Baby-Making via IVF

Over the weekend I have officially completed the 11th subject for my MBA course and I have another 7 more to go. It's good to be counting down to 1 digit finally and from now onwards, I will have 1 final exams each month for the next 3 months. I am trying to push myself to complete as many subjects as I can this year so that I will only have 1 or 2 subjects next year as I have other agenda on my schedule.

I have started my IVF process and this morning I have injected myself with the very first Lucrin injection. I am kind of proud of myself for being able to administer the injection on my own belly. It was kind of painful though and after a call to the nurse, she thought me to release my pinch before I push the medicine in. It should reduce the pain, she said. I will try again tomorrow morning. She should have told me in the 1st place!

Wage Issue

Today is increment payday and everybody in the office receives a letter together with the usual computerised payslip announcing their increment for the year. It's one of the two sensitive times of the year where everyone has expectations and then usually gets disappointed...I doubt there are many out there thinking that they are being paid very well and that the increment rate or bonus payout is fair or satisfactory.

There are many protests happening around Hong Kong regarding the amount to be set as the minimum wage. Someone in the government side suggested HKD20/hr and had his whole family cursed by the workers. Then after much research on the market rate, they again suggested that HKD24/hr is fair. The workers and their representative unions are asking for HKD33/hr. Employers complain that's too expensive and suggest that it will be better to let the wage be set by the market forces instead.

What's the point of setting the minimum wage? Ok, let's say the government set the minimum wage at HKD33/hr, then the employers start to employ less workers to cut operation costs, and because of that unemployment rate goes up. Unemployed workers start to get desperate and offer to work for less, but the employers are still not employing because they cannot pay less than the stipulated rate...so what happens? I think it's really stupid. Why not let the market decides the rate by the forces of demand and supply?

I think the employment contract is a contract binding the employer and the employee. If the employee thinks that the company is underpaying him, he will try to find a better paying job and when he finds it, he resigns. If the company thinks that he is indispensable, they will try to retain him by matching his new offer or pay higher...but that will only happens when there is really a new offer. If the company thinks that they can do without that employee, they will let him leave and then gets someone else to take over or use a lower rate to employ another. This happens when the employee is over-qualified for the job.

Some companies pay more than the market rate so as to attract the best employees but they will not hestitate to fire when the employee does not perform. My company is different, they will pay the minimum market rate, gives the minimum welfare and fringe benefits so turnover rate is quite high but nobody has been indispensable to the company so far. So the question is : "Does the company need the employees more or does the employees need the company more?"

My first trip to the US.

Fishermen Wharf - Pier 39

Dungeness Crabs

Pearl from my chosen oyster!

Returned from a 5-day trip to San Francisco exactly a week ago and is finally feeling better today to be able to get some school work done and also do some blogging. I caught a terrible cold in SF...

SF's trip was a "been there, did that" kind of trip. Have heard so much good things about SF but have not been there or anywhere in the US, so I decided that maybe it's time to take a trip and see for myself what's the big deal about the US. Hubby was half-hearted about the trip, he would prefer going to Japan instead but he was accommodating, especially since we probably won't be able to go anywhere with me starting the IVF cycle soon...

The weather was terrible in SF, it was chilly, rainy and really nothing like how I'd imagined it to be. We would probably had enjoyed the trip much better if the weather had been better. Anyway, we went to all the must-see places; we went to the Fishermen Wharf, saw the Alcatraz from there, ate the famous Dungeness crabs, watched the lazy sea lions at Pier 39, picked an oyster to get my very first pearl...

We rode the famous cable cars up and town the hilly streets of SF, went to Chinatown and Japantown, and had a very long walk at the Golden Gate Park where there were lots of beautiful Cherry Blossoms trees. At Union Square, we shopped at Victoria Secrets, Macy's and Nordstrom. I really like it that people can bring their dogs everywhere in the city, even into departmental stores! In Hong Kong, we can't even keep pet dogs in public housing and most private apartments! And dogs are out of bounds to most parks! Crazy!

Chinatown

Japan Town

Victoria's Secret

Anyway, the highlight of our trip was probably the morning when we joined the queue to buy our iPads on the opening day at the Apple store. There were 2 lines, one for the reservations and one for the walk-ins, and of course we belong to the walk-in line...we were told that the reservation line will be given priority to go in once the store opened at 9am and we will be going in later. Nevertheless, we managed to get into the store by 10:30am and walked out with our iPads at 11am! We were very pleased with the service at Apple, they served us Krispy Kreme donuts and Starbucks coffee while we were queueing, and we get our very own salesperson and technical instructor inside the store! One thing that really impressed me about the trip to the US was the service quality of the service staff everywhere and most of the people were friendly. There were many homeless beggars and crook-looking blacks in the streets that spoilt the otherwise perfect image of a metropolitan city though...

Life is boring?

I was chatting with an ex-colleague on the phone the other day and apparently, she is very happy with her life right now after being retrenched from my company. I had worried slightly for her as I know that she won't be able to get another job paying her the same anywhere else...How wrong was I!

Post-work, she stayed at home slightly less than 3 months to take care of her daughter and husband. Then she enrolled herself in some make-up lessons and she's since been doing bridal makeup and hairdo! She will also be enrolling herself for a course on wedding planning and she is intending to make a career out of it. She told me that for the 1st time in her life, she realized that she has a dream and it feels really good. I am happy for her.

The conversation set me thinking..."what am I doing here in HK?", "is this job what I really want to do?", "do I have a dream?"...The answers to them are "for the money", "no" and "no". How sad. But I have to admit, I have lost my dream ever since I quit the tour business and started working for others. I have been working day in day out, trying to do what is expected of me and getting paid at the end of every month. I have worked for this present company for the past 8 years and so far the only job satisfaction I got from this job was being able to attain a position where no Asian female has ever attained in the organisation. But so what? What's the point? Honestly, I really don't know...

My latest passion at the moment is my 2 toy poodle pups. I am thinking of having a third one...a white toy poodle maybe...am I crazy?

The Index is climbing...not the stock market

On a good day, this is the view from my bedroom window...and I emphasize a good day as this kind of days are hard to come by especially in recent years Hong Kong. The pollution is getting from bad to worse and today it was recorded way over 400 on the pollution index in all parts of Hong Kong! No wonder I am having swollen and teary eyes! Damn!

Was chatting with an old school friend who have moved back to Singapore 2 years ago after staying in Hong Kong for the past 12 years. Apparently, the pollution is one of the many reasons that have driven her and her boyfriend away from Hong Kong. They used to stay on a house boat anchored at the marine club in Hong Kong island, the southernmost part. It's an area that I assume would be least affected by the pollution, unlike the rest of the areas in Kowloon...

What's the point of having full seaview when most of the times, I cannot see much of the sea anyway? Maybe it's time to move again...

"Sad to belong"

Was listening to this song on the way to work this morning and I think that it's really quite a stupid song. The melody is good though...just that the lyrics is stupid. It goes "It's sad to belong to someone else, when the right one comes along...." So, don't belong to anyone forever then!

How do we know that the one we are together with is the right one or not? I asked my hubby and he said that it's really a tough question as he thinks that one will never know for sure. It may feels right but is it perfect? Hmm... I believe that there will always be someone that may seem better or more right than the present one if you insist to continue looking around. But the rule of the game of love does not allow one to keep trying out new loves and then come back to the old/present one when the new ones are not "right". So, like the song, it's really sad to belong to someone else...

There was a documentary by TVB a couple of weeks ago about single women over 30s. These women are referred to as "败犬" (losers) or "熟女" (mature women). It documented their frustrations about not being able to get hooked and some of them admitted that it may be their own fault. Some of them were expecting too much from their past relationships and had thus driven their men out; some were financially too strong for their men to handle; and another had a cheating husband whom she could not forgive...All sad realities of being a modern woman in this modern world.
I had my fair share of all the above frustrations when I was much younger...glad I do not now.

A good day

Today is one of those rare days where everything feels good from the moment I woke up. First of all, I finally woke up without aches and pain all over my body, unlike the past 10 days when I had symptoms of flu and rheumatism add together...sore throat, running nose, teary eyes, aches and pain in all the joints of the body. Today I felt good, no aches and my skin felt much moisturised after a night of Laneige's Water Sleeping Pack, even my hair seemed to fall into place nicer! The traffic was exceptionally smooth too, didn't meet any traffic lights until the very last one and we made it to work 4 minutes earlier than usual. And I received a call from Shanghai that really made my day. It was J and he thanked me for helping him get his request for additional manpower and equipment approved by HQ. I am sure glad that I was of help. Feels good that HQ actually asked for my opinion and respected it when I gave it.

Come to think of it, the good feeling that I am having now actually started from last evening when I had a meeting with the rest of the Japanese managers and head of departments regarding the appraisal reviews of our staff. I was as usual the only female and non-Japanese head of department and it makes me feel good every time. I recommended 5 of my staff for promotions and they all respected my decision with no challenge at all which was really rare. Some of the other guys who had given a grades for their staff were openly told off which was actually quite embarrassing...

Oh I treasure days like this ~ makes waking early up and coming to work feels worthwhile. :)