Timeliness

Today, I got my Health Care Card - two months after applying for it.. FML Well, I thought trading away 26 pages of paperwork for $9 of savings (VPT concession card) might have been worth it. Normally I don't have a HCC so I don't get sick since I would be scared of the price of medications. Plus, some dude said health is an optimum state of being instead of being free of disease. The human body should be able to fix itself up under warranty. But anyway, I ended up doing both VPT and HCC applications.

In those two months I've managed to set aside some time to read about time. I liked the idea in Bertman's Hyperculture about how we might be going very fast to the wrong thing. Also, in Linder's Harried Leisure Class, there's the idea that over-utilisation of self might be like overusing a road... traffic jams and all and results in less efficiency. Or even that "people die an early death from overstrain and insufficient time instead of, as previously, from a shortage of goods. (p.25)" But then again, I haven't really read the other side in favour of a harried life because I don't have the time. ba dumch

Anyway, I think on that day I spent about 50 minutes in a queue at Centrelink (but I had a book which made it alright). George* (could be his real name - I can't remember clearly), a middle-aged man of East-Asian decent migrated from Mauritius where he was... a public servant. He did have an interesting accent which was cool. Also ended up discussing strategies for tax evasion. He was saying how the government in Mauritius offers tax incentives for new companies. The result: companies winding up after 5 years and new ones taking their place with the same owners. For something more local, he said setting up a family trust is popular... well for top earners anyway where company tax is less than personal tax. And then some more about separating the money for children so then it mostly goes at the lower brackets. I might have to pick his brains some other time... could be cheaper and better than the people paid for that kind of advice.

Next matter:- I sent off an email to the electrical department at HKU about course information. I didn't get a reply within a few days so I emailed individual lecturers. Now - two weeks later - I receive an email from 'Polly*' (definitely her name as listed in the email) with everything I needed. But she did spell my surname wrong. Left out the 'h'. gah... kinda feel bad annoying all the Professor Chans et al... hmm Josh could be a Professor Chan soonish...