February 25th, 2008
Yes, it’s true! Some new news upon arriving in Bangalore. Apparently, about 3 months ago, dancing was officially banned across Bangalore. If you want to dance, you must do it in the private of your own home. Again, yes, it’s true.
Why? From what I’ve heard, because the men here have been getting a little too “heated” with the ladies.
However, in the office today, I heard there are some “underground” places popping up for dancing. Prohibition, anyone? Footloose, maybe?
People in Bangalore who are really into the party scene are now ditching Bangalore for the weekend and heading elsewhere…like Chennai for party time. Bars here stop serving at 11:30pm anyway.
I could see this happening in China, but would have never thought something like this would happen in India … especially when dancing is such a huge part of the culture here.
Posted in Bangalore, India | 4 Comments »
February 22nd, 2008
Haven’t made a trip to Bangalore in about 5 months…long overdue. Weather seems to be nice there, typically always a breeze which helps a lot. The most dreadful part of the trip is the Bangalore airport (one terminal, one gate, one baggage belt … one hell of a good time).
Going to an amusement park on Sunday … no clue what to expect, but I’ll bring the video camera with me to capture some of the “excitement.”
Back in Beijing at the beginning of March.
Posted in India | 1 Comment »
February 21st, 2008
It seriously sounds like there’s a war going on in Beijing right now. Fireworks going off everywhere…you look out the windows and just see flashes of lights through the polluted skies. I really can’t wait until this is over. It was cool for the first few days, but on day 16 … it’s just getting annoying now.
Today is the Lantern Festival. Marks the end of the New Year’s celebrations. The traditional food to eat today is – 汤圆 = Sweet dumplings served in soup … I’ll be ordering my daily tradition … the club sandwich.
Since I mentioned the pollution … I have really seen this week that it truly is the massive number of automobiles in Beijing that cause the skies to become so thick and gray. Up until Monday, for about two weeks… there were blue skies everyday. You can bet that Beijing will be putting massive driving bans on during the entire month of August…can’t wait (it’s going to suck getting around this city then).
Posted in Beijing | 1 Comment »
February 15th, 2008
Posted in Lenovo | No Comments »
February 15th, 2008
For those of you in the US, you likely heard about what happened at the Buffalo Sabres game last weekend. Richard Zednik had his throat cut by a teammate’s skate (not on purpose, obviously). He was rushed to a Buffalo hospital…lost 5 liters of blood but is now in stable condition.
What did he ask for when he started to get an appetite? Buffalo wings of course! If there are two foods I really miss from Buffalo … it’s the wings & bbq chicken finger subs.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3246110
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
February 15th, 2008
Millions of Chinese watch movies online … rather than going to theaters or even throwing down $1 for a DVD. I’ve noticed it in the office, at stores, etc… but I never knew where they were going to get the movies.
skyme.com
That’s where most go. You don’t download the movies…they are streamed online. Haven’t tried it yet…but if millions use it, it must be decent. O, it’s all in Chinese too. Just navigate via pictures or throw it in babelfish.
Posted in China | 4 Comments »
February 14th, 2008
I can’t believe it has taken me this long to finally order a pair of custom shoes in Beijing. Tonight, after I got home from the office, I went and got myself a Valentine’s Day present.
So, where to? How about … “Mr. Billy’s Hand Made Shoes Work Office” (yes, that’s the name and oh yeah, there’s a registered trademark symbol on that sign). Mr. Billy opened up across the street from my apartment complex a couple months ago, so I figured I’d give him a try. Only, I don’t think Mr. Billy was there … a fairly attractive younger woman was … but there were pictures of Mr. Billy in the store.
Now to the hard part…she spoke zero English. OK, I can do this in Chinese…I think. Well, I did. It wasn’t as bad as I thought and felt kind of proud of myself afterwards…maybe I am making more progress than I thought.
The cost? Not bad at all … when I walked in the door, the cost was RMB780 (That’s about $108 USD). Well, after she measured my feet, the price went up by RMB100 … so, total cost is $122 USD. That’s a hell of a price for custom made shoes. I had them copy a pair of John Maddens that I really like.
So, in 15 days, I’ll go back over to Mr. Billy’s (hope he’s there next time), I’ll try on the shoes, he’ll make some adjustments as needed and then give me my finished pair of shoes a few days after that. Not a bad deal, can’t wait to see/feel how they turn out.
Posted in Beijing, China, Custom stuff | 3 Comments »
February 14th, 2008
And no mom, I didn’t have a date today.
The western influence is moving fast when it comes to holidays. Christmas was noticeably more around China in 2007 than in 2006 … I would say a ten fold increase. From the decorations, to the sales, to the celebrations…it was all around Beijing (and I left about 5 days prior).
Valentine’s Day hasn’t increased as much in terms of visibility, but it is definitely more visible than last year. Flowers, chocolate, dates … hell, some companies even let their employees leave a couple hours early!
Call me crazy, but I don’t think there are many people in China who believe in God/Jesus. Something I’ll never forget…I went out with a girl a few times late last year (didn’t really hit it off) … well, one night, she asked me what religion I was. I told her “I’m a Catholic” (ok, I go to Church once a year…twice if I was in the US for Easter). So, I had to return the question, I asked “What religion are you?” Her response…”I don’t have a religion, I’m a Communist.” Wow, didn’t expect that, but I guess I should have.
What is it then? Well, most people do love getting presents…some even love giving them. Then there is Santa Claus, he’s cool. Wonder if people in China believe in him? Maybe. How about the Christmas trees, lights, cookies? I guess Christmas could have a draw. But Valentine’s Day? Well, just like in the US…hallmark holiday made up by women!
Posted in China, Culture | No Comments »
February 14th, 2008
I came across these on an internal forum that one of my teams built last year – for an internal discussion on “Culture.” We did similar things in IBM in the past, but this was much different.
1. Lenovo has less than 10% of the total number of employees as IBM does
2. It was basically a discussion between all other countries & China
These pictures are a great way to represent the cultural differences between eastern & western countries. Came from someone in Germany (not Lenovo), don’t know who…
West = Blue / East = Red
Concept of time
Expressing feeling of anger
Expressing Personal Views
Family & kids
In a party
Leadership
Lifestyle
Personal Relationships
Sunday on the street
Posted in Culture | No Comments »
February 13th, 2008
The Lenovo offices in Beijing are in ShangDi – north Beijing, about an hour outside of the city…bascially, the middle of no where. There’s a lot of growth planned out here and a lot of things happening now, but one thing that has been missing is some “normal food” for us foreigners.
Sure, you can find a Pizza Hut or KFC (most popular fast food chain in China) about a 10 minute taxi ride away …but, I don’t want to eat that stuff for lunch.
In about one week, there will be a Subway opening up right behind my office! There’s a huge new apartment/office/shopping complex just starting to open up. Great news.
Just as I eat a club sandwich most nights during the week for dinner…Subway will soon be there for me for my daily lunch!
Posted in Beijing, China | 3 Comments »
