Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Looks like I'm buying a new laptop

Last night while I was making dinner (veggie quiche) I heard a bang.

Me: What was that?
H: Oh nothing.
Me: No really, what was that!
H: Daddy's computer.
Me: (as I'm flying out of the kitchen) What?
H: It's all right, nothings broken
Me: Turn it on
H: Look it turns on fine
Me: You are one lucky girl.

We move on with the night, I went to LAX, then went out for a friends
birthday ... tacos and beer. When I got home at 10:45, the conversation
went like this:

J: Do you know my computer is broken?
Me: What?
J: Hannah broke my computer
Me: No, she said it dropped, but she turned it on, and it worked.
J: The top is not securely attached to the bottom. Also, no one told
me about my computer when I got home. I can't trust them at all.
Me: Well, I'm sure they didn't think to tell you about it, since they
thought it was OK.
J: So, if I crash your car and fix it, it's all right?
Me: No, it would be like you bumped someone's car in the parking lot,
and everything was fine and didn't tell me. She honestly thought it was
fine.
J: I'm so frustrated ... I'm going to bed

So, we move on to day. No real comments about the laptop, but I did get
a special email from him. He has informed me that he needs a new mac
book air. Really?

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Do you google doodle?

I don't use google everyday, but I do enjoy the Google doodle's.






Here is a link to the doodles of 2012:  http://www.google.com/doodles/finder/2012/All%20doodles

It would be interesting to have the girls pick a few and do an essay on them when we are "out of school" in April.

Damn Groupon

I ordered a groupon a couple of months ago for a dinner harbor cruise.  What a great idea to see the night lights of Hong Kong. 

These were some of the listed highlights:

  • Get to see the more than 10 amazing sights along the route: Tsim Sha Tsui, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and more
  • Perfect chance to enjoy the classic "A Symphony of Lights" show on the Harbour for a romantic holiday night
  • 12-Dish Buffet including unlimited ribs, Japanese pork and more
  • Extra $15 per person for tour guide
Dinner - dud.  Amazing sites - well I could have seen the same thing taking the Starr Ferry across the harbor and then walking to the Intercontinental.  Oh the tour guide - We saw that she was coming to each couple/family and showing them something and getting money.  Jonathan asked me what that was for.  I explained that we had paid everything up front and we wouldn't need to pay anything else.  Wrong ... we had to pay for a tour guide, that we didn't ask for and one that we didn't understand.  Such crap; I was not the only one who was annoyed by this.  I did keep my mouth shut on the boat.  On the bright side, they did let us off in Wan Chai, so we didn't have to pay to get back across and we did have Outback for dessert. 

I told Jonathan that if I ever want to buy another groupon, just shoot me.  (We did get a good deal on a CPA study course ... though you'll have to ask JC if THAT was worth the money).

Groupon ... I'm done with you.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Denied

Yes, the credit card was denied again. Not because we haven't paid
the bill, but because there are crappy people in the world that can't
keep their hands to themselves. We didn't get anything stolen - so that
is good. But instead, it has been more of a nuisance - the credit card
denial.

We try to book hotel rooms ... denied. We try to book airfare ...
denied. We try to buy movie tickets online ... denied.

My final straw was today when Jonathan tried to book the camper we are
taking in NZ. That's right ... denied. I called all the companies that
we have currently have accounts with and tried to nail down why the
cards were be declined.

I was surprised when the first company's call center was in the
Philippines. They girl I spoke with had spoke almost perfect English
with little, to no accent. I would have never guessed she was there.
And because I can talk to any one, about anything, anywhere (this is a
gift that I get from my Dad's side of the family) we talked about our
upcoming trip to the Philippines. The second thing that surprised me
was that they only have a 60 day travel advisory for an account. This
means that the one that I put on ... almost 2 years ago, is long over
due. This was probably the main reason it was getting declined. Cathy
(the rep) told me to call be in late April, so I can do this all again.

The second company didn't have a 60 day policy, they just didn't know
that we were in Asia. I call BS on this, but whatever, she was nice
too. She updated all the information, and even put an end date on it.

I am thankful that the companies are doing due diligence in trying to
prevent credit card fraud, but it really is a pain sometimes. I guess
what it really comes to is, why do people feel like they need to steal
from people who are just trying to do the right thing ... earn a living
and pay their own way in this world.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Left out

Have to have equal numbers of bruises on each hand. This time my left thumb was in between the attacker and scoring. I didn't win this time.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

So it begins again


Here examples of the current topics in our house right now ...

When do you think you'll be done with school? (This is a bit of a loaded question)

Tell me again, how much are shipping costs with that company ...

Don't you think that 20kg is pretty heavy for a package?

How did we get so much crap here?

Do you think that you are going to REALLY want that back in the US?

When it comes down it it, we have just, and I mean just over 3 months left here in HK.  Of that, only 2 months left in our apartment.  We are giving notice on 31 March and moving out 30 April, then become homeless for a month.  

We are now in shipping mode.  We brought 2 boxes of stuff; mostly clothes and books, to the post office today.  To ship a box that weighs 12.5 kg (27.5 lbs) by air is USD$141, to ship the box by boat it was USD$65.  The boat won - and so our stuff will start to arrive at my mom's in about 6-8 weeks.  We figured that anything that is getting packed up now and shipped, we won't need for a while.

The above picture is just another 3 boxes of stuff that has Gabby's clothes, books and the Terracotta Warriors we got in Xi'an.  Crazy, Crazy Crazy ... I can't believe that it's almost over.
 

Thursday, February 23, 2012

The girls are still growing!

I measured the girls yesterday.

Hannah 5ft 5.25 in almost 12 (in two weeks)
Gabby 5ft 2.25 in. 11 yrs 10 mo

Hannah has always been tall for her age, and Gabby has always been on
the tall side of average. (Does that make sense? I does in my head)
Hannah has always been a solid 4 inches taller than Gab every time we
measure. It looks like things are starting to change ... Gabby is
catching up!

Jonathan has always said, "Watch out, Gabby is just like me. We are
'sneaky tall'". He was right ... she is sneaky tall. Gabby's nickname
when she was small was, Munchie ... short for munchkin, because she was
so small and tiny. She wore the same size shorts (gymboree 6mo and a
pair of target 12-18 mo) for over 3 years. Now ... she is actually
wearing appropriately aged clothing. Oh, where has all the time gone?

I wonder if my predictions will hold true. I have always thought Hannah
would end up right around 6ft and Gabby would be shorter at around
5'10". I'd say that I'd be able to share clothes with them, but come
on ... there is no way that I am EVER going to fit into their pants.
Hannah's legs fit into a size 16 kids pants (that are now getting short)
and her waist/hips are 29". Gabby is the same way. It does look like
I'll be able to justify more expensive shoe shopping soon, since we'll
all be in the same shoe size within a year or so. Poor Poor Jonathan.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Giving tickets.

The guy who owns the covetable is funny; He just parks where ever he wants. I guess he will have to pay up today.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

My fair share

While the company does our taxes for us, we still have to fill out a bunch of questions and forms.  This year the IRS has added a new form in which you have to declare how much you have in your bank accounts in foreign countries. 

These are part of the instructions on form 8938:

Refer to the Form 8938 instructions for information on how to determine the total value of your specified foreign financial assets.

Reporting specified foreign financial assets on other forms filed with the IRS.

If you are required to file a Form 8938 and you have a specified foreign financial asset reported on Form 3520, Form 3520-A, Form 5471, Form 8621, Form 8865, or Form 8891, you do not need to report the asset on Form 8938.  However, you must identify on Part IV of your Form 8938 which and how many of these form(s) report the specified foreign financial assets. 

Even if a specified foreign financial asset is reported on a form listed above, you must still include the value of the asset in determining whether the aggregate value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than the reporting threshold that applies to you.

 
What the hell is wrong here?  Do you understand it?  I don't hate the fact that I have to pay taxes.  I get that.  I hate the fact that it is SO complicated. 

The people in the US are complaining about the fact that so many people get out of paying, their "fair share".  But what is the fair share?  Why should I try to get ahead in life when the gov't is going to take 40% of what I make?   Why do people get refunds when they don't pay taxes? 

I am really liking the fair tax plan more and more.  When you shop, tax it.  Everyone pays some into a system that they use.  Why is this so complicated? 




Sunday, February 19, 2012

The highs and lows of the week

Last week was one of those weeks. 

Teaching
I gave up teaching Hannah on Wed-Saturday.  I got completely fed up with the mistakes that are done over and over again ... and then over and over again.  So, she was on her own.  She took a math test, got a 55% on it and I just handed it to Jonathan.  (JC was actually trying to study on his own stuff.  Yelling wife+daughter with a crappy test score = not a good study time).

What to do?  I'm not really sure at this point.  JC has already committed the money to a tutor when we get back.  I am back to teaching today, and it is better, but the real test will be what happens by Friday?

Hiking

We actually got to go on a nice long hike in Tai Po this week.  We met up with 2 other families and hiked for around 5 hours.  The girls did great.  We all had a great time and some great conversations with lots of laughs.

Booking Easter ...
Easter week in Hong Kong ... know as Holy week, not to be confused with Holly week, (which is one of those things I have seen on some booking sites).  Last year, the Spengler's came to HK, so we spent the week here, not really doing much of anything, but enjoying the weather and the beach.  Because of this, we didn't know how expensive it was going to be to go somewhere or how hard it was going to be to book something 8-6 weeks out.

This year, we thought we would go take a 3 day 2 night cruise on Halong Bay in Vietnam, then head to Hanoi or Ho Chi Min.  After getting a quote of $8000 USD for a week trip, I said No.  Jonathan tried to hard to make traveling to Vietnam work.  He cut the days on the cruise from 3 to 2 and then fly back to HK, he tried some different dates, different cruise lines, ect.  I took a different approach, why not do Boracay now, and tack Halong Bay to the end of New Zealand?  (Club Med in Malaysia was also thrown around my head)

So, without consulting JC, I called the Patty and Kevin and asked them if they wanted to meet up somewhere warm for Easter.  They were in.  Now the big question ... could we find a place to go, preferably in Boracay, but maybe someplace else that was warm.  K & P were coming from Shanghai, so their tickets and schedule would cost more and be a little more complicated than ours.  Again, we threw around Club Med, Malaysia, Boracay and warmer parts of China. 

We skyped on Sunday morning, narrowed down a hotel/apt/villa with a couple of rooms, got the confirmation on it and started to book our flights.  (Oh, how I love technology when it works!)  Things were falling into place!  Jonathan then got an email from the hotel, telling us, "sorry, but I forgot to close out the reservation system, and the rooms that you booked, and we confirmed, aren't actually available to you.

What the  .... (I'm sure you can fill in the blank if you know us at all!)  Jonathan sent another email back to the person letting her know that it really wasn't acceptable and that we booked flights based on the confirmation.  Well, that stirred up some creativity on their part.  We got the 2 bedroom (for K, P, and the boys) for the week then we will start with a 3, move to a 2 for 3 nights and then finally move back to a 3 bedroom for the last 4 - the addition of 20% off sealed the deal for us.  (It's always about the numbers!)  It looks like the trip is back on ... and moving forward.  Now the hard part ... waiting until April 2 to leave!

We are at T-14 weeks.  Holy crap, this is going to go by fast!




Sunday, February 12, 2012

LAX

At practice last night, my finger got caught I between my stick and another. It looks like my finger lost. It has swollen to about 25% of the normal size and hurts a bit. But it's all worth it because I threw a leading pass AND the girl caught it during a game!

Rugby

What a fantastic day for Girls' rugby today! We played in Happy
Valley due to some space restraints in Kings Park. Honestly, I don't
mind walking down the street to cheer some girls on to victory!

The girls had a fantastic day today. After facing some disappointment
at the end of the last tournament, the Sandy Bay girls got the job done
today. They scored 19 try's and only 1 try scored against them. That
is not too shabby considering they also extended their playing time from
10 minutes to 15 minutes.




A family picture with the cup!
Gabby doing a bit of pushing.
Gabby just had the ball, went down and now they are throwing the ball out to try to run it over the yellow line.
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I'm pretty sure that this is considered a high tackle. You really aren't suppose to do a choke hold on the other team.
This is a swarm of Sandy Bay girls trying to get the ball. They were on fire today!
Gabby #6 pushing in the scrum. Hannah is just in front of her on the left.
The timing might be a little off, but at least she can jump!

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Saturday, February 11, 2012

Our Week

The next few months will be very busy. We have a few trips planned,
still need to do some school and pack up the apartment.

But, we did find time this week to do something pretty interesting. We
went to Dialogue in the dark. What an amazing experience. I wanted the
girls to explore what it might be like to lose one of their senses.
They did great job with their canes and relying on their other senses.
I don't want to give it away, so we'll just say that we explored many
different, real life scenarios.

I would highly recommend that if you get a chance to do it (and if you
live in Atlanta, you can) you should -- and bring the kids (only if they
are over 8).

I am doing US taxes now too. They are due to the company by February 27
... pleh. Why does it have to be so complicated? Hong Kong taxes are
basically a flat 15% - so much simpler.

Today - Saturday we ran the Will-to-Live 5K. The girls did a great job.
I am so proud of them. They finished, didn't complain, and enjoyed the
time with us.

I am really grateful to have this time with the girls. I know that back
in the US, I would be working (part time), the girls would be going to
school and then sport and hanging out with friends. These last two
years, even though I get frustrated often, is a blessing to me. I got
to hold on to my kids a little bit longer than most. My kids got to
experience a little longer "childhood". So, with, all the craziness
that happens in this place, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I am grateful for this time and I have NOT taken it for granted.

A big girl buying running shoes

Being a big girl buying big girl shoes in a small person country can suck.

I bought a pair of Brooks adrenaline's last March when we were back in GA. I'm not a huge runner by any means, but I'm sure that part of my hip/IT band issues are from having shoes that need to be replaced. 

I tried the local Tri store in Causeway bay.  They really weren't helpful at all.  I expected them to be able to tell me what are cushion shoes, support shoes and neutral shoes.  They guy helping me really couldn't and then argued with me about the shoes.  No sale.

I then went over to the mall and tried the Adidas store and it went something like this:
Me: Do you have this shoe in an 11? 
Women's?
Me: Yes.
UK?
Me: No.
Oh .... let me check. Sorry ... biggest size 8. 
Me: Really?
Yes

I try New Balance.  They didn't look like they had an idea either when I asked a question.

Giga Sports:
Me:Does Mizuno have a shoe like this. (I pointed to the arch support part of my Brooks). 
Um, you can try this.  What size?
Me:(Here we go again) 11. 
UK
Me:No
Oh, sorry biggest we have is a 8.5  Hong Kong doesn't get big sizes. 
Me: Really?  (not really surprised)
How about Mens
Me:Yeah ... how about a 9? 
9? 
Me:Yes ... really

They actually had some sizes, but they didn't feel right.  I have learned that if they don't feel right now, they won't feel any better later after I have spent the $100. 

So, as I weigh my options, I head back to Adidas.  I know that I want the Supernova Sequence.  I had a much earlier version - around 2008 and I liked them.

I walked in looked at my options and found the Sequence in bright orange. I was not jazzed about the color, but I get my size and try them on.  (Who really cares since they just get muddy and dirty anyway?  My major issue was that I really didn't want to call attention to my bad form and slow pace.

Do you like them?
Me: Yes. Can I try these on too?
Let me check on the size.  Oh sorry, we only have an 8.5 or a 10.  Want to try on the ten?  They are a better color.
Me: Um, no I need a 9.
Are you sure?
Me: Yes.

Luckily for me, another, more informed, sales person comes over and gives me another pair to try on.  She said it was similar to the ones that were on my feet, except, a little less cushioning and a little more on the neutral side. 

I decided to get the Sequence -  the bright orange shoes.  The girls said that they would be perfect for ILLINI games.

So, when looking for sneakers in HK, I pick size and style.  HK does it color, style then maybe size. 

Friday, February 10, 2012

Cooking in my small kitchen

When you have limited counter space, it can get a bit dicey in the kitchen. This bruise is from a large onion dropping on my foot yesterday while making dinner.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Typical Thursday

Today started a little rocky. I did some work, and got REALLY
frustrated with some of the people who think that my job is insignificant.

The girls have had some problems with completing homework assignments
because they forget to check their assignment books. This is especially
bad for Friday homework that isn't due until Monday.

They had a math test this morning ... which brought out even more
frustration in me. They did well; an 85 for G and and 80 for H. H and
math ... God help us both.

H is getting "lost" in the morning ... Lost might not be the right word,
but unfocused is what she is. I had her write out a list of what she
needs to accomplish and in what order. This list now includes writing
out math formulas everyday. We have found that she needs to write
things down to remember them and then needs to re-write them. She reads
too fast, so note taking and then rewriting them helps her remember. I
am hoping that rewriting math formulas (A=LxW, or A=1/2 BH) will help
with her math.

After accomplishing Math, work, and a Social Studies test for G, it was
finally time for lunch. I too, became a little unfocused and remembered
that I wanted to dye one of my shirts. I had bought a really cute light
pink, almost champagne colored shirt. I stuck the shirt in with the
whites, added some bleach, and wouldn't you know it ... the shirt came
out splotched. When I showed J, he actually remarked, "Oh, I really
liked that shirt on you". Damn ... the one time he actually notices
what I wear. So while at the art store, I saw the fabric dye. What
color do you choose? Blue, green, grey/silver, black, red ... you could
even combine colors ... the possibilities were endless. I settled on a
nice red.

I read the directions on the back ... use at least 6 liters of warm
water. Yeah, I don't have anything that will hold 6 L of water, so 3
liters of hot water from the trusty hot water maker plus 5 Tbs of salt,
and we were in business. I stuck the shirt in there, swirled it around
with a chopstick. It looked great. I told the girls to get a white
shirt if they wanted to get in on this too! They both came running with
shirts that had been stained or spilled on. Gabby was first, her shirt
is a dark pink shade. Hannah's is just pink, but the way it went in,
made it "tye dyed" a bit. There are bits of white places, but she likes
it ... so there we go. I will post a picture of us in our "new"
shirts as soon as we get them out of the wash and dried! Who knew it
would turn out so well. I am now wondering what else I should dye.
Should I get the white shirts, that are not so white anymore and have
some fun with them? Why not ... it's not like I find a ton of clothes
that fit me here, so I should just work with what I have!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Will-To-Live

Next Saturday we will be running the Will-To-Live 5K.
(www.will-to-live.org) This is a pretty amazing group of people brought
together through a terrible tragedy. Our family (Team Collins) will be
running (walking) together to promote this group that helps brings
awareness of teen suicide to families.

I can not imagine ... the pain ... the frustration ... the what if's
these families go through. I have started to ask the girls, "Are you
good?" "How are you really doing?" "How is your heart?" along with
other questions.

Many people have known people/families that have gone through this.
Please consider walking/running next Saturday, 11 February, 2012, where
ever you are to support this group.

Come be "Life Teammates" with us. We will be at the Happy Valley Race course at 10a.m. We will be having bunch at Jaspas in HV after.

JC

Are opinions wrong?

JC is part of an online triathlon group. You can post your workout,
ask questions and get together to do some work out together. He just
had another "incident" on it. Said incident has me questioning people
recently.

This person was telling JC that Hong Kong was "easy" to live in because
we have a bunch of stuff in English. Beijing, on the other had, was
very hard. I have had this incident happen to me where someone gave
their opinion and then said my opinion was wrong. Can an opinion be
wrong? Isn't an opinion based on what you have read and experienced?

Are people lacking in social skills? It think that there is a little
leeway for people that are under 25 because they may have some
idealistic views of things. But, how about when you're 40?

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Ponchos

Ever since the show Ugly Betty, i can't wear a poncho. I'm not sure if that was ever a good look for me anyway. I think throwing on a sweater, for me, works as well.

That being said, if you take a plaid picnic blanket and cut a hole in the middle of it, does that qualify as a poncho? Yes, I saw that on the highly fashionable streets today.

I get weird looks for wearing my vibrams, but this is ok?