Blissfully broke

I have been busy offline these few days. No, I was not working very hard. The vet went to Malaysia for the weekend, and brought back some stuff from my parents. So I picked it up on Saturday. Then I proceeded to watch five hours of drama series episodes. Is that good or what? (Fine, my tolerance level is not as great as some seasoned drama series watchers) I have finally finished drooling over the oh-so-gorgeous actors and snapped back into reality. And it is not aided by the fact that I had two cups of coffee today. Okay, so caffine keeps me awake too, I don't normally drink coffee, and even the tea I take is peppermint, which has little or no caffine.

Work has been okay-ish. I went back to work on Monday to find that my assistant is leaving us. I didn't do anything ok! I was shocked, yet I understand why she would. I would want to take a sabbatical too after working so hard. She will hopefully be back in February, maybe I should tell the boss? Hmm.. Maybe not. But it drives home the fact that I NEED to learn enough cantonese to be able to work alone, and I need to find out what size and where my uniform is kept.

A short detour to Ladies Street in Mong Kok on Saturday brought me some goodies. Got some more cute stationary and two tops, one dark green and the other grey. I also got two more drama boxsets for emergencies. Let's see, there was a necklace and some plain coloured socks for work. They are still bright fun colours, but at least they are less showy. It is very important for me to wear bright socks to contrast my shoes, as it woud make it easier to show people how to wear their shoes properly. It was interesting to see them hawking their wares 'copy handbag, copy watches' or 'come back, I give you discount, give you 25% off.' But I came back smelling horribly of smoke as they smoke like chimneys!

Sunday got me in a singing contest. Yes folks, I was singing. I have been wondering why they have been singing the same song for the past few weeks before they invited me to come along and watch the competition. Before you knew it, I was also part of the group on stage singing some random chinese christian song. We did okay and came in third. I think the fact that I refused to buy their boring grey clone-tshirt and insisted on wearing my same-colour-grey-even-if-I-have-never-seen-the-t-shirt top may have affected the outcome. *shrugs* They were happy because it was the better than the previous year's results.

I realised I have not spoken to anyone close the whole weekend, and was feeling withdrawal symptoms when my mum called. I admit I am a homebody, and will probably never get married ever as I will refuse to leave home. My mother is anxious to get rid of me though. *sigh*

Note to self: Don't let Mrs Chai near other women with similar aged children. They will start a 'my kid is better than your kid' conversation. My mum lost because her graduate daughter does not have a boyfriend.

Oh! The results of the game. Yes, some people were kiasu and went to find out. Let's just say there is an eagerness for knowledge and they are self-motivated! :)

The similarity of the word in the last post was: *drum roll*

No, they are not edible. Besides potato which is good with cream cheese and wasabi.

No, they are not toys and are not to be given to children under 3 years old.

If you take the first alphabet of each word, and put it at the back, you will be able to spell the same word backwards. Cool eh?

Gameshow

What do these words have in common?

Banana
Dresser
Grammar
Potato
Revive
Uneven
Assess

Take a long hard guess and kepo a bit. I will reveal the answer in my next post. Only smart people will be able to figure it out so says the email my dad sent me.

I had some nurses from Beijing who came for a two week stint for diabetic care. They were around since monday but mainly kept to themselves. They came to my clinic today and were really nice. (Anyone who tells you that you are pretty and have nice skin is a nice person)

In the evening, I saw them in the pantry when I was attempting to cook dinner. They helped me cook my dinner and gave me tips on cooking food while piling food onto my plate to feed me. I like people here. They feed me and they smile nicely and go out of their way to make my life a little easier. Maybe I have a please-feed-me face.

Satisfaction

Satisfaction is when the patient you have seen has healed ulcers.

Satisfaction is when they bring in cake, cookies and more cake of every kind.

Satisfaction is when collegues don't eat a lot of cake citing diets.

Satisfaction is having all the cake to yourself and not having to worry about the diet because you didn't eat cake at breakfast anyway.

Satisfaction is when you finally find a place that sells baking potatoes so you can have the baked potato with cream cheese and wasabi that you were craving.

Satisfaction is receiving love in the mail from people you truly miss.

Satisfaction is laughing at the lovely things your friends and family tell you because you know they miss you just as much as you miss them.

Satisfaction is when the poor woman was screaming her head off because she had her gangrenous toes taken off without analgesics, she could still smile after and thank you for making a difference to her life.

Satisfaction is just knowing that you are at the right place, at the right time and the decision you took was the best decision you could have taken for yourself and for others.

I love my job. Please convince me otherwise.

HoneyMoon

My candle, your candle

They say the honeymoon comes about from people who get married then decide to stick about for one month as they still love each other and can't bear to be apart. Then the moon changes and the PMS starts and suddenly the other half doesn't look as gorgeous as before. Or how about the story where the father-in-law supplies the groom with all the alcohol made from honey that he could drink for a month in the hope that he makes his daughter pregnant and therefore unable to work for the next nine months thereby depriving the groom's family of free labour for the planting of crops. Sly eh?

It has been one month since I arrived in Hong Kong. So far, it has been an interesting ride. I have met so many different people that I find it weird I actually feel settled here. Scary isn't it? I feel at home in Hong Kong more so than in Kuala Lumpur. I can't explain why I feel that way even when I have no food to eat, can't speak the language, haven't been out to the bars and have met so many thick headed idiots who just don't listen to what I tell them to do.

To celebrate, I bought myself a ticket to go back for Chinese New Year. We have people booked in for the day before and after CNY weekend. But I have decided I need to eat see my family more. I still don't know what to do for Christmas. I feel like going somewhere, but my favourite people (you know who you are) are all away in some far-flung place and are not near enough for me to visit in 5 days. Traveling would take 2 and jet lag would take another 2. Then the time difference would make one more day. Maybe I should just wallow in self-misey and use the money for the air ticket to buy a bag. *sigh*

Saw a guy who was 5 months older than me and the level of understanding he has about lacing up shoes properly is less than a two year old. Why do I feel so old? Maybe my parents forgot to register my birth until say 30 years later. I'm not surprised if they did because they forgot the name they wanted to call me until 14 years later.

Some photos from saturday night. I am so bored I joined this group of people who talk about religion and the careerpath. If I am honest, I would tell you I really enjoy spending time with godly people, but since I am not so honest, I would say I go for the cake. It was Alvin's birthday and I decided to sabotage it as it was also my birthday this month. So I ate half his cake. They said he was 32 but I don't think even botox can make his skin look so smooth. *Jealousy lurks*

They are nice people, they fed me cake.

Doing the compulsory V pose. Even babies do that here!

Showing off that we can still count our ages with our fingers. What am I going to do when I hit 56?

Sleep is Bliss

I spent the past few days curling up in bed. You see, they have some sort of festival here where you are supposed to go run up the hills. Now, I'm not a great fan of hills so I decided to pass. I rather get my beauty sleep. Which I got a lot of...

I was bored by friday night that I decided to satisfy my craving for a cranberry juice (Yes, I have weird cravings) by going to the 7-11 which is just on the second floor of the main building of the hospital. There was no cranberry juice so I got some Lemon Balm Apple Tea. Don't ask me what it is, because it sure didn't taste like tea. The hospital is eerily quiet at midnight. You would think there would be tons of people in A&E and all that, but there wasn't a soul! And I just saw the A&E department on tv as some famous person was injured drink driving and was brought to my hospital. Kiasu a bit la, just to check out if there were any other busybodies around. I decided to explore the hospital since there were no security guards around at this time of night to tell me not to go anywhere I shouldn't. This cute doctor was in the lift as I was approaching it and he waited for me to get in. I normally don't go into lifts with strangers late at night but since this was a hospital and had CCTV and he had a name badge so I could identify him it would be relatively safer. Besides, he looked positively petrified of me, as I was wearing shorts and didn't wax my legs. So he took me to the fourth floor. I was going to get out at the ground floor but I simply didn't know why the lift refused to go down. It wasn't that I was going to take a peak in all the floors, but the lift just went up and down different floors of it's own accord. I swear! So yours truly played lift porter for a while before getting out where I originally got on and went to take the lifts I normally get. A quick tour of A&E comfirmed that there was no exciting things to see. =(

So that was about as exciting as my weekend gets. Besides eating mango swiss roll and also a chocolate birthday cake on saturday. They celebrated this guy's birthday and decided to share cake with me too. I don't know how they do it, but guys in Hong Kong sure know how to keep themselves well.

Diamonds Don't Wait Forever

My assistants must have been sufficiently tortured to see me so bored the past few days so they called up every single patient to make sure they made their appointments yesterday and today. So nice of them, really! I was still able to play a few rounds of jawbreaker and finish a story book today. No mean feat considering the constraints on my time.

I found the public library on Tuesday. And there were books in English! *yay* So I now have something to do besides eating my way around Hong Kong and spend all my money on shoes, bags and jewels. Even the banker was surprised I read two books a day. I wonder if I really project such a bimbotic image?

My mum sent me a text yesterday to follow up on our conversation the day before.

"My diamonds can only wait for you for three years."

What kind of threat/bribe is this??!! Diamonds are supposed to last forever. Not have some expiry date attached onto them! She just wants to pressure me to work and earn lots of money so that she can buy handbags. It's a a ploy I tell you! She knows that I would never listen to her at face value, so if she asks me to work hard, I would just slack and shop. If she asks me to get married, I will just laugh it off and concentrate on just the opposite.

I went to collect the 28 stud mother-of-pearl heart-shaped ring that I got resized. It seems a little too big now as it slips about on my finger. Maybe it's just the weather or they may have resized it slightly too big. I saw my garnet ring at another jewellers alas a less attractive and smaller version (around 18 carats of garnet) for HK$1300++. They had similar mother-of-pearl rings too but the price was not as different as the garnet one.

Oh, I made my first proper meal! :) I am so proud of me. I made rice in my cute claypot with mushroom chicken and chinese vegetables. Of course, there was this nice chinese doctor who was standing by helping me measure my rice:water ratio and ensuring that my food was cooked well. I am so pleased. But cooking is such a hassle! Much easier to eat out or get a take out.

PS: It is another public holiday tomorrow. It is tradition to head to the hills on this day as the ancestors did the same.

Sell By Date : Oct 2010

I did it! After spending the whole day a measy few minutes *ehem* relaxing by fiddling with the computer, I conquered Jawbreaker! :) And I did it TWICE! Go me! :)

Two patients turned up today, down one from yesterday. They must have seen my name on the door and got scared. Yes, I have a name on the door. I didn't take a picture as all the patients were outside queuing for the washroom and would look at me each time I opened the door to check if there were any patients for me. I sent one to A&E. I will now be the laughing stock of all the medics in A&E for sending someone with a toe ulcer. And I had Betadine on it too! We hate it when people put Betadine on wounds we want to look at. But I was worried okay, the person also didn't want to attend A&E! And I didn't know what to do, so when in doubt it's better to be safe than sorry. The person got increasingly worried as I peeled off the dressing, as my eyebrows just got closer and more furrowed. This business is going to give me massive wrinkles!

I was telling my mum about all the losers friends who were asking me to keep an eye out for eye candy. *eye for eye candy geddit? Hahahaha *

She kept quiet for a while and then she answered:

"Yea, you should be looking for a friend. I give you three years to find one."

But I have loads of friends! I think she meant a boyfriend. At least she isn't as cruel as my aunt. She gave my cousin 2 years post graduation to settle down or get matchmade. I just hope my mum doesn't hang out with her too much or else she might get more ideas.

Jawbreaker

Either the patients knew I was going to be there or they were scared of podiatrists in general. I had three patients in the morning and ended at 11am. It was interesting to spend the day doing admin stuff and revising my work from fourth year that was in my pendrive. Incidentally there was also jawbreaker! :)

I watched 200 Pound Beauty just now, and it's really good! Go watch it! :)

Let's hope all the ulcers come tomorrow! Gosh, I am turning into a workaholic!

Stop Press

I don't have to pack my bags just yet. I found what I lost! *yay*

I went back to Sheung Sui and found it in the shop where I dropped it. I was so happy that I willingly paid 900 dollars for the benefit. Well, not really, but I decided to give the owner a bit of business and got a bit carried away. It was a jewellery shop after all! *sheepish* It was supposed to be 1200 dollars okay! And my lousy bargaining powers got me 300 dollars off. Gosh, why am I justifying my pursuit of happiness?

So I am a very happy bunny. I am now the proud owner of a 22-stone baguette cut garnet ring. There is probably 20 carats of garnet there! I also got a very pretty pink pearls heart shaped ring. Yet another huge in-your-face ring. I can't help liking pretty things, it's an inborn trait. No wonder my mother said I am fated to spend all my money. It's in the stars, the fortune teller said so.

I also found the egg tart pillow! And the chicken drumstick pillow. There was also an ice cream pillow and banana pillow... But being the rational person that I am, I didn't scream out loud and grab the pillow in glee. I will buy it the next time. Just you wait pillow!!! I felt just a tiny tinge of guilt for spending so much money on jewellery that I left the pillow to wait for me until the next time. The perfume had to wait too.

See, I'm not such a hopeless cause. There is salvation for the shopaholic.

Oh, there are 300 days before the Olympics in Beijing. Still time to get in shape to seduce the fit athletes. I am on standby for the equestrian event in Shatin during the Olympics. No, I don't treat horses. Just their riders.

PS: I wanted to go to Lo Wo or Lau Ma Chau, which is the chinese border, but didn't have the guts to go in case they deported me without a visa. I know, I'm such a chicken.

PS2: I made my first proper meal today! Laksa noodles. I cut up chicken, fish balls and vege and threw it into the cute claypot with udon and laksa paste and microwaved it for 6 minutes. Viola! Bon Appetit! It was too spicy...

My Best Birthday Ever

Don't believe everything people say. Honestly. Especially the ones that look kind, timid, goody goody and are podiatrists working in Cantoland. Let's put that into past tense.

I went to work today, and got lost going to the hospital. This hospital a bit complicated to find, each time I manage to get there via a different route. But since this is my first clinic all by myself, I get to call the shots. And the power could not be used. Less than half my patients turned up! I spent the day eating 1 banana, 3 egg cakes, 2 slices of butter bread, 1 slice of sesame cheesecake and 1 piece of coconut coated chocolate cake courtesy of my lovely assistant. Then I had a lovely smelly ulcer to make up for all the cake. I also got to show off my banana skin that I had saved in the fridge and impressed a few people.

I was wished an unforgettable, brilliant and amazing birthday. It was unforgettable alright. On my way back, I got myself another slice of cake, Mango cheesecake *yum* and so that I don't have to eat Indomee for my birthday, I got some takeaway and cute mini buns. I went for a stroll looking for food and a birthday present for me and stopped at the shopping mall. Then I took two trains back and was so tired I fell asleep. Eating Working is hard work ok!

And then I screwed up. Big Time. I went back to Sheung Sui (which is 1 hour away) to find the thing I lost. And the place was shut. I shall pack my bags in anticipation of going back to Malaysia now. I am so dead. I will never be employable, ever! My name will be blacklisted and I will be rejected entry into every single country with a health care system. My birthday resolution for not having to work is coming true! But money has yet to fall from the sky. Maybe I didn't wish hard enough.

How?? Tomorrow I am going back to search for it again. If I don't find it. I am seriously going into depression and no amount of cake and ice cream will be able to cheer me up.

Please pray to St Anthony for me.

Thick Faced

Yay! I am 23! Or 24 if you believe my sister. I just need to survive my first day alone in the clinic. And get my SIM to work. And find a cake to eat. And find something better than microwave dinner, though the food in the restaurant here is truly bad and a microwave dinner actually beats it 100 times.

Thank you for all the greetings, the love and the care. Thanks to mum and dad for letting me spend their money and not complaining too much about the shoes and the bags and the perfumes. Thanks to my siblings for putting up with my temper tantrums and saddistic tendencies like tying up Lamby the Fat into a char siew duvet roll. My brothers for being such sweet creatures and sensitive enough to send me a 'Happy Birthday Sister' card (Thanks Osbert, but I won't pay for your Christmas flight home). My sister for being annoying.

Thanks to all my friends who have been there for me, listen to me whine and complain and always being patient enough to hear out my sometimes over the top schemes and ideas. For reassuring me that I am pretty, and no I don't look fat in that. And yes, an egg tart pillow is the coolest thing ever.

I wouldn't wish my life to turn out otherwise. Let's pray that the future holds greater possibilities and money will fall from the sky and I will never have to work again! :)

Working in the UN

Working in the UN must be tough going. You need to be an ace student, graduate top of the class, look amazing in suits and specs and have annoying perfect skin and hair. Gah! Oh, you must also be fluent in many languages.

So I guess I will never be able to work in the UN. I can't speak properly. We had some nurses from the Mainland here on a visit to our hospital. They came and observed our clinical session and I had to give an explaination in mandarin on the workings, the conditions and the treatment processes and the things we expect diabetic nurses to be able to carry out. I have never had so much difficulty! I should have done more mandarin in school, or attended all the extra Saturday classes that I always managed to find an excuse to skive. My boss spoke in cantonese in the hope they understand while I had to translate cantonese-mandarin. After some blank looks, she realised that I didn't understand cantonese perfectly and it would be easier to speak in English for translating to Mandarin. Hahahaha.. I only hope that we got the message through properly!

There was also a really cool and interesting case this morning. We had the dermatologist down for it too. And the dermatologist brought along his groupie. It's so cute to see all the junior doctors running after the specialists. Maybe they all have some kinda competition to see who as the biggest group of followers and they can walk the corridors like triad lords. I've seen it here, I've seen it elsewhere. They never change.

Anyways, back to random crap. I come back from work and sleep for two hours due to sheer exhaustion. Then I wake up to look for dinner. It's not very socially adventurous is it? But it's ok. I rather bond with my bed than with losers.

CantoLand

For reasons of security, I have taken off my number. My address is still there for another 3 days then I shall take that down too. I don't want everyone running over here to crash when they hear that MAS has a RM99.00 each way offer from Malaysia to Macau. Haha!! :)

Self preservation! :) Hong Kong shall hereby be known as Cantoland, and I am not called Stella but Miss Malaysia.

Grossed Out

Don't read this if you are eating your dinner, about to eat your stolen biscuit or thinking about having something to eat.

I have been at work for the past few days in various clinics. It has been an eye opening experience, especially in the care of the chronically ill. There is little in terms of community care provided in the health service. With acute care, most people would come up to A&E if they are feeling unwell, broke a leg or just generally being a pain and wanting attention. I don't envy the medical professionals having to deal with every single imaginable case that comes walking in the door. It is a lot to handle.

There was this frail aged individual with multiple areas of tissue breakdown all over the feet. I can't imagine that one person could have to suffer so much! You could see the joint capsules of the toes as all the webbing area was broken down with all prominences being in equally terrible condition. If I was asked to look at this in First Year, I would have dropped out of the course. I had my hand to my mouth the whole time, seriously! I have never felt so sick looking at ulcers. Apparently there are many worse cases. It is just starting to get interesting. I shall develop a stomach of stainless steel like Miss Lamby. It shall be purple and have pretty pink flowers and say '5 litres' on the outside.

On a lighter note, I am getting my first visitor! :) So all you kiasu people, start booking your tickets now, you don't want to feel left out do you? :) O yeah, I found this amazing japanese supermarket with like really cool food such as instant noodles, Milo, Hello Kitty sweets, lots and lots of eel and sushi and sashimi *yum yum* and lots of dried herbs for soups. The sales women laughed when I told them I needed to get a rice cooker, slow cooker and yes, a cup before I start cooking. I got a super cute claypot which can cook soup and rice in the microwave. If I don't succeed, then it can always be a flower vase. :)

PS: I got this knife the other day, thinking I got a good deal. The guy was like:" No discount! Very cheap!" So I believed him. I went to another store in the same shopping complex and saw it for 20 dollars cheaper. =.=

Up & Running

I feel good. Not because I woke up early and went to work early with eyebags and my assistant couldn't recognise me, but because I got my Hong Kong ID done today. Just.one.more.trip then I don't ever have to step foot on Hong Kong Island ever again. Hahahahahahahaha *stressful laughter*

Actually, it wasn't so bad. Beatrice told me she managed to get me the perfume I have been dying to get. That made me a happy bunny. Thank you Beatrice! =) Add in the fact that yours truly has spent the rest of the *cough cough*working*cough* day sorting out bank stuff, ID stuff, phone line and finally hitting Wan Chai market. I figured by the time I got back, the clinic would be closed, so I might as well wander around the area looking for rich old men to con. I never knew Wan Chai had such a fantabulous market! :)

I got *drum roll* in sequence:-

1) A cute Mango-my-cat *kiss kiss* camera bag and a cute coin purse.

2) The most amazing yellow stilettoes!!! It was on sale from HK$199 to HK$60, and the man gave it to me for 50 dollars. If I knew how to bargain in cantonese I would have driven him down further for the sake of it, but I have yet to master bargaining.

3) Vintage-rose-looking hairclips

4) Egg tart (yum), salty beef bun and some cute mini egg cakes that I was told was a popular local delicacy. They were still warm to touch! I love Wan Chai!!!

5) More cute hairclips

6) Some girly stuff (It means don't ask)

7) More food including fish balls, siew mai, brocolli and really nice microwave beef hofun and singapore fried bihun! Everybody go try Amoy Ding Ding frozen meals!! I got Nutella yay!

8) I joined a dvd/vcd rental club. So auntie right? But that means I can rent movies to watch, but then I got a box set of dramas for only 60 measy dollars.

One thing for sure, I won't die of hunger now. I am a happy woman. Until I run out of money and have to sell my food to raise cash.

PS: The immigration officer asked me if I was on contract, then he asked me if I was getting the expat rate of 70k/month. I didn't know that was the going rate! :(

Peng Chau anyone?

Looking out for rich cute guys. Seeing none.

Contrarily to popular belief (at least what I thought), Peng Chau is not a way of frying noodles/rice/udon etc. It is actually an island off Lantau Island (where the airport and Disneyland is) which is supposed to be full of traditional rustic charm. That's why there were so many 'kwai lou' on the ferry.

Anyways, I went to check it out today along with some new found friends I picked up along the way. I didn't expect to be walking UP a hill, so I was wearing my pretty dolly shoes. Then I noticed everyone wearing trainers and hiking boots. So I got a pair of sandals in Peng Chau so that I don't feel left out. However, it is my professional opinion that podiatrists are the worst offenders of inappropriate footwear, eventhough we know perfectly well what we should be wearing. The sandals I got were crap, and broke just 10 minutes into the hike.

We went up Finger Hill. Yes, it is called Finger Hill both in English and Chinese. No kidding. There was a long hike which was tiring. But when I reached the top, we got a great 360 degree view of Hong Kong. Peng Chau is right between Lantau Island, Kowloon Mainland and Hong Kong Island. The fog meant we could only see Lantau Island and Disneyland. Search we may, there was no finger on the top of the hill. No odd rock formation which could indicate a finger, rude or otherwise, no nothing. Maybe there was an old man who lived on the hill who could do magic tricks, and people would point to the hill when all the tourists came to visit the old man and pay him good money to do tricks. That's why it is called Finger Hill.

Peng Chau requires a 30 minute trip on the ferry to get there, which meant that there were no cars on the island. It is a small village with old people sitting under trees gossiping in the evenings. I think I wouldn't mind living in Peng Chau, just that there isn't much to entertain you! The High Street sells more vegetables than anything else... and the electical store doubles up as a Mah Jong centre.



I would like to visit more islands around the area. It is interesting to see how people live. I am considering quiting the day job and setting up a Mah Jong centre in Sipadan.



Oh, here are some pictures of another trip: Zeta, the Podiatry Scholar currently back in UK doing 2nd Year brought me around Hong Kong in the first week, and we went to the Peak. Sorry if the pictures are a bit dark, it was a very sunny day.

This is Zeta everyone! :)

PS: Mango pudding is very nice. So is mango ice cream and mango cake... *yum*

Mornings are not Me

Waiting for the show to begin. L-R : Me, Lea, Ann, Presy

6am Sunday 30th September
Phone ringing sound

Me: " Hello...."
Presy: "Good morning!!! wakey wakey!!!"
Me: "Ughh... why so early...ughhhh..."

I am not a morning person, but being the dedicated individual who holds herself to her words, I made it to the bus at 6.30am, to take a trip allllll the way to Tsim Sui Wai. It was the church feast day, and I had promised them I would be there.

Looking sleepy *cough* I mean bright eyed and bushy tailed.

I had Ann to escort me from the bus station in Shatin all the way there, or else I would probably have gotten lost/fallen asleep and miss my stop. All in all, the show was ok. The kids were cute, the egg tart pillow even cuter. I was sitting there, minding my own business, when this kid runs across the stage with the cutest egg tart pillow and a chicken drumstick pillow! I sat up instantly and plotted on how to steal it from him. But I couldn't find the kid, so the pillows were not mine to take. :(

Don't look at me, I don't understand cantonese. *act dumb*

I will need to find the pillows to make my life a bit more comfortable here.

At the Font. They do things with Feng Shui in mind here.

I called Miss Lamby today, and told her I saw the cutest thing that I wanted to buy. She asked me if she would like it too, and I said yes.

Miss Lamby: " Oooohhhh, you are going to get me a SPIDER PIG!!!! =D"
Me: " No, I want to get an egg tart pillow"
Miss Lamby: " But I want a spider pig, spider pig is so cute!"
Me: " I think the egg tart pillow is better."
Miss Lamby: " Jie, I want spider piggggg"

Gah! The sad thing is, she will get her spider pig. Why am I such a softie?

My First Day

I went to work as a proper Podiatrist today! :) And it felt good to be employed for what I worked so hard for *cough cough splutter*. My boss had very considerately cancelled all my patients as my assistant was still away on leave. So I got to sit about doing nothing observe what she did. No lah, I didn't just waste the government's money, I got myself two new patients! :)

It is strange not being able to speak the language. But I have picked up 'siu siu'... haha :)

Maybe enough to tell the patient I am not from Mainland. And also not to look so worried because I wear a mask, and look like a tellytubby. A blue one.

I went to HR and got a whole stack of paperwork to look through, and I am supposed to decide what to do with my Mandatory Provident Fund, and tell them where I want to invest in. I personally think investing in handbags and jewellery is a much better idea. Oh, they also took my mugshot. I now have a very official-looking badge with like 7 hospital logos and my name in Mandarin and English. The guy said I looked cute, but who looks cute with fluffy hair, bangs, no make-up and wearing a baby blue tunic against a baby pink background?

I will not traumatise any children and show the photograph here. Anyways, I forgot to bring my camera charger and I can't charge my camera. :p I really need to do something about this. How am I going to take photographs of all the cute HK doctors I see in the hospital? There are too many of them! Hahahahahaha...

I was going to go to make my HK ID tomorrow, but the weather forecast says it is going to be a beautiful day, so I decided to go to the beach instead. I heard this beach has sharks, which is really cool, I've not met any sharks before. Hehe.. I just need a fellow BCC-fan.

Working can be fun, but it will be heavy-going henceforth. But I am sure I will be able to cope! *think positive think positive think positive*

Someone please marry me. Please be rich.

PS: MRSA is translated as 'medicine resistant yellow grape ball bacteria' in Chinese characters.

Chase.Wild.Goose

I was brought on this wild goosechase today.

When I first touched down in Hong Kong, I went straight to the Immigration Department and submitted my application for employment (well, not straight, but within 48 hours). I didn't hear back for one week, so I called up to bug them, and was told that I would have to go to Immigration personally to sort it out. They were pretty annoying as they asked why did they have to employ a foreigner. Shessh... It is not that my field of expertise is available for study in this part of the world. All of us were either foreigners or foreign-trained locals. It is a blessing we are not asking for expat rates already!!

So yesterday I dutifully went across the bay and after waiting for the whole afternoon, got a visa. On one condition : I had to leave the country and reenter.

I was so surprised. This was closing time, I had 48 hours before my first clinic and I had to leave the country and come back. I rushed to check with Malaysian Authorities to see if I required a visa to either Macau or ShenZhen. Macau didn't need another entry permit, so it was the logical choice. I had to figure out how to get there, and what currency I needed etc.

My boss and HR were not happy and complained to Immigration. So Immigration called up at 6pm, when I was busy sightseeing in the shopping mall to tell me they are cancelling my visa that I got that day. They will pass my case to another officer to start a new process and I would need to come again tomorrow.

I was well pissed off. I waited in the clinic for them to call, and in the end, we called them and was asked to go to Central in 45 minutes to do the other visa. Yea right I will get there in 45 minutes!!

So I dutifully made yet another trip to Central. Honestly, I have been to Central 5 times in 10 days I should consider living there! They told me that I would need to apply for a fresh visa, and my 20-hour-old visa will be cancelled and I will need to pay a new fee for the fresh visa. I was livid! This was terribly annoying as I not only had to pay for the wrong visa, and was not given an apology, but was required to pay for a new visa that they could not guarantee I get it the same day. I almost cried! The man who dealt with my case looked rather worried as I was very near to tears.

I stormed out after declaring that I will not work in Hong Kong ever again *dramatic exit eh?*. If I stayed there another second I would have bawled my eyes out and rolled on the floor and made such a big fuss. The guy tried to call me back to the counter, but I refused to look at him. He kept on calling that I finally relented and went back in. This time, he promised that I would get my visa in 2 hours, right after lunch. So this was ok, and all I had to do was to sign the form and they will do everything else.

Since I was promised a visa, I relented and went out to scout around. I took the tram (the one that goes in the street, the old-fashioned kind) to Sheung Wan, which is the area where you can get a ferry to Macau. There was the Western Market there, and they had the loveliest cafe with a gorgeous chandelier inside. Very quaint, I like.

Got some sugar in a street which I suspect is some kind of wholesale chinese herbs and dried foods area. Posted my siblings their awesome kawaii diaries eventhough it cost a lot, all sibling love I tell you!! =D Ain't I the best sister ever? Sending them things eventhough I am making no money, have no visa and was having a shitty day. And if i didn't get my visa that day, my dad was going to make me go back to Malaysia.

I got a call around 3pm, saying that my visa was ready and that I was to bring the money. i resigned to the fact that I would have to pay again anyway. So I went along, I didn't even stop for bubble tea eventhough I really really wanted it. I didn't expect a call that early, as the boss already had words with them.

I got there, and this lady Immigration officer (LIO)came to the window.

LIO: " I am sorry for the whole complication of your case, due to the special circumstance in which this case was handled, we will waver the second application fee and process your visa free of charge."

Me: "Oh.. Okay... Thanks for the consideration."

I should have said more, but then my boss had already said a lot of things I won't mention here. I wish I had more guts. Kudos though, to them for being able to still sort things out. I admit, we were quite a pain, and they did take 1.5 weeks instead of the usual 6 weeks.

So I am the proud owner of a working visa, and it says "NO FEE' on the bottom.

I never ever want to go through this again. I won't even wish this on my greatest enemy. So Lamby, you're safe.

Love at First Sight

It has been interesting. I was getting worried about my visa as my first clinic is on friday and I really need to start work because I don't get paid until I do.

And I saw a really pretty handbag that I really need.

I went to see HR, and they told me about this amazing serviced apartments in Ma On Shan. So after queuing at the bank to withdraw money for one hour (the cute guy at the bank didn't look as cute as the time passed, I was sure I could see signs of a belly under the shirt). I had KFC egg tart and was on my way.

The apartment was amazing! But then the guy told me that it was full and they didn't know when they will get a vacancy, but if I wanted the HK$ 18000/ month one on a 12-month contract, then that one is available. I don't need to eat is it? But the area was nice and isolated, a bit like the Scottish Highlands with the mountains and the raging sea and mist! :)

There were good shops around too! I got my siblings ridiculously cute organisers which they would be ashamed to show to anyone. And the cinema is much much cheaper than say the City. It was only HK$ 45 per movie compared to HK$ 70 in Central. So I went to watch Ang Lee's latest work Lust: Caution.

The girl at the cinema window looked at me worriedly. I knew the movie was rated 18, but I didn't think I was that short young-looking to warrant an age check.

"The movie is in mandarin, do you know?" *oh*

Well, if Crispin managed to watch it, then I should have no problem too.

** SPOILER** If you are too chicken to be tsk-ed by the moral police or too busy with proper lives to watch this movie then read on **SPOILER**

Don't say I didn't warn you.

*SPOILER*

The movie was ok-ish. It wasn't the best movie I have ever seen, neither was it the worst. Sure, there was talk about the actors/actresses being exploited. I was of that opinion anyway. The movie was rated 18SX for a reason, and it wasn't hard to see why. There was a whole lot of sex. I didn't think that was necessary for the development of the plot, but I guess sex sells.

The gal had NO BOOBS!! My goodness... And she had armpit hair.

But if you want to see this movie, you should watch this movie for one reason, and one reason only.

THE HUGE ASS SIX CARAT PINK DIAMOND.

I want that now. It is stunning. Every single woman in the cinema gasped when they showed the diamond ring. I swear I could hear the guys groaning inwardly.

They sure know how to make money here, they charged extra HK$10-25 dollars for this movie due to the length of it. Then I can ask for discount if the movie is short is it?

I Want Birthday Presents

There, I said it. My face very white. I am asking for birthday presents.

I know... I know, you will all chip in for a crocodile skin Birkin bag right? *smiles dazzlingly*

So please send all the gifts you know you really want to give me to:-

Room 414, Block A Staff Quarters, Prince of Wales Hospital, 30-32 Ngan Shing St, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong.

I will be staying there until the end of October.

Faster... faster send, my birthday is still 12 days away. Still got time to send, even from as far away as Antartica!

You KNOW you want to give me perfume, jewellery and handbags!