It's almost 5 a.m. and I've been up since 3:45 a.m. BLAH! We just moved into the apartment in Hung Hom, but mom is still in the hospital till tomorrow. We are really lucky and blessed because my parents have saved a decent amount of money over the last few years and can afford to stay healthy. Isn't that sad? You have to be able to afford to stay healthy? especially this time... the insurance company is making us pay a LOT more this time, whereas last year they paid almost everything. How can they just go and change their policy like that?
So that's TWICE! Mom has battled and won against cancer TWICE.. with the help of amazing doctors here, but yea... wow. She's doing a lot better this year than [*for DC... although this deals with time (last year/this year) I'm comparing mom's status... thus it is "than"] she did last year too.
Obama in HK: My 75 year old uncle and my 10 year old nephew have both given me the thumbs up on Obama ... asking me about the campaign, and telling me they're certain that "We're winning this time." Politics in the US affects everyone else in the world, yet they have little control over it.
The economy... things are not pretty. People have been laid off without notice. The day I got here this store that is kinda like the equivalent of Old Navy just shut down every store and their employees showed up to the stores that were all closed. That's how they found out they were out of a job. Even the hospital has fewer patients. Last year the hospital was bustling. This year there are 2 rooms empty in my mom's suite. It's a private hospital, so it may be that people are going to public hospitals more.
Anyway, my last few days have been spent in the hospital with mom just chillin', writing cover letters for jobs, and watching the Red Sox in the playoffs. I've eaten a lot... the food is just so good here! It's not fair. I'm still weirded out by how my cousins have maids and stuff. I don't know how to just let the maids "do their jobs." I think they're weirded out that I pour my own tea and water.
Public transit here is amazing. You don't need a car here. You must have financial means to have a car. As such, most cars here are really nice. Looking out my mom's hospital window one day, I counted 2 Lambourghinis, 6 Porches, a handful of Ferraris, and countless BMW's, Audis, Lexus(es) [Lexi?], and Mercedes. The least expensive cars I saw on the road were Mini's. And not one of them has a speck of dust on them. It's like they all just got washed and waxed before hitting the road.
I'm checking out the yoga scene here... totally different than [*for DC... notice "than" is for comparison] at home. It's a "classy" thing here. Some lady tried to sell me a package for $1,800 HK, which is well over $200 US. I mean the place is really nice, but damn... I pay about $5/yoga visit back at home. People in the yoga classes are dressed in REALLY nice yoga gear. I might have been the only one not wearing Hard Tail or Lulu. What's the point? We all sweat nastiness all over gear anyway.
I might get drinks with a friend of EB3 while I'm here. Is that weird? We're friends on fb. It don't have to be weird, right? 2 old acquaintances catching up... right?
