The Great Interview Experiment

Neil at “Citizen of the Month” is hosting a fabulous social experience he calls the Great Interview Experiment. I’m horribly delinquent in completing my part of the experiment. Ironically, the person I’m responsible for interviewing lived for a time in Shanghai, China. Ironic because this post has been held hostage by my 2 week trip [...]

Life Interrupted

A reality of traveling to China (or anywhere on the other side of the world) is that the trip doesn’t end upon arriving home. Jet lag is a souvenir that hangs around for a week or two then is gone, leaving only hazy memories of the days spent in a sleep-deprived stupor. I shouldn’t schedule [...]

Adventures in Dining

In case you haven’t already picked up on this, I’m not averse to trying new things. If I’m feeling fickle, I know I can order chicken just about anywhere and be satisfied. If I’m feeling fine, there’s very little I won’t eat. During my travels to Malaysia I was told I was one of the [...]

And just like that, I missed Tuesday

We’re preparing to descend from 30,000 feet, to arrive in Taipei at 5:40 a.m. local time. I left Austin at 6:30pm Monday. Whenever I hear the phrase “time flies” I think about this journey from CST to China/Taipei time and back. I’ll need to double check, but I think this leg took 14 hours. I [...]

The Joys of Traveling

As I give my husband and son farewell hugs and finally tear myself away from the comfort of their presence, a cold knot of anxiety forms in my stomach. I smile bravely and wave from the rope-course that is security’s introduction to their world. Like snaking through a line at an amusement park, but there [...]

Making a list and checking it twice

I wonder whether I’m avoiding work by making a list or avoiding a list by doing things. I have a lot left to do before I leave for China tomorrow. One of the things I need to do is to make a list for my husband…so he doesn’t forget the things he needs to do [...]

A Walk in the Park…in Kunshan, China

In front of the Swissotel there’s a guy sitting on a bench, playing the saxophone. Beside the hotel is a nice promenade where children and adults occasionally played with the pebbles and the running water.(I missed catching them in the act, but you may notice the water around the base – there was a lot [...]

China – more of the 1st week

Sunday evening I left Austin, arriving at the factory (almost straight from the airport) Tuesday afternoon. Every day was filled from with meetings, conference calls, and build activities. I ate dinner in my room Tues, Wed & Thursday. I had a “traditional Chinese massage” Tuesday night and a foot massage Wednesday night. Both were worthy [...]

The journey began: China-bound

I left for China on September 8th. After a 28hour flight schedule (including layovers in LA and Taipei) I arrived in Shanghai. Here’s the beer bar in the Taipei airport where I relaxed from ~6am to 8am. I met a lovely couple from Canada and we compared tech notes – specifically the fact that in [...]