**EDIT: By the time I initially finished writing this blog (7 days ago) the internet changed it's mind, decided not to work, and wouldn't let me post. Argh. For days and days I have tried and failed. Imagine my excitement tonight to find it's finally working for me again! Okay...here we go!
So much good stuff has been happening! Firstly...My Dad and Annie were visiting with us the first week of November! It was so great to explore more of Hong Kong with them and make such sweet memories. Having my Dad around to shoot some hoops with was a highlight for sure. It's the little things you miss the most when you don't have your people around. We got up to all kinds of adventuring though, checking out 10,000 Buddhas Monastery, taking the tram to The Peak (the highest look out point in HK), cable car over Lantau Island and a visit to the Big Buddha, trips to the Jade Market, Avenue of Stars, a ride on the Star Ferry and all kinds of other goodness in between! It was one heck of a gift having them here for my birthday too. It was definitely one to remember. My amazing and thoughtful family had sent lots of love over with them and it made me smile huge to hear from everyone, and receive some new pictures of my niece who is the cutest almost 1 year old in the whole wide World.
Collectively we took over 600 pictures that week! Here are just a few of my personal favourites :)
Thailand! Anto and I spent the days following my parent's departure here finalizing plans for our epic December holiday. We are officially going to Thailand for 3 weeks in December. We knew it would be a tough month for us being away from home at the holidays and all, so this is our gift to ourselves. Not too shabby eh? So excited.
We will fly into Bangkok and spend a few days there, then head North up to Chiang Mai. After feeding elephants and petting baby lions, we will be passing back through Bangkok again on our way to our next stop. Anto will even get to do a show there too! Kind of perfect how it all worked out actually (isn't it always?) The other night he says, "I kinda want to do a show in Bangkok." The next day, "Oh hey, I'm Ron Josel, that other awesome Asian comedian you met 7 years ago at a show I headlined in Canada. Want to open for me in Bangkok, Thailand? On the exact date you happen to be passing through?" Oh Universe, you work in mysteriously wonderful ways. Can't wait for that. I always love hanging out with other Canadians. Especially funny ones. And especially when we're making sweet memories on the the other side of the World.
After that, we still have a few days left so we'll head slightly east of Bangkok to Pattaya. There we will enjoy the final leg of the journey by getting some RNR by the beach or in the pool or anywhere haha it's going to be lovely after all the travelling and over night train rides. We will have wifi in some places along the way so we'll try to pop on for updates and pictures whenever we can!
Another cool thing as of late is that I'm working for my boss at home, all the way from the other side of the World! As it turns out, you can be a book keeper from anywhere as long as you have a computer. Every time I think about it, it blows my mind – I can be sitting on my couch in Hong Kong doing the books for a company all the way in Toronto, Canada. I love it! Plus I love the nerdy work of book keeping and reconciliation, it's so rewarding seeing that $0.00 at the end. Ahhh. Balance achieved :)
My volunteering gig has me doing some similar tasks to that of my job at home as an Office/Operations Manager. Granted it's not a Medical Office I know, but I think the setting is interchangeable to that work. Same job, different place. That's what's so cool about it though, it has allowed me to thrive in so many unique environments and I have learned so much from each place. Anywho... I volunteer here at Crossroads non-profit in Tuen Mun. It's beyond inspiring to see the operations that go down there everyday, and everyone doing it for FREE. The team is so hard-working and passionate, I feel grateful to be a part of it all and the moments in time we all get to share and create together. One aspect of our mission is to help alleviate poverty in communities by selling their goods in our fair trade marketplace, at craft fairs, and by consignment to other shops in HK. Crafts, Jewelry, textiles and the like, generate enough income for families to have shelter, food, and education for their kids. It's that easy. Makes you think twice about going to the mall, paying the rich to be rich. Anywho...I work in the internal operations office for the Marketplace which has me doing a ton of sales reports, stock statuses, invoicing, processing orders and deliveries, etc. I love it.
Here is a fun picture my friend Annette sent me. That's her on the left and our Supervisor Gina to the right. This was us doing over-time after we filled the office with the HUGEST order. 6 months worth of consignment awesomeness for one of our vendors. We had to count it, label it, package it, and ship it... in 3 hours! This picture is when we were just about done :) Huge tasks are always fun when you have a good crew, an open window, and that sweet Hong Kong autumn breeze flowing through.
Thanks all for reading my update! Mom, Mike & Sharon I know you're reading this :) Loyal blog followers hehe To you and to the rest of our beautiful family and friends out there, I want to say I love and miss you so much! Enjoy the holidays at home with each other and try to see the beauty in the snowflake before you feel the cold. Sit by the fireplace in your comfiest clothes with a hot drink, a cheesy afternoon tv movie, a bowl of jujubes and just enjoy the moment with our animals, our friends and our family. I miss those moments most.
Keep being awesome.
Love,
Jen :)
PS The mall here has the most ridiculous and awesome Christmas displays I've EVER seen! Not like what you're used to seeing at home...way CUTER! I'm talking Pingu, Hello Kitty, My Melody, the whole Sanrio family! And I mean HUGE displays. Don't know if my capital letters CONVEYED that enough, so here's proof!