Falling Asleep In Class...

Whew...I am literally dozing off in class...Commercial Arbitration in HK and China (what an exciting topic). Bloggin' should help me stay awake!

Hmm...so what have I been up to? I feel like I've been doing so much and there isn't enough time to write about it all. Yesterday, we went up to the peak and did some studying and sipped on some alcoholic beverages with a panoramic view of Victoria Harbor. I can't really describe how awesome it is to live up there (my classmate has an Aunt that he is staying with who lives up there). It is some of the most expensive real estate in the world. To give you an idea, there is currently a shack on the peak for sale, yes I really mean a two-bedroom shack that is falling apart and probably needs at least $1 million USD in renovation work. It's going for $40 million USD! But if you guys could see that view, it'd be totally worth waking up to every morning.

I recently moved into my new apartment in the Causeway Bay area of HK, which is packed with shopping malls and better looking people and lots of cool restaurants and shops. Really nice change from the residential area I was staying in before, not to mention it is way cheaper than a hotel.

This is the last week of class and we are all gearing up for finals on Friday...woo hoo! I think everyone is a bit worried about finals since we've covered a lot of material in three weeks and Santa Clara students will get a letter grade for this class and 4 units. I think I speak for most of my classmates when I say we've been spending a lot of time having fun and not so much time really paying attention and studying...I guess there's always the next 3 days to cram our asses off.

Right after finals, two of my 'mates and I are going to take off to Taipei for the weekend (Yes Connie, we are going to visit your homeland, the great Formosa)! We should be back Sunday evening and will hopefully be able to get some rest before we all start out internships. We have also booked our tickets to Shanghai for the following week (Yes Donna, we are going to visit your homeland too, I'll bring back the verdict on Shanghai vs. Taipei girls, my money is still on Taipei though). =D

If anyone has suggestions on places to see, things that are "must do's," please feel free to shoot me and e-mail: NormanHo174@aol.com. I would love suggestions, but just keep in mind we only have a weekend and are trying to get the most out of our limited time.

We are also considering hitting Shenzhen or Beijing, although Beijing is a bit farther...we might opt for Thailand or the Phillipines instead to get more bang for our buck as far as exchange rate goes.

I should have more pics up as soon as I get around to it, probably after finals or when I get back from Taiwan this weekend.

I think I'm going to look into a gym membership out here for the next 6 weeks or so, I've been eating a ton of GREAT food and although I'm doing more walking than I've ever done in my life (geez, people in the US are just lazy when it comes to driving vs. walking), I'm scared I might pack on a few pounds...I gots to watch the figure and maintain the hourglass (yep, just broke another man law).

Alright, time to get back to the fun lecture on Arbitration Statutes and Laws...sigh*

By now, you should realize that I cannot walk down the street on a given day without chuckling to myself =D

Hey guys...what you don't see is that there is another sign above this sign that says "Man Paradise, come in and enjoy." LOL

So this area is only used on a part-time basis by pedestrians I guess, perhaps only 20 hours a week, definitely not more than 40 hours per week because then it would be a "full-time pedestrian area."

To date, this is the most racist sign I've seen yet.

This building promises "Good Results," which is why when I open my law firm here in HK, guess where I'm locating it?

Time for some more signs!

Make sure you do not leave your vehicle waiting here. Because if you do, the district attorney will knock on your window and prosecute you without warning.

Please, please, please people, look out for your scaffolding...it's like an open invite for all burglars such as the one seen skillfully climbing on this sign.

Ah yes, I've been called this many times by the ladies in my lifetime.

So after reading this shirt, I am convinced that my new role model is going to be Mickey Mouse because not only is he a natural leader, but he is "the and smarte."

Raw Meat, Veggies, Tattoos and Huge Beeros!

The butcher hard at work.

Outdoor fresh veggie market.

One of the very few tattoo shops I've seen. I went in to check out some of their work and man, our artists back home definitely put them to shame.

Oh yeah...they serve Hoegaardon here in like 40 oz. glasses, bang for yer buck!

Knock-Offs, Street Markets, Jade and Snakeskin!

Ed Fardy belts at the Temple Street Night Market. Some of this rip-off/fake stuff looks pretty decent. I'm thinking about rockin' one with my suit on my first day at work. Can anyone picture me in court with one of these bad boys on?

I'm not sure where this is, I think it's Tsim Sha Tsui if I remember correctly or maybe Mong Kok?

The Jade Market. Yes folks, you guessed it, a marketplace area that is filled with vendors selling nothing but jade. This lady saw my tattoo and pulled me aside and said "I SELL YOU JADE TIGER, YOU LIKE?" I almost spit out my Coke in laughter and kindly told her "Thanks but I don't have any use for a giant jade tiger." Muahaha!

Snakeskin! Remember what I told you about snakes fellas...I went ahead and just starting ripping bites off like beef jerky...oooh yeah. I also considered purchasing a few because after all, you can also use an extra pair of snakeskin boots ya?

Yum!

Mmm can someone smell my Durian? My classmates and I have decided to get drunk and play football with a Durian. Sounds like a good idea right?

I think it's called a Dragon Fruit...taste pretty good.

SAUSAGE SAUSAGE SAUSAGE!

A shop on the street selling munchies like grilled veggies and stuff.

Arowanas, Crabbies and Major Man Law Violations

The HK Fish Market. Where you can buy almost every type of fish you could desire (as a pet, not to eat). Here are some Arowanas, one of my favorites.

I named him Craig, Craig the Crab.

This is a Golden Arowana. I believe it is an endangered species that is illegal in the States. However, they are worth $$$. This one was going for about $8,000 USD and you could probably slang him for even more if you were able to smuggle him back in (careful, I believe it's like a $10,000 USD fine for attempting to smuggle this cute little bugger).

This man managed to simultaneously break about 3548568 MAN LAWS at once by driving this van. LOL!

Snakes, Plants and Birds!

Mmm...snake soup...this actually tasted really good (snake meat basically tastes like chicken). And fellas, the best part is, snake is supposed to increase your "performance," kinda like a natural Viagra...I happened to eat 36 bowls in one sitting so you fellas have some catching up to do.

VENUS FLY TRAP! JK...it's actually some sort of plant that eats insects. Basically they fly into that little hanging sac and never come out. There is an area in HK called the HK Flower Market, which has all sorts of cool flowers and plants.

This parrot speaks Cantonese (I shit you not). He said hello to me in Cantonese. I went ahead and named him Pete, Pete the Parrot. Came across him in an area of HK known as the Bird Market (for obvious reasons).

Some other birdies at the Bird Market. I have no idea what type of birds these are, but they looked pretty interesting. Definitely not as cool as Pete, since they don't talk.

Meet My Classmates!

My classmates from left to right, Tony, Adrian, Peter, Will, (Me - no intro needed), Calvin and Emily (center). Calvin is flicking me off because of a low-blow comment I made seconds before the picture was taken =)

Last night, we went to a rooftop bar in the IFC (International Financial Center) complex, awesome views! FYI for all my EY folks, in case you are wondering where our offices are. We have THREE offices in Hong Kong, with the main one being in theIFC building upon which we are currently standing in the picture (one of the nicest buildings in HK). As you can tell by my ridiculous smile, this was after a few drinks.

Two other classmates that weren't in the earlier picture, Caroline (second from left) and Joon (second from right).

Of course the ladies get their own picture, since we do have a Sausage Fest going on here...geez who screwed up the ratio for this program?

A Few More For Ya...

Church that was built back in the day (I know, I suck, I forgot the name and the year it was built, but it's supposedly a pretty famous church). =)

I am too lazy to rotate this picture because it is getting late, but surely you can practice your upside-down reading skils...Jet Li's star on the Avenue of the Stars.

The clock tower near the Avenue of the Stars, which is quite useful when you need to know the time.

This is a beach-type waterfront area called Aberdeen, which is sort of on a less-traveled side of Hong Kong Island. A lot of wealthy people live here because it is downright beautiful. I mean on our way here, all we saw were Mercedes, BMWs, Lamborghini's, Ferrari's and you name it. Not to mention the HK Country Club and some really nice high-rise residential buildings.

More Signs!

So stumbling home drunk one night...I realized that the one thing missing from my life was a quality rickshaw. I took down the phone number immediately and I have a test drive setup for this week.

Why have a regular kingdom, when you can have a JUMBO KINGDOM?

For all the big people out here, I found you a store! Count those X's folks...SIX...now that's what I call Big and Tall.

PLEASE folks...be safe out there when you are using your fishing devices.

SIGNS!

So I just couldn't help myself. Some of the signs here are hilarious. I just had to start a sub-blog just dedicated to the lovely signage. Enjoy!



Hey guys...just a warning, DO NOT let you dog FOUL in public because you will be prosecuted.

I tried my best, but I did not with the Closing CUM Prize...sigh...there is always next year.

Ladies...you will be pleased to know that if you are ever attacked in a toilet in HK, you can hit the help alarm, which will result in your timely rescue.

After reading this sign, I left the park because I figured there was nothing left for me to do...geez, way to suck the fun out of everything.