January 24, 2007 - Third day of work in the Gothenborg office.

Nothing much to report, just working real hard to day. Since I don't have much to say, let me tell you why I am here. On our new devices, I am responsible for the audio portions of the next generation phone. In our previous products we've always done analog audio routing, and that was easy, because all you have to do is hook up the wires to the speaker and you are done. The drawback there is that you don't have the flexibility of being able to "mix" in different audio streams.

So, now comes the digital age, and our new products will have all their audio routined digitally, instead of being connected in analog. This means that we have a lot of flexibility in terms of what we can do with the audio, such as mixing, filtering...etc. Also, it makes it a lot easier to change since its all digital, and you just manipulate it with a few lines of code.

Anyways, so welcome to my world! This is what I have been doing for a living. Because the audio portion of this new phone is sooo huge, we have some contractors that does about 90% of the coding, and I currently do about 10% of the coding and 90% of project management. As our contractors starts to roll off their contract (we'll be down to 3 contractors from 15 pretty soon), I will have to take over.

Thus, I am here - to push them along, to learn from them what they do, to ask them to clarify to me what they have done, and most importantly, to put a face to all the names that I see.

Before I came on this trip, it was hard working with our counterparts in Sweden - everytime something breaks, we blame them - and then when there are delays, they blame us for not giving them clear directions. I used to think that they are just contractors, and that they get paid for doing what we tell them to do (which is why I think that contracting sucks). Worst of all, non of them really cared about our project as a whole.

As it turns out, we have one of the nicest and best groups of contractors that I had ever worked with out here. They are sincere, and works really hard. And now that I can put a face to all the names, it definitely makes working with them a lot easier and more fun. So far, it has been a great trip, and well worth all the money that the company spent on me coming out here!

john

January 23, 2007 - 2nd day of work.

Well, the 2nd day didn't start out so well, as you can see in the following...

Boy it was cold! It was also snowing pretty hard when we left the office. Today is a day full of work, so I don't think I will have much to say, other than work, work, and more work!

Hope you guys are enjoying my boring blog (according to Catherine...) hmmm.

john

January 22, 2007 - First day of work in Gothenborg.

Well, didn't get off to a good start. Slept only 4 hours last night, met my boss late down stairs for breakfast, and the first thing that I saw when I went down stairs was:

-6 degrees c? I thought they made a mistake. So I asked the lady at the front desk - yes, it was -6, and that apparently is the high for today. Although, she said - it should be pretty because the sun should be coming out.

Well, turns out, she was wrong. This was what I saw when we got off the bus to walk into the office:

Boy, it was coooooold! ok, time to work!

john

January 21, 2007 - VasaMuseet.

VasaMuseet, or the Vasa Museum, is built around 1 historical find - a 1600's Swedish battleship. This ship never really saw the light of day, as it sank in the Stockholm harbor as soon as it left the dry dock. Some engineers of the time made some gross mis-calculations about the ship and its weight, and loaded it with too many cannons. As soon as the ship sailed, it took in water, and went straight down.

The reason its so interesting is that Stockholm harbor is full of mud. So as soon as it sank, it pratically sank right into the mud - where it layed until the 1980s, when the ship was raised by the Swedish Navy. Because the ship was fully submerged in mud, it was still mainly in tact. It wasn't subjected to the ocean currents and the air and water that would've eroded it away. The boat was preserved in such prestine condition that it actually floated by itself after they cleaned out the mud on the insides.

At the center of the museum is teh Vasa itself, somewhat restored. The three masts of the ship were never found, and the top planks have been eroded away. They were able to restore those and thats how you can see the picture today. The ship itself was majestic - it was adorned with many many ornaments or symbols that protects the ship itself (a lot of good that did, right?) Anyways, the living conditions on the boat was rather tough, and the decks were a lot lower so you'd hit your head all the time (except, that people back then were a lot shorter than we are now cuz back then they were mostly malnutritioned).

As well, it was also sort of a small Swedish history museum. It contained a small section of the history of the ship building and the life of Sweden back then. Boy it was tough! I'm glad at least it wasn't so cold when I was growing up!

:-) After the Vasa, we were ready to do some real work - take the 3 hour train ride into Goteborg (or Gothenborg) to really go do some work!

:-)
john

January 21, 2007 - City Hall.
There it is! The city hall of Stockholm. It was build in the 20's (1920s, of course!) and its still used by their "congressmen" today. Being that its a socialist country, I guess they don't really have a Congress, but a meeting once a week between all the high level officials from various parties (there are 7 parties in all represented). The sessions are open to the public, but with the invention of the television and the newspapers, no one really goes to the sessions anymore. Last year, they averaged 1.7 people in the audience per meeting.

Despite the hour walk it took us to get there, (that includes time that it took to read the map, get lost, study the map some more, getting more lost, debating whether we should hire a taxi, getting coffee, checking out the local train station, buying souvinours at a souvinour shop that was owned by an Indian guy that spoke Swedish like the guy on the Simpsons), the tour was well worth it. We saw the blue room (which is the room where they serve dinner during the Nobel prize ceremonies. It was pretty big, impressive, and comes with a set of marbled stairs. Up stairs, after going through numerous chambers and resting quarters for people depending on their social status, we come upon the gold room, which is where the dancing takes place.



Upon its completion in the late 20's, the Gold room was heavily criticized by the Swedes at that time. Their biggest complaint was that it wasn't built to the traditions and the style of the Swedish culture. As you can see in the pictures on the right side, the art isn't really traiditional, and neither is the color. But, from today's perspective, its quite a piece of art. the whole room was lined with gold plated tiles (Noticed - "plated", so not worth stealing) that measures 1/4" x 1/4". This means, back then, each tile was placed by hand. That is impressive in itself. Anyways. It was an impressive sight.

Two other tidbits of information thats interesting that might be worth mentioning: The tower means 106 meters tall, which is exactly 1m taller than the city hall tower in Copenhagen. They have to be one step better than the Danes. Also, they ran out of money towards the end of the construction of the City Hall. So instead of a City Hall without a roof, they decided to offer the Swedish people a chance to "buy" a piece of Sweden by buying a roof tile. You are allowed to wirte on the roof tile whatever you wished, and that is how they were able to finish the construction of the City Hall. Although, the only hard part is - how do you go see your tile?

Upon exiting City Hall, my boss had the unfortunate mishap of stepping in a puddle that has ice on the bottom. He slipped, got soaked in freezing water, so we had to go back to the hotel and change. Good thing he took the fall for me (no pun intended.) hahaha.

On to the Vasamuseet!

January 21, 2007 - Stockholm.

What a beautiful city! well, at least from what I can (or can't) gather, which isn't much. Its COMPLETELY white outside!!!!! We had breakfast at the Lady Hamilton Hotel, and then just took off walking around old town. Even through the snow, I can see the narrow alley ways, the cobble stone roads, and all the dinky little gift shops that are tucked away in the alleys. It was pretty cool. Its every bit what I imagined a typical European city to be!

Walking down the cobble stone roads, I can picture on a (warmer) sunny day, the street filled with tourists, along with all the traiditional swedish music and dancers in the squares, with small tables and chairs outside and people sitting around drinking coffee. Its not anything I've ever seen or experienced before in my travels around North America and even Asia.

Anyhow, we walked around some more, and it was starting to get colder and colder as the wind picks up. So we decided to try to find our way over to the City Hall, which is also where the Nobel prize ceremonies are held every year.

Well, that sounds easy, but old town, being "old", doesn't exactly have straight streets - its windy, and goes all over the place. It took us another 1/2 hour of walking around in circles to find how to get out of old town....

By the way, thats not me in the picture, thats my boss. We decided to take pictures of each other and just mail each other the pictures, but he hasn't mailed me my picture yet, so...

john

January 20, 2007 - The Lady Hamilton Hotel...

The Lady Hamilton "Hotel" should really be named the Lady Hamilton "Bed and Breakfast". Its a really small (literally), and quaint hotel. We found this hotel from Expedia, and it looked pretty cool.

Everything is great, as you can see from the pictures. It evens comes (for free) with an apple, vitamins, bottle of water, and a bag of nuts! The room didn't have a window, but rather a sky light, and a slanted roof - thus, "the attic".

Everything was ok until i hopped in the shower and hit my head. The slant really made the shower stall smaller, and I think by the end of the shower I had hit my head about 4 times. Multiply that by 2 (one shower at night and one in the morning), that 8x. One'd think that one'd learn....

Cute hotel though. If you're ever here, remember to ask for a room that is NOT on the top floor!

john

January 20, 2007 - In case if you didn't know, I am in Sweden! Yes, I am here on "official" company business, but that doesn't mean that we don't get to have fun. Anyways, so far my experience have been pretty positive, and figured I'd share some of the scenary with you from Stockholm, and Goteborg.....



After a 12 + 2 hour plane ride, boy was I ready to get off the airplane. We landed in Stockholm at around 10PM local time, and this is what it looked like from the plane. It looked cold! From there, we took a taxi to Gamala Stan (Old Town) where our hotel is, and I spent the night in the attic.

-john

In case you didn't hear about what John Kerry said that caused such a big controversy, here it is:

What Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said about Iraq: “You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”

Hmmm. Here's what he meant to say....

What his spokesperson, Amy Brundage, said Kerry’s prepared text called for him to say: “Do you know where you end up if you don’t study, if you aren’t smart, if you’re intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush.”

I dunno - sounds like they made this up AFTER what John Kerry said to try to make up for things...

YIKES! Although, I'm still sticking with the democrats!!!!
john

Tidbits of Shanghai (part 1)

(For more pictures of Shanghai, please click here)

Two views of "The Bund": the Bund at night, and the Bund during the day:
At night:
The bund is a beautiful place to be at night. The lights that outline the builds are simply incredible - its all about the show. The lights change color constantly, almost like the fourth of July fireworks here at night.

Unfortunately, we went to the Bund on a day where everyone else was there - the last night of the national holiday. There were sooo many people! My goodness. It was like being on a crowded bus, all the time! It took us about half an hour to cross the street to the other side because there were so many people. At least we didn't lose anyone (stayed together through it all...)

What is more impressive though, I think, is the day-time view of the Bund. Check it out:
I think this view is more incredible because it shows just how immense the buildings were, and how many immense buildings there were along the Huangpu river. It was amazing. From what I heard, most of these buildings are designed by world-class architects.... (this makes San Francisco look like a small town) The other part of this is that these buildings are not just concentrated in the Bund area, but are spread out all over Shanghai (but not as impressive). Our hotel is about 40 minutes by taxi away from the Bund, but you will see these world class buildings all along the way.

Hope you will get a chance to visit some day!

john

1 man, 2 cultures (reflections of trip to Shanghai)

(disclaimer: if I sound racist in this posting, please forgive me...)

Just got back from a business trip to Shanghai. We had a really good time in Shanghai - although it was super busy, we did get to go out and see parts of the great city. It was quite different, in almost every way: size, people, and the culture.

As soon as I stepped off the plane. I can feel the humidity, along with it, a sense of being 'home'. I haven't felt humidity in a while - although its not very pleasant, but it felt like home. Its like I was in a time warp, travelling back to the time when I'd drop off my backpacks as soon as I got home from school, heading straight to the playground to play baseball, and getting in trouble when my parents get home because I didn't do my homework. Boy it was a great feeling.

After spending 10 days there, I felt that I could blend in, disappear, get lost in the great city of Shanghai. I felt at home, I felt comfortable. I spend most of my time explaining the chinese culture to my co-workers. I really felt that I was proud to be Chinese.

But I am not. I had spent most of my life here in the United States, and I sometimes think and act like an American. I can't speak chinese that well, and I can't write, and worst part is that I can't type in chinese. So in the end, who am I?

I've been struggling with this for a while now. Am I "Chinese American"? What exactly is that? I don't reaally think "chinese american" is a culture - one is either more "Chinese" or more "American", depending on which culture you feel more comfortable in. For me, I can function well in either cultures, but I don't feel like I fit in. Thus, I feel lost. Am I Chinese or American?

My life is here in America. My son is growing up here, my wife was born here in the US. I went to highschool and college here in the States. I can speak almost perfect English, and have a great time when I go out with my co-workers after work. I am a big fan of American football, and I am generally not interested in what happens in other countries other than the US. I celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas.

But am I "American"? Far from it. My wife thinks that I am pretty "fobby". (Fresh Off the Boat) About 95% of my friends are Asians, and I pretty much only hang out with them. I eat a lot more Chinese food than most of my friends can handle, and I watch alot of chinese movies. I don't feel comfortable at a party where everyone is "American", unless they have some Asian blood in them.

On the flip side, even though I felt comfortable and feel like I can blend in in China, I don't think they see me as one of them. For one, I dress differently, and I only have a rudimentary knowledge of the language. I can get by, but I am not sure if I fit in. My ideals are very different. I think that people should be free to do what they do and not be bound by the society. I believe in creating opportunities for myself. I feel that people should not feel obligated to stay in relationships that they don't really want to be in. Lastly, I can barely read, not past a 5th grade level, and I can't write and I type really slowly in chinese. I don't really remember or celebrate Chinese holidays (other than chinese new years).

So, this is probably why I feel so weird these days. Who am I? What culture do I belong to? What is my identity? Part of it is that I feel scared, alone. Sometimes I feel that Liz doesn't understand this inner struggle that I have. Sometimes I resent my parents for bring me to the US when I was 12, and now I don't have a culture that I can identify with. I am somewhere in limbo, drifting from side to side, depending on where I am or who I am talking to. I think if I were to spend a lot of time in either place, I would miss the other.

Through all the books that I read from my classes in Asian American studies, I don't think any of the authors have an answer. Although, one thing is for sure - I am beginning to see the struggles that they have. I used to brush them off as idiots that just don't know who they are. Now I am one of those idiots....

Worst part is, I think I will forget about all this next week. I will go back to my daily routine, live my American way of life, go about with church, and hang out with all my Asian American friends here. That is why I am writing this down this time.

Who am I? Please help.

thanks
john

Settlers Of Catan

http://www.mayfairgames.com/mfg-shop/0480-0499/qps/0483.html

So our friends came over the other night and brought this game over called "Settlers of Catan". I'm pretty addicted now! Its a great strategy game, but it also involves some degree of luck. There are so many ways to win, and the strategy to win depends on the layout of the board! (since the board is different each time)...

As with all games, I'm going to spend a whole lot of time trying to figure out what the best way to win is, and what all the stragegies are.. But I think its complicated enough and has enough degrees of luck where it can be a crapshoot. I'm not sure, but will share my secret(s) with you if I ever figure it out!

j

Sorry, haven't been posting - its been so busy at work! I read this story today though that really touched me!

The Pickle Jar

The pickle jar as far back as I can remember sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents' bedroom. When he got ready for bed, Dad would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar. As a small boy I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar. They landed with a merry jingle when the jar was almost empty. Then the tones gradually muted to a dull thud as the jar was filled. I used to squat on the floor in front of the jar and admire the copper and silver circles that glinted like a pirate's treasure when the sun poured through the bedroom window. When the jar was filled, Dad would sit at the kitchen table and roll the coins before taking them to the bank.

Taking the coins to the bank was always a big production. Stacked neatly in a small cardboard box, the coins were placed between Dad and me on the seat of his old truck. Each and every time, as we drove to the bank, Dad would look at me hopefully. "Those coins are going to keep you out of the textile mill, son. You're going to do better than me. This old mill town's not going to hold you back." Also, each and every time, as he slid the box of rolled coins across the counter at the bank toward the cashier, he would grin proudly "These are for my son's college fun
d. He'll never work at the mill all his life like me." We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice cream cone.

I always got chocolate. Dad always got vanilla. When the clerk at the ice cream parlor handed Dad his change, he would show me the few coins nestled in his palm. "When we get home, we'll start filling the jar again." He always let me drop the first coins into the empty jar. As they rattled around with a brief, happy jingle, we grinned at each other. "You'll get to college on pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters, "he said. "But you'll get there. I'll see to that." The years passed, and I finished college and took a job in another town. Once, while visiting my parents, I used the phone in their bedroom, and noticed that the pickle jar was gone. It had served its purpose and had been removed. A lump rose in my throat as I stared at the spot beside the dresser where the jar had always stood. My dad was a man of few words, and never lectured me on the values of determination, perseverance, and faith.

The pickle jar had taught me all these virtues far more eloquently than the most flowery of words could have done. When I married, I told my wife Susan about the significant part the lowly pickle jar had played in my life as a boy. In my mind, it defined, more than anything else, how much my dad had loved me. No matter how rough things got at home, Dad continued to doggedly drop his coins into the jar. Even the summer when Dad got laid off from the mill, and Mama had to serve dried beans several times a week, not a single dime was taken from the jar. To the contrary, as Dad looked across the table at me, pouring catsup over my beans to make them more palatable, he became more determined than ever to make a way out for me.
"When you finish college, Son," he told me, his eyes glistening, "You'll never have to eat beans again - unless you want to."

The first Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born, we spent the holiday with my parents. After dinner, Mom and Dad sat next to each other on the sofa, taking turns cuddling their first grandchild. Jessica began to whimper softly, and Susan took her from Dad's arms. "She probably needs to be changed," she said, carrying the baby into my parents' bedroom to diaper her. When Susan came back into the living room, there was a strange mist in her eyes. She handed Jessica back to Dad before taking my hand and leading me into the room. "Look," she said softly, her eyes directing me to a spot on the floor beside the dresser. To my amazement, there, as if it had never been removed, stood the old pickle jar, the bottom already covered with coins. I walked over to the pickle jar, dug down into my pocket, and pulled out a fistful of coins. With a gamut of emotions choking me, I dropped the coins into the jar. I looked up and saw that Dad, carrying Jessica, had slipped quietly into the room. Our eyes locked, and I knew he was feeling the same emotions I felt. Neither one of us could speak.

This truly touched my heart. I know it has yours as well. Sometimes we are so busy adding up our troubles that we forget to count our blessings....

so true, so true...

My vision and God's vision.

So, I went in last week to have my contacts checked. The doctor asked me how they felt and I said they felt fine, except that my vision is not as clear with contacts as they are with my glasses. Doctor explained that I have a bit of astigmatism, so that even though I have 20/20 vision with my contacts in, the picture from each eye doesn't quite line up with each other, and that is why some of the things that are far away looks fuzzy to me.

Doctor said that unless I want to get Torric(sp?) lenses, I should try to adapt to the contact lenses that I have.

As I was driving away, God was asking me if I can see clearly what His plans are for me. And, just like how I have my contacts on, I couldn't quite see what God's plans are for me. The picture is fuzzy and I can't quite make it out. Its as if one eye is seeing God's vision, yet my other eye is looking at my vision and desires for the future. I realized how much I get sucked up into the things of this world, to the point where I am somewhat uncertain of God's plan for me in the future!

I think I will need to learn to adapt to God's vision instead of insisting on my own vision so that someday, I can see clearly with both eyes open!

john

Contacts...

(In case you haven't noticed!) I decided to give contacts a try, rather than wearing my cool Oakley glasses all the time. Its been quite an experience.

So I went to the doctor's office to go get a regular eye exam. The doctor asks me if I want to dilate my eyes, I said sure. And then she asked me if I wanted to try contacts instead of wearing my glasses all the time, and I said sure.

After the doctor dilates my eyes, she passes me over to the technician, who is suppose to teach me how to put in and take out my contact lenses.

For the life of me (alright, maybe only 1/2 hr of my life), I couldn't see the contacts at all (because of the dilation of my eyes), and the technician keeps telling me that I am doing it wrong because I can't shove the contacts in my eyes. I keep telling her, I can't see the darn thing, and she keeps telling me to try to put it in my eye.

Finally, I think she gave up, and I went back there a week later to prove to them that I know how to put in my contacts, it was just that I couldn't see the thing!

Lesson learned: Don't try to put in your contacts (unless you are "the" Stephen, Mr. Super-good-with-contact-lenses) after you get your eyes dilated!

john

Killing Harry Potter!

[story here]

Can't imagine that JK Rowlings even considered killing Harry Potter! And let Lord Voldemort triumph? Sheesh. I know we get bitter about life as we get older, but that doesn't mean we should start teaching that concept to our next generation so early!

(I know, I know, you're probably thinking, John is so hypocritical because he loves those Oh-I-love-you-but-we-cant-ever-be-together-because-someone-always-dies-before-the-character-realizes-that-they-love-each-other or oh-I-love-you-but-I-dont-tell-you-until-its-too-late sad chinese movies...)

Hey, all I'm saying, is that we don't need to en-bitter (is that a word?) our kids at such a young age!

john

Sexiest car in the world, according to Top Gear:


It edged out the Austin Martin to become the sexiest car. I like! I've always love small teeny cars. Too bad they don't sell the Fiat 500 in the states... Although if gas prices keeps going up, who knows?

Liz's take on this would probably be that its not very safe. *sigh* Its probably true, since it'd probably be either crushed or it'd just bounce off of the american SUVs....

j

World Cup reflections....

Well, World Cup 2006 ended this past Sunday with France being defeated by Italy in Penalty Kicks. *sigh*. I have a friend who absolutely hates the italian team, but works with French people. Who is he to root for?

I was rooting for France all the way. Not sure why, but it just seem like they're the underdogs and I had sympathy for them, maybe? I'm not sure. Maybe its because Italy tied with the US in a game where the officiating was horrible. But watching the Italians play on Sunday, I really felt that there was just way too much acting on the Italian part.

Lots of replays shows how the Italian player was barely touched, then the player would pretend to trip and fall, and throw his hands up like he is expecting a foul?!? What the heck is that? That is how you ruin the game of soccer - playing dirty to get the call. I despise that about the Italians.

Also, the Italians play boring soccer. Little offense, lots of defense, passing the ball back and forth, not doing a whole lot. France made the game a bit more exciting with Henry and Ribery and Zidane - their spectacular breakaway attacks, their passing, and dribbling... Twas fun to watch.

*sigh*, although, I'd have to admit, Zadane is an idiot for doing what he did, too.

I don't know. 4 yrs ago, the Brazil-Germany game seemed to be that much more exciting.

j

Ethan is growing up right before our eyes. Thanks to Liz for continuously taking pictures and posting them on the web! Here's a jem:



As always, you can see updated pictures of Ethan here

In case you are wondering...
the Adidas +10 Commercial players:

José’s team:
Michael Ballack Germany, FC Bayern Munich
Franz Beckenbauer Germany
David Beckham England, Real Madrid CF
Du-Ri Cha Korea Republic, Eintracht Frankfurt
Damian Duff Ireland, Chelsea FC
Steven Gerrard England, Liverpool FC
Kaká Brazil, AC Milan
Oliver Kahn Germany, FC Bayern Munich
Juan Román Riquelme Argentina, Villarreal CF
Bastian Schweinsteiger Germany, FC Bayern Munich
Patrick Vieira France, Juventus Turin

Pedro’s team:
Djibril Cissé France, Liverpool FC
Jermain Defoe England, Tottenham Hotspur
Kevin Kuranyi Germany, FC Schalke
Frank Lampard England, Chelsea FC
Michel Platini France
Shunsuke Nakamura Japan, Celtic Glasgow
Alessandro Nesta Italy, AC Milan
Lukas Podolski Germany, FC Köln
Raúl Spain, Real Madrid CF
Arjen Robben The Netherlands, Chelsea FC
David Trézéguet France, Juventus
Zinédine Zidane France, Real Madrid CF

I don't follow football regularly, I guess this is a good way to get to know who the actual good players are... hehehe.

Interesting reading so far on Platini and Beckenbauer...

john