Back to HK

A lot has happened since I last updated. I resolve to chronicle the past few days to the best of my recollection. This is because it is a record of things I don't want to forget, as well as helping myself express myself and update people on what's been happening.

So, I have a job now. It is at AMD/ATI as a C programmer. My title is ASIC layout designer/engineer, but I'll mainly be doing C programming. I got the interview on tuesday, sent them an updated resume on wednesday, and got a job offer wednesday night. It was a good day for me. On thursday, I met my supervisor's bosses, and was told the person who hired me would be leaving. Big shoes to fill, but I think I'd be alright.

After that, I pushed my start date as far back as possible. I was supposed to start Oct 15th, but I got it pushed back to the 29th, because of my trip back to HK. Yessir. I booked a trip on friday, and left on Oct 7. I arrived today and it was an 18hour flight. Not much happened throughout the trip. Pretty routine.

When I got to HK, I tried calling my dad to no avail. After one and a half hours of trying to find out what the problem was, I decided to buy a SIM card and call Canada. Turns out I was off by one digit and that my dad was waiting for me at home. Ugh. It was then 9:00, and we were supposed to finish everything that day (applying for HKID replacement, reentry permit for China, etc). Didn't get the reentry permit. Ugh. Turns out they closed down several government offices and there was a huge lineup for the Yaomatei one. No more placeholders were handed out so we couldn't get a reservation to see an immigration official. So we decided to get Dad's work done.

I got to see the seedy underside of the manufacturing world. There will be a few photographs that will be updated when I get back. Really interesting stuff. Seedy, gritty and REAL. People here really WORK for a living. None of that 8hour/day bullshit. Try 12-14 hour days. Just to make ends meet. Sometimes I wonder about HK.

There are greeters everywhere. From the departments stores, to the front of banks and fast food chains. And they're not the old greeters you find in Walmart either. They're attractive (at least the females, the guys look kinda nerdy, it's the thick rim glasses) and young. Why would they want to get stuck in a job like that? I suppose it is to make ends meet. I don't know. It struck me that there would be people satisfied or at least accepting of that position in society. I certainly can't see myself doing it, "stooping" down to that level. But I supposed its a necessity for them. At that moment, I really appreciate what I have. But at the same time, I think HK is a dead city because people here seem so SATISFIED with their mediocrity. They're like clogs in the machine and they're happy about that. Everyone seems satisfied as long as they can survive. And I just can't stand that.

The company structures here are a lot less bureaucratic than the ones in NA. At least for manufacturing. It's very touch and go. Each company is almost like a department for a larger company. The people I met, like Saito, are the middlemen connecting the companies together. Others, like Edmund and Tony, are purchasers for larger companies to distribute contracts. Others do manufacturing while others do quality control for products other companies make. It's a mess, but it seems to 'work'. It's hard to work with people in China, because the cost of living is low and entering and exiting the market is easy.

I had dinner with my dad and Edmund and Tony. Learned quite a few things about their view of HK and how they see the progress of the future would be. I learned to keep my mouth shut. While I do not agree with their points of view about progress, they do have more experience in HK than I do. However, I did get mildly angry when he stated that my views as a techie is irrelevant, because we techies make up a very small percent of the population. While I concede that we may make a small amount of the population, we do have influence. People do rely on experts and expert knowledge when purchasing, and there are certain people that influence the rest of the market quite wildly. From the whole tipping point viewpoint, there are a small number of people that affect the larger world, and I do believe techies do influence the world to a large degree, just by being early adopters.

Anyways, I also find it frustrating that the insane amount of progress HK has with the internet, while we struggle behind in Canada. They can do anything from change of address from several different government departments to file taxes, book tennis courts,reserve appointments with various government offices, etc, but lack the support of the people. People just don't use the internet as much here. Very resistant to change. Banks are still mostly teller run, as opposed to ATMs, with some banks only having tellers and huge amounts of paperwork in the background. Bloody inefficient. The government and private enterprise has done so much to progress, yet people are unwilling to accept change. Maybe its because HK doesn't have the economic progress (computers for everyone), to create a tipping point. People just can't access the internet easily, especially when the young'uns can't convince the old people that new ways have arrived. Especially in a Confucian society where the elder is always right.

Hotpot seems to be the biggest thing here nowadays. Every fast food place has some sort of 45HKD deal. And restaurants have all you can eat hotpot for 54. It used to be Korean bbq according to my dad. I don't understand the attraction really.

That's it for today. I'll keep at it.