Slowly as it is, I am transforming from a traveler to a resident here at home in Hong Kong. Last night, I think it has been the first night I slept 8 hours straight without waking up in the middle of the night. Maybe I was just too tired, or I have finally started to filter out the noises, a little more everyday anyway. My room has become more livable, now I have a desk, a bookcase which I already half filled, even though my stuffs shipped from the US has not arrived yet. I have no idea what I'll do when it does, where and how to keep my stuffs in this tiny room. I'll figure something out.
Before I came back, I thought I would be very glad to eat at home, to taste my parents' cooking. But it's very strange to say, I have started to miss cooking for myself. I miss going to shop for foods in the supermarket, and prepare dinner for myself, even though I can only cook a very limited variety of things and they are not very good either. It's that autonomy in making your own decision, choosing something for yourself without compromising. I think I really miss that. I mean, I have no complaint about the food at home at all, and it's not like my parents controlling what I can do per se, but it is just different between living on your own or with a non-related roommate and living with your parents. So, I still say I'll keep my goal to move out as soon as I can afford it.
Curt, my roommate in Chicago, were here to visit for a weekend, we had dinner last Thursday and Saturday. It was great seeing Curt. Make me miss Chicago more, in a good way. Last night, a friend and I went to see a Volleyball match for the East Asian Games: China vs Taiwan! China won. 3 sets straight. A quick game. It is an interesting experience. Except soccer, I have never really gone to any other sport games in HK before. In US, I saw the baseball and hockey games a couple times. The difference between sport games in US and HK: in US, everyone get drunk, talk loud to each other, cheer and boo at their team at the same time, it's a social event, the sport itself is important, but there is also a social thing going on in the audience that has nothing to do with the sport. While in HK, the audience are usually more tamed, very focused in the game, and the stupid MC makes you play the silly human waves around the stadium, kind of shit. The cheers are usually positive, and no beers or nachos in the stadium.
I have officially sent out my first job application letter (email) today. It is for a Business Analyst/Biostatistician position for a healthcare forecasting company. Honestly, I doubt that I will be able to get this job, not because I don't have any experience in biostatistics or working with medical data, but it's because I haven't had a job interview for a million years, I think it will take me a few times to get back to the game. I am still reworking on my cover letter format anyway, I have a long list of sound bites that can be used to describe myself. I am trying to write a piece that is not too lengthy or self-deluding (yeah right, it's freaking cover letter!), but at the same time, have the right amount of indigents to promote myself. We'll see how it goes. But to start is the first place, I am glad the first letter is out, the next thing I'll do is to contact some employment search firms this week.
Just a head up. I probably will end this travel blog very soon, as the title suggests, I am no longer a traveler. But I will probably open and keep a personal blog, to keep a journal on my bittersweet daily life here in HK. I shall invite you to see the new site soon.
Photos here: East Asian Game
