Texas on my mind....

Howdy Everyone!

Well, its been almost a MONTH since my last update. 

I keep thinking that there's not much to write about, but actually there is!

I've been on quite a few adventures. For the National Holiday, XB, one of my guys that works for me got married, and I was invited to his wedding (also had to give a speech about his work ethic and what a great job he does), my aunt came in from Taiwan, and we had a nice visit, I took her to the grape festival, out to eat at a nice sushi place, and met some friends that I made here. Overall a very nice time!  She's my first foreign visitor! She left on Saturday, and I had Sunday and Monday to recover.

 

The first weekend in October, XB my right hand guy,  Took me to Huangdao, which is across the water from Qingdao.  We drove the longest bridge in the world to get there.  In fact, we had such a good time driving and talking that we ended up overshooting the exit for huangdao, which was ok, because we ended up in a very rural area of China, all farmland.  It was beautiful, and I'm bummed that I didn't get a chance to take pictures, but I was driving.    XB and his wife and I explored Huangdao in the afternoon, and had a nice time.  XBs wife teaches college english there but since she lives on campus, has not had a chance to explore the town, as her weekends are usually in qingdao with XB

.

The second weekend, I took it easy, saw friends, and Sunday went to Church and ran errands.  This past weekend, I was recovering from a cold, which was no match for Nyquil and Dayquil and Mucinex, so I got some CHinese medicine, which worked slow, but yielded results!

This past weekend, another one of my guys got married, and again, I had to do the wedding speech as the boss and talk about work ethic and marriage.  Its interesting how much weight they put on your job and how much of a part of your life it becomes, so much that the bosses have their own table at the wedding!  Sunday, I met with my friends that are in China from Washington state.  We went to Jimo Lu, which is the equivalent of silk street in Beijing (if you're from Houston, think of Harwin Shopping district).  There, they had street vendors with food, produce, clothes etc, and that was just on the OUTSIDE of the shopping center.  We enjoyed a giant Fritter (Yiu Tiao), as well as some Stinky Tofu (Will, the guy in the picture didn't like it, but his mother, who lived in Taiwan for a few years, enjoyed it).  Bought some fresh fruits, and then ended the evening at Burger King at Marina City, along the water.  Burger King was actually really terrible, as they just opened, and everyone and their dog was there, so instead of making your order when you pay for it, there's tons of Hamburgers premade.  The result is a cold, nasty, soggy burger.  I'll come back when they're not so busy and see if the food is better.

Work is going good, if not just constantly frantic.  I've learned quite a bit since taking over the role as operations manager, and one of the biggest things that I've discovered since becoming a manager, is that your productivity level generally decreases, because you're being pulled in 100 different directions in a day.  Some of the biggest headaches are HR issues.  Employees that dont pull their weight, employees that fight, slack off, etc.  Now I really understand why its hard to get a response from managers, because they're too busy putting out little fires every day.    On the good side, you do get to work with people and the people that are on my team are all eager to learn.  I just need to find the fine line between being friendly while still trying to be the boss.

The weather here has cooled signifcantly, and the days are getting shorter.  IT runs in the mid 50s at night and mid 70s in the daytime.  Kody is doing well, the cooler weather has him shedding his summer coat and growing in the winter fur!  Kody has also made a new friend, Yiu Yiu is a Collie that lives in the first building in my strip of apartment buildings.  Shes a beautiful dog, and we run into her a few times a week when we go out for walks.  Her owners are nice people, and we have a great visit every time we run into eachother. 

Dining has been an adventure, as I've been eating local fare, and I've attached some pictures of the goodness for your drooling pleasure.

The House in Katy is
Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and I'm excited that Jennifer and John and the girls are coming.  Then after that, I'll be home on the 17th for about 3 weeks!  Looking forward to catching up with everyone if our schedules allow for it.

Miss you all and would love to hear from you!

Peace and love,

When it rains (or leaks), it pours.....

Howdy everyone, some of you noticed right away that I didn't send my Wednesday night update this week.

Well, there's a pretty good reason for that.

Lets just pick up from last update.  The weekend was the normal routine, not much exciting, though Bob and I did try a German restaurant in town, and had their "giant pig knuckle" which was great.  They also had a nice coffee machine inside, so we ordered a cup of joe.  It was the nicest cup of coffee I've had in a long time.  Afterwards I did my usual shopping. Check out the picture of this HUGE durian.  You could smell it from a mile away!

This week has been very busy workwise, deadlines and big management meetings coming up have stretched me pretty thin.  Between work, home, and Kody, there wasnt much time to punch out an update.  I also finally did join the Gym by the house and went to my first spin class there.  I dont know if it was me being out of shape,  no fans in the classroom, or the lack of AC, but I only lasted about 30 minutes.  The room is dark like US spin classes, but has LED strobes all over the place like a trance club.  That, combined with EuroTrash Techno exhausted me.  I decided to leave before I had seizures from the lights.

This Wednesday evening, I went to bed, and for some reason forgot to power off my Houston cell phone.  I always power it off. About 12:30 midnight, phone rang, it was my neighbor.  I answered, completely incoherent, and he was paitent enough to let me get my bearings, and to tell me I had a major water leak in the house.  Nick has been checking on the house regularly, along with my Mom and stepdad, and Dayna, so the house usually doesn't go for extended amounts of time without people looking in.  Well, the water leak started at the water heater (defective rubber hose), and leaked all over, caving the ceiling in at the guest room, and leaking down the hall, to the office, dining room, living room, and kitchen.  I'm so fortunate that my Mom and Step Dad , and Nick and my contractor friend Mark, all stepped up to the plate.  I called my insurance agent, and the same day, Mom, Darrell, Nick and Mark, and the insurance company had come out, done estimates, brought in fans and dehumidifiers and were starting the cleanup process.  Felt really nice to know I'm in good hands. The damage is pretty extensive, floors, sheetrock and plumbing repair. Still waiting for the final estimate.  Thank goodness for insurance.

To top that off, Friday morning, Kody and I went for our usual 5AM walk.  Except this guy, walked out the door without his house keys.  So here I am, sitting outside the door of the apartment,  flip flops, shorts and a Tshirt with Kody. I had my wallet but no cell phone.  And knew nobodys phone number here.   I hadnt shaved, showered or even brushed my teeth.  I was going to walk down the street to the Holiday inn and wake up bob, and have him call my admin who has a key, but it would take two hours to get her to the office, get the key and then come unlock the door.  On top of that, they probably dont allow dogs into holiday inn.  So option 2 was to take Kody in a Cab and head to work, and twiddle my thumbs still 8am when people came to work to get a key, but most cabs dont allow dogs.   So the last and final option, was to bother a neighbor.  I had met two neighbors, the one on the first floor, who is VERY nice,but not sure how nice anyones going to be at 5:30 in the morning.  The second neighbor lives above me, we met once, but the important part is, since he lives above me, I know what time he gets moving.  Which was about 5:30.  I knocked on his door, and asked him to lock kody up while I went for keys, and he said that he and his wife go to work at 7.  So that wasnt an option. Then he remembered that there was a flyer for a locksmith at our West entrance to the compound.  He ran down with me, we got the number, and 15 minutes later, the locksmith arrived, wearing cutoffs, no shirt and carrying with him a hammer and a metal rod.  Using  the hammer and his scooter key, he punched out the peep hole, and the metal rod was shaped exactly like the door handle.  It took him less than 5 minutes to get in.  Total cost? 100 RMB= 16 dollars.   I was back inside by 6:15 AM.

So, here I sit writing this email on Saturday at 2pm from work (deadlines due!) and looking back, thinking about how very fortunate I am to have so many great people around me.  People that I can not express how grateful I am, people that have stepped up, offered help, and responded when called on.  So for those of you that have offered help on the house, thanks so much, but its under control so far.

This weekends plans are to look for a microwave, and go to the used furniture market (the renter grade furniture just isnt cutting it), I'm deal hunting!

In other news, SiriusXM.com works in China, so I can listen to Satellite Radio from my desk, and get a taste of US music.  I'm working out regularly and just finished the first season of Arrested Development.  Presently watching the current season of Hell's Kitchen too.  So I'm able to keep sane.  Kody is doing good, he's enjoying sharing my after dinner popsicle (Chinese sweet green bean).

Weather here is nice, mid to upper 80s but its stays very humid!

I miss everyone, and I hope this note finds you very well.

peace and love,
W

Time flies....

Has it been a week already? Time has seemed to have flown by since the last update.

So, since last week, I've been just settling in and exploring more.

I'm still pretty homesick, but being able to facetime with family and friends helps a lot.

On Friday afternoon, I got the windows tinted in the car, and Friday night, I had dinner with a colleague at his hotel.  Saturday the A-yi was supposed to come and clean but did not show up.  I later found out that shes scared of Kody, but supposedly will be back Saturday as long as he's crated.  So Saturday, I cleaned the floors and the bathrooms, and did laundry, and watched it rain outside. In the evening, I went out for a little drive and then stopped at a street food vendor outside my neighborhood for some meat skewers (see pictures).  They were good, but eating from a street vendor does have risks.

Sunday, Bob, my colleague and I went into Qingdao for our 'day in town'.  He was looking for a hotel that had a nice brunch, but he couldn't remember the name or street it was on, so after 2 hours of aimlessly wandering, I made the decision that we would stop by "Sunshine Center" which is another high end shopping mall downtown.  Inside they had a very upscale buffet, which we were lucky to get a table without a reservation.  The food was great, international choices and fresh seafood.  In the afternoon, I took Bob back to his hotel and went by the farmers market to get fresh fruits and vegetables.  I ended up with 4 bags of stuff for about 12 dollars. I went home to meet the AC Repair man (on a sunday!) who misdiagnosed my AC unit, and would be back "later in the week" with the new part.   Kody and I went for a little walk, and I headed off to find a place to get a haircut.  There was a place close by the house, and I walked in, and it seemed pretty fancy.  I got a little nervous because I figured it would be pricey, but the staff told me the haircuts were 38 RMB, a little over 6 dollars, and included shampoo and blowdry,  however, If I bought their "preferred customer card", for 200 RMB, (32 dollars), I could get TEN haircuts, which is what I did.  And they dont accept tips.  I later told a local chinese colleague about the 20 RMB haircut and he told me that it was too expensive, and he pays 10-15 RMB. Go figure.  Afterwards, I did some shopping at another Walmart/Target type store, and this one was the nicest one yet. 

This week at work, I have decided to leave the office for lunch, as I'm getting a little tired of the cafeteria food.  Its been nice to get away for an hour, and also helpful to learn the local area around work.  Customer emails have been flying back and forth but it appears that as fires are being put out, people are beginning to mellow out quite a bit.

As far as preventing myself from going insane, this weeks entertainment includes more CHiPs from Itunes, and Hells Kitchen (latest season).  There is an expat meetup tonight, but its in town and I'm seriously considering going and taking a cab (police like to do sobriety checks at night, and I dont have an official Chinese license yet).   I'll be joining the gym in my neighborhood, but access to cash is not easy right now because china employers pay salary once a month.  So I dont get a July paycheck till August.  So I go to a bank that actually accepts Visa Logo ATM cards and I pull out the equivalent of 300 USD at a time. Fortunately, I finally got a gasoline card, so that helps with the amount of cash I need to lay out for gas.

Yesterday, I went to a steak place for lunch,  Steaks in China are different.  Where in the US, we're used to nice, thick cut steaks, with a nice pink center, (rare or medium rare), the Chinese steakhouses serve steaks like Pork Chop thin, on a sizzling plate, well done.  I ended up ordering some chinese food they had instead.  If I do want a steak, there's a place downtown called "Wang Steak House" , which is a franchise all over Asia, and they're as close as you can get to a western steak dining experience.

Thats all for now everyone, I hope you are all well!

Sunday brunch at Hugo's. Not so much.

Hugos restaurant was one of my favorite restaurants to eat at in Houston until this past Sunday. Their food is excellent, including their Sunday brunch.

We have been eating at Hugos for 7 years regularly. Over time, the service has gone from good, to O.K. to medicore to pathetic.

We visit Hugos about 6-8 times a year. Usually always for Mothers Day brunch and dinner other times. The food and service is usually always decent. However, the last 2 years, they have tried to seat us at the table NEXT TO the buffet line, which is loud and interruptive to enjoy brunch. This is even with reservations.

I made reservations with Hugos on Tuesday for Sunday brunch to celebrate a 70th Birthday. We arrived at for our10:30 reservation, and the lobby had a bunch of people there, but nobody was being seated. After waiting in line to talk to the Maitre'd, I had my turn, gave him my name and he said "We'll seat you next."

The next thing, the hostess comes back and seats 2 other parties. I bit my tongue. Finally, we get seated by someone, who was either a bus boy or new, and spoke very little english. He takes us right back to the table that backs up next to the brunch line. We've been put here before, and its always a hassle to get another table. When the guy showed us the table, I immediately cringed. I asked for another table. The host looked at me like he was trying to figure out what I was saying, and said that there was no other tables available (tons of tables around were empty).

I asked to speak to the manager. The host told me that there was nothing we could do. So I walked to the front to talk to the main guy at the maitre'd station. I told him calmly that we, for some reason, always get seated there, and the host that seated us said that there's nothing that can be done. I told him that I didn't like how we continue to be placed there over and over again.

The Maitre'd looked at me like, sarcastically apologized, and then with a angry look on his face asked me to "calm down" and there was "no reason" to "act like that". To which I was surprised, since I had maintained my temper without getting angry. I wasn't happy with the way we were being treated, so we left.

Service like this is not going to fly, no matter how good the food is.

To the owners of Hugos, you need to get your staff under control and start treating customers like they're customers again.

We ended our jaunt at Kenny and Ziggy's where the service and food was excellent.

NW Houston Engrish

So I met my good friend C for lunch today. We used to work together and enjoy the same type of food, particularly Asian stuff.

So I called her today and she wanted to go to this new Vietnamese place. "All they serve is noodles" she tells me.

Boy she wasnt kidding. Nothing but soup and noodles. No rice, no egg rolls. Soup. Thats all.

I had to laugh when we got there. More Engrish.



Not "Noodles", just one. "Pho Danh, house of noodle"

The soup was indeed good. Place was nice and clean inside. Lets hope they make enough money to be able to afford that "S".

Engrish, Live from Chinatown Houston

I took my mom and stepdad out for a Chinese Sunday brunch. I had to go buy some Ramen (the REAL stuff) from Chinatown. We went to Classic Kitchen, which is a restaurant that serves Taiwanese Comfort Food. This place is run by the Soup Nazis Asian relatives. Cash only, and the waitstaff is rude, but what Chinese restaurant is known for good customer Service?

We ate and left, and when I was walking out, I had to snap a pic, Engrish is abundant here guys!



Happy New Year, Friends! Hope you have a great and very prosperous 2009!

Engrish....part II

So I against my promise of not going out of the house on black Friday, one of my friends asked me to meet him for lunch. I had to go to Costco anyway, so I decided to meet him at a Chinese buffet off I-10.

We had a good time and then the fortune cookies came out. We BOTH got the same fortune....his first comment was "They could have used correct grammar."




Engrish is all around us now....

Engrish

Engrish. The attempt for people that don't speak or write the English language well to speak/write something that others find funny......

I was having lunch with C yesterday at our Favorite Thai place. C is half Filipino, and we used to work together. Anyway, we both appreciate good food, so we meet up for lunch and then laugh about our Asian heritage and catch up. So we're looking over the menu, and C points out something, I look and chuckle, and she asks "Where's it going?" which sent me into a roar, loud enough for everyone in the restaurant to glance over.....Thanks for the good laugh Cyn!



I ordered the Pad Thai, and asked her to make it spicy. It came out, not spicy enough, so I asked for some chili sauce. I should have kept my mouth shut. This was one of the few times I haven't been able to finish a meal because it was so hot. I was sweating profusely, and when I returned to the office, I could feel the spicyness eroding my stomach!