Three

(Wow) October 1/2 marked the two year anniversary of my 'sojourn' in Hong Kong (left on the 1st, arrived on the 2nd.) And now, the sojourn will be extended, though I can't necessarily use the words "indefinitely" or "permanent" in any continuous sense... but I look forward to seeing what Year 3 brings.

I like the time period of 3 years. It takes a year to start building relationships and familiarize oneself with surroundings, it takes another year to build up trust and work on those relationships, and then by year 3, it's time to take more initiative. In particular, at work, this year coincides with a promotion so as to have greater influence. Not that things necessarily work in any particular pattern, but my last "Year 3" in E&Y Toronto was an extraordinarily fruitful one. The circumstances here are a lot more challenging (and a lot less friendly), but that just means I need to spend more time in prayer to see how God will provide opportunity for Him. Plus, living beside the office is a huge benefit. :p

With the financial downturn, my workload, being a pipeline of IPOs, has lightened considerably (noting, that the workload wasn't too heavy to begin with :p) The emptiness just means that I need to better motivate myself to spend time on important
things like reading up on IFRS... something that takes quite a bit of motivation! :P

Meanwhile, I've been happy to be disciplined enough to work out twice a week and then work on my queue of personal tasks in the evening (writing devotions, Sunday school preparation, reading, talking to David -- no particular order :p) It has been very enjoyable to find a certain balance in my daily routine and I am very thankful for that. Still seeking to improve discipline with sleeping, but at least it hasn't gone past 2am in a while. :p

The start of year 3 is pretty good so far... Very thankful. :)

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.