Moving!

All packed! Now I'm just chilling and waiting for my moving guys to come. I don't know why but every time I need to move it is either really hot or raining. This time it is raining again. HK observatory is forecasting less rain later at night. Hopefully it won't start pouring while I am actually moving my stuff. Anyway, glad to finally be moving out of this subdivided flat. Looking forward to having more space and being in a better neighborhood. I will miss my wall decorations though. The new place does not have tiled walls, all painted.

I still need to sell off my closet and fridge. There seems to be interest for the fridge. Not so much for the closet. Anyway, I think it will be easier to take pictures once all my stuff is out of the way. I am thinking about getting a loft for my bed so that I can fit a small dresser and table. I want a proper desk and chair for doing stuff. I think I will put that to use now that I have more time at site. But will definitely get something that is easy to take apart and is not bulky.

Change is in the air

Getting the keys to the new apartment on Monday! Excited to finally be able to move out. I think these next few weeks before I go back to the US will be busy. My parents are flying to Hong Kong as I am typing this post. They should arrive early tomorrow morning. The plan is for us to meet on the ferry to Zhongshan. There is a ferry that leaves HK Island and docks at the airport before going to Zhongshan. Hopefully everything will work out.

This week is a short week because of Easter holidays. The plan right now is that I will move on Thursday night. I have already booked the guy, who was recommended by a friend. I really need to find some time to pack this upcoming week. We have Friday to Monday off (inclusive). So after the successful moving on Thursday night, I will go to Zhongshan again and hang out with family until Saturday. Mom and Victor will be flying back to SF on Sunday night so they will come to HK with me. We'll get to hang out at the new place. Dad is staying in China for a few more weeks. Anyway, I think I'll have Monday to recover from all this. The week after this is also a shortened week because Thursday is also a holiday. I am really hoping that I will have enough time during these holidays to study.

Speaking of studying, I have found that my math skills have degraded. Not as fast with mental math as I was in high school. Or maybe I just don't really do actual calculations these days. Anyway, my supervisor still thinks I will go back to the US immediately after I get this license, which makes absolutely NO sense to me. I mean, I can go back anytime. I don't need to wait for the license. In essence, this license is just something that I've been thinking about since I've found out about it in high school. Anyway, I don't know how I can make it clear to him but sometimes people are just set on their ways of thinking like this.

Anyway, another person joined me at site this past week. The guy also worked on the project so he knows the background and some of the people. He's also been working at site for the past year so he knows how things should run. So it's nice that he can show me what I should be doing. The only thing is that there were times this week when I felt that I had less time because we have to spend time discussing things or chatting. I think I was very efficient and did a lot of stuff when I was by myself because I didn't have another person to talk to. Anyway, we're going to try to implement some new rules for the contractor to follow. I think if the system works, then things should be better for us. I really wish that there had been someone to guide me to begin with. I feel like I have set something in motion and it's hard to adjust. And I think it will be an even bigger adjustment when the real RE gets to site. We will only overlap for a week before I leave for the US. I hope people can figure things out when I am away.

Moving

After living nearly two years in a tiny subdivided apartment, I am finally moving out! I'm moving with a friend to the Island (yes, moving over to the dark side). I think met up to look at apartments in Tin Hau, which is a neighborhood near Victoria Park. It is a not as crowded and dense as Causeway Bay, which is a major shopping area right next door and is a little more residential. We met up last Friday night, had dinner in the area, and started poking into real estate agencies near the MTR station. We went to a couple of big ones that just didn't have anything for us. We walked by this one agency whose store front was tiny and had one guy in it. He thought about our requirements for a little while and was like, "I have just the place for you two!" Unfortunately, it was late and he couldn't get the keys until the next day. We met up with him the next day and fell in love with the place. It's an actual 2 bedroom that's about a 5 minute walk from the Tin Hau and Fortress Hill MTR station. We ended up meeting with him again on Sunday and signed the papers. The owner was happy to rent to two girls so we're tentatively getting the keys next week!

Anyway, looking forward to having a shorter commute. I am also thinking about getting loft bed so that I can put a dresser and table underneath. In the meantime, I need to sell my big closet. I really don't know why I bought such a big closet in the first place. The new place has a good size living room for future guests. I think the arrangement works out for both of us. We're both saving a substantial amount of money. Renting in HK is just too crazy.

 Living room:

 

Bedroom 1:

Bedroom 2:

Kitchen:

We've also moved to our office space at site. The contractor renovated an existing building to make office space for all the staff. So we've moved out of the containers today. The new office space is much nicer than the container. The RE staff has an independent room with its own VIP room. The only downside is that there's no windows but I think we'll be outside enough that we wouldn't miss it. I should be getting help at site early next week! Very excited to finally have someone else to come help out.

Site office:

 

More updates

Saw these guys at an MTR station and decided to try out the camera on my new phone. I was on my way to hotpot with some former coworkers. We did the hot pot at someone's apartment. HK apartments are so amazingly small that I don't feel like I could ever get myself to buy one. I mean, it's just not worth the money and effort to buy something so small. And only for 50 years!

I've updated the sidebar on this blog with all my upcoming flights! Time goes by very fast. I really need to make a decision about where to live soon or else it will be hard to host all my future guests. Having an internal debate about whether or not to move farther out and be in a better environment. One of my friends remarked that she really wants her apartment to be somewhere that she wants to come home to. And that's why she likes to keep her apartment very clean and neat. Her place is very nice. I think I can afford to live better. I mean saving money is nice but now that I have more spare time, I would like my apartment to be bigger and nicer. 

I've been hoping to have more spare time, anyway. Site is getting very busy! We are hitting the critical path of construction and there are more and more people and machinery at site. The first month was extremely chill compared to what is coming up. I wish I knew more about the kind of record keeping needed so that I had used the previous month to get everything in order. But I guess it's part of the learning process. I think I'm going to stay being the RE for at least the first 3 months of this project. The base works is only about 9 months and the major geotechnical part is around 3 years. Hopefully I don't mess things up or lose track of important stuff before the full supervision team arrives.

Updates

Thought I get one more post in before March comes along. Site is getting very busy. Things ramped up after the Chinese New Year holidays. We just had our first on-site site meeting that was super long. I felt like things are really getting serious now. I hope I get help soon because my work load is increasing by the hour. The contractor has two shuttles in the morning and in the afternoon. I used to be able to leave before their first afternoon shuttle leaves at 6:15pm but now I seem to need to take their 2nd shuttle, which leaves at 7:15pm. People stop working at around 6 to 6:30pm so it's perfect time to catch up with paperwork. But I really don't want to stay so late because I get really tired. I sleep pretty early these days as well.

I finally got a smartphone after all this time. I have to call people a lot more now that I am on site and is remote from the office and my support system. So the prepaid thing wasn't working out anymore. And my old phone was really about to die soon so I figured I should upgrade to a monthly plan and a new phone. After much debating, I decided to get a Nexus 4. It's more expensive to get the phone here than in the US but after doing the math, I found that it's cheaper to get it with a plan than to get the phone separately. I live pretty close to places that sell phones and plans. So I basically got prices from all of them and found the bests plan. So now I can respond to emails and such while commuting. I kind of miss the days when I just zone out on transit. I feel like I need more time to zone out.

I also bought my tickets for my April-May trip home! Will update the sidebar on my blog later. I've scheduled my exam and booked my Boston flights as well. I got my holiday approval back from HR today as well. So all set! Can't wait. I'm sure I will need a break before it turns into summer in HK. And I'm sure by the time I get back, my site will be running in a more routine mode.

I'm also looking for a new apartment. I feel like I'm ready to move on from this little thing. I feel like it took quite a while for me to get mentally prepared for the rental prices out here. I think it would be more practical to move closer to site. But I also want to move somewhere where I can go running easily, which would mean I need to go farther out than where I am now. Anyway, I think I just need to make up my mind on where I want to live. Too many neighborhoods in HK. And as long as I get over the fact that I have to pay >$1,000 USD a month, I think I can find a decent place to live. I suppose I should do this soon since I seem to have a lot of guests coming over in the next few months.

CNY holidays

Chinese New Year here is like Christmas. No one wants to work. Everyone was in super holiday mood on Thursday and people started leaving at around 3-4pm. And today, Saturday, all the drillers are on holiday so there is not much going on at site. A lot of people are on vacation so it feels like you can't get much done anyway.

On Wednesday, I met up with a friend to go on a hike. We were trying invite another friend to come along but apparently she had also planned a hike on Lantau Island. But her hike was more strenuous than what we had in mind. The trail that we looked at was a good length but didn't have very much uphill or anything challenging. The most challenging part was where to get off the bus. The buses on Lantau Island are more like long distance coaches. They don't announce the stops like the regular buses elsewhere. So of course we got off too early. Luckily, the bit that we added was very easy, mostly concrete paths so that was a nice warm up.

We hit the uphill part at one point and there were good views of the harbor. I am definitely in better physical shape than before going to site. I didn't find the uphill part very challenging at all. We snacked at the top before going down. The good thing about hiking in HK is that not only is it super convenient to get to the trails, you can also stock up on food before you start. There are always supermarkets around. We got some muffins, sugary drinks, and Snickers bars before heading out. I think we hiked for a good 4 hours before reaching our destination of Tai O, a fishing village on Lantau Island.

I had actually chose the trail specifically because it ends in Tai O. I had never been there before and have been meaning to go. I like seeing the sea. The waterfront at Tai O is filled with little shops selling all kinds of snacks. You can also get a small boat out to see pink dolphins. Some friends of mine who came to visit said that they saw some on these boats! Anyway, we were not so interested in these dolphins and went in search of food. This particular friend really likes to eat so we had toufu fa and 2 different pancake-like snacks. I was full by the end of it. We waited around to watch the sunset at the beach. Typical of these close-to-equator places, the sun sets straight down and is very quick. It disappeared off the horizon in a matter of minutes. There was a patch of clouds at the sea-sky horizon though.

The line for the bus back to town was super long. I think we waited 30mins to an hour for a bus. And they had a lot of buses taking people back. It seems like is village is a popular destination, even for the locals. My friend had wanted to eat dinner back home but forgo that after seeing the line for the bus. So we went to a mall near Olympic and had dinner at the Simply Life. There is a Simply Life at the mall at our office. It had a small location and there was always a line for it. Then it moved to a much bigger location and we had all been anticipating its opening for months. But it is just too popular. There is always a line for it and reservations need to be made a month or two beforehand. So I still haven't been to the one at our office.

All in all, it was a fun day. I got slightly sunbrunt on my face and neck. Should really wear a hat to these hikes.

Year of the Snake

We get Monday to Wednesday off this week for the Lunar New Year. The contractor told me that they would be getting off at 4pm on Saturday so that everyone can go home early. And then right after lunch, people started packing up and leaving. It's funny how things work sometimes. It's the workers who are driving the program. If they say that they are leaving, then they are leaving. There's nothing the management people can do at that point. Anyway, everyone was super eager to leave so I left with them. I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging around the island and went to the flower market with a friend later that night. There were a crazy amount of people and tons of different kinds of junk on sale.

I didn't do much on the first day of Lunar New Year. I hung around my apartment and skyped with people in the morning. Then I did a good amount of cleaning. Didn't managed to do any cleaning beforehand. Although I was smart and took my clothes to wash before the big cleaning day. I went to pick up my clothes on Friday night and my usual laundry place was just swamped. It is run by this couple and the lady said that she doesn't think they'll be sleeping that night. I think it happens every year.

I ventured out to one of the temples in Wong Dai Sin. It was packed with people. They set up this really long path for people to walk so that the actual temple is not crowded. I swear it too nearly half an hour to walk through the maze just to get into the temple. The up side is that there is no waiting, just a lot of walking. I was overwhelmed by the amount of things you can pray to. I didn't stay out for long and just went back to the apartment after that.

I met up with some people for lunch on Monday and then some of us went to hike the Peak Trail. The actual Peak Trail is not exciting at all since it is all flat and just goes around the Peak. But the girls I was with suggested that we walk up to the Peak. I was looking forward to this part because it's a semi adventure to find the right road and it would be uphill. We found the path pretty easily although the two girls kept wanting to consult their smartphones. This is one of the reasons why I don't want the convenience of a smartphone. I would rely on it too much instead of just figuring things out as I go along. I mean, we saw a road on a map that is named "Old Peak Road", how obvious could it be? Anyway, Old Peak Rd was pretty tough as the climb was pretty steep. I found that I'm in much better shape now that I've been on site for a month. I think the two girls were done after we got up to the Peak. We went for ice cream and we ended up doing the Peak Trail as well. We took a cab back down after waiting for the wrong bus. The cab driver kept hitting the brakes on the way down so I was feeling a bit sick by the time we got to the bottom. I treated myself to tandoori chicken when I got back to Sham Shui Po. An Indian place just opened recently and they were one of the only restaurants open so they were getting a lot of business. Their food looks good so I definitely want to try out their other selections.

I am officially starting to study for the rest of my PE exam, the surveying part. Reprinted some references and practice exams. I actually already have quite a bit of study material. I just didn't manage to go through all of them last time. Anyway, I think I'll be okay this time since I know what to expect.

I've been thinking about taking the LEED exam too but I really have no clue about green design at all. I think that exam involves a lot of reading and memorization, which I think I prefer over doing actual calculations. I feel so lazy these days. Don't even want to have to touch my calculator. But looking at the Prometrics website, it turns out that I can take that exam in HK. Don't even have to go back to the US for it.

Going on another hike tomorrow. Will post some pictures tomorrow night.