Posted 6:38 AM by Andy
Winter is in full force as the fierce winds ream our meager defenses, but let’s quickly revisit what has transpired over the last six weeks.

Birthday weekend. The Friday night prior to my 29th birthday, I went out to KTV with a few guy friends and drank a little. I didn’t really pound shots but did become slightly buzzed. The next day I ran in the 200 meter race in our company’s athletic competition. I underestimated how tough this event was. Due to my lack of training and the previous night’s escapades, I placed last in my heat. During the first 100 meters I was in good shape. On the turn heading into the second half, I was on pace with half the field. Mentally I decided that was when I would make my push but my legs did not comply as the burning sensation in my quadriceps signaled their pain. Next time I’ll register for the 100-meter dash. I also competed in the 200-meter by 8 relay. At least I didn’t fall or drop the baton. On Sunday I went to KTV in the afternoon with my female friends. Julie and Misti represented with classic English songs while Jenny, Sheral, and Agnes crooned soulful Chinese melodies.

Work. Lately my job has been one of glorified administration. There are two auditors here, one for internal audit, poring our financial and accounting figures. The other one from a large IP vendor is here verifying we are paying the vendor the correct amount in royalties. There is lots of confidential information at stake that we cannot disclose like customer names that are requested by the auditor. All this time we have trying to comply with his request sufficiently without disclosing proprietary information or trade secrets. I have prepared data and reports in multiple guises to meet his demands. Today I got the enviable task of finding about eight hundred agreements in our legal department to calculate total revenues owed to us (sarcasm intended.) So the next couple days I will be filing and copying like a maniac. I have to book time with the legal secretary to learn their filing system. This is pathetic. That’s why I went to college to avoid mindless work like this. If they want to pay me a couple Gs to do this, I shouldn’t complain. (In December we get a double salary.) It does draw upon a vast amount of patience. I equate this to folding twenty starting hands in a row in poker. You are itching for some action but you know intuitively the time you break discipline is the time you get burned. I’m fighting the urge to shirk this task and be reprimanded for subversive behavior. By the way, the division spinoff has been placed on hold due to disagreements on terms with investors. Occasionally vendors will still ask about it but the truth is I don’t know the status like the majority of my colleagues.

Ethics. A couple of instructive episodes occurred recently that stirred some ethical musings in my mind. A few weeks ago a VP from a design service company that is currently our partner and will be a competitor post-spinoff asked me to dinner. I didn’t have any prior relationship with him and attributed his motivations to being purely business oriented. Generally I am amenable to meeting new people but given the sensitivity of the spinoff and the rocky history between the two firms, I was hesitant. I postponed the meeting and he made another invitation. This time he invited more people but none of my direct managers. My director advised me not to go. Rob’s philosophy is somewhat different. He dines with business acquaintances frequently to build his network. I’m of the same mind but I just didn’t feel comfortable owing a favor to a potential competitor when I don’t even know the underlying details. This next item may be unpalatable to some folks. I struggled with whether to write about it in this forum. However, if it is reality, I don’t want to gloss over it or pretend it didn’t happen. About a month ago a MA (manufacturing assistant - the operator of the plant equipment generally recruited from the countryside) girl was caught doing something hideous. Her newborn baby was found caught in a toilet in our living quarters community. She tried to flush this unwanted child down the drain, literally. Now I know it is a sad fact that abortion occurs frequently, but I was shocked and upset that an attempted infanticide occurred so close to home. Speculation is she had relations with an engineer and didn’t want the product of their union. The company transferred her to Tianjin but kept it extremely hush hush. Perhaps this doesn’t reflect poorly on the company as a whole but highlights one particular dumb move by a naïve teenager. It is distressing nonetheless. Pray for these girls that come from the villages of China, work the manufacturing line jobs for 800 RMB a month and are thrust into the world as adults having to make their own way.

Christmas. Back to lighter fare. Maybe one way to look at it is if what I just described is reality, there is the Truth or Ultimate Reality who can make sense of this mess and any dire situation. The anniversary of Christ is approaching so besides shopping for my relatives I’ve also been preparing for our Christmas program. I will be reprising the role of the rich man in the tycoon and Lazarus story. I relish the opportunity to genuflect a range of emotions from haughty disdain to pained anguish. At the close of the program, I will be performing two songs with Ivan. The first is a Chinese song by Wang li hong with some English and rap spliced in. The second is Feliz Navidad to wrap the program and interact with the audience. I will throw some candy into the crowd. We’ve asked a few female friends to be backup dancers for us, partially in jest, but they all demurred. A couple friends promised they will present flowers to us while we are on stage, but it remains to be seen whether bouquets or boos will greet us.

Visitors. Jack T came through town. I played Settlers with him and a few other friends. I can’t really get into that game. Maybe because the element of luck is too strong and conversely the strategy element is too weak. Or maybe I’m just resentful that I am 0 for 4 lifetime playing the game. John Y came through for a Christian/business conference. It was refreshing to see someone that isn’t jaded and still feels faith and business can intersect.

Recreation. I played Halo a couple times with the guys. In the span of one week, 4 people bought X-boxes so we can play networked Halo. I am deficient in target-locking accuracy and defensive awareness. In other words, my kill to death ratio is extremely low. Even more simply, I suck at first person shooters. I played laser tag this past Saturday and couldn’t shoot straight there either. I attribute this to my kind-hearted nature that instinctively prevents me from hurting people, even in a virtual environment. Yeah. In poker, I have the rhythms of no-limit down pat. I can almost always make the correct read and play accordingly. I love to chat during play to throw people off their games and sow confusion. I’ve gotten better at bluffing in cases where I have a worse hand but the original bettor has to fold due to my aggression and his uncertainty. In bball, my confidence has soared recently because my jumpshot has been money so that opens up a lot of driving lanes. Once I perfect the call-the-game-as-I-release-my-shot play, I will be truly feared. Rob chastised me the last time I tried this. My potential game-winning shot bounced off the front rim and we eventually lost that game.

Time to take care of some menial work before the Christmas program.