Today was a lovely day of networking, and as it turns, the circle of networks ain't that big. I went to the Dutch Cham's MUNCH luncheon. They have monthly lunches where Dutch companies in Hong Kong showcase what they do. I walk in and realize I know not one, but two people there, both from Platinum wine events! Miriam is Dutch so it was no surprise to see her there, and then I saw Victor. He's from Mexico and a newbie to Hong Kong as well. It's fun to finally know some people when going out! Today's presentation was from 3 PM which manufactures the phone displays for phone stores to showcase. It was pretty interesting to watch the strict Western standards they impose in a world where these don't exist (Shenzen factory). The entire presentation was full of mockery about Chinese workers, bribery and basic Chinese work ethic. As a 20 something, it was quite baffling to me and Miriam and Victor how blatant the Chinese bashing was! A direct quote from one slide, "All of the cliches about China are true." Whha!!? PS there were Chinese people there.
Anyway, it was fun, killed a couple hours and fed me. Then I went and met Natalie for coffee. Natalie is a friend of Joey. Joey is a friend I have met out and he thought that Natalie and I could connect and swap networking/work stories. He was right! She's a blast, works for Deloitte in consulting, and although they aren't hiring thinks she can put me in touch with some people who may be. More than anything she was just really cool and is a new friend!
As of 6pm tonight I am no longer an intern for Foodie. :( I got an email saying sorry for offering you the internship, but you don't have permanent residence here (ie no visa) so we can't go forward. WHAT!? I almost fell over. I've been soooo excited to see what working in publishing would be like. This was literally my dream (unpaid) job and it was just ripped out from under me. They went on to say they'd be happy to have me contribute, which is nice, but I really wanted to see what the 9-7 grind was like. Hopefully we can work something out. If not it's back to square one. Oh and did I mention I already emailed Platinum that I wouldn't be able to work for them as "an opportunity came along that I just couldn't pass up." There goes the one shot I had at a visa. FML x 100000.
Anyway, it was fun, killed a couple hours and fed me. Then I went and met Natalie for coffee. Natalie is a friend of Joey. Joey is a friend I have met out and he thought that Natalie and I could connect and swap networking/work stories. He was right! She's a blast, works for Deloitte in consulting, and although they aren't hiring thinks she can put me in touch with some people who may be. More than anything she was just really cool and is a new friend!
As of 6pm tonight I am no longer an intern for Foodie. :( I got an email saying sorry for offering you the internship, but you don't have permanent residence here (ie no visa) so we can't go forward. WHAT!? I almost fell over. I've been soooo excited to see what working in publishing would be like. This was literally my dream (unpaid) job and it was just ripped out from under me. They went on to say they'd be happy to have me contribute, which is nice, but I really wanted to see what the 9-7 grind was like. Hopefully we can work something out. If not it's back to square one. Oh and did I mention I already emailed Platinum that I wouldn't be able to work for them as "an opportunity came along that I just couldn't pass up." There goes the one shot I had at a visa. FML x 100000.
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