Diary of an OB - LT

You know it's funny.

I have a mental to-do list. And on this mental to-do list is to get a diary/day planner type book to have a physical copy of my daily "to-do" list.

But I've put that off for some time now.

Anyway, I think I'll actively go looking for one now that I mentioned it.

Just as an epic aside, throughout my time here being the OB, the most awkward place ever EVER in ANY office has to be the bathroom. Yes, I would have preferred it if there were individual cubicles for bathrooms. So weird when you see someone you semi-know in there doing whichever thing it is they are doing. OK you get the picture. It just needed to get out there in the open so that you may prepare yourself for the same embarassment when the time comes.

So the single most vital thing on my OB list right now is to secure my damn flight back to Sydney. I'm currently waitlisted but I'd wish they would call me back right now and be like "o hey you're that OB eh? Sorry for the delay, sincerest apologies, I didn't realise it was THE OB. Here we'll put you on the flight, it's overbooked but that's cool, it might mean you'll get an upgrade into the uncomfortable business class."

Then I will reply with "thank you" and leave HK.

It's not that I'm hating my time here, but I've seriously been losing sleep thinking so much about the future that I think I need to return home to escape some of the thinking. I live in a think box of sorts.

As of late, I have gotten OB cravings where I just want to get every snack that pops into my head and just eat it. I've so far completed a few missions of that. It's bad, I know, but the feeling of conquest afterwards will be rewarding. Doubly rewarding.

Ok, I don't think the office realised its Winter, nor did they realise that air conditioners have reverse cycle and can be warming. But you know, being OB and all, I have like close to no voice in this office so I'll just quietly freeze to death now.

Edit: Another reason why I need to leave HK is because I am beginning to notice my English skills deteriorate into nothingness.

Diary of an OB - LT

Wow, I just read something totally mind boggling. The people on trial for the Chinese Milk Scandal, although culpable, are just scapegoats for another perpetrator - the Chinese Government.

Wow, like how do you take on the Chinese Government? Would that actually happen? Like there's such a distinct stigma about the untouchables that are the Chinese government. Without really having any knowledge of how the Chinese system works, this sounds like an epic task. If a law suit was filed against the government, would it instantly be rejected by the courts for fear of being totally dominated by the government after the ordeal?

It's pretty interesting to note that Chinese victims and their families are openly calling for the accountability of the role the government had to play. Is this a social shift?

So many questions...

Diary of an OB - LT

As OB now has time to think about random stuff, as Chinese New Year is fast approaching and hence there is nothing to do - the future of Hong Kong has always been on my mind.

What future? Yes, that is the correct question to ask.

Although somewhat bleak, there is absolutely no future for most children in Hong Kong and its the epidemic is already beginning to slowly encapsulate this Special Administrative Region.

How?

Well to provide some contextual knowledge, children are mainly brought up by maids as parents are always out/work. Like do kids not end up wondering who there real parents are? Do they not get confused. Apparently, young kids know a little bit of tagalog when they are young because they are exposed to it everyday. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but the point is, they don't even see their parents for most of the day.

So what kind of childhood to they have? Well, on a general level, I would say close to none. They learn nothing. They are treated like kings and queens and have their every request answered by the maid. As an example, I was in McDonald's and this maid buys this small girl like no older than 5, a Fillet-O-Fish meal. The maid unwraps the burger and holds it out for the kid to bite. The kid proceeds to look at the maid. With the most utmost air of snobbery, she flicks her hand, shooing the burger away. The maid obediently listens, with a sort of 'are you sure, lol at you, ok don't eat it, but i'll humour you by coaxing you to eat it' attitude.

I'm sitting quite close thinking in my head. WTF KID. HOW OLD DO YOU THINK YOU ARE. This girl is gonna grow up into a dumb bitch. No offence, but hopefully you don't. Man do parents not realise if their kids just get showered with attention for the rest of their lives they are going to grow up into the most useless person in society who forever will require attention and looking after?

Like then I tried to justify myself. Maybe things change when they grow up. I mean they don't know any other lifestyle so maybe its ok that they live in this bubble and then see the big wide world. Or is it? I bet most teenage honkies fail at cooking. Like will avoid the kitchen at all cost. Also, why do parents not want to look after their own child. Is it seriously that annoying to have your kid sit on the table with you at the restaurant with some family friends? Do you really need the maid to come along, feeling mega awkward sitting with your friends, just to attend to your child? Did you not get the feeling of parenting when the child was born? Did the maid actually deliver the baby as well?

Arrrrrrgh makes no sense! How is this society going to be sustainable?! Maybe it's because a foreigner and things don't quite click in my head. I mean I will admit that children in other societies and cultures also get pampered but honestly, not to this extreme, on such a widespread scale. GG.

What I also find awkward is how maids get to live with the family, in an apartment on average around 800-900 sq ft. Wtf is that? Your pretty much openly admitting that you will adopt a maid like your own autonomous and obedient child. How can you be alright with a random living at your house? Shouldn't you guys become like BFF family friends by the end of it all? The cultural shock that I still feel is astounding.

Like maybe if you were old, and frail and your family had no time, then a maid who could help you around the house, and like buy your groceries and so on is justified. Or even if you part time employ someone that doesn't permanently live with you is ok too. I suppose there isn't enough time in this little region since the working hours seem so ridiculously long.

O and another example. I'm sitting on bus overhearing random mother's conversation on my day off. She's ranting to her friend about her maid. And not a good rant either. Like an all out barrage of endless bitching about how lazy the maid is and shit. Then if she sucks, why don't you just not employ her, and do it yourself you tool!? It's not like you're working right now, just going to have a bit of yumcha with your friend. Why don't you and your friend go shop for groceries and shit? Why don't you cook dinner then?! FFS STFU!

Yea so angry, these things make me angry. ARGAKGJ WELGJ ALJGA. End Rant.

Diary of an OB - LT

Apologies for the recent inactivity, I hope this makes up for it. I present to you the lesser known side of the city.

Every single time

Must have watched this a thousand times over the past few years but every time it ticks me off.

Racist north shore fucks.

=p

Diary of an OB - LT

Ok so work has been increasing steadily. It must be that January is an unexplained phenomena where all OBs randomly get more work to do. I shall dub this the OB January effect and is not to be mistaken with the small-firms-in-January effect.

So where does this place me in terms of the OB ladder? Yes, I too had almost thought I had forsaken this...

Well, to be honest, it is hard to gauge where I stand. Have I gained the trust of this tribe to safely say I am climbing up a few rungs? Or is it just convenient to have this spare wheel connected to the end where you can safely dump all your excess baggage when the going gets tough?

Either way, I'm not complaining. To be used is not such a bad feeling after a month of inactivity. But I suppose there is a limit to everything and that if I'm swamped with work then I'll lose my mind and demand to HR that I want to be paid for this. Fortunately, I have not signed another contract yet, but something tells me if I were to take an extreme measure as such, I would get shot down in the instant. I'm treading on thin ice here just entertaining this idea. You know, the thought police might come after me..

Ok so this wasn't the purpose of this post. This post is to officially declare that I will now adopt the Hong Kong way of working. It is not as hardworking as you may first think. In fact, it's far from and that is why they work late.

Lawrence's Theory: HK workers are actually procrastinating kings/queens.

Why? This is what I have observed of an average joe worker:

9-11: Yawns I am so le tired, lets go surf some net and do whimsical things while I wake up. Hmm I should make myself a hot drink

11-12: Hrm, ok. Let's do some work. Ah emails...

12-1: Winz, lunch coming up, lets go surf that net again

1-2:15: Lulz, just came back late from lunch but o wellz - how satisfying was that?!

2:15-3: O man, so tired...foood coma...must go make drink and checks emails....

3-5: Intermittent work, and exploration on the big wide web

5-6: Ah crap, its almost home time and I haven't done anything. O nos! What to do!? O yea that guy over there, he can do some of my work. Superlolz. Winz. Ok yay, less to do. But I'll have to stay back a bit. Hrm thats ok, I'll look like a hero and skip traffic. I am zeeeee bomb.


Having said that, I am now going to try my hand at adopting this attitude. O man, I hope this doesn't rub off and become habit.

Orange Moon - LT

My ears are rejoicing. For the 4th time round again.

Diary of an OB - LT

Opportunity Cost - LT

Yesterday, I almost bought these. They were retailing at $489 HKD down from $1199 HKD. If you put one on top of the other, thats 40% of the original price!

But then, I thought about a head porter wallet. And yes, by now as avid followers of my segment, you know what I did.

I forwent those boots and went straight for my wallet. And I has no cashe.

Damn.

heymomjustgonnagosmokesomefoolwontbehomefordinnerkbye -AT.

Diary of an OB - LT

2009 is well and truly underway and with my first day back at work, I received two emails from UNSW. Work is well and truly on its way. As an OB, this is great news because it means I will have something constructive to occupy my free time at work. My only regret is that I do not have a USB stick here with me, so it looks like I will be getting one some time soon so that I can work from work.

Is this ethically bad? In my opinion, no. In fact, it is ethically bad to leave an intern alone at their own desk with periods of nothingness. I think they are still feeling the Christmas-New Year double whammy and there is still no work for anyone to do. Well there must be some because I've seen the manager come out a few times and talk to the FTs. (Full timers). Note to self: when I become an FTer or a person with authority, I shall flood the intern with work until he/she cries.

On a more personal blogging level, I've almost reached the end of my to-buy list. That is to say, I have bought what I have needed to buy in Hong Kong, and any more purchases after the foreseeable next 3-4 purchases shall be superfluous and purely made on a semi-impulsive level in my bid to do what I can to stimulate the economy.

Moreover, for those who are preparing to come to Hong Kong, let me be your weather-guy. The weather has now changed from the warmness and random rain to something which somewhat resembles winter. It is kind of cold in the morning but when the sun shines, it can get warm. But if there is anything to go by, the locals have decided to whip out their goretex north face superpuff jackets to brave the northerly winds that have journeyed their way down to Hong Kong. In any case, you should be mindful of the humidity levels because high humidity and low temperatures are a dangerous combination (goretex is warranted in these conditions). I shall update those coming to Hong Kong of the weather again in around two weeks time.

Photos from my online courses may also become a part of this segment now that I shall be bothered to lug around my first generation digital camera. Speaking of photo memorabilia, I took the liberty of having a McGangBang to start off 2009 and unfortunately no cameras were available at the time of banging. But it is a culinary experience, one not to be missed when visiting Hong Kong McDonalds. (Still no sign of Shaker Fries....)

Tom Ford S/S 09 - AT.

(ergh finally uncapped)

Diary of an OB - LT

I have this really bad problem where my mind is working on a completely different plane as the person who is communicating with me. For lack of a better description, (or in some cases - to accurately describe this condition) I am just daydreaming when people are talking to me.

So, what do I do? To combat this serious character flaw, my mind has developed a way to contextualise everything so that when I do return to the conversation, I can deduce what was said and give the appropriate response. Normally this works alright. It seems my mind can process stuff like a Intel Core DUO and think of my own stuff in one half of the brain and then absorb the things going on around me in the other half.

Unfortunately, I think this skill I have learnt is only operable when I am immersed in the English language to which I am most familiar with. When another language is involved, it is harder for my strange ability to function. For example, I have seen glimpses of this design flaw when I was learning Japanese during high school. I'd pretty much deduce as best I could what the other person was saying and give my response. More often than not, I would give retarded replies which made no logical flowing sense.

That is the case here. I think I did it again where one of my colleagues asked me something but I did not understand/was only half listening and gave the most incoherent response. Now I am embarrased. And I'm pretty sure I've done this on more than one occasion. Damn.

I am now severely handicapped in rising up the OB ladder because of this. It could almost spell the end of the ascent and the beginning of the spiralling fall as people start to realise I'm a nub. (Noooooooooooo.) But the weird thing is, they keep feeding me stuff like I'm a guinea pig. Alarm bells are ringing! =O

This morning was slightly eventful with an actual research task handed to me but I think with this anti-epiphany, any slight rise in OB-ness was immediately negated.

Diary of an OB - LT

Ok lets talk about food. Aside from the fact that my room is not actually very stereotypical of the demographics of the neighbourhood, the quality of living here is very enjoyable and multicultural. You have the random ex-pats who are actually ex-pats to add that twist of culture, you have the residential mixed with the small local shops that gives it that bit of homeliness and originality and you have the semi-convenient transportation network.

Today, I decided to try out a few restaurants around my place, (just like taste testing Anzac Parade at UNSW) and to my suprise, its semi decent. I say semi because the first two restaurants I tried had their mega downfalls. For example, Cafe "A" had alright congee, but too steep a price, Cafe "B" had better priced congee but laced with what I suspect to be MSG. DPD (Dai Pai Dong) "A" had good BBQ Pork Rice but it had the most seediest environment that would turn your stomach.

This leaves the Shanghai Restaurant which I must say I WILL GO BACK TO ZOMG. So when people do come, I think I'll take you out to this one because I think it has rather homely style dumplings and awesome shanghainese noodles. To top it off, it has the best chilli sauce EVERRRRRR. This restaurant left a rather good impression, except for the mandatory service fee charge so I didn't bother to tip them with my satisfaction. I deduced it must have been good because the first night I discovered it, there were a few people reading its public menu (even though its in a secluded side street) and it had newspaper clippings of what I presume to be an editorial on its overall package. But all in all, very pleasing!

AIWFBD - SC

Partly because I got paid for the first time in so long last week, and partly because it's Christmas time (but mostly because I got paid for the first time in so long last week), I bought myself a couple of things while Christmas shopping.+ Youth & Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak because they were $9.99 for the two at JB Hi-Fi. Haven't had much chance to listen to all of them but I doubt I'll be disappointed.
I also bought a new blue French cuff shirt. At least I think that's what it is. Wikipedia can only aid so much in my knowledge of fashion without pictures. A bargain with the 30% discount with a Country Road card. Shame they didn't have it in 37. Not to worry, I'm well on course to hit 70kgs.

I can only think of three more things that I would really want.


World peace.


Soccer boots. Not fussed as to what kind so long as they're affordable, comfortable and durable. It'd be preferred if they weren't Nike though, as they seem to be by far the biggest player in this oligopolized market. But in honest truth, I'd rather a bag of soccer skill for Boxing Day.

You may recognize Jessy Schram as the young Alison in Medium, Rachel Seybolt in Life or as it turns out, Maxim. There are countless famous women I could only dream of that could be posted but they would all illustrate the same point.

Merry Boxing Day everybody.