The Contract is (the) King in Hong Kong.

"I know what you are doing. But, you are going on about it totally the wrong way..."
 he concludes with a hint of sadness in his voice. 

Sad? Me too – well, a little; disapproval of a fellow BIM-mer does cut, but life goes on and on.

One must carry on doing what one must do; “when the kids need new shoe’s . . .” do you answer the call?
or “when a 'niche' industry like the global AEC pleads for a radical shake up . . .” do you answer?

If I wanted to be really poetic I could say, that the “kids of this world need a new AEC industry” as this one is on the edge of a vortex, but let's just park that question for another day. 

Back to my conversation partner, who points out he once was a supporter of mine, unfortunately no longer.

Before signing off, he leaves me with an important lesson, half said. 

He implies that because I was shown the best path for Hong Kong, but took another, I'll never get another BIM job here.

He must mean a commission, since I'm now an independent contractor; forgive the omission.

Things can move along in Hong Kong  surprisingly quickly. 

A Very Important Person can overlook the current status of my CV, it is a pretty live and dynamically changing document, you see.

He may be right about my bleak future, he and others – well I might not have heard threats but there were cautions, “be careful” etc

When you arrive to work in Hong Kong, as I had, just over 3 months ago – you are bound to be told to be aware, that if you want to be successful here, you really need to understand the place, the culture, what makes it tick.

Hong Kong is about money and deals, they say, forget the contracts.

Old habits die hard, so in the new job I still work hard, forget about deals and the small print of my employment contract and am loyal to the company and my family.

Life is easy when your guiding principles are simple to define and not in conflict with each other.

I keep an eye on the money, so we can buy at least another year of stability for our kids and to earn as much as it is possible for the company that has hired me, not just in this year but for years to come, by using my skills and experience to guide them around the minefield of the yet-to eventuate Hong Kong AEC.

12 weeks into the ‘dream job of my life’ the ‘Contract’ rears its head; it says that I can be fired there and then or to keep it strictly PC ‘my services are no longer required’.

Over the following week at least half a dozen people assure me:

‘The contract is King in Hong Kong’;

Are there three sides here?
There are two sides and Aside to every contract; it’s an Interesting place, yes?