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New routines

I joined E and his work friends for a curry dinner last night (funny coincidence that it was a Thursday which as I mentioned before was my HK curry day).

The Indian restaurant is trendy - looks like a french bistro, has a unique display window (blurry pix here for your benefit) and a young looking crowd.It was my second time there and like previously, it was packed full of patrons (the picture of the empty table was ours - 2 friends came late).

Good food aside, I think the restaurant is very popular because of the personable service: the owner greets each patron hello as they enter. And makes a point to visit the tables (and pours everyone a shot of liquor) at the end of the meal.

Yesterday, he addressed two of our dining companions by their names and made a couple of jokes about their employer's competitors. He also helped us with our jackets and shook our hands goodbye with a firm "see you again" (clever auto suggestion at work, I thought).

I was struggling with a headache so I could have been more sociable last night. The headache has been re-appearing since then - I've resorted to painkillers and am hopeful that it will vanish completely soon. I plan to continue unpacking and write two school essays. We also have LE this evening and PIL (driving from Spain) tomorrow.

Friday email to HK

T, Missing the HK typhoon action (or inaction) - as well as all the 19 and 28 floor banter and all you regular suspects. Deep sigh. Excellent re: losing weight and wife's appreciation. Like it that you guys are having fun after so many years of marriage. What is the trick you think? (short essay more than welcomed). We are learning about human rights this week. Case studies on slavery and torture. I wondered out loud a few days ago, while having wine with my course mates, (nice fun bunch) about finding employment which involves dealing with humanitarian issues but also pays well - that killed the conversation swiftly. I fear I may be asked to go to the thinking corner anytime now. Have a great weekend. Say hi to Hvl if you see him - I will send him an email (I think).

The life of others

I had an evening class yesterday so I had to reluctantly leave my boxes and go back to school at some time in the afternoon. Because I was feeling so cheery I took lots of notes during the special lecture even though the presentation was a little bit waffly. I was also more talkative post-lecture and persuaded two unfamiliar classmates to invite me along to their not-so-sure-going-to -happen drinks.

We bought a bottle of chilled white from the coop supermarket and went to the student's house. On the balcony, we debriefed on the lectures and pontificated on the size of serious women's spectacles vs. causes and issues (we have seen some seriously thick frames at lectures!). We also exchanged some stories about ourselves mainly regarding the typical life of an equity analyst in HK, visiting parents via German vs. Swiss trains (former apparently cheaper and faster although more likely to veer of the time table) as well as the current situation in Afghanistan - of  false imprisonments and torture and forced confessions. 

The latter topic came about following our discussion of this week's module. Class mate H explained that he left Afghanistan temporarily to avoid unlawful detention. However, he would rather perish than seek refuge. Another class mate had earlier in the day provided his real life case study as a refuge and touched on issues relating to asylum seekers in Europe which proved to be quite controversial. 

I had intended to chat for 30-60 minutes but of course ended up staying for some hours. Not good for my diet as we know (also in terms of getting sufficient zs) but excellent in terms of being exposed to real difficult conditions faced by some.  

There can never be enough good and reliable hangers...

I was in a bloody good mood yesterday. The arrival of my things really cheered me up, the magnitude of which surprised me. Sure, I know that I'm not defined solely by my belongings ya-dar ya-dar. However, I have to admit that my things do give me a sense of wellness and identity. Colourful dresses, high heels, vintage tea sets, illustrated books - they make me HAPPY :-).

The best thing about the 28 boxes was that they contained all of my favourite things. I know this is because I only allowed myself to pack things I love and couldnt bear to part. E asked me last night whether I regretted discarding anything when I mentioned to him that the movers seem to have used only half of each box suggesting that I might have had additional space in the boxes. "Hangers", I told him automatically and, "... maybe some other stuff like toiletries, cute kitchenware and unread books and CDs".  Which is true. I didn't love them but I think they could come handy especially when we settle into our new apartment in the city.

E reckons it's a lesson for me not to de-clutter radically. I'm not so sure. I didn't know at the time we would have another flat to occupy and wanted to minimise shipping costs, lighten my load and travel lightly. The problem is I think, everything seems to cost so much here.

 

A picture from last week's class trip

As I mentioned, last week - at this time, we went on class trip to the European Court of Human Rights.  I was amongst the last to leave the building when we called it a day (something to do with my footwear). I turned around and took a picture of the building, and remarked that somehow the building structure didnt strike me as being particularly legal or judiciary and that I would have passed it off as an art gallery or a museum or even a library ala the Pompidou centre. I was pleasantly surprised to later discover that the architects of the court and the latter structure were the same. This reminds me of the time when I was 12 (13?) when I was pleased with myself for surprisingly recognising Freddie Mercury's voice in random songs that I wasn't familar with.

 

Reunited and it feels so good!

The movers are depositing my 28 boxes (only!)at various positions around the house. So so so excited to be reunited with my stuff! Hurrah!

Mid week

I share with you a picture of the entrance to the house of peace knowledge. It's a nice place to study.

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I'm taking the bike to school today as I need to be at home after lunch. My boxes from Hong Kong are scheduled to arrive. Yippeee.

Only 28 boxes because, as you know, I've gotten rid of so much of my belongings. Sometimes I shudder when I think about all the CDs I gave away (including the ones I didn't have time to upload). Also the stacks of unread new books. Painful. What about all the hangers I discarded and don't have enough off now? It's a real bugger buying them here - they are too small and rather expensive. Strangely, I don't feel as bad about the extra notebooks, bags or dresses that I gave away. I'm trying to make myself feel better by remembering the minimalism principle etc and how high the shipping costs were in motivating me to downsize. I should meditate on this while biking to and fro school today.

Thai Malai dinner

I told E (excitedly) that I had seen a "Thai Malay" restaurant while on the tram coming back into town from Germany this afternoon. We decided to check it out for dinner as we had nothing on this evening and both fancied some Malay food (yummy yeah yeah).

I was jumping with joy and ran through the possible dish options we could sample (rendang!). E was happy to join the game (rendang!).

Finding the restaurant was however a little tricky because I had to recall where I saw it from the tram and was unfamiliar with the area. But we succeeded and was rewarded with a tropical looking dining room filled with orchids, elephant figurines and pictures of the Thai king. The room smelled of jasmine (oil burners, I later discovered) and the waitress (a delicate Thai) greeted us in a traditional dress with a bow and soft sawadika. E went to the gents while I smiled knowingly at her and gleefully grabbed the menu. "We are from the same place sista" thought I. "Bring on the rendang already!"

First page read "welcome to Thai-Malai restaurant.... "Malai" in Thai has nothing to do with Malaysia, the country or the kitchen - it means a garland of flowers".

We had some white rice, Tom yum goong, special thai beef curry and according to E "all the Malai dishes he could find"

Subject matter this week

On luncheons

I remember being surprised by the cost of regular sandwiches when I first moved to HK in 2007. And thinking it was somewhat a waste of dosh given such simple ingredients and especially if it was bought 5x a week. It made me think about my careful PhD thesis supervisor in England and his regular lunch pack (typically tuna sandwiches and apples) and what he considered was "unnecessary expenses". Also about sandwiches (open faced) in Norway being very expensive and most people sensibly bringing lunches to work (G's observations in the 2000s). 

Of course, I quickly became accustomed to the prices and subsequently felt only a little twinge of guilt when I ran next door for an over priced toasted tuna or vegetable panini, epecially as weekday-time became such a luxury. I don't think anyone else, aside from my colleagues who came from India was as concerned about this. Pfft, realistically, who really had time or the energy to pack lunch*? We all finished so late and had to be in by 7am everyday. The relatively cost of sandwiches was nothing considering everything else.

Still, my lunch time guilt only totally disappeared after I discovered our subsidised cafetaria (which served a hot lunch buffet for the same price of a sandwich!). Indeed, lunching there with colleagues became the highlight of most days, especially when we had events (or gossips) to debrief (share).  Thursdays were "Curry Days" - delicious and delightful. 

Here, these days, I either prepare mine and LE´s packed lunch at home - in the mornings or when LE is not with us, at the academy where we are allocated space in the kitchen pantry and fridge. I particularly like the fact that I now have the time to think and prepare about what I want to consume (today's menu: cheese and pickle sandwich, an apple and yoghurt).

Someone recently asked me whether I'm missing the pressure from my worklife in HK. The quick answer is "no" (maybe -not yet?) - this simple example of choosing what to prepare & eat for lunch is a part of the greater enjoyment of life I'm experiencing right now. No doubt, I'm keen to go back to work and get my career going again. However, I would like to do so do so in an environment where time and extreme urgency are not so paramount to the role. 

*Answer: the domestic helper of some of the people at work who brought yummy looking salads, soups or sandwiches to work.