gaga in hk

i'm glad to hear that everyone's safe from the fires. take care, be careful, and keep me up to date please.

not having internet still sucks. i probably would have known about the fires if i had internet. i found out from my mom when she called yesterday. they even thought of packing up my box that was labeled "pictures". sweet huh? thanks mom & dad & david.

so what am i doing with my life these days? i went to china and got a 2 hour massage for $10!!! plus a milk tea and a plate of fruit. that alone is worth the trip! except next time i need to be more vocal when they're pressing too hard because now i'm suffering from bruises all up and down my back. i'm going again next week, anyone wanna come??? i'm also going to cricket 6's this weekend (whatever that is ... basically a beer-laden sporting event).

o, and wanna hear something absolutely amazing? i was flipping through my phone the other day and i have more girl friends out here than guys!!! whoa! something completely new and strange to me. i'm just picking up chicks left and right! haha. i have been making a conscious effort to meet and befriend girls. it's a strange new world to me. granted i don't think i'm gonna be hooking any of you guys up anytime soon, but at least it's a start.

not having internet sucks.

we found an apartment! yay! this time, the papers have been signed and no one can put in a higher offer than us, so HA! it's not off the escalator anymore...i'm gonna miss that escalator. but it is closer to everything, esp the main party area here. hehehe. the outside looks like shit but the inside is nice, clean, and new. bedrooms are a bit small, but i've learned to be a lot less picky here in HK becuz it's just impossible. after i get internet at home, maybe i'll post up some pictures of our current apartment and our new one too.

hullo =)

since there was a request for more boredom inducing stories...i'm blogging again. this time, i'm at a cafe, drinking orange passionfruit slushee. mmm...yummy. their thought for the day is "time is what we want most, but...what we use worst." think about it. haha. remember in middle school when there was a quote of the day over the loudspeaker in the morning and then he'd end with "think about it" or something like that. hahaha.

anyway. back to my life =) well...hong kong's biggest park is frickin' dinky ass!!! shoulda figure though...the island is a little cramped for space. i stood in one spot and could see the edge of the park on all sides of me. so i didn't stay to read...just walked around a bit. then went home and called a tooooon of realtors and bugged the crap outta them. i have two showings today, hopefully more'll get setup before the day ends.

o, and we went to this italian restaurant that reminded of buca. aaww...buca. aaww...the friends i used to eat at buca with =( sad. miss you guys! bye!

hmm...update.

i don't have internet at home anymore =( our old roommate finally got around to coming to pick it up. boo. and we're gonna wait until we move to get ours to avoid the ridiculous moving fee. so no internet for me for a month or so.

i'm at the library right now which is super nice and super huge. 10 floors! TONS of computers. lotsa books of course. so far, i've got two on learning chinese and one on calligraphy. that should entertain me while i have no internet access and i'll be productive at the same time - yay! i'm gonna go grab a few fiction books on my way out and either read at the largest park in HK which is just across the street or go back home and start calling realtors again.

and yup, you heard me, we're moving. for sure this time, no more back and forth's. we put in our one month's notice yesterday becuase we thought we found a place. we were supposed to sign papers this afternoon, but someone put in a higher offer this morning. so, i'm back to looking...wish me luck.

and i guess jobs are on hold (again). haha. but i was sooo inspired by the arts and crafts section of the library...kinda makes me wanna not get a job and just make cards and emboss pillows all day long. they have a ridiculous amount of books on teddy-bear making! that's one that i never thought of. but i know me, if i did, i'd get bored.

well, that's a quick briefing on what i've been up to. there's actually a lot more, but i dun wanna bore you with it all =)

o, but i also got a bug bite on my arm...boo =/

middle of the week. i think my butt is finally getting back into gear about this whole job search thing. yay for me!

and it's finally cooler too! thank goodness! it's about time! still humid, but at least i don't have to have the AC on when i sleep anymore. phew.

i went for a walk yesterday to enjoy the weather and because i think i'm getting fatter again. but anyway. went to this nice park and roamed around. watched a few kids play and these two turtles. the turtles were sooo cute. i can't describe in words what they were doing. but apparently, i do a hilarious imitation.

i also went to the zoo, which is only a 5 minute walk away and is free! had a very nice day. i've saved a few job positions online that i wanna apply to (but have yet to do). i've looked at a few apartments, will be looking at a few more throughout this week. being quite productive :)

pat on the back for me =)

i got another dose of the rest of the world this weekend. rest of the world meaning outside of the US. people are just so international out here and it makes me feel ignorant in a way. the US is just too closed off in it's own little world. i've always known it, but once in a while, i get reminded of it even more.

by US standards, i'm decently well traveled for my age. brazil, london, france, taiwan, philippines, indonesia, and of course hong kong. o, and can't forget canada and good old mexico either =)

when americans say let's go on vacation, they spend a week in tahoe or go to orlando, florida. going to cancun is something a little extra special. not that those aren't great places to go becuase i love going to tahoe, you all know that...but like this weekend...i went to brunch with a friend and met these two nannies. they've lived and worked in london, australia, hong kong, and the US. one of the chicks has a boyfriend in south africa of all places! they've gone backpacking through europe and asia. and they're only a couple years older than me! and it's not just them. i only mention them because they're nannies and it's not like they have some exotic job that it'd only be natural to expect them to have seen so much. they have an awesome job by the way...i'm thinking about it, but i seriously doubt it'll amount to anything.

point is, i feel like i've wasted too much time not experiencing things. there's so much to see and do out there. picking up and moving to another country was a pretty big deal to me...but it's like nothing to most of the people i've met out here. they're always moving to new countries and traveling around. i mean, i guess it's also because i've been meeting expats, but still...just makes me realize that i need to stop worrying about the little things and be a little more adventurous.

moving out here is a start =)

i've taken almost a week off from the whole job hunt thing. i'm glad. i needed it.

most programming jobs out here don't fit my skills, so it's hard to find a job that i qualify for. it's just different kinds of programming. it's a little discouraging. but to be fair...i also haven't tried all that hard. i could easily put in a lot more effort.

i thought about going back to school to learn the technologies that they're looking for out here...just like a class here and there...but i dunno, is it worth it? should i go to school and get toefl certified instead so i can teach english? i really should stay sharp in my programming skills though. and you're supposed to be constantly going to school and learning the new stuff in this field of work anyway. for most people, they naturally learn the new stuff because they subscribe to those newsletters that tell you all about the newest technologies and trends and they're actually interested and will read about it in their free time! well, i subscribed for a while, but i never read a single one. just doesnt interest me. one of the many reasons on my list for career change consideration...i dunno, i'm just ranting and rambling right now...sorry.

it's the same old dilemma that i still haven't figured out yet. what to do with my life. career wise that is. change or not? if yes, to what? and when? and how? and why? i dunno if i'll ever figure it out, but for now, i need to figure out what to do in the meantime...until i figure out the bigger question. ugh.

anyway. so what have i been doing if i haven't been looking for jobs? i finished the first season of 24 =) just last nite actually. i also got the rest of my luggage from the states and have unpacked and done lotsa shopping and organizing for household items such as plates and utensils and such so that i can start cooking soon. yay =)

but yup, this week off from job hunting has refreshed me a bit. i'm sure i'll fall back into that rut pretty darn quick, but at least i had a break. i don't understand me. i'm soooo meant to be a mom and housewife, but i just cant let myself do only that.

my brother got his license! congrats dave!

my legs are sore!!! yesterday was a holiday in HK, so we decided to hiking (a popular thing to do out here). we walked from our apartment to the peak. ALL steep uphill. craziness. we even went past the peak up to the very tippy top where they have the antennaes and stuff. it was fun.

o, btw, if i didn't send you links to pictures in cebu yet and you wanna see, either leave a message or email me and i'll get it to you.

miss you guys!!!