Finally Arrived.

Well, here I am. In Dalian. It is August 31st and just finished a long flight. I will get into my experiences getting here in a moment. First I want to mention a couple things that went on the past week prior to my leaving.

The week was filled with needing to get a lot of stuff done and prepared or fixed. It was busy but a lot was accomplished. The movers came to get my stuff I had packed to ship. This would include items like winter clothes, some kitchen utensils, some books and shoes. Of course, a George Foreman too so I can actually try and cook something. Well the trick with all that was that it had to weigh a total of at least 220lbs in order for the movers to ship it for me. I was trying everything to get the weight up there. I thought I had gotten pretty close. All of it to me seemed to be pretty heavy. Well, after they came and got it and packed it all up for me, I was sent a letter later in the week telling me that my shipment was 197lbs. Missed it by that much! Luckily, they let it go and they will be shipping it. I was worried they wouldn't.

Next came the last two games of racquetball with my LA fitness RB buddies. They were good games that week but they didn't let up on me. I actually only won one game out of the eight we played on Thursday. I thought they were going to let me win just to be nice. Well, they didn't do that but what they did do after the games was take me out to breakfast. I thought I was only going to have breakfast with John but 4 other guys showed up to send me off. These guys are wonderful. I want to thank John, Dave, Mike, Frank and Jim. These guys have really become fantastic friends and worthy opponents over the past few years. I am going to miss these guys, not only for the games, but the friendships. I am truly blessed with friends like them. They also gave me a new ping pong paddle with its own case and a paddle ball set for beach play. I guess I have to take up Ping Pong or Badminton while here in China.

There were many lunches, dinners and breakfasts I attended this past week. Don't really know why wanted to spend time with me? I guess I am lucky to have a wife who has so many friends. I get to tag along and be her date. That seemed to take up a lot of time in between the running around I had to do.

Now, 3 days before I was to leave, our desktop computer decided to stop working and not boot up. The hard drive crashed on it. Well, what was I to do? I tried everything I could to revive it but it was really DOA. I decided to buy a new tower. I then had to spend the next few days setting it up with programs and stuff so Kevin could use it for school. Many hours in front of that things. I then got a call from the renters of my Mother in laws house on Thursday and he informed me there was a reverse osmosis leak which cased damage to the counter top in the kitchen. I drove over there and sure enough, it was bad enough that it was going to have to get replaced. Well, I decided to go ahead and do the work myself so I actually spent the whole day on Friday (the day before I was to leave) replacing the kitchen counter top. Luckily I had my Dad to help me out. He is always there to help and come to the rescue. I have learned many things from him in my lifetime and I am always grateful to have him by helping when I need it.

We then went to dinner and some friends house Friday night and enjoyed a relaxing time. I then had to get up in the morning and Kathy and I met my parents for breakfast. I figured I needed to eat as much this past week as possible because eating in china is not the most fulfilling or filling thing around.

Then came the moment of truth. Leaving for the airport. This actually went smoothly. Got all of the luggage together and loaded it into the truck. Brian called me and wanted to know if he should drive up from Tucson to say goodbye. Nice and appreciated thought but I said he didn't have to. Kevin said goodbye and Kathy and I were off.

My next entry to the blog will be what I went through to get the luggage on the flight and the flight over. Stay tuned.

Just about 1 week to departure date

I am winding down. I leave a week from Saturday. That leaves a lot to do over this next week. We are going to have a little get together for some neighbors and friends this Friday night. Just a small crowd. We are just having some small sandwiches, fruit and veggies. No set party type atmophere but relaxing.

This past week has been busy since last weekend. Kathy and I had to do some heavy duty work at her mothers house. We have been renting that out for the past year and 2 weeks ago we were informed that the renters were moving out. Well you know what that means. Cleaning, painting, repairing and elbow grease. We spent 3 straight days doing all of this. Lucky for us, Brian, his girlfriend Jenny and Kevin helped us paint and clean. Then the concern was trying to find another renter. Timing is everything. We really did not need this at this time with me leaving the country. So, in the Lords good timing we found someone to rent the house and they will be moving in on Sept 1st. The place is clean and ready to go and we basically will not lose any rent payments due to lack of renters. The lord is always good all the time. There is a few more things to do over the next weekend but it is ready to go.

Work has been hectic as well. My schedule continues to be filled with meetings every night until around 9pm. That is not so bad, but this week we started the next round of tool install design package reviews. These all seem to be scheduled for the mornings. That still makes for a very long day. I was able to stay home in the mornings a couple times this week which was good.

I am trying to get all my stuff ready for shipping. I have to come up with at least 220 lbs in order to be allowed to ship stuff. I am struggling to come up with enough weight. I don't want to have to put it in suitcases and carry it with me. If I have to, I will put free weights in the shipment. That way I can work out while I am sitting in my apartment at night doing nothing. The movers are coming on Monday to take my stuff so I will be busy gathering and packing stuff all weekend to see how much I have.

Next week will be busy. Will try to get things wrapped up and head out on Saturday. I will see if reality sinks in by mid week that I am leaving the country to live in a different culture on the opposite side of the world for close to a year without my family.

19 days to go

The clock is ticking. What has happened to all the time I had before I was going to leave? Will I get everything done here that I need to get done before the clock runs out? Oh what the heck, just take it a day at a time. Things will fall into place I guess.

I had a wonderful weekend this week. Enjoyed a good movie with my wife. If you get a chance to see Julie and Julia do so. It is a great movie and really shows the importance of a good blog. I think I am non the right path. Maybe a book deal or movie in the future huh? Anyway, Kathy and I have been trying to do as much together as we can. Being apart is going to be difficult. Kevin, Kathy and I then went out to dinner to Olive Garden on Friday night. That is always a great place to get good Italian food. We enjoyed a good dinner and good conversation. Saturday was then filled with normal work around the house. Little things you know. Fixing sprinkler heads, repairing some outdoor lights, repairing the in ground cleaning system in the pool. All of these little things that need fixing before I leave. After that, it was time for a nap. Got a good one in and was able to sleep for a good hour on the couch in the cool house when the temperature was over 105 degrees outside. We then decided to go to church in the evening and that way we could sleep in on Sunday morning and not be rushed the next day for the nice party my parents gave me. More about that in a bit. After we got home from church we just took it easy for the rest of the evening. Kathy made a nice dinner, Kevin went out with friends. Kathy and I sat outback enjoying the nice night. A beer in hand and a little Baileys for Kathy, we just sat and relaxed. A slight summer night breeze, stars in the sky, a very bright moon and birds chirping as they rest for the night. What more could you ask for and get. And no charge!

Sunday was a good day. Relaxed in the morning and helped Kevin a little with some yard work. Needed to get that done before it was too hot. Kevin does a great job with the yard and also the neighbors yard. This is good because he is going to get paid to keep our yard and pool in shape while I am in China. When we finished up the work we both sat around watched TV and cooled down. Then, at noon it was time to go to my Mom and Dads house for a little family get together. This is always a fun thing to do and it will most likely be the last time I will see my family for a few months. Well, arriving at my parents house I walked in the door and everyone was bowing to me. They tried to speak Mandarin but they didn't have a clue. But, nice attempt. My Mom was great, she decorated the whole house with a Chinese motif. She and my Dad actually went down to the Chinese Cultural Center here in Phoenix and looked for things that would give us a sense of China.

• She had Chinese good luck lanterns,
• She had Chinese Napkins,


• And of course Chinese Fortune cookies.

Then to top off the meal, we had Pizza for dinner. Where else can you have a multi cultural dinner other than in America. Thanks to my Mom and Dad (Bob and Carol) for making this day special, fun and enjoyable. I appreciate the love they show and the concern about me heading off to China.

Well, after that fun lunch, Kathy and I headed off to some other friends for dinner. These are friends we have known since our kids played T-ball together. Dave and Camille had us over for a wonderful pork roast dinner they cooked on the spit of the grill. Camille is a fantastic cook and we ate until we were full. We then sat and talked for some time and then went for a boat ride. You see, they live on a lake and we were able to just walk out the back door to the dock and onto their boat. We took a nice quiet ride around the lake and enjoyed another absolutely beautiful Arizona summer night.

Well, that is it for the weekend. A busy one but what better way to spend my last few weeks. Time with friends and family. Just wonderful.

3 weeks to go

Well, here I am sitting and trying to collect my senses knowing that I am only 3 weeks away from leaving for China. Again I am excited and apprehensive. I am trying to get all my stuff ready to ship and identify different things I am going to need. This is a hard task since I have no idea what it is going to be like there in China. I have received so many different emails and warnings about what is and what is not allowed in China. I do know that I am not allowed to ship any food, drugs, certain types and amounts of books and I can definitely not ship anything that has political overtones, propaganda about China or Tibet. I will have to get used to the restrictive control the Chinese goverment has on everything over there.

I have done some shopping to get ready. I am pulling together the essentials. I have purchased things like underclothes, new shoes, different clothes that will get me ready for the sub zero weather there starting in November. I was told that it is very difficult to find clothes my size there. Obviously being 6'3" and 195#, I am much taller and larger than the average chinese citizen. The challenge right now is trying to find winter clothes in the stores here in Arizona when it is 113 degrees and in the middle of the summer. Just try and find long underwear. Impossible. I guess i will just have to wait for a month and maybe Kathy can bring me some when she comes to visit me later this year. If not, I am going to be one frozen Arizona cactus boy.

My last week at work was a busy one. I continue to have very long days. Usually around 12 to 13 hours. That is because many of my planning meetings are now being held starting at 5:00pm Az time which is 8:00am the next day in China. I usually end up working to about 10:00pm. The good thing is I can do that from home. I guess the good thing is that will all be over in about 3 weeks, but I am sure that will be replaced with actual hands on work in the field inside the factory once I get there. I honestly don't mind that though. I like to do the actual work instead of planning for it.

Well, this week we will be beginning our redundant tool design for Fab68. This means it will be the second round of tools will be put into design packages for review of installation needs. We look at where the tools will be installed in the factory and all the mechanical, electrical and structural needs to install the tool. This will keep me busy at work. At the same time I will be working with the other project managers trying to figure out how we will keep the design reviews going on here while our team begins to transition to China over the next couple of months. Besides myself, there will be 15 other engineers, technicians and project managers transitioning to China between now and October. Challenges ahead, no doubt.