Today was the first time I got to talk to Steven, Gerrie, Alyssa and Kristin all at once!! Steven and Justin (and a few others) were at 907 watching some ridiculous dance movie. As soon as they answered the phone, all I could hear was screaming... but it was the best sound in the world! I started laughing so hard I had to walk out of the computer lab. I forgot that the "chanting" was about to begin in the atrium, so I had to finish our hilarious conversation in the lab. Everyone hated me for about 10 minutes, but I didn't care.
I miss them so much! On the outside, my friends may look like the most put-together, ambitious people you've ever met. On the inside, they're a bunch of nut-jobs. Funny ones. And I miss that. Let's not even mention that Kristin is going to be in Paris/Houston all summer... so I may not see her for a verrrrry long time. Too long if you ask me.
Anyone want to fund my return flight through Paris?
Kristin also reminded me that I don't know a lick of Mandarin or Cantonese. I don't even know how to say 'hello' (exept when talking on the phone... that sounds something like why'EE). Whatever-- it's a bad sign.
Ok, so I just looked it up. Hello is 你好 in traditional Chinese. Anyone know how to pronounce that?
Monday, March 10, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Jen's Home!
So, my UST-life is complete now that Jen has returned from the "island side." She did say that the hotel was really nice, and that it was refreshing to return every night after housekeeping cleaned up the room. I know that deep down she meant, "I miss sleeping across our tiny room from you even though it's dirty and my mattress is uncomfortable." Steve is great, but I know she missed me.
I spent part of the afternoon at the coffee shop and part of the evening in the library. I wasn't by myself in the library this time. I sat across from Joe, a really nice guy from Michigan. He's also having to adjust to being one of the only black guys on campus. If I'm ever in the mood to vent about difficulties in Hong Kong, he's the guy I talk to. Hilarious!
Jen and I ate at our current favorite dinner spot, LG1 (remember the crazy dim sum place?). Matt and Kaz showed up as we were finishing, so we stayed while they downed some fried rice and chicken curry. I'm meeting them in a little while to watch "Into the Wild."
I just looked at the clock on my computer and it's only showing a 13-hour time difference. I'm guessing that means it's daylight savings time!? Wake up everyone!
I spent part of the afternoon at the coffee shop and part of the evening in the library. I wasn't by myself in the library this time. I sat across from Joe, a really nice guy from Michigan. He's also having to adjust to being one of the only black guys on campus. If I'm ever in the mood to vent about difficulties in Hong Kong, he's the guy I talk to. Hilarious!
Jen and I ate at our current favorite dinner spot, LG1 (remember the crazy dim sum place?). Matt and Kaz showed up as we were finishing, so we stayed while they downed some fried rice and chicken curry. I'm meeting them in a little while to watch "Into the Wild."
I just looked at the clock on my computer and it's only showing a 13-hour time difference. I'm guessing that means it's daylight savings time!? Wake up everyone!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Saturday in the Bay
LKFun!
I think I've mentioned before that Lan Kwai Fong, or LKF, is the area on Hong Kong island where mostly Westerners go to drink and party the weekend away. Yesterday, after spending the afternoon pre-sightseeing, I met up with a bunch of the UST kids (and Steve) for drinks and dancing. But before that...
I left UST around 3:00 for Central. I wanted to "pre-sightsee" before my parents get here in two weeks. They only have a few days to see a lot of the things it has taken me over a month to see, so I want to narrow down the list of must-see stops. The first was going to one of the International Finance buildings (IFC2) on Hong Kong Island. All of the travel books mention they have a nice 55th story viewing area that's open to the public on weekdays. Jen and I tried going a few weeks ago, but didn't realize they would be closed on Saturdays. Since they close before 6pm, I went there first. I walked up to the main concierge desk and asked how to get to the viewing area. They sent me downstairs and around the corner to another desk. When I got to that desk, they directed me to another hallway. After the third concierge desk, I finally got a visitors pass to get to the elevators. It didn't seem crowded, so I was really excited. When I got to the top, they directed me to the set of windows on the right. I walked into the "visitors room" which was more like a museum exhibit on Hong Kong finance that happened to have windows... on the 55th floor. I looked out the windows for about 5 minutes, and that's about it. The worst part was that the viewing area was directed at the island and not at the harbor or the Kowloon side. When I tried to walk to the other side of the floor (past the visitors' elevators), they immediately stopped me and said that wasn't allowed. I tried to play it off like I was simply going to the ladies' room, but they said I needed to use another facility. Bah humbug. Visiting the IFC2 was a waste of time. Check! Pre-sightseeing mission accomplished. Mom and George, I'm not taking you there.
After that, I walked through some more ritzy shopping areas to catch the Peak Tram to Victoria Peak. On my way, I walked through an interesting sculpture plaza. What's interesting is that Hong Kong doesn't seem too big on art. Anyway, it was also the first time I'd seen fat people in Hong Kong.
After maneuvering through the crowds (see picture below), I finally met up with the UST exchange students at Club 9. The cover was supposed to be $120HK with "free" drinks until 1am, but for some reason last night it was $180HK ($23US). Despite that it turned out to be a great night. But maybe that's because it was 11:45 and everyone was trying to down their money's worth of drinks before 1am. We didn't get home until 4:15 and by that time, I was so exhausted. Kat, I give you props for surviving the club scene in Spain, because even 4am is waaaayyy past my bedtime.
If going to LKF is that much fun every time, I'd go more often!
I left UST around 3:00 for Central. I wanted to "pre-sightsee" before my parents get here in two weeks. They only have a few days to see a lot of the things it has taken me over a month to see, so I want to narrow down the list of must-see stops. The first was going to one of the International Finance buildings (IFC2) on Hong Kong Island. All of the travel books mention they have a nice 55th story viewing area that's open to the public on weekdays. Jen and I tried going a few weeks ago, but didn't realize they would be closed on Saturdays. Since they close before 6pm, I went there first. I walked up to the main concierge desk and asked how to get to the viewing area. They sent me downstairs and around the corner to another desk. When I got to that desk, they directed me to another hallway. After the third concierge desk, I finally got a visitors pass to get to the elevators. It didn't seem crowded, so I was really excited. When I got to the top, they directed me to the set of windows on the right. I walked into the "visitors room" which was more like a museum exhibit on Hong Kong finance that happened to have windows... on the 55th floor. I looked out the windows for about 5 minutes, and that's about it. The worst part was that the viewing area was directed at the island and not at the harbor or the Kowloon side. When I tried to walk to the other side of the floor (past the visitors' elevators), they immediately stopped me and said that wasn't allowed. I tried to play it off like I was simply going to the ladies' room, but they said I needed to use another facility. Bah humbug. Visiting the IFC2 was a waste of time. Check! Pre-sightseeing mission accomplished. Mom and George, I'm not taking you there.
After that, I walked through some more ritzy shopping areas to catch the Peak Tram to Victoria Peak. On my way, I walked through an interesting sculpture plaza. What's interesting is that Hong Kong doesn't seem too big on art. Anyway, it was also the first time I'd seen fat people in Hong Kong.
Well, turns out the Peak Tram wasn't operating. We piled on a bus and drove up instead. How the bus navigated the narrow winding street toward the top of Victoria Peak is beyond me. I planned this part really well though. There's a big debate (when I say 'big' I just mean 'trivial') about whether it's better to see the skyline of Hong Kong during the day or night. So my big decision-- go before sunset, have a cocktail while it's getting dark, and see the skyline at night. Genius! The Hong Kong Tourism Board should hire me. The nice thing about Victoria Peak is that there's a mini-mall up there now. There's a Park 'N' Shop (groceries?), Starbucks (of course), Bubba Gump Shrimp Restaurant (what?), souvenir shops and plenty of restaurants. One of the restaurants on every best-picks list is Cafe Deco because of the great views and good food, albeit not cheap. It's widely known that you need a reservation for dinner. I got there and when I explained I was just going to order a glass of wine and maybe an appetizer, the hostess seated me at a table with a reserved sign. She said, "This table isn't booked until 7:30. You can sit here." It was a perfect view right next to the floor-to-ceiling windows. I had nearly an hour to myself to watch the sun go down, drink wine and have a small appetizer of olives and Mediterranean dips. Mom and George, if we can go back, it'd be a nice treat!
Note: In the center of this picture you can see the IFC building lit up extending just above another building in the foreground. You can imagine how nice it should have been to get a good view of the city. Too bad it wasn't.
After maneuvering through the crowds (see picture below), I finally met up with the UST exchange students at Club 9. The cover was supposed to be $120HK with "free" drinks until 1am, but for some reason last night it was $180HK ($23US). Despite that it turned out to be a great night. But maybe that's because it was 11:45 and everyone was trying to down their money's worth of drinks before 1am. We didn't get home until 4:15 and by that time, I was so exhausted. Kat, I give you props for surviving the club scene in Spain, because even 4am is waaaayyy past my bedtime.
If going to LKF is that much fun every time, I'd go more often!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
MARK251
Ok, so it's my turn to brag. We had a case due in B2B today. It was an old Harvard Business Review case from the 80s about pricing strategy in the steel strapping industry. Combine the topic with 13 pages of background, company reports and pricing statistics, and you've got hours and hours of "excitement." Ok, maybe it wasn't exciting. It was just long. I started working on it on Monday, so I had plenty of time to think through the subtleties. The assignment was to decide how the company should adjust product pricing based on the increased cost of steel. Today before we started the discussion, he drew a 2x2 chart on the whiteboard and asked everyone to come up one-by-one to generally categorize their recommended strategy. I was the only one in my entire class and answered in the upper right quadrant-- meaning I was either going to be arguably correct or embarrassingly off-target. Turns out, not only was my strategy "correct" (as far as cases go), the professor said it was the only time anyone had answered that way in the 5 years he'd assigned the case. It was a somewhat meaningless assignment, but it made me feel fantastic!
The rest of the day kind of went downhill. I had to complete a marketing research study in the afternoon. I have no idea what I was being surveyed on, but we watched brief clips of "Bullitt," "Whalerider," and "Sophie's Choice." After that, I had another hour of class and finished the day in the library. For dinner I had my first experience with XO sauce. I'd give it an 7 out of 10.
Today I found out that more people are running in the marathon and half marathon on the Great Wall in May. How awesome is that?! If I had the motivation to run that far, maybe I'd join them. Or maybe they should just have an elliptical machine competition on the Great Wall. Then I'd for sure go.
The rest of the day kind of went downhill. I had to complete a marketing research study in the afternoon. I have no idea what I was being surveyed on, but we watched brief clips of "Bullitt," "Whalerider," and "Sophie's Choice." After that, I had another hour of class and finished the day in the library. For dinner I had my first experience with XO sauce. I'd give it an 7 out of 10.
Today I found out that more people are running in the marathon and half marathon on the Great Wall in May. How awesome is that?! If I had the motivation to run that far, maybe I'd join them. Or maybe they should just have an elliptical machine competition on the Great Wall. Then I'd for sure go.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Jen's Steve
Jen's boyfriend, Steve, is in town. He flew in from Boston on Saturday evening, so I hadn't seen much of either of them until today. I finally met him this morning when they came back to the room at 8am. My alarm went off at 7:45, but I ignored it and went back to sleep. Before too long, I hear a key in the door and muffled voices on the other side. I immediately pretend to be awake. In fact, as soon as they walk in, I exclaim, "Hey Steve! You all have perfect timing. My alarm JUST went off." They reply, "Oh good," and Jen starts gathering her books for her long day of class. Before I try to sit up, I realize that I went to bed without pants on. I can't exactly be a good hostess for Steve, but I think I played it off well by lazily stretching and conversing from under my covers. It was a funny morning.
My two classes today were fine. Women's Movement is increasingly terrible. Asking questions in class only makes the locals roll their eyes. Oh well. Tonight Steve came back to campus from a day of exploring and met us for dinner at, where else, Uni-Bar. He got to have a few beers and Jen and I stuck with the Happy Hour 2-for-1 wine special.
And now we're back in the room. Jen is behind me re-packing her bag for tonight through Thursday. You know what that means?!!
I get to sleep without pants again tonight.
My two classes today were fine. Women's Movement is increasingly terrible. Asking questions in class only makes the locals roll their eyes. Oh well. Tonight Steve came back to campus from a day of exploring and met us for dinner at, where else, Uni-Bar. He got to have a few beers and Jen and I stuck with the Happy Hour 2-for-1 wine special.
And now we're back in the room. Jen is behind me re-packing her bag for tonight through Thursday. You know what that means?!!
I get to sleep without pants again tonight.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Blah, blah, school, blah.
Today I took my second midterm at UST in US-China Relations (with the prof that asked us to wear sick-masks... that class). After talking to everyone after class, I feel pretty good about how I did. I'm glad it's over though. My first midterm was in Brand Management last Wednesday. Today in class the professor asked how I think I did. My response, "I'm upset I missed class before the exam, but I wouldn't have traded it for Thailand." She laughed and agreed.
Tomorrow in my Women's Movement tutorial, we'll be discussing the movie "Hua Mulan" or the original Chinese inspiration for Disney's "Mulan." I watched it last week with Jen, and it was funnier than it should have been-- singing, live actors, subtitles, plot, etc. All of the songs sounded the same, and Mulan's character was quite obviously female. She may have had no breasts, but that was the only "masculine" thing about her. Other than the cultural differences in the film, we just couldn't figure out the casting.
I just finished a group meeting with Crystal, my partner in B2B Marketing. We were assigned partners, but I got extremely lucky-- Crystal works her ass off. We meet outside class once a week to make our decisions for the assigned simulation game. The simulation game (Industrat, developed by INSEAD) gives us about 35 pages of charts, graphs, perceptual maps, and survey data to interpret and formulate the next round's decisions. Sounds fun right? Each week she comes with pages of analysis; she's never unprepared. AND her English is great! That class would be a nightmare if it wasn't for her.
After tomorrow, I only have three more assignments due before Spring Break... woo hoo! Then it's family time in Beijing and planning the last few trips before I go home. FYI: I don't have Asian relatives; my parents will be meeting me there.
I can't believe I'm approaching the half-way mark of the semester. Can I start the margarita countdown clock?
Tomorrow in my Women's Movement tutorial, we'll be discussing the movie "Hua Mulan" or the original Chinese inspiration for Disney's "Mulan." I watched it last week with Jen, and it was funnier than it should have been-- singing, live actors, subtitles, plot, etc. All of the songs sounded the same, and Mulan's character was quite obviously female. She may have had no breasts, but that was the only "masculine" thing about her. Other than the cultural differences in the film, we just couldn't figure out the casting.
I just finished a group meeting with Crystal, my partner in B2B Marketing. We were assigned partners, but I got extremely lucky-- Crystal works her ass off. We meet outside class once a week to make our decisions for the assigned simulation game. The simulation game (Industrat, developed by INSEAD) gives us about 35 pages of charts, graphs, perceptual maps, and survey data to interpret and formulate the next round's decisions. Sounds fun right? Each week she comes with pages of analysis; she's never unprepared. AND her English is great! That class would be a nightmare if it wasn't for her.
After tomorrow, I only have three more assignments due before Spring Break... woo hoo! Then it's family time in Beijing and planning the last few trips before I go home. FYI: I don't have Asian relatives; my parents will be meeting me there.
I can't believe I'm approaching the half-way mark of the semester. Can I start the margarita countdown clock?
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