It has been quiet here the past week as the May holiday came and went with nary a whisper. OJ was off to Thailand for some well-deserved R&R, and I took the time alone here to play a bit of soccer, play at-home doctor, and cook my very first steak (in China).
Also, they got Osama. woot.
Playing 2 hours of soccer with a piece of glass in your toe is not so high on the fun-scale, spending the entire following day trying to extract said piece of glass is even less fun, but the end result is a renewed ability to walk and continue playing sports. I'll just leave it at that. On a non-gross note, our new-look team is beginning to gel, and we are no longer having standoffish confrontations with our Chinese opponents. We've built up some solid street-cred and have even been asked to take photos with our opponents after games, and frequently get invited to play again. This is worlds better than before when I was playing angry parent, grabbing people by the arm and making them put down the bricks and rocks they gathered to pummel us with. Fisticuffs is ugly in general, but especially so out here, where our size leads them to think we have an unfair advantage, resulting in them seeking to gain the upper hand either with numbers and/or weapons. Yaay.
China is getting hot, work will ramp up again this week, and we begin our third and hopefully final summer out here full-time. Everything is going so much better than before, but as always, the ability to rest easy seems a bit further up ahead.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
A belated Easter tale
To quote How I Met Your Mother: Jesus waited THREE days to come back to life. It was perfect! If he had only waited ONE day, a lot of people wouldn't have even heard he died. They'd be all, "Hey Jesus, what up?" and Jesus would probably be like, "What up? I DIED yesterday!" and they'd be all, "Uhh, you look pretty alive to me, dude..." and then Jesus would have to explain how he was resurrected, and how it was a miracle, and the dude'd be like "Uhh okay, whatever you say, bro..." And he's not gonna come back on a SATURDAY. Everybody's busy, doing chores, workin' the loom, trimmin' the beard, NO. He waited the perfect number of days, THREE. Plus it's SUNDAY, so everyone's in church already, and they're all in there like "Oh no, Jesus is DEAD", and then BAM! He bursts in the back door, runnin' up the aisle, everyone's totally psyched, and FYI, that's when he invented the high five. That's why we wait three days to call a woman, because that's how long Jesus wants us to wait.... True story.
So while I waited slightly more than three days to post this, it was enough of a departure from the norm that I will deem it still relevant for this place. Nary a Sunday passes here that we do not reflect upon the week and wonder where the time went, and how unfulfilling the weekend had been. As I do not check back through this blog, I worry that I will take another jab at a dead horse, but in SZ, there is little in the way of extracurricular activity. Weekends here remind me a bit of weekends in the last year of college: what do you guys want to do tonight? *shrugs* go to latenight? And everyone would away to the same basement party and partake of the same inane rituals that college students all to often partake of.
There is little difference here really, and our little tribe is reluctant or nearly unwilling to continue this way. So Easter provided a welcome departure from the norm, and a select handful whisked away to Hong Kong for the night to have dinner at an Italian restaurant, eat lamb, drink wine, and sit in a cozy place where if you let your guard down for a moment, you'd swear you were no longer in Asia. That was precisely the goal. A beautiful meal was followed with a post-dinner constitutional walk, followed by a small round of properly made (see: rare) cocktails and a sorely-missed session of good conversation.
This all sounds dull as hell, but I need to reiterate a point: at no point in that evening did I feel like I was in China, or Asia, or anywhere really. It was tunnel vision if you want to call it that. Think about the last time you were with a small group of people and you couldn't tell what city you were in because you were simply focused on each other. The venue you were at played a proper role of supporting actor, or hired help, always there and serving but never distracting its patrons from their evening. Now I sound like a snob. You know what, I'll take it, because it is so rare here.
There I've ranted.
So while I waited slightly more than three days to post this, it was enough of a departure from the norm that I will deem it still relevant for this place. Nary a Sunday passes here that we do not reflect upon the week and wonder where the time went, and how unfulfilling the weekend had been. As I do not check back through this blog, I worry that I will take another jab at a dead horse, but in SZ, there is little in the way of extracurricular activity. Weekends here remind me a bit of weekends in the last year of college: what do you guys want to do tonight? *shrugs* go to latenight? And everyone would away to the same basement party and partake of the same inane rituals that college students all to often partake of.
There is little difference here really, and our little tribe is reluctant or nearly unwilling to continue this way. So Easter provided a welcome departure from the norm, and a select handful whisked away to Hong Kong for the night to have dinner at an Italian restaurant, eat lamb, drink wine, and sit in a cozy place where if you let your guard down for a moment, you'd swear you were no longer in Asia. That was precisely the goal. A beautiful meal was followed with a post-dinner constitutional walk, followed by a small round of properly made (see: rare) cocktails and a sorely-missed session of good conversation.
This all sounds dull as hell, but I need to reiterate a point: at no point in that evening did I feel like I was in China, or Asia, or anywhere really. It was tunnel vision if you want to call it that. Think about the last time you were with a small group of people and you couldn't tell what city you were in because you were simply focused on each other. The venue you were at played a proper role of supporting actor, or hired help, always there and serving but never distracting its patrons from their evening. Now I sound like a snob. You know what, I'll take it, because it is so rare here.
There I've ranted.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Let's play catch-up
It is getting warm here again. Temperatures in the low 80's with humidity varying between awesome and awful: 40-85%. This will be our third summer behind the Great Firewall, the Largest Market, and a host of other deserving superlatives both positive and negative.
From car wash, to high-end detailing car care, to education consultancy, to summer education program to HR consultancy, to management consultancy to financial advisory firm in 26 months.
I sit in an apartment now, 50 stories above a maddeningly busy free trade port and international border. I get out of bed at a reasonable 8 am, have coffee and cereal across the table with Olivier, check emails, news, last nights sports scores. We create an attack plan for the day, usually someone has meetings in Hong Kong, I am still getting my financial sea-legs and as a result go through exercises with our clients books, draft memo's for clients and the internal team, and have a couple episodes of Family Guy or American Dad ready for when lunch arrives.
We worry about visas, our status as guests in this country are never certain, and we quietly talk about our fears as a small company/family out here. We stress over the ineptitude of various systems out here, a lack of professionalism on both sides of the coin, and a desire to be successful for our clients' sake and our own universal well-being.
Temperament, patience, diligence, professional demeanor, personal obligation, and disciprine.... payoff. If you do everything right, it will not always work. A scary thought
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Six months have passed since I last visited this place, to scribe down my thoughts, reflect on my life out here, our experiences thus far, and where we look to move while in the pinnacle of youth.
I took an extended break from my public thoughts to grow, to be broken and rebuilt, to continue to discover more about myself, and to begin to realize the truly important things in China, New York, and at home.
Let's get back on this train, spread the word, and gather 'round to hear tales from a country that is recently, more important than ever.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Standards
Inconsistency keeps people on their toes, or just frustrates them and keeps them from ever checking this little website.
Our Gaelic football club is now in its final preparation stages as the All Asia Gaelic Games approaches (Sept 25-26), and after a string of injuries to our veterans, we look to our young rookie class to carry us in competition. Kind of like the Patriots, but not really.
We were recently approached about writing for a new website in town called the Shenzhen Standard. The website is supposed to serve as a platform for business information and news regarding various aspects of life in Shenzhen. While it is still in its nascent stages, we have begun putting out some articles for them, mostly pom-pom waiving about how great China is and why Shenzhen is China's next hotbed for innovation, development, money, bla bla bla. Our involvement on the site has raised some interesting ideas that I'd like to talk about somewhere.
First, I'll be honest, I have reservations about the site. It is all good and fine, and has good goals, but I was initially bummed out by the blatant advertising not even thinly-veiled as news popping up everywhere within its pages (especially the homepage). Now this may sound pretty tame from a distance, but it is something that represents a greater shortcoming within the entire expatriate community out here. Now, I hope this advertising thing is short lived as expats like ourselves work to fill the website with meaningful, thoughtful content. This website is not alone either, there are a handful of expat run websites around shenzhen: Shenzhen Party, Shenzhen Stuff, etc, that are designed to help integrate East and West and create constructive environments for social networking and the like. The problem is not China.... it's the expats themselves. Poor moderation, low standards for quality, blatant disrespect for China in some cases, and a general negativity/hostility that is off-putting to many people, Chinese and foreign alike. I'm not saying this about the standard, but I feel with a name like that, it should hold itself in high regard, put only the best content forward, and keep things as professional as possible. I believe the same should be true for all expat run entities in Shenzhen and abroad in general. We have a responsibility, more than our fellow Americans back on home soil, to represent ourselves, our jobs, and our countries in the best light possible. Or hell, we should at least try to avoid looking the ignorant bastards that are so often portrayed in our own media (cough cough Q'ran burning).
I may be sounding a bit hot-headed, but I honestly believe that this kind of personal accountability is extremely important out here, especially in our increasingly transparent world, where internet personalities are universally accessible. Some times it is good and important to have a sense of humor, retain a biting wit, engage in a bit of jovial bashing, but know when to turn it off and put your serious-pants on. yeah... serious pants, what of it?
I'm having issues posting pictures, so no pictures of pants for display purposes... damn.
The second issue is much more minor and I'm guessing pretty well known. China cheerleading falls into a similar category as the last rant, but is one that is very important out here. Foreign dissent against China is not illegal per se, but not something I would recommend for anyone living out here who doesn't have some sort of diplomatic our NYT-level journalism clearance. This of course creates a double-edged sword for China. Let's say you have a foreign VC entity looking to get into the Sino-party that is Southern China. These guys are smart fellows, they read the news, they see the potential pitfalls that await as they've read in WSJ,Forbes, and various other financial news outlets. But even these highly esteemed news sources are subject to this cheerleading as well. The real picture is very hard to obtain without eyes and ears on the ground. I recently came across an article about doing business in Nigeria, and how, in an effort to show respect, someone will always say yes when asked if a particular task is possible. This is also true here, though perhaps not to the degree it is there. China-savvy people will have a general sense of this, but it is so difficult to understand that true nature of business-direction and action out here. We are dealing with our first handful of Chinese clients, and even as we show progress, competence and even surpass expectations, we are left scratching our heads when things do not go as discussed/agreed upon/signed upon. Frustrating? Absolutely. Important? Even more so.
I'm accessing this blog via a crappy tunneling website, so I cannot post photos or links. Shenzhen Standard can be found at: http://www.shenzhenstandard.com
Our Gaelic football club is now in its final preparation stages as the All Asia Gaelic Games approaches (Sept 25-26), and after a string of injuries to our veterans, we look to our young rookie class to carry us in competition. Kind of like the Patriots, but not really.
We were recently approached about writing for a new website in town called the Shenzhen Standard. The website is supposed to serve as a platform for business information and news regarding various aspects of life in Shenzhen. While it is still in its nascent stages, we have begun putting out some articles for them, mostly pom-pom waiving about how great China is and why Shenzhen is China's next hotbed for innovation, development, money, bla bla bla. Our involvement on the site has raised some interesting ideas that I'd like to talk about somewhere.
First, I'll be honest, I have reservations about the site. It is all good and fine, and has good goals, but I was initially bummed out by the blatant advertising not even thinly-veiled as news popping up everywhere within its pages (especially the homepage). Now this may sound pretty tame from a distance, but it is something that represents a greater shortcoming within the entire expatriate community out here. Now, I hope this advertising thing is short lived as expats like ourselves work to fill the website with meaningful, thoughtful content. This website is not alone either, there are a handful of expat run websites around shenzhen: Shenzhen Party, Shenzhen Stuff, etc, that are designed to help integrate East and West and create constructive environments for social networking and the like. The problem is not China.... it's the expats themselves. Poor moderation, low standards for quality, blatant disrespect for China in some cases, and a general negativity/hostility that is off-putting to many people, Chinese and foreign alike. I'm not saying this about the standard, but I feel with a name like that, it should hold itself in high regard, put only the best content forward, and keep things as professional as possible. I believe the same should be true for all expat run entities in Shenzhen and abroad in general. We have a responsibility, more than our fellow Americans back on home soil, to represent ourselves, our jobs, and our countries in the best light possible. Or hell, we should at least try to avoid looking the ignorant bastards that are so often portrayed in our own media (cough cough Q'ran burning).
I may be sounding a bit hot-headed, but I honestly believe that this kind of personal accountability is extremely important out here, especially in our increasingly transparent world, where internet personalities are universally accessible. Some times it is good and important to have a sense of humor, retain a biting wit, engage in a bit of jovial bashing, but know when to turn it off and put your serious-pants on. yeah... serious pants, what of it?
I'm having issues posting pictures, so no pictures of pants for display purposes... damn.
The second issue is much more minor and I'm guessing pretty well known. China cheerleading falls into a similar category as the last rant, but is one that is very important out here. Foreign dissent against China is not illegal per se, but not something I would recommend for anyone living out here who doesn't have some sort of diplomatic our NYT-level journalism clearance. This of course creates a double-edged sword for China. Let's say you have a foreign VC entity looking to get into the Sino-party that is Southern China. These guys are smart fellows, they read the news, they see the potential pitfalls that await as they've read in WSJ,Forbes, and various other financial news outlets. But even these highly esteemed news sources are subject to this cheerleading as well. The real picture is very hard to obtain without eyes and ears on the ground. I recently came across an article about doing business in Nigeria, and how, in an effort to show respect, someone will always say yes when asked if a particular task is possible. This is also true here, though perhaps not to the degree it is there. China-savvy people will have a general sense of this, but it is so difficult to understand that true nature of business-direction and action out here. We are dealing with our first handful of Chinese clients, and even as we show progress, competence and even surpass expectations, we are left scratching our heads when things do not go as discussed/agreed upon/signed upon. Frustrating? Absolutely. Important? Even more so.
I'm accessing this blog via a crappy tunneling website, so I cannot post photos or links. Shenzhen Standard can be found at: http://www.shenzhenstandard.com
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Another Year
We have all been commenting how this summer, while admittedly hot, happened late this year, and has been considerably milder from the previous one. The biggest difference has been the lack of smog that seemed ever-present during the summer months last year. It is indeed a welcome change, and the foreigners have a great time speculating as to the cause, since Shenzhen will play host to the 2011 Universiade Games. Could it be the new charge to bring electric public transit vehicles into wider use? Perhaps it is the result of a concerted effort to reduce emissions across the spectrum (doubtful given the construction and manufacturing here)? Our favorite answer, and one that really isn't outside the realm of possibility: weather engineering to fuel advertisement for next year's games and help with the general perception of the city as it gets ready to unveil a host of new civic projects, including high speed link up with Central Hong Kong. Russia and China have both admitted to weather engineering, and as crazy as it sounds... actually it is crazy, but who cares, I'll take my sunshine anyway I can get it.
Another oddity out here. Smaller bedrooms do not necessarily mean smaller AC units, and while this may sound delightful on the front, it is actually a bit of a problem out here. Last summer our assistant caught a cold on two occasions for forgetting to bring her AC to a normal level before dozing off for the evening. Many people complain of similar immune responses, and one that I have encountered in my new bedroom: dehydration. But Chris, haven't you been known to enjoy a few pints in the evening and also play two sports over there? Yes and yes, but it is in fact something that is reality out here. It sounds rather trivial but add dehydration to a UV index of 10, and heat indexes consistently over 100F, and you've got to be slightly concerned. Honestly, who'd have thought one would need a humidifier in a tropical locale in the middle of the summer.... go figure.
Another oddity out here. Smaller bedrooms do not necessarily mean smaller AC units, and while this may sound delightful on the front, it is actually a bit of a problem out here. Last summer our assistant caught a cold on two occasions for forgetting to bring her AC to a normal level before dozing off for the evening. Many people complain of similar immune responses, and one that I have encountered in my new bedroom: dehydration. But Chris, haven't you been known to enjoy a few pints in the evening and also play two sports over there? Yes and yes, but it is in fact something that is reality out here. It sounds rather trivial but add dehydration to a UV index of 10, and heat indexes consistently over 100F, and you've got to be slightly concerned. Honestly, who'd have thought one would need a humidifier in a tropical locale in the middle of the summer.... go figure.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Dog Days
As with summer anywhere, things tend to slow down a bit productivity is eased, daydreams are focused on beaches and sitting beneath shaded trees, and getting out of China. Offices with proper (see: excessive) air conditioning will curb this natural tendency a bit, but cannot stifle it completely. Such is summer in Shenzhen. This year the summer has come much later, and thankfully, has not been nearly as smoggy. I credit China's weather engineering departments with the nice conditions.
Business is plugging along, and there is little if anything new to report other than yet another apartment that I am calling home. Landlord's do not seem to keen to honor contracts if they can break it in a way that benefits their short term (see: wallet) interests. Ours sold our unit and moved us to another location, which to our delight is nicer, larger, and has a HD flatscreen with speakers. This of course means I've been playing video games in my downtime instead of reading, as a good expat is wont to do.
What else to say really? Hope to get back to the States soon, looks like I'll be out in China for a bit longer. Anyway, here's a picture of the gang at our friend Isaac's birthday party in Hong Kong a few months back
Business is plugging along, and there is little if anything new to report other than yet another apartment that I am calling home. Landlord's do not seem to keen to honor contracts if they can break it in a way that benefits their short term (see: wallet) interests. Ours sold our unit and moved us to another location, which to our delight is nicer, larger, and has a HD flatscreen with speakers. This of course means I've been playing video games in my downtime instead of reading, as a good expat is wont to do.
What else to say really? Hope to get back to the States soon, looks like I'll be out in China for a bit longer. Anyway, here's a picture of the gang at our friend Isaac's birthday party in Hong Kong a few months back
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Hiatus
Nope, not Haiti, hiatus.
I have not written here for some time due partly to a lazy demeanor regarding this blog, a trip to the US, and a return to China that has seen some seven day work weeks with hours that are reminiscent of college finals library hours. Could I have faithfully updated? Absolutely. Did I really want to? Not a bit, though I thank the small handful of followers that comprise the people I should actually be calling on a consistent basis, throwing my recent life onto the internet has not been high on my list of things to do.
I can most certainly say this about China, and our time here. The honeymoon's over. The savings are dry, and the horizon is exactly that... a horizon.
I'm not sure what I've written previously, but the education enterprise we set up was a statistical failure despite some promising student numbers and reviews. True Wind, our consulting firm, has been absorbed into a larger company that deals with management and strategy consulting, and my freelance design has netted one logo for an aspiring author and board member here in China.
I am now living in my third apartment with two chinese roommates, and very well may be moving again this week since our landlord has decided to sell our unit and relocate us to another, albeit nicer, apartment.
We've had birthdays come and go, weddings fly by, and several fellow expats have left china for humbler, better things (they came here for the bigger and better).
As a group/company/team whatever you want to call us, we are sitting on several potentially large projects. I may have mentioned bits and pieces back home, but our strict NDA's disallow me from saying much else. What I can say is that we are going to get taken for a bit of a ride on the fee side of things. And we are working to make sure that this will benefit in the long term. I may seem ok with this only because fees here are really villainized, and contracts with chinese partners are only worth the paper their written on and may be abandoned at any time really. It is therefore our aim to settle for the small but manageable fee, and maintain an amicable relationship with both sides, while securing very realistic future work.
If it all sounds a bit vague, that's because it is, welcome to China.
On a side note, most of us here are excited the World Cup is over and that we can return to our normal sleep schedules. on a sider note, I was recruited to join a rag-tag group of soccer misfits for a 6 a side tournament on Sunday, against 8 other teams from the city. None of us are sure how we pulled it off, but 8 games later, we emerged victorious, undefeated, and winning the championship with a penalty kick struck by yours truly. rock and roll and sore muscles everywhere.
I have not written here for some time due partly to a lazy demeanor regarding this blog, a trip to the US, and a return to China that has seen some seven day work weeks with hours that are reminiscent of college finals library hours. Could I have faithfully updated? Absolutely. Did I really want to? Not a bit, though I thank the small handful of followers that comprise the people I should actually be calling on a consistent basis, throwing my recent life onto the internet has not been high on my list of things to do.
I can most certainly say this about China, and our time here. The honeymoon's over. The savings are dry, and the horizon is exactly that... a horizon.
I'm not sure what I've written previously, but the education enterprise we set up was a statistical failure despite some promising student numbers and reviews. True Wind, our consulting firm, has been absorbed into a larger company that deals with management and strategy consulting, and my freelance design has netted one logo for an aspiring author and board member here in China.
I am now living in my third apartment with two chinese roommates, and very well may be moving again this week since our landlord has decided to sell our unit and relocate us to another, albeit nicer, apartment.
We've had birthdays come and go, weddings fly by, and several fellow expats have left china for humbler, better things (they came here for the bigger and better).
As a group/company/team whatever you want to call us, we are sitting on several potentially large projects. I may have mentioned bits and pieces back home, but our strict NDA's disallow me from saying much else. What I can say is that we are going to get taken for a bit of a ride on the fee side of things. And we are working to make sure that this will benefit in the long term. I may seem ok with this only because fees here are really villainized, and contracts with chinese partners are only worth the paper their written on and may be abandoned at any time really. It is therefore our aim to settle for the small but manageable fee, and maintain an amicable relationship with both sides, while securing very realistic future work.
If it all sounds a bit vague, that's because it is, welcome to China.
On a side note, most of us here are excited the World Cup is over and that we can return to our normal sleep schedules. on a sider note, I was recruited to join a rag-tag group of soccer misfits for a 6 a side tournament on Sunday, against 8 other teams from the city. None of us are sure how we pulled it off, but 8 games later, we emerged victorious, undefeated, and winning the championship with a penalty kick struck by yours truly. rock and roll and sore muscles everywhere.
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