Hong Kong Plus 93
“This is going to a self assessment that I’m going to issue once a month to gauge my progress since I’ve been here (Aug 7, 2008). By progress, I’m referring to things I’ve learned or come across that has or will benefit myself in one form or another. I ask 3 basic questions to help evaluate my growth and identify what I need to focus my attention towards. You can take this for what it’s worth, but this is for my personal guidance to make sure I hit goals and stay on track. My two main goals coming to Asia were to develop a true understanding of Chinese culture & lifestyle while establishing a foundation on which to execute business ventures.”
What have you learned in relation to Hong Kong?
1. If people workout they usually have gym memberships instead of equipment at home, most likely due to limited indoor space. It seems that most Hong Konger’s workout to stay slim and not to bulk up or get toned. Spent days looking for a place that sold a pair of dumbbells and a bench.
2. The dirtier places usually have the better food. I’m talking dirty like you don’t want your shoes touching the floor dirty. Went to a place for hot pot in Kowloon City that had delicious beef, but their bathroom toilets were overflowing the rim. Good thing that was the women’s toilet…
3. Having a resident card here has its perks. I recently got mine which allows me to freely live in Hong Kong with no restriction (3 months stay otherwise), gives me a better chance for finding work (most companies won’t want to sponsor your residency), gets me in and out of lines quicker at immigration (great for those Macau trips), and it lowers the costs of government backed doctor visits. Only right I don’t have is to vote here.
4. 28 new Chinese characters. No, I’m not going to type them out.
5. The meaning of “MK Boyz”. It was a term I heard before but explained to me in better detail by the kid who was selling us tickets to Club Sugar. “MK Boyz” is short for “Mong Kok Boyz” and it refers to the wannabe thugs who predominately scatter the street of Mong Kok.
6. Most bus drivers come equipped with an attitude and love to swear at other drivers. I remember asking one driver if his bus went to Hung Hom, and all he does is give me a disgruntled look and points to his Chinese destination sign. If I knew how to read it I wouldn’t have to ask, jackass. He must have been a “MK Boy”.
What have you done to help yourself professionally?
1. Have the Flash server up and operational.
2. Got partitions created and backup drive installed on the server.
3. Subversion server is configured and running as well. Learned the basic subversion commands.
4. Spent much time learning and coding new class features in Actionscript 3.
5. New domain name purchase for business.
6. Designed and programmed new dynamic website (CSS, PHP, mySQL) for a local HK business. Site should go live at the end of this month, waiting for a domain name to make it back on the market.
Goals for next time?
1. 10 new Chinese characters.
2. Explore 2 new places in Hong Kong
3. Rough design for new business website.
4. Continue soaking in Flash knowledge.
5. Create an environment with multiple clients communicating seamlessly with the Flash server and each other.
Happy to say I met all of last months goals except for one: Meeting more locals. I did get to know the woman who sells me pastries from time to time, if that counts for anything. She always knows my order, and we have small talk. Guess I can make this an ongoing goal.
