A couple reasons why like I Hong Kong

Throughout my time here I have begun to think of reasons why I like this city. Obviously, it's one of the biggest cities in the world and just a total melting pot of different cultures (see last post for brief list of drinking buddies). But other than that there are just little things that I have come to observe and like.

I love that everything is so efficient. From public transit, to the grocery stores, to McDonald's putting your order up right when you're at the corner, to even the way people walk to work, everything is done in the most efficient way possible. Oh and yes, the Octopus card, this is where I think America is really lagging. I can use this thing to ride the train, buy groceries and things at vending machines, and even get into the horse track. And all you have to do is swipe it over a reader....sooo legit.

Free newspapers are also high up there. If it wasn't for the free paper (and a lot of free time at work) I would be completely lost on world events. What a better idea to keep all your citizens informed than to offer them free newspapers. Brilliant.

I think what I love the most is the hustle though. Everyone here, and I do mean EVERYONE, is on the grind constantly. Seriously...C.R.E.A.M. by Wu-Tang Clan should be the national anthem of this city. Everywhere you go there are places to shop or people trying to make money in some way. It's fucking beautiful to watch and I have a deep respect for it. If you think you have a hustle and a drive to make money, I challenge you to come here.

In other news, work is going alright. There isn't much for me to do right now so I just kind of hang out. I did make it to the horse races at Happy Valley last night. It was the last race until September so I'm glad I got to go. It was awesome, except for the losing money part. I did get free laundry out of it though so that was nice.

Well I'm getting tired. Another big day of hanging out at the office tomorrow. GL asked me to write something nice about him....G, you give great haircuts. Seriously, for a brokeass pair of clippers and doing it in a dormroom in China you go good work my friend. And the lineup was legit too.

Love and miss you all. Peace.

J

First weekend as a resident of Hong Kong.

My first weekend as a temporary resident of this city and I have to say I love it. On Friday I went out with some buddies to a couple bars and met some people from Germany and New Zealand. For those of you who doubted at all that Germans can drink you are horribly, horribly mistaken. The guys from New Zealand were tight too; I will admit though seeing an Asian with an Australian-like accent ranks among the wildest things I've seen. haha

On Saturday the people from my program went to Victoria Peak and Stanley Market. Victoria Peak is the highest point in the city and seriously one of the most amazing places I've ever been too. It has views of both the city on one side and the other islands near Hong Kong on the other. It was just...surreal. And I don't think I've ever used that word before. After that we went to Stanley Market where you could supposedly get knockoff anything. I gotta say I did see some cool stuff but for the most part I was disappointed.

Some good did come out of it tho; some guys from my program, Robert and J, asked if I wanted to kick back with them and roll to the beach. This other guy Lamm and I decided to roll with them so we bought a pair of knockoff boardshorts (SO convenient) for like $10 and grabbed some beers. The beach was awesome. I have to decided to judge the legitimacy of a place from now on by how many locals are there; if there's a lot then you know it's a good spot and there were hella locals at the beach. We met these two girls from our program, Julianna and Eugenia, there and kicked it for like 4 hours just swimming, bullshitting, and hanging out. It was a really good time because they're not people I talk to in the program a lot but After that we caught a bus back to the train station (still bullshitting around the whole way), got back to Kowloon Tong, grabbed some food, and came home.

That night we didn't get out til late but we went to this crazy nightclub called Azure. For those of you that don't know me too well I'm not big on the whole nightclub scene but this place was pretty tight. It was on the 30th floor of a hotel in downtown and had sick views of the city. Even the toilet in the bathroom had an amazing view, definitely one of the coolest pisses I've taken in my life.

Today, as could be expected, was laid back. Woke up at like noon and lounged around until I decided to go explore a little bit with some friends. We ended up going to this place and getting massages cause the beds at the dorms are total garbage. Before any speculation is made, NO I did not get a "happy ending"; it was a legit massage place. After coming home I played some basketball and kicked back. Now...bedtime. I hope you are all well.

J

P.S. Evidently tomorrow there may be a storm which may mean no work, keep your fingers crossed for me.

First Day of Work

Hello all,
Had my first day of work today. My coworkers are really nice but idk how I feel about the work. I just feel like it's...irrelevant to what I wanted to do. Don't get me wrong, I'm greatful for the chance to be able to work for a great firm in an amazing city, but my work is just going to be rough. Over the next two months my main responsibilities will be (a list here cannot be avoided):

1. Designing and creating an updated customer database
2. Redesigning the website
3. Taking minutes at group meetings with committee members and publishing them
4. Compiling daily news clippings relevant to our business
5. Assisting with forming the weekly/monthly newsletter
6. Designing a new scheme to take attendance at meetings

I mean I do have two months to do it but it's going to be overwhelming. Nevermind the fact I do not know how to do half this shit. Oh well, I can't do much about it now though, just buckle down and get through it. I really do like my coworkers though, I'm the youngest person in the office for sure but they are really nice. My boss organized an office lunch at this dim sum place which was cool. I ate some chicken feet and cow stomach...so dank I might add. He is an expat from Boston so we bullshitted a little about the Celtics too. I doubt he talks about them much to anyone else here.

In other news I got Internet today, I never realized how dependent I was on it until it was taken from me for 4 days. I'm not really in the contemplative mood today cause I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow. I will talk to you all then. GL if you're reading this I hope you're date Friday goes well.

Peace.

I apologize to everyone for the lack of posting as of lately. I don't have Internet in my room yet so that's kinda preventing it from happening. I am using a friend's computer right now so I'll keep it brief. I am having a BLAST!

My first full day here my roommate and I decided to jump on the subway and hit up some random places so I have gotten some sightseeing in. We went to downtown and walked around for a bit which was awesome cause it was a mix of modern skyscrapers with old-school street markets in between them. I also went to Tsim Sha Tsui where you can see the entire skyline on Hong Kong island and it is truly, truly amazing. I'd have to say equal to, if not better than, NY's. I also got measured up for a suit yesterday which I'm pretty stoked about. I gotta look good when I get to Macau. :)

I went out a couple times with people from my program and had a great time. A little fyi for those who didn't know. In Hong Kong it is perfectly legal to walk down the street with an open beer/drink in your hand. No one seems to find this as cool as I do. Drinks here are way expensive though so I'm going to have to start ballin' on a budget.

First day of work tomorrow. I'm pretty stoked for it even though I'm feeling a little under the weather (please, hold the swine flu jokes as I've already heard them all). Some people started today and I have heard a couple horror stories. I'm not too worried about it though...not like I can do anything now about it anyways haha.

Well, I'm going to leave it at that. I hope you are all doing well and having a good summer. :)

J

T-minus 1 hour

I'm sitting in PDX waiting for my plane to board. Luckily for me Portland is such a progressive city that WiFi is free in the airport. Walking around I have noticed a couple things that I'd like to make a note of, if not for your personal enjoyment then for my own memory. I know I made a list in my last blog but if you know me then you know I'm big on them.

1. If you use a Bluetooth at any other time than when driving or occupying BOTH hands with something else you are very likely an asshole.
2. Asian languages can be harsh on ears to people that are not familiar with them. This is magnified exponentially when it is used by two kids to argue over the most appropriate way to play WoW.
3. Airports are one of the happiest and saddest places to be in. For happy go to arrivals, for sad go to departures.
4. Good-byes are especially awkward at the security line when you say bye to someone then they just watch you go through security...saying good-bye again, and again, and again. Mom if you're reading this no offense, I will love and miss you guys dearly.
5. A Starbucks that closes at 1pm is not really a Starbucks.
6. An airport that provides free WiFi is the greatest concept since agriculture.
7. The hottest person you see at the gate will never be in the seat next to you on the flight. Ever.

Alright time to board. To everyone who still has finals to take: I'm sorry and good luck. To everyone who is done: have a good summer :) I'll see you all when I see you. Peace.

First Entry

So it's like 12:30 am of the first night of my summer break and here I am...blogging. I'm not really even sure I understand entirely what a blog is but a solid amount of people told me it would be a good idea for my trip to Hong Kong...so, again, here I am. I'm mainly starting this as a sort of public journal of my trip; whether or not I'll continue it past that I'll leave to fate.

My flight leaves in 13 hours 20 minutes and I have not yet come to terms with how exactly I feel about it. Of course I know that the trip will be an amazing life changing experience but at the same time I'm kind of nervous to be jumping head first into something so foreign (in the metaphorical sense of the word). It's just weird to be removing the safety net of living in a place I know surrounded by people I know and moving to one of the biggest and most dynamic cities in the world. I mean let's be real here; Eugene and Hong Kong are hardly comparable. But as sickeningly cliche as it sounds it will definitely be an experience I will never forget.

Things to do while in Hong Kong in addition to what's already planned for me:

1. Ride on a junk boat. This will also allow me to cross something off on my bucket list
2. Go to the horse races
3. Eat authentic Chinese food, especially some duck. I doubt this will be hard though
4. Get a suit tailored for me
5. Get drunk with some locals
6. Get drunk with ex-pats
7. Go to Victoria Peak
8. Visit a Buddhist temple
9. Watch Transformers 2. Yes, I know this is not unique to Hong Kong but I want to see that damn movie.
10. And, if at all possible, watch a Dragon Boat race.