Tensions Rise at the AWA, and a Mouse Crawls Under My Skin

Somehow or another, I have been completely busy for this past week! I feel like I have been going non stop.

Kelly and I have been doing yoga everyday, which feels great. We decided to limit the hot yoga because we come out of it like zombies, so instead we have been going to the regular yoga classes. I was shocked the other day when I was blowdrying my hair...the muscles in my arm were rippling! Can you believe it? It looked like a little mouse lived under my skin and was crawling back and forth from my elbow to my shoulder! (That is sort of a gross mental image...sorry!) So, I hope I don't get too muscley because that would not be good.

The PR committee for the AWA ball had it's second meeting yesterday to come up with ideas for the invitation, and we met with the printer/graphic designer to discuss costs. It is funny, because I always thought it was strange when my mom would complain about the ladies on the committees at my little sister's schools. Well, now I know how she feels. They can be very pushy, and all of them think that they know everything and that they are the only ones that know everything. I brought in my invitation idea, which was an attempt to do something not completely overly done with relation to Vegas. The only problem was, I forgot that the AWA is mainly older women and may not want a sexy showgirl on their invitation! Haha! I said that to the PR committee, and the woman didn't even like me saying "sexy". Pretty amusing...but looking at it again, I guess it does look more like a club flyer than a charity ball invitation. (You can look at it below.) So the graphic designer is going to make a more abstract looking showgirl for an invitation mock up, and we are also going to do an Elvis one and one with the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign. Next Wednesday they will go up for review by the general committee. Kelly was a very loyal friend and she championed the showgirl idea the whole way through. The funny thing is, I really could care less what the invitation looks like! The other problem with the PR committee is that I might have permanent vision loss due to the outrageous size and number of diamonds I am constantly surrounded by. Oh, the hazards of living in Hong Kong!

Other than that, I have been immersing myself in financial planning and learning about investing. There is a lot to know, and I wish I would have taken a personal finance class when I was in college. I am trying to read for 2 hours a day so I can figure out my game plan for the future.


My invitation idea 

Yoga, AWA Charity Ball and Russian Models

My first full week in Hong Kong was pretty busy...my plans to find a job fell by the wayside. I didn't have time! Plus, none of the jobs are particularly interesting to me at the moment. I have a choice between teaching english and teaching english. Knowing that those are my prospects does not do anything to motivate me.

Kelly, my other half and almost constant companion, and I signed up for unlimited yoga classes at Pure Yoga on Wyndham Street. Pure Yoga is a trendy, "cool" yoga place...but I like it because it has gorgeous studios with huge windows that overlook downtown and it has the hot yoga. They heat the room up to some ungodly tempurature and then you sweat until you almost pass out. Well, not quite that much, but at the end you look as though you have been swimming or something. After you are done you feel fabulous but then I usually need a nap. I made the mistake of taking the class on Friday and then when was out that night I was a total zombie! I will have to make sure to do regular yoga if I plan to be out late at night.

Also, I am now on the PR committee for the AWA annual charity ball. The charity ball is in June and it is in the theme of a Vegas Casino Night. Why dod they always insist on doing that? It is probably the most cliche theme you can have! I know casino nights are fun cause you get to gamble, but I feel like it is so overdone. Right now we are working on invitations. The funny thing is, mom is making invitations now for a casino night at my sister's school, and we were just talking about how overdone it is! It is hard to think of an original invitation for that sort of theme. Oh well, the ball will be fun and the gambling will be too I guess.

Matt's friend Elian was in town this week and they met up with some Russian models last Saturday. Elian kept in ouch with one of them and invited us to meet them at the Dragon-I on Wednesday night. (Wednesdays are known as "Model Night" at the Dragon-I.) I had never heard of this but we showed up and yes, there were quite a few models. We went into the VIP room and it was bigger and more crowded than the regular room! Seemed sort of ridiculous...It was fun though, and after the Dragon-I we went over to Drop. I couldn't believe how many people were out till 4 am on a Wednesday night! Don't these people have jobs? One of our friends stayed later than us and said it closed "early" at 5:00 am. I know I am not working, but I thought the rest of the world was. There were a ton of really disgusting business men out that night in their suits with the ties loosened. Do they wear that because they really do come straight from work or do they think that will help them get girls? I think it looks gross and vaguely lecherous for some reason. The European business men that night were extremely disgusting. They seem really sleezy to me. One of them, an old man with white hair and a light tan suit, told me I was "A normal girl with beautiful eyes" and that "on a scale of 9 to 10 you are a 9." What the hell? I must have looked disturbed because he said "you should take pleasure out of this." He had an accent but I couldn't place it. The thing that these guys don't realize is that if you are rich, it doesn't counteract how gross and disgusting you are, unless you want a Wan Chai filipino hooker. Central is the wrong place to go with lines like that.

Pictures from Hardy Ski Trip 2004

I just got some pictures from our ski trip this year...scroll down to take a look.


Meagan and Matt in (Hallelujah!) Normal Pose 

Hardy Family Photo plus Matt in Retard Pose #57 

Cute Snow Bunny Sarah 

Beautiful Grandma 

I'm a FlyBaby now!

On Sunday I became a FlyBaby. While I was updating my blog and checking out what happened on other people's blogs while I was in the US, I came across the website for FlyLady. For some reason it really hit home for me...I need help maintaining my home! When I came back from the US, Matt had been here for a little over a week, and our place looked really good. (Also, I think the maids have been doing a more thorough job since I left them each a Christmas present.) Since I arrived though, our place turned into a total sty with clutter on every flat surface. Matt and I spent a good portion of our precious weekend (the only time Matt is not working) cleaning our house and making it feel more peaceful an pleasant. Now, if I can't keep my home clean and clutter free when I am not working, have maids come in three times a week, have no children, don't cook meals at home, and have a boyfriend that is gone 12 hours of the day, then there is Absolutely No Hope of being able to do it when I am working and/or have kids.

I have decided that it is vital for happiness to have a home that is pleasant and comfortable and that is not constantly messy or dirty. My mind is so much more peaceful when my surroundings are clean, especially in Matt's and my TINY apartment. In our apartment even a a few things out of place make it seem oppressively small. After my Dad dies, I remember sitting in my house in San Diego, huddled on the floor amidst a big mess, feeling completely overwhelmed and wanted to give up on everything. This feeling really had nothing to do with my messy house, it had everything to do with my Dad and everything I had to do to settle his estate. Grandma Janet came over and and in like 15 minutes, she decluttered and cleaned my living room and opened the window to let in light and fresh air. I felt infinitely better after she did that, despite the fact that all the same problems in my life were still there. Both my Grandma's are already FlyLadies. I am not sure if they always were FlyLadies, or if they learned from experience, or if that generation got more input on how to maintain a functioning house.

I just realized I haven't said what the FlyLady's philosophy actually is...well, I guess you will just have to check out the website. The first line on the web site says, "Are you living in CHAOS like Franny in the pink sweats?" I yelled, "Yes!! Yes, I am! How did you know about my pink sweats?" For my first day as a FlyBaby I had to completely scrub and clean the sink with bleach and ajax and then windex. Everyday before you go to sleep, the sink is supposed to be sparkling and all the dishes done and put away. When you wake up in the morning, the first thing you do is put on clothes and shoes and get yourself ready as if you were going out. Every week there is a zone that you are supposed to work on cleaning and organizing if necessary. Anyway, read the website if you are interested.

I just realized that this seems completely neurotic! I am turning crazy over here! I think I like it because I have not had any structure in my life since Dad died and I quit working. Also, I have moved 4 times in 1 year (one of the moves was across the world) and I also moved all my Dad's stuff. With all those moves, I feel like everything is mixed up and out of place and just generally not settled. I have done a pretty good job of staying active and taking care of what needs to be done, but I am intrigued by this FlyLady stuff and I am going to give it a try. Matt thinks I am ridiculous! I don't care though, I will take whatever method necessary to take back control of my life. I will let you guys know how it goes. I hope you don't think I am crazy now!

Also, I am now on the Public Relations committee of the American Women's Association Charity Ball. I am not sure exactly what that entails, but it means I will definitely get to go to the ball in June, so I guess it will be a good thing to do.

- FlyLady

Back in Hong Kong (aka Back "Home")

So, Matt and I are back in Hong Kong now. I had mixed feelings about coming back because I have so many people I love back in the US and it is easy there...to get a job, to shop, to communicate, to "be". Now that I am back here, I feel better. First of all, I miss Matt when we are apart. It is nice to be back with him, he is my best friend after all. Also, Hong Kong is a great city! People are friendly, the streets are CLEAN, you can walk everywhere, public transportation is good. And the restaurants....ooooh the restaurants. The food is so good! For my first meal back in Hong Kong, Matt and I went to a little italian restaurant called Ristorante Rughetta. It is underground and cozy, which is nice cause it is cold here now. It was fabulous! They don't rush you through your meals here, and the portions are smaller so you can comfortably eat three courses. Yesterday Matt and I went on a hike. We walked all the way from our house to Stanley, which is on the other side of the island. It took us almost 5 hours but it was gorgeous.

So, I am happy to be back in Hong Kong. My plan is to go on an all out job hunt in the next week. I think I will be happy working, plus, then Matt and I can allocate all of that money to our travel fund.

The Rest of My Holiday

I flew from Utah to San Diego on Christmas Eve to spend Christmas with my mom and her family. There were lots of presents and candy! I got alot of presents but I think the best of which was a travel clock. It is really cool, I had never seen one before: it is small (maybe 3x4") and says the local time in large numbers, then the world time in small numbers. You can rotate a dial around the edge of the clock that has major world cities listed on it, like "Hong Kong", "New York", "London" etc, and it will display the time in that city. It is so convenient! It is small so you can travel with it and it has an alarm clock too. I have it by my desk right now so I know that it is 10 am in Hong Kong but 6 pm in California.

Matt and I met up in San Francisco for New Year's Eve, and it was pretty crazy. It was cold! I wasn't prepared for it and only had sandals with me. It was great to see Matt's brother Sam and my old friend Sarah Chipps, and to get to know Sarah's boyfriend Willie.

The rest of my time in San Diego was spent taking my sisters on "dates". Marissa and I went ice skating, Malini and I went to Nickel City and Greek food a few time, I took Maya shopping and to a movie and dinner, and I took the older girls to get their nails done. (Their first pedicures! How exciting! I remember when Jessica, my Dad's girlfriend, took me to get my first pedicure and manicure. I was enraptured with it and felt very sophisticated. I can't wait till my sisters are older and I can take them on spa trips and stuff. I need more spa buddies.)

After San Diego I spent a few days in San Francisco with Sarah and then headed back to Hong Kong. To be honest...I had mixed feelings about returning to Hong Kong. I miss my friends, and the minute I left my sisters I thought my heart was going to break. I think it is going to be so hard to be a mom. I feel like I am "close aunt" or a "secondary mom" to my sisters. I love them so much and I want to do everything around them, but at the same time it frazzles you so much to do that. And when they are upset or hurt, it hurts you. The horrible thing is, I know that when I have my own kids, the feeling will be that much stronger, because they will be my own kids! My sisters are just my sisters. I guess I will cross that bridge when I come to it...in like 10 years.

Also, I learned how to knit while I was in the US! I think a knitting craze is sweeping America. First, my Aunt Maria was a knitting maniac while in Utah. I don't think I ever saw her without her needles. She gave me a gorgeous purple scarf, and a white scarf that she made was the hot White Elephant present of the year. Then, her and Aunt Linda were knitting away together at our Christmas Eve party. Imagine my surprise when all of my Sarah's friends in San Francisco were knitting maniacs too! One night we went out to sushi, had some sake bombs, and we all came back to her house, turned on the music, and magically out of everyone's purse or bag came knitting needles and balls of yarn! They were clacking away and listening to Wu Tang. Keep in mind these are urban, cool, young San Franciscans living on Haight Street. I learned how to knit and was told to spread the word, because they want to create a "knitting nation." I am very proud, cause I have kept up my knitting project and my scarf gets longer every day. I am knitting a sage green scarf with very wide wool, and it has a ribbed pattern of alternating 3 knit stitches/3 purl stitches.

Christmas in Utah

Matt and I are safely back in Hong Kong after the holidays. I was in the US for about a month, but it seemed so much longer than that! (In a good way...) The first week Matt and I spent in Utah, which was difficult because it was the first year with out Dad. I am completely glad that we made the effort and came all the way across the world to keep the tradition going strong. I feel like I have alot of support from the Hardy family, and I feel closer to them now than I ever have before. It was nice having Grandma stay in the condo that usually I share with Dad. She made it very home like and festive. We had a Christmas tree with completely home made decorations: strings of popcorn and cranberries, and a tin foil star on top. We also made a ginger bread house from a kit that we bought at the grocery store. I attached a picture of it below, and I think that it looks pretty good. It was hilarious because Matt, Grandma and I were very seriously working on it...the room was dead silent and when Mitch and Tanner came in to say hello, we were like, "Hey, we are concentrating! Go back to your place and don't touch the frosting on your way out!" It was funny. It was great having Kristi and Craig stay with us too...they kept us amused with some really sick games, including Truth or Dare Jenga.

I also attached pictures of Matt and I in Park City. It is so gorgeous there! I am glad Matt seems to like it there as much as I do. Notice Matt's pose in the picture of him. It is so difficult to take pictures of him! He inevitably does a "retard pose", especially if it is in a picture involving large groups of people. If I get a picture of the Hardy family picture, I will post it and you will see what I mean. Matt is very creative about his retard poses. The one below is a new variation, but he has many more up his sleeve. You never know which one will come out the next time there is a camera around.


Our Gingerbread House! 

Meagan in Park City 

Matt in typical "retard" pose