Kevin's China Tour

Week # 38 in China- GOODBYE

2009-07-31T16:07:00.006+08:00

Work-
This is it. My last week in China. It has been one of the most rewarding productive assignments I have ever undertaken. I think I did my company right by my time spent in China. It started as a 6 month assignment and ended as 9 months of enjoyable work. The staff in our China office is world class in personality and ability. it has been a true pleasure and treat to work side by side with colleagues in China. THANK YOU!
Personal-
WOW! What a voyage this has been. I would be lying to you if i told you that i wanted to come back to the USA. Being able to have my children join me was what made this whole time fly past so quickly. i think i would be homesick much more had it not been for knowing they were coming or they were here. I miss my family and great friends back in the USA. that is no doubt, but i now have families on both sides of the globe. THANK YOU!

I LOVE CHINA!, and yes, I can say that in Chinese

Farewell Dinner

2009-07-31T15:51:00.009+08:00

It was my turn to be roasted and toasted as the guest of honor at a company farewell dinner. Here are some pictures of a very bittersweet night for me.

Week # 37 in China

2009-07-31T15:49:00.004+08:00

Work-
Henry and I had to go to Chongqing this week for a couple days to look at candidate factory locations and to meet with some government officials regarding tax incentives in Chongqing.
Personal-
Started the week on vacation in Xi'an and ended in Chongqing for business,, but go to do a little sightseeing.

Business Trip to Chongqing

2009-07-31T15:10:00.013+08:00

On the way back from our vacation in Xi'an, we stopped in Chongqing. Henry and I had some business to do, but we took an evening to go on a dinner boat tour and a half a day to look at some rock carvings that are carved right into the cliffs. Chongqing is a city with a population of only 31 Million people. Its abbreviated name is derived from the old name of a part of the Jialing River that runs through Chongqing and feeds the Yangtze River. Just a 1/2 day drive down river from Chongqing is the 3 gorges Dam.

Another Subway. In Chinese the name Subway translates to "100 times better".

Vacation in Xi'an

2009-07-31T13:53:00.019+08:00

We travelled to Xi'an on Saturday morning. Xi'an is in west Central China and is a very historic city in China and home to Milestone's Director of Asia Operations- Henry. Xi'an is know for it's buried Terra Cotta Warriors; however, the history that leads to those warriors is even greater. The unification of China in 221 BC under the First Emperor Qin Shi Huang (or Shi Huang Di) marked the beginning of Imperial China, a period which lasted until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in AD 1912. The Terra Cotta Warriors where buried to protect the First Emperor of China in his afterlife. They were discovered in 1974 by 5 local farmers digging a well. They stood beneath the ground for almost 2200 years, undiscovered. Xi'an was also the Capital of China until it was moved to Beijing. By the way. The population of China at the time of unification was only 40 Million people.

Henry and one of his nieces and nephews

Henry's Brother owns a Xi'an street BBQ restaurant. The food was great. We ate there twice!

One of the three surviving farmers who discovered the Terra Cotta Warriors

The process of piecing the damaged warriors together is immense

There were 3its or warriors. @ were discovered by the warring generals after the emperors death and damaged. One went undiscovered and is in pristine condition.

The bronze chariots were buried in another portion of the area surrounding the Emperors tomb.

A hot spring built for a King, his Queen, and his concubines.

Xi'an is also the only city in China where the city wall is still entirely intact. Here is the old city entrance covering the moat.

The old watch tower bell!

I had to look inside too!

Kalya laughed at me for looking at the inside, then what?

Who is that in the bell?

History is everywhere in Xi'an. Also still standing in perfect condition are the Drum and Bell towers. These were uses in the early AD years to tell the residents the time.

We had to take Henry and our hosts to a Subway. They thought we were crazy. Henry now wants to open a Subway in Shenzhen!

Week # 36 in China

2009-07-31T13:46:00.003+08:00

Work-
Boss has left Shenzhen for Shanghai. Our VP of Consumer Sales is in town this week, so many things with him. We put together an sales plan with our GM here in China. We picked the items to stock and tried to set up a forecast for our planning folks to implement. Had a couple dinners. Went to Hong Kong all day on Friday to join Keith in a sales meeting. It was very interesting being around a sales legend in our company.
Personal-
Golfed on Saturday. BRUTAL HEAT! Nasty, comes to mind. Worked all week, Stayed in Hong Kong after dinner with our VP and Marketing Company, then went to pick up Kayla at the Hong Kong airport. She arrived safe and sound and we told her mother that she was secure inside a Communist country. She worries too much. China is a wonderful place!
Got home at 1 AM from the airport and headed on vacation at 8 AM Saturday the 18th of July. See next blog.

Week # 35 in China

2009-07-31T13:41:00.004+08:00

Work-
It is really come down to crunch time. So many projects to wrap up and implement before I leave in 3 weeks. New Domestic China warehouse, Export Warehouse, getting factories compliant on social issues for our large customers, etc. fun, fun, fun and it will all be ready! My boss comes to town this week.
Personal-
Nothing really. Too hot to golf. Will try on Saturday with two groups of 4 6 people from the USA office. Kayla arrives on July 17th YEAH!!!!!!

Week # 34 in China

2009-07-06T09:04:00.008+08:00

Work-
More of the same. Things are really coming together. I worked Friday the 3rd, a really long day in fact. Saturday was the 4th of July and the company sponsored a health day. I had a full complete physical by a China doctor. They say the same thing's here. Eat less, exercise more, drink water, no alcohol, and don't smoke. NO WAY!
Personal-
I had a couple of fun events over the weekend. My good friend Edmond had a birth-day party on Friday night and a customer/employee appreciation event on board a 81 foot yacht in the South China Sea. Here are some pictures. The following weekend was the 4th of July. I had dinner with my American friend Tighe.

Week # 33 in China

2009-07-06T08:58:00.003+08:00

Work-
More of the same. Really trying hard to wrap up several projects at the same time in preparation for my final month in China.
Kicked off a new product project for a large USA retailer. The plan is to have in the stores by the end of October, so that will be challenging pulling about 8 suppliers into one product offering. Traveled to the new Shenzhen office location. Of course, I head home just before the move. The office will be a very nice showcase for Milestone. We will be on the 48th floor in the central business district. Literally across the street form my current apartment. I have been commuting 30 minutes each way by car for 8 months, now we will be close enough for me to walk. We may keep my apartment for the Global Supply China team, but that is not fully determined.
Lots of meetings this week to finish up Milestone's US Customs ISF 10+2 data filing solution. This must be live and working before January 2010.
Personal-
Not much to offer. Work. Work. Work. I am running out of books as I read one in about 2-4 days. I thought 30 books would be enough, but I guess not.

Week # 32 in China

2009-07-06T08:54:00.004+08:00

Work-
Back from vacation. Getting caught up on email. Had an evening conference call on Tuesday to review 2009 business plan with the rest of the Global Supply Chain team in the USA. Home late that night.

Personal-
Not much to offer. Took Nick to the airport this week for his flight back to the USA. Sad to see him go of course, but he headed to home to help out there.

Thailand Vacation

2009-06-16T20:05:00.036+08:00

Nick and I joined with 10 other friends or business acquaintances for a Thailand vacation on Wednesday June 10, 2009. We started out from Shenzhen at 5:00 AM and headed for the Hong Kong Airport. We boarded our flight and left at 8:00 AM for Phuket, Thailand. Back in time 1 hour,we were in Thailand by 10:00 AM Wednesday morning. Since we booked as a tour group, we had a schedule of events and a private tour bus to drive us around Phuket.

Eric completing arrival paperwork while in the air.

Patrick and his wife, Caty. They run a warehouse in China for Emerson.

Edmond's girlfriend Xia Hung, and her friend.

Eric from CEVA

Tea Pot guy and his girlfriend.

Edmond and his girlfriend.

Look at this Lobster.

Downtown Phuket, Thailand

Off to the safari park for an Elephant ride, Elephant show and Monkey show.

Nick and Jack go for a ride.

Me and Tea Pot Guy's girlfriends little brother.

We had our own private Elephant show.

It was a slam dunk!

Nick gets a Thai massage.

Elephant's really do love bananas.

WE stayed at the Sheraton Grand Laguna, Phuket, Thailand.

Views from the villa. Each villa held 6 of us. 3 bedrooms each. Nick and I shared a room with twin beds.

Off to the islands by boat to to go diving.

The water was so blue and the islands were plenty.

Our dive shop for the day.

A view from the beach.

Tea Pot Guy's girlfriend tried diving too. Nick and I were certified, so we just took off and went diving. The rest of the group went through a resort training program then a shallow dive.

Back on Phuket, Nick and Edmond's girlfriend.

Nightlife in Phuket.

Patrick and Eric

We attended the Simon Cabaret Show in Patong, Thailand. This is the famous Ladyman show. You got it. These are all guys down belwo and women on top. The show was worth seeing, but you will not see me in any of these pictures!

Jack was really enjoying himself getting his pictures taken with the "ladies".

Nick met the hotel elephant one morning and got a kiss.

Off to another island for more diving and beach time.

How about this photo for your desktop screensaver?

Off to Fanta Sea in Phuket for an stage production like you have never seen. It was unreal and contained 16 live elephants as part of the program.

Off to the shooting range to shoot a 9MM or .45

Nick scored the highest at 87%. I only shot 83% in qualifying.

Some of the group took part in a go-kart race

We are done and going down the ramp to the airplane. What a view to see as you get on a plane.

Week # 31 in China

2009-06-16T20:04:00.001+08:00

Work-
Short week. I only worked Monday and Tuesday and headed on vacation on Wednesday
Personal-
Off to Thailand for vacation!

Asia Pacific Summer Company Outing

2009-06-08T09:59:00.008+08:00

The Asia Pacific summer outing was held on Saturday June 6th. We started with a 3 hour bus ride North of Guangzhou. We then have a river boat ride with lunch on the way up river to a monastery. After touring the monastery it was back down river and we drove to a white water rafting trip. I have no pictures on the rafting trip due to water, but I will tell you it was a natural river, sculpted to make a flume type raft ride. Two people to a raft, no paddles, but you rode for about an hour over rapids, shoots, and pools. it was pretty cool.

The bus ride.

The river boat.

Lunch on the boat.

The monastery.

Week # 30 in China

2009-06-08T09:53:00.011+08:00

Work-
First full week back to work in China. The week was full of meetings and projects, but that is what we do. Thursday was spent in meetings in Hong Kong. Nick came along and after the meeting we killed a couple hours seeing some non-tourist sights. Agnes was along, and we also met with Kelvin from CEVA for a meeting and then he went with us to the Wishing Tree, the Hong Kong Reservoir (water source), which came from the South China sea, and then dinner.

Personal-Having fun with my son. We shot some pool with Tighe and his son's and had a burger at the Ghost Bar and Restaurant in Shekou, Shenzhen, China

Destroying a Building in China

2009-06-08T09:47:00.007+08:00

For those of you who have never been to China. Labor is everywhere. So when it comes time to tear down an old factory below my apartment balcony, here is how you do it.

First you build a scaffolding screen to protect the building within arm's reach!

Then you hire a bunch of guys with sledge hammers. How else do you think you knock down a building. Come on!

More sledge hammers.

More rubble.

Less building.

Once you get done hammering, you can take down the protective screen.

Week # 29 in China- Back again!

2009-06-01T09:30:00.008+08:00

Work- Left the USA on Saturday at Noon and get to China on Sunday at midnight. That part stinks. Took Monday off for USA's Memorial Day. Rested a-lot after the flight. Back in the office on Tuesday. Things are still moving fast as my staff and I are trying to get all our projects completed before I go home for good in 2 months. Thursday was Dragon Boat Holiday in China, but I worked from home. Friday afternoon, Henry, Nick and I headed for Zhuhai for a working weekend at our factory.

Personal- My son is in China. it feels really good to have some family here. i am not alone. Last time, he and Kayla left, I cried like a new dad, but that is OK. Nick traveled to the factory with us this weekend. We did get out early on Saturday AM to play some golf before heading to the factory for meetings in the afternoon. We went out Wednesday and Friday night this week, so he was pretty ready for a nap come Saturday afternoon. In fact, while Henry and I were in meetings he slept on a couch in the General Manager's office. Here are some pictures of Nick's first golf experience in China. He thought the idea of having a caddy was pretty cool. We played with 6 guys total, so with caddies, we had 12 people on the T-Box! WOW!

Week # 28 in China, still visiting the USA

2009-06-01T09:22:00.004+08:00

Work- Business meetings and dinners. Got out with a supplier and my boss on Thursday for a round of golf. Many, many projects coming together. UK distribution, USA LTL agreements, China domestic distribution, and finally after 3 years, I uploaded our application to US Customs for C-TPAT certification!

Personal- Still seeing friends and family. Trying to spend as much time as I can at home with Robin. Took Friday off from work and got on the Harley for a long day's ride around Lake Pepin. That felt good to get back out on the bike with Robin for the day. She is feeling stronger everyday. We tried to walk everyday we could. Many hours spent over these two weeks getting the FD relief association numbers and presentations pulled together. On Saturday May 23rd, Nick and I headed to the airport with Grandpa and Kayla to head to China. Nick is coming over for the summer and Kayla comes over in July after she finishes summer school.

Week # 27 in China- again, really the USA

2009-06-01T09:14:00.005+08:00

Work- Very busy with meetings and plans over the next 2 weeks. I have only been in the USA for one week in the last 6 months, so many meetings with our partners to update agreements, contracts, service issues, etc. It felt great to be working from my Roseville, MN office.

Personal- Home sweet home! Need I say more? My Dad and my step-son Copper picked me up from the airport on Saturday afternoon. I love that. I get on a plane in HK on Saturday AM, fly 2 flights (through Tokyo) and get to MSP at 1:00 PM in the afternoon. I stopped at Subway on the way home to see my working daughter and found my son there having lunch. Then I did not see him again for 5 days! Imagine. Got to see beautiful Robin. She is battling breast cancer and is getting to the home stretch. She is done with Chemo now and is starting to feel better. Nick finished school on the 8th and Kayla is done on the 15th. Got to see my friends and watch a couple hockey games this week. Early to bed, in my own bed felt good. Of course, got to go have lunch at my sisters on Sunday for Mother's Day.

Week # 26 in China

2009-06-01T09:07:00.003+08:00

Work- This is my last week in China, before the 3 month extension. this is the week i would have been heading home for good. instead, I am heading home at the end of the week to the USA for a 2 week business trip and will return to China. We finished the feasibility study late on Wednesday night. It was sent to my boss on Thursday. Friday I spent the day in meetings in Hong Kong, then stayed overnight in HK. I left the hotel at 5:30 AM Saturday AM to go home. The United Kingdom warehouse partner was selected and we began the kick-off meetings to get that implemented.

Personal- All finished with Level 1 of my Chinese lessons. I will start Level 2 when I get back from the USA. Henry and I started this week on Sunday with one of our factories in a round of golf. I love that game, but I suck. Ended the week on Friday night getting out for dinner in HK. I even got to see my first NHL playoff hockey game in many moons. Of course it was re-broadcast from the evening before in the USA.

Week # 25 in China

2009-06-01T08:56:00.010+08:00

Work- Working with Henry to help him develop a feasibility study for a large China project. Cannot discuss more at this time, but this has doubled my daily workload for the next couple weeks. The project is very exciting and is great to be part of it. Lot's of communication with the USA on this subject and have been getting a lot of help from Tighe, formerly with the Chamberlain Group factory here in China. Friday May 1 was a Holiday here in China. Tighe and worked all day to get the feasibility study closer to completion. Our sales team had a 3 day sales event around Shenzhen over the weekend. 17 office staff worked to staff the promotional tents at various retailers. Visited on of our light assembly factories this week. Pictures of a China assembly line are below.

Personal- Took some time away on Friday the 1st to attend a 1 month old baby shower for my staff member Blanca Lee. Here are some pictures.

Week # 24 in China

2009-06-01T08:53:00.002+08:00

Work- My boss is still in town part of this week. Work continues to be very busy and that is a great problem to have in this global economy. Getting very close on many projects. China domestic warehouse provider selected. Still working on a global export warehouse in Southern China.

Personal- Not much to report here. Spending a lot of time working lately. Home at night to read and study Chinese language.

Week # 23 in China

2009-04-18T17:17:00.006+08:00

Work-
Another busy week. It started with a weekend BBQ with the Chamberlain Group. Collin was in town for the final closing of the factory. In his honor they held a BBQ at a local park. I was invited. Collin has been with Chamberlain for 47 years and is pretty much the inventor of the garage door opener. This was the last time this group of people will probably ever see each other. tighe's last day with Chamberlain is April 30th. Milestone continues to be very busy. i was in Hong Kong this week on Wednesday and Thursday. I went to the Hong Kong Electronics show and had meetings with our warehouse, a factory, a customer, and a new service provider. My boss, Phil and the Sanus Brand General Manager, Jim, arrived late Wednesday night and we had breakfast on Thursday before going different directions for the day

Personal-
Not much. just studying my Mandarin and reading books

Collin and Apple

Tighe and Apple

Standing is the factory driver Ahua, sleeping on the big teddy bear is Ahua's son. My newest friend in China. After the BBQ, we had to of course go to Karaoke.

Week # 22 in China

2009-04-18T16:54:00.010+08:00

Work- Tighe and Apple from the Chamberlain Group met a new forwarder for their team. I am still in negotiations for this piece of our business. The office is alive with activity as we have landed more Domestic Chinese customers. This is a great thing for our team here.

Personal-
Monday the 6th was the Chinese Holiday ChingMing Festival from the Ching and Ming Dynasties. It is also known as Tomb Sweeping Day. Families gather at their homes to remember their family that has passed away. if they have a grave sight, that should be cleaned for the new season. It is very similar to our Memorial Day. It gave me a chance to play Mission Hills Golf Course Ernie Ells course with Tighe and a service provider. One of my staff members, Jane, got married on Tuesday the 7th, so I went to the wedding with the rest of my staff. Since I am her boss, I had to make a toast and was able to say it in full Mandarin without a hitch. It sure does shock the locals when a foreigner can speak their language. most people don't try to learn.

Week # 21 in China

2009-04-18T16:32:00.003+08:00

Work-
Still the same. Lots of work keeps me busy. Getting very close to a European Distribution system final selection. Many services up for contract renewal, so price negotiations and analysis take up much of my day. Our China domestic market sales expansion is starting to show more and more progress. Working to set up an installation network throughout China. Dominic and Scott from the USA were here. Dominic picked up 3 peanuts with chop sticks. Sorry Matt.

Personal-

Miss home, miss the kids, miss Robin. Still practicing my Mandarin Chinese, that is fun.

Week # 20 in China

2009-04-18T16:28:00.006+08:00

Work- Just working, trying to keep all the projects moving in the right direction. Busy at work is a good thing.

Personal- Friday evening the 27th of March, Tighe, his son David, and I went to Hong Kong. We went to the Hong Kong Sevens Ruby tournament. i have never seen a Rugby game before. it was pretty cool. After the match, which consisted of about 10 games, we found a hamburger joint for one of the best "Western" style greasy hamburger you can only dream of finding in Mainland China. I played golf with Dominic and Scott from the USA Engineering team on Saturday in Zhuhai. On Sunday March 29th I started taking Mandarin Chinese lessons. It is very interesting for a person that has never taken a foreign language course. What a busy weekend for me.

The photagrapher!

We didn't know this lady, but she was obviously cheering for the same team as us during the USA vs. Scotland match. We lost!

Week # 19 in China. Back in the USSR (aka China)

2009-03-22T16:50:00.003+08:00

Work-
On a plane all day Monday and Tuesday, back in my China office on Wednesday. Business as usual. Friday and Saturday i was at a Logistics Seminar in Guangzhou.

Personal-
Wednesday night, I went for a massage and to have my feet taken care of. Thursday night, Tighe and I took Matt out for a farewell beer. He had been here for 10 days and I got to see him his last evening. Sunday is right now and I got taxes filed, grocery shopping, laundry and updated this blog.

See you next week!

Another goodbye party

2009-03-22T16:46:00.003+08:00

Matt was in China the week I was in the USA, but we did see each other the final night he was in town. Tighe and I had to take him out for a beer.

Tighe won at a dice game and won this "bucket" of beer. Needless to say, we did not finish it all.

Logistics Seminar in Guangzhou

2009-03-22T16:38:00.005+08:00

Friday afternoon Agnes, Jane and I went to Guangzhou to attend an all day seminar on Saturday. It was in Mandarin, but I picked up enough to make it worth my trip. Here are pictures of the hotel. Nice place!

Week # 18 in China, really the USA

2009-03-22T16:35:00.003+08:00

I am home. I arrived in Minneapolis on Saturday March 7th. Kayla picked me up from the airport and we headed home. The week was spent working from my Roseville office and went to a Wild Game with Robin, Mark, Kelsey, and Karen. we lost in OT.
Caught up with some friends, had a meeting or two at the fire station, and got on a plane on Monday the 16th to return to China.

Business trip to Europe Day 9-10 England

2009-03-22T16:09:00.014+08:00

On the evening of day 9, I flew to London. The next morning I had to catch a flight to Minneapolis.

A statue of PrinceAlbert in Kennsington Park

Prince Albert Hall.

I guess some Queen or something lives here!

No history at this church huh?

Big Ben and the Parliment Building

The River Thames

A famous store?

The morning of day 10, I took leg # 2 of my around the world flight. I am HEADING HOME!

Business trip to Europe Day 8-9 Dublin, Ireland

2009-03-22T16:02:00.007+08:00

We flew from London to Dublin.

Yes, that train is out the bedroom window of my hotel room. Can you say "Train"?

Place your bets!

Business trip to Europe Day 6-7 England

2009-03-22T15:33:00.008+08:00

Flying from Germany, we landed in Manchester, England. This old building was across the street from the hotel.

Two lunches, two small English Pubs!

After driving from Manchester to London over two days, we flew on to Dublin.

Business trip to Europe Day 4-5 Germany

2009-03-22T14:47:00.017+08:00

We started out Sunday morning in Eindhoven, Netherlands and drove into Belgium and onto Southern Germany.

The Belgium border, Sabrine would not even slow down for a photo!

We crossed into Germany.

Finally, we stop at the rest area for a smoke break. That's my Boss, Phil, always working while I take pictures.

Our hotel in Southern Germany was really and old family estate converted to a very quaint hotel. It is a hunt club too. Yes, fox and the hounds is still alive.

A small town in Germany for lunch, 2 miles from the French border, but we did not have time to go racing through that border crossing.

Real German restaurants.

Solar and wind farms in Germany. Wind farms everywhere.

Our Road Trip vehicle!

We then drove from Southern Germany to Dusseldorf to catch a plan to Manchester, England.

A stop for fuel.

Week # 17 in China

2009-03-22T14:46:00.000+08:00

This week was really in Europe!

Business trip to Europe Day 1-3 The Netherlands

2009-03-22T14:24:00.010+08:00

I arrived Thursday, and Phil was due in early Friday. I walked around the hotel on Thursday, and visited a coffee shop to see the Marijuana menu, no I did not buy any!

Outside the Amsterdam Hotel

A small town in The Netherlands, were we stopped for lunch.

A very small town and check out the size of this Fire Station.

A working flour mill.

Flight to Amsterdam

2009-03-22T14:19:00.006+08:00

On Thursday February 26, 2009, I flew from Hong Kong to Schiphol International airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands. it was a 12 hour flight and the first leg of my around the world airline ticket.

Week # 16 in China

2009-03-22T14:14:00.005+08:00

Work-
I started this week in China, but ended in The Netherlands. Monday and Tuesday is was in Shenzhen, Wednesday in Hong Kong, and Thursday I flew to Amsterdam. Wednesday in Hong Kong I had a meeting with Target, DHL, and I met my bosses peer in charge of Operations for our sister company HeathCo. We had a good meeting and then had dinner in an Irish Pub in Hong Kong. The hotel room I had was the largest hotel room I have ever seen. I was upgraded because of limited rooms. This hotel room had a full size dinning room table, a living room bigger than mine at home, and a great view overlooking Victoria Harbor. I did not want to leave!
Personal-
This week was the start of my 21 day around the world business trip that was going to get me home for about 9 days.

The driving range

2009-02-22T20:58:00.004+08:00

Henry and I hit a couple hundred golf balls today. 3rd week in February and we were sweating. You have to love Southern China.

Week # 15 in China

2009-02-22T20:54:00.004+08:00

Work-
Still the same. Working on our European distribution model. I leave next week to visit locations in Europe and head back home for 9 days in the USA.

Personal-
I missed my lady's birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBIN!

Tighe and I went out on Saturday afternoon to find me a English-Chinese electronic dictionary. We just about gave up, when we ran into Agnes, my China shopping saviour. Do you relealize how much of it is to run into somebody in a town of 14 million? Within 10 minutes, she located the model I needed and was on her way to dinner with friends. Tighe and I went and had dinner before returning home for the night. After sleeping in on Sunday, Henry and I went to the driving range.

Week # 14 in China

2009-02-22T20:52:00.002+08:00

Work-
Just lots of work on projects and more warehouse visits. Nothing special about long days and getting the job done.

Personal-
Not a thing. Out of books to read, so spending evenings at home working. Fun huh?

A trip to Guangzhou

2009-02-22T20:32:00.007+08:00

Guangdong Province is home of Guangzhou, the capitol city. On Friday, Agnes and I went to Guangzhou with Penny from CEVA Logistics to look at a domestic China warehouse. After meetings, we stopped and took a few photo's, before walking into the train station for the ride back to Shenzhen.

Penny and Agnes

Superbowl Monday? What about Sunday?

2009-02-22T20:27:00.005+08:00

Monday morning at 7 AM I was at the bar. I worked Sunday, so I could take Monday off. How many chances to you get to have a beer at 7 AM in the morning and watch American Football in China? Tighe and I went to a Western Sports Bar in an old cruise ship located in Shekou. Shekou is know for a large population of foreigners.

The bartender.

Gambling in China!

2009-02-22T20:23:00.002+08:00

20,000 + RMB. WOW!

Week # 13 in China

2009-02-22T20:19:00.003+08:00

Work-
People started coming back to Shenzhen this week after the China New Year Holiday. The town was still pretty empty, but our office was back to work. Much of the week was in the office, but visited many warehouses this week as I begin to pull all these projects together.

Personal-
Monday morning I was off work to watch the Superbowl.

Chinese New Year Gathering

2009-02-22T19:56:00.012+08:00

Edmond gathered friends and colleagues at his home for a Chinese New Year reunion dinner.

Henry and Danny

My dear friend Coffee. She and her boyfriend Kelvin are good friends to me.

Orange trees bring luck for the new year. The "Red Pockets" are a tradition of giving money at the New Year. The money should be new crisp notes from the bank to signify a New beginning. The amount really does not matter, it is the thought.

Flowers are also a good luck symbol for the new year.

Kelvin and Coffee

Week # 12 in China

2009-02-22T19:51:00.003+08:00

It was Chinese New Year this week. Fireworks galore. Empty office, roads, elevators. I never knew a town of 14 Million people could get so vacant.

Work-
I spent the week in the office. I was the only person in our office, in fact pretty much in the entire 30 floors of offices. I got a lot of work done on projects as there were no day to day issues to resolve.

Personal-
I went to Edmond's house on Saturday the 31st for Chinese New Year gathering with his staff and friends.

Week # 11 in China

2009-01-28T11:17:00.004+08:00

Work-
Phil was here this week and we go many things done. He spent much time at the factories. Things continue to move along and all my projects are building to design a global distribution network for Milestone. Worked with our sister company, Chamberlain, this week to finish a Container Freight Station Request for Quote. this went out to our list of service provides. I have a North American LTL bid to go out and a European distribution bid as well. I will work on all those next week, while I am the only one in the office. Our Chinese staff is on holiday for the entire next week to celebrate Chinese New Year. Phil left for the USA on Friday AM.
Personal-
Spent the weekend reading of course. I did take the train on Saturday to visit Edmond in Zhangmatou. We had dinner, then at midnight drove down to Shenzhen to go to the flower market. Flowers are a big thing for bringing good luck in the new year. The market was packed, and of course, i forgot my camera in the car. After flowers, it was back to my apartment to sleep. I read a whole book Friday till Saturday. I will have to get some more of David Baldacci's work. I like his stuff.

Sick in China

2009-01-19T09:38:00.001+08:00

Well it finally happened. I woke up Saturday AM to go to the Company outing and felt queasy and nauseous. I thought it would pass, so I went to begin the outing. I ended up being so sick, that I could not get out of the car to join our team at lunch. I slept in Henry's car and kept opening the door to spill my guts. After lunch it was off the the safari. I could not make it. They ended up taking me to the hotel at 1:30 in the afternoon where I proceeded to be sick and sleep all day and all night. I did get to enjoy a trip to the temple on the way home on Sunday, but still had not eaten since Friday and only kept down water. I am back home now and taking some antibiotics I brought from my USA doctor. Still not 100% but I think the food poisoning was gone. I knew that chicken was not cooked enough, but I ate it anyway. I did hear the safari park was one of the coolest things many of the team had ever seen. Makes you feel great huh? I will have to make that trip again before I leave.

Today's your Birthday- Farewell to Thee

2009-01-19T09:16:00.014+08:00

I joined the party late after dinner with my Logistics Team, but the Birthday Bash (Matt) and Farewell Gathering (SAP Consultants) was in full swing. They ate at a local "hot Pot" restaurant.

Yes Matt, You ate food prepared in this kitchen. Dishes were washed here too!

Factory Closing Dinner

2009-01-19T08:59:00.008+08:00

Tighe, Colin, the General Manager, and Material Manager Frank address the employees. Collin is 73, never retired and has worked in the garage door business for 47 years.

Week # 10 in China

2009-01-18T23:19:00.007+08:00

Work-
Back at full time, no more vacation. My boss, Phil was due in at the end of the week and I look forward to seeing him. Matt left on Friday AM to go back to the USA. Liz had left the week earlier. Just trying to start to pull together the first wave of completed projects and roll into phases 2-?. By the time I come home the plan is for a Global distribution network that start in Southern China and extends around the world to service Milestone customers. It is very exciting to have this opportunity and I do not take it lightly.
I got to visit the factory of our sister company and the sourcing office. The factory is closing down on Friday, but the sourcing office and my area of work will remain. We are working closely together to find joint Supply Chain efficiencies. I was honored to attend the factory closing dinner. These people where not somber and sad, but full of life. I found it interesting to learn that even though it was an American corporations business reason to close, the employees felt it was their responsibility and they could have work harder. The belief in their roles in life is strong.
The end of this week brings about our annual dinner. We leave on Saturday morning by coach bus to Guangzhou to a district called Pine Yu. We will visit a zoo/safari park where there are not any cages, but you get to see the animals up close. The have Panda's, Koala Bears, and White Tigers to name but a few.
Personal-
Not much happening. Just work and looking forward the work outing this weekend.

Week # 9 in China

2009-01-18T23:09:00.007+08:00

Work-
Back to work on Monday AM. SAP went live today. Matt and Liz arrived from the USA to help with any SAP issues that would come up. Just took one day off this week with the kids, for our trip to OCT-East, otherwise it was just getting back into the swing of things. SAP implementation went very well here in the Asia Pacific offices. Our staff took to the system and the extra time spent in training paid off huge. Matt ended up working on other issues after the first week being in China.
Personal-
Started the week with the kids and ended without. That was very difficult. After taking them to the airport, I had an appointment at the US Embassy in Hong Kong. I had to have pages added to my US Passport. I also had some other visa questions. All in all it was very interesting to be on US soil in a different country. The State Department staff was very helpful and I felt as an American citizen that I had help if I needed.
Saturday night some friends asked Matt and I to join them for dinner. Jennifer used to be my Logistics Manager in China. She left the Company to take care of her family.

Matt's chopstick skills are now world class.

Jennifer and Agnes.

Kids Day # 19- Back to the USA

2009-01-18T23:05:00.004+08:00

Boy did this SUCK! I never thought it would be this hard to bring Kayla and Nicholas to the airport. I got so used to them being here I was crushed when we had to say goodbye. I cried the rest of the day and all the next. I LOVE YOU KAYLA and NICK!

Kitchen Apartment

2009-01-18T23:03:00.004+08:00

Shawn requested pictures of my apartment kitchen. Here you go. All the dishes were from a big meal the kids and I made on their last night in town.

Kids Day # 16- OCT East

2009-01-18T22:51:00.007+08:00

My counterpart, from our sister company Chamberlain, and I brought our kids to OCT-East for a day. OCT-East is where we had a Milestone outing last December.

Tighe's kids are 12 and 19. We all had a good day.

Always the curious one!

Scottish bagpipes in China. Now I have seen it all.

The theatre where we watch The Tea Show.

End of a great day.

Kids Day # 14- Sighteeing in Hong Kong

2009-01-18T21:05:00.012+08:00

From Zhuhai, we took the high speed ferry to Hong Kong. My freind Edmond met us at the terminal and we took the kids to a see Hong Kong.
Repulse Bay is a very popular beach in Hong Kong. Can you tell it is winter time?

Stanley Market for lunch and some more shopping.

To The Peak. The highest point in Hong Kong.

The Peak overlooks downtown Hong Kong and Kowloon.

We ended out day with a traditional family dinner at the Kowloon apartment of Edmond's parents. This was a very special dinner for all of us. Edmond's dad is 80 years old and was excited to have guests for Sunday night family dinner.

Kids Day #12-13 Weekend in Zhuhai

2009-01-11T16:31:00.014+08:00

Our weekend started with a Ferry ride accross the Pearl River Delta to the seaside resort town of Zhuhai, China.

Then we took another ferry ride around Macau for sightseeing. Macau was a Portugal territory until 1999, when Portugal turned the region back to Chinese rule. Macau is a seriers of 3 islands, not connected to Mainland China.

Macau is know for it's Las Vegas style gambling.

A walk on the beach at sunrise, and a look back at our hotel.

Our Zhuhai driver at the Ocean Springs theme park enterance.

Week # 8 in China

2009-01-11T16:28:00.003+08:00

Work-
Only 1 day this week. New Years Eve Day. Left the kids at home to sleep in.
Personal-
Started in Beijing, New Years Eve at Edmond's home in Dongguan, then a BBQ dinner at Edmond's on New Years Day. Friday the 2ND I was on vacation and the kids and I headed to Zhuhai for the weekend.

Kids Day # 5-9 Our trip to Beijing

2009-01-11T13:46:00.042+08:00

Our Beijing trip took us to as many of the historic and tourist attractions as we could squeeze into 5 days and 4 nights. This list includes: Tiananmen Square , Ming Dynasty Tombs, Peking Duck, Forbidden City, Jingshan Park, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, The Silk Market, Chinese acrobatic show, and the Olympic stadiums (Watercube and Nest).

Chairman Mao's Tomb

Yes, that is a real Chinese Soldier on guard duty.

The new National Theatre.

Ming Dynasty Tomb

The Great Wall

Our Driver and our tour guide

Snack Street in Beijing. Too many weird "snacks" that I wouldn't try.

Traditional Chinese Hot Pot dinner

The Forbidden City

Overlooking the Forbidden City from Jingshan Park. That is pollution clouding the view, not weather.

A new Tuxedo from my Beijing tailor. Can you beleive they even found my records from buying a suit 18 months before?

Peking Duck for dinner

The summer Palace

The Nest and the Watercube! Way cool.

Inside the Watercube

Sitting in the stands. We wanted to cheer for Michael Phelps.

Inside the Nest. It holds 91,000 fans. Wow!

Eating the Duck head. Which of course Nick had to promptly try.

The Temple of Heaven.

Outdoor Karoke at the Temple of Heavan park.

Our last Beijing meal on the way to the airport.

Nick's new freind, met in Beijing, from New Zealand, and living in Hong Kong.

Kids Day # 4- Christmas Day

2009-01-11T12:12:00.016+08:00

We stared Christmas Day at Ocean Park in Hong Kong. Ocean Park is home of Hong Kong's 4 Giant Pandas. It also has marine life exibits and amusment park rides. We ended the day back in Shenzhen for Christmas dinner with friends.

A 1000 Hong Kong Dollar bill!

Kayl's friend Shirley from on of my partner companies.

A Dragon Fish- COOL!

A fish that looks like seaweed.

Santa feeding the fish.

Kayla, Nick, Dad, Shirley, and Kelvin.

Edmond and Ching-Ching.

Kelvin and his girlfirend Coffee.

Nick sucking the marrow out of a pork hock- yummy!

Jack, Kelvin, and Coffee.

Kids Day # 3- Christmas Eve Day

2009-01-11T11:26:00.017+08:00

Went spent the day at a cultural theme park in Shenzhen called Splendid China. Edmond and his girlfriend accompanied us today.

Kids Day # 2

2009-01-11T11:09:00.010+08:00

Day 2 started with work and getting up at 5:00 AM. We traveled to Hong Kong to our warehouse to conduct year end inventory. Agnes from our office went along. The kids were a great help in completeing the inventory. Then we went to our Shatin office and conducted web training on our warehouse system. Finally the kids and I went to visit the largest Budha in the world and finished with a night time viewing of the Hong Kong skyline.

Kids Day # 1

2009-01-11T11:00:00.005+08:00

I worked the first day the kids were here, then for the evening, I took them to Luohu commercial center for some shopping. It was their first experience with barter heaven in China. We fnished the night with dinner with some friends.

Week # 7 in China

2009-01-11T10:52:00.009+08:00

Work-

I worked Monday and Tuesday this week and took the balance of the time off. Monday was a normal day in the office except my kids had arrived on Sunday night December 21st. They came to the office with me and got to meet our AP team. Tuesday was physical inventory day for our year end Hong Kong inventory. Again, the kids went with and helped with the audit. Agnes also came from Shenzhen. Her first time out of Mainland China. The counts were completely accurate.

Personal-

The kids have arrived for their winter break from school. I never realized how much I missed them till I saw them come out of customs at Hong Kong airport.

Computer Fixed

2009-01-08T10:15:00.003+08:00

I have had uploading issues, but they are now fixed. I will get the last 3 weeks full of activity uploaded this weekend.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T23:04:00.002+08:00

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family. The kids are here and we are on vacation. Will post many pictures and stories in a week when we get back from Beijing.

Week # 6 in China

2008-12-19T16:57:00.004+08:00

Work- Work has been very busy and rewarding this week. Monday started doing a physical inventory for our Shanghai location, but the rest of the week was spent in our Buji, Shenzhen office. Our CEO was in the Asia Pacific office this week, so it was great to catch up with him on our state of the business. I liked hearing about the brutal Minnesota weather this week. Sorry guys! Our SAP software implementation is going very well and is keeping everybody busy. Many things accomplished this week.

Personal- Robin is home from another surgery and is on the long road to recovery. My heart goes out to her as she battles breast cancer, but she is a fighter. Christmas is coming and so are the kids. They arrive in China on Sunday night to spend 3 weeks with Dad for Christmas break. YEAH! The apartment is ready for them. I will be playing another round of golf on the Annika course at Mission Hills. It has been reported to me that Mission Hills is the largest golf course in the world. They have 12-18 hole courses and 3 clubhouses. I will take lots of pictures again, as always. Hope all is well in every body's lives at home. the weather is great here. 70-80 degrees everyday. the air pollution is worse, since it is very dry this time of year. You can see many of my pictures appear overcast, but it is not. More after the weekend.