It's been over a week since I've posted, and I apologize for that. It's just over two months now until I leave for Asia and I am really excited. Christmas has come and gone, and I'm awaiting the rapidly approaching New Year.
Good luck to everyone in 2007. One of my first resolutions for the new year is to write something at least once per day. Whether that will be this blog, my writing blog, or an entry in some other media I do not yet know. In any case, stay safe through the rest of 2006 and I'll see you next year!
Friday, December 29, 2006
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
December
Only 5 days left until Christmas. Can you believe I have all of my shopping done? I usually end up waiting until there are only a few days left, but this year I was on the ball. I'm spending time in Eugene with my girlfriend, and did all of my shopping when I got here. It was very convenient because of the way Eugene works. For some reason, no one here does anything before 10:45 in the morning. So I just hit the stores before then, skipped all the traffic and the checkout lines, and then got back to the apartment to do other things (laundry, gift wrapping, writing, etc.).
For Christmas, I got Annie a membership to the local rock climbing gym. I gave it to her a while ago so she could start going after work. Then I bought one for myself after I got to town. We've gone for at least an hour a day for the last three days straight! We aren't going tonight, though, to give our bodies an extra day to recouperate. I literally couldn't lift anything last night and I decided an extra day to let my muscles heal will help my coordination when we go tomorrow.
All of my other shopping is done, too. I got my mom a **** ******. I really hope she like it. Dad's getting a ****** ****, Kevin's getting a *** ****, and I bought Ryan a ********** ******. I've censored the text to keep anyone from figuring out what I actually got. Who knows who will read this, right?
Besides Christmas preparations, I've been stressing about my upcoming trip. It's only two and a half months away now, and we're working hard to get all of the last-minute details irnoned out. I have to give my passport to our program director when classes start again in January so he can get my Chinese entry visa. We also finished choosing roommates for the trip last week. I'll be staying with Sean for the duration of the trip. He used to live in Japan, so it'll be nice to essentially have my own guide the week we're there.
Enjoy the rest of 2006!
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Spring Break Plans!
I decided that I want to go to Reno for Spring Break. I'll be getting back from my trip abroad on either Saturday or Sunday and will be flying out to Reno on Tuesday. I know it sounds a bit boring, especially with everyone else in my program touring Nepal, Hong Kong, and the like. But I disagree. I haven't been to any big casino cities in years (not since long before I was old enough to gamble), so I hope I get to see a completely different side of Reno.
I'm also going to be visiting a comedy club while I'm there. Some New York group is touring Reno the week I'll be in town, and I have tickets! I went to a similar club in Portland a while ago (a month or so?) and thought it was incredible. I can only hope this will be similar.
Now, about the trip to China. For my marketing class, we've been studying an apparel company called Icebreaker. Personally, I think the company is great! They specialize in products made from merino wool. This gives their clothing the feel of polyester (rather than prickly wool), but with the warming and drying comfort of real wool. Truly innovative, if you ask me. Unfortunately, it's expensive; but I still want a coat!
Our assignment has been to write a memo to CEO Jeremy Moon about whether or not the time is right for Icebreaker to enter the Chinese market. After reading the case study and supporting material, I think they should move now. The point is, though, that at the end of the case study was a copy of a letter inviting Jeremy Moon to participate in ispo China, a big trade show in Beijing. The interesting thing is that the trade show is taking place during the second half of the week I will be in Beijing! I'm going to try to make a side trip if it's not on our itinerary, if only to shake the hand of the man running a very efficient, innovative, and sustainable company. In case you can't tell from this post, I'm a huge fan and would really like to sit down with someone in the management just to get information on how they did what they did with the company.
Anyway, that's my quickie update for the day. Just over 3 and a half months 'til my trip!
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Week 3
So it's the beginning of week 3 and I've already had to sign up for my classes for the new year (term 3 is January-March) AND the field study trip. I'm proud to say that my trip is now official and I'm really looking forward to getting closer to going!
I was told in church on Sunday that parts of China stink. Not as in "not fun" but as in "smell really bad." A former member of my church visits China frequently and relayed his warnings to me via his dad, an Elder in the church. I figure I should take his comment with a grain of salt. It might turn out to be true, but I don't want to taint my mental image of the country before I get the chance to go. I'll give you all some feedback after I go ... we shall see if China really stinks or not. Until then, if you have advice, warnings, comments, or just miscellaneous feedback on my upcoming trip feel free to let me know!
Friday, November 03, 2006
Recent Webpage Updates
Those of you who frequent this site have probably noticed two minor additions on the right-hand side. The first is the inclusion of Google Ads. I subscribed to Adsense as a way to increase the cash in my pocket before I go abroad. If you're a fellow blogger, you might want to look in to the feature. All you do is put the applet on your webpage, and then you get paid depending on how many people visit your site and/or click the advertisements. Google uses software that reads through your posts and targets ads that share at least a small fit with your blog content. To read more, check out their information page.
The next addition is the shameless statement: "I use Google Analytics!" This is not a plug for Google. I use page elements for my blogs, and I needed to specify a name for a second javascript applet I installed. This one tracks the number of people who visit my blogs and where they are reading from. I wanted to have a better idea of who my audience was so I can post appropriately. I also doubt I currently have a high number of readers, but I don't know for sure. Google Analytics will give me a traffic report every day to prove me wrong. If you want they same features on your site, check out their information page.
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