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!

Just figured I'd send my weekly update of being in China.

So, most of you guys know that I got Kody out of customs last week. That was a huge relief in itself!  The first few days, I couldn't get more than 5' away from Kody.  He stayed very close to me.  He's better now, and enjoying the wood floors (they stay nice and cool).  High rise life doesn't really seem to affect him that much, He's been sleeping on the couch or the carpeted front door mat when I get home.

The house is coming together nicely.  The AC in the bedroom was repaired on Tuesday, so now its nice and cool when I sleep at night.  I hired an A-yi (auntie) to clean the House every saturday.  Until I get to know her more, I'm only having her come around when I'm home.  Really theres not much of a mess thats made, other than the Kody fur on the wood floors.  I'm keeping my eyes peeled for any expats moving home, so I can snag a deal on their furniture.  The rental property furniture isnt exactly of the best quality.

Work is going ok, though there's lots of stuff to get cleaned up, folks that were supposed to be assigned here were living in other cities and coming in every 4-6 weeks, and that wasn't really cutting it.    I'm starting to meet more of the staff and see how things operate.  Not always the most efficient or the best way to do it, but the wheels of progress grind slowly.

I have found most of the Target/Walmart type stores already close by, and the Farmer's Market, which is pretty much walking distance from my place.  I did actually go visit the Wal Mart on Saturday, and its pretty much  like the Walmart in the US.  Meager quality stuff at meager prices.  I have been on the hunt for a toilet mat.  Nobodys heard of one here. Afterwards, I went and had my car hand washed, Vacuumed and new wiper blades installed.  The cost? 55 rmb (less than 10 dollars).  The Farmers Market is the place to go for the meats, and fresh fruits and veggies.  I really enjoyed it, its very much like the Farmers mkt in houston where each stand is operated by a different owner. 

This past Sunday, I went with a co-worker into downtown to attend the Qingdao International Christian Fellowship.  This is a church service thats non-denominational and allows anyone that holds a foreign passport.  The service was ok, but we were late, so we missed some of the beginning.  I will return next week to check it out again.  Afterwards, we went to HiSense shopping center (which is like the Galleria).  This was high fashion, and upscale.  They had a Swaorvski crystal store, all the expensive boutique clothing stores, that you find in the high rent districts.   Wouldn't you know it? They had a toilet mat here.  I paid...40 dollars for it, but its the nicest toilet mat you've ever seen.  I'll pick one up for the other bathroom when I'm in Houston at Christmas time! This center is 4 stories tall, the basement is a food court and grocery store.The grocery store pretty much has everything that you would find in a typical Chinese grocery store, with the exception that its more like a supermarket, air conditioned, well lit, and clean.  On top of that, they have LOTS of expat products.  Cheese, Cake mix, tomato sauce, breads, jell-o etc.  Anything that you may need, they probably have.  You may pay 4X the cost for it (Betty Crocker cake mix was 5 dollars), but when you're 8000 miles away, you'll probably be willing to pay for it.

Sunday evening, I had some co-workers over for dinner.  I made Spaghetti, sauce from scratch.  The house still smells wonderful from all of it!

Thats all I really have to report.  I'm keeping myself sane by downloading TV shows from Itunes.  Right now I'm working through Arrested Development, COPS (2012 season), The office (season 2), and CHiPs ( the motorcycle cop show from the 70s).  I found a gym close to my house, walking distance actually.  They have spin every night, and are pretty nicely outfitted.  The cost is a little higher than I expected, but I must factor in how close to my home that it is.

China Update #1

Hey guys!

 First off, sorry for the silence since I have been here. I have only really been keeping in touch with a small handful of people because its been sort of a nightmare since I arrived. So how can I narrate this for you all?

Kody and I drove to Dallas this week, saw friends on the way up, had dinner with friends in Dallas, and then spent the night, and flew direct from Dallas to Seoul the next morning. Because of the crate size, (and probably some greed from the agent that I used), they insisted that Kody go as Cargo to China, not as excess luggage. This was a big mistake. Lessons learned.

 The agent that I hired was helpful in getting Kody checked in, and Korean air took very good care of Kody in Dallas and Korea. They left his crate inside their offices so he would have some AC. My flight was uneventful, got to Korea, checked into the hotel, and then got a decent nights sleep, and flew out the next day. Here is where the trouble starts. Arriving in Qingdao, my co-worker meets me, and we go to pick up Kody from the Air Cargo terminal. which should have been showing them my passport, Kodys rabies certs and health certs, and taking him home. Well, because he went cargo, its the same as shipping a box of shoes, or documents etc. They really dont 'belong' to anyone until they clear customs and the consignee can pick them up. Long story short, we spent Friday afternoon with the freight agent in china and a korean air rep trying to get kody out. We were unsuccessful. The good news is, that the customs warehouse people were VERY nice, and allowed me go in twice a day, feed, water and walk him. They even walked him and played with him. I'm so glad Kody is a nice dog and not aggressive.

Every day when I went to go see him and let him out, we drew a crowd of about 12 people that wanted to take pics, pose with him and ask all kinds of questions "is he famous?" etc. So, my days were consumed with being at customs, talking to the agents, inspection people, and freight forwarder regarding Kody NOT being 'freight' but a pet.

Every day, we've been making a little headway. And yesterday (tuesday) we finally made progress. So, today, I have to pick Kody up, pick up our freight agent, and then take him to the airport for an 'inspection' (they just want to pet him), and then he can go home.

 Everything else is progressing. The apartment, which was supposed to be cleaned twice before I arrived. was not even cleaned once. I stayed there Friday night, frustrated and upset about Kody, almost no sleep because I had almost nothing, no sheets, pillows etc. I woke up at 4 am and started cleaning the wood floors with just a wet rag. The dirt that was on the floor was incredible. They didn't clean.

I visited Kody saturday, and my coworker took me out to buy some stuff at "Leader" which is like a super Wal mart. I didnt even have a shower curtain! Sunday, my coworker and I drove to the east coast of Qingdao, saw the beach and had some fresh seafood. In the afternoon, my dad and his wife came down from Beijing with my car and his car loaded full of stuff for the apartment. Slowly but surely, the apartment is coming together. I brought soft scrub with bleach from the US, and I've been cleaning little by little. Its getting there! I like the neighborhood I live in. Theres lots of people out walking around, so it feels very community like. I dont have much else to report.

I've been doing a lot of driving here, trying to get Kody out, and going to visit him. The thing you must remember about driving in China? There are no rules.

Checking in...

Well it's been a while hasn't it? I guess I'll dust the cobwebs off the old blog and say something.

The first day of summer is here and is in full effect. And boy is it hot outside.

Well, whats been going on since I last posted?

Hmm, well, lots of stuff really.

I have had some major changes and events occur.

My grandfather passed away.
I thought about moving closer into town next to some friends from church but ended up staying.
My new Taurus SHO came in.
I installed slate tile into my bathroom myself.
I had a "God in my face" moment.

Most of my friends know that I'm still pretty 'young' in my spiritual journey. I'm not a perfect Christian, nor do I have all the answers.

A few months back I had a "God in my face" experience. Too many times, little things happen, and we attribute them to coincidences or something unremarkable enough to not even give a second thought to why they happen. This event was one that I would have never imagined would happen in a million years. And it was really an experience to show me that God is in my life. He is around, and he does things on his timetable. Not anyone else's.

My good friend Gary, once said to me, "If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans for the day." This has rang true many times in my life.

So now, where do I go from here? I don't really know.

Life in the past three months has been a series of events of ups and downs. And all of this, is part of Gods plan for me. Sometimes I wish I could see the schedule, or have a peek at the plans, but I know, or at least hope, that in due time, it will be revealed to me.

The end result will be an awesome thing, so I just need to have faith that God will show me when he's ready to.

Journaling has been helpful, but I know in the end I need to spend more time praying and asking God to show me his will.

Adios amigos!

The Fallout of GM and Chrysler Bankruptcy

From Autoblog:

Completing the Obama Administration's plan to replace its fleet of government vehicles with newer, more efficient vehicles, the U.S. General Services Administration is reporting a purchase of roughly $210 million worth of new vehicles from Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.

Of the three American automakers, Ford was the clear winner of government funds with a total of 7,924 Blue Ovals bought and paid for at a total of $129 million (about $16,280 per car). GM was well represented too with the Fed's $105 million outlay bringing in a total of 6,348 cars (about $16,540 per car). Chrysler held up the rear with a total of 2,933 vehicles purchased for $53 million (about $18,070 per car).

Though the breakdown of actual models purchased has yet to be released, the GSA says each of the new vehicles will replace a fully operational older vehicle that was ready to be retired. To qualify for the program, the new vehicle needed to achieve better fuel efficiency than the car it replaces. In other words, we can only assume that the old fleet of Crown Vics are being turned over with new Fusions or maybe even Focuses.

Soon, the GSA plans to complete its spending ways by investing another $15 million on a new fleet of advanced technology buses and electric vehicles. See the official press release after the break.

In other news.....

GM divebombing and Ford climbs.

I am curious as to why it shows 184,000 cars last year and this year only 150,000 units. Were gas prices that much last year to boost car sales over truck? I guess we owe four dollar gas and a new 2008 Focus sales to the higher numbers. Not sure if the Edge crossover counts as a truck.

Maybe the 2010 Fusion, Mustang and Taurus will all be grand slams and Ford will continue to do well!

Wall Street Journal
DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. is preparing an effort to gain market share while its two main rivals are bogged down in bankruptcy and restructuring.

Ford, the only one of Detroit's Big Three that didn't need a bailout from the federal government, plans to increase production of cars and trucks in the third quarter by about 10% from the level of a year ago, a company official said. It will be Ford's first significant production increase in almost two years.

In contrast, General Motors Corp., which is expected to file for Chapter 11 protection Monday, and Chrysler LLC, which is nearing the end of its bankruptcy reorganization, are planning to shut down their plants for nearly all of the third quarter. The difference in production plans will give Ford a chance to push sales through the prime summer selling months while GM and Chrysler focus on their internal issues.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to separate us from our other domestic competitors," said a person familiar with the matter at Ford. "No one is going to gift-wrap it for us. You have to deliver the product people want to buy. That said, you have to take this historic opportunity to grab market share."

Ford has seen a gain in retail market share in six of the past seven months and expects to see another boost when May auto sales are reported Tuesday. As of April 30, Ford's U.S. market share was 13%, according to the company.

In the third quarter, Ford plans to produce 150,000 cars and 310,000 trucks for a total of 460,000 vehicles, according to company officials. A year ago it built 184,000 cars and 234,000 trucks for a total of 418,000. The bulk of the increase stems from high production of the company's highly profitable F-150 pickup trucks.

The move represents a gamble, however. Gas prices have been creeping higher in recent weeks, topping $3 a gallon in some parts of the country. Further gas-price increases could damp F-150 sales, and a worsening of the overall economy could slow sales of both cars and trucks. If either happens, Ford could end up with elevated inventory levels later in the year.

The truck market "is still going to be a challenge," said Michael Maroone, president and chief operating officer of AutoNation Inc., the largest chain of car dealerships in the U.S. and the largest Ford dealer by volume and locations.

Ford executives played down the notion the company is trying to take advantage of the troubles of GM and Chrysler. "I feel for my competitors. It's got to be very, very difficult," Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, said Sunday. "This is not a case of 'Gee, let's stick it to them.' We have been watching our inventory levels and we've seen our market share grow. This is really just us working our plan."

Like most other auto makers, Ford is still losing money -- it lost $1.4 billion in the first quarter -- but it has been faring better than GM and Chrysler, in part because it borrowed $23.5 billion in 2006, before credit markets started to freeze up, and was quicker to sell some of its fringe brands. As a result, Ford had a larger cash cushion. Recently it also raised $1.6 billion in a common-stock offering.

Ramping up production can be seen as evidence of Ford's cautious but growing confidence in the state of the U.S. auto market, which saw one of the most severe downturns in its history last year and may now be poised for a rebound.

"We're starting to see the light nearing at the end of the tunnel," Mr. Fields said.

Ford's production increase also raises the prospect that the Dearborn, Mich., auto maker could surpass GM in North American production this year, something that hasn't happened in decades, according to IHS Global Insight, a forecasting firm.

GM Files for Bankruptcy

This is what happens. Its a surprise to me that this didn't happen much earlier.


General Motors filed for bankruptcy today, forcing the 100-year-old automaker once seen as a symbol of American economic might into a new and uncertain era of government ownership.

The filing is the third-largest in U.S. history and the largest-ever U.S. manufacturing bankruptcy. The company listed $82.29 billion in assets and $172.81 billion in debts.

The decision to push GM into a fast-track bankruptcy, and provide $30 billion of additional taxpayer funds to restructure the automaker is a huge gamble for the Obama presidency.

But in a sign of progress in the government's high-stakes effort, a bankruptcy judge approved the sale of substantially all of U.S. automaker Chrysler's assets to a group led by Italy's Fiat S.p.A. in an opinion filed late on Sunday.

Chrysler's bankruptcy, also financed by the U.S. Treasury, has been widely seen as a test run for the much bigger and more complex reorganization of GM.

President Barack Obama is due to speak on the auto industry shortly before noon Eastern time today. A news conference by GM CEO Fritz Henderson will follow.

The GM plan as detailed by U.S. officials is for a quick process that would allow a much smaller GM to emerge from court protection within 60 to 90 days.

'The hard part'

"Now the hard part begins, which is making GM and Chrysler competitive. If they don't do that, then we'll be doing this all over again in a few years," said Christopher Richter, auto analyst at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets in Tokyo.

"The immediate implication is that the companies are going to get smaller and so market share is up for grabs, which means that rivals like Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai are going to gain share."

Since the start of the year, GM has been kept alive with U.S. government funding as a White House-appointed task force vetted plans for a sweeping reorganization that will be undertaken with $50 billion in government financing.

By preparing to take a 60 percent stake in a reorganized GM, the Obama administration is gambling that the automaker can compete with the likes of Toyota Motor Corp. after GM's debt is cut by half and its labor costs are slashed under a new contract with the UAW.

The governments of Canada and the province of Ontario agreed to provide another $9.5 billion to GM in a late addition to the plans for the bankruptcy that have been taking shape for weeks, U.S. officials said.

GM plans to close 11 U.S. facilities and idle another three plants. It has not provided an updated target for job cuts but had been looking to cut 21,000 factory jobs from the 54,000 UAW workers it now employs in the United States.

The UAW would have a 17.5 percent stake in the "new GM." The Canadian government would own 12 percent stake and GM bondholders would get 10 percent.

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.

Send a Birthday Smile to a Veteran

So this was emailed to me, and after checking snopes and google, it seems to be true.

ON EDIT. His Birthday has passed, but we can still send a "Hello" or Friendship card!

Please go out and spend a few dollars on a card and a stamp, or make a card and help this fine gentleman who has served our country.

There is a wounded soldier at the Fisher House in Fort Sam Houston, Texas by the name of Sgt. Thornhill. Sgt. Thornhill lost both legs and I think both arms as well as being burned on 56% of his body while serving this country in Iraq. He has been at the Fisher House for 2 years and his parents have reached out for support. They are not asking for money or anything like that, but they are asking for as many service members, veterans, and others as possible to please send him a birthday card. His birthday is this coming week and it would be nice if a lot of us send him a birthday card to show him how much we love him for what he has sacrificed for his country. His parents are worried about his emotional status and he hardly ever has visitors.
Let's help this soldier and send him a lot of cards. Show your love.

Mailing address:
Sgt. D Thornhill
Fort Sam Houston Fisher House
3623 George C. Beach Rd
Fort Sam Houston, Texas 78234

Hot Enough For ya?

Well summer offically started June 21, so the hot days are here!

I just ran out and got a bite to eat, and here's what car's thermometer had to say....



Thats right, summer is definitely here. I know, the temp is from sitting in the parking lot with that hot concrete bounching back, but still. Its warm out!