Rental

Back in December right before my exams I received a message from Dennis. Dennis is the real estate agent who way back in 2011 helped me find my first apartment in Hong Kong. Since then, I occasionally pass him on the streets of Hong Kong but for the most part he is the person who handles the tenant-landlord relationship.

The message is as follows: "Hope you’re well. The lease will be expired in January, will you renew the contract?". I give a standard holding pattern that I will think about it. As a little bit of background, the dance usually goes as follows. I say that "I'll think about it", Dennis comes back a with a negotiated rental. I wait and then I agree to tenancy extension and life continues for another two years at Grandview Gardens; I've danced this dance 3 times and I have seen my rent increase 18% over 8 years. This time would be different. I politely decline and decide to end the tenancy.

Fast forward one month later. It's January and I have 16 days to find an apartment, and have made no progress. I start the rental viewing process again. The months of protest have not been kind to the rental market. People aren't moving and rental prices are starting to drop. Despite having a larger monthly budget, the problems from last time still exist. Small, over priced apartments. The search continues...

Bali

2019-2020 Fall Semester; Complete

We're done, after 2.5 years. It really has gone by so fast, I still remember submitting my application, my first day on campus, my first exam, my first friend. Masters of Science, Big Data Technology.

It's not so much the degree but the memories and the events that took place along the way.

So then, the question is, what's next?

Passing away

I haven't had a chance to sit down and reflect over the year that was 2019. Have I had a good year? What were the highlights? What am I grateful for? What did I learn? What would I have done differently? Then there's the extension of those questions and applying that to the past decade. I can think of a couple of things this year that have been defining.

I can already think of a couple of things that standout, progress with school and career, as well as the highlights that aren't so much me but events that will standout when I look back. Marriages, holidays, new friendships. Sadly it's also the decade where I've seen members of the generation above say good bye. It is inevitable, but it's a reality check that Father Time has now turned his attention to the more immediate group of people; a group we hold near and dear.

Within the space of a month two figures in my life have passed away. My auntie, and my babysitter. Only when you take a quiet moment to sit and think about your relationship with these people. The relationship that continues in nostalgia is so clear, almost clearer than when they were alive. For them, the moments that replay are of me as a child, running, laughing, playing, and then older the interactions are them being curious about my life and making sure that I'm adulting correctly.

The news breaks and suddenly there's a weird emptiness, a surreal feeling. That's the problem with being overseas, sometimes you feel disconnected such that when things actually disconnect, the feeling and the event become less defined and it's just numbness.

Home stretch

It feels a little different to undergraduate, there's less of a "I'm finally done with school" feeling and more of a Friday morning at work vibe.You know that feeling? It's a Friday, you've already been at work for a few hours and as soon as lunch is done, it's the home stretch until the weekend. This has a distinct feeling of that, the last stretch and then the weekend.

My final semester of school, all assignments have been submitted and all that remains are the final (take home) exams and then I'm finish, or then it's the weekend. I have a sense of anticipation and excitement and I can taste the feeling of freedom. I'm trying to take this all in, and am especially enjoying the intellectual stress and looking forward to releasing the student shackles.

Thanks

Out of all the American traditions, the two that I look forward to the most are Halloween and Thanksgiving. It's the latter which I've grown particularly fond of, it's the combination of feasting and the company of close friends and more importantly taking a moment to pause and relish what we're thankful and grateful. I'm grateful for concept of Thanksgiving and that I have close friends in Hong Kong that make this something I look forward to each year.

Classes canceled

Universities announce all remaining campus classes have been canceled and the remainder of the semester, exams included has been moved online. I'm kind of relieved, but also mindful that online exams aren't necessarily a good thing...