Tai Tai-ing

Today saw half the patients skipping their clinical appointments. While they have a choice to not turn up, it is extremely rude and inconsiderate to not tell us in advance so that we can free up the slots for more appreciative people. This is probably due to the fact that tomorrow is a public holiday for the Hong Kong SAR day, when Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty. So all those calculating Chinese people decided to go on a long weekend without telling their podiatrist.

The medic's friend is going to be in town tomorrow so we will be dimsum-ing as usual. I will also need to finish up the shopping for home as the siblings are expecting presents. Why do I have such fussy and particular siblings in the form of Fat Eagle and Miss Lamby? Noodle brother is much easier to pacify as he is easy-going like me hehe. Maybe I can get them all a bar of soap or something.

The boss tells me there is a rally every 1st of July for democracy in Hong Kong. You see, when the region was returned to China they had a 50 year timeframe to draw up the masterplan for democracy or will revert to communist rule in 2047. So I will go to Central and do my bit for an independent Hong Kong. If I don't pronounce my Cantonese well, it will come out as ' Bau Sun' which is me wanting to carry my grandkid instead of freedom of vote. It is highly likely I will be demanding for a grandkid.

By the way, I want a cute grandkid with brains and would look good in a Hello Kitty suit.

The Price of Fuel

The price of fuel has rattled a lot of people. The cost of living has increased dramatically with no increase in salaries in the foreseeable future. Lifestyles change to accommodate inflation as we try to battle this in our own ways. The family is glad that we have gotten used to the one car per family, and to using public transport. There are many who see public transport as 'below them' or an inconvenience. If I had lived my whole life in my own country, I would have probably be of the same opinion. Fortunately, living abroad allows me to look at the bigger picture. We have it good that there is no tax on our fuel in Malaysia compared to many other countries where it is taxed up to 200%. I believe to there is hope in public transport. They just need to provide more door-t0-door routes that allow people to travel without relying on driving to the MRT station to catch a train. We need to adjust our habits and change to be able to survive in this time of global economical strife.

Note to self: I shall not shop for unnecessary items.

Typhoon 8 Amber Rain

Typhoon Warnings.

I woke up this morning to heavy rain and waving trees. It was so tempting to just snuggle back into the duvet and sleep some more but no, today is Wednesday. And on Wednesday I have to go to work. *Think positive thoughts*

Anyways, I ambled to the window to check on the construction site and realised there were no workers about listening to reinforcing communist music. The trip to the pantry also saw no cars in the car park outside. I mean, the banker told me that it would be Typhoon Signal 8 today but I didn't believe him.

So being the chirpy little podiatrist that I was, I skip-hopped to work.. Okay, I tentatively skipped around the puddles to get to work. Just to find the whole hospital deserted. My department door was locked and in darkness. There were no patients in A&E, even the enquiry counter was closed. Then I saw the typhoon evacuation notices and the buses lined up to take people home. I called the boss to find out what was happening and was told to stay indoors glued to a TV until they lift the alert to level 3.

Stay indoors? Hahahaha.. It is my first proper typhoon so obviously I went out to check it out. The shops were closed, the glass doors were all taped up. It was all very prehistoric like in those old HK movies where they tape up the windows. There were no people on the streets. I was hungry and persuaded the Oxford kids to come for dimsum with me. The subway was empty! The streets deserted and only bewildered looking tourists huddling away from the rain were present. The canvas posters on the walls were all ripped and bins had flown away and there was debris everywhere. The restaurant was open because I had called in advance to check, but there were very few customers. So service was exceptional. We got a brilliant view of the harbour front and could see the weather at it's glory.

Happiness was short-lived when they lowered the signal to Typhoon 3 and we had to get back to work. The locals must have been glued to their TVs as we were on our way back home, they were pouring out of the subways to head to work. Crazy workaholics! I went back to work in the afternoon and spent a pleasant afternoon as half the patients decided that it was too much of a hassle to come out and see the podiatrist.

My first typhoon is pretty cool. They have different levels from level 1 where they warn you there may be a typhoon to level 11 where it is dangerous and we have to stay indoors for fear of our lives. The rains have codes as well, with black rain being the most severe rainstorms and we have to stay indoors. I think the local population can be overcautious, as Glasgow has gale force winds and I still wander out in my naivety. However, this country has a history of loss of life from weather conditions and they may be wise to steer on the side of caution. We don't want any cute little Hong Kee girls blown away into the sea do we now?

Monopoly HK Edition

Monopoly is one of those games that I can never win. Even my sister's pet lamb can win this game while I wallow in debt and live off my generous brother(s). Maybe that's why my father insisted I study some form of business which will hopefully save me from financial ruin.

The knowledge didn't save me, neither did it destroy me. I buy things with my eyes wide open knowing very well that the salesgirls are just trying to squeeze every single penny they can out of me and that the whole 'buy X amount and get Y% discount/free Z gift' is a marketing ploy.

The sister has at least four different Monopoly sets and can manage advanced adult Monopoly while I prefer the Jnr version. I know...I don't like complicated games. Anyway, I had the weirdest dream last night where I was a pawn in the Monopoly game. I was the green person. (My Junior Monopoly has only basic four colours okay, no fancy gadgets and tokens.) Anyways I was playing against random kiasu people and I had to get various property in like 45 minutes. So I grabbed the green token and went to steal the red and yellow one from the other teams scattered around a game board that looked suspiciously like Hong Kong. Unfortunately I didn't manage to steal the blue one before timeout and was almost caught by the evil Yellow Queen who was anorexic and puked into a box made of carrots to stay skinny. However, I managed to slip out of the yellow building with my token right in front of blue vodka drinking guards before the Yellow Queen declared a state of emergency and clamped down all entry and exits to China the Yellow building.

My thought process manages to baffle me time and time again.

Char Siew Pau & Maggi Mee

One day, Char Siew pau and Maggi mee had a big fight.

Maggi mee beat char siew pau up until it had bruises on its soft squidgy white pau body. *kaboosh! pow bam!!*

Char Siew Pau lost the fight and went back to tell all to the pau family:- Kaya pau, Tau Sa pau, Curry pau, Po Lo pau, Custard pau..

So together, all the paus went to find maggi mee for revenge.

On the way, they met Spaghetti.. all the paus ran towards Spaghetti and BEAT Spaghetti shitless until Spaghetti couldn't move a noodle.

Spaghetti then screamed... 'what did I do? I don't even know you all'..

Then the Char Siew pau say..'HEH! MAGGI MEE! Don't think I can't recognize you after you do REBONDING!!'

Note to boys: Rebonding is when they straighten noodles hair with chemicals till it's poker straight.

Reason to Live

There are various reasons why people survive and endure the things they do. I can't claim to have had a tough life and having to slave for what I have today. I have been blessed with many things in life and I will never forget it. However, there are days when we lose sight of the good fortune we have and just lose the will to live. Just as we lose sight of the big picture, there are things that can resurrect this just as adequately. Sure, we can get inspiration from the lives and selfless actions of others; the simple innocence of children at play; the beauty of Mother Nature; the glorious expanse of the horizons and hope for the future. We can also get pleasure from the simplier things in life.

Such as Chocolate Orange pudding with vanilla ice-cream and a giant chocolate chip cookie with more ice-cream in a pan.

What I Learned About My Family

Miss Lamby has a blog that she updates irregularly. I am sure everyone has tried to read it (Why is my sister more popular than I am?). Thank goodness she has locked it because you see, the girl/lamb writes a lot of incriminating things about me. As much as I love my sister and am stupid enough to give her anything she desires, I draw the line at blackmail/burning houses down/beating up her Geography teacher. Well, maybe I will beat up the teacher but I definitely won't blackmail her too badly. *big innocent smile*

Anyways, back to the story... The sister has a pet. The pet has a blog. The pet is her evil twin and is a bad influence to my sister. They are even starting to look alike. So this sister of mine was blogging about 'why my mum called my dad 'daddy' instead of his real name'. Apparently it was my fault as I called my dad by his name instead of 'daddy'. The parents eventually managed to correct me and my siblings were all good as gold and did not call my parents by name (You know that whole Asian respect thing).

Well... we had the same issue with the youngest two calling Fat Eagle well.. by his real name. Again it was my fault because I called my younger brother by his name. Ya la blame me la.. I am the bad influence! =( So now I have to call my younger siblings 大哥 and 二哥. I refuse to accept height as an indication of seniority! Or the ability to down kolo mee fast.

PS: I had carbonara today and it was prepared by Snake. I didn't know reptiles in Hong Kong could cook!

Reunited

The big little brother is arriving home today. Even though I am far away in this land of typhoons and thunderstorms I am just as excited as Miss Lamby in anticipation of his arrival. It has been almost 9 months since I last saw him. I could have had a baby in that time! (I don't have one yet, just in case you were wondering)

This is the longest since I have seen my family members. I know it may not be a big deal for many people who have spent years overseas either at work or in education. It's a pretty big deal for me. It just makes us appreciate the sacrifices our parents made to ensure that they were close to us when we were initially in university. My brother asked why the family stayed the whole four years while I was at university and didn't stay for his. I guess we can never make life perfect for all our children (like I have any!) but we can only make the best decisions in the circumstances. In that instance, it was paramount that the younger siblings return to our home country to learn more about themselves and where they came from. The big little brother and myself had the same experience and our parents wanted the younger crowd to have the opportunity to see for themselves how Malaysians lived, roti canai and all.

I have been thinking long and hard about what I want in life. I am constantly re-evaluating my situation. I know that I want kids to boss around and a husband to nag eventually. I know I don't want my children to grow up in little boxes called flats. I know that I would love to move to different countries and expose my children to the way of life of other people while giving them the taste of my own culture. So yes, one day I will want to live in Malaysia. But in the meantime, Hong Kong suits me just fine. At least, for the next 24 hours.

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And maybe, I will not call my kid Mango after all. I have seen enough messed up people here and I realise the errors of my ways. In their case, it was self-inflicted as stupid names such as Pinky, Kinky, Cucumber and Vagina are so gona screw up your head. My kids will have a click in their name!

Bird Flu

'Borrowed' off the Godbrother's blog. I know he will forgive me. *I hope*

They have culled all the chickens in Hong Kong as they discovered the virus strain in a chicken and there is an increased risk that the other chickens may have it too. We are now on Serious Threat level at the hospital.

What am I going to eat for the next three weeks? I am allergic to vegetables.

On a lighter note, this girl was on her Wii and is now not only fit but famous. Does anyone want to contribute to my bum development? I need a 42'' plasma screen too! =P

Depression is Patty Shaped

PowerPuff Girls Vs Oxford Kids Vs Random White Guy @ The Peak.

The medic left Hong Kong on Monday. I am now out-numbered by 3 to 1 in the vegeterian stakes. It was just by sheer tact I managed to swing the dinner vote to Triple Os as only the ophthalmologist has eaten it amongst the vego gang and they didn't know what to expect. I dread having to go for kebabs every night if the vegos get their say. =( I don't like having to eat the same thing every night. I like variety; I like spice. Heck, when I am an old and rich woman I shall juggle my toy boys for freedom of choice heheh.
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This weekend has seen me in bed for 36 hours out of 72 hours. I must have been pretty useless entertainment. Everyone had to prod me intermittently to make sure I was still breathing and able to play scrabble/uno/squeak/act cute. I still managed to squeak I think. But I missed the Dragon Boat Festival. I think I picked a better way to spend my Sunday morning instead =).

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Hong Kong was flooded on Saturday due to heavy rain. The news showed people being evacuated from their homes, roads that were flooded waist deep, services suspended due to the heavy rainfall. In fact, this was the heaviest rainfall since records started more than 120 years ago. Global warming has shown its hand time and time again at every increasing intervals. It just gets more exciting worrying as the world we live in is subject to abnormal weather cycles. If we want to salvage what is left we better start now.

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I do want to see the sunrise while sitting on the soft sands of the beach in fifty years time with my grandchildren at my feet and my boobs still where they should be.

Sleeping Beauty

I spent the day wisely cocooned in my wonderful duvet as the rain pelted down outside. There is no better way to spend sick leave and waking up without the sound of the alarm and the need to hit snooze. Rest is probably just what the body required and I feel better already. The meds helped too as well as the knowledge that there is absolutely no need to get up for the next four days.

Tonight is the last night we have Polly with she has given us. Simply Thai is the best thing to round up a good week. Tus. We are celebrating Hong Kong this week and all the opportunities and experiences hen to kill the livers with alcohol and Hello Kitty Uno with HSBC PIN generator games. The start of a great weekend. I shall stick to mocktails, cookies and light meals of Thai Green Curry Lamb and coconut rice *drool*.

Long Weekend

This week saw the arrival of a new assistant *yay* but this joy was short-lived as the woman lasted 48 hours. =( I do hope that the next candidate is much better and will actually stay on.

We went for dinner and a movie on Tuesday night and watched What Happens in Vegas with Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. The woman has the most amazing legs! I wish I had legs like hers. We were debating her age as she looked older in this movie. I thought she looked in her early 40s while the Oxford kids thought she looked late 20s-early 30s. So we googled her and found that she is currently 36. Fair enough, smack in the middle of the spectrum.

The boss and I went to my favouritest dimsim restaurant for dimsum on Wednesday before heading for a conference. We then went on for the best Peking duck in Hong Kong. I went home with a stomachache from all the great food and spent the afternoon recuperating. I was sufficiently well enough to have a salad for dinner before heading to the Peak to take photos. The skyline was amazing and the ophthalmologist had his brilliant SLR that took awesome photos. We settled for dessert and coffee before heading back to rural Shatin.

Then the real fun began. I suffered from diarrhoea the previous two days and junked up on painkillers, but this morning I was busy feeding the fishes. It was not a pleasant feeling and I had to take the day off as I felt quite nauseated. I however, managed to clean my room, sort my laundry and check all my emails before 10am. It was quite a task to keep the contents on my stomach to myself and thus I didn't dare to eat anything before 1pm eventhough two doctor friends asked me to eat. I went to see the doctor at 2pm as I figured I may not survive the night and was given more meds. I now have the next two days off to feel sorry for myself. So it turned out to a rather long weekend, from Wednesday till next Monday. I do hope I get better and can make it for the dragon boat festival on Sunday! But this means I will not go home next week. I was initially all for going home as everyone here is heading to Malaysia for the week but I now feel so bad for cancelling clinic, I can't bear to take time off. So I shall just go home in July. =(

Looking back into my food intake, I honestly believe vegetables are contra-indicated in my diet. I mean, I was fine before I had a rosemary smoothie. Or it could be the mayonnaise? I hate mayo and can't eat it. However I love rosemary, while my body obviously can't take too much of it. I shall live on honeyed water and congee for a while. =( No more drinking tonight... It is time to detox the system of all the crap I have stuffed myself with. All the better to load up again over the weekend! =) The godbrother managed to change flights and is coming to HK for his stopover. I like! I can now bring him for more food and we can go fishing at the dragon boat festival and catch some dragons*yay*.

FaceBook

I was blackmailed into a facebook profile but due to unforseen circumstances (Read: I was kiasu and refuse to give up solving the cat riddle) I missed the deadline and had a profile made for me. So the competitive streak in me decided to make the Real SCMS profile.

I have been asked to shut down my profile while the six (yes, there are six doctors/and goodness knows who fiddling with my profile page) 'friends' make up my profile page. They are set on hooking me up, marrying me off and selling off my babies.

I think I shall go and hide now. Or change my name.