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Friday, April 25, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Elevator Ride
... is interesting here in Beijing.
I don't like it though.. because its such a pain.
I can never time myself correctly b/c elevator arrives in between of 20 sec ~ 3 min; and the ride can be from 20 sec ~ 1.5 min. Maybe because I am not in a rush, I found myself enjoying watching people during my elevator rides.
It's interesting to see people waiting for elevator in the office building. They came in bunch... sometimes they chat with each other, sometimes it's just quiet. Since it's in China, since it's in office building... there is no line. People are just rushing in and out of the elevator. They came in quickly, push a button (or yell out a number), then stood orderly.
Maybe the elevator is so hard to get... people don't care how "pack" the elevator is, they will try to fit in until it's full full. Me being an American had to constantly put arms around my chest to create a space for myself. I tried to hold my breath sometimes so I don't have to breath in or breath at people in front of me.
Interestingly, people when they reached to their floor, instead of saying excuse me to get out... they yell out their number of the floor to get out... "20" then people would get out of their way.
Morning time... the elevator is very slow... it probably stop every other floor if it's not every floor. It's a little better in the afternoon, because people all head to one place...! Another thing I have noticed is.... people come and leave very ON TIME :)... Sigh, people rush in and out of office... life~!
Since the elevator is in the middle of the building, there is no stair immediately next to it... so, once you entered elevator space, you HAVE to take it... man... I miss stair now.. and I am definitely miss Mt. View's 3 floor building.
Read more...
I don't like it though.. because its such a pain.
I can never time myself correctly b/c elevator arrives in between of 20 sec ~ 3 min; and the ride can be from 20 sec ~ 1.5 min. Maybe because I am not in a rush, I found myself enjoying watching people during my elevator rides.
It's interesting to see people waiting for elevator in the office building. They came in bunch... sometimes they chat with each other, sometimes it's just quiet. Since it's in China, since it's in office building... there is no line. People are just rushing in and out of the elevator. They came in quickly, push a button (or yell out a number), then stood orderly.
Maybe the elevator is so hard to get... people don't care how "pack" the elevator is, they will try to fit in until it's full full. Me being an American had to constantly put arms around my chest to create a space for myself. I tried to hold my breath sometimes so I don't have to breath in or breath at people in front of me.
Interestingly, people when they reached to their floor, instead of saying excuse me to get out... they yell out their number of the floor to get out... "20" then people would get out of their way.
Morning time... the elevator is very slow... it probably stop every other floor if it's not every floor. It's a little better in the afternoon, because people all head to one place...! Another thing I have noticed is.... people come and leave very ON TIME :)... Sigh, people rush in and out of office... life~!
Since the elevator is in the middle of the building, there is no stair immediately next to it... so, once you entered elevator space, you HAVE to take it... man... I miss stair now.. and I am definitely miss Mt. View's 3 floor building.
Read more...
Day 4 @ Beijing
I feel much better today. I woke up at 7:30am. I chat with Rose 20 sec after I woke up... I miss Rose, and ping pong! Breakfast and went to work by myself ... that's new for this trip :)
OK.. if you follow my blog and read it faithfully, you will know what I was doing today! I blogged while working on my wireframe today! I also met with Jeff for their Mobile product - proud of myself.. i scheduled it myself (ok, reschedule it), and I went to the meeting by myself. Good Job!
Lunch time, we went to eat 貴州菜 because Violet was craving for fish ever since she got here. We went to the one that's behind Google.. yes, I am living, breathing, and working (next) to Google everyday!! From my room, I can see Google day and night!
Don't know what's for tonight yet... but I want another 糖葫蘆 (which I ended up not getting it)！!
For tomorrow, I am planning to have a meeting to present process, and a trip to 清華大學 maybe 圓明園? I know/think both of these are really closed to the office! I should also ask if anyone wants to go Great Wall together... ! I really want to go these places to check it out!
Dinner time, we went to 鷺鷺餐廳. It's 上海菜. Render treated us one more time before he went back to US. Out of all the dishes, I love 獅子頭 and 豆干結 the most. Super full!
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OK.. if you follow my blog and read it faithfully, you will know what I was doing today! I blogged while working on my wireframe today! I also met with Jeff for their Mobile product - proud of myself.. i scheduled it myself (ok, reschedule it), and I went to the meeting by myself. Good Job!
Lunch time, we went to eat 貴州菜 because Violet was craving for fish ever since she got here. We went to the one that's behind Google.. yes, I am living, breathing, and working (next) to Google everyday!! From my room, I can see Google day and night!
Don't know what's for tonight yet... but I want another 糖葫蘆 (which I ended up not getting it)！!
For tomorrow, I am planning to have a meeting to present process, and a trip to 清華大學 maybe 圓明園? I know/think both of these are really closed to the office! I should also ask if anyone wants to go Great Wall together... ! I really want to go these places to check it out!
Dinner time, we went to 鷺鷺餐廳. It's 上海菜. Render treated us one more time before he went back to US. Out of all the dishes, I love 獅子頭 and 豆干結 the most. Super full!
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Recap Day 3 @ Beijing
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Jet lag is a bit better.
Because of a NyQuil, I woke up early and felt hungry. I decided not to wait for anyone any more. I went to 2nd floor restaurant by myself... but I found Violet and Render. I got to eat do-hua.. YES! Even though they don't have the syrup, I was so happy when I got it :) I also had some soy milk.. it's very yummy. Other stuff are OK... I am still more of an american :p I had bacon and ham as my main dish!
I got to work at 9:10a. We were late for 10 min to our meeting: China Portal walk through. It's supposed to be a 3-hr meeting. But, we were only half way done at the 3hr mark! OMG, this is like UI / content / code Review. It's actually a good thing to do. Render sat down with the team and go page to page to review it. BUT, OMG, there are lots of pages / channels.
Food in Beijing
We went to a place like Yoshinoya for a quick lunch (yes, the meeting continued). My Beef Rice was ok, but the Taro Soy Milk was good! OK, my hope was in the Beijing Duck tonight.
At roughly 3:30pm, we are done with the meeting. My brain was toasted. I didn't want to do anything but sleep at that hour! I went online chat'd with Alex.. the only guy that's awake at the hr.... well, he went to bed not long after that.... So, I had to deal with the tireness and loneliness with .... UI work!!! At 5:10pm, Violet and I were ready to head out to shop for snack (for ourselves).
We went back to hotel to drop off the laptop. We went to Pharmercy to get DRUG first... o man, I was sooo happy when we got it... We then went to Watson, and then the Lotus Supermarket.... as soon as I got in, I saw 糖葫蘆！！！！！ I wanted it since last time I was in Beijing.
Anyway, dinner time, we went to Made in China (長江一號）a restaurant inside of the 君悅 hotel. I really like the decoration of the place. They have open kitchens inside the place: each station cook different part of the meal.
Wine bottles at the entrance,
Tea pots follow,
Fruits and cake...
then cooking wares (oops, no photo). The food was good... but very little :(....
I took a night pill and then went to bed.. cough cough.. I was really tired today!
Read more...
Jet lag is a bit better.
Because of a NyQuil, I woke up early and felt hungry. I decided not to wait for anyone any more. I went to 2nd floor restaurant by myself... but I found Violet and Render. I got to eat do-hua.. YES! Even though they don't have the syrup, I was so happy when I got it :) I also had some soy milk.. it's very yummy. Other stuff are OK... I am still more of an american :p I had bacon and ham as my main dish!
I got to work at 9:10a. We were late for 10 min to our meeting: China Portal walk through. It's supposed to be a 3-hr meeting. But, we were only half way done at the 3hr mark! OMG, this is like UI / content / code Review. It's actually a good thing to do. Render sat down with the team and go page to page to review it. BUT, OMG, there are lots of pages / channels.
Food in Beijing
We went to a place like Yoshinoya for a quick lunch (yes, the meeting continued). My Beef Rice was ok, but the Taro Soy Milk was good! OK, my hope was in the Beijing Duck tonight.
At roughly 3:30pm, we are done with the meeting. My brain was toasted. I didn't want to do anything but sleep at that hour! I went online chat'd with Alex.. the only guy that's awake at the hr.... well, he went to bed not long after that.... So, I had to deal with the tireness and loneliness with .... UI work!!! At 5:10pm, Violet and I were ready to head out to shop for snack (for ourselves).
We went back to hotel to drop off the laptop. We went to Pharmercy to get DRUG first... o man, I was sooo happy when we got it... We then went to Watson, and then the Lotus Supermarket.... as soon as I got in, I saw 糖葫蘆！！！！！ I wanted it since last time I was in Beijing.
Anyway, dinner time, we went to Made in China (長江一號）a restaurant inside of the 君悅 hotel. I really like the decoration of the place. They have open kitchens inside the place: each station cook different part of the meal.
Wine bottles at the entrance,
Tea pots follow,
Fruits and cake...
then cooking wares (oops, no photo). The food was good... but very little :(....
I took a night pill and then went to bed.. cough cough.. I was really tired today!
Read more...
Recap: Day 2 @ Beijing
OK... all of the recap post are too long.. I will try to make it shorter this time.
Monday April 21, 2008
Because of jet lag, I woke up at 6ish. I went to restaurants in the hotel to check out breakfast. I went to 2nd and 19th floor... 2nd > 19th. I was very hungry at the time; but I decided to wait for the rest of the people. So I went back to bed to "kill some time." I slept till 8:00am and "Breakfast, here I come!"
After breakfast, we walked toward the China Office. My first major shock was outside of the elevator. It's a 28 stories building... OMG, there were probably 30~40 people waiting there. It totally reminds me Manhattan. It turns out to be one of my most frustrating activities while here in Beijing (another one is getting a taxi). I really don't like to wait for elevator or the elevator rides! I really miss Mt. View, badly! Anyway, Render took me around on 26th and 27th floor to meet some key people. It was still very early, not many people are in the office... ha, just like in Mt. View.
The office looks very nice. Very New! Lots of sunlight. Interestingly, even though we were on 26th floor, we got nature air from the windows~ Rarely happen in U.S. where is air-conditioned everywhere we go. But, there are downsides too: I can hear the car honking at each other all day long! My seat, sigh, is next to the restroom... I jokingly say that I should have start selling tissue to whoever goes to restroom (it's very common in Taiwan/China 20 years ago).
Food in Beijing
Well, since I am in Asia (Taiwan / China), food is one of the major things to be "documented." Lunch time, I went to 尚村 with Render, Violet, and Taiwanese editors. No pictures, but the food were super yummy. I like the soup especially. Dinner time, we ate at the SPA place (東方大班) :-p. We ghetto-ly ate a tons including 4 cups of pear juice. I should have asked them the name of the place. So I can go again... and go the DVD store next to it.
It's my first time to do a foot massage. It's very ticklish, but it's comfortable. I got super tired throughout... might be me being sick too. Anyway.. throughout the massage, I was so ready to just head back to hotel and sleep!
O, that night, I also realized that I wasn't having an allergy attack. Instead, I was sick, for real. At the Spa, my nose was all stuffed up... man.. sucks! No wonder that I didn't enjoy it as I should have!
Read more...
Monday April 21, 2008
Because of jet lag, I woke up at 6ish. I went to restaurants in the hotel to check out breakfast. I went to 2nd and 19th floor... 2nd > 19th. I was very hungry at the time; but I decided to wait for the rest of the people. So I went back to bed to "kill some time." I slept till 8:00am and "Breakfast, here I come!"
After breakfast, we walked toward the China Office. My first major shock was outside of the elevator. It's a 28 stories building... OMG, there were probably 30~40 people waiting there. It totally reminds me Manhattan. It turns out to be one of my most frustrating activities while here in Beijing (another one is getting a taxi). I really don't like to wait for elevator or the elevator rides! I really miss Mt. View, badly! Anyway, Render took me around on 26th and 27th floor to meet some key people. It was still very early, not many people are in the office... ha, just like in Mt. View.
The office looks very nice. Very New! Lots of sunlight. Interestingly, even though we were on 26th floor, we got nature air from the windows~ Rarely happen in U.S. where is air-conditioned everywhere we go. But, there are downsides too: I can hear the car honking at each other all day long! My seat, sigh, is next to the restroom... I jokingly say that I should have start selling tissue to whoever goes to restroom (it's very common in Taiwan/China 20 years ago).
Food in Beijing
Well, since I am in Asia (Taiwan / China), food is one of the major things to be "documented." Lunch time, I went to 尚村 with Render, Violet, and Taiwanese editors. No pictures, but the food were super yummy. I like the soup especially. Dinner time, we ate at the SPA place (東方大班) :-p. We ghetto-ly ate a tons including 4 cups of pear juice. I should have asked them the name of the place. So I can go again... and go the DVD store next to it.
It's my first time to do a foot massage. It's very ticklish, but it's comfortable. I got super tired throughout... might be me being sick too. Anyway.. throughout the massage, I was so ready to just head back to hotel and sleep!
O, that night, I also realized that I wasn't having an allergy attack. Instead, I was sick, for real. At the Spa, my nose was all stuffed up... man.. sucks! No wonder that I didn't enjoy it as I should have!
Read more...
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Recap: Day 1 @ Beijing
I arrived Beijing Capital Airport Terminal 3... which just launched 2 weeks prior. Even the stews didn't know what to expect. They told us to take this little train after clear custom, and head to Concourse D for luggage.
The terminal is super clean and modern. I can smell the new building (just like the new car smell). Quickly, I found out... man... Chinese people don't like AC. Last year, very similar to last time I was here a year ago. Gosh, a bit hot. I was really grateful still because I heard the week before it was in 80s... can't imagine that without AC.
After I got off the plane, I went straight to custom. Then heading to the train for my luggage. The stew told us, concourse D is 2 stops away from where we were. So I was counting.... We approached a building, the train slowed down but it never stopped. Err... does that count as one stop? I quickly switch to the mode of New Yorker, I looked up to try to find a map... I found an interesting map... it has only 3 points:
T3-B ---- T3-C ---- T3-D
I tried to find T3-C while the train passing by the first building... Err, no sign of that! Hmm, does that count toward one stop?
As me wondering, the train moved out the building and went into another one... announcement over the air spoke in two languages... basically they meant - get out the train, this is the LAST STOP. No indicator of where we are... GREAT... I am lost in the airport despite of knowing both languages!
After I exit the train, I tried to find my way to another train or luggage, I found luggage and I headed toward it... luckily, it's the RIGHT Stop!
Despite of my "class," the luggage came slow. After I got it, again, I was lost and didn't know where to go... I was calm.. and burdened with my luggages.. I walked back and forth to try to find a way out :(
OK, it's not too bad.. I was out of it 5 min later. I found the way to the rest of the Beijing! As soon as the door opens (I was into the real Beijing), O MY LORD, TONS of people are trying to pick up somebody. You think "signs" would help to identify you to the person you are trying to pick up? Try to come from the INSIDE!!! There are probably 30~50 signs... picking up mr/ms whoever... (one was from Google, wondering what he is doing here haha)...
OK.. after I went through the great wall of people... I didn't see my name tag.. ok.. I am screwed. I have now to try to find a starbucks and hoping he is going to be there to pick me up. Unfortunately, I decided to turn right after I came out of the great wall of people.... I didn't see a Starbucks.. so I decided to go Left now...
NOT FUNNY.. because it's SO not easy.
The great wall of people formed a line from the gate to the back wall... it just snacked around. They blocked the EAST & WEST way :( I had to try to go through that... while fighting the road with a lady who tried to push a cart filled with flower soil / water.
OK.. I got to the other side.. and found the starbucks... err.. no one is there waiting for me either. I tried to pull out my contact sheet to try to find Render.... 10 min later... I am holding that piece of paper.. trying to use a phone that's for handicap (b/c a lady kicked me out of the one that I was using b/c she is in a hurry. what!)
As I was joggling things around, I saw a man walking toward starbucks, with an AOL sign (black and white)... MAN.. I LOVE AOL!!!
After half hours fighting with the traffic, I was finally at the hotel. NERDY ME, took out my laptop to try to get online!! Dang.. issue... I picked up my phone and call the front desk which they sent someone to come and fix it.
I also gave Render a call.. and set 7:30pm as dinner time...
I went straight to bed for a nap... OMG, Bed is soooo nice!
We went to a restaurant that's not too far away from hotel. It's Japanese / Korean food. I met a few editors from Taiwan (yes, I ended up hanging out with them in the past few days). The food was OK... b/c I started to feel sicker and sicker :(
I went straight to bed after shower. Night Night Beijing!
Read more...
The terminal is super clean and modern. I can smell the new building (just like the new car smell). Quickly, I found out... man... Chinese people don't like AC. Last year, very similar to last time I was here a year ago. Gosh, a bit hot. I was really grateful still because I heard the week before it was in 80s... can't imagine that without AC.
After I got off the plane, I went straight to custom. Then heading to the train for my luggage. The stew told us, concourse D is 2 stops away from where we were. So I was counting.... We approached a building, the train slowed down but it never stopped. Err... does that count as one stop? I quickly switch to the mode of New Yorker, I looked up to try to find a map... I found an interesting map... it has only 3 points:
T3-B ---- T3-C ---- T3-D
I tried to find T3-C while the train passing by the first building... Err, no sign of that! Hmm, does that count toward one stop?
As me wondering, the train moved out the building and went into another one... announcement over the air spoke in two languages... basically they meant - get out the train, this is the LAST STOP. No indicator of where we are... GREAT... I am lost in the airport despite of knowing both languages!
After I exit the train, I tried to find my way to another train or luggage, I found luggage and I headed toward it... luckily, it's the RIGHT Stop!
Despite of my "class," the luggage came slow. After I got it, again, I was lost and didn't know where to go... I was calm.. and burdened with my luggages.. I walked back and forth to try to find a way out :(
OK, it's not too bad.. I was out of it 5 min later. I found the way to the rest of the Beijing! As soon as the door opens (I was into the real Beijing), O MY LORD, TONS of people are trying to pick up somebody. You think "signs" would help to identify you to the person you are trying to pick up? Try to come from the INSIDE!!! There are probably 30~50 signs... picking up mr/ms whoever... (one was from Google, wondering what he is doing here haha)...
OK.. after I went through the great wall of people... I didn't see my name tag.. ok.. I am screwed. I have now to try to find a starbucks and hoping he is going to be there to pick me up. Unfortunately, I decided to turn right after I came out of the great wall of people.... I didn't see a Starbucks.. so I decided to go Left now...
NOT FUNNY.. because it's SO not easy.
The great wall of people formed a line from the gate to the back wall... it just snacked around. They blocked the EAST & WEST way :( I had to try to go through that... while fighting the road with a lady who tried to push a cart filled with flower soil / water.
OK.. I got to the other side.. and found the starbucks... err.. no one is there waiting for me either. I tried to pull out my contact sheet to try to find Render.... 10 min later... I am holding that piece of paper.. trying to use a phone that's for handicap (b/c a lady kicked me out of the one that I was using b/c she is in a hurry. what!)
As I was joggling things around, I saw a man walking toward starbucks, with an AOL sign (black and white)... MAN.. I LOVE AOL!!!
After half hours fighting with the traffic, I was finally at the hotel. NERDY ME, took out my laptop to try to get online!! Dang.. issue... I picked up my phone and call the front desk which they sent someone to come and fix it.
I also gave Render a call.. and set 7:30pm as dinner time...
I went straight to bed for a nap... OMG, Bed is soooo nice!
We went to a restaurant that's not too far away from hotel. It's Japanese / Korean food. I met a few editors from Taiwan (yes, I ended up hanging out with them in the past few days). The food was OK... b/c I started to feel sicker and sicker :(
I went straight to bed after shower. Night Night Beijing!
Read more...
Here I come, China!
OK... after two weeks of talking back and forth, mostly about my work schedule, I was finally heading to China.
Recap for the past few days prior my departure of US: I got my visa on Tuesday (the day I came back from Miami); work a ton on Wed to get my design ready, went to the Prayer Meeting (o yea, I need prayers); and planned a major UI Review on Thursday, celebrated Tim's Birthday @ SF; work some on Friday and went to Chiropractor, then went to Fellowship. I got home almost 11pm and still hadn't packed. This is a new record - 12 hrs before the flight (10 hr before heading to airport)!
Clement and Winnie gave me and Tom a ride. Both of us are heading to China... me to Beijing, he to 上海. I am actually looking forward to my ride a little bit. Why? I am FLYING IN CLASS - business class :).
Since I got to the airport barely on time. I quickly went through the Security and went straight to the Lounge! It's quite an experience! Inside of the lounge, you see tons of people resting on sofa. They are either reading, chatting, or on computers. As a nerdy peasant, I was surprised to see so many OUTLET. Each person had one by their sofa! Sigh, these rich people will never know how precious those outlets are outside the lounge.
I went a little deeper and I found food... Quickly, the hungry peasant grabbed cookie and yogurt. Being a nice sister, I also grabbed some for my fellow peasant... Tom. Before I head out to the lounge, I went touring inside the lounge, I saw DESKS!!! OMG, it's like a Library. Of course, each desk had its own plugs.... There was a business center next to the desk areas. People can print stuff or make copies for free.
Wait... my boarding time is only 10 min away! Dang, time flies by when you enjoy the most!
I quickly came out of the lounge, I gave Tom a call so I can gave him pocketful of cookie, muffin, and yogurt. He was still at security because he forgot to get a boarding pass when we came in. OMG, announcer are calling for my flight... I am supposed to be among the First Class, 1K people to get on board without waiting in line!!! But, I was waiting patiently for Tom~ :(
OK.. after I handed off pocketful of stuff... BUSINESS CLASS HERE I COME!
It's not as dramatic... stews didn't already know my name. She has to looked on her piece of cheat sheet. And, I had to wait for my first drink! But, before we took off, I got a champagne. Stew came over to take order after we took off. She also brought nuts and drinks ;)
It only took us 1.5hr to complete the whole eating process... from nuts and drink, to appetizer, to main course, to dessert... they came SEPARATELY!!! I had a champagne, white dinning wine, and a sip of red dessert wine... omg, i was ready to sleep!
OK... the rest of the flight was filled with DS (I used up all the power... and cannot be recharaged here in China); watching Taiwanese soap opera; got up a zillion time and stretch at my seat (b/c I have too much leg room); watched enchanted 1.5 times, and watched August Rush .5 x2 time, and a weird movie. OK... time didn't fly by that fast but I managed to stay engaged.
I landed in China 2:45pm local time (april 20).... ready for my challenge... get picked up by a person who I have never met, who doesn't have my cell phone, and I don't have his cell phone. Here I come, China.
Read more...
Recap for the past few days prior my departure of US: I got my visa on Tuesday (the day I came back from Miami); work a ton on Wed to get my design ready, went to the Prayer Meeting (o yea, I need prayers); and planned a major UI Review on Thursday, celebrated Tim's Birthday @ SF; work some on Friday and went to Chiropractor, then went to Fellowship. I got home almost 11pm and still hadn't packed. This is a new record - 12 hrs before the flight (10 hr before heading to airport)!
Clement and Winnie gave me and Tom a ride. Both of us are heading to China... me to Beijing, he to 上海. I am actually looking forward to my ride a little bit. Why? I am FLYING IN CLASS - business class :).
Since I got to the airport barely on time. I quickly went through the Security and went straight to the Lounge! It's quite an experience! Inside of the lounge, you see tons of people resting on sofa. They are either reading, chatting, or on computers. As a nerdy peasant, I was surprised to see so many OUTLET. Each person had one by their sofa! Sigh, these rich people will never know how precious those outlets are outside the lounge.
I went a little deeper and I found food... Quickly, the hungry peasant grabbed cookie and yogurt. Being a nice sister, I also grabbed some for my fellow peasant... Tom. Before I head out to the lounge, I went touring inside the lounge, I saw DESKS!!! OMG, it's like a Library. Of course, each desk had its own plugs.... There was a business center next to the desk areas. People can print stuff or make copies for free.
Wait... my boarding time is only 10 min away! Dang, time flies by when you enjoy the most!
I quickly came out of the lounge, I gave Tom a call so I can gave him pocketful of cookie, muffin, and yogurt. He was still at security because he forgot to get a boarding pass when we came in. OMG, announcer are calling for my flight... I am supposed to be among the First Class, 1K people to get on board without waiting in line!!! But, I was waiting patiently for Tom~ :(
OK.. after I handed off pocketful of stuff... BUSINESS CLASS HERE I COME!
It's not as dramatic... stews didn't already know my name. She has to looked on her piece of cheat sheet. And, I had to wait for my first drink! But, before we took off, I got a champagne. Stew came over to take order after we took off. She also brought nuts and drinks ;)
It only took us 1.5hr to complete the whole eating process... from nuts and drink, to appetizer, to main course, to dessert... they came SEPARATELY!!! I had a champagne, white dinning wine, and a sip of red dessert wine... omg, i was ready to sleep!
OK... the rest of the flight was filled with DS (I used up all the power... and cannot be recharaged here in China); watching Taiwanese soap opera; got up a zillion time and stretch at my seat (b/c I have too much leg room); watched enchanted 1.5 times, and watched August Rush .5 x2 time, and a weird movie. OK... time didn't fly by that fast but I managed to stay engaged.
I landed in China 2:45pm local time (april 20).... ready for my challenge... get picked up by a person who I have never met, who doesn't have my cell phone, and I don't have his cell phone. Here I come, China.
Read more...
Recap: PostConference @ Miami
Hahahah... busy with travel schedule
Will blog soon about my (half) day just kicking back by the pool side
Read more...
Will blog soon about my (half) day just kicking back by the pool side
Read more...
Recap: PostConference @ Miami
Hahahah... busy with travel schedule
Will blog soon about my (half) day just kicking back by the pool side
Read more...
Will blog soon about my (half) day just kicking back by the pool side
Read more...
Monday, April 14, 2008
Recap: Day 1 @ Summit: Seeing is .... attempting
One of the my memorable IA Summit presentation was Long Wow by Brandon Schauer from Adaptive Path. The content of his talk is definitely not revolutionary. In fact, I will be able to say the same thing ... not as nicely, not as logically, and not as well presented.... but, the talk was awesome... I am really inspired by his talk: build consumer loyalty by design with quality; and design with users' goals in mind.
He gave a few presentation, but the most inspiring one was Nike+'s ipod and running shoes integration. More than that, users' runner blog, and ways for them to socially share their running experience... that to me is SUPER! Nike successfully INCREASES its breadth of users just by gracefully integrated with the HOTtest product of the past few years!
Seeing is attempting...
After Brandon's talk... I really wanted Nike+.. the speedometer (ipod and running shoes combo). Also, his book, subject to change!
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He gave a few presentation, but the most inspiring one was Nike+'s ipod and running shoes integration. More than that, users' runner blog, and ways for them to socially share their running experience... that to me is SUPER! Nike successfully INCREASES its breadth of users just by gracefully integrated with the HOTtest product of the past few years!
Seeing is attempting...
After Brandon's talk... I really wanted Nike+.. the speedometer (ipod and running shoes combo). Also, his book, subject to change!
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Saturday, April 12, 2008
PreConference @ summit
OK... Day -1 at IA summit. I went to two workshops: Communication Design and Guerilla Persona. I went around to trade the trading cards. I met lots of people. Because of the trading card, I got to talk to more people than I have ever done. Also, we were forced / helped to know more people in class, more connections were formed because the "common ground."
Communication Design was a good class. It is totally something I am lacking - clear design of wireframe. We went through flowchart, wireframe, and then design critique. At the very beginning, I found the class might be too trivial because it's in between what I know and a little what I might not be clear. However, the class went a bit deeper (not much).
Some of the major steps of designing a flowchart are to have a purpose, target audiences, perspective, and the content (situation analysis, establish purpose, list of elements, priority elements, and identify key relationships). These concepts were not foreign to me however, I felt it's lacking from my process of designing a flowchart.
In term of presentation of documents: we talked about we should have: talk points (theme and context); questions (validation, clarifications, and resolutions); implications (functional and organizational).
Despite how much I don't like about documentation, one thing he had in his wireframe was history of changes... it's something I refused to do because it made readers of the document don't see the whole picture. However, the way he put it was more for the sake of myself. I can keep track of conversation and decision. I buy it! Another way to have a smoother meeting is by anticipate all participants' agenda.
Compare to the morning session, the afternoon session was just over-promising in the description and it is considered as wasted of money for me to attend. I sat in class, and was working my email and coordinating sync. Boring. She focused too much on the usability of the webpage. I don't feel she actually tackle the PERSONA - which I really want to learn, how to design one and stick with it.. even involve other stakeholders to use it. It's waste of time.. but I guess I used it WISELY.
There is a session for the first timer to the IA Summit. Dennis said 5 1/2 things for us to remember: reflect, focus, go to 5 min madness, go depth,... hmm... talking to people (networking)... something like that.
The party was a bit sucky. I had fun trading cards and chatting with a few people I met in the day time.
Another thing I have done was for Dave Robins from Kent University. I went through his study and learn about MYSELF... what do I like vs what I don't like. Very interesting especially the conversation that I had with Rebekah on the side.
Tomorrow is the beginning of the real summit... time for bed so I can be less tired!
Read more...
Communication Design was a good class. It is totally something I am lacking - clear design of wireframe. We went through flowchart, wireframe, and then design critique. At the very beginning, I found the class might be too trivial because it's in between what I know and a little what I might not be clear. However, the class went a bit deeper (not much).
Some of the major steps of designing a flowchart are to have a purpose, target audiences, perspective, and the content (situation analysis, establish purpose, list of elements, priority elements, and identify key relationships). These concepts were not foreign to me however, I felt it's lacking from my process of designing a flowchart.
In term of presentation of documents: we talked about we should have: talk points (theme and context); questions (validation, clarifications, and resolutions); implications (functional and organizational).
Despite how much I don't like about documentation, one thing he had in his wireframe was history of changes... it's something I refused to do because it made readers of the document don't see the whole picture. However, the way he put it was more for the sake of myself. I can keep track of conversation and decision. I buy it! Another way to have a smoother meeting is by anticipate all participants' agenda.
Compare to the morning session, the afternoon session was just over-promising in the description and it is considered as wasted of money for me to attend. I sat in class, and was working my email and coordinating sync. Boring. She focused too much on the usability of the webpage. I don't feel she actually tackle the PERSONA - which I really want to learn, how to design one and stick with it.. even involve other stakeholders to use it. It's waste of time.. but I guess I used it WISELY.
There is a session for the first timer to the IA Summit. Dennis said 5 1/2 things for us to remember: reflect, focus, go to 5 min madness, go depth,... hmm... talking to people (networking)... something like that.
The party was a bit sucky. I had fun trading cards and chatting with a few people I met in the day time.
Another thing I have done was for Dave Robins from Kent University. I went through his study and learn about MYSELF... what do I like vs what I don't like. Very interesting especially the conversation that I had with Rebekah on the side.
Tomorrow is the beginning of the real summit... time for bed so I can be less tired!
Read more...
Hotel Miami
I was in room 613. As soon as I walked into the room.... it smells funny. I like the room setting even though I found it weird when I first walked in. It has a 3 feet hall way lead to a closet and a bathroom. On the other side of the wall, it's the king size bed, side way. There are 4 big windows which led to... bad views. Hmm... strangely, there is a metal ticking sound from the air condition. I first found it OK because it was pretty early in the evening. I was more occupied to get online and figure out what to have for dinner.
I went to dinner at a bar with Steve, who ate already. We talked about .. work. He also told me about the workshop that he went to - design pattern. It's quite interesting. I am looking forward to learn more from him.
As we went up to the room, as we about to say bye, Steve asked me what's the room number I got. I said 613.... He told me that he stayed in that room last night. The metal ticking sound bothered him.... HMM.. I went down to the lobby again to change a room.
I went from the old room (packed my thing) and moved to the new room. As soon as I came approach the hallway... OMG, it's even worse. This time, it's the ice machine... It's like someone is blowing drying their hair next to your ear loud. I called immediately, the guy at the desk that it will be turned off in a few min. I looked at the clock, I figure, it's a few min short from 11:30.. I figure, that might be a good time to TURN it off... But, I waited till 12:05, it's still ON... I called again. This time, I went more aggressive... i offered to turn it off myself, if I am allowed. He said he would send someone to do it. 5 min later, I heard someone in the hallway, two second later, it's OFF.
OMG, I thought it's a 5 stars hotel... it took me so many try to get it right.. and the wireless is not free.. sucker... I actually have to write my blog in text editor to save company 12.99. MAN!
Read more...
I went to dinner at a bar with Steve, who ate already. We talked about .. work. He also told me about the workshop that he went to - design pattern. It's quite interesting. I am looking forward to learn more from him.
As we went up to the room, as we about to say bye, Steve asked me what's the room number I got. I said 613.... He told me that he stayed in that room last night. The metal ticking sound bothered him.... HMM.. I went down to the lobby again to change a room.
I went from the old room (packed my thing) and moved to the new room. As soon as I came approach the hallway... OMG, it's even worse. This time, it's the ice machine... It's like someone is blowing drying their hair next to your ear loud. I called immediately, the guy at the desk that it will be turned off in a few min. I looked at the clock, I figure, it's a few min short from 11:30.. I figure, that might be a good time to TURN it off... But, I waited till 12:05, it's still ON... I called again. This time, I went more aggressive... i offered to turn it off myself, if I am allowed. He said he would send someone to do it. 5 min later, I heard someone in the hallway, two second later, it's OFF.
OMG, I thought it's a 5 stars hotel... it took me so many try to get it right.. and the wireless is not free.. sucker... I actually have to write my blog in text editor to save company 12.99. MAN!
Read more...
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Hello Miami
I am now at Miami attending IA Summit which started today (workshops) and will last till Monday. I spent most of the today on the road: arrived at airport 9:00am PST, and flew in 8pm EST in the evening. Even though now is almost 1am, I am still up and awake. This is not so bad b/c I can write BLOG; I will know better how this affect me tomorrow!
Typically I don't like to be on the road however today is great!
I have been very stressed out (ok, busy'ed out) by work/life. I don't have much down time PERIOD: me wake up, go work, home, work, shower, sleep, then repeat. I woke up earlier than before in attempting to get more. And I stay at work later, and and bring work home to try to finish them. Despite of my "trying," I still missed my deadline. I have to do things on "last in first out" basis... Never in my life that I have to pack the last min before travel, this time I was still packing at 11pm.
Anyway.. done complaining....
So today I got to airport 9am... very tired! I didn't really want to pull out laptop to start working. Instead, I played a little DS, and went to have a Udon for breakfast. I also bought a bag of chips for on the road (proofed I should buy MORE). And as soon as I got on the flight, I was in ready position to sleep. I woke up in between, I ate my chips and watched some movie (too lazy to get ear buds out). Played some DS, went back to sleep. I woke up, and ate my chocolate chips (breakfast from yesterday), and played some DS and went back to sleep. Woke up drinking juice, and ready to land.
Yes, this is how I spent today... eat, sleep, wake up, eat... repeats.. and DS in between! I was totally relaxed. I felt all the "weight" that I lost (ok, it's only 2 pounds) due to no time for food, and the sleep that I have missed, and the downtime that I didn't have ... I got them all today ON the flight. Instead of feeling tire.. I was totally refreshed on my way off the flight!
PRAISE GOD for this travel day.
(O... wait until I get chance to trash talk about the hotel I stay in... I almost have back to back changing room... :-p)
Read more...
Typically I don't like to be on the road however today is great!
I have been very stressed out (ok, busy'ed out) by work/life. I don't have much down time PERIOD: me wake up, go work, home, work, shower, sleep, then repeat. I woke up earlier than before in attempting to get more. And I stay at work later, and and bring work home to try to finish them. Despite of my "trying," I still missed my deadline. I have to do things on "last in first out" basis... Never in my life that I have to pack the last min before travel, this time I was still packing at 11pm.
Anyway.. done complaining....
So today I got to airport 9am... very tired! I didn't really want to pull out laptop to start working. Instead, I played a little DS, and went to have a Udon for breakfast. I also bought a bag of chips for on the road (proofed I should buy MORE). And as soon as I got on the flight, I was in ready position to sleep. I woke up in between, I ate my chips and watched some movie (too lazy to get ear buds out). Played some DS, went back to sleep. I woke up, and ate my chocolate chips (breakfast from yesterday), and played some DS and went back to sleep. Woke up drinking juice, and ready to land.
Yes, this is how I spent today... eat, sleep, wake up, eat... repeats.. and DS in between! I was totally relaxed. I felt all the "weight" that I lost (ok, it's only 2 pounds) due to no time for food, and the sleep that I have missed, and the downtime that I didn't have ... I got them all today ON the flight. Instead of feeling tire.. I was totally refreshed on my way off the flight!
PRAISE GOD for this travel day.
(O... wait until I get chance to trash talk about the hotel I stay in... I almost have back to back changing room... :-p)
Read more...