksgiving.

But since j had spent more than enough time in Toronto to consider himself somewhat Canadian / American, he suggested that we throw a Thanksgiving dinner at home - just so we can order the 12 lbs Turkey, and he gets to slice it.

I get to play host and bought some lilies to cheer up the place. Along. With these funky cups! Pick your nose.

And we practically sanitized our entire place, with dettol and bleach - clean up before the party.

We're having his friends over tonight - this group is the equivalent of my sweeties in sg - who identify themselves as in some kind of fellowship.

I wish I can have my sweeties all at my place sometime too.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

I had no trouble sleeping last night. I went to bed first while j was still studying; I didn't even know when he climbed in bed.

Perhaps I wasn't sleeping well the night before- when I browsed the websites of 2 uni in hk to check out their MBA program. I signed myself up for an admission seminar this sat, a sort of meet and find out more from the school and its alumni.

My brief discussion over dinner with j on this matter kinda concluded with this statement: I think its good, and I would like to do it myself, but I don't want to be your classmate. Plus, it only costs 11k a month (over a period of 2years).

He has a point there.

I've been paying the same amount for the past 2 years on rent. Mich says this the price for freedom. Now I think I'm ready to pay for wisdom and I want to get down to exploring it.

Lets see how this sat goes. :)

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5