Posted 5:52 AM by Andy
Summer has swiftly turned to fall as the recent spate of harsh winds and rainstorms starkly highlight the changing of the seasons. So much [if this were dynamic text, insert your own expletive for excrement] has happened, let me try to recount them.
Work. Let me get this staid but major part of my life out of the way first. After denying all employees Web access for a while in an effort to boost productivity, the company has recently granted me permission again because after all I'm in business development. I'm getting more responsibilities too because I work too fast so it seems like I'm idle much of the time. My director actually asked me point blank, "Do you have enough work?" At the time, I described my projects to him and characterized myself as at 70% utilization. Since then, I've gotten more varied work assignments but I still churn them out with rapid efficiency. Last week I was given responsibility over all IP and IO license requests from Multiple-Project-Wafer (MPW) centers and design service companies in our alliance program. All this means is that I will have to create more files to track what items I have released to whom. At least I can help create a new business model and new licensing scheme for these MPW centers. (The arrangement is a license agreement between SMIC and these government-sponsored centers that in turn sublicense to universities and research houses our IP/IO to promote the development of the IC industry in China.) I also can call the representatives at these centers scattered around the country like in Shenzhen and Chengdu for example. It certainly alleviates the boredom. I can project with some confidence that my career is growing into this licensing specialist role. This is not a bad skill to have if you ask me because every major corporation grows by the reuse of its products, i.e. maximizing the value of it's IP portfolio. It's all about the royalty stream.
Social life. I have had a few visitors over the summer. First Dave W showed up unannounced. I found out he was here when I ran into his wife at the hair salon outside our living quarters. Wilma K came down from up north after I finally checked my Yahoo mail. Anthony L just left last week. With Anthony and Gideon, we went out to Guandii, a club in the same area as the notorious expat hangout club Parc 97. We danced for two hours almost continuously. We also played Risk the last night he was here. That game is all about momentum. A few key victories will swing the tide. Alliances help but once someone amasses a large army, it's really scary how geopolitics can change in this game so quickly with a sweep. I also played poker a couple times in a regular game started by Josh S. The first game I doubled up. The second time we played No-Limit I called Josh's made straight on the turn with the top set and missed my full house and lost my whole stack. So overall I'm about even. By the way, the stakes are usually 1-2 RMB. There is also a high stakes game at the Portman on Saturday nights, but I wisely stay away from that action. Other than that, it's the usual ball games on the weekends and chilling with the occasional guest.
Disappointments. The Wenzhou trip was cancelled the Monday prior to our scheduled departure that weekend. I had eagerly anticipated going not because I thought I had any serious advice to these alleged rebellious kids, but because God uses the weak and the despised to spread his gospel. Recall Moses was a stutterer, David an adulterer, and Peter a betrayer. But God built his Church on the efforts these men made to honor Him. So I thought it would be cool to evangelize since I¡¯m in China now when I used to raise support to pay to come here. But after a period of preparation, the first twist came when the host school asked for only 4 of us to go. Well, that¡¯s a pickle because six of us had expressed interest in going. All through the preparation stage we couldn't get definitive answers on the desired agenda so we prepared somewhat blindly or by faith depending on who you ask. I certainly felt it was a murky or undefined situation we were heading into. Finally word came that the administration made a mistake in the schedule and the kids won't be there that weekend so it obviated the need for us to be there. We were all disappointed but felt assured that our preparation was not in vain.
Dating and Rumors. After settling down in my work routine, of course I've been in the frame of mind to enhance my social life as well. I've held out on asking anyone from the company out until a few weeks ago. For privacy, let me give her the alias Jasmine. After dancing with her at a waltz class, I asked her out the next week. She declined the first time due to prior obligations. I asked again and she obliged but only under the pretext of learning English. So far we've hung out three times where mostly we just chatted. She offered to be my tour guide on a trip to Suzhou since she attended college there. The trip was set for this weekend when abruptly she changed her mind. Through a reliable source, I discovered a major reason for her reversal is a rumor out there that I am a player. When I heard this, I was dumbfounded. You can accuse me of many things, but to call me a player is ludicrous. Rob, the true player, thinks this is hilarious. It's not so funny when I'm the subject of the rumor. Assessing myself whether this claim has any basis in fact, the only scandalous thing I can think of that people can point to is going to a singles mixer party around the same time when I expressed interest in Jasmine. This culture of gossip is going to destroy me if it persists so I am going to ask point blank if she believes this about me. If so, then I question the merit of our friendship if she can be swayed so easily. I feel like Kobe, vilified and hated by most. Just because I ball like Kobe doesn't mean I act like him in private. :) I feel a little like Christ, the victim of slander, except he was sinless. Last night I discovered this verse that I'm going to take refuge in, Galatians 6:14: "May I never boast in anything except for the cross of Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Amen.