Meet and Greet Tuesday, July 15th
Before I left the US to move to Hong Kong I had signed up on Geo Ex-Pat website for foreigners who live/work in Hong Kong to meet others in the area. I was scanning the forums last week and noticed a "Ladies Night July 15th" and clicked on the link to check it out. They were planning a dinner which I thought would be a great way to meet some new people. I found out it was full and there was a waiting list, I e-mailed the creator of the link and asked if there was room for one more (38 women had signed up). On Sunday I received an e-mail saying someone had cancelled so there is room for one more was I still interested, I said heck yes sign me up!
It was so humid that day it was like having a mist following you around covering you from head to toe. I had a vendor meeting most of the day and afterwards decided to head to the pool but it was closed due to a thunderstorm (which never appeared) so I took care of a few things for work and then got ready to go out. I walked from my apartment complex to the Hung Hom ferry station (6 really long blocks) and was how should I say it besides Iwas ready to take a shower. I swear no one here sweats compared to how much I "glisten". One trick I learned is to use my umbrella when the sun is out, keeps me in the shade and somewhat cooler. I take the ferry to Wan Chai Station, walk to a hotel and catch a taxi to the Red Pepper restaurant. The group is upstairs and there are three large round tables which one is full so I sit at the table where two women are seated. I introduce myself and we chat while waiting for others to arrive. My table can seat 12 so I'm thinking where are the name tags because i do not remember names. Everyone introduces themselves as they sit down and the planning side of the brain kicks in and I start making a seating chart with every ones name and where they're from. It helps me put the names with the faces. Dinner was pre-ordered for us, spring rolls, cream cheese wanton, sizzling garlic prawns (huge shrimp in a fantastic spicy garlic sauce), orange fish (the whole fish was breaded and deep fried served with a sweet sauce poured over it), something similar to cashew chicken, green beans (steamed) with a black olive spread, fried rice, eggplant, and dessert was fried bananas and apples (more like a caramelized hard outer shell with the fruit inside and a sweet white sauce). It was all delicious. After dinner I sent my seating chart around and asked everyone to fill in their e=mail address and took their pictures. My plan was to create a spreadsheet and e-mail it out to the group. After dinner we headed down the street to a bar (can you image how it looked 30+ women walking into a bar) and had a drink to met some of the other ladies who were seated at different tables. It was a great experience and can't wait to meet up with some of my new friends. I had to head out around 11:30 pm as I had a conference call scheduled with the US at midnight to discuss a project. Since the ferry was closed I had to take a taxi back which cost me 140HK dollars ($20 US).

Thursday, July 17th
Today I have an appointment at the US Consulate to get additional pages added to my passport. It was another Hot and Humid day!!! I took a taxi over to the Hong Kong side because I wasn't sure how to get there. Once I arrived, it only took 40 minutes to add the pages and it was free. Stopped at Pacific Coffee for lunch (great place), had a BLT Panini and a carmel swirl chilled coffee, boy did that hit the spot!!! Took a taxi to the ferry station and the ferry back over to the Kowloon side and walked back to my apartment. I had to change clothes once I got home(drenched due to humidity) and headed to a factory meeting. After the meeting, took the train and shuttle back to my apartment and had to change clothes again. It is amazing how much an individual can sweat, yuck!