Despite having ample time to conjure up a decent blog post as I awaited Andrew's submissions (we've unofficially decided to go back and forth 1 to 1 whenever possible), I'm actually going into this winging it. I sort of thought that I would speak about how living in HK has changed me, and as I glance down to the bottom right corner and see 5:46 turn into 5:47 am, I wonder if I have the patience to do it. Might as well make a (futile) attempt at it.
But before I go any further, within the last few seconds I really questioned if any personal changes that went down were so much un-discovered characteristics I myself possessed deep within or that Hong Kong really did have an evolutionary effect on me. The most glaring change which in retrospect I don't think is really that great due to my surroundings is the theme of being a "hard worker". People always say Hong Kong is great cause everybody is grinding, trying to get somewhere... and often I've told people... yeh HK is great cause it makes you a hardworker. But now that I think of it... not so much. True, I never put in a solid effort in school but that was far from me not understanding what hardwork and commitment were. I always went pretty hard for the stuff I was passionate about, whether it be the obvious one in soccer and the weights to deeper darker secrets my roommates only knew like skipping school to play Age of Empires II by myself. But looking upon things, Hong Kong is not without its own series of un-motivated and "lazy" people. However what makes things interesting is the secondary factors related to this "hardwork". While not proud of it so much, so-called hardwork/talent/competition for the most part can be seen thrusted in your face on a day to day basis. You can't walk a quarter of a city block without some balling ass car swoooshing by you. Or walk the street without passing a big fashion house displaying handbags that cost more then your monthly salary. These in itself are motivation...
Now I'm not saying I need some expensive ass piece of designer fashion to satisfy my pathetic little ego, it goes beyond that... it's a feeling of achievement. In other parts of the world, materialistic wealth isn't deemed the most important precursor to success, but unfortunately I've succumbed to that in more ways then others. I am that yuppie that wants to be driving the Nissan GT-R or Ferrari (yeeeeh GEE-TEE AHRRO compared to the Prancing Horse... WHAT), living on the mountainside with two domestic workers... well not necessarily, but I do want that freedom of having cash in the bank to do what you want whether it be start new projects or just jet-set. As well, I've always been big on objective measures. Life is wholeheartedly a competition to me which makes it so fun. I hate losing, I hate being bested... so in the grand scheme of things what better ranking system then your bank account. Having written the last few words, I think already you can draw some massive parallels between Andrew's quest vs. Eugene's. I guess I was fucked from the start getting into a consumer driven industry while Andy is out literally saving the world. Actually I'm not even that proud of my views, but hopefully at the young tender age of 24, I still have years ahead of me to figure it out properly However, at least one thing I've found out is that within Hong Kong, for the most part people that want to do something... do it... straight up. They don't putz around and waste time... it gets done. Hopefully this is something that I can embody and really drive me forward from here on in. I've been pretty pro-active in finding my weakness and trying to effectively eliminate them or lessen their impact on my life. It's this constant self-reflection and analysis that will sort my life out... I hope haha *stops the emo*.
Actually... another big gripe of mine is how I've become so impatient and constantly become a slave to anything time-related. I'm constantly trying to lifehack my way into gaining some precious few moments. Brushing my teeth in the shower (I know lots of people do this), becoming proficient in left-handed chopstick use (so I can eat while using my mouse/computer at the same time) and reading on the bus on my phone instead of the computer are all things you try to do to get ahead of "TIME". Going back to North America is like working in slow-motion and the cultural differences in eating have really changed my mindset as well. While eating-out in Hong Kong is often considered a necessity and common occurrence, it's not like back home when the only time any of us would get together to eat out would be as a social gathering. It's more then common to see people eat by themselves in restaurants and it really changes the social context... you're eating to eat and that's it... eat and screw-off so I can move some more customers. I can't stand the seemingly long ten mintues it takes for you to get me my appetizer in Canada... although hahaha conversely I complain when I'm eating in HK and I've yet to finish my appetizer only to see my entree emerge with no room to spare on this tiny table before me. Ultimately, patience is something that can't be bought and not easily possessed and definitely a quality that requires a great deal of understanding regarding how you can use it... I just need that clock to run a little slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwer.
6:14 am... done... (was done like 8 minutes earlier but I ran through it once... eyes getting heavy : /) time to hit the showers and sleep!
-eXtreme
