Another week draws to an end in the Handbag factory. I told the Americans, in a very crude manner despite my best intentions to let them down gently, that I won’t be joining them. Again. There is no good way to reject their offer so it was best just to come out with it. On top of this I have a ‘headhunter’ who keeps calling me and wishes to meet for a ‘çhat’. I keep putting him off but I will have to meet just to satisfy my curiosity as to whom he is and the amazing jobs he has lined up. They will have to be good jobs as I now like life at the factory. After the initial freak out, as witnessed in some of my more abrasive posts down the page, I have found a new higher state of consciousness where I am more live and let live. My Cantonese co-workers are now, very very slowly, warming to me. It’s kind of like Elliot tempting ET out of the shed with M&M’s; I leave my knowledge and experience sweets dotted around the shop floor and one by one they pick them up and end up in my bedroom seeking further pearls of wisdom. But I must be careful not to shout or make sudden gestures that may shake the very fragile trust I have built up with them over the last few weeks. Any hint of non-conformist thinking and/or questioning of authority may send them running back so I must tread carefully. As I already explained, previous attempts to change the system through sheer force nearly got me the sack so I’ll do things their way but adding my own flashes of brilliance. Once they get a taste they won’t want to look back. I also like the air on the south side of the island. Yesterday, despite the heat, the weather was very gray and overcast but, via the taxi to work from my Central home, the skies turned blue and summer was again in the air. I had lunch and a nap in the park under the blue sky and listened to the birds tweet and the world pass by. You cannot do that in Central.
After a hard week, and despite my best intentions to save money I decided to buy a Rolex. Not sure why I did so but for me it was a symbolic gesture. It marks a certain part of my life and if all ends tomorrow then I’ll have something as a tribute to these heady days. It’s a vanity purchase of course but not a pointless one like buying a TV or a computer as it will hold its value. I can always sell it for food when times get hard. With it though brings an extra headache and I have to care about it unlike my Swatch which I could lose without caring. I just hope I can keep hold of it forever without losing it. I am an idiot.