We had a bit of a warm spell a couple of weeks ago, but the last two weeks have been on the chilly side with lows in the low 40s and highs in the mid 50s. Today was still chilly, but the sun peaked out and I finally took some "me time" for the afternoon. I headed up to my old neighborhood with the intent to get my hair cut and then possibly a massage and some window shopping.
The area where I got my haircut (Wujiang Lu) has had some pretty major changes happen and I knew that they were proceeding with knocking down some of the storefronts. Unfortunately, sometime since my last haircut my salon has also closed. I stood in front of the door forelornly for a while, then decided to try a new place. I had seen a sign for a salon close by and proceeded to find it. Alize Salon was on the second floor with a little boutique on the first. I paid considerably more (almost $12) for my wash, blow and cut, but James (or Jin) did a great job - putting shape back in my hair and awesome layers in the back. I am starting to be able to banter in Chinese and that made the afternoon even more enjoyable. Sunlight streamed into the pretty salon as we chatted and relaxed. I liked it so much that I bought a discount card. :)
I then walked home via one of the parks. The confidence that only comes from a great haircut added bounce to my step as I took in the city beauty surrounding me. The trees are in the "lace" stage and flowers are peeping up. I tried to take a picture, but my camera battery was dead. No matter - it was a great glimpse of spring. Dinner with a friend and then finishing up my taxes. Spring means April 15th is coming too.
Question - What do you consider your signs of spring? Baseball games? Twilight walks? Daffodils?
Mom comes on Wednesday. We head to Sanya on Monday, April 6th - Qing Ming Jie [Tomb sweeping day]. A week of rest. A week of family. Both much needed.
G
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Americans shake hands
Today, like many days I had multiple meetings. It was the first time for a long time that I wished that I wasn't an American.
Last Wednesday when exiting a client meeting I missed a step and fell flat on my face – or rather, flat on my hand. My shoe came off, my computer went one way, my purse the other and as I put my hand out to stop my fall my right side hit the pavement. I didn't know if my wrist was broken or not but after getting into a cab and talking with my colleagues I wound up going to the emergency room. It was the same place where I had the knee incident a few months ago – and I am much more familiar with the procedure now. Register, pay, see doctor who says get an X-Ray, pay for X Ray, get X-Ray, see doctor again, have him say it's not broken and I should take two weeks off work.
Right…
I took one day off work and have been typing with one hand for the last week. It slows down my speed considerably. Silly things like turning a door knob are difficult, which leads to my dilemma today. We had a meeting with a German client who stood up when he saw me and before I realized it grasped my hand with an incredibly firm grip. I nearly screamed in pain, but managed to choke it back and say, “How nice to meet you!” After finishing that meeting I had another, but this one was with a Chinese company (which normally means an exchange of business cards, but no handshakes). Lucky me, they all wanted to shake my hand. It was one of the limpest handshakes I have ever given. My father would not be proud.
Getting injured changes your point of view. Hurting my knee I learned that I typically put on my pants with my right leg first. Hurting my wrist I realized I typically put on shirts with my left arm in first. Who knew? It does feel much better over the last week, but I think I'm going to skip our team bowling outing this Friday. Just don't want to push it.
Hope you all are well. Those of you who know my mom please send her a safe travel shout out. She will be coming to visit me beginning April 1st and I am very excited.
Cheers!
Last Wednesday when exiting a client meeting I missed a step and fell flat on my face – or rather, flat on my hand. My shoe came off, my computer went one way, my purse the other and as I put my hand out to stop my fall my right side hit the pavement. I didn't know if my wrist was broken or not but after getting into a cab and talking with my colleagues I wound up going to the emergency room. It was the same place where I had the knee incident a few months ago – and I am much more familiar with the procedure now. Register, pay, see doctor who says get an X-Ray, pay for X Ray, get X-Ray, see doctor again, have him say it's not broken and I should take two weeks off work.
Right…
I took one day off work and have been typing with one hand for the last week. It slows down my speed considerably. Silly things like turning a door knob are difficult, which leads to my dilemma today. We had a meeting with a German client who stood up when he saw me and before I realized it grasped my hand with an incredibly firm grip. I nearly screamed in pain, but managed to choke it back and say, “How nice to meet you!” After finishing that meeting I had another, but this one was with a Chinese company (which normally means an exchange of business cards, but no handshakes). Lucky me, they all wanted to shake my hand. It was one of the limpest handshakes I have ever given. My father would not be proud.
Getting injured changes your point of view. Hurting my knee I learned that I typically put on my pants with my right leg first. Hurting my wrist I realized I typically put on shirts with my left arm in first. Who knew? It does feel much better over the last week, but I think I'm going to skip our team bowling outing this Friday. Just don't want to push it.
Hope you all are well. Those of you who know my mom please send her a safe travel shout out. She will be coming to visit me beginning April 1st and I am very excited.
Cheers!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
One of those moments
The last week has been crazy busy. I had my first business trip to Beijing – actually my first two trips to Beijing. It was great to meet all of my Beijing colleagues and over the course of four days I also managed to meet with 6 clients and prospects. I was home for a very brief weekend, and then Sunday night headed back for a key meeting with a client Monday afternoon.
The client meeting finished around five and I took a cab directly to the airport. There was only one cab at the building and the vendor we had been meeting with and my boss all insisted that I take the cab. I got into the cab, told the driver – “I'm going to the airport.” He asked, “Which terminal?” “I said – Terminal 3.” Then I said, “I'm very lucky today – my colleagues are very polite and they insisted that I take the cab. Sometimes it's good to be a woman.”
My cab driver cracked up. He started laughing really hard. Then it hit me. I think that may be the first time I've told a joke in Chinese. Score!
There is a phrase in Chinese, “越来越好” It translates to “Getting better and better.” I am. Slowly. Just one of those moments…
G
The client meeting finished around five and I took a cab directly to the airport. There was only one cab at the building and the vendor we had been meeting with and my boss all insisted that I take the cab. I got into the cab, told the driver – “I'm going to the airport.” He asked, “Which terminal?” “I said – Terminal 3.” Then I said, “I'm very lucky today – my colleagues are very polite and they insisted that I take the cab. Sometimes it's good to be a woman.”
My cab driver cracked up. He started laughing really hard. Then it hit me. I think that may be the first time I've told a joke in Chinese. Score!
There is a phrase in Chinese, “越来越好” It translates to “Getting better and better.” I am. Slowly. Just one of those moments…
G
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