I got a note from my dad last night by email and it made me sad in a surprising way. The email was an update on my youngest brother Will's search for his first job. Will interviewed with a mining company in South Carolina last month and he was really excited about the prospect, but they are either dragging their feet with the hiring process or they've found someone else. He was also offered a position kind of in his field of Geology, and he's decided to go for it. Here's what dad wrote:
"Hey, Don't know if anybody is keeping you informed about Will. He left yesterday morning in the Jeep to go to Midland, Texas for training. It is about 1200 miles and he spent the night last night in Plano outside of Dallas at Kit and Needie's house. He has about 350 miles to go today. The truck is not ready yet but the guy in Texas was tired of delays and wanted Will there asap or not at all so he left out. We will figure out how to switch vehicles later. I think he may be in training about a month and then perhaps moving to Pennsylvania. You guys are spreading out all over. Love, Dad"
Hope you don't mind that I shared that, dad!
My first thought after reading the note was "Not Pennsylvania - it's so far away!" Which is pretty ironic given that I live in China right now. But I know we will return to Atlanta in the future, and knowing that my little brother probably won't be living there when we return makes me very sad. It also makes me suddenly feel older. Andy is very settled in New Orleans with a wife and baby of his own. I have a little one running circles around me. My parents are truly empty nesters.
I'll miss Will poking his head in on skype calls when I talk to mom and dad, or knowing that he'll be home for the holidays - all of them. I have never been to Pennsylvania or even known anyone from there (that I know of), so it seems so foreign. Again, probably kind of ironic for me to say, but I can't help but think it. Pennsylvania is a strange new land for an Adgate to venture into.
Mom and dad, I guess this is what you get for exposing us to the world - we've scattered like seeds on the wind. I'm glad you have wings and you're always ready and willing to use them.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Beijing & Dongguan
So much for all the speculation on typhoon Megi. We are safe and sound in Shenzhen. As of Thursday evening the storm was on a path set to pummel us. Sandbags were in place everywhere, like in the lobby of our building and local restaurants, in preparation for hard rains and possible flooding. Fishermen were told to empty Shenzhen Bay and secure their boats, which made the water extra calm and a little eerie. Hong Kong elementary schools were even cancelled Thursday and Friday in anticipation of strong winds.
On Friday the typhoon took a bizarre, sharp 90 degree turn to the north of Hong Kong. We never saw dark clouds or even a drop of rain here. It seems as if the typhoon in the South China sea succeeded in blowing away all of the pollution and haziness we normally have in the city, leaving behind pure blue sky and sunshine. Instead of intense waves and flood waters, this morning I saw an amazing sunrise. As the sun rose over the mountains of Hong Kong (our apartment overlooks Shenzhen Bay and the New Territories island of Hong Kong), the sky held a candy apple red fireball which exploded into oranges, pinks, and rich shades of buttery yellow, then melted into a cool turquoise blue tickled with a few feathery clouds above us.
Matt, Dean, Tic Toc and Grandaddy Langford are on their way to Beijing this morning to do some touristy exploration. The capital is about 3-1/2 hrs from Shenzhen by plane. They plan to visit the Summer Palace, Tianamon Square and the Great Wall while there. Matt plans to take lots of pictures, so hopefully I'll have some good ones to post by the end of the week. I'm a little jealous that my baby boy gets to see these wonderful historic places in China before I do!
While they are off playing, I'm in a car for the next 2 hours heading to a city called Dongguan. I'll attend the Canton sourcing fair for work this Sun-Wed with the team from ATL plus several of my Plaid Far East colleagues. We'll meet with existing vendors we do business with as well as search out new suppliers for manufacturing. The show is also usually a source of inspiration, especially for Halloween and Christmas. Buyers come from all over the world to place orders now for 2011 products. I expect to see a lot of trinkets and dust collectors, but hope to stumble on some cool new ideas in the mix.
On Friday the typhoon took a bizarre, sharp 90 degree turn to the north of Hong Kong. We never saw dark clouds or even a drop of rain here. It seems as if the typhoon in the South China sea succeeded in blowing away all of the pollution and haziness we normally have in the city, leaving behind pure blue sky and sunshine. Instead of intense waves and flood waters, this morning I saw an amazing sunrise. As the sun rose over the mountains of Hong Kong (our apartment overlooks Shenzhen Bay and the New Territories island of Hong Kong), the sky held a candy apple red fireball which exploded into oranges, pinks, and rich shades of buttery yellow, then melted into a cool turquoise blue tickled with a few feathery clouds above us.
Matt, Dean, Tic Toc and Grandaddy Langford are on their way to Beijing this morning to do some touristy exploration. The capital is about 3-1/2 hrs from Shenzhen by plane. They plan to visit the Summer Palace, Tianamon Square and the Great Wall while there. Matt plans to take lots of pictures, so hopefully I'll have some good ones to post by the end of the week. I'm a little jealous that my baby boy gets to see these wonderful historic places in China before I do!
While they are off playing, I'm in a car for the next 2 hours heading to a city called Dongguan. I'll attend the Canton sourcing fair for work this Sun-Wed with the team from ATL plus several of my Plaid Far East colleagues. We'll meet with existing vendors we do business with as well as search out new suppliers for manufacturing. The show is also usually a source of inspiration, especially for Halloween and Christmas. Buyers come from all over the world to place orders now for 2011 products. I expect to see a lot of trinkets and dust collectors, but hope to stumble on some cool new ideas in the mix.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
All About Dean
I haven't talked too much about Dean lately, so this post is dedicated 100% to him. The little guy is now 15-months old and bursting with personality. He's starting to talk and his vocabulary consists of the following words: wow, hi!, ohhhh, daddy, mama (when he's clingy and upset), uh-oh, mmmmm, nummie nummie (for yummy yummy), eye (watch out--that one comes with a bonus eye poke) and a phrase that sounds kinda like "over there?" but comes out as "obbar dare?"
He can also say at least 1 word in Mandarin. If you hand him a cell phone he will hold it up to his ear and say "whaaah?" in an attempt to say "whey?" which means "to speak" in Mandarin. This is what people here say when they answer the phone, the same way we would use "hello?" It wouldn't surprise us if he knows more than this one word in Mandarin since his Ayi knows only a handful of English words, but we haven't heard any others clearly enough to understand quite yet.
The little guy is also fascinated with how things work, especially buttons like those in the elevator of our building (he knows where the number 17 is). Shoving stuff in holes is another favorite hobby (no drain is safe) and he recently learned to flush the toilet. He loves climbing on and off anything he can reach. Furniture, beds, toys, drawers, and boxes make up his indoor playground.
He can give a high-five, knows where his hair and belly button are, and is always ready to cuddle up on the sofa with a good storybook. He eats just about everything we put in front of him but is still super skinny, and he prefers eating from chopsticks over a fork.
I took this video of him last week playing with a stethoscope from a Dr. kit (hopefully it will post correctly - it's my first time trying a video using our China VPN). The stethoscope once belonged to his cousins Elizabeth and Will, and it's now one of Dean's favorite toys.
He can also say at least 1 word in Mandarin. If you hand him a cell phone he will hold it up to his ear and say "whaaah?" in an attempt to say "whey?" which means "to speak" in Mandarin. This is what people here say when they answer the phone, the same way we would use "hello?" It wouldn't surprise us if he knows more than this one word in Mandarin since his Ayi knows only a handful of English words, but we haven't heard any others clearly enough to understand quite yet.
The little guy is also fascinated with how things work, especially buttons like those in the elevator of our building (he knows where the number 17 is). Shoving stuff in holes is another favorite hobby (no drain is safe) and he recently learned to flush the toilet. He loves climbing on and off anything he can reach. Furniture, beds, toys, drawers, and boxes make up his indoor playground.
He can give a high-five, knows where his hair and belly button are, and is always ready to cuddle up on the sofa with a good storybook. He eats just about everything we put in front of him but is still super skinny, and he prefers eating from chopsticks over a fork.
I took this video of him last week playing with a stethoscope from a Dr. kit (hopefully it will post correctly - it's my first time trying a video using our China VPN). The stethoscope once belonged to his cousins Elizabeth and Will, and it's now one of Dean's favorite toys.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Dinner at Senor Frogs
We took Matt's parents to dinner this evening at a new restaurant two doors down from the Cheers bar near our apartment. It's a mexican restaurant called "Senor Frogs" with a squiggle over the n. The place opened about a month ago, and tonight is the first I've seen any real signs or menus. Previously we ordered off of the equivalent of a paper napkin with chicken-scratched food items written in ball-point pen. Bummer, they don't have white cheese dip, but their chicken quesadilla is pretty darn tasty.
We ate outside and enjoyed occasional bursts of extra strong wind due to the typhoon heading our way. At one point it blew over a sign next door and a large potted plant. We chatted with a few other "expatriates" from the U.S. about the coming storm and what to expect. We were reassured that the building we live in is very strong and built to withstand typhoon strength winds and rain. A guy name Paul told us we might see the glass windows in our apartment bow and flex in the wind, but we shouldn't worry because this is normal (he might have been pulling my leg, not real sure there). In any case, we were advised to not open any windows during the storm. (Duh! Who does that?!)
We also found out that the Cheers bar does a big Thanksgiving meal every year with deep fried turkeys and all the fixens'. I'm so excited! We were hoping to find a place that would serve a good meal, but thinking we'd have to go to a hotel to find it. Our back-up plan is still a duck with the head still on.
Dean was a little celebrity tonight as always, being passed to various extended arms from the Chinese women that work the bar. He was given a free bowl of chicken soup and also munched some nachos. We laughed about how when he's older, we'll have fun stories to tell about the ladies that oooh and ahhh over him here. We never have to worry about feeding or entertaining him when we go out.
We ate outside and enjoyed occasional bursts of extra strong wind due to the typhoon heading our way. At one point it blew over a sign next door and a large potted plant. We chatted with a few other "expatriates" from the U.S. about the coming storm and what to expect. We were reassured that the building we live in is very strong and built to withstand typhoon strength winds and rain. A guy name Paul told us we might see the glass windows in our apartment bow and flex in the wind, but we shouldn't worry because this is normal (he might have been pulling my leg, not real sure there). In any case, we were advised to not open any windows during the storm. (Duh! Who does that?!)
We also found out that the Cheers bar does a big Thanksgiving meal every year with deep fried turkeys and all the fixens'. I'm so excited! We were hoping to find a place that would serve a good meal, but thinking we'd have to go to a hotel to find it. Our back-up plan is still a duck with the head still on.
Dean was a little celebrity tonight as always, being passed to various extended arms from the Chinese women that work the bar. He was given a free bowl of chicken soup and also munched some nachos. We laughed about how when he's older, we'll have fun stories to tell about the ladies that oooh and ahhh over him here. We never have to worry about feeding or entertaining him when we go out.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Shenzhen Daily Highlights
On a plane now (though I won't be by the time I post this...), and just received a copy of the Shenzhen Daily newspaper. It's a small 16-page paper that publishes an English version in addition to Mandarin Chinese every Monday through Friday. Matt often buys it for about a quarter from a man with a newstand / snack shop set up about a block from our house, but since I'm flying on Shenzhen Air, I just scored one for free.
Today's paper has a few interesting articles worth sharing. The first is a misprint at the top that would be perfect for late night comedy: "Woman, 125, nation's oldest. Born in 1985, Lou Meizhen from Bama County in Guanxi has been named the country's oldest person."
Oops - I think they meant 1885.
Also on the front page is a photo of 2 men holding lit torches in honor of the Asian Games, which are similar to the Olympics, but focus only on participants from this part of the world. They kick off Nov. 12th and I'm sure will be the talk of the town, kind of like the World Cup was a few months ago.
Page 4 of the paper includes a brief mention of Super typhoon "Megi" (which means "catfish" in Korean). It just pummeled the Philippines and may or may not hit Hong Kong - we're waiting anxiously to see which path it will take. It's strength is estimated to be about the same as a category 4 to 5 hurricane, and even if it turns south on one of the non-Hong Kong paths, we're likely going to experience some serious winds and torrential rain storms toward the end of this week.
I feel giddy with excitement about the typhoon, the way a kid in Atlanta gets when the man on the nightly news predicts a chance of snow for the following day. Will it come our way? I'm supposed to travel into the heart of Hong Kong Wed through Fri to attend the "Mega Show" - will I be able to go? Will our 17th floor apartment sway left and right in the wind? Could we be told to evacuate the city and go further inland? Hainan, an island an hour plane ride southwest from us already advised 140,000+ people to evacuate.
After the typhoon write-up, there are a bunch of boring articles in the middle on topics like property taxes in Shanghai, China Walmart farming processes, AMD chip processors, China GDP rising, and tourism in a city called Qindao.
The last page of the paper includes a photo and synopsis of the 2010 Scream awards that aired in the U.S. last Saturday, a blurb about the new 3D Jackass movie, and an article with the headline "Georgia mom sues Tyra Banks". The first sentence reads "A Georgia woman is suing Tyra Banks for US $3 million after she said her 15-year old daughter appeared without her permission on an episode of Banks' talk show about teen sex addicts."
Great. Next time I meet someone new in Shenzhen and they ask me where I'm from I can now say proudly "Georgia, USA - you know, the place where that woman is from that's suing that ex-supermodel over the teen sex thing?!"
And there you have it, the highlights from today's paper.
Today's paper has a few interesting articles worth sharing. The first is a misprint at the top that would be perfect for late night comedy: "Woman, 125, nation's oldest. Born in 1985, Lou Meizhen from Bama County in Guanxi has been named the country's oldest person."
Oops - I think they meant 1885.
Also on the front page is a photo of 2 men holding lit torches in honor of the Asian Games, which are similar to the Olympics, but focus only on participants from this part of the world. They kick off Nov. 12th and I'm sure will be the talk of the town, kind of like the World Cup was a few months ago.
Page 4 of the paper includes a brief mention of Super typhoon "Megi" (which means "catfish" in Korean). It just pummeled the Philippines and may or may not hit Hong Kong - we're waiting anxiously to see which path it will take. It's strength is estimated to be about the same as a category 4 to 5 hurricane, and even if it turns south on one of the non-Hong Kong paths, we're likely going to experience some serious winds and torrential rain storms toward the end of this week.
I feel giddy with excitement about the typhoon, the way a kid in Atlanta gets when the man on the nightly news predicts a chance of snow for the following day. Will it come our way? I'm supposed to travel into the heart of Hong Kong Wed through Fri to attend the "Mega Show" - will I be able to go? Will our 17th floor apartment sway left and right in the wind? Could we be told to evacuate the city and go further inland? Hainan, an island an hour plane ride southwest from us already advised 140,000+ people to evacuate.
After the typhoon write-up, there are a bunch of boring articles in the middle on topics like property taxes in Shanghai, China Walmart farming processes, AMD chip processors, China GDP rising, and tourism in a city called Qindao.
The last page of the paper includes a photo and synopsis of the 2010 Scream awards that aired in the U.S. last Saturday, a blurb about the new 3D Jackass movie, and an article with the headline "Georgia mom sues Tyra Banks". The first sentence reads "A Georgia woman is suing Tyra Banks for US $3 million after she said her 15-year old daughter appeared without her permission on an episode of Banks' talk show about teen sex addicts."
Great. Next time I meet someone new in Shenzhen and they ask me where I'm from I can now say proudly "Georgia, USA - you know, the place where that woman is from that's suing that ex-supermodel over the teen sex thing?!"
And there you have it, the highlights from today's paper.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Avoiding Strike 3
The missing Langford luggage was retrieved - hooray! Matt's mom, dad, Matt and Dean traveled about an hour by bus yesterday to Kowloon (downtown Hong Kong), ate a late lunch of dim sum, and did a little shopping before heading to the HKG airport to pick up the bags.
I'm traveling in northern China right now, in a car on the way to a factory outside of Nanjing, which was once the capital of China. There's a very large old brick wall that runs around the city, and we can see glimpses of it every now and then. It's amazing to see tall elegant archways where once the wall was solid, but now cars pass through freely underneath. Everyone else in the car - there are 6 of us total - is really quiet right now. I'm not sure if they are tired or just not in the mood to talk, but I've taken to typing this blog to fill the transportation time in the car.
I think I just accidentally offended the owner of the factory, Mr. Chan. I asked Simon, who is Chinese and VP of our office, if he could share any history with us about the area where we were traveling. He deferred to Mr. Chan, who speaks very good English.
Mr. Chan explained that Nanjing used to be the capital of China and is the only city in the country with an ancient city wall still intact around the perimeter of the city. In response, I said "oh yeah, like the Great Wall!"
Strike one.
Clearly, a city wall is NOT like the great wall, as it protects 1 city instead of an entire country. Duh!
I then asked how long it had been since Nanjing was the capital of China.
Strike two.
Mr. Chan quickly put me in my place when he exclaimed "I don't understand how an American can not know this. Beijing became the capital in 1949. China is a world power and people should know this important information..."
In my defense, I knew that Beijing became the capital 61 years ago. I learned it very recently because that is the reason National Day is celebrated on October 1st. What I didn't know was that Nanjing was the capital up until that time. China has such a long history, I figured they had time to bounce the capital around to several different cities.
I'm now remaining silent, hoping to avoid strike 3.
I'm traveling in northern China right now, in a car on the way to a factory outside of Nanjing, which was once the capital of China. There's a very large old brick wall that runs around the city, and we can see glimpses of it every now and then. It's amazing to see tall elegant archways where once the wall was solid, but now cars pass through freely underneath. Everyone else in the car - there are 6 of us total - is really quiet right now. I'm not sure if they are tired or just not in the mood to talk, but I've taken to typing this blog to fill the transportation time in the car.
I think I just accidentally offended the owner of the factory, Mr. Chan. I asked Simon, who is Chinese and VP of our office, if he could share any history with us about the area where we were traveling. He deferred to Mr. Chan, who speaks very good English.
Mr. Chan explained that Nanjing used to be the capital of China and is the only city in the country with an ancient city wall still intact around the perimeter of the city. In response, I said "oh yeah, like the Great Wall!"
Strike one.
Clearly, a city wall is NOT like the great wall, as it protects 1 city instead of an entire country. Duh!
I then asked how long it had been since Nanjing was the capital of China.
Strike two.
Mr. Chan quickly put me in my place when he exclaimed "I don't understand how an American can not know this. Beijing became the capital in 1949. China is a world power and people should know this important information..."
In my defense, I knew that Beijing became the capital 61 years ago. I learned it very recently because that is the reason National Day is celebrated on October 1st. What I didn't know was that Nanjing was the capital up until that time. China has such a long history, I figured they had time to bounce the capital around to several different cities.
I'm now remaining silent, hoping to avoid strike 3.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Reinforcements have arrived
Matt's parents - Dean's Tic Toc and Granddady - arrived safe and sound in Shenzhen around 10:00 this evening. We are so excited to see them!
Their luggage didn't make it on the flight to Hong Kong, so they are very limited on clothes. Hopefully they'll be able to track them down quickly! We have a washer but no dryer, so it takes extra time to do laundry at our apartment. Also, they tell us there are lots of tasty surprises packed in their bags. I love reinforcements. There better not be a single thing missing from the food bag when it arrives...grrrr...
I have to leave tomorrow for a grueling 4-day work trip away from home, and next week will be very busy due to big sourcing shows that take place every October in Hong Kong and Dongguan. It's tough to be away from Dean, but I know he's in very good hands.
Their luggage didn't make it on the flight to Hong Kong, so they are very limited on clothes. Hopefully they'll be able to track them down quickly! We have a washer but no dryer, so it takes extra time to do laundry at our apartment. Also, they tell us there are lots of tasty surprises packed in their bags. I love reinforcements. There better not be a single thing missing from the food bag when it arrives...grrrr...
I have to leave tomorrow for a grueling 4-day work trip away from home, and next week will be very busy due to big sourcing shows that take place every October in Hong Kong and Dongguan. It's tough to be away from Dean, but I know he's in very good hands.
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