Ching chong ching chong

I never claim to understand Chinese, but once in a while I surprise myself when I hear something or remember the word for something. Last week, for example, I was pleased to order a piece of cake in Hong Kong and asked for a plastic bag so I could take it with me. It's the little things.

At work today, I met with a group of vendors, two from Hong Kong and two from Korea. In the middle of my spiel, I mentioned an initiative I hoped these vendors would invest in, and one of the Hong Kong-based folks said to the other in Cantonese, "They always ask us to cut costs, but then ask us to do extra things."

To which I replied, "Well, we see these minimal costs as investments that will reduce costs over time through..."

It was a nice moment.