Party of 4 on the move: April 2012

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Rugby and LAX

What a day!

Yesterday was a day of last's for us. The girls were having the last tournament with their team and I was having my last game with my team.

The girls did a fantastic job yesterday. Gabby was on fire with her tackling and running. Hannah was also holding her own when it came to tackeling and making sure the team kept the ball. The girls won the cup and finished number 1 again. I am so very proud of the girls and their team. They have come a long way since August; a long way from the days of, "I don't want to go back to rugby!".

The team that they play with is such a special group of girls. They have shared interests and really find it fun to be together. I love sitting there watching them all together!

As for my LAX girls … I couldn't ask for a more accepting, patient group of people. We started out in one big group, and eventually moved to teams to have league play. These people taught me to play a sport I never thought I would be able to play. They were patient and helped me develop my skills. Yesterday, I played my final match with them. I couldn't have asked for a better final game. The two teams that played were the friends that I had made along the way. It was a tough match … but in the end the score was United Mavericks 8, Quinella 5.

So, yesterday, the Collins Girls had a double win. It was a great day to have a lot of "lasts". So much of this past month has been bitter sweet for us. We are looking forward to moving back to the US, but I sometimes feel that I could stay another year. I have made some really great friends, as have the girls, and we really don't want to say good-bye to any of them.

Packing/leaving

Hannah has decided that she is never going to have to wear clothes again on this trip. She stared with 9 pairs of pants, 12 shirts, 4 pair of sleeping pants, 3 sleeping shirts, 4 sweaters, 2 coats, Uggs, sneakers and sandals. I do believe she is a hoarder.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Hong Kong Observatory

I look at this site daily. Many times it is a bit off, but still, another thing I will miss. I do,especially love the warning symbols - something the US might want to look into ;-)

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Helpers

This is from the "geobaby" :

We like our helper a lot. We just renewed her contract in november so she has been wirh us about 2.5 yr. She is great with our kid and baby, kind, and hardworking. I am not a chatty or easy to warm up person, so I'd say we have a good "business" relationship.

Today, she told my mom (who comes to our house a lot and is more like a " friend" to her) that she wanted to quit because she is tired and is always forgetful. She said she want to go back home to rest. She also said she hasn't told me yet but just wanted to tell my mom about it. My mom, of course, told me about it. My mom told her it's prob just stress cos we just had a new baby and we moved so lots of work. This happened after her day off yesterday(she has Saturdays off), and I remember I made a couple comments to her the day before: on one occasion, I sternly reminded her to refill the diaper box next to the changing table if she is the one who used the last diaper there. I mentioned I've pointed that out before and pls remember in the future (otherwise it's a hassle/danger if you open up the baby then need to walk away to get diapers). On another occasion, she put on the kettle just before I need to use the stove to make dinner and I certainly looked annoyed. She offered to take away the kettle and I said " no, because then you might forget to bring it to boil later and leave the water in the kettle and tomorrow I'd think it's cooked water in the kettle and use it.". And I have in the past, and she admitted too , that she always forget things, like where she put sth, or some of my instructions. We now have a whiteboard on fridge where I write things down. So, my thinking is, that she is basically upset at my comments and hence threatened to quit by saying it to my mom. She knows my mom will tell me. And she knows we need helper at home with a toddler, a small baby and a dog. I dont believe she actually can quit am go home cos her son just started college and her daughter will go to college soon so she need the money. (btw, she is in her 40s). I really think we treat her well. I don't treat her as a friend but I don't raise my voice at her. Granted I sometimes look dissatisfied at sth though I might not say anything cos I don't think it's her fault ( but I can't hide my expression!) we pay her generous bonus twice a year, free trip home for family business twice. Sorry for the long story. Do you think she is just threatening to quit as a tactic? Should I confront her about her conversation with my mom or just wait and see if she bring it up to me? I don't want to change helper unless we have to.

What are people thinking? There are so many things that I would like to say to this woman:

Good God lady, they are diapers … grab some and put them on your table. If this is your biggest complaint of the day, you are in the top .01% of the world!
The whole kettle thing … you can't have it both ways. She either heats up the water or she doesn't.

As I read these "questions" from people, I just don't get it. Some of these people should not be "business owners", which is what they are since the helper works for the family.

A view less seen

This is a view of an area that the cleaners in Hong Kong use. You can see that they have done their laundry here and hung it to dry for the day.

Many people see a metal box from the outside, but you never would have known what was on the inside.