The dreary days continue in Hong Kong. Nothing too exciting to report, so here's another brief snapshot of random things happening around these bits, in approximate chronological order.
New Hair.
I should have mentioned in my previous random roundup that I cut my hair for the new year. It's now at my shoulder and layered and it feels so, so much lighter. Sometimes I just get the itch to chop off all my hair (what is it about haircuts and women and metamorphosis?) I love it.
Power Out.
On Friday, half the power in our apartment inexplicably went out. It took a lot of phone calls and pestering our landlord and tracking down electricians throughout the city before we finally managed to get power back around 8 p.m. It's not a particularly interesting story, but for the fact that one of the electricians that came to fix the problem had hands that were clearly the byproduct of many electrical shocks, and the HK Electric technician was 60 years old and could still climb stairwell banisters and rickety barstools like a rhesus monkey, which was incredible.
Client Praise.
My work week ended on a high note last Friday evening when a client told me he very much appreciated my efficiency and really liked working with me. Rare words of praise and it made me glow!
Female President.
Taiwan has its first female president! Over the weekend, the candidate for the Democratic Progressive Party, Tsai Ing-wen, was elected in a landslide. China has already issued all kinds of interesting remarks, including rhetoric that Taiwan's elections are not real. Time will tell whether the results of this election brings about the change that the Taiwanese electorate so clearly wanted, or whether political tensions across the strait will increase.
Issaya Siamese Club.
I went to dinner on Saturday night with some friends at Issaya Siamese Club in Soundwill Plaza II in Causeway Bay. The decor was gorgeous - hanging lanterns in varying colors, beautiful lamps in shades of porcelain and Ming dynasty blue, and, my favorite part, comfortable red and turquoise blue divans and chairs nestled in little groups, perfect for dining in comfort. The food, unfortunately, was not as great. We ordered a banana flower salad, beef short ribs, slow cooked pork ribs, mushroom flavored multi grain stone pot, and a deep fried barramundi. Some portion sizes were huge, others tiny. Nothing to write home about, though I did get very full. We walked out as the restaurant was shutting down, out into the light drizzle/imminent rain that seems to be enveloping this city at all hours recently.
Finishing Touches.
I decided to indulge my compulsive trip planning tendencies and have proceeded to make lunch and dinner reservations at all of the restaurants and wineries that I want to go to in Cape town and the Cape winelands. So far we are on wait lists for two highly touted restaurants in the region, The Tasting Room by Le Quartier Francais and La Colombe, but I have figured out everything else.
Palawan.
I'm headed for a brief trip this coming weekend to Palawan, to soak up some sunshine (hopefully) and hang out with my friend and snorkel for a couple of days in and around Coron Island and Busuanga. I thought about diving but I haven't been scuba diving in years and I didn't think there would be enough time to fit in a good refresher course and a satisfying dive. Plus wreck dives are a little bit darker and spookier than straight up wall or coral dives, so I thought I'd stick to snorkeling.
New Hair.
I should have mentioned in my previous random roundup that I cut my hair for the new year. It's now at my shoulder and layered and it feels so, so much lighter. Sometimes I just get the itch to chop off all my hair (what is it about haircuts and women and metamorphosis?) I love it.
Power Out.
On Friday, half the power in our apartment inexplicably went out. It took a lot of phone calls and pestering our landlord and tracking down electricians throughout the city before we finally managed to get power back around 8 p.m. It's not a particularly interesting story, but for the fact that one of the electricians that came to fix the problem had hands that were clearly the byproduct of many electrical shocks, and the HK Electric technician was 60 years old and could still climb stairwell banisters and rickety barstools like a rhesus monkey, which was incredible.
Client Praise.
My work week ended on a high note last Friday evening when a client told me he very much appreciated my efficiency and really liked working with me. Rare words of praise and it made me glow!
Female President.
Taiwan has its first female president! Over the weekend, the candidate for the Democratic Progressive Party, Tsai Ing-wen, was elected in a landslide. China has already issued all kinds of interesting remarks, including rhetoric that Taiwan's elections are not real. Time will tell whether the results of this election brings about the change that the Taiwanese electorate so clearly wanted, or whether political tensions across the strait will increase.
Issaya Siamese Club.
I went to dinner on Saturday night with some friends at Issaya Siamese Club in Soundwill Plaza II in Causeway Bay. The decor was gorgeous - hanging lanterns in varying colors, beautiful lamps in shades of porcelain and Ming dynasty blue, and, my favorite part, comfortable red and turquoise blue divans and chairs nestled in little groups, perfect for dining in comfort. The food, unfortunately, was not as great. We ordered a banana flower salad, beef short ribs, slow cooked pork ribs, mushroom flavored multi grain stone pot, and a deep fried barramundi. Some portion sizes were huge, others tiny. Nothing to write home about, though I did get very full. We walked out as the restaurant was shutting down, out into the light drizzle/imminent rain that seems to be enveloping this city at all hours recently.
Finishing Touches.
I decided to indulge my compulsive trip planning tendencies and have proceeded to make lunch and dinner reservations at all of the restaurants and wineries that I want to go to in Cape town and the Cape winelands. So far we are on wait lists for two highly touted restaurants in the region, The Tasting Room by Le Quartier Francais and La Colombe, but I have figured out everything else.
Palawan.
I'm headed for a brief trip this coming weekend to Palawan, to soak up some sunshine (hopefully) and hang out with my friend and snorkel for a couple of days in and around Coron Island and Busuanga. I thought about diving but I haven't been scuba diving in years and I didn't think there would be enough time to fit in a good refresher course and a satisfying dive. Plus wreck dives are a little bit darker and spookier than straight up wall or coral dives, so I thought I'd stick to snorkeling.
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