The parents came and left and it was one week of some touristy stuff plus home life. I took the week off and spent some time also at the dentist which cost me a whopping 4 grand. Crazy. They also told me I needed some work done and the potential cost was about 10 grand, not including the wisdom teeth surgery. Yikes. I have also finally scheduled my medical checkup which would be in the first week of November and would cost me another 8 grand. Life is hard, when everything costs so much ! Luckily, currently this is all covered for by the company I work with. I also finally joined a gym here, and it will cost me 929 a month for the next year. With the parents, a visit to Macau was in order of course, and we stayed at the Venetian. No better reason to splurge. So all about money these past 2 weeks, and surprise surprise, my credit card was maxed out one fine day. For the first time in my life, I could not sign on my credit card. Bleh.

After a long mahjong session on Friday night, I had breakfast at the famous macaroni on a sidewalk place with MrTam and FredBear. It brought back memories of the first time that I arrived in HongKong last year. Life was different then, but also same. I am still working, my friends are still around, and there is still time to have fun. Later spent a few hours in the arcade with MrTam before going off to the gym to run. The fact that the gym costs so much is proving to be a big incentive to go and reduce the cost per visit ! So I ran, and managed to finish off two episodes of House Season 3. Yes I am that Backward ! I figured that the gym's huge series library in DVD would also be a great reason to exercise and I am right !

After 8 km and a shower, I MTRed up to Cheung Sa Wan to meet GAHil and GACin for an hour at the driving range. Still trying to improve the swing. Hitting the ball is good. Also spent some time reading articles in Chinese. Later we adjourned to La Fleur in WanChai for some great French food and a great bottle of wine from South Australia. While the girls had duck/chicken, oysters and foie gras, I contented myself with salad, soup and a fantastic fish. No butter and dressing. Not bad at all. Still great. And it was great fun too. We stayed till everyone left, and talked some more. Also learnt a lot about mortgages and the process of getting one. You see, by the time my contract expires next year, and if I do stay on, I am toying with the idea of buying my first piece of real estate in the very expensive market of Hong Kong. After all, I would be paying rent so why not a mortgage instead.

It is however a very tricky decision, and I am glad I have months to go before making a decision. Today, the lazy genes took over, and I skipped gym, but will do some weights at home before heading out to badminton in the evening. So still some exercises today, and I shall be able to cover my conscience with that.

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