Happy Birthday Chelsie Belle!

THIS IS NICOLE :)

I cannot believe it is already Wednesday here! Yikes! As we predicted, the week has gone by very, very quickly. It is very pleasant in Shanghai - it is in the 50's here, much better than at home. Poor KH is freezing though...this is a little rough for his Singaporean/Malaysian blood. He talks about it being so cold..and the rest of us are actually quite pleased with the temperature, knowing that our poor compadres in Ohio are absolutely FROZEN. I picked a good time to leave - the coldest spell we have had all year. More importantly, I have my furnace set very low. :) Just high enough so the poor kitty does not freeze.

Today is little Chelsie Belle's 5th birthday! I cannot believe she is 5 years old! She was 9 weeks old and 15 squirming little pounds of fur when she came home - she has grown up into a very sweet and wonderful girl who mom cannot wait to get home to! Gammie, please make sure that little Belle gets an empty ice cream cone as a birthday treat. Mom will get her a new birthday toy when I get home next week. It will be so wonderful to get home to her..it is so cold at home it is unlikely she will reject my requests for bonding time. She generates a lot of body heat. :) Happy Birthday Belle, mom misses you!

I tried to post some pictures, but was not successful. I was about to hit "publish" on Sunday night when I lost my connection, and lost my post. I was very disappointed, as it was a pretty good post in my mind. I will do my best to reconstruct the highlights of what I wanted to share with you.

On Sunday, I went back to the plant to finish up my observation. The plant had resumed operation, and I was allowed to go back in, look around and take pictures. Man, what an eye opening experience that was. The pictures I previously posted did not do the plant justice. You cannot imagine how hard these folks work and how efficient they are. This process is a very, very manual process - some processes require 2-3 people working in sync. None of them, not one of them, ever missed a beat. This is not easy work, I will say that much - it is very tedious, monotonous work. Yet these people here are so focused and so diligent - and very motivated, as they are paid by the piece. Therefore, the more they get done, the more money they earn. Money talks, and people listen. It was quite amazing. I had to be sure to stay out of their way - they had things to do.

More than anything, it has made me very appreciative for the things I have. These workers have left their hometowns and their families to work in a factory 6 days a week, far away - lucky to get home to their families twice a year. They live with 5 other people in a bunk on site at the workplace. There was really not much around the plant I was at, except the little "town" or "village" that I described in previous posts that was rampant with poverty. However, as unappealing as it seems to me, this is a better life than they would have in their hometowns, most of them. They have a decent roof over their head, a warm place to sleep (assuming the dorms are heated - the office sure wasn't) get three meals a day and are paid by how much they produce. It is all in what you define as normal. By the time I am finished typing this blog, some workers will have produced hundreds of surgical drapes and gowns.

This trip has also made me much more empathetic to the people that come to our country every day in search of a better life (legally, preferably). Adjusting to everyday life can be a challenge - from figuring out what to eat, how to wait in line, how to cross the street (which is ALWAYS and adventure here) and just how to function in everyday society. When I have gone to Europe in the past, I always knew enough of the language to get by, or could read and guess what signs meant. Not here - I have no way of being able to read anything or communicate with anyone, other than please, thank you and "no more".

This was not exactly what I had wanted everyone to know after my experience this weekend. Such is the curse of modern technology - you love to hate it. Last night in the elevator Bruce was joking that Charna and I "hate to love him". We all laughed - and Charna and I rolled our eyes at each other. There is very little doubt that this whole experience has profoundly changed us in a number of different ways. Despite being together for the last three weeks, we still find many things to talk about in regards as to how this experience has changed us. While there is no substitute for being here, the challenge for us will be to effectively communicate our experience to our colleagues back in the US.

I hope everyone is managing to stay warm. Gammie, give Chelsie an birthday hug from mom. As usual, we are doing fine.

Still a queen with a shining crown,

Nicole

Bruce on Beijing...

Note from Nicole: This is all Kinsel, all the time. Charna and I are happily wearing our crowns and they are shining as usual.

Actually, I was in Shijiazhuang, a 2 hour plane ride from Beijing, but I still haven’t figured out how to pronounce it, so for now…..Beijing. I was assigned to observe cycle counts at one of our glove manufacturing facilities. The facility I visited was one of the Hongray Group Facility. Just to give you a little background:

The Hongray Group is a member of the Encompass Corporation. The Hongray facility I visited is located in Shijiazhuang, China. It is one of 7 Hongray Group manufacturing facilities and one of four Hongray facilities utilized by Cardinal Health. The Hongray Group is a glove manufacturing company and currently Cardinal Health’s largest glove producer. The Cardinal Health glove manufacturing business was primarily located in Malaysia prior to outsourcing the majority of the business to China and becoming a part of Cardinal Health’s Global Sourcing Group in 2005. Daily, a given factory produces ~ 4 million gloves, not just for CAH, however ~60% of their business does come from Cardinal. Yes, you read that correctly…..4 million gloves….A DAY. That is one facility. To be able to see this process and understand this side of Cardinal Health’s business model was an amazing experience.


Upon arrival, I was treated like a King….a little different than the peasant status I have been awarded by the Queens of the Manufacturing Audit Team (Charna and Nicole) (Psss….I will set up my own blog when I get home to give you all the juicy stuff). Nonetheless, I am not accustomed to this treatment. I was greeted with welcoming signs (even in lights), chauffeured everywhere (the processors supplied us our own driver to take us wherever we wanted), wined and dined at the nicest restaurants in town (served some of the great delicacies of the region…pigeon, fishes eye, some of the hottest damn peppers on earth, lobster, and monkeys brain (I had to draw the line there though) and stayed at the only 5 star hotel in the region (I can officially confirm ONLY with my own two eyes). Not all of the trip was riches though…I saw my own share of the rags as well, as the Hongray facility is one of many manufacturing facilities outside of the small rural towns, where poverty runs rapid. I will refer you to Nicole’s write-up for more detail. I believe she did a great job of capturing the mood and environment. Mine was no different. I must add however, that my perception on the life that I live and work has drastically changed. When you travel from the best through the worst daily, you can’t help but reflect and ultimately be affected.


Nevertheless, we completed our mission at the facility and returned back to Shanghai, where I met back up with the two cookies of the Oreo we have formed. Of course then there is me, the SWEET cream filling in the middle. Man…I will hear it for that one. All the same, upon meeting back up in Shanghai, I have returned to my peasant status. Oh well, I am a little more comfortable here. This trip has really confirmed one thing in my mind. I am an independent person and no matter how much money I accumulate over my lifetime, I will stay that way. Nice is nice, too nice is just too damn nice. Middle class is high enough for me.


I guess the only thing left for me is to give you …..

Bruce’s top 10 learns from Beijing

10. How are Chinese people NOT 600 pounds!!!! Every meal is 10 courses.

9. DAMN….How many people can you put in one place…..

8. Cooking is easy in China #2…..just deep fry it and put a sauce on it….add some peppers and call it a masterpiece.

7. There is LITERALLY NO translation for the phrase “Excuse me” in Chinese because it DOES NOT APPLY…..JUST PUSH like everyone else….

6. Trying new THINGS (and I used this term “things” LOOSELY) takes on a whole new meaning.

5. Brian (My Translator): Bruce….you know everyone is looking at you.
Bruce: Yes Brian…..I know everyone is looking at me….I am NOT CHINESE!!!

Brian (MY TRANSLATOR): I have no idea what they are saying!?!?
Bruce: What?!?!?!…GREAT….Well, now you know how I feel!!!

4. The phrase sardines in a sardine can originated in a China Eastern Plane ride from Shanghai to Shijiazhuang and was coined on the plane ride back. My knees are still red from the seat in from of me!!!!

3. Traffic lights translations…..RED- Get back from the road, if possible stand against a building and close your eyes. YELLOW- Don’t move yet, open one eye and begin to pray. GREEN- Open your eyes for a split second, hold your breath, and RUN…RUN LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER RUN BEFORE….closing your eyes during this may eliminate heart attacks. Once across THANK GOD!!!!

2. Cooking is easy in China #1…..just throw it in WHOLE, shell, skin, bones, eyes, extremities….it is all a DAMN DELICACY.

1. Lost in Translation ….. Massage 158 rmb….???? (That is a whole other story….)

All, more stories when I get home. As for all of you that have emailed me in the last 3 days, when my email works again, I will get back to you. Until then, have a great week and I will see you soon….one week and counting. God Bless you all and the USA….BK

PS from Nicole - Don't let him kid you, he had never been so glad to see his queens in his life upon our reunion at the hotel on Monday morning!

Charna on China...

Hello all,

Well, we all made it to Shanghai, alive and in one piece - and all quite relieved to see each other. In catching up over the last few hours, it has become quite obvious that all three of our experiences have been very unique. In the spirit of the blog, the entry below is from Charna. Bruce will be contributing his entry to the blog later this evening.

DISCLAIMER - All I did was copy and paste. :)


What I learned in my first 24 hours in China:

1) Traffic lights are really only suggestions. If the light is red, you don’t have to stop.

2) Crossing signals are just for show, they came with the traffic light package. Green does not mean you have the right to cross, merely that if you choose to take your life in your own hands, this would be as good a time as any due to item #1.

3) Dormitories are not just for colleges; they’re for plant workers too. Yep, people live with their co-workers and are fed three meals a day so there’s rarely an opportunity (or need) to go offsite.

4) Motorcyclists and bikers are fearless. They don’t care if they pull out in front of trucks or buses and they don’t care if they take out pedestrians.

5) I haven’t figured out why they painted lanes on the roads. It’s quite acceptable to make up your own or pass on the left over the yellow line if the person in front of you is going too slow.

6) Honking the horn is another language and means many different things including: hello, get out of my way, I’m right here beside you, we’re celebrating or it’s too quiet around here.

7) There is no concept of personal space. (See traumatic shopping experience below.)

8) If someone asks you if you want more food and you reply “I’m fine,” that means you’re still hungry and they will order more food.

9) There is no wasting any part of the animal you killed for dinner. They serve the whole darn thing. I’d prefer not to eat something else’s stomach or brain, thank you. Pigeon on a stick was a delicacy in the city I visited - PohBeng asked me if I wanted to try some, and I politely declined. It was quite interesting to see people walking around eating a bird on a stick.

10) If you’ve never heard of the city, chances are they won’t speak English but everyone will continue to speak Chinese to you.

While shopping here can be very cheap, if you have issues with your personal space or hate being pressured, this is definitely not the place for you. Thank God PohBeng was with me. The first ‘mall’ we went to had stalls and stalls of goods. Everyone starts talking to you trying to get you to come into their space to look. “Just come inside and look, just come inside and look.” If you make eye contact, there’s no getting away. And with six people trying to get your attention, it’s okay to ignore them. Finally we make it to the stalls you hear so much about in the US – you know the ones where you can find Louis Vitton, Coach, Channel, etc. rather inexpensively. If PohBeng had not been my guide, I would have left immediately. There are hundreds of people to greet you outside the place. Two or three will ‘latch’ onto you as their customers and you cannot lose them, they won’t allow it. They will also yell at other people who try to take you away. They took me into the first store. It’s a small store, no bigger than a Claire’s Accessories back home, but it didn’t seem like much. Boy was I wrong. There was a hidden door behind a mirror and a little cubby hole where they guide you and shut the door behind you. You have about two minutes to look around before they try to negotiate a price. If you don’t like anything right away, no fear, as they will guide you to other stores behind more hidden doors until you find just what you’re looking for. Then, let the negotiations begin. I’ve learned – always start with 100 RMB. If you’re willing to walk away, they will come down until you can settle on an acceptable price. It was an experience and no matter how many times someone explains it to you, there’s no real way to comprehend until you’re there. I think I got a nice purse, for a nice price. I think I may have to experience it again though as Nicole was not along and will surely want to find a deal of her own. Who knows, if I can get past the shock of it all, I may find another bargain.

Note from Nicole: I am seriously considering how much I really NEED any bargain. The email does not do the live story justice. If I need it this bad, I think I will just wait for Hong Kong this weekend. I am really thinking I don't need anything at all. :)

As usual, we hope everyone is well. ~Nicole, Charna and Bruce

More On China

Hello everyone,

As usual, I hope this post finds everyone doing well. I am still alive and kicking in China.

I forgot to blog one important detail last night. Yesterday, my "facilities" fears of China were realized, at our processor. "Finding a ladies room" took on a whole new meaning. I secretly wondered if KH and Lulu were having a laugh to themselves, knowing I had never quite seen a facility like this before. But there it was, a hole in the ground - a plumbed hole in the ground, but a hole in the ground all the less. It was OK for a day - I will make sure I do NOT have to do that again today when we go back. Today should be a short visit. I had breakfast with KH and will rest until we meet here in 2 hrs. Yesterday was very long and exhausting.

As I have had time to reflect on yesterdays experience, I am starting to realize a number of things. Life is very different here - as I watched all the people from the car window on the way to the processor, I caught myself thinking, Man, what a place. The area outside the facility is filled with poverty - and it is hard to imagine these people will ever know any other life. The places they live are dirty and rundown, and really, I am not sure how they make money - and therefore, am not sure how they would ever afford to be able to get out of there. I saw a lady carrying a bucket on her way to the river - the river to me looked dirty and I would never want to have to wash my clothes in it, yet drink it or cook with it - or feed it to my kids either.

Once I realized all of this, I began to understand a little more about the people that work for our processor. They have a job, they know where their next meal is coming from, they have a roof on their heads, a shower to bathe in and they have toilets (all be in a hole in the ground). I understand their motivation a little better. I am sure not all of China is like this, but with a country that has in excess of 3 billion people, it is probably much more the rule than the exception. As I said, the workers were very diligent and always came running over to count when I asked for a recount.

A lot of people criticize American companies for manufacturing over here, and taking jobs out of America. One thing that was really evident to me yesterday was the difference in the workers in the plants I have been in domestically and over here. In the US, your typical (and I say typical based on my own experiences - as a auditor, I participated in my fair share of inventory counts in plants) plant workers are people that make $10-12 per hours - that you have to light a firecracker under to get them to do anything, they complain about this, that, etc. Over here, if you work in a factory, typically, you have a roof over your head and food on the table - and probably are in better shape than they would have been in their home province. I am not saying this is right for every company, but I certainly have a much better idea of why it is so attractive. Also, I have a better appreciation for every one's "normal". What may seem awful me is probably very normal to someone else - it has certainly made me more appreciative of what I have, I can tell you that.

My concerns about driving in China were reinforced yesterday. Our driver joined us for dinner last night, and I thought to myself, we have to feed the poor guy, he must be adequately nourished to survive the stress of driving in China. Again, yesterday, bikes and people were everywhere - with over 3 billion people in the country, I imagine enforcement of traffic laws is not high on the priority list..I have first hand knowledge and can confirm this is indeed the case. The shopping area we were in last night was quite crowded - Lulu was very concerned for my safety, that I might get run over by a car or bike. I told her I would walk where she walked and follow close. Thankfully, I did not manage to get hit.

Anyway, I am going to go read my book for a bit before we have to go back to the plant..hopefully, it is an early night. Dinner last night was quite the production - I swear it took us 20 min to order, and the food was quite spicy. Good, but spicy. This morning's breakfast was light, and KH and I did not meet for lunch - it would have been too much. So I am going to get my book and my granola bar..and quite possibly fall asleep in the sun.

Have a great Sunday! ~Nicole

Made in China - Live

Today, I visited one of our processors - actually, our biggest processor - in Suzhou, China. (Suz - jhou) We are about 180 kilometers north of Shanghai. I was not sure where I was going - thought perhaps I could be in some small town in China. Not so much - Suzhou is a pretty big city. Apparently, each province in China has in excess of 10 million people. Above is a picture of the hostels at the factory. Many workers live in these hostels, as they come from provinces far away. For example, our driver and his wife both work at the factory, but their home province is north and takes 30 hrs to get there by train. They have a son, who stays in their home province with his grandparents. This is very common. Today, all the workers who were not counting inventory were out shopping for New Years. They will get from 2/14 to 2/25 off - because they can spend up to 4-5 days traveling to get home. Where the plant is in Suzhou, factories with hostels are very common. Cardinal's business relationship with A+ is one where we pay them to manufacture our goods - surgical masks, drapes and gowns. All the fabric you see in the pictures below are the raw materials - the base products in surgical gowns. Gloves are not made here - some are made in other parts of China, but mostly in Malaysia.

Our raw materials - you can see they are neatly stacked in a warehouse, so that a quick, easy count can be facilitated. We require them to count inventory once a month, which is a very cumbersome, tedious and time consuming process. Our management team in Singapore has worked extensively with the plant to make sure they have good processes in place when it comes to managing our inventory. At this time, we are unable to locate a supplier of this particular type of raw material in China. Therefore, all the rolls you see here are shipped to China via El Paso, Texas. Not ideal, but we are working on it.

Further prof that I made it. This is another local factory we have, off the main one I was at earlier.

For the record, I do have more pictures, I can put them out on Shutterfly if you wish to see them - if you want to see them, send me the email address you want the shutterfly access to and I will give you access.

Today was a once in a lifetime day. "Made in China" has a whole new meaning. While I did not actually see production (hopefully I can see that tomorrow) to see the plant, the workers, and the life style around here was unreal. I am not even sure I can accurately put into words what I saw today. Our management team in Singapore and Shanghai have worked very hard to make the relationships we have with our suppliers a mutually beneficial one, and you could really see that here. The people at the plant were very, very helpful - you ask them to recount something so you could see and 10 people came running over to do it. The finance manager at this plant, her name is Lulu. She actually lived in the states for quite some time, but is relocating to Hong Kong. All of the people were so nice and so willing to answer questions - I even felt comfortable saying thank you in Chinese. And they understood me.

Today was an incredibly long day - inventory counts are always very physically demanding, as you are on your feet on concrete all day. Clearly, I never worked in retail. After the count, Lulu took us shopping and to dinner. We went to a very popular shopping area, and of course there were a ton of people. KH (Kok Heng - thankfully, he does not mind us calling him KH) bought a very nice jacket at a very good price, and he was happy about that. We also went to dinner - tonight, I did not have to eat fish! It was very spicy, but man was it good. Best dish - green beans with dried chili peppers. Spicy, but fantastic.

I am beat, but wanted to come home and blog about this so everyone could see some pictures. It was very chilly and I am still trying to warm up, despite having my gloves and wool socks. I have received and email from Charna, they had a good day and finished. She will go back to Shanghai tomorrow. Unfortunately, the hotel we have reserved for the rest of our stay is booked tomorrow night, so she will have an extra hotel move. KH and I are going back to the processor tomorrow, to see how they record all of their counts from today. We will stay here in Suzhou tomorrow night and head to Shanghai Monday morning. KH tried to call Bruce and Brian, but was not able to get hold of them. I will have him call again tomorrow.

On that note, I am signing off. I am re-reading The Pelican Brief - the book and the bed are calling my name! We are doing just fine. ~Nicole

Welcome to China

Hello everyone,
c
Well, we officially made it to China. I have made it to my hotel, where I just got the living daylights scared out of me by a paper getting slid under my door.

I am in Suzjhou - don't ask me where that is. I had to fly to Shanghai to get here, that is about all I know. That and it took us nearly three hrs to get here. Charna had to go about an hour further and poor Bruce had to go to another airport..he could still be sitting on the ground in the airport. I have had dinner, had a nice hot shower and am blogging one last time before bed. Half the stuff on this site is in Chinese and the other half is in English..I hope I don't mess it up. Suffice to say, I am ready for bed.

China is interesting. Go figure - there are people everywhere. On bikes, in cars, on motorcycles - and they literally walk down the middle of the road. Basically, they just walk wherever they want - in front of cars, bikes, on the road. I would not want to drive here, I would definitely hit someone. Not on purpose either. One the way to the hotel, a couple of buses came on to our side of the road, no big deal. No one seemed worried about it, everyone just went on about their business. Lots of horn honking too - I have not figured out what warrants horn honkings, seems like just about anything.

Tomorrow, we go to the factories to count their inventory - it will bring a whole new meaning to "made in China". I have been pleasantly surprised by everything I have found so far on this trip, and I hope that continues tomorrow.

I just wanted to take a second and catch up and let everyone know I was OK (and hope that Bruce and Charna are too) They are with 2 other people from the Singapore office, so they are not alone. I think we will truly miss each other this weekend - all of a sudden, we had our bags and then we were off in different directions. I think it will be a joyous reunion on Monday..at least for Charna and I. Bruce might have enjoyed the peace without us and his man time with Brian. :)

Have a good Friday and a good weekend! ~Nicole

Nicole, you ate WHAT!!!!???

Ok, now I do have some news. For all you that know me, you better sit down.

Today, we went to lunch with the operations guys (one of them was the same guy that took us to lunch when Mr. Grouper came to the table). We went to a very nice hotel and they had an outstanding buffet. Fouad, one of our colleagues convinced me to try raw fish - said to mix it with wassabi and soy. I told him to get a few pieces and I would try it. Charna and I shared a plate. Believe it or not, it was not bad. Granted, right next to it on the buffet was a duck - head and all. it was on a rack, like you would see lamb on for gyros in the US. It had been deep fried of course, but it was the whole duck.

I still can't believe it did it. It blows my mind.

We are getting ready to head to China, our ride to the airport comes at 8AM. Have to head back to the hotel and pack - a little different than packing for my 1-2 night trips. As usual, I way overpacked. Oh well. God forbid should I want to wear something and not have it.

I am not sure of our Internet connectivity in China, so it could be a few days before I have a chance to update again. I hope everyone has a fantastic day! ~Nicole

No News is Good News

Hello all,

Well, I wish I had something exciting to tell you, but I don't. No news is good news.

We are headed to China this weekend to observe inventory counts at some of our manufacturing sites this weekend. We realized on the way home from dinner tonight it will be the first time we have been separated on this trip. We are not going to China alone - three people from the Finance department will be accompanying us to the sites, which is a VERY GOOD THING. As we have literally spent every waking moment together, it was funny to realize we would miss each other. In the land far away from home, we have become each other's security blankets..and it will be very strange to be apart. We truly have had a great time together - hard to believe we have been gone for 2 weeks! I should also add that it is only the weekend we will be separated - we are splitting up after we get to Shanghai. Somehow, Charna and I will manage to survive without Bruce. It will be hard, but we will overcome.

The general feeling is that after this weekend, this trip will fly by. We bid farewell to the bellhop Ishmail for this trip - he is going on leave because his daughter is getting married on Saturday. He is the bellhop that claps his hands and the cab comes over and picks us up. He calls Bruce "Mr Bruce" and is always very fast with a handshake for him. He opens mine and Charna's doors and always takes our computer bags out of the trunk. We assured him we would be back after next week and would see him again. This week in China will be a little rougher as we will move hotels twice and then travel again on Friday to Hong Kong. We have gotten very comfortable at the Regent over the past 15 days - not a bad place to come home to every night on the road!

I hope everyone is well - we are doing just fine. Grammie tells me little Chel had a visitor that took her to the park to chase her kong. Rumor has is she chased her pink kong like a wild thing and then was so tired the next day she had to sleep all day! It made mom's day. She is a good girl and mom misses her. There will be lots of bonding (and a few new toys) when mom gets home!

Stay warm - not a problem for us! ~Nicole :)

Subway in Singapore

Bruce learned the hard way that jalapeno peppers at Subway in Singapore are a little different than jalapeno peppers at Subway in the US. After eating just a few, he became quite flush and commented that they were quite strong. I can vouch for that - a whiff of them was enough for me.

Pictures

This is the skyline of Singapore, taken from the top of the Merlion Statue on Sentosa Island. Take a look at the sky. After we got down from the top of the Merlion, we sought shelter. Right in the center of the picture is the port of Singapore - one of the largest, busiest ports in the world. There are literally thousands of shipping containers there. These containers are similar to the ones that carry Cardinal's products made in the Far East across the ocean to our distribution center in Fontana, Ca.

Three giraffes eating dinner. It is hard to see, but they are eating what would probably be considered yard waste in the US. A trainer comes out with a stack of twigs and leaves tied together and pins it up on a post at the giraffe's eye level. Hardly looks appetizing but they seem to enjoy it. The animals have "keen" senses so you are not supposed to take flash photos. Our Little rule breaker Kinsel obviously did not follow that rule! Ha! (For those of you that don't know Bruce, he is of very high character and would generally never do things someone specifically told him not to do, however, all that goes out the door when he has his camera in his hand)

Nothing exciting..a sign for the Night Safari.

One other interesting thing about dinner last night. Apparently bird's nest is a delicacy here. People will climb up in trees and get them and pull them down. I am not sure if many of you know how birds nests are made, but it is actually quite disgusting. You are supposed to pull all the vegetation out and then eat it - and I guess people spend hours doing it. It literally almost ruined my appetite last night - do a little reserach and you will understand why!

Well, it is Tues morning here and the grind calls. Have a great night! ~Nicole

Crab Anyone?

Ok, so I was wrong about dinner - we had a very nice dinner at a very nice restaurant. Everything was dead and cooked, an added bonus right off the bat.

We went down by the Marina - on the water, very near the lion statue. Geraldine (the lawyer) and Evelyn (the HR manager) were very concerned about me finding something to eat, and they made sure there were pork and chicken dishes. The way you eat here is you order a number of dishes, and everyone shares. We had pork, chicken, crab, asparagus. There were 2 kinds of crab - pepper crab and crab in a chile sauce. I know a lot of people think crab is too much work - gotta eat it here. The waitress stood at our table and cut it with scissors. She was there for most of our meal.

And then it happened - I actually decided I would try some crab. I tried it with the chile sauce and it was not bad. They do a very good job here of added spices to their food. At any rate, we had a very enjoyable dinner. I ate way too much, and am having a hard time settling down. Charna and I walked for an hour trying to get our food to settle..I think I am passing on food tomorrow, I could possibly still be full when I wake up tomorrow morning.

Today at work was very interesting as well. The project is going well for the most part and I am looking into some very interesting stuff. We have also discovered that our contact person is very intelligent - I mean, we knew he was smart, but he is very well read on issues in the region. Tonight, we spoke about the political climate in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. I think all three of us were really engrossed in what he was saying. We hear bits and pieces of what goes on in this part of the world, so it was really interesting to hear it from the perspective of a local. I cannot put into words what this time I have spent over here has done for me both personally and professionally. To get to see the likely future model of our business first hand and experience a culture and people I have never experienced before is amazing.

Well, this is a very late night for me..almost 1 AM. I hope I sleep better than I did last night - I think my odds are improving the later it gets. I might be a zombie tomorrow, but it was a good night.

Have a great Monday..it is Tuesday here.

~Nicole

Little Chelsie Belle....

It has been brought to my attention that not everyone knows who I am referring to when I make mention of little Chelsie Belle. One could say she is not really little, but she is a puppy at heart..just ask grammie, who has had to do numerous repairs on her toys in the week and a half she has been there. Grammie's sewing maching is good for the shelf life of her toys - she very much enjoys beating herself in the head with her toys. As a lab, it is instinct for her to "kill it dead" - including her toys. For those of you who have seen her "kill" her kong on a rope, she has never let go of it and sent it flying. That kong is in transition - her old one went in the garbage after she got all her new Christmas toys and mom will get her a new one when I get home. One of her favorite new toys is her pink kong to chase, which she got from Onyx the Newfie at Christmas. We have three different types of kongs in the house - one that she chases (the pink one) one that she gets her peanut butter in when mom leaves for work in the morning (the black one) and the kong on a rope, which she beats herself in the head with. She is generally satisifed to chew only that which belongs to her, and for that mom is greatful.

It should also be noted Chel is about to become a dog with a job. As a certified therapy dog, we will begin visiting patients at Dodd Hall when I get back. For those of you not familiar with OSU Medical Center, Dodd Hall is the long term rehab center on the campus. As of right now, we are the only certified team that will be visiting there.

Be sure to wish little Chel a happy birthday next Tuesday - it will be her 5th birthday. Sometimes, I think she is 5 years going on 5 mos..but she is a great dog. Mom misses her very much and looks forward to hearing all about her days with grammie (grampie is away in California enjoying some warm weather) Her days have been filled with play dates with Ella, her chocolate lab cousin, car rides with grammie and play periods where grammie throws her ball down the stairs. She has a pretty darn good life!

And for the record, Kinsel, you are very much a gentlemen. You have looked out for us for the last 2 weeks. We won't know what to do next weekend when you go to Beijing and we are in Shanghai!

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

~Nicole and little Chel

Stay tuned...

For the story of dinner tonight. They are taking us out - I think most of the management team is going. Personally, I am praying that is is dead and cooked, but I am quite certain that something (at least one thing) at the table will be raw - quite possibly alive as well. I am sure you will all get a laugh out of it..

Chinese Birthday Cake

Hello again,

Well, I was not meant to stay in the hotel tonight..we ended up going back to Clark Quay, an areas we had been to before. Charna and I tasked young Kinsel with finding us some dinner - he came up with a couple of options, and we decided on Italian. While it was hot and steamy outside, it was not raining. When we went back to the taxi stand, there was a cab right there waiting and no line. Can't ask for more - and we got a nice cabbie.

Tonight at dinner, there was a group celebrating an event - what we later found out was a birthday. I t was a group of Chinese people - I recognized a few words Nan had taught us. Nothing fancy - hello and thank you. But it com firmed they were indeed Chinese. Anyway, the birthday girl shared her cake with us - all of a sudden, she brought three pieces of cake over to our table and said these were for us. We thanked her and wished her a happy birthday. One could consider it our daily contribution to managing Cardinal's SGA expense - we did not get dessert tonight because it was given to us for free!

We are back to the hotel safe and sound..and ready for bed, at least in room 737. Watching a little English Premier League Soccer, settling down. Hope everyone has a great weekend. ~Nicole

Hello everyone -

Well, my computer time says it is 6:30 in the AM, so it is 7:30 PM here. I know you all will find this hard to believe - it is raining in Singapore. I mean really raining.

Today, we went over to Sentosa Island by cable car - not the like the SF cable cars, but like the sky cab ride at Disneyland (not WORLD, LAND, in So Cal - where the weather is normal) It was a lot of fun. There is not a whole lot going on over there, but we wanted to ride the cable cars. There are some touristy things over there to do, but none that really sparked our interest. We did go to the top of the Merlion - which is similar to the statue I posted a picture of a few days back. The merlion is part mermaid and part lion, and is the symbol of Singapore. The story goes that a prince found the island of Singapore - and when he and his men landed, they were greeted by a ferocious lion. Their eyes met, and in that moment, a mutual understanding of no harm came about. The prince decided the land would be called Singapore - the symbol is a mix of a lion and a mermaid. The lion is to honor the lion the prince encountered and a symbol of the lion watching over them, and the mermaid is the connection to the sea. There is a large statue over on the Island you can go up in - we went up and had a great view of the city (I will post later). While we were on top of the Merlion, a nasty storm started brewing - we quickly got over the the tram, which took us to Vivo City, the city's newest mall. Charna and I have guessed that there must be in excess of 50 malls on this island..shopping here is overwhelming. You can't make a lap in a mall and end up back where you started. We decided we had enough shopping and went to grab a taxi..and then all hell broke loose - it started pouring. We made it back to the hotel, but the intersection to the hotel had flooded out, so the cabbie dropped us across the street. We were pretty wet from just crossing the street, and it is still raining. We are meeting in 20 min for dinner, and I am hoping the verdict is to just stay here..it is hot, humid and nasty out. Plus, Charna and I went down to the hot tub, so I am feeling pretty relaxed right now. The only thing missing was my adult beverage!

Last night, we had a great time at the Night Safari! We had a perfect night for it! It is a good thing we went last night, tonight would not have been a good night to go! We got a cab out there and got there about 8 - getting a cab on Friday night in Singapore is difficult. We waited for 25 min for a cab that never showed up at the office. Traffic here is nuts too - Charna commented she is surprised there is not more road rage. :) Anyway, we got to the zoo and were all excited about the Bongo Burger..not so much after we ate it. It was, well...a little mushy in the middle..I only ate half mine. Thank God for Ben and Jerry's!

The animals were really cool. We ended up taking a tram around and then walking on the Leopard trail. We saw elephants, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, leopards, tigers..and a whole host of other things. Sorry Jeff, no photos - the animals have "Keen" senses and flash photography was not allowed. I think Kinsel might have broken the rules and taken a pictures of the giraffes, I will check with him. Kinsel is a photo nut, for those of you that have not traveled with him. His memory card holds 2,000 pictures. I bet he fills it up before we leave! Haha - we love Kinsel to death - he will be one tough cookie when he gets back, that is for sure!

As for tomorrow, I think we are going to little India and then will take it easy. As I have made mention of earlier, the jet lag has really caught up with us and we are crabby campers without 9 hrs of sleep a night. But we are all fine, the project is going very well, and that is nice. We are all in agreement that Thailand would have been nice, but staying put is working out OK.

I hope everyone back home is doing well. In case anyone is worried, grammie says little Chelsie Belle is doing fine - misses her mom of course, but has very busy days going for car rides with grammie, playing with her cousin Ella (the brown brut) and taking all her toys out of the toy box and putting them all over grammies floor. Grammie has had to fix frog and cow more than once..don't you wish it just took playing with a frog and a cow to make you happy???

Have a great weekend! ~Nicole

PS - We ate Thai again for lunch today. Guess what was on the paper place mat we had at the restaurant, Kim B. ???? HA! You got it..Mr Grouper! We all had flashbacks...and HE DID NOT grace our table again!!!

TGIF

Hello all -

Well, I have heard from a few people I have not posted recently - for that I apologize. The time change really seems to have caught up with us over the last few days. For the first time in many moons, I was in bed shortly after 9PM last night.

The rest of the week has proven to be very uneventful. No more fish at the table or anything weird like that. Yesterday, it POURED all afternoon..followed by some very loud claps of thunder. My little baby angel would have been terrified...she does not like thunder at all. We worked a little bit later than usual yesterday, and because of that, we just stayed at the hotel for dinner. Tonight, we are going to the zoo to see the Night Safari - all the nocturnal animals coming out. We are pretty excited about that. We are also going to eat at Bongo Burger..although lunch today did not pose too much harm, we are all in the need for some good old fashioned American grease. Today, we went to lunch with PohBeng, Brian and Jevens - went over to a food court type of deal where they go about once a week. We got a number of dishes and shared them - I am really a fan of the sharing. Of course most of them were seafood, so lunch was rather slim for me.

Tomorrow, we are going to Sentosa Island to look around, and I am not sure what we are going to do Sunday. The general feeling is that this week flew by..and I am sure next week will as well. Next Friday, we go to China and then it will really fly by after that.

For now, we are off..to the hotel to change and to Bongo Burger. Hopefully, I will have some neat pictures from tonite's excursion to post.

Have a great weekend!!

~Nicole

Clarification

It should be noted that Charna was as equally grossed out as I was by Mr. Grouper today at lunch. As for Kinsel..well, go figure. Mr. Adventure Eats ate some of Mr. Grouper - Mr. Grouper was served bones and all. Needless to say, we ate at Dan Ryan's of Chicago tonight, where COOKED cow was the main course for most parties (baked ziti for me). Bruce was threatening me at dinner about going to get the jaws of Mr. Grouper and tormenting me with them for the rest of the trip...I had to let him have his fun, at least for one day. Tomorrow I will get him...somehow, someway.

Have a great Wednesday...it is bedtime here on the other side of the world. ~Nicole

The Whole Enchilada - Literally

Well, today it finally happened...my worst night mare. The whole fish came to the table. Literally. The number one question I field from everyone is "How are you guys eating?" In short, we are not starving or missing any meals. At the current rate, we will come back +25 as opposed to -25.



Today we went to lunch with Beng Guan and Agnes. Thai was the genre of the day. We went to a very, very nice Thai restaurant. This restaurant was very traditional, according to Beng Guan. As is custom here, a number of plates were ordered and we all shared. They have been very polite about asking if there is anything we don't like. No surprise, I speak up every time and make it known I do not care for fish.

So today, we were eating a very nice meal - good appetizers, with the main course on the way. And then, IT CAME. Apparently, Beng Guan had ordered grouper. Grouper at this restaurant is served whole..literally, it looks like they stick the whole fish in the grease and take it to the table. Eyes, tail, tongue, the whole enchilada. For those of you that know my complete disdain for fish, you understand why this was an issue. Unfortunately, his head was at my end of the table the entire meal. I thought it rude to ask someone to turn it the other way, so I put my water glass in front of his face. It did not help.

Some how, some way, I managed to make it through lunch - with Mr. Grouper looking at me the entire time. It was a struggle, but I managed to keep what I had eaten down. I did not eat any more after Sir Grouper graced us with his presence. Bruce and Charna got a chuckle out of it..because as soon as it came to the table..they knew.

We will be seeking something normal for dinner tonight..McDonalds?

The Sun is Shining...

Don't everyone fall over..the sun is actually shining in Singapore today.

First Day of Work..

Hello everyone,

As you can see, I have attached a couple of more pictures. Obviously, the bottom 2 are of our hotel. As you can see, we are not hurting when it comes to our accommodations. I mean, when we travel domestically, we don't stay in Motel 6's or anything, but this is probably the nicest place I will ever stay in my life. Maid service comes twice a day - to give new sheets/towels/etc and then to take the decorative pillows off your bed and refill anything you might have taken out of the refrigerator. Everyone is ready and willing to wait on you hand and foot - we have made friends with a waiter in the restaurant and one of the bellhops. The bell hop claps his hands and then a cab comes from the parking lot to take us where we need to go. He has been trying to teach Bruce to clap the same way - as Charna and I expected, he is a diligent clapping student, working hard to perfect his art. He is getting there. :)

The other picture is a picture Bruce took of Charna and I in Chinatown. Bruce and I have deemed Charna our chopstick champion - she is by far the most apt of the three of us with them. Bruce and I are proficient - we are not starving or anything like that, so we must be doing something right. Even our colleague in Singapore commented at lunch today that he was impressed with our chopstick skills! Lunch today was Japanese fare.

Today was our first day of work, and it went very well. We had a kickoff meeting that was very successful and then we got a presentation to help us understand Singapore's role in our organization. It was good to hear, because we knew a lot of what he was saying - shows that the planning time and effort spent was time well spent.

A few interesting things to note. First, this is not like any of the audits we typically do, for a number of reasons. First and foremost, we are in a high rise building down town. We have a great conference room, with a huge table and a lot of windows. Sounds like a small thing, I know, but we are typically used to auditing at a plant in whatever space they can make available - usually with white walls and no windows. The office is just like an office in the US, in many respects. A receptionist, offices, cubes - all pretty normal. In Singapore, they conduct most of their business in English, so language is not a problem. This audit is also different from other audits in that the work we do here is one piece of whole group of audits we are doing related to this operation. As you can see, this is a pretty neat project - I can't believe luck would have it that I would get to do this. The team has said several times how lucky we are to have this experience. We will get to see the projected future model of a portion of our business from start to finish in this process - when we go to China in 2 weeks to see 3 of our manufacturing sites.

One other important thing to note. When it comes to adventures in eating, Bruce wins that award. He ate ox tongue the other day at breakfast, and a large portion of what he ate today for lunch was uncooked and of the swimming genre. For those of you that know me well, you know the swimming genre is very low on the list of food choices for me. Thankfully, chicken rice is a local favorite around here, so I am not starving. If you could see the breakfast (which I might add is included in our room rate - otherwise we would be looking for alternative breakfast options!) you would know that we are not starving. They have chocolate croissants to rival those I had in France.

I hope this posting finds everyone well. It did not rain much today, but it looks like it is clouding up. We are meeting in a bit to go find dinner..I am still full from lunch today..ugh. Take care and have a great day! ~Nicole

Reality Bites...

Hello -

Today was a very uneventful day - can you imagine it raining again today?

As it was raining, we ended up going to a mall, where 4 different malls are connected by underground passage ways. I did finally buy something - a supercute purple skirt. Love it. Anyway, we were at the mall for about 4 hrs, came back to the hotel and refreshed, before a quiet dinner and an early night.

We were all pretty bushed today..our bodies are almost adjusted to the time, but not quite. It was pretty easy to come to a concensus that tonight was a quiet, early night. We also decided next weekend we would just stay put in Singapore and do some day trips around here. As previously mentioned, the thought of staying in one place for 15 days was very appealing to us all. It is likely the trip to China will be the most difficult part of this entire trip - we will travel 6 hrs by plane to Shanghai and then work all weekend, observing inventories at 2 of our 3rd party manufacturers on Saturday and Sunday. Thus, it seemed to make sense to utilize some judgement and plan accordingly for what will likely be a challenging 9 days in China and Hong Kong.

As it is almost 9PM here, off to bed. Have a fantastic day! ~Nicole

Some funny tales..

Well, last night I crapped out on Bruce and Charna..I had to skip dinner to sleep. I slept from 6:30 last night until 6AM this morning, and I have a whole new outlook on life. We walked around for about 5 hrs yesterday and then came back and talked for about an hour. After they left my room, it was light out. When they called to see if I was coming, I changed into my PJs and kept on with my sleep. The last month has not been a good sleep month for me, so 12 hrs of sleep was a godsend.

I woke up just in time to see the Ravens/Colts game. It was a stellar offensive performance by both teams. I don't think Baltimore was planning on losing. Matt Poske is a happy man right now. I did not think the Colts defensive was better than the Raven offense, but hey, what do I know. I also thought the Bucks would beat the Gators, but I was wrong about that too.

Yesterday, we did more walking. We went over to Chinatown, which was an interesting place. It is one of those things you have to go see but once you have been to Chinatown in one place, they are all about the same - people everywhere trying to get you to buy junk. After Chinatown, we went over to a Buddhist temple - it was pretty neat. We did not go in and look at the 25 different shrines, rather, we admired from the outside. Not into paying $25SGD to look at 25 shrines. Once we were done with that, we decided to head back over to Clark Quay, which is the same area we ate dinner in on Friday night. Charna commented the place looked different in the daylight - it did. That particular place has a lot of nightlife. We ate tapas for lunch, it was yummy.

We also went on a boat tour yesterday, that was a lot of fun. The picture of the three of us is while we were on the boat tour - the fountain is a landmark of Singapore, according to the boat tour. Apparently, they are also building a casino in Singapore - which I suspect will have a significant impact on the tourism dollars in Singapore. There are a ton of tourists already here for the shopping, but throw in a casino and I bet that will also help with the tourism dollars. The captain of the boat was interesting to say the least - this old guy with no teeth who would come up and tap us if we were looking the wrong way (compared to what the recording was talking about)

The other interesting character - and I mean CHARACTER - that we ran into was our cab driver back to the hotel after our boat ride. He was this HUGE Chinese dude that marveled in telling us about Singapore after we told him we had never been there before. He started telling us why Singapore was such a safe place - you litter, we give you three strokes of the cane, after stroke one, blood and skin fly - and we give you three. You rob someone, we hang you - like Saddam Hussein. You get caught with drugs - we hang you, like Saddam Hussein. You kill someone - we hang you, like Saddam Hussein. After each saying, her craned his neck, like he had been hung. Oddly enough, prostitution is legal in Singapore - apparently, there is some sort of brothel some place with 4 floors of women. All women are examined monthly and can only be there for 2 years. It was an interesting ride to say the least...

I have attached another picture - this was taken at a Hawker Centre. Basically, it is a food court, where all kids of traditional foods can be found. We have not yet eaten at a Hawker Centre, and I may never - this picture brings new meaning to "having your goose cooked". My chopstick techniques are improving - far from perfect, but I can manager. The other picture on there is dried squid from Chinatown. For those of you that know my disdain fro fish..this was awful - I can't even describe the smell. On another culinary note, I have had one soda since I have been here, mostly stuck to water. That is a big accomplishment for me!

Another couple of funny tidbits..first, Kinsel thought I was going to get on this bungee thing down by Clarke Quay. I told him he was nuts. The other funny thing was that I almost electrocuted myself yesterday - plugging in my hairdryer. There is one socket with a converter in it already..so naturally, I thought I could plug my hair dryer right into it. Well, the buzzing and cracking that occur ed as soon as I did gave me a general indication that I could not. I thought I had blown out my hair dryer, but I put yet another converter on top of the converter already there, and it worked. I laugh about it now, but I am lucky - it could have been ugly.

Surprise, surprise - it is raining here again today. Not sure what is on tap, but I am sure we will find something. As the Ravens game was on, I am thinking there might be another game on later..who knows. We are well - and although it is wet, not freezing it nice. ~Nicole

Life in Singapore

As I said yesterday, it poured rain all day - according to the guy in the gym, yesterday was a very bad rain day. Hopefully today will be better. The skies are overcast, but it does not appear to be as cloudy today as it was yesterday.

The hotel we are staying in is amazing. The service is top notch - they refer to you as Madam and Mister. Maid service in in twice a day - the night service is to take the decorative pillows off your bed and to pull the TV out for you to watch. From a TV perspective, this is a drastic improvement over Europe - after Europe, I swore I would never watch BBC again. While BBC is here, so are a lot of other things - including the Simpson's, Ellen Degeneres, Oprah and the Wizards game live (it was 9AM here, 8 PM last night).

I have read the local Singapore paper for the last 2 mornings. Interesting read - yesterday, I read the Chinese reaction to the execution of Saddam Hussein. It was clear they did not think much of the execution, who was behind it or the US government for that matter. Today, it was about singles housing in Singapore. If you are unmarried and not yet 35, you are not permitted to buy a flat from the Housing Development Board - HDB flats, as the article referred to them as, are available at an affordable rate to married couples, but to singles under 35, you have to go the private route, which is generally significantly more expensive. Most singles under 35 live with their parents simply because they cannot afford to live on their own. I can see the look on my father's face now.

Today, we are headed over to Chinatown. We are still considering options for next weekend. Perth, Australia is a 4 hr flight from here, which makes that very unattractive to me. Our flight in 2 weeks to Shanghai is 6 hrs, and the thought of yet another airplane is not doing it for me right now. We are also considering Langkawi, Malaysia, full of sun and beaches. Yet we are also considering just staying put - this team was in Europe in October and moved about every 5 days. That proved to be extremely exhausting and we hope to avoid that if possible - besides that, I have so much CRAP it is unreal. I think we can all hack 15 nights where we are..I will try to get some pictures posted of the hotel. If we do stay here, we can take some day trips. Malacca, Malaysia is three hours by bus and then we can take a ferry to a resort island called Bintan.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend. You are just starting yours and my Saturday is halfway over! ~Nicole

Greetings from Singapore

Hello everyone,

After about a 25 hr travel time, we have arrived safely in Singapore. I have attached some pictures for your viewing pleasure. The one on the bottom left is from Chicago and the one on the top is on our plane to get to Singapore. Jeff Miller, I attached a picture of the plane we took to HK just for you.

Our travels took us to Chicago and Hong Kong and then finally to Singapore. Our equipment from Chicago to Singapore was a 747, and we were on the top deck! If anyone ever goes on a 747, sit on the top - MUCH MUCH quieter and better service. All the flight attendants knew our names by the time we got off the plane.

The actual plane ride itself was not that bad. We were so tired we ended up sleeping most of the way. I was awake for probably about 4 hrs of the HK trip, and woke up 10 min before we landed. Once we landed, we had to go through security, again, twice. The second security was a hand search of all your bags. The greatest thing of the whole trip was when this little girl in line to the plane for Singapore looked at Bruce's OSU pullover and said "GO BUCKEYES!" It was priceless. Further proof the Buckeye Nation, despite the disaster on Monday night, is worldwide.

The general consensus today is that we all feel surprisingly good for the total havoc on which we have subjected our bodies to. Business class was nice, and it made a huge difference, but ladies and gentlemen, we were still in a plane for 20 hrs. I think we all went to bed between 1-3AM, and met for lunch. It poured rain all day, and just like everyone else here, we put up our umbrellas and kept on going. Ladies - these women here walk around in the RAIN IN THEIR HEELS. Its nuts.

I don't even know where to start to describe Singapore - all the travel books say "melting pot" and that is for sure. We went to Orchard St today - there is so much shopping it is unreal. Clinton and Stacey would have a field day here - this is NOT a good place for people who have a shopping problem. We have all the comforts of home when it comes to food - KFC, Starbucks, McDonalds, Burger King, DQ - we won't starve here. Tonight we went to an outdoor mall for dinner, it is called Clark Quay. There is a ton of nightlife there - it was very crowded when we left.

At any rate, we made it safely. We are trying to decide what to do next weekend - Perth, Australia is now on the list of consideration. Yes, Australia. We had no idea it was that close until we looked on a map. Might as well knock off one more continent while we are here. Tomorrow we are going to Chinatown and then maybe to Kuala Lumpur on Sunday - it will depend on what we decide about Perth. You can get to Kuala Lumpur by bus, according to a sign we saw today.

I hope everyone is doing well, we are doing just fine. ~Nicole

Twas the night before Asia...

Hello all - well, the big day is practically here. Fifteen minutes from January 10th, actually. I am trying to finish up a few things online - paying bills, stopping mail, printing itineraries, etc. All that fun stuff.

My suitcases are packed - packing for 30 days has tapped everything I wear, it seems like. I have 2 HUGE suitcases and it seems like I have so much stuff it is ridiculous. The thing that makes it difficult is the two climates I have to pack for - tropical in Singapore and winter in China. I felt completely ridiculous getting out my summer clothes tonight, in the middle of winter. Pray to God that neither of them weigh more than 50 lbs.

Poor Chelsie finally saw the suitcases, and she has been moping around all night. Her bag to grammies is the final bag to be packed in the morning. We finally made it to OSU Hospital this afternoon to get our photos taken for ID badges. Hopefully when I get back my background check will be done and we can start visiting. It is not an easy process to try and volunteer - meetings, photo ID badges, background check like you are a threat to national security..and to top it off, the security and ID processing center is open 7-10:15 AM and then from 1:30-4 on M-Th. Um, hello? Most people work during those hours? Anyway, we did it. Grammie is going to repair some of her toys and has promised to take her for walks. Mom got her a new bacon bone for grammies. Her energy was unstoppable yesterday AND she came back to bed under the covers. Look out grammie.

We leave Chicago tomorrow at noon Chicago time, and land about 11AM Thursday Cols time, which will be midnight Singapore time. I will try to post on Friday to let everyone know we made it safely. We will spend the weekend looking around Singapore and trying to adjust to the time. I hope that I am so wiped out that I will pass out by the time we get to the hotel. If I don't pass out on my own, I will do it with the assistance of Tylenol PM...

I hope everyone is doing well. Please feel free to send me an email while I am away! I will miss you all!

Let the packing begin!

Well, today is it..the last day of work before the great adventure begins!

The Great Preparations have begun - list of emergency numbers, we know what to do in the event of injury/illness, phone numbers for credit card companies, hotel reservations in Singapore, for the cancelled Bangkok trip, a battery charger that works, converters..have not started putting the clothes in the suitcase yet, but have tomorrow to do that. Packing for 2 totally different climates - China and Hong Kong are similar to Columbus, and Singapore is WARM!

My cell phone does work over there, but please bear in mind the 13 hr time difference. Odds are high you will wake me up if you call during your day over here. :) God bless VM!

The exciting news of the day is that we are in business class all the way to Singapore! I thought we would have had to go back to coach on the layover in Hong Kong, but it appears we just stop for fuel in Hong Kong, as we have the same seat assignments all the way through! That is very exciting news on a 19 hr flight. I am sure we will all be stir crazy by then!

I am trying to keep the suitcases hidden from Little Chelsie Belle. I think she knows something is up - there is increased activity from normal, and I think she has seen the suitcases as I go in and out of the Buckeye Room (they are hidden in there and I keep the door to that room closed) I took her for a long walk yesterday before the rain came and had a play period with her in the basement last night with the pink kong she got for Christmas. I swear, she is OCD with that Kong. I will get home tonight to get her another long walk before the Buckeye game tonight - she will be sporting her Buckeye Scarf and I will have to get her OSU collar back on her. As promised, I have not attempted to cut any more of her nails before leaving.

I will probably post one or 2 more times before getting on the plane - we have a 4 hr layover in Chicago before our HK flight. You never know with winter in Chicago, so we wanted to make sure we had plenty of opportunity in the event of something falling out of plan. Hope everyone has a great day, and of course...GO BUCKS! Eat more Gator, taste like chicken!

Chinese Lessons

Well, it has been an eventful afternoon. We had our Chinese lesson with Nan, and our trip to Thailand has been cancelled.

Our Chinese lesson went as well as can be expected. Chinese is a very different language than English..it is very hard to make the correct sounds. Nan was very patient, and we did manage to get close on a few words. We know the basics - hello, goodbye, please, thank you, etc. Nan also gave us some basic phrases written down, so that we can carry it with us and point to what we need. She said that is very common in China, which makes me feel a little bit better. More importantly, we got symbols for key items of food - chicken, fish, vegetables, duck, etc. When we look at a menu, we should be able to tell what the main course is - we certainly won't know what else is with it, but we should be able to identify a chicken and vegetable dish. The easy thing would be to go to a restaurant where there is an English menu...

On a disappointing note, our trip to Thailand has been cancelled. I am very sad about that - I have heard great things about Bangkok and the pictures look amazing. However, Cardinal security does not feel it is safe there right now, and we are going to go on the assumption they know what they are talking about. You may recall a military coup late in 2006 - there were also some bombings in downtown Bangkok at New Year and there is talk of another military uprising possibly taking place. Clearly, it is not a good idea to be going over there right now and I am actually relieved that this decision has been made. As I sit here and read what I just wrote, I can't believe I was actually trying to justify the trip in my mind.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Zai-jian! (Goodbye!)

The People of Singapore

The people of Singapore are made up of the following (according to my Lonely Planet book)

Chinese - 76.7%
Malay - 14%
Indian - 7.9%
Other - 1%

I am going to go on the assumption that this totals 100%. The auditor in me is lazy and I am not going to foot it.

Religious base (also according to Lonely Planet) is as follows:

Chinese - Buddhist and Shenism (diety worship), some Christianity
Malays - Muslim
Indian - Hindu

Most people follow religious traditions, with Chinese New Year being the most widely celebrated holiday in Singapore. I am not sure when exactly Chinese New Year is this year - it is generally sometime at the end of January or the beginning of February. Around that time, we will be in one of three places - Hong Kong, Singapore or Shanghai. If the Chinese New Year is the weekend after we leave (2/9) that will be a real bummer. Growing up in California, I remember seeing the celebration of Chinese New Year on TV - never in my life did I imagine I might be seeing Chinese new year somewhere in Asia that is heavily populated by the Chinese. We have a Chinese lesson on Friday with Nan, a senior in our department - she is very with child, which is why she is not going with us. We will have to get her to teach us to say "Happy New Year".

Watch out grammie..

Bad news for you grammie. Chelsie came back to bed this morning..under the covers. She has never, ever done that before - she was still a lump in the bed when I got out of the shower this morning. You could have to fight for a spot in your own bed for the next 4 weeks.

I think she knows I am leaving..she has been very compliant with my requests for bonding time. She has been in a funk since I cut her one nail too close on Sunday night - I think I may have to take the bandage off it as she is walking around looking pathetic. We will see how she reacts when grammie drops off the suitcases today. I promise, no more nail cutting until I get home.