Brandon's Contribution to Chaos

Yesterday, among the few non-work things I’ve done in recent memory, I took several out-of-town guests to the Seattle Aquarium. While they were off exploring the exhibits, I was determined to campaign for Leonard’s immigration status.

I asked many staff members where I could find Leonard. Several of them didn’t even know what I was talking about. Those that did, said he wasn’t there. I then asked why they were keeping him out of the aquarium… you know, to get to to issues! Apparently, they’re concerned he’ll be eaten by an otter or a seal or an octopus.

Of course there are several ways to get into the aquarium—the food route or the exhibit route. For anyone else campaigning for Leonard, make sure you’re specific. Good luck Leonard!

I’ve been working a lot lately—about 150% of time I usually spend, so it’s a lot. When I come home in the middle of the night, there’s usually not any quality television. Until now…

My neighbor built an awesome bird house that has a few cameras. Even cooler, he hooked up my television to see the family of birds. They’re getting ready to leave the nest. It’s been more fun than I expected to watch. I think I might miss them when they finally leave.

Last Monday was Konna’s 14th birthday, so really she’s almost a hundred people years. She is still the cutest puppy ever. My parents finally complied with my request to give her a cupcake.

Once I saw all the pictures, it was worth it. Happy Birthday Konna!

Oh yeah, I had a birthday too, but Konna’s was much better.

So, my time in China is nearly up. My computer desktop is counting down by the second. I'll fight with the Great Firewall of China one last time to capture what the last few months have been like. So here goes:

	Trees! When I came back, I could see trees. Elizabeth Montgomery's character, Sayward Luckett Wheeler, in The Awakening Land got it right when she said, "This place needs trees." Overall, May was a beautiful month in China. It made up for the lack of color during winter.
	Ni De Kuzi Zhao Huo Le I finished language lessons in May, which added yet another language I can warn people about conflagrations. Most importantly, I am now capable of making completely nonsensical phrases. For instance, not knowing how to say "air conditioning," I asked a driver to "Please make on the iced electric wind." Surprisingly, it worked.
	Don't eat the Cheetos When I was in search of life sustaining junk food, I thought I could depend on Cheetos. Wrong! They replaced cheesy goodness with meat flavors. It's vile. The Doritos are okay (Stephen Colbert will be happy).
	Longest Oversea Bridge In May, our team went on a morale trip and went over the newly opened bridge connecting Shanghai with Hangzhou--the longest oversea bridge in the world. It was so long that I fell asleep while crossing it.
	Visiting Wuxie and Xiaoshing Our team trip over a weekend in May took us to Wuxie National Park and Xiaoshing, childhood home of Luqun. I liked Wuxie--it was a great park. It's also where socks are made. The ones you're wearing now were probably made here.
	One of the Best Restaurants Ever I've been to a lot of nice restaurants, but Jade on 36 is easily one of the best. The staff was friendly and not pretentious. Most of all the food was fun. I've already gone twice, and I'm sure to go again whenever I visit in the future.
	The Olympic Torch Relay Shortly after the Sichuan Earthquake, the torch relay passed through Shanghai. Bruce, Pung, and I got up early to join the crowds, which were chanting Zhong Guo Jia You ("Go China!"). Sadly, the excitement didn't bear fruit. We watched the torch go by in a van in a motorcade.
	Visiting Suzhou I was told that Suzhou is the "Venice of China." It is not. Still, this was a beautiful place and well worth the day trip. With this, I've now visited five provinces in China... more than most Chinese people.
	Back to Beijing In early June, I went back to Beijing for work. This time the air quality was much better. I also got to see the less touristy aspects of the city. We did go to a cool canal that was lined with bars... though each bar specialized in a single brand of beer which surprisingly isn't as cool as it sounds.
	I Love this Museum If I didn't have a great career in software, I would want to be a curator for a museum like the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. I want to live there.
	Plastic Bags Are Still Here Leading up to the plastic bag ban in China, I was wondering how it would happen. Putting things in plastic bags was practically a reflex for shop keepers. It happened though. Plastic bags are still here, but they have to be bought. Apparently, this put 20,000 people out a job.
	Just a Few Miles West of Texas I've now been to a number of Texan restaurants in China, and of course the quality ranges. But overall, it's actually better than Seattle. I still think seeing a waitress in China dressed in the Texas flag is highly amusing.
	The Taxi Ride from Hell While in Beijing, I observed road rage. Fortunately, I was surrounded by others and people were there to keep things from escalating. I wasn't so lucky last weekend. Between the rain and the normal anti-social driving practices my taxi nearly missed a collision (aka would not let another cut in). When the cars came to a stop the other driver came over and pulled my taxi driver out of the car and started kicking him. If this were in the U.S., it would be felony assault. Being alone and not being able to do anything made the situation horrific.
	Panda Bears! One thing I really wanted to do while here was to go see the panda bears near Chengdu. That became impossible after the earthquake. So... I will come back some day. I finally went to a movie theater to see Kung Fu Panda. Movie theaters assign seats. It was great seeing this movie here in China. The animators got so much of the scenery and architecture right. I love this movie!
	Saying Good Bye This last week has been filled with good bye dinners. Here's a picture of my PM team.

Today is a wonderful day. It is Cornell University's 143rd birthday. Shockingly, that's not the most important birthday... it's Konna's birthday.

I credit her good health to Zesto's ice cream. There's on in Seattle on the corner of NW 15th and 65th NW in Ballard in case you want to discover this miracle food. Apparently, she was also allowed to sit on a couch for her birthday.

In her old age, she no longer smiles at cameras because they are not food. Still, she is the the cutest thing ever. After last year's scare, I'm ever so thankful to still have Konna around.

I'm still trying to convince my sister to assign Konna to the seat next to me at her wedding reception.

I'm here in the United States for another visit. The challenge of this trip is definitely to see as many friends as possibly can within two weeks.

The first reason for the trip was a wedding at Cornell. Congratulations Kate and Gilbert. It was fantastically fun getting to see all of my friends from college. I'm also impressed with how Kate and Gilbert made the wedding there own--I'm not sure I'll hear video game music at anyone else's music.

After the reunion wedding, I drove east to see my college roommate then pressed on to Vermont to see Mallory. Vermont is awesome... everyone should visit! The days in Vermont were incredibly relaxing. For Mallory's birthday, we "hiked" up Mt. Philo and emailed Justin and Maggie from the top. It was great celebrating together.

Then for my birthday, I bid farewell to Mallory (for a few days) and flew back to Redmond. So I had a 27-hour birthday. Justin and Maggie threw an ice cream party for me, with some homemade ice cream.

And Thursday was really cool. As I started my search for a new job, I discovered I'm actually good at networking. The day kept getting better. I'm setup for another great week before the next wedding, when I'll be able to say Congratulations Josh and Dana. Then I go back to China for the last stretch of my fellowship assignment.

A quick round of stories...

	Las week while I was in Redmond, my car reached the 100,000 mile mark. The car is fourteen years old, and I've driven 60,000 miles over the last 8 years. Driving again was great, though I had to remember a number of differences between America and China: Seatbelts are functional in America and must be worn. The other side of a double-yellow lane is not a passing zone in America. In America, it is not customary to honk at the car in front of you for not tailgating. When pedestrians are in a sidewalk, it is not okay to aim directly for them and gun it. Basically, driving in the U.S.A. is far less stressful than being a passenger or pedestrian in China. Yesterday, was too "exciting" for my taste. In the morning, as I was getting of the shuttle to work and crossing the street another bus turned the corner. I was halfway through the street and no obstacles when another bus turned the corner and started hurdling towards me. There was no break... it was all gas, and I was in the way. A surge of adrenaline hit, and I fortunately dodged the bus... only to be clipped by another bus later in the day. Here's a new goal for the year: "Do not get hit by another bus."
	Earlier this week, my mom was appointed as Deputy Secretary of State of South Dakota. What's cool about this is now everyone in her side of the family has held an elected or appointed office (Sheriff, County Treasurer, Director of Economic Development and International Trade, and now Deputy Secretary of State). The news does mean she'll have to give up her nifty title, "Receptionist/Pistol Permit Administrator." That has amused me to no end. Congratulations mom!
	There's something disconcerting about carrying around thousands of dollars in cash, especially in a backpack. I needed to brings many thousands back with me so I could exchange it from renminbi and follow through with my commitment to match all of the donations from employees in my division towards disaster relief of the snow storms last month. At the bank, I felt awkward taking so much cash out of a backpack until a man nearby upstaged me. He took what appeared to be almost $50,000 of U.S. cash out of a plastic grocery bag!!! He didn't strike me as the kind of person that easily comes across so much foreign cash. I remain perplexed. The bank atmosphere reminded me of old banks from twenty years ago. I did not feel very comfortable there, and was happy to leave. I wonder how often bank robberies occur in China.

So, I've now passed the day where I've spent two months in China. I've realized that I'm getting accustomed to being here. Some of the things that bothered me a lot at the beginning have started to fade. I am happy about what I'm getting out of moving here--namely, learning about an emerging market.

I've always been a world news fan. In high school, I won a scholarship from the National Honors Society for being knowledgeable of current events in the world. Given the viewpoint I have now, I was really insulated then. Then again, I can only imagine what people in China feel like with their only TV news source: CCTV. Interestingly, just to keep current on local happenings and things going on in America, I've had to rely on more news sources including Al Jazeera, CNN, Reuters, CCTV, New York Times, Shanghai Daily, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and Xinhua.

So, if you're interested... here are some of my thoughts on world news from the perspective of China:

• Inflation. Remember ECON 101 and how price fixing leads to supply shortages? Well, China is proving that experiment. Over the last year, inflation in China has spiked and has been as high as 7%. It hasn't reached hyper-inflation levels, but only because of price fixing. To raise prices on food requires permission from the government. One person was imprisoned for raising the price by of vegetables by 1 Yuan (about 13 cents).
    Price fixing on coal has helped steady electricity prices. Yet with the snow storm, coal is facing a shortage. Power plants are choosing shut down rather than lose money. This is exaggerating the snow storm effect. The inflation is being caused by booming economy and significant trade surplus. It's interesting that in U.S. the rhetoric is about negative impact of the trade deficit to the American worker, and here the trade surplus is having a significant economic impact to Chinese people. Interest rates are rising in China.
    And yes, I've seen the prices of food rising even during my short stay here. Welfare for Chinese citizens guarantees RMB 250 (around $35) a month. It's amazing that's enough to live on.
• World Exchange Rates. U.S. news really only focuses on monetary policy from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Given the economic theory practiced in the U.S., it does a very good job at controlling inflation. I'd expect that to continue. The EU's central bank uses the same principles, but has stated it would be more aggressive than the U.S. Actions are showing the U.S. Fed is actually keeping pace on the 'who's more aggressive' contest. Both have the same principle that given a choice between low growth and low inflation, they would prefer low inflation. Governments in the EU would rather see high inflation, high growth... which doesn't make sense since they're already complaining about exchange rates with the U.S. Dollar.
     Meanwhile, interest rates in Asia are generally going up. Australia has had to keep pushing interest rates up. In New Zealand, they're approaching a crisis of not having enough workers--wages have been increasing for the last few quarters beyond a healthy pace.
     The impact of the mortgage crisis in the U.S. is pretty apparent. The weakening dollar is causing more and more countries to disengage (at least a little) from the U.S. economy. What that spells for U.S. dominance in the world economy reminds me a lot of Japan during the 90s. At that time, news reports were commonly discussing when Japan would overtake the U.S. in world economic dominance. Then the Asian financial crisis happened, and Japan stuttered. It really hasn't recovered that momentum, but then again Japan is still the world's second largest economy. I expect the U.S. to lose a lot of momentum, but given what I see China isn't really picking up any steam as a result. Eliminating deficit spending is really the only way the U.S. Dollar is going to regain its strength.
• Environmentalism. In early January, China announced that it would eliminate plastic bags by June. Wow! That's a government action I support. I can't imagine the U.S. government or any state to make a change so bold and so swift. That's in the +1 category for China. I'm interested to see what other green changes they undertake. I hope they find ways to reduce coal and oil consumption.
• Propaganda. When I first started watching CCTV, I thought this is great--the government gets things done and there isn't a crippling amount of political infighting. It didn't take too long to realize, this is just too positive. They're very good at presenting a controversial topic and presenting a dissenting view that ends up supporting the government. If I didn't have other news sources (a benefit I have because I can get past the Great Firewall of China on the Internet), I'd mostly be convinced.
    There are still moments when CCTV goes over the top. About the recent snow storm tragedy, it said "the one good thing to come of it was that it brought the people and the government closer together." I'm sorry, but that's bullshit. The government was terribly under-prepared (analogies with FEMA during Hurricane Katrina are apt). If ever there is a "Brave New World" kind of mantra, it's messages from the government to farmers to start preparing to plant crops. That message comes up many times in every newscast.
    So, even with the censorship, I'd still say the quality of news is better than the United States. When it comes to world news, there's a lot more of it. I feel like I know a lot more about Pakistan's woes now than if I had learned everything from U.S. news sources.
• Social Services. I was surprised when I first came to hear debate in China about how to help retirees in the future. It was essentially the same debate that the U.S. is having about Social Security reform. They were talking about offering government reverse mortgages, which has the interesting drawback of only helping elderly in urban area. Rural citizens would not benefit... and there are a lot of rural citizens. It's probably the best sign that China is still not a first-world economy because the majority of the population is still working in first-sector labor (that's agriculture).
• Worker's Rights. Perhaps the biggest news story that everyone discussed when I got here was a new labor law. It had the benefit of providing more holidays, but it also is a start for guaranteeing every worker certain rights. First, it requires that all workers are required to have employment contracts. Every worker is guaranteed vacation based on tenure at a company. What's surprising to me is how quickly the law came into place. As soon as it was announced, it started to take effect. This seems to be how many laws are enacted--they are announced, and then it takes time for the government to figure out how to enforce it. The enforcement isn't always done very well.
• Protests. These definitely are not reported in the Chinese news. One actually took place in Xujiahui where I live. It was about the extension of the MagLev train to connect the existing one to Hongqiao Airport (it already connects to Pudong Airport). People are protesting because it would ruin their property values. They're also adding in concerns about "radiation" and health safety which is really bogus if you know anything about science, which I'll grant that many of these protesters probably aren't educated enough to realize that. If the MagLev train were under consideration in the U.S., progress would be quashed. How this continues will be interesting. The extension certainly couldn't happen in a democratic society.

Well, I think I've probably bored you enough with current events. This is the perspective I really wanted to get from being in China. I'm looking forward to learning more.

So after six days of a new year, I've had my fill of fireworks, firecrackers, and generally any exploding noise. It's not that I don't like them, but enough is enough already! On the fifth day fireworks are set off to welcome the "money god" and whoever makes a lot of noise will have good fortunes... okay, that was yesterday. It doesn't explain why the fireworks are still exploding.

Other than that, I've found time during Spring Festival to catch up on writing captions for photographs. Here are photos from January and some photos from February. I'll add more to February when they come.

Aside from the trip to Xi'an, I spent some this holiday going to an ice skating rink with Antoine, Ramesh, Karen, and Elaine. This was the first time I saw a gathering of little people in Shanghai--I've really only seen adults and teenagers in the last two months. The zamboni left the ice shavings in a pile in the rink with which the little people created snowballs to throw at fellow ice skaters.

After ice skating, we wandered from restaurant to restaurant and finally found a Uighur restaurant. The dinner comes with occasional belly dancing shows... I was pulled up to join during one of the dances--yet more proof that I'll probably do anything if asked. Unfortunately, the photographic record of this event is less than perfect.

The following obituary is being posted in the local newspapers.

After one year of a good life, Brandon's red camera has reached it's end. Reports say that after a confrontation with gravity, the camera no longer took pictures but worked in every other regard. When asked about it, Brandon says, "taking pictures is really what I want a camera to do." The red camera is survived by a newer model of the same camera, but it is clearly not red. Services will be held for the red camera this weekend. The family asks for pictures of happy camera moments to be shared with others instead of sending flowers.

Yes, it does seem like I am terribly unfortunate when it comes to electronics in China. Just this last week, I managed another electrical fire which resulted in half the outlets in my apartment to stop working. I'll put that on my list of things that I appreciate about America--good building codes.

Chinese New Year was last Thursday. The night before was crazy. I expect this will be the closest I get to experiencing a war zone. As soon as dusk set, the fireworks and firecrackers started going off.

Now, I'm told setting off fireworks in Shanghai is prohibited. That did not stop nearly everyone in the city from doing this. Even in front of police officers. Antoine and I walked around the city for a while amused by what we saw. Nearly all of the fireworks would have been illegal to sell in the United States, exceeding the 500g maximum for black powder.

Antoine and I went searching for a party to join and visited several clubs. It didn't take long to realize the party was just going on outside.

I got home around midnight when the party was just getting started. Fireworks were going off all night... it didn't stop until around 1:00pm the next day. For those interested in video, I posted a short clip of what I could see from my balcony.

And thus began my Spring Festival... I had to work on Saturday and Sunday with everyone else in China (nine working days in a row). And now I have seven days off.

With all the snow coming to Seattle, I've been quite envious here in Shanghai. Of all times to miss snow days, I had to be here. Of course, that changed only two weeks ago. Snow started coming to my area of China... and less than an inch of snow is enough to bring a city like Shanghai to a halt.

First... the amusing part. Shanghai has a lot of tall buildings, which means there is an ample supply of squeegees. So, what is the best way to clean up snow depends on the surface:

• Tile, metal, or smooth surfaces: Squeegees were used to push snow around.
• Concrete, bricks, or rough surfaces: Handmade brooms!
• Roadways: Water!!!

When I saw workers at the Microsoft building trying to clear ice on the sidewalk with a shovel and later hot water, I wondered if they knew about salt. I asked my coworkers if they taught chemistry in school here--they do. I guess it's easier to hire a bunch of people to do work than to apply simple science.

Nevertheless, the snow here is perfect for snowball fights. In fact, I've never seen better snow for such an activity. I took my team outside for fun and started throwing snow at them. It didn't matter that everyone on my team is girls... they were targets. In return, they were ever so happy to throw snow back at me.

And now for the not so amusing part...
While it wasn't very bad in Shanghai, other parts of China were affected much more. This was the worst weather disaster China has experienced in decades. Millions of people have started the new year without power, and many people have died. The Chinese army (PLC) was called upon to help clear routes and make it possible for people to travel home for Spring Festival. It has been called the War on Snow.

At Gaungzho train station, a million people were stranded. A stampede happened when someone heard a train was leaving, which ended up killing at least one person. There are videos on the web showing the stampede. Others show the aftermath of several disasters with dead bodies. It's really a tragedy.

This is certainly the closest equivalent to a "Hurricane Katrina" disaster in China. For me, it's been an interesting viewpoint on how the media affects people here. If ever I knew propaganda, it's right now.

Fortunately, I'm in a position to do something. I promised everyone in the Server and Tools division in China that I'd match their contributions to help with the relief. I even was accompanied by three other co-workers who also matched contributions. The result, this year I've blown my budget for charity... I'm giving *fifteen times* what I normally do. But I feel good about it. Even without the tax benefits, or the Microsoft matching, I've helped my coworkers realize what an awesome thing it is to help people in need.

While away, I have a number of people looking out for my house. Most of my neighbors say they never see me, yet they know I have a lot of parties because there are cars around. Some knew something had changed in the neighborhood lately; there have been fewer cars.

Anyhow, I received the following picture from my neighbor. From what I can surmise, the party held at my house recently involved fireworks from the Acme company, some kind of canon that shoots people up in the air, and spilled wine. Oh, and Daffy Duck was there. My neighbor told me not to worry... somebody will take care of it. I'm sure if anyone stopped by now, you wouldn't even know the party happened.

Please invite me to the next party--I want to meet Daffy Duck!

It's been almost two weeks since the Internet has last heard from me. Just over a week ago was the Chinese New Year party for STB China. It's the equivalent of the holiday parties that take place around Christmas in Redmond. Chinese new year is just nine days away... I'm told the fireworks will be incredible.

Back to the party. The dress code was formal, which presented me with a problem--I only had polo shirts. After some investigation, I learned there were no rental places in Shanghai. Instead, I would need a tailor to make a suit for me. With much traveling and learning of the subway system, I found a really cool place and had a tuxedo made for around $100. It would have cost more rent the equivalent in the U.S. Of course, if you factor in travel costs... it comes to around $130 (in the future, I know how to use the subway instead of a taxi).

As for the party, we were greeted by Mickey and Minnie Mouse. It will be the year of the mouse.

The party was a sit down dinner with assigned seating. On stage, we were entertained by videos, performances, and games. The emcees were our HR director and one of the recruiters. About halfway through the evening, I had a realization that we were in a variety show. Every time I channel surf, I come across some show that involves a big audience cheering on contestants playing games with hosts making comments--that's exactly what we were doing. I'd say I was experiencing Chinese culture.

I was in one of the games that involved a take off of charades. I'd have to act out a Chinese saying ("Open the door to see the hill" or "Send the carbon in snow") to a local, and in return they would act out an English saying ("Throw the baby out with the bath water" or "Running around like a chicken with its head cut off") to a foreigner. I'll save the suspense... yes, my partner and I won the game.

Then came an award ceremony. Along with five or so other Marco Polo Fellows, I was invited on stage to receive a souvenir for my contributions to the division. They crafted a figurine wearing a traditional Chinese outfit with a head that looks like my own. It's not a bobble head--I checked. All of the other Marco Polo Fellows on stage had chosen to stay in China for several more years... the pressure is on for me to stay longer too.

One thing I really liked about this party was the feeling that everyone here is part of a family. I liken it to how Microsoft must have been like 25 years ago.