256MB of RAM

That is what this crappy laptop has, and that is what I'll be stuck with while working in Hong Kong until April 25th. (Breathe, Shirley, breathe...) It makes working on anything difficult, since it is sooooo slooooow, and it makes opening Outlook for work impossible, so that I am reduced to using the remote login web interface, which is unbelievably sucky.

Okay, enough bitching and moaning (for the moment). Hopefully, next week I'll be able to use a free (open) PC at our other HK office (i.e., the one where I'll be relocating to, vs. the pressure cooker HQ tower I was working in this week...on my decrepit laptop).

I think I am feeling a bit mopey because I'm tired. This afternoon, I was actually ridiculously pleased to go grocery shopping, so that I could eat something besides peanut butter on toast when I stagger home from work @ 10pm every night. (I refuse to be any food produced in China though -- I've researched too many product recalls originating from the PRC.)

And the serviced apartment I am staying at, while compact (470 sq. ft.) is very pleasant, with a great view and sleek furnishings. (Small = minimalist = modern / contemporary = sleek) They also really believe in applying the serviced apartment concept to its fullest: there are no kitchen sponges for washing any dishes!

Actually, the building is nice enough, and well maintained enough that I'd stay here, or in one of their other properties for my transfer... assuming I could afford it: still no info on the transfer package/offer.

Ah well. In more amusing news, my hair was absolutely flat while in Vegas, the land of 0 humidity. It even approached the straightness of what most people assume Chinese hair is like. In HK, I've yet to see the humidity drop below 85%, even at midnight (which reminds me: must remember to take my melatonin tonight in my continuing quest to slay the jet lag demon). I mean, check out the view at night. Ergo, my hair has accordingly turned into a 'fro. Whoops.

But the view really does make a difference: psychologically, it feels much more open, even though this place would make most NYC apartments look palatial. The city is very vertical, and reminds me strongly of Honolulu: skyscrapers stacked on the sides of lush mountainsides, surrounding pretty harbors and beaches. The roads make San Francisco switchbacks look like geriatric wimps though. Wow. I mean, the neighborhood I am staying in is called Midlevels for a reason, and The Peak is, well, self-evident, in terms of topography, real estate price and consequent social status. In fact, the apartment came stocked with a thick glossy called THE PEAK which I have not felt like rubbernecking at yet. (The issue of HONG KONG TATLER with Pansy Ho on the cover, however, I will be all over.)

The cab ride to visit a friend who works for Lehman and lives in Repulse Bay was (a) vertiginous, (b) scenic, and (c) long by HK standards, about 30 min. Cabbies the world over appear to hate being stuck in traffic, so this one took a route over The Peak, instead of via the Aberdeen Tunnel which was apparently a mess at the time. (My mom would have been sooooo carsick with all of the hairpin swerves.)

Andy and his family live the glamorous expatriate lifestyle one hears of, as demonstrated by their view. Holy...! Though my favorite shot from their balcony is this one to the right. Yowsa. And the size of their apartment...!

Real estate awe aside, it was so nice to speak with someone from home. In American English. Folks with the same cultural references (hey, they even lived in Manhattan before transferring here) which didn't require me to mentally pick through my skimpy Mandarin.

I can easily see becoming homesick, especially since my future boss was blunt and advised me that my first 6 months here will suck, both workwise and otherwise. (Hey, better blunt honesty than the primrose path.) Balancing that, as Andy pointed out, since their is indeed a large expatriate community, people can be very friendly. Exhibit 1: I am off to Macau tomorrow for a day trip with some neighbors I met in the elevator today, IT consultants who've been living in the building for a few months.