Vietnam

Sometime, throughout the course of the year my then, (ex) Employer changed the the Annual Leave policy. The new rules stated that come December 31st the maximum number of days that could be rolled over into the new year could not exceed 5 days. All days in excess of this number would be forfeit, without any compensation. This new mandate saw the Q4 period become a pseudo holiday period with employees scheduling leave for the sake of reducing their total leave. This new policy was of course two-fold. To prevent employee burnout but more importantly, reduce the overhead of employee payouts should employment termination ever come into the fray.

I had pencilled in leave immediately after the work Christmas Party and had planned to join some friends in Vietnam for a few days. In hindsight, I wish I had booked a longer trip...

I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City early Saturday night. Hong Kong had only this week dropped below the 20 degrees Celsius mark and the warm South-East Asian Saigon climate was unexpected. My friends were asleep, it was 6 pm. They had experienced their first night in Ho Chi Minh, namely Apocalypse Now, a local haunt that catered to expats and local revellers until the early hours. The recount of Rooftop bars, Magnums of Belvedere and foreigner-filled bars corresponded with zeal of their greetings, or lack thereof. That night we indulged in a steaming bowl of Pho (30,000 VND ~1.50 AUD) and headed to Lush, a cigarette fumed club. So it began, the following four days we literally ate and snoozed our way around Vietnam.

A short flight to Da Nang, and we arrived at base camp, the Hyatt Regency (we squeezed them for a free upgrade). Here we stole naps by the pool, in the car, in the hotel, anywhere we could really. We lazed by the pool, participated in daily yoga, sat in the sauna and made the occasional day trip to Hoi An and Hue. We consumed cakes, donuts, all-you-can-eat breakfasts, Hoi An Chicken Rice, Pho, Bun Bo Hue, Cafe Su Da, until our pours oozed fish sauce and mint.

Excellent trip - four days of not having to worry about being an unemployed 30 year old. I wonder if I can work in Vietnam?

Currently reading: Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Redundancy

Surreal, yet so vivid. That's how I would go about describing my last day of work. I remember coming into the office just before 8 am. At the time it felt like any other ordinary day, it was early, so majority of the office were still making their way out of bed or mid-commute. I logged onto my PC and opened Outlook looking through my inbox while I prepared my usual breakfast at my desk: Oatmeal.

I scanned my email and noticed a new message, with subject "Last day". It was sent from a personal email address from a colleague in Sydney not 2 hours earlier. As I read the email, I was tapped on the shoulder. It was my Managing Director. "Can I speak with you in the boardroom?". I grabbed my pen and pad and entered the boardroom only to find the COO and HR already seated. At that moment, I knew something was up to which I said "This looks ominous".

The rest, is history. Bid farewell to my colleagues and was home before 9 am. First thing that I did was call up all my friends who had been recently made redundant. My mind was racing through all the options and contingents. The aftermath of the global cuts, saw our team reduced by 50%, with other key personnel being cut along the way.

"Today is going to be the day, that they're going to throw it back to you" - Oasis

Hong Kong 101: The Basics

Welcome to Hong Kong.

Tsing Yi

This year my employer has launched a new imaging initiative. It includes a name changes and complete rebranding of the firm. Part of this image make over is a new global volunteer program. It's a little bit of a popularity contest with all the MDs in the firm trying to get the most number of volunteers for their planned programs. So far our Hong Kong office has had: Packing freight containers for Africa, Cleaning South Bay and more recently spending a day with the elderly. I helped with the freight containers and decided I would also mingle with the elderly.

The residents here spend their time in shared dorms, some have family, some exhibiting mild senility, a lot however are quite old and too frail to walk. The morning was spent meeting the residents and learning the intricacies of manning a wheelchair. We took them through the Tsing Yi Park and for a sumptuous Yum Cha lunch. Funnily enough, communication wasn't the biggest issue here. My Cantonese is shocking but the hardest challenge was that my lady didn't seem to be in the mood for socialising or eating. The other caretakers explained to me that she was in a grumpy mood and even their attempts to strike up conversation with her were met with the silent treatment. Thankfully I managed to squeeze a smile out of her towards the end and I knew then my efforts weren't completely fruitless.

Australia

It's safe to say that weddings usually dictate my Australian visits. Given that this is the period in our lives where people are tying the knot, you can almost always expect a handful of invites throughout the course of the year. The hard part is deciding which to attend, obviously you want to attend them all, but this isn't feasible. The upside of these ceremonies is that it makes it easier to catch up with people. Lots of people in one place always makes reacquainting easier.

The groom, a close friend from University, who now when I think back has been through a lot with me. He was kind enough to let me stay with his family in Vietnam during our "End of University" South East Asia trip,  during this trip we discussed our interests to move to Europe and surely enough a few years later we were both living in London. He moved back after his Working Holiday expired to be with his now wife. It was a no-brainer that I would return for his Wedding. It was my first "Westie" wedding, held in Crystal Palace which was a massive affair. With over 500 attendees and with enough food and alcohol to host an awards night it was a spectacular night.

It had been a good six months since I was back and decided to make a trip out of it. Headed up to Queensland's Great Barrier Reef where I spent a few days unwinding and taking my mind off the mess of living in Hong Kong. Introduced to my first Scuba Diving experience (Loved it, will have to get my open water some time). This trip also coincided with my 30th Birthday, secretly I was happy to be escaping the craziness of Hong Kong, as I know how a birthday party ends up in LKF. Albert kindly arranged a surprised birthday down in the city. I was suspicious but the turn out genuinely shocked me. Uni friends, family friends, cousins, parents, couldn't have asked for a better 30th!

Great trip, really enjoyed my time back home. Home cooked food, familiar faces, great weather and fresh air. The house is so quiet without Sam kind of eerie in a sense. This was one of the first times I thought about returning back home to Sydney.

Early Birthday Present

Sister was visiting Hong Kong in the wake of Singapore F1 so we ventured over to Tsim Sha Tsui to get some shopping action going. Actually, we were looking for a guitar leg rest for my dad and headed over to Hong Kong's largest music store, Tom Lee Music.

Unfortunately, we couldn't really find any stands. I did however pick up a Ukulele, 1200 HKD (~150 AUD) purchased on a whim and in appreciation of YouTube uke sensations.

Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO)

One of the perks about living in Europe was, irrespective of month or season, there is always something to look forward to. Europe offers a proliferation of events throughout the course of the calendar year. Festivals that cater for every walk of life. This includes whiskey, cheese, toy, food, cultural not to mention the various music festivals always keep you looking forward to the next event. Some events of course form the cornerstone of the European calendar: Glastonbury, The Running of the Bulls, Oktoberfest and Christmas Festivals round up the bigger ticket items.

Thankfully Asia also has its share of events. Chinese New Year, The Full Moon Party in Koh Samui, Cherry Blossoms in Japan, the Hong Kong Sevens are some that come to mind. Which brings me to the next event, Singapore F1. It's a time where Singapore hotels rates increase up to 150%, where flights to the island become more regular and where tickets to the hottest night race of the year get sold out. Due to reasons unknown, I missed out on last year's F1. I never heard the end of it, "You missed out on an excellent weekend! You should have come". So here I am 12 months later, in Singapore, managing my expectations for a great weekend.

The siblings joined us for the weekend; a reunion in Singapore. Funnily enough we ended up watching the race from our Marina Bay Sands room all while the cars whirred around the hotel. Excellent weekend, hanging with the sister, relaxing by the pool and  attending possibly the best Sunday party I have been to in Amber Lounge. Read,  €500 per person for entry,  €12,000 for a table of 8. This includes, brushing shoulders with the drivers, live performances by Lemar and free flow Champagne. Suffice to say, my 6 am Monday morning flight was hell. I arrived at work smelling distinctly drunk and wishing I were in bed. Now I understand what they were talking about.

Next thing you know, they're all grown up ...

It's a little sad actually, not having somebody to chat with when you get home from work. Actually, even if you don't talk to them it's nice to know that there's somebody there. After 10 months, my living room has been returned and I have lost a house mate. Good story actually, despite the initial set back he managed to find a job at Goldman Sachs and find his own apartment. Don't think he could have planned it better.

So with my living room back and less obligation, I find myself with a lot more spare time. Better start getting this blog back up to date, especially since I've received a "Thanks for letting me crash on your couch" gift (see below). Thanks bud!

Sam

Despite my Swiss Cheese-esque memory one of the more vivid memories is the arrival of our first pet. I'm not talking about that goldfish that died after one night back in Stone Street or the time we looked after that bird or our neighbour's flea-harbouring pooch (Simba), that pet I refer to is the wily, enthusiastic Weimaraner.

It was thirteen odd years ago, while I was still in Highschool when the gray puppy arrived in Earlwood. I remember there was discussion on what to name our first dog. The names Cookie, Max, Rover were thrown around but we eventually decided on Sam (He would also eventually take on the names, Great Stone Dragon and Horse). At that time, the household was busy. The adults were off at work and the children were at school, which meant we had to cage Sam in the basement of our house. We (well mostly Dad) constructed a fence at the base of the staircase to prevent him from roaming up in the house.

I remember my sister and I returning home from school excited to see our pet for the first time after school. We rushed down to the basement and lo' and behold the barricade had been pushed aside and the pup' was no longer downstairs. Lesson #1, puppies that have been recently separates from the litter cannot be left alone in the basement of a Malaysian house for an extended solitary period. We searched the house and eventually found him on the top level in my bedroom. He was cowering in the corner with his big floppy ears next to a bright yellow puddle of urine. The sight of people made him instantly happy although getting him to get downstairs proved a little more tricky. Lesson #2, going up stairs can sometimes be easier than going down stairs for puppies.

Admittedly, I felt a little bad for not being able to spend more time with him, especially during the later part of his life. I still remember the walks, him standing outside the door waiting to rush in, his hip surgery, him eating bees, him killing kittens, him killing blue tongue lizards, him drinking one litre of chicken oil and him sniffing my crotch. Hope we were as enjoyable as you were Sam.

One of my favourite photos of him kicking back on the lawn with a tub of crunchy Peanut butter. Rest in Peace.

"Woof" - Sam

Singaporean Whim

The perks of being in Asia with access to a budget airlines. Fresh Air, clear skies, plenty of room service and a little bit of magic.

The Yips

Pardon the accuracy of this account. It has been close to a year since the actual event so the details may prove to be just down right wrong. Since arriving in Hong Kong I've been adopted by two groups of friends. The multi-cultural Hong Kong group, majority of these guys relocated to Asia to start graduate programs with the large investment banks. The other group is an extension of the London group, consisting mostly of Sydney based ex-patriots. From the later group, two University sweethearts decided to tie the knot in Thailand. To be honest, I was a little taken back that I had received an invite to the wedding, especially since I had only known the couple of a year or so. Not one to complain and feeling honored that I was invited, I booked flights and joined the group in Thailand for the destination wedding of the year.

This is where the details escape me. What usually happens is that if I'm too lazy to write a post (mostly, always) is that I will jot down a handful of memorable points to kick start the creative juices. For reasons unknown to me, I only drafted the following points: "Stressed about work", "Horrible weather", "beautiful", "excess alcohol" and "so much fun".

So here goes - I remember that we spent the initial few days in Bangkok, where of course we stayed at the Lebua for the stag-do processions. The wedding itself was held over in Krabi. The reason I was stressed out about work because in my haste I had accidentally forgotten to re-schedule a meeting keeping me worried the entire trip (this would come back to haunt me). Horrible weather, seems rather self explanatory, I believe it was the start of the Monsoon season and during our stay in Krabi we were presented with only clouds and rain. In fact the night of the reception was cut short due to inclement weather. This brings me to the next adjective - Beautiful, which is exactly what the wedding was, irrespective of the weather the ceremony was extravagant and the international turn out was sensational.

Excess Alcohol most definitely refers to the BYO efforts of the bride and groom. Knowing that the after party would be held in the private villa the couple brought over so much Duty Free Alcohol that come morning, the entire pool reeked of alcohol and our hangovers confirmed this. Despite this mammoth effort, the amount of residual, unconsumed alcohol was staggering. Most of the guests left Thailand with at least two bottles of leftover alcohol.

The last point sums up the entire trip. It was a blast and potentially one of the most fun weddings that I have attended. Congrats to the new couple!

Always

"So if by the time the bar closes, and you feel like falling down, I'll carry you home tonight" - We Are Young

The next milestone

High school, University, Enjoy life, Career, Marriage, Property, Family. Welcome to my rough list of milestones that my generation have come to experience in their short lives. It's funny to think that not 10 years ago we were all at the same stage. Yet, as I retrospectively look at how we've progressed I can see how our time has been distributed across these milestones. For some, all these points have been fulfilled, whilst for others they have invested their time more heavily in some areas.

I found out earlier this week that the girl that I asked to my year 12 formal recently passed away. Shocked, I zoned off into a 20 minute internal eulogy. I still remember calling her and after the initial greetings the first thing she said was "Why is your voice shaking?". To which I nervously squeak out "Would you like to be my partner to my formal?". The elation of her saying "yes" was instantly reversed when she called back not 5 minutes later saying that she couldn't make it. I can't help but laugh as that was the fondest memory of her. I wonder if she would have laughed if I told her that at her death bed.

With that, I add two slightly more final milestones to the list: Retirement and Death. It's scary to think that I know people who have managed to cross off every item in the list. At my passing, what will be your fondest memory of me?

The Hong Kong Sevens

Hong Kong Sevens - An excuse to get dressed up and consume copious amounts of liquor. Oh, and of course watch some seven-a-side Rugby...

Sydney Ceremonies

I had wanted nothing more than to laze on the beach with McMafia. The sound of crashing waves in the foreground, the insane screeching of seagulls in the background. Toes and back frosted with sand all the while the warming Australian sun canvassing my body. Expectation management, never goes too far. That was the best case scenario, what I got was the worst case scenario. 20 degrees, heavy showers. Sydney's Summer was colder and wetter than the Hong Kong Winter.

The flight in was tough - My unusual compulsion to catch up on new release movies on a 8 inch screen and the fact that I had discounted the timezone delta compounded with my strained neck denied me of any decent sleep. I arrived into wet miserable Sydney only to be greeted by my mother at the station. I was home and headed straight for my old bedroom. It was a going to be a long weekend and I needed every ounce of shut eye.

That same night the grooms men met with the groom for a dinner down in the Shire with the Bride and her family. It had only been a month since I'd seen the guys in Bail but it was nice to see everybody back in Sydney. The night was easy, sharing a couple of beers and reminiscing our history: The old university days, the old trips and the laughs and defining moments over the last eleven years. Eleven years, it's been an amazing ride, two down, three to go. I often wonder if it will be the same bridal party for each of our weddings (I mean, provided we all get married).

Wedding Day. It was the same nervous energy with the same group of guys. We all spent the night at the Camperdown apartment and woke at 8 am, it doesn't look like any of us got any decent amount of sleep. It was going to be a long day, charged with adrenaline and laughter. The photographer arrives and we go through the compulsory preparation photos as well as a photo session at our old stomping grounds: The University of Sydney.

The limo arrives and we're whisked down the Princess Highway towards Kareela. Straight off the bat, it would be day where we, the grooms men failed to receive the memo and would result in an comedy of errors. Blooper #1: We step out of the limo and stand around like a pack of lost children, "What do we do now?". The soon-to-be mother-in-law runs down to the driveway "You can't come out until he (pointing at the boy) opens the car door for you!". The groom jumps back into the car and closes the door.

10 minutes and 88 dollars later we buy ourselves into the Bride's house after an obstinate negotiation period. As a little bit of trivia, during the years in university we as a group were (unknowingly to us) known as the "Backstreet Boys".  Continuing on the tradition we were made to perform a Backstreet Boys song of our choice, are much bashfulness we decided on a rendition of "I Want it that way". To be fair we got off pretty easy, couple of eating challenges later and we're in the house with the groom claiming the bride.

The bridal party climb into the limo and make our way back into the City. Traffic is bad, the rain has wrecked havoc on the roads but the banter and chatter among the group distracts us from the severity of our tardiness. Unfortunately our time was limited and we could only squeeze in the Wentworth Park Shoot thereby forfeiting the National Maritime Museum  sequence.

We arrived to the ceremony late and the place was packed with so many familiar faces. The Uni Crew, The Seftoners, the Fairfield group, the Ticketek group, everybody was there crammed into the hall, we were late and they were waiting. The grooms men lined up as we waited for the brides maids and bride. Blooper #2: We were standing up on the right hand side, the wrong side. The groom casually whispers to us "Guys, we're on the wrong side, slowly move over to the other side". Sheepishly we shift to the other side. Soon enough the room explodes with Taio Cruz's "Telling the World". The bride and the father enter the room, the room stands and suddenly all notion of the wet weather outside is forgotten.

Blooper #3. Groom mis-pronounces the Bride's Surname. Blooper #4: Bride has a lapse of concentration during vows. The Groom, notorious for his uncontrollable perspiration had developed bullets of sweat, it was all too much. The "I dos" are exchanged and tea ceremony proceeds. The party then moves over to the Sydney Fish Markets, Fisherman's Wharf. The Bridal Party dance out to the throw back "Where the Party At" and a little bit of silly fun. So. Much. Alcohol. The guests look happy to be inside and there's plenty of socialising and plenty of drinking.

Delicious food, followed by a memorable Father of the Bride's Wedding Speech, whose content included "Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny". It would be a tough act to follow but Malcolm and myself gave a joint wedding speech: An underlying bully theme, the taunting prankster and a standard helicopter demonstration and we were done. After the formalities the ties became loose and so did the crowd. Everybody was dancing and having fun, potentially the most fun I've had at a wedding. The wedding ceremony ended at midnight and soon I was standing with the two other Hong Kong visitors in King's Cross.  It was a familiar sight, the same guys, just a different city.

Whenever I return to Sydney there's a pedestrian pace that lures you into a want for settling down. It's a strange sensation and it almost makes you want to find somebody, move back home and enter into some kind of mortgage. This proposition is even more compelling when you catch up with all the couples, new daughters and sons and of course a beautiful wedding. What a weekend! Congratulations to the beautiful couple. Thank you for an amazing weekend. I love you guys.

"I'm telling the world that I've found a girl; the one I can live for, the one who deserves" - Taio Cruz

Thunderbolt

“You can't hide the thunderbolt. When it hits you, everybody can see it. Christ, man, don't be ashamed of it, some men pray for the thunderbolt. " - Maria Puzo, The Godfather

The Bali Six

The logistics of rounding up people from Sydney, Hong Kong and Jakarta would be the biggest challenge of this trip. To convince people to spend almost a thousand Australian Dollars, 10-12 hours on a plane with the intent to spend less than 72 hours in a single destination would require either a carrot to dangle or the coercive skills of a master salesman. Luckily enough we had a carrot, a carrot so large and orange that it was capable of commanding an army of rabbits. Or in our case five guys, the carrot was the Groom-to-be and this was his Bachelor's party, Stag-do, Buck's Trip, call it what you will. Inspired by the movie The Hangover we headed to Bali, Indonesia.

We, the Hong Kong contingent arrived in Bali Denpasar just after midnight. The hall for immigration was filled with arrivals all trying to purchase Visas and get through customs. Seeing our impatience airport security approached us and asked if we would like to purchase and "express visa" bypassing the queues and headaches. We negotiated a final price of 500 HKD for the three of us and immediately cut through the assembly of tourists.

The last time we were all together in one place would have been the wedding in 2008. It had been a long time coming and I honestly miss hanging out with these guys. What ensued was a weekend spent lazying in the villa, catching up, cracking jokes, reminiscing and of course plenty of alcohol.

Saturday night we gave the Buck his Belly Dancer outfit, a platinum wig and a list of tasks to complete by the end of the night. Tasks included, Find a woman with the same name as your fiancee, dance onto of a table in a public area, get a guy's phone number plus many, many more. Great night, plenty of stories, plenty of laughs, plenty of realisations that were no longer 18 years old. Come Sunday we were spent and could not wait to get home. Somehow managed to score an upgrade to Business Class on the flight back but that did little to alleviate the tiredness and the thought of work on Monday. Excellent weekend, cannot wait to get back to Sydney for the Wedding!

Niseko

Hong Kong, the orphaned child adopted by British parents only to have the biological parents claim her back as an adolescence. The fusion of Western upbringing and Chinese heritage means that Hong Kong lends traditions from both cultures; best exemplified by the annual public holiday calendar. In total, Hong Kong has seventeen public holidays. Easter, Buddha's Birthday, Queen's Birthday, Christmas and of course Chinese New Year.

The first three days of Chinese New Year are public holidays, which means two days of annual leave equates to nine days off work. It also makes it a very popular time to travel for people in Hong Kong with locals wanting nothing more than to escape Hong Kong during the beginning of the lunar year. With this in mind a group of eighteen decided to head over to Japan for a nine day romp in snowy Niseko, Sapporo.

Despite having the foresight to book almost eight months in advance, we still only managed an indirect flight to Sapporo costing almost 10,000 HKD for a return flight. The first night was spent in quaint Sapporo where we raged into the early hours of the morning at A-life Sapporo. 8 am the following day we caught a private van to the village of Hirafu, Niseko. So. Much. Snow. What would follow was eight days of powder, snowboarding, getting stuck in waist-deep snow and plenty of sore muscles.

It snowed continuously for the first eight days and on our final day we were greeted by blue skies and excellent conditions. Highlights include, the Americans celebrating Australia Day while the Australians slept. The delicious but sodium enriched Japanese food; nothing beats a bowl of steaming Ramen after getting off the slopes. Watching the NFL conference finals. Watching a montage of Robyn "Call Your Girlfriend" youtube clips. Me, losing my phone on the slopes.  Us sitting in the Jacuzzi at the end of each day while we licked our wounds sipping on snow-chilled beers. Me, constantly being told by the group to get a bell for around my neck (I always got lost). Going through Blueberry and Strawberry fields, wow. The minus 20 degrees temperature at the top of the mountain. The group yoga sessions. And of course, the excellent company and countless laughs shared.