Halloween

Hello and Happy Halloween!
Also, Happy Birthday, Mimi!
Ordinarily I do not dedicate posts to people, but this post is dedicated to Anne Taylor because she requested a post after I had not written for a few days and to Mimi Worrell because it's her birthday!

It is a lovely Sunday morning here in Hong Kong. I am yawning and recuperating from a big time celebrating Halloween last night. When I came to Hong Kong I had no idea that Halloween would be celebrated here. Well, it is. It is a BIG holiday. It is so big that I needed an official letter, proof of residence, and a police escort to allow me to return to my apartment last night. I live near Lan Kwai Fong, the "Bourbon Street" of Hong Kong, and the crowds can become quite boisterous when people are celebrating Halloween on LKF. Luckily Hong Kong is a very safe city. I attempted to stay away from Lan Kwai Fong last night, but there was no way to avoid its crowd presence as I returned to my apartment.

Some of you have asked if I planned to dress up for Halloween. Indeed, I did because Rob and I were invited to a progressive Halloween Party dubbed "Liquor Treating." This inspired some creative costumes. One Englishman even sported a burka. Another man dressed as Sarah Palin. I asked the guy wearing a burka where one might purchase a burka, and it turns out he bought it when he "went undercover in Northern Afghanistan." His friends earnestly confirmed this story. Interesting guy with interesting stories. My costume was fairly plain and simple--I was Little Red Riding Hood. Rob was a Mexican and wore a NY Jets pin on his poncho. The Halloween party was fun. I was able to tour various Hong Kong apartments, and I met some smart people. One guy took our conversation as an interview and practically offered me a job. While common sense would say that was the "liquor treating" talking, I plan on following up. After a few stops at various apartments on the Yale Liquor Treating route, Rob and I left and met my friend Anne (the one who is from Raleigh, went to UNC and moved here from NY with her husband). I drank a lychee martini and called it a night.

After all that, a serious run is in store this afternoon.

Before....

...After

"Bobby Sanchez"

At my friend JS' apartment. I caught the Sultan kissing the hand of his fifth wife. Sarah Palin observes from the back of the room.
I ask myself, is dressing up for Halloween politically correct as an adult? 

With Jess and Anne at Wagyu Lounge for a night cap. Anne dressed as Betty Draper.

Monday!

Greetings on this glorious Monday morning,

I hope your work days are off to a solid start. I began mine with a quick nibble of muffin and a trip to Holly Brown, my go-to coffee shop. HB is decorated in Carolina blue and white, so I feel at home there. It offers free Internet, delicious cappuccinos, and up-beat elevator music, which requires one to bring her noise-canceling headphones. Nonetheless, Holly Brown helps me log a few hours on jobsdb.com and efinancialcareers.com.

As I reflect back on the weekend, it was a fun one. Miraculously Hurricane Megi never threatened the blue skies. We ended up spending lots of time outdoors. On Saturday I went to Kowloon to watch Rob play in his first softball game since joining the expat softball league. I was the only girl there this week and felt like I was crashing man time, but it was lots of fun. Funny quote of the day was overhearing a bystander say, "Wow, that's a tall first baseman!" Rob is tall, and he played really well!

Later in the afternoon I hit the gym and then met our friend Sarah for Saturday night bowling! I have always been a TERRIBLE (and I mean terrible) bowler, but whatever, bowling is fun. I learned half way through bowling that I held and released the bowling ball the completely wrong way. I used the wrong fingers and then would throw the ball back handed, which caused me to have little control of the ball. I have done this my entire life and never had a clue this was wrong. It is no wonder that my game-end score would be 30 on a good night. After Rob showed me the right way to bowl, my score improved. I can't tell you how beyond shocked I was when I finished with the highest score of the group at the end of the night.The group was laughing; nobody could believe it. Anyway, it was just fun. We went out after and had a great time.

After making a big night of it, Sunday was relaxing. Not much to report on that except, oh ya, KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) delivers in Hong Kong....Yeah, we ordered KFC delivery.

What did you guys do this weekend?!

TGIF!

I returned to mainland China yesterday for a second shopping trip. This time I knew what I was looking for, and I knew where these items were sold. Despite our brief time together last time, most vendors seemed to remember me, what I bought and how much I paid. I was shocked. It was remarkable. I am very impressed with their quick mental recall of faces, names and figures. I aimed to secure better relationships with these vendors so that I can continue to do business with them conveniently and at a good price.

Last time I went to the mainland I bought a particular purchase and showed a picture of it to a friend from home. She was intrigued by this purchase and asked if I could find one for her. Of course I could. I am more than happy to do this. Today I dropped it in the mail, and it should arrive in the US within 10 business days. Eee, can't wait!

I was also a little selfish in my purchases. The best purchase I made for myself this trip happened to be really dorky but practical--new prescription glasses! Yep, I have brand new prescription lenses and frames. I wasn't sure how the lenses would turn out, but I figured that if the job was botched, it wouldn't set me back too much. Much to my surprise, they turned out great! The hardest part is that I now have to retire my old lenses and frames, which have been with me since 10th grade. Oh, dork memories! To balance out the dorkiness, I also bought stiletto ankle booties, which I can hardly take off. Rob even caught me wearing them in my workout clothes.

Now that we have a massive hurricane approaching I'll probably need to take them off.

Big news here seems to be the approaching storm that is Hurricane Megi. (I think that's an Australian name). The alert level in Hong Kong is 3 right now. People don't get too serious about the storms unless the warning level reaches 8. I hope the storm passes by us without much damage to people or places.

Have a great Friday and weekend!

Lizard

Progress

Took a day off from blogging and miss it already! Hope you all are doing well at home. I miss you guys very much.

I'm doing my best to keep a positive attitude about the job search and am finding more success this week than last as things have picked up a bit. Knock on wood! I hope it stays this way, but there's no way of predicting. All I can do is the leg work and hope it pays off. As Lee and Jarrett say, let's hope the popcorn pops!

I went to a different gym this morning. It is located in the IFC, which stands for International Finance Center. The IFC is quintessentially Asian. It is an enormous complex that is home to many financial companies on the structure's higher levels. It also offers a smorgasbord of high-end shops, restaurants, hotels and even a movie theater on the lower levels. Pathways connect the facility to other buildings, which are designed in a similar fashion. This network of shopping and corporate business spans across all of Central Hong Kong. You can walk anywhere in this large network without getting wet on a rainy day. The IFC is also connected to the metro and to the ferry terminals. If heading to the airport, you can even check your bags at IFC!

My gym sits on the Northeast corner of the 3rd floor of IFC and overlooks both the Harbour and a mammoth construction site. It is nice to see so much construction here, as it is a visual representation of progress. Even though I gave a shameful performance on the treadmill this morning, I was inspired by the progress in front of me. I couldn't help but want to get back to my computer and make something happen on the job front. I've never really observed a major construction site in action, particularly since the recession struck two years ago, but watching dozens of cranes working at once and watching diggers dig huge holes in the earth reminded me what effort and action can build. Even though my efforts haven't begun to pay off as much as I would like, having reassuring surroundings helps keep a positive, pro-active attitude. Now...must get back to the search.

Hasta la vista!

Lizard

p.s. I love hearing from you guys (it's what keeps me going)! Promise I'll write you back.

Go Heels!

Marley and Me

I woke up this morning to find "Marley and Me" on HBO. I had never read the book or seen the movie, although I had heard memorable things from my brother and college roommate. I guess I was waiting for the right time to enjoy the movie, and there was no better time than this morning. So I watched it. 

...Old Yeller much? Wow. I LOVED the movie, but it'll set you back a few Kleenex. Note to self: Must emotionally prepare before watching "Marley and Me." 

I miss you, Bay Bay!

Liz

A few things from today

It's the end of Friday here. Rob and I are preparing dinner and staying in this evening. We're having sauteed veggies and pork with pasta. Rob is playing in a 14-hour softball tournament tomorrow with an expat league. We looked all over town today for a baseball mitt and could not find one anywhere. We were able to find badminton rackets, though. I picked up some new running clothes.

The job search was pretty slow this week. Hopefully it will pick back up next week. I tend to run off the stress when job stuff slows, so I've been spending more time at the gym. Yesterday I did a bootcamp class, which may be the most difficult workout I've had since Mr. Warner's pre-season field hockey practice. Today I decided to switch it up and run. Leave it to bootcamp, but I ran my highest mileage yet....all while watching the European synchronized swimming tournament on TV. That is an impressive sport.

I guess the main theme of this week has been "When you don't have a job, you spend extra time at the gym," followed by "Televised sports in Asia are weird awesome." Click here for picture.

Dinner's ready. Have a great weekend.

~Lizard

You Learn Something New Every Day

...and today I learned that badminton is a competitive and televised sport in Asia. As I logged miles on the treadmill this morning, I was pleasantly surprised by this televised sport. I could not understand what the Chinese-speaking commenters were saying, but the sport is still fun to watch when you sub the audio with Passion Pit and Milkman.

...If only the networks would air NFL football games, we'd all be happy!