Ayeesha's job log: 9

The story so far... Returning from Newcastle to Hong Kong (where she grew up), Ayeesha Shahani has found jobs but the right flat is harder to locate.

I'll take that one!

So as you probably would’ve guessed, I took that apartment I saw in my sister’s building. It was just too good a deal to pass up! Plus although she may complain about me being so close now, I bet that once she comes around she will realise that having me around could be of some benefit to her.

The apartment is great, tiny but great. It is high up and has loads of windows that keep it nice and bright and it came pretty much fully furnished so I moved in straight away. It’s weird to think that this is my first real apartment - not one I have to share with other flatmates or my boyfriend or anyone. Just all mine!

That'll be HK$25,000 please…

Having made the incredibly exciting decision to get this flat, I soon realised that although I had been working for two months, I had yet to save enough money to pay the deposit AND be able to survive on the leftovers the following month. So I was in desperate need of help. Having slept on people’s couches all summer long the last thing I wanted to do was ask anyone I knew for a favour. My aunt did offer (gem that she is) but after talking to a girl at work, I had a better idea. This expatriate teacher from the UK had told me that when she came out to Hong Kong  she had nothing and was unable to pay the three-month deposit on her flat straight away, so she went to the company, explained her situation and they gave her an advance on her salary to pay for the flat! Brilliant!

Having heard this story I confidently marched up to the head honchos and asked them if it was possible to work out a similar arrangement, to which they simply said ‘no’. 

Apparently that offer was extended to her because she was an expatriate and I, being a permanent resident, was not entitled to such an arrangement. However I pleaded with them and told them that ID Card or no ID Card; I still had no place to live! So finally they agreed, and they gave me an advance that I have to pay back out of my salary over the next four months…success! With my deposit in tow I signed for my flat and thanked the school for being so kind and helping me out in my time of need. Finally! I had arrived at a goal I set myself months ago, I felt this rush of relief, anticipation and excitement.

Suzie home-maker

Since then I have been having a blast pottering around town after work shopping for household stuff. It’s the little things that make a house a home and a warm and wonderful home this shall be. With the new job, new house, new stuff, and new people around me, it has really felt like a new chapter in my life. A new chapter entitled ‘Ayeesha - the independent years’! So I quickly decided that if I want this new chapter to be a happy and bright one then I have to start by making my home happy and bright. I proceeded to purchase outrageously bright things for my new apartment and now it is so colourful that it’s simply impossible to feel an ounce of negativity when you are there.

Naggy Nanny

The combination of the happy job and the happy house has resulted in me becoming somewhat of an obnoxiously upbeat person. I was afraid this might happen if I went into teaching, and it has. I have started doing this really annoying thing where I talk to my friends as though they are children in my class and keep reminding them of what is ‘nice behavior’ and ‘not nice behavior’. When you teach kindergarten you tend to live by a very strict set of rules and a very black and white moral code. You teach that tidying up, listening quietly, sitting still, etc all fall under ‘that’s very nice’. And that grabbing, interrupting, hitting, not listening, leaving a mess and lying all fall under the category of ‘that’s not very nice’. For anyone who is reading this and thinking about becoming a teacher, you should know that it is very hard to filter ‘school talk’ out of your everyday language. Much to the annoyance of others, I guarantee you that within months of starting out, you will become somewhat patronising to the poor people around you. Although not your fault, it’s very easy to get used to being on your high horse all the time, you just have to be careful not to succumb to the temptation of putting your boyfriend in a Time Out (you know…to have a think about what he has done!)

• See Ayeesha's previous job logs.

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