The #X&%Y UK work-visa application

"Your bank statement copy is not certified. Don't waste my time", thus said the fcuking woman officer in Carlton(?), UK resident visa office. Astonished, if I was Soki. The bank statement is a true copy printed by HSBC. Who the hell could possibly know a company stamp is required? Not to say he wasted so much time dead waiting in the queue, although he arrived the visa office well ahead of the scheduled appointment time. Soki managed to obtain the HSBC stamp after 15 minutes and attempted to re-submit his visa application. Everything fine, another officer was about to stick the visa on his passport. "Hold-on!" the bitch passed by and shouted, "I just rejected this dude's application, our office can't process his application any further. He should schedule another appointment." Soki suppressed his anger and did not punch her. The resident visa application is dependent on his work permit application, and the work permit was approved just yesterday. To further complicate the situation, Soki's student visa is going to expire on 31st Oct. Also, the resident visa is replaced by a new resident+work visa from 1st Nov onwards, which means the old resident visa will no longer be available. Application to the new visa can only be submitted in Hong Kong. Danm!!! "The next available appointment slot in our office is next Monday. Meanwhile, there is nothing you can do, but to mail your resident visa application to the Sheffield office". The bitch suggested the Sheffield office, which is a post-box. What a game... The HR from the company described the visa office as "notoriously illogical", and told Soki "unfortunately all you can do is to wait". This is a typical experience of an Asian (if not any foreigner) in UK (if not Europe). :p

The Daydream before Halloween

Today my u-mates API & B visited the HK Disneyland to celebrate P's birthday. We entered with free employee tickets. Given there are 4000 employees in Disneyland, and the park is continuously having a financial deficit, I think they should keep a head count of Hongkers entering the park for free. It is my first time to visit this park, although it has been opened for 3 years. To me, the park is not too small, my experience was positive, especially with the Halloween theme. It is quite a long while since our last gathering. IB told us the updates from our department. Dr. C & I have left to work in the Science Park. B & G are now squeezed into the same office room, even though there is an empty room left. The department is about to close the S/W engineering stream. Big changes since our graduation. One of the dishes, and my dear Buzz Lightyear!! Last but not least, a giant pumpkin

The funny end of story

E: Hi Angie, how is HK? A: The Heng Seng Index has dropped 6.75%. (*The End*) His gf's sis is called Angie too - the haunting ghost effect.

深圳半日遊

今天我的小學同學一行五人上了深圳。路上我們討論了各樣趣事。例如消防隊目的面試裡會問三聚氰胺的英文是什麼？如何以煽情的手法推銷 HSBC 的環保信用卡。港鐵一程 1 小時便到達皇崗。皇崗的火車站大堂內有很多免稅店，好像機場大堂一樣。 一步出火車站是高高的樓房。我們走路到水立方。在那裡招待我們的不能比顧客站得高，不然會被扣 50RMB。中式 (128 RMB)、泰式 (148RMB)、港式 (178RMB)、什麼什麼島的，雙鐘計算，有很多選擇。星期日的本地和外地顧客都很多。按摩小姐問我們是否只有十九歲 !? 小肥羊火鍋的價錢比香港分店便宜一點，湯底只要30RMB。那裡的員工只有1000 RMB多的月薪，而且分工很仔細。也難怪黃色事業在那裡盛行，相對來說是高薪職業。深圳除了小肥羊，還有小天鵝煮食爐和小熊貓香烟等。 回程時，同學們在的士上討論了國內的許多怪事。也許開車的聽了後不高興，強收我們20元，不願找錢。我想香港人在內地是挺討厭的。

The "Fruit Money" Incident

2008.10.15, Mr. Wong 黃毓民, 掟蕉 Look how well-prepared was Wong, he had his bananas ready on his bench! Darting a "banana" (a Cantonese pun) at the Chief Executive is certainly an ingenious gimmick to arouse public awareness of the old age allowance (known colloquially as "fruit money") issue. The party calls for raising the fruit money to HKD$1000 and abolishing the relevant means test. The present allowance for a single senior, whose monthly income does not exceed HK$5910, is HK$625. These figures alone reveal nothing much, without knowing also the distribution of exact monthly incomes and the living cost. Hey, remember we have almost 3 billions of people in the world living on US$2 a day, HKD$480 a month. Last Friday evening, while pushing my way through the hectic crowd on a bridge in downtown Central, I passed by 4 senior beggars in 10 meters. In a modern prosperous metro scene, the traditional sound of er-hu composed a dirge in the background. If I was in a political party, definitely I would fight first for these abandoned souls, rather than requesting a uniform increment of fruit money.