Hospital

Last Monday I woke up right before the alarm. It felt like I peed myself. Only half awake I went to the bathroom. As I look down I see my underwear filled with blood and water. I woke up immediately and got scared as hell. So did Honey. 

We packed a bag to stay in the hospital and took a taxi. The procedure here is to go straight to the hospital if something like this happen. I was admitted right away. 

By the time I got to the hospital, the bleeding had stopped. But they did still do all kinds of checks. They made me stay one night for observation. As they found nothing wrong and all the tests came back normal they let me go the next day, with bed rest at home. My goodness...

This was the second bleeding incident so I got extra worried. But everything was fine. They don't even know what caused it. My placenta is very low and the bleeding could be it moving. Which works for me as I prefer a natural birth. But that's only possible if there isn't a placenta laying covering the exit. 

But staying in the hospital is boring, ultra boring. We are not allowed to charge the phones or computers in the outlets, and no tv. I also forgot to bring a book in the stress to get to the hospital. 

I don't see myself as a person who worry too much, but apparently pregnancy comes with paranoia. Now I'm getting worried about everything, constantly feeling and looking. Don't want anything to go wrong of course. 

I am now in  week 28, so if there is something serious and she must come out prematurely, it's a big chance she survives. Feels good. 

When the doctor discharged me she said if the bleeding happens again they may admit me until the baby is born. That would be horrible. I plan on staying healthy and not bleeding until it's time to deliver. I hope my body agrees to that. 

View from the hospital bed. 

Tuesday in November

Tuesday November 12… Could there be another more boring day than this? It’s Tuesday, the worst day of the week to start with, and then November, middle of November even. It’s grey and raining in Hong Kong. It’s the kind of day that never really wakes up. The sun never made it through the thick clouds. Everyone in the office look a bit worn out, I’m no exception, I probably look even worse after a really bad night’s sleep with dreams about our baby, and about dolls. It was a bit freaky, that’s all I remember.

 

To brighten it up, here is a sunshine picture of my wittle girl, my hairy baby, my Miss Poo, Gunvor, Ding Ding… I’m so glad she’s in my life :). 

 

I'm fat

I’m pregnant, and I’m getting fat, I know I am supposed to get fat, I have something wonderful growing inside me. But I cannot stop obsessing over my body… When I read online it’s apparently common that pregnant women are obsessing over their bodies. But friends with babies… HOW COME I have NEVER HEARD any one of you complain about getting fat? I feel very self-absorbed for even thinking about my well-being (of being fat or not) instead of just focus on having a healthy baby… But I wanted to write this to let you know that we exist!

Yes, I have been obsessed about my body for many years, why do you think I work out so hard? Now with the pregnancy I don’t have the strength left to work out after all my hours at work. It’s sad. I tried to go to the gym once a week, just for some easy weight-lifting and end up being completely exhausted, and cardio is not even on the table, unless it’s a walk in moderate tempo. Apparently my body needs to focus 100% on producing our baby, and not for me to even try to stay fit right now. I see it as a defeat. Being a strong and independent woman I thought I would handle being pregnant while still going on with my life as nothing happened. How stupid of me... I have pelvis pain, heartburn, headaches, skin irritation, fatigue, dizziness, difficult to breathe, swollen feet, cannot drink coffee (it tastes bad!) or eat sushi but at least I'm healthy :). And I haven't gone through the worst part yet! 

One thing is for sure, I cannot wait to meet our girl (two different doctors confirmed it's a girl). I know it will be worth all the suffering I go through, I just do. :) ❤️

 

Connected equals stress?

I really like facebook, whatsapp, text messages, instagram and all the other fantastic ways we have to connect to people. These devices have been especially good since I have moved around a lot and met many interesting people on the way that I want to have in my life, even if they are not close physically. And of course being able to reach my beloved family with just a sentence in our whatsapp group, that is very encouraging. I get pictures of my beautiful nieces sent to me in an instant, I get to see how they grow, even if I am not there.

 

But I also have to say that sometimes being constantly connected drains my energy. To always be expected to be reached, to be expected to answer within the hour, or at least the same day... Someone is always expecting a reply. It’s usually no problem, there is always a moment over for replies while you wait for the bus, or while on the bus, the subway, or during a commercial break on TV.

 

To be able to be reached all the time has put some kind of extra stress on life, at least my life, even if it also made it easier. I have started to turn off my data plan so I cannot be reached when I’m not hooked up to a WiFi, it feels pretty good to know that I can ignore anyone trying to reach me. The replies have to wait.

 

I remember when I lived in Long Beach, CA, the first time, in 1997, for the first time far away from family and friends. I was still calling my family every two weeks or so on a landline, I wrote long handwritten letters, and expected a handwritten letter back in a month or so, if I was lucky. I am probably romanticizing it all, but life felt a little less stressed back then. Perhaps because I was 20 years old and had my whole life ahead of me helped, but still… I don’t consider myself too old now, but a lot has changed in 16 years. Connected or not, I always know my family loves me, and that is strength in itself :).

 

Draining energy

 Right now Hong Kong is draining my energy; we don’t get along at all. I find the city too crowded, too noisy, too dirty, too polluted, too hot. Today I really miss country roads, I miss fresh produce (all food in Hong Kong is imported), I miss nature, and I miss silence… I miss normal rent prices and salaries you can actually live on. It’s just that kind of a day…

 

I still claim to be a city girl. I love the city pulse, when I don’t have to live right in it. I need it at a distance, but at a very reachable distance. I loved living in Sundbyberg when I lived in Stockholm. I got the loud, smelly and crowded city of Stockholm just 12 mins away on the subway. And I got the tranquility of a sleepy small town with excellent public transports and nature just around the corner where I lived. For me this was the best of two worlds. Of course there are pros and cons with everything, but I wish we could find that balance somewhere in Hong Kong too. My ears are tired, my eyes are itchy and my clothes are shrinking.

 

Not all days are a bed of roses, and there are good and bad days. That’s life, right? Let’s hope tomorrow is a good day again…

 

 

Usagi

Last Sunday Hong Kong was supposed to get hit by a severe typhoon called Usagi, which means white rabbit. It didn't happen. Although the whole city was prepared, and Hong Kong with all its concrete is strong to take such hit. Unfortunately (or fortunately) HK is also so hot due to the hot air trapped between all these tall buildings, which usually pushes away the bad weather. But we need that bad weather to clear the air a bit. The air in the city is so stale. 

Anyway, we got to sleep in a little last Monday, as work is cancelled when there is a typhoon signal 8 or stronger in force. 

Either way, HK got lucky. 

“It’s just temporary”

You’d think it would be easy to renovate in a very small apartment. I mean, it’s small, so small surfaces to paint, right? Well, it’s not. When you live in such a small apartment like we do, without any proper storage areas (except the bedframe, with six drawers and two gigantic compartments in the back) it’s difficult to keep track of all the stuff all the time. Each room is so small that if you just move one more thing in there it’s full. Well, not that bad, but close. And then we have to live there too. Try to cook, eat, sleep, shower, find stuff. It’s not that easy.

 

I think we are doing okay though. But for a neat-freak like me it’s tough to see all the stuff just piling up in corners where there is space. Hopefully after repainting the walls, installing some storage it will all be worth it. I calm my already tense nerves with “It’s just temporary”. I look at the mess, get stressed, and tell myself “it’s only temporary” and try to ignore it. Honey doesn’t even see the mess. He’s happy either way. I envy his bliss of not being able to see the mess.

 

But you know, it’s for a good cause, it is so we can have a nicer and hopefully a bit more spacious apartment, once the mess is gone. One room is done, the bedroom, and the hallway is painted. Now we’re working on one half of the living room, and then move over to the other half. I know it will all be worth it in the end, of course it will, right?

 

Attacked by roaches!

Yesterday it was so hot outside that I actually got angry just by walking out the door. Today it’s typhoon warning and raining so hard that the cock roaches are fleeing out of their holes to not drown. 

During the busy lunch hour I saw two big cock roaches running on the sidewalk along all the walking people. The cock roaches got so stressed from all the feet that they almost simultaneously ran towards the person’s feet walking in front of me. After that they went to attack my feet, so I took two big leaps and when I landed I took some quick steps to ensure they weren’t on me. Yeah, it was not a pleasant experience.

 

What's with Astrid Lindgrens Värld?

As I continue to work all summer long I enjoy watching my Swedish friends on facebook enjoying barbeques, sunsets and lazy days on the beach. Quite a few of you also went camping and surprisingly many went to Astrid Lindgrens Värld. I’m thinking they must have had some kind of inspiring advertisements? Anyway, fun to see you all enjoying your summer holidays!

 

Here in Hong Kong it’s hot, humid and raining a lot. As I look out through my window at work I see grey clouds and occasional showers. Sometimes the sun even show up. It’s actually very few of my co-workers who are taking any time off during the summer. There are a few from the US who have left for a longer vacation to visit family and friends, but other than that, not much. Since I’m new and on probation until the end of August, I don’t even have any paid days to take, yet. But soon I’m eligible for 16 vacation days, not bad actually. 

Honey is enjoying his summer break, and as it looks now, this weekend we will be going away for a mini break to Macau, watch a water show and just enjoy not being in Hong Kong for a couple of days. I can’t wait.

 

Until next time, don’t forget to support your Spinning instructor, take a class even if the sun is out, you won’t regret it :).

 

Maids on Sundays

Maids hanging out on a Sunday afternoon.

I don't think I ever posted anything about the maids here in Hong Kong. Here in Hong Kong it is very common to have a live-in maid. Her job is usually to cook, clean, take care of the kids and dogs. She lives with the family and she works six days a week. It doesn't cost that much and many middle-class house holds have a maid. My in-laws have a maid. We don't. I don't want one either, although I really wouldn't mind to have someone coming in to clean our apartment once a week. 

When I first arrived to Hong Kong, (it's already been a year!), I saw all these girls (yes, just girls) hanging out in the parks on Sundays. So many! I was wondering what it was about, and only Sundays. It turns out it's the maids day off and since they cannot meet at someone's home they hang out in groups in parks, all year round, rain or shine, hot or cold. 

I'm not sure what I think about it. Although all people should have the same value, it feels like they are not regarded as equals, instead they are of less value, and that upsets me. I don't know if that is the case, it is just a feeling I have. I hope I'm wrong... 

Be careful what you wish for...

Be careful what you wish for... right?  

After not been working for about six months I was absolutely thrilled to finally have a job! The job was telemarketing, although my title was Audience Development Executive, I think... It was a crappy job for me, I don't have the mental strength to work with contacting people all day. Either way it did help me get in to the Hong Kong working life. I tell the girls in that department, I have the most utterly respect for them, and I do! They manage to stay alive and healthy while working with telemarketing. Those girls are good. But it was not for me, even my boss told me so haha. 

Anyway, I was lucky enough that another job opportunity opened up within the same company and the HR department thought that I would be a good match, and so far they sure are right. I am right now working as Assistant Editor for CFO Innovation, a website with only content relevant to CFOs, Finance Directors and other senior finance professionals. I know, finance has never been my strong suit, but it's new, and I can learn, right? Heck, I am learning already! So far I am mostly reading white papers and uploading them to our website. I read press releases, read newsletters, send out newsletters and trying to learn the finance language. Everything is new and it's fun! I am so grateful to have gotten this opportunity. Let's hope it works out well in the long run too:). 

Not only did I get a full time job, 

a) I'm still both writing stories and editing for Bulletinen, the Swedish magazine 

b) I am the Editor-in-Chief for SWEA, and we are working hard on getting somewhere with their yearly magazine

c) I am taking a course to become an RPM Instructor 

Dingding says Hi!

So yes, life is busy, just as I wished for of course, but in a good way so far! I like it better when the quiet moments become rare and I can actually take advantage of those precious breathing holes. 

Yep, life is picking up and perhaps Hong Kong will start to feel like home one day... We'll see. 

Asians are bad drivers, right?

Asians are known for being bad drivers. They have that reputation worldwide. I remember when I was in New York and got on the bus to Kennedy Airport and it was an Asian driver, I was expecting a near-death experience. I know, talk about being prejudice. 

I have to say that considering how many cars and Asian drivers you have here in Hong Kong, it's very few car accident, and I rarely see bumps and scratches on the cars. So I am boldly saying that at least drivers in Hong Kong are pretty good drivers! 

Let me explain. First, riding in a taxi, a mini bus or even one of the tall buses gives me motion sickness. There are sudden turns, quick brakes and noisy. I sit there holding on for dear life following the road ahead to stay calm. Here is the thing, EVEN if they drive like this they very rarely get in to accidents! To me it means they know exactly how many millimeters or inches they have left to the car next to them, they know when to let someone get in the right lane, they use their blinkers frequently and drive aggressively but without getting agitated. 

Honey keeps telling me the reason there are so few accidents is because it's always traffic here and therefore everyone drives slow, people are so cheap and don't want to dent their cars, so they drive very carefully, and when you drive so slow there won't be any dents on the cars even if you bump in to each other. Sure, I buy that, it makes sense, people who drive in Hong Kong usually have very nice cars, Mercedes, BMW, Ferrari, Maserati or Porsche are common sights. But still, it's a fine line. I still claim that despite the dizzy rides the professional drivers in Hong Kong know what they are doing. 
Honk Honk!

Where did it go?

I don't know where my work out spark went. It's gone, and I miss it tremendously. I wish it would come back... For many years I have needed one week off from work out a few times a year to get the spark to come back. This time it's been gone for a month, and I have been working out once or twice a week, out of pity. You know how good you feel after a work out, even if the thought of it before you got there was dreadful? Well, I haven't even had that... So, it's gone, and I miss it tremendously... 

I am a cardio lover, as a spinning instructor of course I love cardio. After our successful 10k run in January I wanted to run more, and farther. I started my quest to run a half marathon. I knew I could do it. I used the app Runkeeper to keep me on my toes with running four times a week, following a special training program. It was going great. I even ran 15k for the first time in my life, and it felt fantastic! 

Then around Chinese New Year I started to have bad asthma attacks. So bad that I time after time had to stop running and walk back with my breathing severely choked. That was even if I took asthma medicine before the run, and brought it along to use in case of emergency. It didn't help. Okay I thought, it's going to be better soon. I had a theory that if I ran on the treadmill I could keep going, but it didn't help to go inside... Sometimes I can run on the treadmill for 15 mins, slow, but then it gets difficult to breath again. This was in February, it's now May, and it's not really better. It sucks. I hate it. So I now try to go to strength training, weight lifting, and that's boring. I am trying to enjoy it,  but I don't really, and that is sad. I know it's good for me, but I cannot get around to it as often as I should. Any excuse it seems like is a good excuse to not work out right now, and that's not me. 

I miss my work out spark, I miss it tremendously. 

What about the weather?

As a Swede you don’t realize just how obsessed we are with the weather, until you meet people who don’t care whatsoever. Hong Kong people don’t care about the weather. They look at me funny when I talk about the weather, like, why does it matter? It’s all the same to them, (except that it's not)... To me it’s second nature to talk about the weather changes, and I love talking about it no matter if I know the person or not. It’s almost an obsession haha. Well, perhaps it even counts as an obsession?

I guess if you grew up in Hong Kong, where the weather is not that dramatically different around the year I you stopped to notice. Basically you can dress the same all year round. Even if it will get a bit cold in the winter, the cold days usually just last for just a few days. In the summer it’s usually too hot to be outside anyway, and the Air Condition is blasting so frosty that people wear the same layer of clothes inside during the summer months as they would wear outside during the winter. Does it makes sense?

But they DO have more weather change than what they think. Right now the weather is very unpredictable. It’s raining, then pouring, 20 degrees and then 29 degrees, extremely humid, after thunder not so humid and sunny, all in the same day. True spring weather, so to speak. On my way to work I may walk in a short sleeved top, sweating at 8am in the morning. When I go out for lunch it’s instead a bit chilly, very windy and black clouds all around. And when I’m done for the day and head home, it’s pretty decent, I just need a thin sweater over my shoulder and walk home comfortably. I know, it doesn’t sound to exciting, but for me it is!

I am almost as obsessed with the weather as I am about time. I always want to know what time it is. I have clocks everywhere, including in the bathroom. A good living room usually needs two clocks, no matter how small the space is. And I nearly panic if I don’t wear a watch when I leave the house. Am I weird? I don’t know, I think that’s how I’ve always been. Perhaps it did get worse over the years, or perhaps I just didn’t notice that it was an obsession before. I think I got this need to keep an eye on time from my dad… (Love you pappi!)

High Tea

Three story tower of sweet and savory treats... 

To eat High Tea in Hong Kong is kind of a big deal. They offer it at many places, but the most famous places are the Peninsula Hotel i Tsim Sha Tsui and Repulse Bay Hotel. High tea is served in the afternoon, usually sometime between 3 to 6pm. At the more popular places it's also ridiculously expensive, but worth at least one try. Honey and I tried it at Repulse Bay a few weeks ago, and it didn't let down. 

Delicious scones :). 

At high tea you get a cup of tea, usually scones with butter and jelly, and mini pastries, both sweet and savory. It doesn't look like much when you get in the three story tower of foods, but it sure is plenty. We got excellent scones, lovely savory tiny sandwiches, sweet pastries, waffles, cheese sticks and mango pudding. I ate it all, slowly, and enjoying all of it. For that price there is no chance of leaving one little crumb. It was delicious and for a once in a lifetime thing, or for a celebration of some sorts, High Tea is totally worth it. If you haven't tried it, I strongly suggest that you do so. At Repulse Bay you also get the wonderful sea view, just that is worth a lot for us who lives in the city with houses wherever you turn. 

Sweet pastries, yum! 

Reflections of the Lunch hour

Lunch hour, THE lunch hour, perhaps even hours if you are in France or Spain. After working in a few different countries I have noticed that the only place so far where the lunch hour isn’t sacred is in the US (and sometimes in Sweden). Everywhere else people seem to actually take their lunch hour seriously. Phones are turned off, operators don’t pick up, people are out eating lunch, taking a stroll, drinking coffee after the meal. No one is expected to answer their phone during lunch, and it’s okay, you just call back later. If you would get ahold of someone during lunch, they giggle a little at your mistake of calling during the holy hour, and tell you to call back later. No harm, no hard feelings, that’s just how it is. And it’s nice, and quiet if you are eating in the office.

Here in Hong Kong the lunch hour is the social hour, or so it feels. Everyone are working real hard before and after lunch, but during lunch, they don’t work. We may discuss work while eating, but that’s it. And since it’s usually cheap, (around 50 HKD or less for a set lunch), most people go out to eat. Of course there are a few people that still sit at their desk to eat lunch, but they are the exceptions that make the rule, or however you say it.

It’s nice to get away from the office for a while, especially with the weather being so nice here in Hong Kong during their winter season. People may have to work until 7 or 8pm at night, but that won’t stop them from taking that one hour break in the middle of the day. So don’t try to call someone working in Hong Kong between 1 and 2pm, they probably won’t answer… :)

Fabergé Exhibition

During the Easter holiday Honey and I went to Sha Tin to watch the Fabergé exhibition at the Hong Kong Cultural museum. Although I normally don't like museums I must admit this was a great way to spend a few hours. Honey's teacher friend Joyce was with us. Considering there are only 42 known Fabergé eggs left (over 50 from the beginning, eight was lost during the Russian revolution), I was mighty impressed to see four of them. They are absolutely beautiful, and so detailed. We weren't allowed to take any pictures, but they show the eggs in the information leaflet we got. 

"Memory of Azov" Easter egg. 

The basic history behind the Fabergé eggs are that each year the Russian Tsar Alexander III ordered a spectacular Easter egg for his wife the Tsarina Maria Fyodorovna. Each year the egg was to astonish the Royal family with innovative design and splendid craftsmanship. The eggs also showed a different event or theme in the Russian history, for example making of the Transiberian railway. As this Fabergé Easter egg continued after the death of Alexander III, they started to make two eggs per year, adding one for Tsar Nicholas II's wife, Tsarina Alexandra Fyodorovna. When the Russian empire collapsed, so did the  making of the Easter eggs. Eight imperial eggs disappeared after the 1917 revolution and 42 remained, whereof 10 of them are stored in the Armoury Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin. 

Ornament from the House of Fabergé. 

Fabergé didn't get just make fantastic Easter eggs. The exhibition also showed jewelry and other ornaments that they had made. Everything was so beautiful. 

It cost just 20 HKD per person to enter the museum. It's ridiculously cheap, and a good way to spend a rainy day.  

"The Moscow Kremlin" Easter egg. 

The headache disappeared

To wrap up how it went with the fasting. I made it til Monday evening. I ate cereal for dinner. I couldn’t help it, I was so hungry. What has been bothering me the most is the headache, and it disappeared after I ate the cereal. I don’t know if it was the food or if it was a placebo effect. Either way it worked for my headache, and that’s what matters.

Not sure if I will do it again, we’ll see. It didn’t seem to do anything on my weight though. Not that I weighed myself before and after, but my clothes still fit the same as before. It could be too soon to tell. I just have to continue to eat less calories than what I need, a standard dieting way.

So tired after working so hard all week, not only at work, and from dieting. Good thing with a long weekend coming
up for easter. Yeah, that’s gonna be nice. I want a salty licorice filled Easter egg. Probably not gonna happen...

I need to vent about opening a bank account in Hong Kong one of these days. Yeah, it became dramatic…

Waaah, who said this was good?

Okay people, if you didn't know before, let me tell you. Fasting SUCKS! It's been two days for me with only juice, water, green tea and fruit and vegetables (raw) and I feel like shit right now. It said that I would, but I don't know even why people DO THIS! Totally crazy. My head hurts, I feel slightly dizzy and today I'm hungry. I know, I read that this will happen, and after the third or so day I will feel fine again. But still, how strong am I? Will I actually try to go through with it? I want to quit, but at the same time I don't. Yes, I feel like shit right now, but I think that is because of all the stuff that I have fed my body before going through with this. Either way, if I can make it two more days, then that's it. 

It did say to fast for 10 days for serious results, but I don't know about that... My goal is four days, even if it's four days with a headache. I got to lay down now. 

Oscar sham

I'm watching a show on TV called "Destination truth". It's a show about finding super natural beings, myths etc. Now they are in Sweden, on an Island called Blå Jungfrun close to Oskarshamn (which they pronounce Oscar sham). Apparently many accused witches was killed at that island  during the witch hunt in the 1500s. Of course they found some paranormal stuff, like an unexplained light shadow and voices in a house. But the funny thing is how they pronounced Oscar sham :). 

Tonight they show Ghost Hunters on Discovery. I never get to watch those kind of shows when Honey is around, but now when Ding and I are home alone I'm not sure I'm brave enough to watch it, considering I have to go to bed by myself... 

By the way, I already failed my first day of fast. Apparently once a month they have like an AfterWork at work, where they serve both food and drinks. Me being the new kid had to show appreciation and ate some food. But I jumped the drinks. I don't know what it is, but I guess I just want to be nice. I'm so silly like that. I will never succeed if I keep doing what others expect. 

Will I survive?

Ever since Honey and I watched an episode of Modern Family about how Mitch and Cam went on a juice fast we have been joking about going through with it. I know Honey would never quit food like that, not even for one day. But I am secretly curious about it.

I read about all these products in your body that are stuck inside you from all the junk food, processed foods and candy that I’ve eaten over the years. It said that these residues may be a reason why my asthma is not approving. And since my asthma even gotten worse just over the last weeks (so bad that I am on a break from training to finish a half marathon), I decided to give fasting a try. According to the Internet, fasting is an efficient way to get rid of toxins in your body. I know that I have tons of unhealthy stuff inside my body; I haven’t really been eating as well as I should.

This weekend Honey is in Malaysia as a field trip with the school that he works at, so now is a good time for me to actually go through with it. I’m also set to work all weekend with editing the Swedish magazine Bulletinen anyway, so I don’t have to take breaks to eat… I will probably regret this decision, be pissed and almost die (mentally) before the weekend is over.

As I read some articles about fasting, it will take about three days before I feel okay with this change. That’s a looong ass time. But that’s the norm, three days, and then you get used to it. I don’t know what to expect, except pain…

As an ex-smoker I noticed that deciding to lose weight is just like giving up smoking, you just have to have your mind set for it, or you will fail again, and again and again. That is what I am going through with my weight loss. I want to be slimmer, but my mind is not in it. So I start over, and over, and over again. That gets tiring too. This time, I WILL finish the fast, 4 days, that’s all. I want to succeed. It’s just four tiny days. My body and hopefully my asthma will thank me. I’ll let you know how I feel along the way…

The crowd at Victoria Park Flower Market

I meant to write about my experience at the Victoria Park Flower Market during Chinese New Year since I experienced it, because it was an odd experience for me that actually lead me to some panic feelings, not very pleasant. 

Flower Market in Victoria Park. 

The Flower Market in Victoria Park, Hong Kong, is an annual market that takes place during Chinese New Year. It goes on for about a week, and I think every person in Hong Kong visits this market. It's still called a Flower Market because that is what it started out as, but now they sell everything from pillows to knifes, food and kitchen supplies. 

Walking in the actual flower market was fine. The walking paths were crowded, but we could move around. Lots of beautiful flowers. I really liked it. 

Crowded beyond belief!

After this Honey took me to the part that sells all other kinds of stuff. The walking path between the stands were wide, very wide, still it was a one way walk. I realized why once we got in there. It was packed, I mean PACKED with people. Imagine leaving a big and crowded concert when everybody is trying to get out of the stadium at the same time, yeah, that was the feeling I got. We had to walk teeny tiny steps to not step on other persons, I was walking with people pushing me front to back, and on each side. I didn't move by myself, I was a part of a big mass that was slowly moving forward. It was not pleasant at all. I panicked a little bit, which made it worse. And Honey, who apparently is used to this kind of crowd, was walking behind me, pointing out things at stands on the sides and what they were selling. I was thinking, how can you even get there? We are moving with the crowd, not by ourselves. Scary, very scary. 

Unfortunately Honey got a little upset that I couldn't take all that mass of people, since this is what he actually wanted to look at (he doesn't care much for flowers), and the night went a bit sour. I guess I'm just not used to it, growing up on the country side in Sweden. But we went back to the flower market, which was a relief for me, and bought some super nice smelling Narcissus instead, and we both felt better. :) 

More hair

Approved women's hair cuts in North Korea. dn.se

A few weeks ago I read in the Swedish newspaper how North Korea have laws or restrictions of how males and females cut and style their hair. Men have apparently ten hair styles and women have 18. A married woman is supposed to keep her hair shirt, while unmarried women can have a bit longer hair. My first thought was, "Seriously, how weird is that?!". Then I thought about it some more and realized that this is not that unusual. 

The school where my husband works, all the girls with long hair must have it up in a pony tail, the boys must have their hair cut short.It's a part of their uniform. Male teachers are also not allowed to have long hair. 

If you are going to work at Disney resorts you also need to have a neat cut hair cut. Men should have short cut hair, no visible tattoos etc. It's also a part of the uniform. 

Is it discriminating? Yes and no. I mean, everyone should be able to look the way they want to, but at the same time it's about keeping a brand value and meet expectations of the customer. I guess if you don't work to meet and greet guests at Disney, your hairdo is not that important. At least I hope not. 

It's just hair, not that big of a deal, but still it's a bit disturbing... it's about freedom of choice. You decide how you want to have your hair cut, in my humble opinion. 

I got a job!!

Let me write a small update while I'm waiting for the competition to start for one of Honey's choirs.

I GOT A JOB!!

I signed a one month contract last Tuesday, (on my dear brother's birthday), and started working right away. It's just temporary and very low paid. I don't think I have earned this little per hour since I was fifteen years old, if even then. But I have to adjust to the Hong Kong standards. It's different here. I believe I read somewhere that the minimum wage in Hong Kong is 38.00 HKD per hour. I earn a little more than that.

On the positive side I'm finally working! And I truly like the place. My co-workers are so nice. I feel like I've already worked there for a long time. I know I'm lucky to have that. The job isn't that exciting. I'm on the phone all day and that gets a bit tiring. But nothing new really. My co-workers at Expand knows how I feel haha! I hope that try like me at my new work place so that I can stay, and get paid better. It sounds promising, but we'll see.

I got a job!! :)
Time to go.

Sigh...

Since I've been working with editing the Swedish monthly magazine Bulletinen now in InDesign I decided to be a bit creative and make my resume in InDesign. Because, obviously, I have to do something to stand out, even if it's just on paper. So far I haven't had any luck finding a job. It's a lot tougher than I expected. I almost feel defeated... I think I am pursuing the job hunt the wrong way, but I just don't know how to do it. I feel my hands are tied a bit since: 
A. I don't have any money. 
B. I don't have business cards. 
C. I don't have a Hong Kong bank account yet, so events and such that must be paid in advance becomes more complicated to attend. 

I have to ask Honey to help me pay for stuff that needs Internet banking (they haven't developed the credit card online payment that well here yet). It's frustrating. I hate asking for help. And Honey is stressed as it is. I want to be able to do that by myself. I know, small things, but they are still big obstacles for me... 

I will pick up my HKID this coming Wednesday, perhaps after that I can go open a bank account. 

Why is it so difficult to ask for help? Even if it is asking my husband, who I know don't mind? I feel handicapped when I can't take care of things myself. 

Sorry, I know it's Friday and all, but I just feel frustrated today. I know it will be better soon, and there is no giving up. I know something will come along eventually, it will be okay, of course it will... 

A different side of Hong Kong

As many of you saw when I posted these pics on facebook a few weeks ago, there are more to Hong Kong than just tall buildings and people. Hong Kong has an amazing amount of nature and hiking trails, and thanks to the Swedish women's network here in Hong Kong I have gotten the chance to see and walk on several of these hiking trails. 

As soon as you get outside the city and a bit up in the hills you feel that the air is so much better, less pollution and less dirt, instead fresh, moist and green air. It does wonders to the breathing, especially for me with asthma. Of course the actual walking in a varied terrain in a pretty high speed with a bunch of fun and interesting people makes it so much fun. 

Here are some pictures of the wonderful nature of Hong Kong. The hills and trees are green and fresh. The beaches are gorgeous and the water blue. Winter time in Hong Kong is the perfect temperature for hiking, around 17-22C (63-71F), sunny with a light breeze. It's absolutely lovely. 

Beautiful view over New Territories. 

Hike close to the Chinese border. 

Lunch break at the abandoned village. 

View over Shek-O. 

Happy hikers! 

Big Buddha surrounded by forest. 

I was very much looking forward to this week's  hike from Tung Chung all the way up to the Big Buddha. You who went in the cable car that route knows how steep that hike will be :). Unfortunately it was cancelled due to people being sick :(. Get well my friends. I hope we can still do it before hiking season is over. 

Hair model, check!

Since I'm still not working I can do other fun stuff, like participate as a hair model. Yeah, not that flashy really. However, a friend of Honey's cousin needed a hair model with slightly wavy and frizzy hair. Who does she call? Me, memememe! Yep, that's my hair, a little wavy and lot of frizzy. Not to mention the grey showing a little too much again... Anyway, so the hair dresser needed my hair, and I said I can do it. I didn't get paid, but I got a free hair treatment, and that's pretty darn good to me. 

While Teresa the hair dresser/sales woman, treated my hair with a special new product good for frizzy hair they all spoke Cantonese. I was thinking while I was sitting there and people came up and touched and examined my hair, I'm probably lucky to not know what they are talking about, even if I'm sure they were only talking about the miracle that this treatment would do for my hair. You know they could as well been talking about how I have been mistreating my hair. I've gotten it cut once, and barely trimmed once, since I got here, I have a color and high lights that are grown out, and frizzy hair. One of the persons that was watching the treatment actually pointed out to me in English how my grey is showing and that I need to color my hair to cover it. Yeah, I know I need that. I'm kind of hoping that sweet hair dresser Teresa needs a hair model to demonstrate how to cover the grey hairs. She did mention something about using me as a hair color model as well. I hope she was happy with my performance of sitting nice and quiet in the hair dresser chair for a couple of hours so she'll call me again :). 

Me before the treatment. 

After the treatment. 

This is the product series she used, Amazon Series. 

Wine in the snack store?

I cannot stop being amazed over the places they sell alcohol here in Hong Kong. I mean, it's so de-dramatized to drink alcohol here, just not a big deal. And most Hong Kong people I've met don't even drink. No wonder they make alcohol available basically everywhere. 

Wine for sale in a snack store. 

You can buy a beer, wine and alcoholic cider at SevenEleven, and they give you a straw if you don't want to drink directly from the bottle. Of course you can buy all kinds of alcohol in the grocery store. They have often a fairly okay selection, and it's often cheaper to buy at least two bottles, for example one bottle of Penfold's Konunga Hill costs 89 HKD, or buy two for 109 HKD. It's crazy, right? 

There are also designated liquor stores as well, and most of them seem catered to the "fine wine" drinker. I haven't been in to one yet, but when it's time for me to spend money on an Amarone I will be sure to visit a specialty wine store :). 

The weirdest place I have seen alcohol for sale is in a Japanese snack store. In this store they sell all kinds of snacks like chips, chocolates, cookies and Honey's favorite, dried squid (ewww...). Now they also have a selection of wines. It's just... weird, or odd at least, and absolutely fascinating. 

I think Honey told me the age of buying alcohol in Hong Kong is 18 years, but it seems like most stores don't seem to care that much. Again, from what I've seen, heard and experienced so far, Hong Kong teenagers aren't that interested in drinking alcohol, and I still don't know where the day drunks hang out. Of course there are exceptions to this assumption, but over all, alcohol doesn't seem to appeal to Hong Kongers. I guess they do other stuff...

Chinese Grand parents

Chinese people really lives longer. Honey has all his grand parents still alive and kicking. A couple of weeks ago we celebrated his grand ma's 90th birthday. She doesn't hear well, and she broke her hip a couple of years ago, but she's still healthy and the hip healed well. She's walking by herself again, but with a cane. I find that totally impressive. Talk about good genes. Honey's grand dad still walks without any help, healthy as ever. He tells me one of the secrets to a long and healthy life is to eat fish every day, especially eat the fish head. Imagine that...

Chinese New Year

It's the Chinese  New Year celebration, and it has been my first. Hong Kong take this celebration seriously. We have had family dinners and lunches every day since last Friday. Lots of Chinese food and Cantonese. It has been going well though. I know this is important to them and Honey seems to really enjoy it all, and that's important. My most memorable moment was the fireworks last Monday night. We had dinner with family first, then we went to the end of Victoria Park and watched the fireworks. My goodness! Amazing and they would never end! Yeah, that was fantastic. 

Now we have some days to chill. Honey is off from work (since he's a teacher he gets a few more days off than the people working in an office). Yesterday we spent the whole day watching TV-series, went for a 5 mile run, came back and made a home made pizza. It was delicious, relaxing and just great. We both feel well rested now. 

Happy Chinese New Year y'all!! 

First Chinese New Year dinner finished. 

We took Dingding out for a walk in the park. 

Family from both Honey's mom and dad's side gathered. 

Hot Pot dinner. 

Bulletinen

Senaste omslaget av Bulletinen.

This entry is for you who understands Swedish :). Since November last year I have been helping with writing and editing a monthly Swedish magazine called Bulletinen. It is sent out for free to all Swedes in Hong Kong and South China who are registered at the Swedish General Consulate in Hong Kong. All work is voluntary. It gives me great joy and pleasure to do this, both writing and editing. 

We are two people who have done the editing together, but from the next number I will be on my own. Christian has been a fantastic help and inspiration, and has had so much patience with me while I was re-learning InDesign. It has been a great team work, but now he and his wife are moving back to Sweden. 

Our Director/Editor Carina is also amazing to work with. She is always so encouraging and happy. It makes it even more fun to volunteer time and effort to create a fun and interesting magazine with relevant information. 

The magazine gets printed and snail-mailed out, but there is a web-version of the magazine on SwedCham's website for those interested in reading it. Here's the link: Bulletinen. 

Since I still don't work this has been a great way to keep me busy. And it's a lot of fun! Soon time to start working on the next issue :). 

Super Bowl!

Picture from eteamz.com

Super Bowl XLVII!! I guess the good thing with not working is that I can watch this live, even if I don't live in the US anymore (although I still miss it a lot). It sucks that we don't get the actual Super Bowl commercials here in Hong Kong... They usually are the talk of the year. I just have to youtube them later. It's the half time show and Beyoncé is rocking it pretty darn well so far. Now all of Destiny's Child members are on stage! That must be many years ago that happened last. All three are wearing the same looking shoes haha. Just a funny detail really. 

Other than that I think there are kind of boring teams in this year's Super Bowl, San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens. I did not see that coming, well, I think we did see it coming, but I just didn't want it to happen. I mean, where are the fun teams? I am a Dallas Cowboys fan, but I saw early that they wouldn't make it. But at least Peyton Manning should have been playing today with his new Broncos team. He is such a star qb. That really showed now when he changed team and still got them to play his game, and do it tremendously well. Even if Tom Brady is a girl the New England Patriots are more fun to watch. Or see Eli Manning and his New York Giants fight and mess their way forward. See how Brew Brees stand on his toes to look over his defenders to try and pass the ball to the right receiver. Watch Aaron Rodgers pierce his eyes in to the other team before throwing the ball. Yeah, so many other fun teams to watch than 49ers and Ravens, but they were obviously the best teams this year. There will be another Super Bowl next year, and the next, and the next... I hope I am working by then though. 

Who wins this year's Super Bowl? So far it looks pretty good for Baltimore.