Peace Treaty, Addendum

P.S.

Could you also not land in/on/around my mug? As your friend may have let you know (in a seance), instead of the quick and painless death I would've dealt, I ended up trapping him in the mug and drowning him. Long and drawn out. I'm guessing it was rather agonising, too, when he realised that there was no way out and that the water level in the mug was steadily rising while the wet tissue overhead was getting lower.

So. No mug. Thanks.

Peace Treaty

Dear friend,

I believe that the need for a truce has arisen. This love-hate (mostly hate) relationship between us is causing much tension, so I hope that with this letter, we can reach an understanding between mosquito and me.

I know you must eat to survive. Such is life. But really you must ensure that gluttony not overcome you, as several nights I have awoken to 5 or 6 new bites. I hardly believe that you need such a feast at a single sitting. So I ask that you please limit your overeating tendencies. Let us start with 2 bites per night, and if this arrangement doesn't work, we can discuss the matter further.

Let's make that 1. One bite per night.

I ask you not to touch the face. The face is still the most aesthetically appreciated feature of a person, and needless to say, your savage devouring of my delicate skin leaves not only physical but also emotional scars. Please avoid the face.

Know that should you insist on supping on my blood, you will die. I don't care if I have to stay up until 03:00 to catch you, but I will, believe you me. Not only will you die sooner than you hope, but you will live your last hours (minutes) in utter fear. Utter. and. complete. fear.

So. How does that sound. Truce? :)

Sincerely,
N

Putt-putt, just puttin' around

Work is going well, and I have finally been getting some sleep at my place (after I stopped using the pillow).

Maybe it's because it's still Week 2 for me here, but the time seems to pass so quickly. Before I know it, it's 18:00 and my colleagues are asking if I want to go for dinner. And then before long it's 20:00 and I need to rush to catch the last shuttle bus.

My work hasn't even picked up yet, and already I feel that my commute is just too restrictive on my schedule, especially since there are weekly seminars and presentations that begin after dinner. Forget 9-to-5.

So, I've decided to buy a scooter. Yep, I'm gonna be a scooter girl! I've started asking my coworkers about getting one - cost, licence.... I haven't decided between getting the 50cc scooter or getting a larger one. I also have to wait until I get my first paycheque (monthly payments here!) to afford it!

But, until then, it's "Sorry, boss, can't work overtime; I have to catch the last shuttle bus!"

Workin' it

So. I made it through my first week of work. It was tough. Lots of positives and negatives that made my outlook of the future blink like a pedestrian-controlled traffic light.

To start off, my manager is great - I like him. But he's pretty busy, so I don't see him too much (we sit in different areas). And the project manager with whom I will be working - well, he was on a business trip all week, so I spent the week just getting settled, looking at some documents, and learning the basics of GSM and GPRS wireless technology (totally new to me).

I am the Canadian here. Everyone seems to know about me. My manager would introduce me, "This is N. She's a foreigner. From Canada." D'oh! Blew my cover, first thing. So much for slipping under the radar as a local. (Actually, while I may get away with looking the part, I apparently have an obvious accent when I speak. *sigh*) But it's almost as if they're proud of having a foreigner on board - rather amusing.

My colleagues are great. Everyone is really friendly with explaining product knowledge, logistics (how to order lunch), or even just whether or not I need attend certain meetings. Women make up maybe 15% of the staff - high compared to other tech companies here, but abysmal compared to my previous company (approximately 1:1).

Lowlight. The vast majority of the corporate e-mail I receive is in Chinese. Even with an instant translation software, it takes me forEVer to read my e-mail. IT installed an English version of Windows for me, but Dr.eye didn't get installed until the afternoon. I was a sitting duck, and it dawned on me just how inadequate my Chinese is, which was very discouraging.

Overall, getting on okay. More to come ....