Relaxed Californian

I met a New Yorker last Saturday who said to me "you've got that relaxed Californian" look about you... the funny part is that he's probably the third or fourth person who mentioned I have this 'relaxed' look.

I wonder if it because they know I'm from the States or simply a way to make conversation, but I figured there's gotta be more to it after the third or fourth time, right?

Just exactly what is this "relaxed Californian" label? What do we do when we have questions? Yup, I googled it, and here are my results.

Various hotels across the globe describe themselves with a Relaxed Californian atmosphere or Relaxed Californian attitudes from their staff. One noteworthy hotel is the Shangri-La hotel in Kowloon (Hong Kong) where they mentioned "Eight Restaurants And Bars Offer Innovative And Tempting Cuisine Ranging From Japanese To Relaxed Californian Or Cantonese Favorites. I understand if they're selling the atmosphere, but what the hell is a relaxed Californian cuisine?

Le Doux swimwear company sells their product by stating that they combine Brazilian sexiness and the relaxed Californian lifestyle to create a unique swimwear collection. That's quite interesting, eh? It'll make their clients look spicy but fairly relaxed?

There was also a news article that note a great feature about working for Google is its relaxed Californian workplace culture, hey we'd all like to scoot around in our shorts on our Razors in the work place, right? Wait, was that google or yahoo? eh...

Anyhow, have anyone else gotten this kind of response from people they've met? Do you guys think I've got a relaxed look? I'm curious...

After a long 6 weeks of visitors, I'm ready to be a relaxed Californian. =)

Busy Novembers

Last year I had an excellent time traveling to Japan, Hong Kong, and China for 3 weeks, of which I gained 13 pounds which I have yet to lose...

This year I'll have constant visitors for 6 weeks, which started on October 14th and I'm afraid to see how many pounds I'm going to gain this time around... x-(
I am, however, very excited to host 3 people from Korea and Taiwan on the weekend of November 21st through 23rd for the Hong Kong Lindy Exchange!!! (http://www.hongkongswings.com/hklx.html)

In light of the visitors, I've been making it a point to order some veggies every time I sit down to eat (mum and dad would be proud) =P

Schedule is as follows:
October 14th to 24th - Danny from LA
October 24th to 13th - Cousin Augustine from Kudat
November 6th to 18th - Gail from LA
November 12th to 16th - Canaan from Taiwan (Frank's friend) and Frank from SF
November 21st to 23rd - Hong Kong Lindy Exchange, 2 people from Korea, 1 from Taiwan
November 27th to 30th - Alex from London (Cousin Yvonne's friend I met in Singapore)

It'll be a very busy month, although I'm excited, this'll mean I won't really have much time for myself... oh well, I'll just have to roll with it and make sure I stay healthy!!

I wonder if all my Novembers are going to be this way from now on...?

Oktoberfest at Happy Valley Racecourse

It was so much more fun this time around!!!! Last time I was there by myself, but this time I was with around 20 friends! It took us longer to get there than I had thought, I met up with 2 of my friends and we walked over from Times Square, the trip took about 20 minutes.
What was funny is that along the way I found out they both worked near me, so now I've got new lunch buddies. =)

A night of german sausages, chicken kebabs, and multiple pitchers of beer was just the kind of fun I had expected at the racecourse! Since we had so much fun, we've decided that we're going to go there every Wednesday night before swing dancing starts! =) woohoo, well we'll see if we actually end up doing that every week. haahaa

I bid on 3 different races, and ended up with an extra $15 in my pocket.

Me and the 2 Karens who work near me.

The girls from the expat group

Folks from Swing dancing

Helicopter Ride!!!

Before anyone start yelling at me for being stupid, I just wanna say that YES I'm safe and in good health.

The MacLehose Stage 3/4 hike hike this weekend was INTENSE... We started Stage 3 at 9:30, finished it in 2:20 hours, took a 25 mins rest, then started off to Stage 4. The first part of Stage 4 started at 220m with a quick ascent to 550m without rest, it was a VERY slow ascent for me as I felt my muscles getting sore and in the verge of cramping up, but I was able to make it to the top.
My downhill trek then took me 90 minutes versus 70 minutes for the rest of the team, but when it came time to trek uphill again, my legs just couldn't take it anymore (after another 3 hours have passed). One of them started to cramp, then the other followed, then I felt the left side of my stomach cramping as well. I was laying down while being in pain in more places than I could imagine and there was nothing I can do about it. Every time I thought it was over with, one of the legs will start again and the sequence continues... Although I had a friend with me, there was nothing he could do but sit there and cringe as he sees the cramps showing up at both my calves and thighs. During this painful time period a group of 9 people was passing by, they were kind enough to stop and gave me some energy gels and some gatorade. Regardless to say, I was unable to move, only thing I could do was roll and even that was painful.

With 1.5 hours of trail in one direction and 1 hour towards the other, we had no choice but to call up 999 (kinda like 911) for assistance. Turns out because we're on a trail, they were unable to send vehicles up to my location, so the only option was to get a helicopter to come and pick me up. It took them about 30 minutes to reach my location, although I had been moved to a clearing (by 2 of the guys from that group while my friend carried my backpack and trekking poles), the helicopter was still way too big to land. Therefore, they sent down a paramedic, he outfitted me with 2 loops, strapped me in, and up we went. The lift up (probably about 40 to 50 ft up) was thrilling, with the views of the mountains around me, and the strong winds from the blades pushing down on us.
The moment they got me up to the chopper, they pulled me in, and I immediately laid down on my back as they started taking my vitals and plugged an IV into my forearm. It took less than 5 minutes to get to the Chai Wan hospital, they had a wheel chair waiting for me when I got off the chopper and I stayed in it until I was put onto a bed. The events at the hospital was nothing much to talk about so I'll just say that after 4 hours and 1.5 Litres of IV later, I walked (more like crawled) out of the ER ward and took the MTR home. What surprised me the most was the medical cost, admission into the ER was $100 HKD and a bed at the ward was $100 HKD, totaling only $26 USD (of which I can get reimbursed for by the insurance) for the hospital. The only thing I'm afraid of now is getting a bill for the chopper ride... which we'll have to see if I will be billed for it.
Medical assessment:
1. Dehydration
2. Malnourished
3. Stupidity

Lessons learned:
1. Be hydrated the correct way (although I drank 3.5 Litres of water during the hike, I didn't drink anything with electrolytes)
2. Eat more carbs the day before such a long hike
3. Eat sugar candies and candy bars along the way to replenish sugar and salt levels because I sweat way too much
4. Take energy gels
5. KNOW YOUR LIMIT and DON'T BE STUPID

Training for the MacLehose in 2009

I learned from my November trip last year about this MacLehose extreme hike, I told myself that I had wanted to do it this year, but I'm definitely not in shape to do so (just look at my flab from the pic). However, I have found a group of hikers that are training to do it for next year!!!!
They actually started a week ago, but I was able to join their second hike this past weekend, and it turned out to be a wonderful workout!

The MacLehose hike/run is an amazing event!!!
Date: 13-15 November, 2009
Total Distance: 100KM and with 48 hours to finish it.
Entrance: Each team must consist of 4 people, and must pass through each checkpoint and finish line together.
Total Participants: Around 1000 teams.
Amount of Crazy people in HK during this timeframe: 4000.

Our goal is to complete this 100KM monster in 24 hours!!!
Information can be found HERE.

The natural beauty of HK

'It's a bunch of people, buildings and pollution' - that's what most people think of HK when they first hear the name of this country. However, HK is actually only less than 25% developed, which leaves the remaining 75% for parks, mountains and beaches!!!
I never thought to look up this kind of information before this weekend, as I started my search today, it was interesting to find the CIA's world FACTBOOK site, here's the one for HK:
CIA's HK FACTBOOK

The last 3 months had been miserable due to the hot heat and humidity, but the weather seems to get slightly cooler as autumn (starting on August 15th on the Chinese calendar, aka Mooncake festival) approaches!! Which is why I've finally had the chance to discover the beautiful side of HK, although pollution is still an issue, I think I'm starting to like this city more now.

Life in HK is like...

a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get until you bite into it. Well, in my case, live in it ;)

One of the major perks of living in HK is that although there are massive amounts of buildings all around you, there's always the option to go for a nature hike at the Peak and get away from it all. Not to mention the various beaches of which I've yet to explore!

Now that I'm here, I realized that I've never really given it much thought about what it would be like living in HK. The work environment is kinda similar to back home, but once you step out those doors, it's a completely different animal. People galore!!! And never the same person twice! or so I think... anyhow, I never thought I would like living in HK as much as I do, can't quite describe it... passing by so many people throughout the day makes me feel ALIVE!!! I love it! ;-)

Man Almost Loses Penis Humping Steel Bench

Nuff said...
Happened on Wednesday or Thursday of last week, but finally found an English version of the story. LOL

Story Click HERE

Ahh, how I love Wackos, they help remind us just how sane the rest of us really are.

An eventful day in HK

Everything started when I received a call yesterday at around 11am from my cousin in Singapore. Her words were "hey Willis, it's May, your cousin from Singapore, can I ask you for a favor?"
Apparently my aunt and uncle were stuck at the HK airport, only thing I found out was there was something wrong with their Visa and now they're stuck. I quickly rushed off to the MTR to get to the airport to see what I can do for them.

After locating them, it turns out that they're en-route from Malaysia to Canada (to attend a wedding), but with a layover in HK. When they went to the check in counter for Cathay to board the flight to Canada, that's when they found out their VISAs are missing, then later to find out that the entire page (that the VISA is stuck onto) is missing.

With an entire page missing from their passport, they're now unable to travel at all because it's considered as being tampered. We then rushed off to the Consulate General of Malaysia (which turns out to be one block away from my flat), we spent about 2 hours there trying to explain to them what had happened, and the end result is that the Consulate is unable to give them another passport, rather will provide them with a temporary passport which they can only use for returning to Malaysia. Their excuse is that they don't make the passports here in HK, they'd have to send it back to Malaysia for investigation, of which I don't really believe...

Their temporary passport will be valid for travel for a month, so instead of going home today, they've decided to stay here until my cousin comes to HK (which they were originally going to anyhow). So now they're officially my first visitors, they're staying with me for about 9 days, until August 8th. Luckily my shipment from the US arrived, or I'd be sleeping on the floor as I've given them my bed.

I feel sad for my aunt and uncle because they're unable to attend the wedding in Canada, but I also feel happy that I'm able to help out my family, because I think I'm the only one that's here in HK. I told my aunt/uncle they can considered themselves unlucky and lucky at the same time. Unlucky that their VISAs got stolen, but lucky enough that I'm here and able to help.

Hooray for visitors! =) But too bad I can't really show them around these days because of work, nor would I know where to go? Perhaps we'll go do some sightseeing this weekend ;)

I'm very disappointed by bad people that would do such horrible things to ruin other people's vacations. x-(

Random stuff

It's funny to see the "close door" button in some elevators are worn out from over usage.

I'm happy to report that I've only had one episode in the last 30 days where the food didn't agree with me, and I think it was the milk...

Being able to find good salami and cheese in HK makes me happy =)

What's with HK wine shops not carrying a lot of whites?

There's a lot more taller people here than I had imagined...

My favorite word here is "RUBBISH", because you can insult someone while sounding intelligent.

so tired =/

After spending the entire week planning and completing my move... it came and went just like that. It took a whole 8 hours at the flat on Saturday assembling my furniture, 8 non-stop freaking hours!!! By the end of the day my arms were sore from turning the screwdriver too much... =/ Leaving my new place at around 11:30pm, I arrived back to the tiny room to gather up my belongings and be ready to move out the next day.

As I arrived on Sunday, I unpacked and trekked off to IKEA again. $160 USD and 3 hours later, I was so tired from carrying the things back to my place through the MTR. I should've planned better and gotten everything delivered along with my furniture... but heck, you live and learn, right? Another 5 hours roll by as I re-adjusted the height of my bed and re-visited IKEA to exchange my duvet cover (cause the seams were coming apart from the one I bought earlier), then I was finally able to kick up my feet and relax...

Tired from exhaustion I finally went to sleep at 1am at my new digs, only to find out I wasn't able to... happens all the time, whenever I'm in a new environment, I end up unable to sleep for about 2 to 3 days, sigh... well, here's to being awake for the next 2 nights! =(

Gas... what's that?

The last month's been wonderful without having to drive to work! I get questioned by some people every so often as to whether I miss my car since everyone drives in the US, and my plain and simple answer is a big "NOPE" =)

Why deal with having to sit in traffic and trying to weave through different cars while you can walk in traffic while taking in the B.O. from people during rush hour in the MTR? Cost is the answer... I've been doing some calculations and I believe I used to spend about $60 USD on gas every 5 days, however, I only spend around $10 on the MTR these days. Figuring $50 savings X 73 (365/5) = $3650... WOAH I just got another raise? woohoo =)

Flat Layout

Ya know, it looks like it's only around 300 sq. ft. of space.... are my calculations correct? hmmm...

It's come a loooong way, but I think I've finally got my entire setup planned out... well, with the exception of the middle section between the front door and the bathroom door. I've always liked having a walk-in closet when I lived in Los Feliz, but never thought I would be able to do the same thing again now that I'm in HK. However, after thinking about it for the last few days, I'm converting my study into a closet space/storage area =)

I've moved my computer desk to the bedroom area and sectioned it off with the area rug that I have coming in my shipment. Since I'm able to buy a TV Bench with wheels, the goal is going to allow it to swing from facing the bed to facing the couch ;) I actually thought that I would be purchasing items from some of the local furniture stores, but most of the items they have are ugly, and the nicer ones cost twice as much... so I end up purchasing EVERY piece of furniture from IKEA!!

I'm moving in this weekend!!! The microwave and fridge will be delivered on Saturday morning, the furniture from IKEA will be in the afternoon, then the internet and phone guys will come and set everything up for me. I've actually looked around to see if I was able to purchase some used items, but it was too much work to hire a van or truck to pick up stuff for me, plus I don't have any guantees if they break down... so I ended up buying everything new. =/

Attached is a picture of my layout, would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. =D
For those that knows me, for me to plan out my living space this way should come as no surprise to ya... haahaa

You can click on it for a larger view.

Hard labour...

yup that's how the British spells it... LOL

I spent the last few days cleaning up the apartment by myself and it has definitely been one of the most tiring but rewarding work I've done. I bought around $200 HKD worth of cleaning supplies and got to work. 5 hours in the bathroom and 4 hours in the kitchen later, I'm now satisfy with the clealiness of my home =)

One trick I learned is that if there's mold in the caulking, you simply dip some toilet paper in bleach, slap it on the caulk overnight, and voila!!! CLEAN and SHINY caulk!!! =D I've used up all the bleach I bought, but I'll need to get some more to apply it on some sections that I've missed. It is great to learn I won't need to replace the caulk around the shower stalls, because dammit they were gross.

I've also applied a single layer of sealer wax on the hard wood floors tonight. Since the wax would dry overnight, I will return the next day to apply a second layer to make sure everything is nice and shiny. I did discover that if I pour some wax into the boards where there was a bit of squeaking, it'll stop once the wax hardens. WOOHOO!!!

Ahh better... almost

After one weekend of painting the apartment is starting to look MUCH better. However, as I start to write down everything I need to purchase, there's quite a lot of things, but I'll try my best to stick to the essentials =)
I think I will actually have to increase my budget from $2000 USD to around $3000 USD.... =/

Good thing is I've got some time to look for a bed, because I found out today that my stuff will get here on July 17th, which means I can sleep on my couch while I hunt for a deal on a good and comfy bed. Other things I can be cheap on, but I need my beauty rest. =P

I've got just a tiny bit more to paint, then I'm done. However, I've still got to figure out what to do with those hanging lights... any suggestions?

Permanent Flat found =)

After shopping around and visiting various areas and units, I've finally found my permanent flat. It is somewhat in the heart of Wan Chai, tons of entertainment in the nearby areas (although lots you wouldn't wanna walk into), and a public playground that has a full size football field (soccer for those in the US, but not grass) and 4 full size basketball courts! Not to mention the massive amount of food places just below... well, there are tons of food places everywhere in HK, so just a matter of finding it. It is also only a block and a half from the Wan Chai MTR, making it VERY convenient to go places.

It took me some time debating with myself on whether to take this apartment, most places wanted more, but this place was actually a lot bigger than the others, but was asking for less money... why??? Take a look at the photos below and you'll have your answer.




Talked to my coworker (Jon, the guy in the picture) and a friend and they both agreed for an apartment this size it is good deal for $7,800 HKD ($1,000 USD). From talking to the agent, she said that in most cases, for apartments in this area, they would ask for about $9,000 to $10,000 because the size of the apartment is actually around 450 sq. ft. (living area). The only reason they're willing to rent it out for a lower amount is because of how dirty it is.

The owner had listed it at $8,300/month (with everything as-is), so I low-balled (HK way) the agent to $7,500... she became frantic and started saying the owner will not go lower than $8,000. Then my coworker took over and convinced her to lets try with $7,800 and request the owner to fix the sink and toilet in the restroom. Surely enough, we hear back from her in about an hour, saying the owner will accept $7,800 only if he doesn't have to fix anything because everything is supposedly to be working. I said alright, lets schedule a time look over the apartment again and sign the papers if I accept the terms.

Today, after having lunch with Billy and Daniel, Billy was kind enough and willing to check out the apartment and give me a second opinion. After walking in, his first words were "wow, pretty big space", then asked the agent if the owner was willing to sell. LOL... He then looked over the apartment, with the main focus in the bathroom and told the agent about how the water heater doesn't look that safe and the toilet is a bit scary. I walked into the shower to make sure that I can actually fit, and yup there's enough room. Upon stepping out of the shower, I noticed there's water on the floor next to the toilet... I told the agent to look at it and ask the owner again on whether they're willing to fix the toilet. After a few minutes of talking with the owner, sha-zham!! The owner agrees!!! woo hooo, now instead of fixing it, he's actually going to pay to replace the whole thing, which will cost him $1,800 HKD (only $230 USD, that's not bad). That definitely sealed the deal. I happily signed the agreement and went back to work. =) Plus they're willing to let me start the rental on the 15th of July, so giving me around 10 days to do some work before moving in.

There are definitely some things I need to do with the flat, but saving around $1,200 HKD/month (compare to other flats in the area), gives me plenty to spend. Here's my checklist:
Paint (Billy and I will paint it on Saturday): $1500 plus a good meal for Billy

Cleaning crew for 5 hours (emphasis on the restroom): $700
Fridge: $1300
Hot plate: $700
Wardrobe: $1000
Bed: $2000
Desk: $500
TV: $4000
Totaling around $12,000 ($1,500 USD) is actually not so bad since everything will be mine instead of paying more for some furnished place. =) I'll set aside another $500 USD just to be on the safe side ;)

I'm happy and reliefed that my search is complete. =D I will of course post some after clean-up photos ;)

uh oh... $250 HKD all you can drink

Wow... my coworker told me the other day about these bars near work that charges only $250 HKD ($33 USD) for all you can drink from 6pm through 4am from Mondays through Thursdays. He invited me to go to one last night and I gladly accepted, boy oh boy was it a bad decision... after about 18 beers and 2 large mix jugs of chivas and coke between the 2 of us, I stumbled home at around 12:30am.

Ahh the beauty of HK, with the MTR running till around 1am everyday, it's a superb way to get home safely, provided that you don't fall asleep and miss your exit.

Needless to say I woke up with a headache today... I later found out that apparently it's free for girls to go drinking at that place from Mondays through Thursdays as well, then it's $80 HKD after 11pm, must be nice to be a girl in HK. Could've fooled me cause we didn't see any girlies last night x-( The one thing about these bars is that they're not the normal ones you see from the street, they're actually all located on different floors within various buildings, I guess the all you can drink is the way to attract customers.

To China and back...

A big surprise came to me today when I went to apply for my Hong Kong ID card, turns out the immigration officer who stamped me in DID NOT place a stamp on my work permit!!! I was unable to apply for a HKID without it, so what did I have to do??? yup, go to China! I quickly called up a buddy of mine and he told me that it'll take about 2 hours to go to China a back, then off I went!!!

6 subways, $15 USD, 300 foot steps, and 2.5 hours later I was back at the Immigration building in Wan Chai with my freshly stamped permit and now I've got my HKID!!! I had wanted to buy some snacks in China while I was there, but since I was on such a short time crunch, I decided to only step into China's soil for a brief moment... but that brief moment made me fear for my life!!! why is it that I don't feel safe going into China by myself??? hmmmmm

Attached is a picture of what it should look like. Don't mind what's on the top right corner, those are from me going in and out of China.

Day 2

Since I forced myself to stay awake till 1am last night, I was able to wake up at 11am today!!! yay!!! I think I just might be able to get over the whole jet-lag issue... well, I never really had to deal with jet-lag whenever I go to Asia, it's usually when I go back, so I guess I won't have to worry about that for quite some time. =P

I walked so much yesterday that I decided to be lazy today and take the opportunity to ride the cable cars, which is actually a double decker bus that runs from one end of the island to the other. It was tons of fun at first, but the novelty wore off after about 10 mins, since there was really no one for me to talk to, other than myself. The goal for today was to have a quick look at all the neighborhoods where I might want to stay on a more permanent basis. Later on, I took a 2 hour walk from Sheung Wan back to Causeway Bay, which allowed me to better check out some of the areas to evaluate which one would be better for me. I think it's either going to be Wan Chai or Sheung Wan, now to find a real estate agent to show me some places in these 2 neighborhoods.

Day 1

sooo tired... must sleep
I've never walked so much in a day... landed in HK at around 9:20am, checked into the apartment (more like a VERY tiny hotel room) by 11:30am, unpacked and started walking at 1pm and finally stopped at 11:30pm... whew

Since I didn't get a good sleep I wanted to force myself to stay awake so that I would crash tonight and I think I succeeded!!! well, we'll see if I can fall asleep in this new environment.

First thing I did was go to the Causeway Bay MTR station and got a map of the subway system, then I roamed around Causeway Bay to better acquaint myself with the surrounding, such as figuring out where the nearest 7-11 store is (not that I really needed to since there's like 4 of them in a 2 block radius), the HSBC bank, and work location. Then I walked further into WanChai and found the meat/fish market, I had to buy me some mangosteen of course!!!!

snore... dang I'm falling asleep... where was I??? well, the rest is just walking some more, eating with Sylvia and some friends, and now I'm back... sorry guys, I'm sleepy so gonna be lazy today, oh yeah lets not forget that I ate a lot too!!! haahaa

It's time...

The time is finally here... it was fun at first partying with all my friends, but as the days started counting down, I began to think more about how I'll miss everyone. The other day we had a going away lunch at work, of all places, that was the first place where I teared up!!! I was thinking "whoa, didn't know I would ever tear up at work, what's going to happen later this week?" Sure enough, same thing happened last night at Vietnamese BBQ... dang, when did I become such a softy??? x-(

haa, I know what some of you are thinking... "you've always been a softy willis!" haaa, well that's what I get for growing up with 3 women in the family, right?

Bye guys, I'm going to miss all you guys!!! *sniff sniff*

Fat Boy's food COUNTDOWN!!!

Ahhh, only about a week left now, I've got to visit all the good eats before I leave!!! Wow, as I put this list together I don't think I'm going to get a chance to visit all these places... =/

6/10 In-N-Out
6/11 Korean BBQ
6/12 King Taco
6/13 Sushiya
6/13 Vinoteca Farfalla
6/13 Scoops Ice Cream Parlor
6/14 Mamma Mia Cafe
6/14 Neomeze
6/15 Father's day lunch
6/15 Good old American BBQ
6/16 Love Bird's
6/16 Steakhouse
6/17 ShinSenGumi Ramen
6/17 Boiling Crab
6/18 Chipotle
6/18 Vietnam House for BBQ

LAST paycheck

Since I'll officially be on the HK company's payroll starting June 1st, I received my last paycheck today!!! hmm, dunno what to think, but for some reason I don't think it has hit me yet that I'm leaving soon... who knows if it ever will?? I think most likely I'll wake up one day, perhaps 2 weeks after being in HK, and think to myself "whoa, I'm not in Kansas anymore".

Hooray for no car!!!

Whoa!! I was talking to my boss today, who happens to be in US for the next 2 weeks attending 2 graduations... he called me as he was driving to his destination and I asked him how he liked our gas prices and his response was "it's cheap!!!" He continues on with how he just bought a Prius, and it is the best investment he's ever made. Apparently gas prices in Hong Kong are at around $8 USD per gallon, that's more than double what we pay here!! At first I was sad because I'm going to be moving to HK, but then I remembered I'm not going to have a car, which is one of the pluses with living in HK! HOORAY!!!

Most of us here in the States don't know this, but our prices are actually lower than a lot of other countries out there, such as most of Europe and parts of Asia. However, there are still quite a few countries out there where gas prices cost less than here in the States, the question is whether you would want to move there? Venezuela anyone???

My Calendar

Haahaa!!! Finally figured out how to add a calendar to my blog, I'm going to use this to track folks that'll be visiting me, so if you're interested in coming, let me know and I'll pencil you in. =) This will also serve as a notification to friends on my whereabouts. Hopefully I'll have visitors or be traveling somewhere... if not, then it'll look pretty pathetic... =/

PHEW...

Here I was thinking that I've already secured my serviced studios with Mr. Tse at Empire Studios... As I was about to wire my $3,000 HKD deposit over, we had additional email confirmations where we re-confirmed my arrival date, which is actually 7 days after the initial date we had discussed a few weeks ago, and he replied back with "please give me a few days to confirm our availability"...
GASP!!! I thought we were set? oh boy... I then patiently waited 2 full days before hearing back from him, and he confirmed that they will have a Deluxe Plus unit available to me. I still find it funny that Deluxe Plus is a 230 sq ft room.

Apparently someone else had query about moving in on June 14th as well, since I've pushed my date back by a week, I understand his desire to not have an empty unit. Luckily for me he was able to confirm the move out date for another tenant, which turns out to be on the day that I will be arriving. What are the odds?

Now to ensure I really have secured my serviced studio, I went to my bank and wired over the $3,000!!! phew...

Scheduled for take off... JUNE 19th

I've finally made the decision on when I'm going to fly out to HK... after trying to figure out when I should go, the decision basically came down to the fact that I'm going to be gone for 2 years, so why not stay as long as I can here before taking off? That way I can spend some more time with friends and family that I won't see for such a long time... unless of course there are those of you that would be willing to come and visit me =) cause I know ya'll will miss me tremendously. haahaa

My plans are to move out of my apartment on June 14th and back home to my parent's until the night of the 19th (I'm sure Gromit would love it), then to the airport we will go!!!

I will arrive in Hong Kong on Saturday morning, hopefully I can check into my serviced studio then giving myself 2 full days to roam around HK before reporting into work on Monday. I'm so glad the serviced studio is only 2 blocks from work and not have to worry about the transportation into work, just need to make sure I remember how to put my left foot in front of my right, then continue from there =P

Man, working in HK, sometimes I still can't believe it...

401K and Pension with AT&T...

Oh dammit, so apparently since I'm going to be in HK and on HK's payroll, I've got to figure out what to do with my 401K and Pension... after talking to the Fidelity's "retirement" representative, I think I've got a good idea as to what I wanna do. I thought it was funny that I was being transferred to a retirement representative... "OH you bet I'd like to retire at the age of 31" I said.

401K:
I'm going to have to find out where I'll want to roll this money over to, anyone know of where I should go? I have a roth IRA with Vanguard right now, perhaps I'll rollover to an IRA there... hmm, but then again since I do plan on coming back in 2 years, I may just leave it with Fidelity and not do anything with it... Yes, there we go, that's my plan!

Pension to take at age 65:
$776.35/month, every month for remainder of my life
$114,496.10 Lump Sum

Hmm, not bad... but then again when I'm 65, $776.35 might not be much anymore... oh well, can't do nothing with it, so it'll just have to sit there.

When should I leave the States?

Ahhhh, the ultimate question...
I've gotten final word today from my supervisor that they're going to transfer my payroll company over to Hong Kong on June 1st, and that I can make my move date anytime after that, but it'll need to be in June, either early or late?

Is there an advantage to staying here longer? Hmm, are there things that I should do which I'll miss when I'm in HK? Gahhh!!!

I'll have to think about this within the next week, cause I'll need to put down a deposit for the serviced studio so that I can make sure I get their largest room, which is 230 sq. ft... haahaa

Empire Studios!!!

YAY!!! Finally found a place that's a good value and it's within close proximity to work (2 blocks) in Causeway Bay!!! So for this 230 sq. ft. gem, which they so called deluxe plus room, I'll be paying $10,000 HKD ($1282 USD) a month... holy shit, that's 'how big?' you ask? Yup, it is a cardboard box, but this little cardboard box comes with a microwave, separate bathroom (apparently some places have the bathroom in the room, separated by see-through glass ONLY), double (full size) bed and a sofabed, that's right a sofabed. This means if anyone wants to visit me in the first month, you can sleep on that sofabed! I'm really curious as to how they can fit all of that within 230 sq. ft... LOL
What? you're thinking about visiting me and crashing at my place? sure, provided you do my laundry while I'm at work. =)

Here's the link to Empire Studios (I think it's the name of a record company in the US???):
Empire Studios
Apparently they've got daily rates as low as $400 HKD/night, which is a great deal since most hotels in Causeway Bay runs for around $1000 HKD/night!

Here are the other options I've looked at which after extensive research are the best bang for your buck.
Regents Heights in Causeway Bay starting from $8,500 HKD/month
eTech Center Wan Chai starting from $11,000 HKD/month
Emperor Hotel in Happy Valley starting from $12,000 HKD/month

What can't I get in Hong Kong?

Haa, so over the last week or so I've been wondering what are the things that I cannot get in Hong Kong. Since my company will pay for the shipment of my belongings, I can technically bring whatever I want, right? Well, then there's that restriction of how much stuff I can bring. So to make things simple, I figure I go with the things that I use on a normal basis that I'm accustomed to, which would be mainly toiletries items such as:
Sensitive toothpaste
Reach Flosshead refills
Facial Wash
Facial Lotion

LOL, that's all that I can come up with?? Well, I'm sure I'll come up with more items in the next few weeks, which I just might make a Costco run for...

Where to live?

One of the hardest thing with my move is trying to figure out where do I want to live for the next 2 years. HK Island side or Kowloon side? Who can tell for sure where will be better? I think I've finally made a decision, and that will be to live on HK Island side, the reason being that I'm only going to be there for 2 years, so I should embrace and really experience what it's like to live in HK. Albeit that it'll be a little expensive, but I think I'll enjoy it more, who knows if I'll change my mind once I'm there? We'll have to see... =)

Moving my stuff...

The relocation company sent an agent to my apartment in Los Feliz to take an inventory of what I want them to move for me to HK. There's not much really, only a sofabed, coffee table, dishes, glasses, computer stuff, luggage, books, CDs, clothes, shoes.... damn, there's actually quite a good amount of stuff now that I think about it... LOL Well then, I guess it's good that the company's paying for the shipment!! =) But how do I bring it back? grrr

One funny thing the agent said was "are you going to make a costco run?"
There I was scratching my head and can't figure out why she'd ask that question since I'm trying not to accumulate more stuff, right?

She goes on to explain they're relocated some folks from Disney and they always make a costco run to buy stuff like detergent and soap and such, since those things are expensive in HK... there I stood still scratching my head... "um, ok..." I didn't believe that, so I kindly said "hmm, I'll have to take that into consideration".

Later that day I talked to my mom and a friend in HK about it, they both said that stuff is really cheap in Asia, shouldn't have to do a costco run and bring those heavy items over... so I just chalked that up as "wtf are those people thinking?"

Earlier today I found out from the moving company that they're going to provide me with 2 crates for the move, each measuring 7 feet by 7 feet, and 3.5 feet high. So one crate can carry my sofa and coffee table, and miscellaneous stuff. The other can carry anything else, perhaps even a bed if I want to bring one over, which I don't think I am since that means I gotta go out and buy one... and HK friend says beds may even be cheaper there since everything is made in China anyways, and everyone provides free delivery.

Ahh, now to the decision on what are all the things I wanna take with me... OH yeah! My snowboard!

Living arrangements

Here's the plan for living arrangements:
When I first arrive, I'll be staying at a serviced apartment/studio (fully furnished with weekly maid service), then during that first month, I'll look for a more permanent arrangement, which will be through a real estate agent. Apparently the inventory is very dynamic, so if ya find a good diggs, ya gotta snatch it up pronto! I've been searching on one for the last 2 weeks and it's getting tiring, but I should be able to make a final decision on it soon!

Give me the money!!!

Hmmm, wonder why I didn't think of it myself...

I was talking with the company's HR person about the move and wanted to know how much they've allocated for moving my belongings from US to HK, that way I can gauge how much stuff I can take with me. Even before I finished my sentence, she interrupted me and said "if you're going to ask whether we can just give you the money, the answer is 'NO', we will pay for the move but won't give you cash".
I was stunned and offended at the same time and though to myself "that wasn't what I was going to ask at all, how rude!" So I proceeded to ask my question and she indicated there should be enough money to move everything I want to but won't give me a dollar amount.

Later in the evening, as I was thinking over the conversation, I realized that would've been a good question to ask! Because if they would just give me the money, I wouldn't need to worry about what furniture to bring and just buy new ones there. It would be great if I could just have the money and buy new stuff there, but I am however, curious as to how much it would cost to ship my stuff over. Why wouldn't they just give me the money!!!

Hong Kong here I come!!!

Woot woot, it's final! I'm going to Hong Kong for work for about 2 years!!! I received my offer letter last week, they're willing to pay me about the same amount that I make here in the States, so it is enough for me to go and have an experience of a lifetime =)

It's unfortunate that they're only going to pay for my one-way airfare, yup you heard it right "ONE WAY"... LOL and the cost to ship my belongings over from California to Hong Kong. It's unfortunate they won't pay for temporary housing, but heck, since I was the one who requested the move, I should be happy that they're paying for anything at all?

fyi... I actually started this blog on April 15th, and I'm slowly filling in things that have happened prior to that date, which won't necessarily be in any order, nor will they be the actual dates that they took place on... =)