Grocery Game

Now comes the moment we've all been waiting for!  The grocery tally for our first month in Hong Kong.

Now before I give you this number, which will surely make your heart stop briefly as it did mine, let me preface it by saying that if you are at all familiar with relocation packages you will know that there are some expenses we just do not have anymore.  And remember, we no longer have a mortgage or vehicles, both of which require insurance and upkeep.  We do, however, have a credit card, thank the sweet Lord!

The grand total for groceries for our first month in Hong Kong is.....

$2,717.39 (US Dollars)!!!

I generally do not like to throw around numbers, but this is so darn outrageous I had to share.  And, the cost of groceries is one of the most asked questions from friends and family back home.  But I should also point out a few things.

First, these are "starter" groceries.  Many of the things we bought this past month are items you stock in your cupboards, but don't replenish frequently, like spices, oils, baking ingredients.

Second, included in the bill were some household items that I probably could have gotten cheaper in some random stall in downtown Wan Chai, but not initially knowing where to go to find these items, we just bit the bullet and paid way more than we should.  Things like power strips, a bucket, broom and dustpan.

Third, the tally does include beer, wine and "spirits".  Duh!

And lastly, being very wet behind the ears, I made some really stupid purchases in those first few shopping trips.  For example, I bought four fresh New Zealand chicken breasts out of the meat case on my first shopping trip.  Those few pieces of meat alone cost no less than sixty-three U.S. dollars. 

I do expect that the bill will go down a bit, but I also realize that it is what it is.  There are no Sunday coupons.  It's not easy to jump from store to store trying to find the cheapest price; you'll pay the difference in cab fare anyway.  And am I really going to tell the kids that, no, you cannot have fresh raspberries because a small carton cost $7?  Or should I start forcing my milk lovers to drink sugary soda just to bypass the $20 price tag on a gallon of milk?

And even though it's more out of our pockets, I will continue to try to buy the pricey American brands when I can because I trust those products and I know how they taste.  Yes, I did indeed pay $10 for a 12-pack of Diet Coke, but it was REAL Diet Coke and not that crappy Coke Light they try to pass off here.  It's not like the selection here is wonderfully vast.  There are no Yoplait Frozen Smoothies.  Artisan tortilla chips have yet to be introduced.  So when I find an authentic American treat, yeah, I'm totally entitled to it, spoiled American that I am.

Once upon a time I shopped at super Wal Mart because I thought the prices at Harris Teeter were ridiculously high.  What did I know? $2,717.39 later, Harris Teeter looks a bit like bargain shopping to me!

Television Here Sucks!

Television here sucks!  There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it.  When we first applied for cable service I was happy to see some familiar channels on the line-up.  Channels like E!, HBO, TLC, Discovery, History.  And I was even happier to be able to add a few extras like FOX and WeTV.  Gotta have my fill of Glee, ya know?

What I didn't know then, but know now is that just because the channel is the same doesn't mean the shows are the same.  In fact, it doesn't even mean the shows are current and up to date.  Here in Hong Kong, Jon & Kate are still 8 and "happily" married.  Susan has not yet had her kidney transplant on Desperate Housewives.  And John Locke just turned the big gear on Lost while Jack Shepard's father instructed him "say hello to my son". 

Some other television oddities here.... 

A channel will show the same episode of the same show all week long.  Back home, I got hooked on a show called Storage Wars on A&E.  It was to my great delight that I found Storage Wars running on the Biography channel here.  Now I wouldn't miss a single second of the bidding feuds for abandoned storage units filled with crap!  When I flip the channel on on a Monday they are in Vegas and Brandi and Jarrod luck out and find a bag of casino chips in their unit. But guess what? On Tuesday, they find the same treasure.  On Wednesday, they find them again, and they find them Thursday and Friday too!

There are no commercials on TV except to advertise other shows running on that station later at a later date.  No commercials for Tide or Purina One.  No one has fallen and can't get up.  The Red Cross doesn't need your help.  But Toddlers & Tiaras from three years ago will be premiering on August 30.

There is no nudity on HBO, Cinemax or Starz.  I was re-watching the final episode of Mildred Pierce, which ran on HBO in the states earlier this spring, and I noticed that when Mildred's daughter, Veda, gets busted banging her step-father she went from being in bed to sitting at the vanity table just like that.  The long, seductive, strut in the buff that she does in front of her mother, totally edited out.  The reason this perplexes me so is, I just got back from an afternoon downtown. When I was hustling to catch the shuttle back to our apartment building, I passed no less than a half dozen strip club with the girls standing on the sidewalks, in matching outfits no less, beckoning passing males to come inside.  And it was only 4 o'clock!  So, apparently, ya can't look at pictures of it on cable TV, but your welcome to get a glimpse in the flesh after you grab some lunch.

Eugene keeps telling me how it's good to be watching less TV.  This is coming from a man who is busy with  his work, his travel, his conference calls, his emails (love ya, babe!).  He is occupied.  He is busy.  He doesn't have time to get bored.  I do, boo hoo.  And I'm not ashamed to admit, I am a reality TV junky and a news program addict.  I'm having withdrawals. 

So what's the solution?  We are working on it.  Years ago with the help of our brother-in-law Chris, we purchased a Slingbox and had it hooked up to his television in Pittsburgh so Gene could watch Steelers football, which isn't always available in North Carolina.  The Slingbox allows us to log in through a website and watch the television it is connected to.  Little did we know then that that little box would become so very important.  We can log onto the Slingbox and watch television, albeit a 12 hour difference, but one of the catches is, if we change the channel here, we change the channel there.  I feel pretty safe flipping around at 4pm here, but 8am here is a different story.  And if I see a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game on, I know not to touch the clicker!  My genius of a IT brother-in-law (no, not butt kissing, he really is a genius) is working on a solution for us. 

Until then, hey look, La Bamba is on.... AGAIN!

I Bought...

I bought some French salad dressing today and it looks like this

Weird, huh?

Finding My Place

Sometimes at night, when the kids are asleep and the apartment is still, I walk the halls of 5245 in my mind.  I walk through the kitchen, tugging on the cabinet knobs, trying to remember where I kept the colander and the coffee mugs and the potato masher.  I step out onto the back porch and know exactly where that pesky, creaky floorboard is.  I climb up the back stairs, with that super soft, modern shag carpet that I loved so much, tickling my toes.  Blah!  There's the laundry room painted that ungodly shade of purple.  I peek in the kids' rooms at their toy boxes and stack of books, clean PJs waiting to be stowed in the drawers, random hangers dangling from the closet doorknobs.  And my bedroom with our familiar bed where I would sip coffee in the morning and run down the morning headlines with my friends on the Today Show.

Then I open my eyes and I'm here.

Here is not a bad place.  But here is not home.  Not yet.  I'm interested to see when that transition will take place, when it goes from being "Hong Kong" to "home". 

I remember feeling this way when we first moved to North Carolina.  Everything was so foreign and unfamiliar.  I felt insignificant and lost in the crowd.  I knew no one, no one knew me.  I was lonely and alone.

But I do remember when stopped feeling that way.  It was when I stopped sitting around my house and watching TV.  It was when I stood in my driveway and chatted with my neighbors.  It was when I printed up flyers announcing a book club.  It was when I volunteered my time to a church group.  It was when I built up that network of friends who became like family.

So that's what I'm trying hard to do here.  I'm trying my hardest not to be scared.  To be confident.  To act like I'm in the "in crowd".  To remember lots of names.  To shake lots of hands.  To smile a lot.  To wave a lot.  To be accepting of everyone I meet and hope that they will do the same with me.

I'm looking out tonight on the fabulous lights of Repulse Bay, at all the taxis going by, all the apartments lit up where people are going about their family business.  I'm just one person in this big, big city.  But I'll find my way.  I'll find my place.  I will.  I will.