Catching Up

I have been back in Chengdu for 2 weeks now and haven’t written anything, so I’ll try and catch up a few loose ends. So, "over your morning breakfast of Chinese Dan Dan Noodles, rice, dumplings, and assorted undisclosed animal parts washed down with a few slices of fresh Vietnamese banana or orange with a small glass of Dole's Orange Juice and hot fake American tea while watching reruns of International CNN, these tasty tidbits … "
(Writing style courtesy of the beloved Tom McEwen, Tampa Tribune)

The Plant is beginning to look really good. Equipment installations are in high gear and we are starting to run test parts to make certain the machines work properly. The Clean Room looks great and much of that equipment tooling is already in place. Our auxiliary equipment like lasers, metallurgical lab, and cleanliness systems are operational. The gauge room is fully functional and those technicians are learning the process very well. We have landscaping, asphalt pavement, HVAC, and a ton of Chinese red tape to clear in order to actually move in. Too much to do and too little time to get it done and we are all working quite hard to get there. So, excitement and exhaustion are setting in at the same time, but still having a grand time on this little adventure.

Managed a little pearl shopping last week. For those lucky enough to benefit from this excursion…I think you will be satisfied. (Hmmm? Wonder who that could be?) I went to see the Pearl Lady with Jeff. We worked her pretty hard, but she ended up with a good day of sales and we ended up not spending much; so win-win. The Pearl Lady was laughing at me because while negotiating, I was trying to get her down to 400 RMB for all of my items combined and when I punched it in on her calculator to show how much I would pay – I typed 40000. She smiled and said “OK”. But she knew what I meant.

Had a little pigeon for dinner one night and won the prize - I got the wishbone! Tiny little sucker – but oh, so tasty!! Jeff wouldn’t try it (he’s a bit wimpy in the exotic food department). I have to keep balancing Chinese and Western foods to keep him satisfied. I still try all the strange food. Some is better than others, but I figure if you don’t try – you just can’t get the full experience. Last night, I had Chinese beef jerky. It was great. Better than anything you find in USA. Well - they TOLD me it was beef.

Spring is busting out at the seams! Weather has been in the 60’s all week. Blue Skies and Fluffy Clouds! We even saw the full moon and actual stars last night!! This plays well into our plans because we went to the Chinese Wal-Mart Saturday afternoon and after getting to experience the “walkalater” (an escalator without stairs; its just an inclined plane) we bought patio furniture(sport chairs), a cooler, a grill, and some T-Bones. I think Wednesday night is grill night!! By the way, the Wal-Mart looks just like a Wal-Mart and we knew where everything was as soon as we walked in the door…but the food section is a little different. Rice is sold in bulk. It’s loaded into a 5x5x4 wooden box and you just scoop it out with your hands into your bag. Your HANDS? ... We passed on the rice.

The apartment is shaping up. Got new mattresses so I got rid of the "plywood" mattress and got one with some cushion. Sleeping better now. Mike moved in, so we are each re-learning how to live with roommates. So far, no difficulties. We are slowly figuring out how to work everything, and we expect a good experience here. The Aye (pronounced I-E), or housekeeper, has her hands full cleaning, washing, and learning how to iron shirts to our satisfaction, but I think she'll figure it out. With our new patio furniture, relaxing on the porch has been the evening activity of choice. We were enjoying a local brew and listening to Alan Jackson - so I think the nieighbors are worried!

You have probably read/heard about the Tibetan uprising. Some did spread into our area and yes, that was Tianfu Square in the background on CNN, but there have been no problems for us. In fact, the attention to it seems to have died down at least on the local level. Maybe that is partly due to the military helicopters flying over the city last weekend (1st time any of us have seen helicopters of any kind) and the obvious increase in street police on just about every corner... nothing more than a gentle reminder to behave courtesy of your friendly neighborhood government.

Sunday afternoon, Jeff and I traveled to Jinsha Museum here in Chengdu. Another archeological museum of old relics. This one was pretty cool because they still have the original digs as part of the display. Yes, those are dead people. I told Tang Jianghui they were her great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents. She didn’t like that idea. Her son, on the other hand, did.

So, while working and staying focused on the plant, we are still managing to stay busy on the social front as well.