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.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, November 20, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, November 16, 2009
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.
Friday, November 13, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
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
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
Friday, November 6, 2009
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.
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.
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