Personal Dork Assistant

Back In The PRoC

The trip to the factory is getting to be old hat at this point. Catch the cab to the airport at 8am, flight is at 10, get to HK by noon and run to catch the 12:30 bus across the border to Shenzhen. The driver from the factory picks us up from the drop-off hotel at 2:30 and I'm unzipping the suitcase by 2:45. This trip had a little extra challenge though, as orders came down from the factory that all incoming personnel must bring in duty-free Macallan 12-year single-malt for the upcoming Chinese New Year festivities. Apparently Macallan is the fad du jour for the hard-drinking Asian businessman this year, because they were all sold out of the 12-year at the TPE duty-free shops, and the party budget didn't allow for 18s. We had to wait until we got to Hong Kong, and even there the shops only had one-liter bottles remaining. So each person could only take one one-liter bottle instead of two 750ml bottles, due to China importation limits. Booze costs more in HK, too. We definitely didn't maximize our alcohol-purchasing dollar. They had other single-malts at the duty-free, but the boss wanted Macallan, so Macallan it is. Hopefully they won't be mixing the whiskey with bottled green tea again. God damn that is vile. They can save the Johnny Walker for that shit.

They've spruced up the place a little bit since last time. Put in venetian blinds on the windows, and they finally fixed the cold-water feed in the sink, so I don't boil my teeth when I'm brushing. I really should work out exactly how much clothes I'd left here and what to bring each time. I've got way too many socks and I can really use a sweater. At least the cold mornings mean that the breakfast congee cools off fast enough so I can finish the bowl just in time for work. Makes it tough to get out of bed, though.