Harding's Mahler 5

I attended both concerts of LSO last week. The first one was boring, with Lang Lang playing Ravel's Piano Concerto in G and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. Lang Lang was not impressive and Berlioz was never my cup of tea. The second night was much better. Berg's violin concerto was somewhat atonal and I think the audience found it not very interesting but Zimmerman's encore of Bach's Sarabande was very good.

The focus of the concert was the second half's Mahler 5. I was interested to find out about how Harding, a young conductor in his early thirties, handles Mahler. The result was not at all bad. He took a relatively fast tempo throughout and there was significant contrast. However, the balance of different sections seemed to be blurred, and the brass was simply too loud in some passages. The slow movement was moving, and the strings under the baton of Harding sounded like one instrument. The final movement was the best among all and the climax at the end of built up effectively.

Although it is not the most touching live performance, Harding's Mahler was fabulous in the sense that he could maintain the control and let the music spoke by itself. I look forward to hearing more of his Mahler. And he is still very young. His future will certainly be bright.

Baby, you are 100 days old today!

Happy Birthday Baby!

Quit

I tendered my resignation letter yestserday afternoon. No regrets. Everybody in the department was talking about it. People think my decision was in a rush and I have not thought it through. Some people couldn't believe it. Indeed, if you were to draw up a list of 30 people who would leave the bank, I will definitely be excluded. But then, who wants to leave an organisation for which they have worked over 12 years? There must be many many pull and push factors, and one large trigger point. Being a prudent banker, I must have weighed the pros and cons very carefully before I made my decision. I am not an irrational guy.

Now I must know how to respond to counter-offers, if any. On one hand, I hope they would ask me for a meeting and try to make me stay. On the other hand, I know the chance of me staying is very remote, because I am 100% sure they would not be able to give me what I want. Even if they are willing offer it to me now, I will not accept it, because my passion for this company is now lost.

I am not very happy about my leaving, but I have no regrets.

Resignation

I am going to tender my resignation tomorrow. My feeling is quite mixed now - I have been working here for 12.5 years. I have been shaped by its culture, its way of doing things, its people, etc. Although joining a new company opens a whole new world for me, I am struggling to make this painful decision.

New Role

Just been transferred to a new posting - the China dream is now over. The remaining question is: should I go to the hedge fund? Yes, it is still waiting for me. I have to make a decision shortly (probably within this week).

At present, I incline to leave (58% chance). Let's wait and see what is going to happen these few days!

Baby in search of the Ultimate Reality

Returning to work

My wife has finished her maternity leave and is returning to the office today. She was so worried about our baby and she said she would miss him like crazy, at least for the first few days. She did cry today before she left home. I hope she would get used to it very soon.

She is carrying the pumping machine to work today. Quite heavy. She is a really good Mom and is willing to sacrifice a lot for our baby. That's why I have bought her a bag from Tod's as a token of thanks to her hard work during the past 11 weeks.

Well done, my dear!

Spending

Mad Dog talked about her spending in her blog.

My spending pattern is as follows:

我捨得花HKD1,500 per month on CDs.
我捨得花HKD500 per month on Books.
我捨得花HKD2,000 on HK Arts Festival.
我捨得花HKD700 for a Berlin Philharmonic Concert.
我只捨得花HKD150 per month on Magazines.
我捨得花HKD36 each day on Taxi (morning only, but increasingly in the evening as well)
我捨得花HKD2,000 on dining out each time (with wife - 1 to 2 per month)
我只捨得花HKD1,500 on shirts (5 tailor-made shirts every 6 to 9 months; HKD300 max. each)
我只捨得花HKD898 each on suits - 2 per year (extremely cheap, tailor-made in Central)
我只捨得花HKD1,200 on shoes every 6 to 9 months (except when they are Edward Green, 我會捨得花 over HKD4,500)
我只捨得花less than HKD500 on cell phone (current model: Nokia 1100, with no camera, no colour mon, no nothing! My maid may have a better model than I do!)
我只捨得花HKD50 on hair cut per month, could be free if Mom cuts for me.
我捨得花HKD300 per tennis lesson per week.

Haven't got any new tie in the past 3 years!

Hi-fi - no extra spending apart from those one-off investments already made.

No facial, no spa, no massage, etc.

Where has the balance of my salary gone?

P.S.

想買但花不起:

Patek Philipe watch
Mark Levinson amplifiers
Hermes Ties
John Lobb Bespoke shoes
1,200 sq ft flat at mid-levels