Back in the Day

On the Shenzhen - Macau Ferry, December 31, 2005.

Shanghai -> Shenzhen -> Beijing -> Shanghai

Did a round about tour of China's three leading cities this week. Some assorted highlights and lowlights:

Shenzhen:

-Factories, factories, factories, and guess what? More factories.

-Things are heating up on the Sigma front. I love working for myself.

-Saw my friends' new restaurant, Rapscallions. Really nice seeing the original SZ expat crew becoming involved in the city this way.

Beijing:

-In November 2009 I saw Pet Conspiracy in HK and quite literally freaked out at how good they were. Saw them last night and it sucked. More people on stage making videos than on stage playing music. Also, the loss of Helen Feng (former lead singer) is forcing back-up singers to try to be lead singers.

-Did some serious AS work also - again, I love working for myself.

-Ate roadside 串 for the first time in sooooo long. Ended up sitting at a table with some guys who work at the local gas station eating mutton and drinking 啤酒s.

-Told someone, "you are the kind of person who probably keeps a detailed blog but doesn't respond to emails for at least a week."

-Spent an hour and a half on Skype with a best friend back home from 3:30am - 5am China time. I can't believe he put up with us.

Shanghai:

-Good to be home: new antiques all in place, little Manny loving life, Lucy is leaning against me as I type, and I love my wife.

-Can't wait to go watch the NBA finals tomorrow morning. "We are all Texans."

-Going to hang out at Bike and Friends for a bit tonight.

Good times. Good times.

Unhappy Cab Driver

"Please turn off the god-damned flash."

Safety is for the Weak

I guess he is wearing a safety helmet.

Way Back in '05

He's writing out his life story.

The Jungle Bar

The first month I lived in China was spent at a big private school outside the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. It was indicative of China and Shenzhen's glaring gaps between the urban, industrializing areas and the rural, farming poor. While we were within Shenzhen city limits, by going out the back entrance of the school and walking for ten minutes, we'd be in a world of run down homes with little tying them to the modern world, basic farming on small plots of land, and the "Jungle Bar".

The Jungle Bar was not a bar, but the little shop the local villagers went to for everything from soy sauce to Pringles. Its shelves were packed with one or two of all the basic necessities, and thanks to their electric scooter anything could be procured from the industrial area a scant 10 minute ride away. Just on the other side of the school were large factories, apartment buildings, electronics shops, grocery stores. The Jungle Bar side was jungle.

We drank their beer at cement picnic tables under the shade of aluminum roofing and some spotty palm trees. The local dogs would lie in their stench nearby while we hooked up some speakers and listened to ODB. The Tsingdao cost 3 RMB.

That is how I spent 4-5 nights per week for my first month in the country.

First Post (hopefully also not Last Post)

Summer in Hong Kong is no joke. Humid, hot, generally horrid weather mixed with the scents of wet markets, decomposing trash, and the guy standing next to you. Gruesome usually, uncomfortable constantly, tolerable only indoors. A long slog, but we didn't move here because it would be the easy life. No, we are here for the action, adventure; sweaty summers be damned.

This afternoon I get my new China visa, and Saturday we storm the mainland to celebrate the 4th of July. The celebration will include a pool, a tailor, Japanese food and beverage, topped off with a KTV dessert. After we recover, I will push further up the Pearl River where hotel meals and Corporate-ese awaits. Deadlines to meet, deals to discuss, margins to analyze. Later in the week I'll pull a quick 18 hour tour of duty in Shanghai, avoiding the glitz and glam, and embracing an early morning car ride to the middle of nowhere.

After the trips to Malaysia and Idaho over the past 6 weeks there's little hope of any kind of quick vacation in July or August. Worse yet, we have now entered into the Hong Kong Public Holiday Draught (aka, Bring on the Level 8 Typhoons, Please). From July 2nd until September 30th there will be no random long weekends, sneaky Tuesdays off, or even the previously unknown Buddhist holiday to keep us out of work. Here's hoping for a strong gust of wind, black rain, and level 8's.