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 ;)