tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29955592012-01-03T09:08:14.990-08:00Life without reflection is a life not worth living... at least that's what I was told! Cheers!Christinenoreply@blogger.comBlogger3071100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-61622007346040536372007-04-30T08:39:00.000-07:002009-07-03T10:33:23.753-07:00

I never thought I'd be saying this, but the time has come for me to conclude the final chapters of HeyChristine.com.I had very specific objectives when I first got the idea (dramatic prelude here). Seven years later, I've either met them or they've become a moot point, and my objectives have now changed.... And can you believe I actually sat down in 2000 to answer my own question as to WHY I was

Christinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-48372869710674739462007-04-17T10:32:00.000-07:002007-04-17T11:05:30.749-07:00

My friend Jun once said:"... In the time that I've known you, you've never been one to let stress or frustration hamstring you from progress. So I don't fear that you will allow it to do so now. In fact, I suspect you do some of your best work when your discontent level is high."Suffice it to say that in recent days my discontent level has been REALLY high, as I have been truly giving it my all

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-19193814768575425162007-03-03T08:54:00.000-08:002007-03-03T08:59:12.225-08:00

This is a really cool photo of our banner taken on Thursday by our Beijing team:Alex and Stephen are awesome! They took over the reigns last year as the new team on the block and have been rolling with the punches, beautifully. It's great to work with such energetic and conscientious people. =)It's Saturday!More soon.

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-46346801248163874262007-03-01T23:57:00.000-08:002007-03-02T00:51:12.307-08:00

I was in Reno during the earlier part of the week gambling away all the millions I made with my Internet properties (just kidding, lol...).We made it through I-80 just in time, as apparently the roads were closed later on that afternoon due to that crazy snow storm, forcing many people to turn back around.Check out this video clip I made of the falling snow when we stopped to get gas:What was so

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-79236347608708586902007-02-22T13:58:00.000-08:002007-02-23T14:26:57.779-08:00

Should this officer be grinning at this Queen?I get the feeling that something is going on over there. What, we may never know... lol...

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-59070942548306351492007-02-19T14:35:00.001-08:002007-02-19T23:18:48.877-08:00

For some really strange, strange, reason, this news clip made me laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh."For about half a minute on Saturday, the State Capitol Grounds became the 10th largest population center in North Dakota. Nearly 9,000 people showed up to flap their arms and legs in the snow, apparently shattering the world snow angel record...."Read full articleLife in America.It's truly a

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-62552401058528709782007-02-17T23:55:00.000-08:002007-02-18T16:23:04.071-08:00

I spent a lot of time today trying to come up with a sales communications "system" - a process flow that would allow me to systematically follow up with every sales inquiry that comes in and every business we come across that could be a potential customer.You would think that this is a relatively easy task, but actually, there are many ways to design such a system and a number of tools I could

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-69451171246650091472007-02-10T22:45:00.000-08:002007-03-14T09:51:49.595-07:00

Five and a half years ago... geez that sounds so weird... I talked about the many benefits one gets from keeping a personal journal or blog.Really the list goes on, but one phenomenon which I've found to be quite interesting is the effect that it has on me personally to get my butt in gear because I got up on my blog and SAID that I would to the millions of people who might be reading it. Now in

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-33818136182265941172007-02-08T23:20:00.000-08:002007-02-19T16:43:23.396-08:00

Let's see... where do I begin?Since January 12, I've been letting go of the past, of my past relationship with ORIENTED really, and trying to figure out what I want to do next. I'll continue to run ORIENTED on the side as it gives me a platform for creativity and is a meaningful medium for me personally - it's great to be working with so many awesome people - but I have a lot more time on my

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-56892313197404523532007-02-07T23:04:00.000-08:002007-02-09T09:53:34.185-08:00

I had a conference call this afternoon with our new team of organizers in New York. What can I say. It was inspiring to talk with each of them. If we are to ever succeed in that territory -- a very different beast from all of our other locations -- it will be this team to do it. I look forward to seeing how they transform our brand in that region.For dinner, I met up with Felicia who is in

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-2905365462042989632007-02-03T00:41:00.000-08:002007-02-04T12:58:59.738-08:00

I met up with Tom for lunch on Friday at Beli Deli in Belmont, and at one point we were talking about the discussion panel from Thursday night's event.Once again I was back on the subject of how we really need an information clearinghouse of all the various API organizations in the area -- a comprehensive, active, and meaningful resource that isn't just a list of organization names and links but

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-37191981106112546902007-02-02T23:53:00.000-08:002007-02-03T00:16:18.241-08:00

I have to admit that the last minute needs for last week's round of happy hours and then having to prepare for the speaker panel at yesterday's event in San Jose inhibited me from reaching my February 1st deadline, but I'll live.I also haven't been updating my journal entries as much as I would like -- especially when my mind is *spinning* like it has been in recent days about what I may want to

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-12130971234951866372007-01-28T08:26:00.000-08:002007-01-28T08:56:55.938-08:00

I saw the CNN video this morning of Becky Anderson's interview with Queen Rania and became completely fascinated with this woman.I opened up a new tab to google her and of course found her website, and then spent another chunk of time reading all about this perfect person.When I finished, I instinctively clicked back to the other tab I had open - my own website at ChristineHsu.com I've been

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-30625159355339660422007-01-27T18:27:00.001-08:002007-01-27T18:34:15.337-08:00

Today's goals was to simply:Update all of my social network profilesRe-activate an old email account that I would use strictly for login accounts going forwardResearch the various email newsletter publishers and activate the mailing list link on ChristineHsu.comDesign a cover page that links to all my blogsAdjust the ad banner placementI'm on a new mission and I'm going at it with authority!

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-78849594307604845532007-01-25T16:36:00.001-08:002007-01-25T16:36:49.429-08:00

Here is a snippet of yesterday's discussion over email between me and the Taipei team about my YouTube video:Evelyne: Hahaha I love your expressions, Christine =) Berta: Ha ha ha ha, I just saw the You Tube video - great interview! And I agree with Eve, LOVE your expressions Christine!Me: ... you guys are nuts... I was cringing for Christ's sakes... ! If you're lonely, go to ORIENTED?!?!?!! OUCH

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1405161798158351832007-01-25T15:39:00.000-08:002007-01-25T16:36:11.406-08:00

Today was a little nuts...Nelson flew in from Shanghai and came up to hang out for a few hours.Then Acer Ginny called (well now she's Microsoft Ginny), which was ironic because Jelly Bean Ginny called me just yesterday to catch up. I hadn't talked to either of them in ages but I swear they are living parallel lives.Cindy should be here in a few minutes as I'm taking her to SFO. Then Sue is

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-9088054999876001342007-01-24T18:26:00.000-08:002007-02-02T17:29:03.640-08:00

Evelyne was live on ICRT radio this morning to talk about tonight's Happy Hour in Taipei.I recorded it with my poor quality webcam and then posted it on YouTube. Here it is:I was cringing left and right because Rick Monday wasn't familiar with ORIENTED, or so I was to learn after the fact, as apparently he just "stumbled upon one of our previous events at Capones and was amazed with the group...

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-25058962110142668782007-01-20T10:17:00.000-08:002007-03-14T10:39:29.376-07:00

I better document this least I forget.A long time ago (2000) in a land far, far, away (Taipei), I set up my own website/journal (now a complete mess) because I really did not like the blogging sites that were available back then for many reasons.Then in 2003, I went "mobile" and didn't always have my laptop on me, so coding HTML and needing to upload via FTP became a real pain. I also ended my

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-20166855386686478842007-01-17T23:14:00.000-08:002007-02-08T23:19:10.818-08:00

Sometime between this post and my previous one, I somehow came to two important conclusions.The first was that I was going to take the time out to really think about what direction to take and why, and not try and rush the process. The operative word here is "why", in that I want to be very clear on my long-term personal/professional goals so that whatever decisions I make today will

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-26142226356485695722007-01-12T18:36:00.000-08:002007-03-14T09:52:09.566-07:00

This date marks a very important milestone for me because everything that I set out to do for ORIENTED when I decided to take it seriously has been completed.All that can be automated has been automated. All the legal, financial, and other internal "important but not urgent" items have been taken care of. And most importantly, it pays for itself. If I want to do something completely different,

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-44223765827868412112006-12-08T01:45:00.000-08:002007-03-14T01:25:20.628-07:00

... and thank God I am so done with our Financials.From the time I got up yesterday until 2 a.m. the following morning, I sat in front of my computer and did nothing else but tackle the horrific task of re-creating our Financials since 2002.Again, no shower, and no food I don't think, and by the time I DID hit the sack, I was so full of angst that I couldn't sleep. After tossing and turning for

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-23761144447672178962006-12-04T01:49:00.000-08:002007-02-02T17:33:28.140-08:00

I can't believe it's already December.Scary.Anyway, on my way home today, I was thinking about my entries on HeyChristine.com and why I only write about ORIENTED, if/when I write at all.It's not like I don't have a social life, or a personal life, or that I don't have other interests or hobbies, or that I don't go out at all, or that I don't have any opinion on current affairs or on local

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-81732383846943834852006-11-29T23:00:00.000-08:002007-03-23T15:31:17.167-07:00

I was motivated to write this entry because something really ODD happened to me this evening.I was harrassing our web host guy on email because our website went down just hours before our Asia happy hours were to take place. He in turn complimented me on my hard work and wished me the best of luck with our events!Now when does THAT ever happen?!LOL...I was soooooooooooo busy today and worked

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-6841878060301605562006-11-26T23:00:00.000-08:002007-03-23T15:32:37.717-07:00

I really cannot believe myself...I have been working non-stop since I got up this morning and I am STILL going at it! I think I only stopped once to do a load of laundry and eat some leftovers, but otherwise, my eyes have been glued to my monitor and my fingers to my keyboard. And I'm still not done... it's really unbelievable...I did finally finish the Account Manager Contract earlier today -

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-67456217144970574772006-11-22T23:00:00.000-08:002007-01-23T16:05:18.731-08:00

Lots of social activities in recent weeks it seems, and here are two photos from one of them:Gina had a beauty party as seen above, Andrea was in town for a bit, Mike was here until Monday, took Cindy to brunch for her birthday, and on Sunday I hung out with Mark, Julie and Mason at their place in the city, along with Mike and Sherman.It's all fun.What AIN'T so fun is what I've been doing for

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-21157624545082991592006-11-12T23:00:00.000-08:002007-01-23T16:10:33.978-08:00

Well... I'm still looking for my mojo, but in the meantime I figured out something really cool with our banner system.If you click on the ORIENTED Hong Kong website, you'll see only ad banners from Connected Group, Pamir Law, and Palm Island Holidays.If you click on the ORIENTED Shanghai website, you'll see only the Haworth banner.If you click on the ORIENTED Taipei website, you'll see only the

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-56895820135231210962006-11-03T23:00:00.000-08:002007-01-23T16:13:33.185-08:00

What.You never seen an apple before?Come now...CHOMP.So. I've been very focused (very!) since I got back from Hawaii, TRYING to finish what was supposed to be a simple presentation but that has turned into a complex mini-series of sorts!It's very similar to trying to complete a term paper - you know the material and you have all the information, but it just takes forever to put it together,

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-36220998881583855482006-10-27T23:00:00.000-07:002007-01-24T19:53:53.986-08:00

I wish there were more people in this world like Michael J. Fox. He deserves a standing ovation, especially for his comments in this interview from time 5:55 onward:Kind of related but not really related, I got an email yesterday from an old friend of mine in New York whom I haven't talked to in awhile.He asked,Everything good?I thought about it for a minute and wrote,The only way I know how to

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-29191601700524385652006-10-15T23:00:00.000-07:002007-01-23T16:23:46.178-08:00

This is a backdated entry but everyone's asking so here is the write-up!I took off for Honolulu on Saturday the 14th, arrived in the evening, met my parents at the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, grabbed a late dinner, crashed, and was abruptly awakened just after 7 a.m. Sunday morning to the 6.6 earthquake from way up on the 26th floor.A part of me thought I was dreaming, because this would not be

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-73378253337732751822006-10-12T23:00:00.000-07:002007-03-14T01:26:09.050-07:00

I'm still trippin' out over the 2003 Blobal Conspiracy! LOL...Anyway, another quick entry as I plow through my things-to-do list.It's been a hectic week as I've been pulling together the remaining legal and financial items necessary to make some upcoming presentations. We're there, yippeee! I need a crystal clear and formal snapshot of our financial position from Day 1 to yesterday (well okay, 9/

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-76834733053756098602006-10-11T23:00:00.000-07:002007-01-24T19:54:28.096-08:00

Man...It's pathetic that I am barely able to update this journal even once a week now but I swear these delays are only temporary!I'm just settin' myself up for my Future and yes I am STILL on that topic (lol...).I also need to address the topic I began in my previous entry but it will have to wait, as it requires way more thought than I can possibly muster at the moment.For now, just wanted to

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-61011585131346866492006-10-04T23:00:00.000-07:002007-01-23T16:33:14.898-08:00

My mind is racing today, not sure why, but I wanted to jot this thought before I race on to something else.Get my rhyme?"Jot this thought?"Anyway... lol...People ask me all the time how we/I find our organizers and how I do it "internationally" from where I sit. Recruiting really good people is always a hot topic for any organization, that and retention -- our organizers stay with us an average

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-58908614866269525712006-10-01T23:00:00.000-07:002007-01-24T16:19:39.352-08:00

It's the first of the month and I need to be putting together our monthly financial reports but MAN am I having a hard time settling in for some reason.Gods...Anyway, I met up with Jimmy yesterday for coffee and took this self-portrait. We've been friends for... gosh... twelve years now? Thirteen? Jimmy's a great guy. I really appreciate our friendship.Here's a picture of my new flat-screen

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1577392192177075922006-09-29T23:00:00.000-07:002007-01-24T16:27:47.095-08:00

Quick note here and then I have to run...I was REALLY late last night to our Happy Hour at Shanghai 1930 -- and I mean really late -- because just as I was about to walk out the door, I got an email from Mike, saying that the law firm handling our China trademark needed documentation from me and that the deadline for submission was Saturday, September 30.Well Thursday night our time is Friday

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-8526778346859987732006-09-28T23:00:00.000-07:002007-03-14T01:33:27.157-07:00

I have just one last thing to say about my September 22nd entry and then I'm moving on.The fact is that when I decided to move abroad in '95, in all seriousness I thought I would be away for only one year, two years MAX. I figured, I'm young, I don't have anything tying me down, and if I don't do this now, I may never do it and forever regret it. I would allow myself to be totally free to do

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-49130128749327295612006-09-22T23:00:00.000-07:002007-01-24T16:59:51.395-08:00

This is actually a backdated entry but I wanted to note it for my records.Last Thursday and Friday, I was down in Santa Clara attending AAMA's "Navigating China - Negotiating the Changing Business Landscape" annual conference. The timing was not GOOD in that I probably lost a potential advertiser who needed more information that I didn't have time to provide, but this is the choice I made.Before

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-69326259573657227132006-09-20T23:00:00.000-07:002007-03-14T10:39:59.752-07:00

It's actually Thursday morning, 2 a.m. but what the heck.I need to download because it has been a really trying week!Right after Richard punched me in the stomach (OUCH!), I spent the next few days reflecting on what I have been doing with myself all these years and came to the conclusion that I, Christine Hsu, have been living an incredibly carefree life, doing whatever I felt like doing

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-47980194864087584362006-09-16T23:00:00.000-07:002007-01-24T17:34:18.003-08:00

Here's an email I got today from one of our event teams in Asia about a recent establishment they were invited to check out as a potential venue for our happy hours:Funny, we got in touch with * and I actually went to check out the place... she mentioned over the phone that there's a lingerie shop there and they also have a party room where they serve drinks, etc. So I thought hmmm...let me go

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-6444188954994089132006-09-11T23:00:00.000-07:002007-01-24T22:53:43.203-08:00

I got an email today from Jenny who five years ago lived and worked really close to Ground Zero. I think she was feeling... well... a lot of things...It took her hours to get up to upper Manhattan by foot that day to her then-boyfriend's home, as her own home was so close to the Towers that it was full of dirt and soot, and she wasn't allowed back in that area. I'll never forget what she told me,

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-30554047189469646272006-09-10T23:00:00.000-07:002007-01-25T16:42:35.664-08:00

This entry was copied from my HeyChristine.com website. It's confusing, but oh well.I finally sat down to develop the style templates for this site, and wow. It's so EASY. All that agonizing for nothing... sheesh...I've been inserting YouTube.com videos here and there to try and adjust the width of these webpages as needed before I start converting the rest of my journal entries. That's how much

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-91383667194238139682006-09-05T23:00:00.000-07:002007-01-25T16:47:28.305-08:00

Alrighty...I just had a very intense conversation with Mike over Skype, after not hearing from him for a very long time.I told him about my August 31st milestones for ORIENTED and what I plan to do next. His response? "Had I known you were going in THIS direction, I would have gotten back to you sooner!"Yes Mike... I have a dream......................... and you're in it!This journal entry marks

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-88675043403397905352006-09-03T16:47:00.000-07:002007-01-25T16:49:29.876-08:00

I'm back...I didn't meet my target date of August 31 to complete all the things I wanted to complete, but eh.... close enough.I'm pretty psyched actually because as I look around at all the piles of paperwork around me, I can see --> "The Future".LOL...When it comes to ORIENTED-related things I can be incredibly obsessive disciplined, and I can sit in front of my computer for days on end and not

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-83895709414064613932006-08-01T16:50:00.000-07:002007-03-14T10:40:39.206-07:00

Quynh's full name is Quynh Dao Chow, but she LOVES to add a "Bow Wow!" to the end of it every time someone says it out loud. She can be such a nerd sometimes... it's hilarious!So anyway, last night, she said with much conviction that she will get up at 8 a.m. this morning and that we need to leave my place for SFO by 9 a.m. so that she can catch her flight back to Shanghai. The alarm did go off

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-76052970551861384272006-07-27T16:53:00.000-07:002007-01-25T17:05:53.128-08:00

Here I am yet again... I suck... lol...Okay I swear this will be my last entry until I set up the style templates for this site. I'll try to knock that out this weekend, I suppose.I ummm... I am still in shock over the automation of our local city newsletters. And they look so, errr... professional! It lends that much more credibility to our brand. I'm patting myself on the back here (oh come on

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-78871188643530520002006-07-25T17:00:00.000-07:002007-01-25T17:04:53.558-08:00

Oh my word...I told myself I wouldn't post here until I got all my templates up and running, but here I am, as I am about to walk out the door to check out the symphony this evening with Mary. This will be my first time since I moved to the Bay Area and while I am definitely not a symphony goer, I love to try new things at least once and there are so many new things to try. Plus she has a free

Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-36687600155704635522006-07-20T17:10:00.000-07:002007-01-25T17:13:58.607-08:00

This entry is also copied from my HeyChristine.com site and isn't going to make much sense here, but oh well.Okay... I'm making a mess over here.LOL.I need to set up a style sheet file -- a set of rules that defines the background colors, text colors, link colors, etc. of all the pages of this website so that if I ever want to change the color scheme, I can simply modify that one file and it will

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-57334766047299803932006-07-19T17:14:00.000-07:002007-03-14T09:52:37.163-07:00

I am not supposed to be here but... well... here I am! And let me TELL you something....... ding!These automated, local city newsletters freakin' KICK ASS! How can I not document these ever so precious moments in the making of ORIENTED.COM?!Ding ding ding!It only took two tries for Ben and me to determine how best to place the content, and now it's up to me to make these newsletters look fun and

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-81803288388809189272006-07-17T17:19:00.000-07:002007-01-25T17:22:37.295-08:00

Alright... the truth is that in the last few months... I've been in some kind of slump.And I know why.The first is that things have stabilized dramatically with ORIENTED.Okay that sounds ridiculous but keep reading....I'm just waiting for Ben to code the newsletter template that I passed to him last week.This template will enable us to send out auto-generated, city-specific newsletters, and I am

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1153170463785115852006-07-17T14:06:00.000-07:002007-01-24T19:57:38.848-08:00

Hey folks.Check out the new HeyChristine.com.Click here, and let me know what you think.Don't ask me why I keep needing to reinvent myself over and over again. I have no idea.

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1147986899195768582006-05-18T13:39:00.000-07:002007-02-10T20:33:45.391-08:00

Well, folks.The time has come.This chica is saying goodbye to Blogger!I haven't updated my blog in over a month, partly because I was on travel, partly because this month has been particularly busy, but mostly because I am finally having to admit that I really do not like to BLOG and that I miss my old, black, day-by-day journal.The issue I take with blogging is that no matter how hard I try to

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1144433104540332822006-04-07T08:55:00.000-07:002006-04-07T11:35:36.020-07:00

I got the call at exactly 7:10 a.m. this morning.As of today, I am officially a first-time auntie...... CUTE!And weird! =)Snippets of the phone conversation with my brother: ME: "So how long was she is labor?!"HIM: "Only an hour." ME: "HUH? Wow! That's awesome!! GOOD FOR HER!"HIM: "Yeah... it was pretty quick... !" ME: "Was she in a lot of pain?!"HIM: "No not really, she had an epidural so..."

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1144379522790143422006-04-06T19:57:00.000-07:002006-04-09T17:53:46.756-07:00

For those of you who didn't catch Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao's performance at the 2006 Winter Olympics last month, check out this video that I only just discovered myself.Once you get over the initial shock of seeing it the first time, then check it out again.More amazing to me than the recovery itself was the way that Zhang Hao (the guy) gave his utmost support to his partner the entire time,

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1144082413048450492006-04-03T09:18:00.000-07:002006-07-15T10:03:14.166-07:00

See the guy in the light blue sweater, standing next to Sue?His name is Johnny, and though he looks like a nice enough guy, he is guilty of SOMETHING.I just don't know what - yet - but I will find out.Last Thursday I showed up at the ORIENTED Happy Hour at Tonno Rosso after making such a big fuss about why I wouldn't be attending our Happy Hours here any more. People have been telling me all

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1143517530827907162006-03-27T19:45:00.000-08:002007-03-14T09:53:04.446-07:00

I'm cooking dinner -- spaghetti with frozen vegetables mixed with asparagus cream soup -- we'll see how that goes, so here's a quick entry for the record while I wait.To my own surprise, I completed most of today's items on my things-to-do list, right on schedule, working non-stop since I got up early this morning.I still have some emails to send before the night is through, but the bigger

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1143427141943811992006-03-26T18:25:00.000-08:002007-01-24T19:58:37.350-08:00

I've been stressing out lately, and I think it's because I haven't reported taxes in the U.S. in over ten years and am feeling like this is something I do not have the ability to do.Americans living abroad are exempt from paying taxes for earned income of up to $80,000, so filing U.S. taxes back then was a cinch. Moving back to the U.S. changed my tax reporting status, and for reasons explained

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1143062449090119792006-03-22T13:11:00.000-08:002007-01-24T20:00:00.354-08:00

I just whipped up six localized newsletters in just under two hours.Granted, one of them took a bit longer as it had additional information, and, I was documenting the steps along the way which slowed me down a little, but now I can throw one together in less than ten minutes, almost without thought.I'm proud of myself!WOW.I'm aiming to pass web specs to Ben next week so that it becomes

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1142927859714179192006-03-20T23:56:00.000-08:002006-04-02T18:40:10.380-07:00

... after tomorrow, my head should be near clear.Reporting taxes is one of the most mind-numbing activities we humans have ever been asked to do during our time on earth, and even more unfortunate is that we have to repeat the process, year after year after year.You might say "Hire a CPA already!" but in my case, it's not that simple.I worked 15 hours straight today and also dealt with some

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1142841452825531942006-03-19T23:56:00.000-08:002007-03-14T10:41:00.004-07:00

This weekend was marked by two things -- doing my taxes, and attending SFIAAFF activities.It took two days just to go through my old boxes from Taipei and gather all of my tax related documents, as I haven't reported taxes since 2003 when I first moved back to the States. In the chaos of my repatriation, reporting taxes was the last thing on my mind, especially when there was very little to

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1142451126017385292006-03-15T10:54:00.000-08:002007-03-14T01:33:59.221-07:00

The ORIENTED mail server has been down for more than 24 hours, my ISP is not responding to my trouble tickets, now the site is down and we can't even FTP to our web server, and I am MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD........The ONLY reason I am willing to put up with this is because we've been with this ISP for more than four years now and the owner is normally VERY responsive and works very hard -- gotta

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1142195351521394752006-03-12T12:29:00.000-08:002006-03-14T09:17:04.310-08:00

I just got back last night from the Silverado Resort in Napa where I've been since Thursday.Mary invited me up as she was there with Mike, Sharon (we carpooled) and their other colleagues for a corporate retreat. Quinton joined us on Friday night, and on Saturday we went to check out his winery. That was really cool and the weekend overall was fun, albeit tiring. =)Ah that Quinton... he has more

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1141887870110398522006-03-08T22:45:00.000-08:002006-03-09T00:45:42.233-08:00

... don't you just love my quasi-connecting blog entry titles?Ben launched the new modules and enhancements last Thursday evening, and at 10:14 p.m. PST he sent me this email:Everything's up. Go for it. Better test quickly. I don't want to keep the link to ... on test for too long before users find a way to upgrade their accounts without paying. ;-p We made one final run on the live server,

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1141261459612104732006-03-01T17:03:00.000-08:002006-03-02T10:15:40.370-08:00

I am waiting for Ben to execute on the final steps as we prepare to move all the changes over to the live site this evening.I will write more about the CHAOS and the comedy of errors that took place in the last 48 hours, although the key thing to know is that all is now well again at ORIENTED.COM.More in a bit...

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1141180328699626252006-02-28T18:08:00.000-08:002006-02-28T18:57:01.393-08:00

It's the last day of February. We are two months behind schedule, but that's okay because we are done.It worked out better this way because the first week of January was marked by the holidays with many people just getting back to their offices, and the same would have been true for the first week of February as folks in Asia were gone for the entire week of the Chinese New Year break.Everything

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1140634577583017252006-02-22T10:38:00.000-08:002006-02-23T11:00:07.690-08:00

One of our newest recruits emailed me recently to thank me for "letting" her be part of the ORIENTED network (okay some of these folks are way too polite) and for creating such a network to begin with (now that I'll take).But when she proceeded to say that it was "contagious!", I was like... wow!COOL BEANS.I guess I have been running things behind the scenes for so long now that I forget how all

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1140507335864986472006-02-20T23:10:00.000-08:002007-01-24T20:08:46.239-08:00

... can the title of this blog entry be any more funny?I can't get this hip hop song out of my HEAD and it kind of goes with the flow of that sentence.Anyway, it's been a smooth and quiet day, one that I have much appreciated as it gave me a chance to clear my head and get my things in order.The ORIENTED Happy Hour Newsletter went out a few hours ago and our teams are revving up for this coming

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1140369944865173162006-02-17T09:46:00.000-08:002007-03-14T09:53:22.830-07:00

Last night was hilarious.Linda was a guest speaker at the Third Thursdays seminar in J-town, so I wanted to get out and support her.Both she and I requested the honor of Robert's presence too because, heck, he's a good friend and should come out and support her also, not to mention the relevancy of the topic to his business ("Speed Dating in the Asian American Community").He tried to beg out of

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1140066547795040332006-02-15T21:08:00.000-08:002006-02-19T09:23:57.696-08:00

I have a backlog of emails that I owe to my organizing teams and I SHOULD be able to respond to all of them this evening -- I'm werkin' on it! -- but a girl's gotta stop to eat at some point, right. So I'm typing up this entry as I wait for my noodles to cook behind me...So this morning, I needed to get away from my computer and do some strategic thinking, draft a number of formal announcements

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1139860126050724262006-02-13T11:48:00.000-08:002007-03-14T10:41:45.931-07:00

So I took some cough medicine before I went to bed last night.Keep in mind, yesterday was the first time that I've ever had to go out to the pharmacy and actually BUY cough medicine because, all together now -- I NEVER GET SICK -- and yeah, I looked a little lost as I stood there trying to make my selection but eventually picked the strongest 'nighttime' cough medicine I could find.Did it work?

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1139816435159405352006-02-12T23:22:00.000-08:002006-02-13T01:29:41.786-08:00

Congratulate me, and Ben.The hard stuff is done, as of 11 p.m. PST this evening.I had to stop and take a picture of this because we're looking at thirteen different possible scenarios that each have eleven associated items to check. Okay ELEVEN different scenarios, but one I recreated two extra times just to make sure. I was running out of email addresses to use, for Christ's sakes!Anyway,

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1139683026404094672006-02-11T10:00:00.000-08:002006-02-11T11:57:35.193-08:00

Hello.Here's a quick entry before I start what's expected to be a long and arduous Saturday. Ben's done with most of the fixes and changes on his end for the membership and coupon systems. Big delays, yes, but it couldn't be helped because he and Erin just moved to their new house last weekend and he wasn't able to get to it until now.I just need to review everything one more time, and yet I'm

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1139335090823690452006-02-07T09:42:00.000-08:002007-04-13T17:17:52.416-07:00

So this morning I sent a video link to Mary and cc:'d myself:"Mary, check out this news report. Do you believe me now about what happens to people who live in the burbs? Eventually, you either start to chop people up, or, you get chopped up yourself."Now the reason why this is significant is because that note made me laugh, a LOT. Yes, my favorite thing to do is to crack myself up!Some

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1139263234417282902006-02-06T13:43:00.000-08:002007-01-24T20:09:59.534-08:00

I shy away from posting anything related to politics or religion, but the reaction from Muslims around the world to the cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed, and the pickle that the Danish government currently finds itself in -- to encourage freedom of speech or step in for the sake of national (and personal) security and all the other ramifications involved -- is fascinating.One thing is for

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1139171871817684242006-02-05T12:31:00.000-08:002006-02-05T21:52:03.573-08:00

On my checklist of things-to-do today was to print and file the "old" webpages and auto-emails with the "new" set so that I will always have a hard copy of how we got from there to here.1. Membership Sign-up 4112. Online RSVP Agreement3. Member Account Info Email4. ID/Password Retrieval Email5. Member Control Panel6. Revised Venue Blurb7. RSVP Web Confirm8. RSVP Email ConfirmThen I spread them

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1139110834420466032006-02-04T18:25:00.000-08:002006-02-05T03:01:43.896-08:00

I got up really early this morning, mentally prepared to dedicate the entire day to testing and QA of the membership system.In the a.m., I organized all outstanding checklists and web specs and put them in testing order, and in the p.m., I ran through the whole system as methodically as I could.There are still two specific sections that I got stuck on and will need to wait for Ben to fix, and, we

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1138991611098553702006-02-03T10:23:00.000-08:002006-02-03T17:09:07.003-08:00

Testing is going extremely well... I'm psyched!First and foremost, Ben is brilliant. I often think that database developers represent some of the most intelligent people on this Planet Earth.Secondly, everyone who partakes in website QA/testing will eventually create the most retarded profiles because it gets to be such a mind-numbing activity that inevitably you start to lose your senses.That is

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1138895968983668592006-02-02T07:52:00.000-08:002006-02-02T14:46:10.336-08:00

By midnight last night, my inbox looked like this and more:Each set of specs returned to me with a "Done." from Ben. And the poor guy is really sick! Ugh... I feel bad...I got my work cut out for me today.May everything go smoothly, may all of our websites be STABLE as I make a final run through the new member system -- I say that because from early Saturday morning until late Monday evening

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1138847982908819302006-02-01T18:27:00.000-08:002006-02-01T18:59:03.233-08:00

I spent the latter part of yesterday catching up with Quynh, and also going over some long-standing cash management issues with her that we've been having in Shanghai. I take responsibility for much of that as it's been tough to keep up with everything that happens in every location. That said, I'm putting my full attention in that direction as sales/growth is now my top priority. Quynh has

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1138646854378869062006-01-30T10:01:00.000-08:002006-01-31T02:44:34.853-08:00

... clearly I'm not quite ready to tackle work on this cloudy Monday morning...All of Asia has shut down this week as Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday of the year for them, so my inbox is mostly clear of emails from my event teams there.What that means is... I'll start work after I finish this post.This weekend was a lot of fun, as admittedly I got off to a very rough start this year.

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1138329360357009242006-01-26T18:22:00.000-08:002006-01-27T10:06:21.016-08:00

While just about everyone I know in the San Francisco Bay Area will be at tonight's ORIENTED Happy Hour at Frisson -- including 2+ generations of past Organizers who are ALL planning to be there tonight for some reason -- I'm stuck at home all by my lonesome due to a stupid back injury I incurred earlier this week. It's too EXHAUSTING to tell the story yet again so I shan't.The RSVP numbers for

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1138261470382101362006-01-25T23:43:00.000-08:002007-03-14T16:01:37.254-07:00

HEADLINES:"ORIENTED Web Developer Ben Cheng has lost his mind!"This is significant because in the what... two... three years that Ben and I have been working together, this has never happened and it's entirely my fault that it finally did.This new membership system is COMPLICATED, and I will admit that it was not possible for me to think through the WHOLE platform from the very beginning to the

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1138002777384151252006-01-22T23:45:00.000-08:002006-01-23T00:06:44.626-08:00

I wasn't able to take phone calls today... sorry... I'll return all calls tomorrow.Ben and I are rushing to wrap things up with the new membership system so I need to stay focused.Today's accomplishments:Reconciled 2005 funds from China. Okay that was not related to this current exercise but it needed to get done as Jim, Cindy, Quynh and Nelson are all flying in this weekend from Shanghai.Drafted

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1137872715756402442006-01-21T10:22:00.000-08:002007-02-10T19:24:48.935-08:00

In my last entry, I talked about needing to give our membership pricing model a thorough re-review, which I've been diligently working on as Ben wraps up the web programming this weekend.I then asked Chris if he could help me to validate my approach as operational and financial strategy is his professional expertise. He agreed.Yesterday afternoon, Chris came by at 4:30 p.m. and I presented him

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1137652913188815722006-01-18T21:36:00.000-08:002006-01-18T23:12:27.303-08:00

... or should I say Blog Number 3. Still pacing myself and have never been more determined.As usual, the first two hours of my day was spent responding to emails and reading the news. I guess everybody does that, eh?And then I defer to my things-to-do checklist.While Ben has been programming the membership system backend, the pricing model has fluctuated quite a bit along the way. Some cities

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1137569015789973472006-01-17T22:48:00.000-08:002006-01-17T23:34:24.996-08:00

I have a theory... a conspiracy theory... that Ray Nagin and Pat Robertson are in cahoots with... you know who. The guy upstairs. While I can't prove it -- I just take from what I hear in the news and these days no one can be trusted -- I get a little suspicious when everyone starts to sing the same tune.I believe that God wanted them to say what they said so that others will know without a

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1137254561306680162006-01-14T07:37:00.000-08:002006-01-14T15:28:38.730-08:00

Photos from New Year's EveI almost forgot how to login to this thing, lol....Remember this posting?That's what I've been doing ever since -- putting intelligence into our door fee pricing models, working very closely with Ben to implement annual membership dues for the very first time, coming up with the UI, writing the web/IT specs to pass to him, then writing the related web content, getting

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1132127703787484232005-11-15T23:47:00.000-08:002007-03-14T10:28:23.461-07:00

I put this fuzzy guy downstairs in the lobby as I headed out the door for my usual run and left a note on his tummy.When I got back and stepped into the elevator, this very tall and attractive Middle Eastern looking woman stepped in right behind me with the dude in her arms, exclaiming,"Isn't this just the CUTEST thing?! And he looks brand new! Why would anyone ever give him up?? I mean so

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1131991038739308412005-11-14T09:50:00.000-08:002005-11-14T10:17:02.653-08:00

... doesn't that sound like a movie or something?Wanted to post something really cool:Eyee is emceeing a fashion show event in Beijing tomorrow night for the California Trade Commission as part of Schwarzenegger's trip to China and will be in front of 700 California and Chinese business leaders, including all major CA press.Is that cool or what?She's kind of nervous but we all know she'll do

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1131954152080085432005-11-13T23:00:00.000-08:002005-11-13T23:53:26.510-08:00

I promised myself awhile back not to blog after midnight, so... here I am.I worked all day today, literally from the time I got up this morning until now with the exception of 1/2 hour I think in which I stopped to eat something. And yet the work is not nearly done. I feel like a zombie as I write this.What in the heck was I doing today, I can hardly remember...Let's see... I got up around 9ish

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1131137271011486472005-11-04T12:45:00.000-08:002005-11-04T13:07:14.266-08:00

As of 12:45 p.m. EST, Friday November 4th, all photos from last week's ORIENTED Happy Hours have been posted.Our organizers ROCK.... and so do our internal policies and procedures.FYI, the photo above is from our Sydney Happy Hour.To my surprise and everyone else's (except perhaps our Sydney organizers themselves), Sydney is starting to lead the pack on a consistent basis with the highest RSVP

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1130954565527919342005-11-02T10:02:00.000-08:002005-11-02T11:18:06.636-08:00

Some of you may have noticed that our door fee pricing model is not consistent from one city to another. That's because until now, the happy hour network grew much faster than our ability to get a grip on what was happening.That will all change as of January 1, 2006.You may have also noticed that we haven't aggressively added more cities this year. There is a reason for this, and that will all

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1130288979234745732005-10-25T17:58:00.000-07:002005-10-25T22:27:17.560-07:00

The most urgent request I sent to Ben today went like this:"Hey Ben, when you're not logged in, the "Logout" sticks too far out to the right. When you're logged in, the entire yellow nav line disappears and all one sees is "Members" with a bullet point."... and that means today went by without incident.Our newsletter system is fixed, and though the open rate from Monday's publication is only

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1129945213115958642005-10-21T18:07:00.000-07:002007-03-14T01:34:22.038-07:00

On Wednesday evening I get an email from the vendor guys that the file we sent them needed to be reformatted and that in the interest in time (since it was already late in the day), they only uploaded the email addresses, not the associated subscriber attributes, and that we should ahead and send out our newsletter while they upload the rest of the information on Thursday..Here's my little cheat

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1129700638403988122005-10-18T22:43:00.000-07:002005-10-18T22:54:35.056-07:00

1 1 - Bangkok10 2 - Beijing100 3 - Chengdu1000 4 - Delhi10000 5 - Guangzhou100000 6 - Hanzhou1000000 7 - Harbin10000000 8 - Hong Kong100000000 9 - Jakarta1000000000 10 - Kaohsiung10000000000 11 - KL100000000000 12 - Macau1000000000000 13 - Mumbai10000000000000 14 - Nanjing100000000000000 15 - Ningbo1000000000000000 16 - Qingdao10000000000000000 17 - Seoul100000000000000000 18 -

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1129610807180448672005-10-17T21:16:00.000-07:002005-10-18T10:11:51.490-07:00

... one that I don't care to relive but am reliving it, anyway.To make a long story short, we're converting email marketing platforms for a savings of up to 80% a month on that particular line item.Data conversion from one platform to another is never pretty, but in this case, it's downright UGLY, because field data as required by this new vendor must be translated to binary code from right to

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1129258888183667662005-10-13T19:50:00.000-07:002007-03-14T10:56:08.003-07:00

I needed to FIX our "About Us" verbage once and for all because over the years our demographic audience has changed quite a bit but our marketing collateral has not.What I eventually came up with was this:ORIENTED.COM is a global network of professionals interested in Asian businesses, languages, and cultures. Whether you come from abroad or are a native of the land, we welcome you to join us

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1129062334984256632005-10-11T13:23:00.000-07:002005-10-11T14:34:10.693-07:00

Last Saturday, I took all of my piles of paperwork off my workstation... off my dining table... off my chairs... off the piano... and off the floor, and took them to Alan's office where I did nothing but file, prioritize, and organize for 14 hours (as did he).My knuckles were visibly bruised by the time I was done, my head hurt, and my body ached for several days after, but hey... I got it all

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1128481178596498362005-10-04T18:59:00.000-07:002007-03-14T10:42:27.773-07:00

I'm back, I think!This will be the first decent entry I will have posted in about a month. Wow does time fly.Ironically (or not), I was doing much the same thing this time last year, almost to the day -- preparing the website for another major initiative and burying my head in my work to get it done.I had to go through my most recent emails with Ben just to remember everything we just completed,

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1127887866614583852005-09-27T22:57:00.000-07:002005-09-27T23:26:56.363-07:00

I'm back, but swamped. Many apologies to all the folks I haven't been able to get back to in the last few weeks!I'm hoping to return to my normal schedule soon but for now, I've got some time-sensitive, cost-sensitive initiatives that I can't get around and that Ben has been so great in helping me to tackle. Not much I can do but deal with them head on. (It's AMAZING the things you will do

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1126237031929232992005-09-08T20:34:00.000-07:002005-09-08T23:38:34.896-07:00

I'm on travel at the moment and haven't had a chance to update my blog in awhile. Got a lot on my hands these days! But nothing I can't handle... I don't think!We'll see what transpires over the next few months.In the meantime, check out this picture of Robert, myself, and Mary, at an Element party last month.How funny.

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995559.post-1124763705461478012005-08-22T19:12:00.000-07:002005-08-22T21:25:46.126-07:00

Today's newsletter marks a very important milestone for me personally and for the business.It only took me what... three YEARS to figure it out?The light bulb went off in my head this past week as all of my recent efforts finally came together, and I've been plugging away ever since. I shan't go into the details as it's a bit too revealing, but suffice it to say that I regret not thinking of this

Christinenoreply@blogger.com0