Tuesday was a holiday here. It's so weird to get a day off in the middle of the week. I seem to always end up going outside on the weekends (and holidays) when it is really hot outside. I think it's because I tend to chat with friends back in the US in the mornings. And then when they go to sleep, I get around to getting outside. And by then, it's around noon and sweltering hot.
That's how I managed to walk around during the hottest part of the day, trying to get money out of the ATM so that I can pay the rest of the deposit for my apartment and get the keys. I found out that I have a daily limit on how much I can take out on my Stanford account (about $3K HKD), which seemed a bit low to me. I went to a nearby mall and managed to get on their free wifi with my old computer that I was carrying around with me. I had planned to check my apartment to see if I can get any free wifi. I found the location of the nearest China Construction Bank and headed there because supposedly Bank of America won't charge me for using CCB's ATMs. But for some reason, it didn't work. So after more wandering around, I decided to find a salon to get my hair straightened. I found a street with several of them and walked into one.
The whole process took about 4 hours. I think I used up a tub of chemicals. They put three different chemicals on my hair and rinsed in between. There was careful blow drying and then flat ironing for an hour. I was getting tired just watching them do the work. It was about $40, which is really cheap compared to the US. The guy cutting my hair at the end didn't do a very good job though. The front part is a bit long and makes my face look long. Anyway, I'll probably get it fixed in a little bit, when I know what I want.
People are always confused what I did to my hair though. I always have to explain that I have naturally curly hair. My coworkers were like, did you get a haircut? Anyway, this is so much better. The humidity was making my hair very fizzy.
I made a lot of progress with my model at work today. I think I've finally got all the technical issues ironed out. There's a lot to learn in terms of learning to use the program. I really appreciate how helpful my coworkers are. They don't just answer my questions and leave it at that. They pose questions as well and we discuss. They understand that I lack experience and help me along. Anyway, really hope to get more involved in the project and not just make models in isolation. I've been keeping up with the work journal and I think it's really good to write things down as they happen.
A friend of mine posted a link to a very long but very interesting article about Asian Americans (mostly for guys): http://nymag.com/news/features/asian-americans-2011-5/ The article points out that there are not a lot of Asians in executive management. And I guess that's what I really want to achieve in life. I don't just want to be a staff engineer forever. I want to be in the upper management. Whether or not coming to Asia to start my career will help with this, I can't say. But at least here, I don't have to face the stereotype of being both Asian and female. I have some observations of how things work differently here than in the US. But I think it's too early to say for sure.
Anyway, I will have enough money tomorrow to get the keys. Can't wait to get the keys.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
First Apartment: Success!
Big accomplishments this weekend. Found an apartment today!! I can't believe it but I managed to find (with lots of help) a place that satisfied all my requirements at a reasonable price. It is a one bedroom! I don't know if my readers understand how difficult it is to find an affordable one bedroom place in HK. I didn't either, until I started looking. This place has a bathroom, kitchen, living room area, and a bedroom, separated by another door. The building has security and an elevator. Mom, even the air conditioner is the quiet kind. It is also only 1 mile from work, so if I feel like it, I can walk to work. There are also buses that I can take. The neighborhood is good, lots of parks, shopping, everything I need. But let me start from the beginning.
I spent basically the entire day looking at apartments with agent after agent. This morning, I left my place at 9:30am and met someone to look at 2 places. But the rent was high and there was furniture. I don't need furniture. The guy is the actual owner and he wanted me as a tenant. But his stuff didn't fit with what I wanted. I met up with another guy an hour later and looked at a couple more studios. The first set was too dark, too small, and had a washing machine where I wanted to put my fridge. He then showed me a studio that I really liked in terms of space, lighting, and location but the building is a walkup and has no security.
At this point I was hungry and conflicted. I had seen another place yesterday that I thought was pretty good. It had an elevator, security, and a balcony. We'll call this the balcony place. The actual room in the balcony place is bit small but overall, it's not too bad. I ate at a McDonald's, because I wanted to use their bathroom and they would let me sit however long I wanted. I called my parents and asked them what they thought. I called the agent back about the balcony place but she said that it was already taken. I liked the agent because she seemed trustworthy and very friendly. So I went back to them to look at more places. She took me to two more places, one of which I liked.
At this point, my parents called to say that my dad's friend was willing to help me out. He gave me a call to say that he can come and show me around his neighborhood. So I left the agent and went with him. He took me around the agencies in his neighborhood but the apartments there weren't that much better. And he lives farther away from the subway stations. While we were looking at places, I swear all the previous agents called to see if I was still interested. After walking around some places with him, I didn't see anything that I really liked and wanted to be back in the neighborhood closer to work. . So we went back to see the place that the agent showed me before. My dad's friend wasn't impressed because it turns out that the place is an addition to the actual building. He said that it would get really hot in the summer. The ceiling is low so I don't think I could fit a bunk bed in there. The agent showed us another place that was bigger but the building itself is no good. At this point, an agent that I had called twice previously called me back.
This guy has a website where he posts Youtube videos of the places that his company is renting out (the owner is the real estate company). I had been stalking his website because his places looked pretty good and they are all in the neighborhood I'm interested in. We met up at nearly 6pm and he showed us a place that I liked immediately. The place is newly renovated with five individual suites. Two of them were no good and by the process of elimination, I found the one that I liked. The agent didn't want to bother with bargaining and told us right off that he can give the place to us for $200 (HKD) less than the price listed but that was it. We bargained hard but to no avail. In the end, I took it because the it really is what I want and the monthly rent is less than what I budgeted for.
So, if you're interested in seeing the video to my new place, I can email you the link. I don't want to repost other people's links randomly. I put down some money to hold the place. Once I give the entire deposit and such, I can get the keys and basically start living there. We finished the deal at around 7:30pm. So my day was pretty much like a day at work. We called my parents even though it was 4am their time. We ate dinner and my dad's friend even showed me a place to buy furniture at a wholesale price.
Very happy that this is all done. This place is definitely big enough to have visitors. Now I just have to find a good futon. I can finally go look at furniture! Very exciting. I'm also very glad to have someone helping me look and ask questions. I honestly didn't know what I needed to know. Read that previous sentence carefully. I was a bit hesitant about asking someone to help me out, especially on such short notice. But then I thought about it. If any of my friends (when the time comes), has a kid who needed my help to find an apartment or anything like that, I would not hesitate to help. I would have done the same thing. I think I could have been able to do it on my own, especially since I had contacted the agent and he was returning my call. But I might have signed with somewhere else that I wasn't completely happy with and then missed out on this place. And it was really good to have someone help me ask all the right questions and to read the contract.
Furniture shopping is next! Very excited.
I spent basically the entire day looking at apartments with agent after agent. This morning, I left my place at 9:30am and met someone to look at 2 places. But the rent was high and there was furniture. I don't need furniture. The guy is the actual owner and he wanted me as a tenant. But his stuff didn't fit with what I wanted. I met up with another guy an hour later and looked at a couple more studios. The first set was too dark, too small, and had a washing machine where I wanted to put my fridge. He then showed me a studio that I really liked in terms of space, lighting, and location but the building is a walkup and has no security.
At this point I was hungry and conflicted. I had seen another place yesterday that I thought was pretty good. It had an elevator, security, and a balcony. We'll call this the balcony place. The actual room in the balcony place is bit small but overall, it's not too bad. I ate at a McDonald's, because I wanted to use their bathroom and they would let me sit however long I wanted. I called my parents and asked them what they thought. I called the agent back about the balcony place but she said that it was already taken. I liked the agent because she seemed trustworthy and very friendly. So I went back to them to look at more places. She took me to two more places, one of which I liked.
At this point, my parents called to say that my dad's friend was willing to help me out. He gave me a call to say that he can come and show me around his neighborhood. So I left the agent and went with him. He took me around the agencies in his neighborhood but the apartments there weren't that much better. And he lives farther away from the subway stations. While we were looking at places, I swear all the previous agents called to see if I was still interested. After walking around some places with him, I didn't see anything that I really liked and wanted to be back in the neighborhood closer to work. . So we went back to see the place that the agent showed me before. My dad's friend wasn't impressed because it turns out that the place is an addition to the actual building. He said that it would get really hot in the summer. The ceiling is low so I don't think I could fit a bunk bed in there. The agent showed us another place that was bigger but the building itself is no good. At this point, an agent that I had called twice previously called me back.
This guy has a website where he posts Youtube videos of the places that his company is renting out (the owner is the real estate company). I had been stalking his website because his places looked pretty good and they are all in the neighborhood I'm interested in. We met up at nearly 6pm and he showed us a place that I liked immediately. The place is newly renovated with five individual suites. Two of them were no good and by the process of elimination, I found the one that I liked. The agent didn't want to bother with bargaining and told us right off that he can give the place to us for $200 (HKD) less than the price listed but that was it. We bargained hard but to no avail. In the end, I took it because the it really is what I want and the monthly rent is less than what I budgeted for.
So, if you're interested in seeing the video to my new place, I can email you the link. I don't want to repost other people's links randomly. I put down some money to hold the place. Once I give the entire deposit and such, I can get the keys and basically start living there. We finished the deal at around 7:30pm. So my day was pretty much like a day at work. We called my parents even though it was 4am their time. We ate dinner and my dad's friend even showed me a place to buy furniture at a wholesale price.
Very happy that this is all done. This place is definitely big enough to have visitors. Now I just have to find a good futon. I can finally go look at furniture! Very exciting. I'm also very glad to have someone helping me look and ask questions. I honestly didn't know what I needed to know. Read that previous sentence carefully. I was a bit hesitant about asking someone to help me out, especially on such short notice. But then I thought about it. If any of my friends (when the time comes), has a kid who needed my help to find an apartment or anything like that, I would not hesitate to help. I would have done the same thing. I think I could have been able to do it on my own, especially since I had contacted the agent and he was returning my call. But I might have signed with somewhere else that I wasn't completely happy with and then missed out on this place. And it was really good to have someone help me ask all the right questions and to read the contract.
Furniture shopping is next! Very excited.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
It gets serious
I just bought my flight to go back home for graduation. Kayak email alerts are awesome. The price for the flight had jumped up the last few days but went down by $300+ today so I booked it right away. I really don't think I can find a cheaper flight. I realized today that graduation is coming up in a little more than a month.
I've been thinking more about where I want to live and I think it would be nice to live close enough to either walk or take a bus. The area down the hill from where I am now actually has a lot of affordable places to live. So now I'm concentrating my efforts there. I think it will take about 20 minutes to walk to work. I have to figure out the bus system though, in case it rains or is too hot out.
I saw a place today that is small but is okay. It has a balcony that has a water connection so I can stick a washing machine out there. The balcony is bigger than my actual indoor apartment space and I can use it to hang clothes or whatever. They're not charging extra for it. The price is pretty good. I can make it work if I get a bunk bed. I made some appointments for tomorrow so we'll see what happens. I would really like to rent with the actual owner so that I don't have to go through an agent and pay them too. Anyway, we'll see. I think I've finally found the right neighborhood at least.
I've been thinking more about where I want to live and I think it would be nice to live close enough to either walk or take a bus. The area down the hill from where I am now actually has a lot of affordable places to live. So now I'm concentrating my efforts there. I think it will take about 20 minutes to walk to work. I have to figure out the bus system though, in case it rains or is too hot out.
I saw a place today that is small but is okay. It has a balcony that has a water connection so I can stick a washing machine out there. The balcony is bigger than my actual indoor apartment space and I can use it to hang clothes or whatever. They're not charging extra for it. The price is pretty good. I can make it work if I get a bunk bed. I made some appointments for tomorrow so we'll see what happens. I would really like to rent with the actual owner so that I don't have to go through an agent and pay them too. Anyway, we'll see. I think I've finally found the right neighborhood at least.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Cultural experiences
I've never had so many people ask me what my name is before. "Is it Lucy Wu, or Wu Lucy? Don't you have a Chinese name?" Whenever I fill out forms, I check to see if they want my family or given name first. Upon finding that the first blank is for the family name, I automatically write my first name in the next blank. And then I find that there's another blank for the "English name." On the newest edition of the company newsletter, I'm listed in the Welcome section as Wu Lu, Lucy. So weird. I noticed that people's engineer stamps, they don't put their English name. Just family name + given name, in English letters.
I also find that when I'm looking at engineering drawings, I tend to say the numbers in my head in English. Not that I would have any problems with saying numbers in Chinese. I think I'm just still not used to the idea of using Chinese at work. Chinese was always for family and not for work. But I haven't had to revert to speaking in all English. Actually I don't think some of my coworkers have heard me say an entire sentence in English yet.
Made a lot of progress with my model at work today. I think I fixed all the major bugs. Modeling water flow took the entire afternoon. I'm at a point where I need some input from people in order to move on. This is good because it means I have no reason to be working tomorrow (Saturday).
The group went to lunch at a "Western" place today and one person ordered a variety of dishes and we all shared. I don't think this would ever happen in the States. They had the burgers cut up into quarters. Most people have smart phones and everyone was playing around with theirs. Cultural experiences everyday!
Major apartment looking this weekend. I hope won't be too muggy out!
I also find that when I'm looking at engineering drawings, I tend to say the numbers in my head in English. Not that I would have any problems with saying numbers in Chinese. I think I'm just still not used to the idea of using Chinese at work. Chinese was always for family and not for work. But I haven't had to revert to speaking in all English. Actually I don't think some of my coworkers have heard me say an entire sentence in English yet.
Made a lot of progress with my model at work today. I think I fixed all the major bugs. Modeling water flow took the entire afternoon. I'm at a point where I need some input from people in order to move on. This is good because it means I have no reason to be working tomorrow (Saturday).
The group went to lunch at a "Western" place today and one person ordered a variety of dishes and we all shared. I don't think this would ever happen in the States. They had the burgers cut up into quarters. Most people have smart phones and everyone was playing around with theirs. Cultural experiences everyday!
Major apartment looking this weekend. I hope won't be too muggy out!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Another Friday
Getting ready for another day at work. Depending on what I get done today, I might have to go in tomorrow (Saturday) too. Or maybe I should just poke my head in anyway. I spend all of yesterday working on a finite element model. So many things to take into account! I feel like I'm really slow.
I think the guys try to eat lunch together whenever possible. Today, we all went to the food court, got food, and ate together on a table near our desks. I don't know how they determine what they're doing for lunch everyday. Maybe I just can't understand what they're saying...
At one point in the afternoon, I overheard the guy sitting behind me talking to someone else about seismic stuff. After they finished their discussion, I asked the guy if they use a particular software. He was very excited and asked if I had taken any earthquake engineering classes. He joked that we should ask my boss if I can help with their projects. We looked over at my boss and he was looking very seriously at something on his desk. We were like, "did he hear us?" So we walked over and he was trying to stick a memory card into his iPad2. Really thought he was doing something serious. Anyway, I didn't really mean to push myself into another group so soon. But I had to say something since they're talking about PEER and ASCE all the time. I was just trying to recommend software.
Next Tuesday is another holiday. Awkwardly placed but whatever. More time to look for a place to live.
I think the guys try to eat lunch together whenever possible. Today, we all went to the food court, got food, and ate together on a table near our desks. I don't know how they determine what they're doing for lunch everyday. Maybe I just can't understand what they're saying...
At one point in the afternoon, I overheard the guy sitting behind me talking to someone else about seismic stuff. After they finished their discussion, I asked the guy if they use a particular software. He was very excited and asked if I had taken any earthquake engineering classes. He joked that we should ask my boss if I can help with their projects. We looked over at my boss and he was looking very seriously at something on his desk. We were like, "did he hear us?" So we walked over and he was trying to stick a memory card into his iPad2. Really thought he was doing something serious. Anyway, I didn't really mean to push myself into another group so soon. But I had to say something since they're talking about PEER and ASCE all the time. I was just trying to recommend software.
Next Tuesday is another holiday. Awkwardly placed but whatever. More time to look for a place to live.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Long Days at Work Ahead
I woke up at 6am today wondering why my alarm hadn't gone off. I had set it so that it would go off at 6am on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that I can go for a run. At some point, I realized that today is Wednesday and I was confused because Monday was a holiday. Then I debated whether or not to get up anyway but then resolved to lying in bed until 7am. I don't think I actually need so much time to get ready.
Went out to lunch with coworkers today. We all took a cab so that we can get better food outside of the mall. They have some sort of tab system going so that we're not all trying to figure out change at the end of every meal. It's convenient. There were 5 of us and they put me in the shotgun seat while the rest of them (all guys) squeezed in the back. Lol. The guys at work are funny. They're all very nice and helpful. Everyone works really hard. As soon as all the senior people leave though, they mess around and chat a lot more. Productivity just goes rapidly downhill at that point. I left a little past 8pm today. Still wondering what counts as overtime. Very tired after a long day.
I started on an actual analysis assignment today. I'll need lots of help to get it done but I'm glad that I'm doing something more challenging than marking up stuff. I've been keeping a work diary as well. This is something I should have started doing during my internships. It's hard for me to remember what I did during all those internships. Granted, a lot of the time, my internship work wasn't very exciting. But I definitely felt that I was challenged and given a lot more freedom during my last internship.
Went out to lunch with coworkers today. We all took a cab so that we can get better food outside of the mall. They have some sort of tab system going so that we're not all trying to figure out change at the end of every meal. It's convenient. There were 5 of us and they put me in the shotgun seat while the rest of them (all guys) squeezed in the back. Lol. The guys at work are funny. They're all very nice and helpful. Everyone works really hard. As soon as all the senior people leave though, they mess around and chat a lot more. Productivity just goes rapidly downhill at that point. I left a little past 8pm today. Still wondering what counts as overtime. Very tired after a long day.
I started on an actual analysis assignment today. I'll need lots of help to get it done but I'm glad that I'm doing something more challenging than marking up stuff. I've been keeping a work diary as well. This is something I should have started doing during my internships. It's hard for me to remember what I did during all those internships. Granted, a lot of the time, my internship work wasn't very exciting. But I definitely felt that I was challenged and given a lot more freedom during my last internship.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Week 2: Should I be counting?
Omg, I had an epiphany at work today. When Mahalia+friends visited HK, they got a sim card with the phone company one2free. For the longest time, I couldn't understand the name of this company. But one of my coworkers said it at work and I realized that they're playing on the fact that most Chinese people can't pronounce "three" properly. It's double trouble with both the "th" and the "r" sounds. LOL.
The entire geo group went out to lunch today. Three people were promoted to associate principle a little while ago so they treated us all out to lunch. I was hoping there would be a speech or something so that I know who they are but there was no speech. We went to a dim sum place that started us out with dim sum but brought out the real food later on. There was way too much food. I gave up when they started bringing in the rice dishes. Even though I think I can understand most things that people say, I'm pretty sure I speak much slower and use way simpler words. So I didn't say much during lunch. Not that I had much to contribute since they were talking about importing furniture from China and iPhones. It was random.
I think I should eat something at around 5pm everyday. I think that would bring my energy levels back up. I stayed until 8:30pm today when everyone else (the younger engineers) all left. I had work to do but I was pretty much done and was just checking and rechecking. Some of the stuff warranted rechecking. Someone started the flurry of telling the boss about vacation days and everyone chipped in. I put myself down for the days I'll be back for graduation. But I don't think I'll actually submit the leave form until I buy my tickets. One of the guys was going to submit a leave form for taking half a day off. I was shocked, "what?? you're just taking half a day off." And the boss was like, "oh, forget it then. I didn't see this."
I tried to do some sightseeing yesterday (Monday) since we had the day off. But I didn't get very far since it was super muggy out. In the afternoon, I got a call and an email about two different places available. I visited two places out in Yuen Long (+40 min commute). Both places were actual one-bedrooms. Very spacious, not carved out of some condo. I think I can talk the price down a bit and it's within my budget. I just didn't like how it was so far away. The agent wasn't pushy. These places would be great for visitors.
I visited another place in TST, very busy part of town. It was extremely small and dark, and not that much cheaper. The lady who owns the place usually does short term rents for students. She's willing to go lower since I would want to stay for long term. The only advantage here is that she's the owner and won't charge commission. Electricity and water is also very cheap here. But the place is tiny and I think I can find better. She has other rooms in the same location though so it's possible that I can move into some of the other ones. I haven't seen them though. She wasn't pushy either and seems really nice. I mean, I could make it work if I got a bunk bed. But I didn't like how it was so dark.
Anyway, I visit other places and check back with these people if I don't find anything else. Not in a hurry. I took pictures and drew floor plans for future reference.
The entire geo group went out to lunch today. Three people were promoted to associate principle a little while ago so they treated us all out to lunch. I was hoping there would be a speech or something so that I know who they are but there was no speech. We went to a dim sum place that started us out with dim sum but brought out the real food later on. There was way too much food. I gave up when they started bringing in the rice dishes. Even though I think I can understand most things that people say, I'm pretty sure I speak much slower and use way simpler words. So I didn't say much during lunch. Not that I had much to contribute since they were talking about importing furniture from China and iPhones. It was random.
I think I should eat something at around 5pm everyday. I think that would bring my energy levels back up. I stayed until 8:30pm today when everyone else (the younger engineers) all left. I had work to do but I was pretty much done and was just checking and rechecking. Some of the stuff warranted rechecking. Someone started the flurry of telling the boss about vacation days and everyone chipped in. I put myself down for the days I'll be back for graduation. But I don't think I'll actually submit the leave form until I buy my tickets. One of the guys was going to submit a leave form for taking half a day off. I was shocked, "what?? you're just taking half a day off." And the boss was like, "oh, forget it then. I didn't see this."
I tried to do some sightseeing yesterday (Monday) since we had the day off. But I didn't get very far since it was super muggy out. In the afternoon, I got a call and an email about two different places available. I visited two places out in Yuen Long (+40 min commute). Both places were actual one-bedrooms. Very spacious, not carved out of some condo. I think I can talk the price down a bit and it's within my budget. I just didn't like how it was so far away. The agent wasn't pushy. These places would be great for visitors.
I visited another place in TST, very busy part of town. It was extremely small and dark, and not that much cheaper. The lady who owns the place usually does short term rents for students. She's willing to go lower since I would want to stay for long term. The only advantage here is that she's the owner and won't charge commission. Electricity and water is also very cheap here. But the place is tiny and I think I can find better. She has other rooms in the same location though so it's possible that I can move into some of the other ones. I haven't seen them though. She wasn't pushy either and seems really nice. I mean, I could make it work if I got a bunk bed. But I didn't like how it was so dark.
Anyway, I visit other places and check back with these people if I don't find anything else. Not in a hurry. I took pictures and drew floor plans for future reference.
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