Posted 6:04 AM by Andy
Spring Festival. Chinese New Year's Eve came cloaked in the guise of rain. Ivan and myself took two secretaries out for dinner and lounging at the Westin that night. The next day I decided to visit Hainan Island, a tropical vacation spot off the southern coast of China, on a whim. I flew out that afternoon, booked a hotel room after I landed in the capital city Haikou, and walked around. The city is much more subdued than the ultra-decadent Shanghai. On Thursday, I booked a driver for the day and went down to the other side of the island, Sanya. I did some shallow diving, rode around on a jet mobile, and parasailed. Dinner was followed by KTV and a movie. Total damage from the first two days came out close to 5000 RMB: 2090 for round-trip plane tickets, 840 for 3 nights at the hotel, 400 for a private taxi driver, 120 for a boat ride, 310 for the water activities, 120 for meals, 1000 for KTV, 15 for movie. The next day I changed from Action Andy to Mr. Pensive Pan. I had my fun so I toured a flower garden and went to the pier. I wanted to see whether there was something similar to a Pier 39 in San Francisco or Santa Monica pier. A decrepit train station with no sea-gazing or lounging area greeted me instead. The rest of the day I bought a few books, and consumed them: a biography of Shanda Interactive's founder (Chinese online gaming), and John Doerr's business philosophies. Total damage: 50 RMB for books, 60 for meals, 30 for taxi rides. I flew back on Saturday and read The Idea Factory about the learning environment at MIT en route. It met my requirements for a good vacation: sun, fun, and a quiet place for thinking.

Most of the firm is away on break for Spring Festival already so I have some leisure to pontificate on some random thoughts.

Artest. After what some analysts dubbed the worst brawl in sports history occurred last fall between the Pistons and Pacers, I have followed the story with avid interest. What intrigues me is the man at the center of the melee, the antagonist that started the whole ruckus, Ron ron. After reading a couple of pieces about his upbringing and his psychological makeup, I understand him. I'm not condoning what he did or hailing him as a role model, but I can appreciate where he is coming from. This is a guy that is 6'7'', of average size for the league, who is fearless. The same guy that broke Jordan's ribs during his scrimmages with the bald-headed icon prior to Air's comeback with the Wizards and earned MJ's respect. I love his competitive fire. The same fearlessness that propelled him to greatness as a defender and a legitimate All-Star is the fodder that ignited when certain fuel was applied. Lying on the scorer's table with nary a care in the world was the best display of chutzpah I've seen in a long time; a calculated taunt that riled the fans at the Palace and his teammates Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal. I've seen this in my friend Allen when he used to be a thug, pure and simple. After some inebriation, he would start fights at lounges and clubs if someone looked at him the wrong way. I've experienced some of those feelings myself, although at much lower doses. This usually occurs during competition, mostly on the basketball court. If my team is losing and my teammates are playing soft, at some point, a trigger is set off and I go on a scoring binge and enter defensive straightjacket mode. It irks me to no end that my team will just lay down and accept defeat. The trigger is also engaged if an opponent shows me he can play, like blocking my shot for example. Then all of a sudden my interest is piqued and I salivate at the chance for payback. In poker, this instinct can work against you if you tilt or lose your discipline or focus. Some players talk a lot of smack. I've been called a fag, slanty-eyed, balless (my handle is asiaballer) among other things at the poker table. I can take two approaches depending on my mood. Either I jam the instigator back with my own smack or I mock him with some sarcastic remark like, "Oooh, fighting words." The key is to never break discipline and let your ego have the best of you.

Work. Things have slowed to a crawl now that my managers are gone. My director will leave in a couple days so I'll have a week and a half here where I'm unregulated. I've prepared some files for the auditors coming in a couple weeks so that will occupy me in the interim. After Situ's near-breakdown, she expressed her distaste of Wenjun to her. The result has been a much more respectful W, thanking us for our hard work and soliciting our opinions on ways to conduct things. The end of January also concludes our year. My director offered a few choice criticisms, things I'm already aware of like coming to work on time to give my peers the perception I'm exerting just as much energy into this job as they are, and being slower in my response times because he prefers longer cycles and less iterations on work products. He handed me a letter which outlined a raise and new option grant. The decent raise and the initial quarterly bonus that I'm finally eligible for has essentially increased my salary by a third. The funny thing is my work has gotten easier with the raise. This phenomenon may hold true in other professions. Anecdotal evidence from the NBA points to this, namely, players are rewarded huge contracts after they do their best work, and they may or may not perform up to the same lofty standards they had set to earn that contract. I cite Exhibits A, B, and C: Allan Houston, Penny Hardaway, and Alonzo Mourning. You can check the numbers at insidehoops.com. I read the collective bargaining agreement to alleviate the boredom sometimes. The option grant actually has a one-year vesting schedule, and at the current deflated price, it may potentially be worth something. This is quite a pleasant change from the onerous compensation schemes offered in the past by SMIC.

Money and its effects. I've been fascinated by businessmen and financiers for a long time. The main reason is these Masters of the Universe are in the mix of such huge deals that reshape industries. Of course, they are remunerated quite handsomely for their efforts. Money gives people freedom and the ability to start projects they feel committed to. In Asia, money blurs ethical lines and distorts people's ideas of what is permissible. This is probably true everywhere, but Asia gives folks the opportunity to sate their illicit desires. For example, it's quite common for wealthy men to "package" a girl. Guys who travel frequently globally or even within Asia with the means to do so often pay a girl to be their mistress while away from home. Southern China is rife with such unofficial wives and girlfriends to the elite. Taking on this mistress barely makes a dent in their expense accounts. I'm curious as to how Eli will handle his newly minted wealth courtesy of Google because money invariably changes a person.