The Blindside

NO! I did not see the movie.

But it is time for a bit of personal business here. I've not been physically well for the past month or so, no real symptoms, but I knew something wasn't 100%, and I figured as most young people do, that it was just a combination of weekend excursions and work stress combined with little sleep that so many of us succumb to regularly.

I honestly figured I was just chilly most of the time as it was dipping below 40 in Shenzhen, and downright cold in Boston. Until the 24th when my parents urged that I check my tempurature. Behold the 102.5!

I've never run a fever close to 100 so needless to say we were slightly concerned. Two days passed with no downswing of temp, prompting a nice little trip to the hospital.

A few blood tests and X-rays later, a confounded doctor told a confounded patient that he had both pneumonia and mono (yeah, the disease everyone got in college and highschool). The most confusing thing is the blatant lack of symptoms other than lethargy and fever, but suffice it to say the tests did not lie.

The result: An extended tour of duty in the US until the 19th of January. I will travel as far as I can to see anyone, but it's looking like I'm limited to day trips at best right now.

Confused blogger will update with more upbeat news hopefully.

Back in my hometown

I certainly hope everyone is doing well given the extraordinary weather we've had lately. The holiday season is apparently in full swing, though the malls seem a bit less hellish this year.

Anyway, after tying up loose ends in Shenzhen, we are all returned to the states, and given the weather events, could not have been luckier with our flights.

Not much else to update at this time, but if anything comes to mind it will certainly show up here. Hope to see everyone this winter.

Deck the halls

The hour for our return is quickly approaching, as expatriates the world over scramble to close rank and tidy everything up for their trips away from the desk and back to loved ones. Holiday parties abound, and we begin to bid farewell to some, and express our condolences to those stuck at their outposts, unable or unwilling to leave for the holidays.



China does not shutdown, and though they love the glitz and glam of a shopping season, it is apparently business as usual.

The remaining Anemoi partners are trying to secure as much work as possible for our return. Thankfully, all of our clients have some sort of Western ownership or face, and will also be taking holidays similar to ours, leaving us with some space to breath while at home.

We are all looking forward to Christmas and New Years, but equally excited to get some work rolled-out once we return. After some promising talks with a large domestic company, January is looking like a potential Godsend, details will be withheld until we know more, but it's damn exciting to entertain the possibilities that lie (lay?) ahead.

An overdue post: Dating abroad, have we found women more complicated than Americans? Stay tuned, details at 9

Lethargic

Apologies everyone, after 2 brutal weeks, this week has been very low key. The laid back week, no gym membership, and a general malaise has combined to make one lazy foreigner.

I will have a few more proper posts about the events that have transpired here in the last couple of weeks up shortly.

On a side note, I'll be back in the states on Dec 20th, so get excited.

Dreaming Big

Thanksgiving flew by, and it is now December. China has taken to Christmas much like we do at home these days. "Seasons Greetings", fake snow, and tons of sales. Family? Togetherness? Jesus Christo? nope, just fake snow and shopping...

Anyway, the title has little to do with anything, I just really dig the guy who does these paintings. We have been grinding almost non-stop since Thanksgiving and will have presented two assessments by week's end and are co-sponsoring a very large networking/educational event at the Ritz Carlton Saturday.

It's amazing how one can make connections out here, and it really seems like THE way to meet new business contacts. For example, a friend of mine is a DJ out here, and gets invited to random places to put on shows. While we were at one of his shows, a few people came up to our little entourage to say hi and dance a bit. One girl starts talking to my date, invites the two of us back to her table, where I meet two Turkish businessmen living in China. An hour later, we have another potential and an ally in the city.
From the clubs to the professional networking events, you must always be on your game, and have at least several business cards in your back pocket. You are never really away from work if you are able to sell to someone else. NOW, there is a line, and this exists everywhere, someone too eager to sell to anyone will alienate friends and groups and distance yourself from those few people out here you can relax with. We walk the line here, for better or worse it seems to be playing out in our favor so far.

Thanksgiving

I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving to the fullest and surrounded themselves with family and friends.
It was certainly interesting out here. A group of 50 foreigners (maybe 1/3 of which were American) invaded a Chinese-run German restaurant for turkey and all the great little things that go along with it. The organizer took care to make sure everything was done to a more or less Western standard, and to be honest, the meal was surprisingly familiar.

Good times were had.

Today we wrap up our assessment for our client with the small trading firm, though our deadline has been pushed back since he allegedly celebrated our holiday as well.... and a bit too much.

No complaints as we power forward and seek out new clients.

Holidays abroad

I regret to say that this post is coming via the virus-laden PC, and not the newly refurbished Mac. I have been more than procrastinating a photo-upload session and once I transfer a lot of my data over to the macbook, they will be popping up.

Anyway, this week is very busy as we rush to finish a time sensitive assessment for a client. The problem here is that the client is Spanish, and we are in China, and therefore the sensitivities to the great American celebration of Thanksgiving are really non-existent. Thursday is a workday, and the only nod to the holiday is a Australian organized group of about 20 people invading a Bavarian restaurant for Turkey and all things related later that evening.
The sad thing there is that we present to our client bright and early Friday morning, so the celebrations will be subdued.

I will not wax poetic about the greater implications of this holiday, and will only say that I am sad that I cannot spend it with family and friends, but am excited to be experiencing it from the opposite end of the globe with foreigners from all over the world who are always hungry for an excuse to drink on a weeknight.

Photo snag and other updates

This is really getting quite frustrating. The demons on my computer have colluded again to keep me from posting pictures. Luckily I have an ace in the hole: My old and not so trusty Macbook. I have finally swapped in my new hard drive and rebooted the old guy so it's now running better than ever: 2gb ram, 160 gig hard drive, and a free copy of snow leopard. Needless to say I'm pretty excited, though the real happiness will come if I am able to recover the old hard drive, and for that I'll need to venture back into Hong Kong. No biggie.

Business updates: We are moving forward full steam on 3 projects, have been signed on for extra work on one of those, and are considering an intern. The deal with our big un-named long shot is looking a little more positive after a hiatus in purgatory, and people are generally upbeat.

Weather: It has occurred to me that South China does not do Autumn well... 85 one day, 45 the next. This was made ever more apparent to us by way of China's need for quick and fast. I will explain. Towers go up here very fast, and much in the way that many European and lesser countries go, quick, with concrete skeletons, and with no hint of the word insulation. Result = it is now colder in our apartments than it is outside. This is a gripe post, and it is welcomed into the blogosphere by the billions upon billions of predecessors. Apologies. It's chilly, not terrible, but we do miss the 5 days it was nice and in the low 70's.

That's all for now folks, I'll get the next post up here via the Macbook, get excited, or don't, I won't really be keeping tabs on the 5 of you that read this.

A Welcome Presence

First an update from the previous post: Client secured, and payments received.
The picture now looks like this, we have four clients, 1 in implentation phase and four additional work from our original assessment. There are three clients, 2 in assessment phase, and one is having us help them with a capital raise and if that is successful we move in to do a full assessment.
Things have moved unbelievably fast in the last two months, and we now find our plates extremely full with work. We are not complaining, but this is the time that we make our names. Getting work is one thing, completing it to the level we wish to will be the true test. The satisfied client is all we seek at this point, and given the fact that our assessments have surprised people, we are confident.

The goal now is the ominous break-even point, and it seems, with work secured through January now, we may be reaching that crucial point before the Anemoi partners celebrate one year in China. Fingers crossed for sure, I'm just happy I can pay my rent without giving my US PIN to an ATM here.

Update: photo uploading is working again! Pictures of Thailand and the like will follow soon.

Chill Factor

In a surprise twist of events, the South of China has finally cooled off!
Evening jacket weather is upon us, and the foreigners are all reveling as the locals bundle up in their winter's warmest.
Glad times are here again.

Though I have to admit that my body became quite accustomed to the warm weather and when I returned to the states, was really uncomfortable in what is usually cool, normal, fall weather.

I've realized that my body got very used to two things out here so far: the heat, and spicy food. Personally, the heat thing kind of sucks a bit, but I'm really down with my new tolerance for spicy food. I've always enjoyed a good kick in food, but was never one of those twisted spice-thrill seekers who lived for the tears that followed a particularly spicy pepper or curry. I am far from those nutjobs, but feel as if I'm slowly beginning to lean on their side. I don't necessarily do it for the thrill, and a few expats speak of their time with spicy food as a way to sweat out the 'night before', but it's become commonplace to expect a good bit of heat with any meal.

Business Updates: We're looking to expand our client base and are in negotiations for an assessment with a Spanish-run company operating out here. Pretty neat.
We also have a new office, though it's not a permanent one, it's nice that we finally have conference space, a phonebank, and a person that answers calls by saying our company name.

Halfway to halfway there

Do any of you remember the demonstration your math teacher gave when trying to explain exponential curves and the like? He'd walk halfway to the door, then halfway from there, and so on until he was right up near it but not quite there.

That is exactly how we feel at this moment, though instead of a door, we're looking at paydays and clients from only centimeters away.

We continue to work hard, and the invoices are out. Now to wait on those RMB.


On a positive note, and potential client who went MIA came back with a larger than expected offer. Letter's of Intent = Good, Actual Pay = Very good

Back in the Saddle

After 10 days in the states, I have returned to Shenzhen.

Nothing is more important now than work, and there is plenty of it to be done. Success here hinges on our dedication, connections, and a little bit of luck. I hope to extend this trip into China another 6 months, as things finally start to go our way, with the hope that our venture will be successful in some way.

The definition of what is successful is something we have yet to determine, but at this point, I think we all hold our heads high and continue to try to make waves in this country. Many people discounted us upon our arrival, and I think we have impressed a few strangers and perhaps raised some eyebrows back home.

The road was bumpy, but not unexpected. What sits ahead of us is really where the uncertainty lies (lay?)


On a side note, I thank everyone who responded to my time at home and reached out to offer support in anyway. I appreciate it deeply, and hope that over Christmas, I can reach out to those I was unable to see on my short trip.

Work follows you home

Sorry folks, I'm still unable to upload photos for some reason. My computer (the jewelery one, because the Mac is still out of commission) has been acting very sketchy since I recently tried to download Photoshop through a Chinese website. It seems karma or divine justice is smiting me for an attempted illegal download.

Moving right along... I am back in the states, and while the first few days were terrible, work has provided a nice break from what's going on at home here.
It's really quite cool how you can still be an effective team player on the opposite side of the globe, and maintain a fair amount of contact with business partners, coworkers, and even clients.

College taught us that the internet is for distractions, and the 'real world' has taught me that this can even manifest itself as serious work. I couldn't be more appreciative of an inbox with work enquiries.

An unexpected trip home

For those of you who actually read this, I thank you. I post here because it was supposed to be a way to let people back in the states into my life out here. The states has called me back for a short trip, as I come home to pay my respects and celebrate a life.

I leave in a few hours and hope to see those who are important to me while I'm home.

Weekend recap midweek

Four days of Gaelic Football, stifling humidity, and tropical monsoon downpours, and I could not have been happier with it. I was wholly unprepared for the professional atmosphere that the organizers set as well as the players from all over Asia, and the more than accommodating hotel staff.

We were greeted every morning with full breakfast, were transportation to and from the fields, and attended two banquet dinners. We only managed to play 4 games though as we were knocked out in the first round after an amazing first day that saw us advance to the finals winner's bracket for our division.
For those of you unfamiliar with the sport and unwilling to read the wiki-article I linked to, it is somewhere between rugby and soccer. For those with little rugby knowledge, I would say to imagine a soccer game where you play normally, but can also pick the ball up and punt it at people. Contact is allowed, though we were lucky to avoid any serious injuries on the weekend, save for plenty of blisters and bruises.

The rain, when it came down, was not gentle. It poured. Saturday had a 4 hour rain delay, and Sunday only slowed down for a couple hours, but in those two hours, I've never seen rain fall so hard or so fast. Below are some pictures of our men's team (having been defeated a few hours prior, and therefore a few drinks deep) clearing rain off the field for our women's team, who later won their division. It was a fun afternoon to say the least.


Unfortunately we didn't really get to see Thailand, aside from an evening jog through a local park, our trip was limited to hotel, a few pubs, and the football pitches. While it is dissapointing it is only motivation to get back there at some point in the future.

UPDATE: My browser is not allowing me to post pictures at the moment, I will have them up as soon as I can.

Bruised & Sore

I'm back to the familiarity of Shenzhen, and it appears the haze and smell have not changed a bit in the 4 days I was gone. The weekend was unbelievable and I will have a proper update (with pictures) some time tomorrow.

Mentionables:
- It did rain, quite a bit in fact
- Sadly there was no time for clubbing or any standard Bangkok hi-jinx
- 650 athletes (a relative term) in a hotel make for an interesting scene
- Can't wait for next year

Off to the Games

I'm out folks.
Heading off to Thailand for my first Asian trip outside of China. I'm excited, a bit nervous, and not looking forward to the alleged 4 day downpour that's been going on in Bangkok.
I thought I'd mix in some very poorly capture iPhone photos of the Shenzhen stadium where we train. I'll be sure to snap some pics this weekend for everybody here playing our home game.

OK, so I've been trying for 2 days trying unsuccessfully to upload these pics. I give up for the time being and will try again on Tuesday when I get back.

This is what the best meal I've had in Shenzhen looks like

Couldn't tell you what it was, because I have no idea, but someone said something along the lines of a carp.
We caught 7 fish that afternoon at this little fishing place outside of town. They cooked up 4 for us, 3 for dinner and one to take home. These fish were pretty sizable too, made for amazing eats. As the sun started to go down we decided to have the people there cook em up for us, asked for three different styles, and let them work their magic while we relaxed in our little bungalow, to share time with eachother and the mosquitos and other various creepy crawlies that dwell in the late summer air.



Hell of a day really, sit by the water in your own little bungalow, have a couple Tsint Tao's, look at the water, try to catch some fish, then eat em right where you caught em. Nice.



It was a much needed break, we've been working full throttle getting this company off the ground, our first job takes hold this week, and we're in the process of organizing a seminar for about 100 people to educate and sell our services. It's sexy putting on your suit and being toured around the function rooms of the Ritz, the Marco Polo, and various other 5-star digs in Shenzhen. What's not sexy is the cost, and we are rolling thin on the funds, our first job will be a nice breather as it takes care of our rent for a couple months. It's not just welcome, it's absolutely necessary for us at this point.
It's exciting and worrisome at the same time, but with our first little victory, we'll be able to breathe and stay out here a couple more months.

One night in Bangkok

I've been in Shenzhen a little over 6 months and have yet to really travel outside the immidiate area. Hong Kong is the exception at this point because of its proximity, but I really have not had the time or the opportunity to travel.

A couple months back I joined up with the Gaelic Football club in Shenzhen. I had no previous experience with the sport and still don't quite know all rules but I was told soccer was a sufficient enough background and it was an excuse to go run around a bit once a week. The team that the club represents, The Shenzhen Celts, was invited to the pan-asian Gaelic games (esoteric huh?) being held in Bangkok this year, so sure enough, I tacked myself on the list and as of today, and booked next weekend to go try a new sport in a country I never really thought I'd visit.

Pretty cool, minus the hit my wallet has taken. It has been 6 months out here without a paycheck to speak of. While we have two looming on the immidiate horizon, it does not make the current situation any easier. It's fun living the expat lifestyle, but it comes at a price, and they all make money, we, at this point, do not.

(on a side note, someone will need to correct my grammar and blatant overuse of ellipticals and commas, thanks)

We have not been living lavishly, but have not been roughing it either, and it's a fine line deciding what is an appropriate expenditure. Thailand was definitely someplace I've always wanted to visit, although I have to admit, Bangkok does not rank high on sites within the country. List be damned, I'm looking forward to it, and at the very least, it gives me a reason to work hard next week as we begin work with our first client!

Mergers & Acquisitions

The evolution of the TWC Logo

As any of you who read this know, our little group known as Anemoi started out ambitiously enough. Idea one was a bit involved, idea two is still alive and kicking, albeit on a low simmer, and idea three is the real potential make-or-break baby we roll up our sleeves for everyday. Idea three is the True Wind Consulting project, and as we speak it continues to evolve and mature. The initial problem was and is our lack of training experience that we bring to the table. While this has been remedied to some degree, the more we looked at our potential clients, the more we realized we were projecting ourselves more into the management consultant realm. This happens to coincide with one of our partners, and over a couple of weeks and many latenight discussions with a bottle of Dewar's, the decision was made to forge ahead allied with each other.

The new venture is not new at all, in fact, True Wind maintains its distinct separation as does its partner Saks-Gloweli, but the two now offer the others services as well, allowing us to bring clients a more thorough offering list.



The logo is in its final rework stages as well as a new and modified website. For those playing the home game the differences will be subtle, for those just tuning in... I realize your lack of interest, and I would suggest Perezhilton.com or whatever it is everyone wastes time on.

Procrastination

Well I am back in China after a 3 week hiatus stateside, and I'll admit that it has been tough for me to get back into the blogosphere. Not that I was hampered by the heightened security which precedes one of China's largest holidays, I was instead handcuffed by my old friend, procrastination.

Actually, it's rearing its ugly head again, and rest assured a legitimate update will be here soon, I leave you with a video I just stumbled upon and absolutely had to post. Apologies to some as it is a nod to me sciency-nerd side. That and with the autotune craze that is everpresent on the internet, some may find this annoying, but I assure any real nerds and geeks that this is pretty damn cool. Hell, Steven Hawking makes an Autotuned cameo on this.

End of (Summer) Days

The summer is now over, and I was lucky enough to see it pass in the US.
I've been in Boston over a week now and am itching to get on the road and see some friendly faces. It's been surprisingly quiet around here, and perhaps it is my own fault for forgetting that everyone has jobs now, and no one really wants to hang out on weeknights.

The trip will be some work mixed with some play, as I wait to here back from colleges in Western Mass, CT, and elsewhere.

Maybe 3 weeks was too long in the states, I'm almost anxious to get back to China to continue getting our business moving forward. Things feel far too stagnant here.

We'll do it live!

Afternoon everyone,
I have arrived in the US, and it's pretty sweet. Our consulting company is up and running and the website is LIVE, in fact you can check it out here if you like.

Expats have interesting ways of viewing and approaching homecomings, some planning out vague plans or outlines of their trip on a calendar, others take great care alotting their relaxation and visits, while some, plan menus. Of particular interest was a man from Spain named Victor. Victor had prepared not only a list of the restaurants he would visit while home, but also a list of friends that he deemed appropriate fits for the restaurants he would attend. Victor worked pairing the friends to restaurants much the way a sommelier would with wines and entrees. It was fascinating to hear him speak of his plans, the meals he would order, and why he would chose a particular friend for a given restaurant.

While I cannot say I have laid such elaborate plans, it is an intriguing concept, and one I would recommend this for anyone who has spent time out of the country, but also to people looking to reconnect with old friends. This excercise really forces you to think about your friends, your relationship with them, and then of course, think of the food that you two can or have already bonded over. I think if you spent some time making this list, you might realize how important some friends are to you or at the very least be forced to look at why you may be friends with some people. Combining relationships with food, whether it be fine or fast, is a very interesting way to relate to people you may take for granted.

Homecoming

Today has already been fraught with scrambling, cursing, anxiety and general running about as we prepare to head home for a few weeks. We present our first assessment in an hours' time and begin the final stages of editing on the new website. Our curriculum for SCLI is completed and is being edited for advertising to schools in the states. The brochures have been finalized and will be printed in the US for lack of a better service here, and I probably need to pack some clothes at some point.

Here's a teaser of our new projects website



For those of you who may actually read this, I'll be in the states tomorrow, NYC then most likely straight home to Boston. Get excited folks.

It's hard not to love China with Headlines like these

There is never a break in the interesting and outright absurd headlines that come to us daily here in China. Whether it be the old man that pushed a potentially suicidal man to his death because he was annoyed the man was seeking attention and holding up traffic, or the large apartment building in Shanghai that simply tipped over one smoggy morning because of shoddy foundation work.

This article epitomizes all that is hilarious and a bit cruel at times in China. Suicides seem to be fine here. The rule is, if you messed up bad enough, no one is really going to care, as long as you don't hold up traffic and slow down progress for others. It is a grim reminder that the value of a human life in this overpopulated country is far less than we are accustomed to in the West. I don't care if you do it, just don't do it where it will bother others... comedy noir would thrive here.

If I can find a link, I will post a small article I read a couple months back about a hilarious and somewhat scary mishap at a yogurt plant. The story reads that a woman went in to a local convenient store to buy her favorite yogurt drink, and noticed it tasted funny. When she approached the clerk, he said it was a new flavor, no need to worry. She kept drinking and when something wasn't right, she took her complaint higher. It turns out what she thought was yogurt was in fact white paint.

I pose a serious question to China: HOW is it possible that a factory producing yogurt drinks or any product for human consumption could possibly get mixed up with paint.... Which leads me to question how factories multi-task... or do anything really. Hilarious on paper, but kind of disturbing at its core.

Anemoi & Co. is Growing

Apologies for the recent lack of entry quality, it has been very busy here in the SZ apartment-turned-office. We are currently wrapping up our first assessment of a small company operating in Shenzhen and are gathering our forces and resources to present to a behemoth of industry, but thankfully to a small sector of its Shenzhen Operations. This is rather daunting as we are currently unknowns in the truest sense, but... we have planned for this.

We have been working to create a list of advisors and partners, by soliciting those we know and those we know peripherally to come join our humble company. The response has been very good, and by weeks end, we could (stressing here COULD) have 2 more partners on board in the company. Our current company is comprised of Anemoi Holdings and two partners, plus a group of several non-executive directors (a term I had never heard before but essentially means their resumes are on our site and they advise us on strategy and execution). Cool stuff right? Well it's exciting knowing people here are willing to get behind us.

The hard work is now getting work. And doing this while two of us will be in the states for 2 and 3 weeks respectively. It is interesting to say the least, but late nights writing assessments and trying to contact colleges at the same time has made us remember that hard work is unavoidable, and perhaps welcome, as it has been some time since we've had to pull this much work together so quickly and (now more than ever) professionally.

I return home soon to Newark, the airport of Continental, and will immidiately head to Boston pending some unforeseen inability to stay awake long enough in Penn Station. Get excited, I certainly am, and if anyone has any requests for souvenirs and the like, get em in now, because time is running out.

Healthcare Road Map

Apologies for the deceptive title. Only reading MSNBC, Boston.com, and BBCNews, my information is limited to how much time I feel like spending on those sites, but it seems that the healthcare issue is stirring up good-ol' fashioned mobs with pitchforks and torches. I cannot even begin to have an opinion on it, since I really have enjoyed distancing myself from the American Media (it's actually very refreshing not being bombarded with garbage 90% of the time).

I am really posting to lay out an ever so small portion of my trip home, mostly because it gives me an excuse to play with some screen-capture software that I purchased, and because I'm putting off doing some work at the moment (yeah midnight right?).



I'm thoroughly convinced there are only 3 people who still read this, so it seems like a lesson in futility but who cares, it's the internet

Sunrelenting

It is August and the heat is really on. The humidity too, extra even.

That's not really news though. There is little new to report on. We are grinding away at getting this new company moving forward, and the prospects look promising. We have several partners lined up, and two are already committed. We also we're able to secure some gravitas with the help of some senior figures both in China and abroad throwing their names under ours.

That is exciting, but not money-in-my-pocket exciting. My Macbook is still dead and the more research I do on it, the more it looks like 6 years of music and 3 years of documents have been all but erased thanks to a tiny needle scratching a tiny disc in a rather compact little computer.... That is frustrating to say the least.

On a happier note, this American adventurer is coming back home, not for 1 week, not 2, but three weeks. I expect my home coming to elicit a response similar to this:


And if you call in the next 30 minutes we'll include a full sit down face-session with this guy himself, something we've never offered before on this show. But wait, there's more (Billy Mays and Ron Popeil would be proud) I am multi-tasking this trip. Mixing business with leisure with family time with wedding time. It does of course mean a road trip (work related for a solid 75% of it), which means that if anyone who still actually reads this is on the northeastern seaboard, they should let me know when they are free between Sept 7th and the 21st.
The trip will be interesting to say the least as we find ourselves dealing again with our humbling South China Learning Institute summer program. But it's new, improved, with a curriculum and of course a snazzy powerpoint that details all of our wonderful opportunities. Folks if you've got kids in college or just out, they cannot afford to miss a summer in arguably one of the most important cities of the next 20 years.

Time it's flying

The last week and a half has been incredibly busy here. We are prepping for our return to the states, as well as moving forward with the new business concept which is neatly represented by this little logo I put together one day.

The craziest thing is the fact that our best friend is getting married, marking the first of the SSCC to succumb to that most hallowed institution. What's crazier will be the 15/16 hr trip that it'll take to get back in , and the awkward customs conversation when they ask why you've been in China so long with only a tourists visa.

The trip home will be both business and pleasure however as I plan on doing another Eastern seaboard trip to meet with as many schools as possible, armed with a powerpoint pesentation, brochures, and of course, snazzy business cards. The aim is to get as many schools on board with the SCLI program and look for recommendations of places to vet our services. We'll see how it goes this week as we begin approaching schools for meetngs.

The company that I have been rather surreptitious about is going to run in the True Wind vein. The "C" stands for consulting. Not my area of expertise, but the boys have a history with this stuff from their time in Gotham city, and we have some partners with experience both in China and in the field. The feeling is positive as we move forward securing a company line as well as a website (another one right?).

On a side note, it's hard to believe August is nearly half way over. This of course comes up to mark the 6 month point in my time here, and it's rather scary to think about. It's gone way too fast, and well... the results we were hoping for have not been realized just yet. I seem to say the next few weeks will tell, and I keep trying to believe it. We'll see where things go.

Junkin' It

Things have been slow out here lately, and unfortunately there is little new to report on other than the drain of funds and the intensity of the heat. SCLI is gearing up for the school season and our curriculum is beginning to come together. We are currently working on a pitch presentation and educational materials to show to schools and potential students. Sadly, any revenue from our efforts will not be realized until late fall at the earliest... Which is frustrating.

The new direction we are working toward is seeing some positive progress, and though we are in the due diligence phase of things,the potential market is promising. We are excited about it, but cautious nonetheless.

The bright spot in the past few weeks was junk boat cruise we were invited on this last Saturday. The weather was perfect, albeit painfully humid, but the sun stayed out and the waters were calm. It was my first junk experience in Hong Kong and most certainly will not be the last. The cruise set off from a large pier paaacked with parties ranging from 10-40 people all awaiting their respective boats. Our meager crowd of 15 or so dialed in the reserved boat and set sail for the island of Po'toi about an hour and a half away. Po'toi is one of the southern most islands under Hong Kong's jurisdiction and is home to a small town that exists solely to run a large restaurant frequented by junkers. The fish was amazing and diverse, and the atmosphere, though a bit muggy was quite interesting. Large round tables housed boat parties and all were seated on various levels of decking. all of this overlooked the medium-sized cove that sheltered the 6 or so junks that were there at the time of our arrival. Lunch was great, but it was time for a swim.

I have since been told that the salinity of the waters varies greatly depending on which coves the captains decide to stop at. Ours happened to be quite salty. Eye-burny salty. A damper on the afternoon's activities? Absolutely not. We christened the swim with a couple jumps of the top of the boat, then proceded to loung about in lifesavers for a good half hour, before swimming and jumping in some more. The good life.

Swimming was nice and a few of us retired for naps on the main deck. We slowly raced the sun back to Hong Kong and once there, decided it wasn't yet time to go home. Negotiations were in order, and an extra couple hundred hong kong dollars a head bought us and extra 90 minutes to watch the sun come down and the city light up, in an unprecedented on-water view.

A great day indeed, and sadly, it's all in the past as we continue to work, study mandarin (we're a bit behind regrettably), and continue to make something of our time here.

Weekend Update

Who doesn't fondly recall snowcones? Except for the end, when it was kind of a purple/black slush mess.

Well Molave caught everyone a bit off-guard and hit full typhoon status right before making landfall. We caught the brunt around 3 am as the eyewall came directly over Shenzhen. Yes, it was Saturday, but none of us would have been able to fall asleep anyway. 37 stories up, a typhoon is a whole different animal: the wind is unbelievably loud, rain is forcing itself in wherever possible through sills, air conditioner vents, so on and so forth. It was really quite something, the roads competely flooded and trees were down everywhere, we even saw an unfortunate VW with a rather large piece of flora digging into its hood.

Pretty neat stuff.

On more topical notes, the Anemoi Partners are moving forwad into some interesting directions. The SCLI programs all remain up and running, and the curriculum is beginning to take shape. Our teacher Jess is learning quickly by Shenzhen standards, and is slowly becoming more dependant with time. It's exciting and frustrating at the same time. We learned some hard lessons this summer with our applicants, and will not make those same mistakes again, the only problem is that again isn't until this winter and next summer. "The meantime" is what makes life all the more difficult. We were not slated to last more than 6 months sans some cash flow. SCLI's real potential for revenue will not be realized until November at the earliest, and that is where life gets tricky. Our other directions are mum at the moment, but I am happy that the boys are moving projects in a direction that better suits our core skill set and allies us with more established figures in and around China.

It looks like I will be applying to teach English (while not a terrible thing, it was something I had told myself I wouldn't have to do), and I'm excited to imagine what I would be like in charge of a class. In fact, I think a lot of people are... maybe not excited, let's say, amused and slightly scared, of what I would be like as a teacher/mentor. As I seem to be saying a lot on this blog, the next few weeks will be interesting, it seems the current day never is.

Molave set to make landfall

Ever since Hurricane Bob made swept through Boston in 1991, I've been fascinated with hurricanes and tropical weather in general. Morbid curiousity abounds as stories rain in of trees, vehicles and various household pets go flying around neighborhoods. I imagine my excitement about storms like these will subside (if only slightly) once I own property in a storm's path, but until then, I anxiously await the chance to sit inside some heavily fortified structure and watch Mama Nature wreak havoc on poorly built structures and those flaura and fauna which Selection has decided against.

We have had a couple bruhes with Typhoons/tropical storms already in Shenzhen, and tonight it looks like another will be making landfall righ on top of us. Molave (only at about 70mph sustained winds right now) will be making landfall sometime late this evening. We're all pretty excited, and for two real reasons. One, awesome rain and wind is a break from the dreary pattern of humid & sunny and bleak tropical rainfall; and two (probabl incorrect usage of a semicolon, but whajevs) typhoons knock the smog out for a couple days leaving us with gorgeous views, clear skies, and mildly reduced humidity.

Awesome.

If things start getting intense, don't worry, they've already inspected our windows for typhoons.

Side Projects

The expat community out here is well-known for having is(are?) well known for having its(their?) finger in many pies. Most folks out here keep up with a regular day job, and have side projects ranging from importing gourmet food from Australia, to running sites like yours truly started one random weekend evening. While this isn't a monetary game yet, the concept is fun, laid-back, and gives locals an opportunity to waste time on the internet with Shenzhen relevant inside jokes.
Beijing is next, followed by Shanghai, and then if it hits, we take it stateside. Random? Quite. Interesting? Probably not to a lot of folks, but that's not really the point. Though making money is a point, and that's where some of my other time is being spent. It looks like this American may have to bite the bullet and get into teaching English like so many post undergrad students who go abroad do. While I don't see it growing permanent or even long term legs, it will support the next few months, and allow me to get some much needed classroom experience that will in fact be essential to where some of our future plans are taking us. Mum is the word right now, and in no way is the South China Learning Institute vanishing or being pushed aside. We currently have one Anemoi partner back in the states on the Eastern seaboard to keep in touch with schools as they gear up for their 2009/2010 season begins.

Like anything that develops on the ground, plans shift. The original college prep business still sounds good, but we lack the connections to build us into a profitable company, and we are not here to step on toes and alienate ourselves from fellow Americans abroad. The next 2 months are going to be very interesting, and will, for better or worse, dictate the next year or two of our lives.

Serious stuff right? You have to keep it light, in fact, we recently discovered the joys of bowling at a significantly reduced cost to its American counterpart (and oddly enough everything at the alley is made in the US). Open mic nights have proven interesting to say the least, but there is talk of getting a small group of lads together for some good ol a cappella.

On a side note, the VPN is great, but I've now caught up with all current cartoon series (Family Guy, South Park, American Dad) Any suggestions out there besides Dexter and Mad Men?

(Around the censors) and back online!

Apologies for the delay, but China saw fit the need to block all US-hosted blog websites, in an effort to force its people to use Chinese-based hosts. This was tolerable, then Google started popping offline every now and then, and then everything went south the other week when riots broke out in Urumqi. Then a whole host of sites became inaccessable such as The Wallstreet Journal, Facebook, and a few other news blogs as well.

I'll be posting info to fill everyone in on the last 2 months shortly.

Nice Weather for Ducks

I lied folks, the most exciting thing about being back is the unbelievably nice (and unexpected) weather.  The humidity is low for southern China, and it's managed to keep below 85.  This of course means that we have spent several afternoons getting work done outside.  Outside is too vague though, because we have had the luxury of doing this work over at the Intercontinental Hotel, at their pool, which is less hotel pool and more family vacation resort theme park.  The corporation responsible for hotel dumped more than $1 billion USD into the project and while it has yet to see anything but red, we do get to enjoy their sprawling campus of a complex.  It is themed to resemble a Patagonian ranch, but really is more of a summer getaway spot to pamper executives from Office Depot and similar companies.  It also sports a full size replica of both the Pinta and the Santa Maria, which I am happy to report have finally found their way East.  

I apologize for not having pictures yet.  It seems that since I no longer have to procrastinate school assignments, I had to find something to put off for as long as possible, and a digital camera purchase fits that bill nicely.  It will be soon though, and the pictures will be award winning, and by award winning I mean, I will actually take some.   

Tuesday's Back and Bi's

Short of some exciting business news, there is little to report in the last few days here over in China.  Applications for our program continue to come in, and we finally have a Western looking payment process thanks to the fine folks over at PayPal.  Still waiting on those first transfers to roll in, but with a payment deadline of June 1st, we're going to have to wait a bit longer.   

Much to my lazier half's chagrin, I have finally joined a gym over here.  There are two types of gyms over here it seems: the glitzy glam well-air conditioned ones with TV's and Chinese nationals not doing much of anything, and the prison-gym-looking spots in apartment complexes where the floors are questionable at best and the equipment seems borrowed from a Rocky set.  Given the less-than-favorable financial statements lately, the latter was the only real option, but it does have the benefit of being frequented by several other expats, one of whom is a southern boy from Virginia with a savvy for lifting.   I have found a bit of comfort in the fact that I am far from the weakest, but my American dietary habits make me a bit of an oddity around here (something I aim to fix in the next few months).    

The concept of the gym here is pretty interesting.  The first type I mentioned cost in the thousands of RMB per year, some as much as $1200 USD even, and are allegedly worth it.  They sport swank decor, newer machines, and abundant eye-candy.  The problem is that they are less gym and more of a place where membership is all that really matters.  Men will roll in, saddle up to the lounge and watch TV, draped in rather expensive workout attire, as if to imitate their favorite Italian TV mobster, or Long Island native.  They are there because they can afford to do so, and perhaps to admire a pretty young thing walking the hours away on a treadmill.  These gyms are status symbols, and truth be told, a hell of a business model.  It was a concept we had flirted with but decided against due to the high startup capital required.

The gym I plan on frequenting is the other end of the spectrum, contains the basics, and is full of locals ranging from some Olympiad caliber physiques to the spindly stereotype working out in a button down and navy slacks and black shoes.  It is nothing short of amusing, and well worth the 800RMB membership.  And the music, oh the music is not what you want while working out, but it really just ties the package in so well that you cannot help but smile and laugh a bit.   I've been told if it's not super busy you can toss them a CD or iPod and they'll play it for you, and this gets me into my slight supervillain cackle as a imagine the reaction to various tunes pulled from the bowels of my music library.  

It will be an interesting next few weeks folks.  Hopefully more so than this last one has been.

Google is scary

Greetings again from China.  I am back after a 10 day stint in the US, and thoroughly exhausted from a nice little roadtrip up and down the Northeast corridor.  Thank you to everyone who let me crash on their couches and futons, it was a great time seeing everyone if only for a couple nights.  

Everything has been moving fast over here, and after a quick debriefing I was back in Hong Kong the morning after I arrived.  I soon found myself in a chair at HSBC, reviewing requisite forms and putting my overly practiced John Hancock on said pieces of paper.  I must admit, there is something very romantic about signing off on your first business account and getting those little plastic cards put into your hand.  I need to constantly remind myself that I have yet to receive a single cent, and that none of this is real until that first check is made out to us.  But I lapsed for a few minutes to enjoy the feeling, and as a group, we felt that was completely appropriate.  

 The boys on the ground have been busy with our web marketing and our classes are already filling up with potential students.  Interest from the alma mater is less than stellar but after some very productive meetings with Trinity's administration, next summer holds some real exciting potential.  I look forward to continue the dialogue with Career Services and the International Programs department and make some real progress in advancing both my program and helping students get a worthwhile experience.  

Back to the web marketing and technology side:  Google Tracker is amazing, and perhaps our newest time wasting tool.  Much like Facebook and all the gossip websites keep people busy looking up obscure nonsense and random trivia on old friends, Google Tracker for our website has given us a glorious wealth of information on those people visiting our website.  This afternoon we managed to spend over an hour digging through not only how many hits we're getting but what states/countries/regions they are coming from, how long visitors are staying on the page, and which pages they're looking at.  Sounds creepy?  It sure is, and it makes you wonder how much Google really knows.  It is such a powerful entity on the web, and is so valuable because of its ability to track this kind of information.  This stuff is the gold to marketers, and it really sets you in perspective when you think of how hard people are pushing to get into Facebook.  The information on Facebook is perhaps the holy grail for marketers.  I'll go into length on that statement when it seems more appropriate (when it gets really boring here for a couple days)   

Smoggy Shenzhen Town

Good evening, I must first apologize for the delay.  The last week and a half has been very busy and has provided us with some real tangible progress and piece of mind.  This post will be odd for me since I had already written a rather extensive one that managed to disappear from my computer before I could publish it.  Irrelevant at this point!

We finally took a step forward and hired one of the secretaries we first interviewed.  She is not so much a secretary, but more of an assistant/life coach for us boys here in China.  She has been immensely helpful so far in everything we've been needing, from getting our business cards printed out, to finding office space, to helping us navigate our rather complex cell phone contracts.  Cathy works as hard as we do, and it's not uncommon to receive an email from her at 11pm updating us on the progress she's made that evening.  We feel guilty giving her so little, but we are well informed that her price is normal if not a bit generous around here, and she's very excited to be working with native English speakers on something new and exciting.  

Our apartment is also squared away and we have been living there for almost a week now. I'm not sure how to efficiently post the photos I snapped with my phone, so there is a very good chance they'll end up trailing at the end of this post in a rather inconvenient fashion.  That aside, the bachelor pad we now occupy is 154 sq. meters or roughly 1200 sq ft, has central AC in the living room and kitchen and individual units in the bedrooms.  It is 37 floors up and sports a view of the hong kong border, shenzhen downtown, and the mountains not far in the distance.   When the sun is able to overcome our doing, it is actually quite nice.   Perhaps the most impressive thing has nothing to do with the apartment itself but the furniture we put into it.  We were shopping with our super (a great guy named Terry who has been very helpful so far) for furnishings and were looking at some dining room tables.  We came across one that looked great and had great chairs, but was a bit small for us.  The three of us tend to work either in bed or from the kitchen table, so having something large enough to support 3 laptops and requisite work accessories was important.  We said if it were 3 inches longer and 2 inches wider it'd be perfect.  They said no problem, and that it would be ready in two days time.     Linger on that for a second, because we certainly did.   NO PROBLEM?    Apparently not.  Considering the factory that made them was about 2o minutes away, and that custom orders are not unheard of, this was no big deal (something I still am amazed by).    OK, this is pretty cool, but how much will it cost?  And this is why I love China:  no extra cost.  Now, it is also important to note that I am used to Ikea furniture, having had it grace my living quarters for the last 5 years.  their furniture is not famous for its sound structural build or permanence, and anyone thats perused its aisles can attest to this fact.   We half expected a similar build quality but were again really quite surprised, this dining table was pretty damn solid.  I know it may seem an odd thing to dwell on, but imagine going into Jordan's furniture back home and saying "I need this table, 10% bigger, at no extra cost, and I want it in 3 days delivered and assembled at my house"   You would be forcibly removed then laughed at in the parking lot by no fewer than 12 employees.  

Well done China, well done indeed.

Marching Forward

I was afraid the title would be a bad pun, but in my haste I did not realize that it is in fact April (and it is well underway apparently).   Irrelevant.

Short of a good gash on my toe, everything has been running smoothly over the past week and a half.  South China remains cool and everyone is thankful for that fact, and the rainy season seems to be holding off as well.  The apartment has been signed and the furniture picked out.  We estimate a move in date sometime early next week, and of course, there will be pictures.  

We also realized that much of our time was spent figuring out basic logistical questions, and that the only way to make any real progress was to hunker down and get ourselves a secretary/aide to begin making real progress.  As it stands now, True Wind is not on the shelf, but merely taking a bit of a nap while we move forward to get cash in our pockets and experience under our rather tight belts.  

Our new girl, Cathy begins Monday (and will hopefully hit the ground running). Our newest website will begin construction this weekend and may be ready as early as next friday, and I'll be sure to sneak that in somewhere around here.

On a side note, I wish to congratulate the Red Sox on their home opener win.  I am scouring the interwebs for a Red Sox friendly establishment, but a few websites that help fans abroad are inaccessible for some reason.  Hooray odd censorship. Perhaps it is because basketball is so much more popular here.

This is the sound a tibia makes

The expatriate community around the south of China is largely comprised of Britainers, Aussies, Irish and the like.  Rugby is therefore, a big deal.  A really big deal.  We ventured out to Hong Kong last week for the Sevens Tournament, and saw celebrations on a scale I never really thought possible.  Every city has at least one rugby squad, comprised entirely of expats and sponsored by at least one Irish pub in their city.  

We were recently invited to travel up to Guanzhou with the Shekou Dragons (The Shenzhen expat rugby team of which Tom is a part of) to watch them take on their Guanzhou counterparts.  We had a hotel set up and one of the Guanzhou players owned an Irish pub directly next to this hotel, which made everything easy.   Everything was going well, and the game was 5 minutes from stoppage time when a thunderous, ungodly, unforgettable crack rang out from the pitch.  A few screams followed, and everyone went silent.  The largest guy on the Shenzhen team had decided rather than take a hit and go down, to run through two rather beastly Guanzhou boys (as he had been doing quite consistently all afternoon).  Luck had apparently turned her back on this maneuver however, and both his tibia and fibia decided staying whole was no longer an option.   

There are some places I would not mind breaking a large bone, downtown Boston perhaps, and there are places I wouldn't dream of it, maybe rural Africa or China. Guanzhou is really not very high on the list either.  This sentiment was apparently shared by the other members of both squads who flew through their contact lists and phoned up Hong Kong.  In an amazing display of comraderie, the other players organized to have him sent to Hong Kong and have his leg set by a sports injury specialist out there.  It was an impressive display and highlights perfectly the way people are taken care of by their peers in those type of situations.  

For Reference:  Guanzhou is located about an hour by train from Shenzhen, and was rated one of the mot polluted cities in China recently.  It seems that around here the sun only comes out on special occasions, and the combination of pollution and humidity make for an interesting fog/smog situation that keeps the days pretty grey out here for much of the time.  I am told that the rainy season, which will be beginning very soon, should help to reduce some of this, but it is really odd experiencing this level of pollution.  

Busy mind, tired body

Ideas fly around here all the time, and every expat has at least 6 different business ideas/pie-in-the-sky dreams for making it big out here.  The reality is that very few of this ever comes to light.  At night though, after a few pints, everyone gets into the same diatribes about how things here could function more efficiently or how millions could be made on any scheme.

The reality for us is that our original idea still stands, albeit with some modifications, but we have come up against many hurdles, and a new idea is in the works for us.  Time is an issue, as it is a program that would take place this summer, and we are moving quickly an aggressively to get it implemented as soon as possible.  

I am constantly brought back to the jewelry design convention I attended a while back.  One of the speakers kept hammering the mantra that brainstorming and planning are 10% of the picture, you can have a solid gold business model or plan, but you have nothing until you are able to implement it.  You can be smart, the smartest even, but it will get you nowhere without the ability to take proactive steps forward.  This is perhaps the toughest thing for me, and the rest of our group, and I would imagine we share this with 95% of the population at large.  

The next two weeks will be critical for us.

On a side note, I've signed up for rugby, and have a trip out to Guanzhou this weekend to participate/get destroyed by much larger people than me.  This will be interesting.

Foie Gras

I have been quite busy as of late, and will have a good couple of updates to fill everyone in.  In the meantime, I came across some interesting articles regarding foie gras a few weeks ago, and while I don't lean one side or the other, I found two articles that shed a new light on the contentious delicacy.

Incanto restaurant issued a letter in retaliation to attacks on its name (and owners) in this letter titled Shock & Foie

The Village Voice put out a bit more in depth look into the matter and focused its findings on the US market and farm system.  Is Foie Gras Torture?

I look forward to seeing any remarks about it, and will be back soon with relevant updates to China.

Knocked down a peg

Morning coffee meetings are always much more intimidating than evening pint meetings.  Such was the case yesterday morning when we met with a man named Marcus Maher.  Marcus has been out and around China and Vietnam for 8 years or so after leaving the Australian military.  He found his way into business by writing a small pamphlet helping Vietnamese pass the immigration exam for Canada (which he figured out by temping for a friend in the business).  He has since started and sold 7 successful enterprises and is currently a majority shareholder for a wine bar/wine wholesaler in the Sheco neighborhood of Shenzhen.  

Tom is a minor player in the wine bar, and helped set up this meeting with us to discuss the basics of life out here in Shenzhen.  He's a no frills guy and listened to a tight-lipped version of our business idea and more or less blew it out of the water (something we were actually hoping for).  The guy knows his stuff, and while he took us down a peg, he also offered some very valuable advice and was keen on letting us know what it took to survive out here.  

There are so many small things we are learning every day and to be quite honest, many of them are quite frustrating.  One thing that I find as entertaining as it is frustrating is our current apartment search.  In the US back in the day, many landlords were hesitant to rent to foreigners, especially any from Asia due to either ignorance or distaste for the smells generated by a different culture's kitchen.  Neighbors were never keen on a foreign family or person moving into their building and there was always a bit of disdain towards them.   We have found two landlords pull the same thing on us, and some of the various eyes cast towards us ring similar to those back at home.  It is too bad because the unwilling landlord held an amazing unit, that we were really set on.  Such is life, but the irony here is definitely amusing.

Still no camera, but the weather is not picture perfect, so I am not too worried, the rainy season here is full underway and a good umbrella is on my to-do list.  Laptop is about ready to run out of juice, I will be back here soon.

Hong Kong Day Trip

It feels like we have been here a month, and yet, it has only been a week.  Our days are busy with the basics, meetings, getting acclimated (cell phones, data plans, apartment hunting, etc), and of course cocktail meetings, which one may argue are more productive than the afternoon-kind.  The expat scene here is unreal.  Alex came in to China on Friday and on his flight from Beijing he sat next to an expat businessman, and they got to talking.  Nice little meeting, no big deal.  Later that evening a friend of ours, Mark, comes down to our apartment and says to Alex, "So you're the guy that sat next to Jason on the flight from Beijing."  The community here of non-natives is apparently very tight-knit, something we have found to be a welcome change from the business scene and friendship circles back home.  Everyone shares information whether it be where to get the best dry-cleaning rates, or which secretarial firms to use for your particular business.  The best thing about them though is the ability to tap into their networks and Chinese connections here.  That networking is infinitely more useful than any Blackberry breakfast back home. 

We are making quite a bit of progress, and True Wind should be set up officially within the month (our initial incorporation was Anemoi Partners LLC and is the parent company for our education service).  

Back to Hong Kong though...  One, it's an unbelievable city; two, the night life is pretty swank.  We were in town Monday to meet with a few web developers and get a banking account set up for the business.  Olivier's girlfriend Elena happened to be in town with her Fordham Law school arbitration team.  Apparently there is a big competition in Hong Kong where law schools send teams to compete in various lawyery matters.  The nice thing about this is lawyer happy hours.  We were given special entry into one of their cocktail hours, and I must say it is pretty cool to tell people you live over in Shenzhen, are involved in a small education start-up, and were in town for business that afternoon.

This brings me to an expat institution in Shenzhen (parents and worried parties, this may a good time to head back to msnbc.com)  the inebriated border crossing.   There is one border spot that stays open 24 hours a day, and is home to one of the oddest travel situations I've seen so far.  Seeing as it is essentially a right of passage here, we committed to it after deciding that Monday night was not an important enough evening to merit a late-night hotel crash in an overpriced foreign city.  I will not venture into details, but the trip is indeed something everyone should do once.  It is quite an adventure.  

Interesting days so far

Ladies and Gents, I have finally taken some photos.  Unfortunately they were with a phone and so may not be of the highest quality.  That being said our first full day we met with some friends/coworkers of Tom's for lunch.  The venue was located in Shenzhen's burgeoning design district, which was actually quite impressive.  A group of developers and artists took a complex of old factories and converted them into studio space for their respective design houses.  Over the course of a couple years several restaurants have sprouted up as well as a few bars, and is now a hot spot for hip young shenzheners to come hang out.  The photos are of a pretty neat art car situated in front of someone's studio as well as the gym of designer Kenneth Ko.  This guy is apparently quite a big deal in the area and provides interior design for both business and home.  The odd thing about this man is his vanity, a former professional body-builder, his studio also houses a dual purposed gallery/fitness gym which I have detailed down below.  Sadly, membership here runs somewhere in the alley of 250USD a month.

Membership aside, the area is really quite interesting and serves as another window into some of the more creative sides of a city obsessed with manufacturing.

I'll let everyone know when I do actually come across a digital camera and figure out how to post galleries and such. We have been incredibly busy in the last few days in meetings and trying to figure out the basic logistics of True Wind.  

A Little Introduction, if you will

The morning smog has not burnt off yet, and as a result the city is cast in a rather grey color similar to a fall fog-laden morning on New England.  As I sit in our apartment 26 stories up, I feel it is necessary to give a bit of a back story to the trip that has brought me to China.  I have admittedly been a less-than-considerate friend in the last 6 months and owe it to the people I've been out of touch with to do a little fill-in session.

My post-collegiate life has been less than glorious thus far, and as a result I began looking for something to do that would get me settled up for a couple years.  Working for the family business (while convenient) is not why I studied what I did in college.  Then again, many will argue what I did study could not really take me anywhere but to a random office going over spreadsheets and research reports.  Unfortunately, I am allergic to Excel and coffee mugs with witty sayings that adorn office cubicles.

Now with all this post collegiate doom and gloom two things happened that perked things up a bit: My father invested in a design suite that would allow him to create and manufacture custom jewelry in-house, and I am blessed with friends who have similarly restless souls.  The jewelry design set me free to travel out to Illinois for training and provided me with a creative outlet to get back into art that I hadn't realized I missed quite so much.  The other nice thing about working with jewelry is that it is shiny, and it holds my attention, because it is shiny, and sparkly.  This world could be all fine and good but would leave me (again) short of my education or perhaps potential.

This is where China begins to become relevant.

Two friends from high school, Olivier and Alex, were similarly restless and getting tired of their fast-paced New York City jobs.  China quite literally called them (in the form of a college-friend of Olivier's) and prodded them to see how receptive they might be to an adventure out there.  This friend (Tom) has lived out there for three years and was looking into starting a business up after spending time working for the big corporate world of Sourcing.  I was approached along with other members of our group and expressed interest.  The original business iteration would have us trying our hand at a Car Wash, which is not quite the institution that it is in the US.  I was approached because of my extensive experience in the automotive care industry, having spent two arduous summers washing and detailing only the finest autos that Lexus had to offer.  Our interest carried us into the world of due diligence, a term I had never come across in my days. Our process kept on hitting walls in logistics, price, and ease of transition.  The conclusion was then drawn that the only way to make any real steps forward was to get on the ground in China and see what there was to offer.  This was in May/June of 2008.

Fast forward to August.

*Lengthy entry I know*

Shenzhen is a city located about 40 minutes outside of Hong Kong in the mainland of China.  I could tell you more, but I'm sure the Wikipedia has something to offer. It is worth noting, however; that Shenzhen is a major manufacturing hub complete with special economic zone status and a rather large central business district. That basically translates into lots of people (roughly 15 million), with a large middle class who save some 20% of their annual earnings.  Now, I make no mystery that I am in no way well-versed with anything regarding finance/accounting/money/business, but I do know that there is a lot of money being spent in this area.  Our real goal was to try our hand at starting a business and maybe take home some of that 20%.  

The trip reflected our desire to get into business, being less about leisure and packed with business meetings with various expatriates. Each of these individuals had moved out to China and were involved in nearly every facet of business, from wine bar start ups to factory owners.  The time spent out there was exploratory and gave us a relatively clear picture of the opportunity to try our hand at business in what has been dubbed "The New Wild West".

After a busy week in Shenzhen and Hong Kong our minds were racing and our livers were not fond of us.  The idea that stuck involved taking our educations, and in fact our alma maters, and using them to give Chinese high school students the advantages offered to us during the college application process.  It would be impossible to copy-cat our pedigree, and would be something hard to replicate given then level of English we were capable of composing and teaching.  While this may not sound humble, I must emphasize that Alex and Olivier mastered writing skills taught to us in high school and honed this skill in their respective colleges (Georgetown and UPenn).  We saw first-hand how students in the US hand-fed application essays and walked through standardized tests by hired tutors.  Why not offer this service to students in China?  

The market seemed ripe for this sort of endeavor, and while thousands of US students travel abroad to "teach English and get away for a year or two", it was our goal to turn this into a viable, growable business model. I could go into more detail, but this entry is far too long and boring already, so I will simply say, 8 months later we arrived in Shenzhen, incorporated and ready to go.

Whether or not this endeavor is successful, it is sure to take us through a veritable roller-coaster of victories and defeats that will shape how we emerge from this unbelievable country.