Here we go again, months have passed with a lot of excitement and no blogging done, boy am I good!!! So much has happened, but for time sake, just a small update with our family. May1st Matt graduated from Thunderbird and that was a very exciting day. I am so proud of Matt for graduating from such an amazing school. We loved our experience and friends we made. We moved shortly after graduation to Ogden, Utah to live with my parents until we figure things out for work. It has been nice to be here with my parents and have our children be around their grandparents. We have never lived by my parents since we have been married or had children, so this time is nice. We have been able to take it easy and rest a little, it has also been very nice to have Matt be home for a change.
June came and went!!! Looking back it seems like we did a lot, but I can't seem to remember what we did. Except for a couple big highlights and that is Maia and Isaac's 2 year birthday. Yes, they are 2 and I can't believe how fast they have grown. They are such wonderful children and a wonderful blessing to have in our family. From the moment I found out I was having twins I was so excited and happy. In fact, I have had so much fun with these two, I was hoping to have twins again. Yes, Matt loves Maia and Isaac, but didn't want twins again. We are blessed with just one this time and I am still very happy. Anyway, Maia and Isaac are so different, yet love being around each other. They love chasing each other around the house and love following Tristyn everywhere she goes. Tristyn is such a good big sister and loves her brother's and sister so much. She always wants Maia and Isaac to be around and enjoys helping them.
For their birthday we went fishing at a fish farm, it was actually very fun. The only problem is that Maia and Isaac were a little scared of the fish. Maia liked watching us fish, but would step back and turn when we would pull it out of the water. Isaac on the other hand was not only scared but terrified. He actually dove on the grass, screamed, and covered his head with his hands when the fish were close to him. It almost seemed like he was dodging a dangerous weapon. I guess you would have to be there to see how funny it was, I did feel bad he was so scared, but it was very funny. Tristyn loved fishing and got the hang of it very quickly. She was catching fish after fish, she's a little fisherman!
Other fun times were at the Country Club swimming pool with family and cousins. All the kids love the water. Tristyn just jumps in and is really becoming a little swimmer, she is fearless. Maia and Isaac love to be in the water and will play around in the kids pool. In the big pool, they love to go under the water only if they are in our arms. Matt has also taken the kids on walks, the library, and the park.
We also had a great Father's Day. We had a fun breakfast at my parents home with Brandon and Leif's family, our family, and my parents. It was fun to have everyone together and be around to honor some of the important father's in our family.
We are now in July! Matt and Tristyn decided to take a trip up to Washington to visit his brother Dave and family. They went up for our nieces baptism. Tristyn has been so excited to see her cousins baptism. She knows how important and special this is and wanted to share in this special moment. They sound like they are having fun and enjoying time with family. Hopefully, I will have some pictures next time and a post that is in a couple of days or week.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
It's a Boy!!
We found out on March 25th we will be blessed with another boy. WE are so excited to have another boy in this family. We love our daughters and their excitement and love for life, however, we really wanted a boy. Infact, Tristyn told everyone from the moment she knew we were expecting that we are having a boy and his name is Lance. We are not sure about the name, but we do like, but she was right, we are having a BOY. Tristyn, is pretty intune with our pregnancies, she always knew Maia and Isaac were twins, a boy and girl before we knew and she knew this pregnancy was a boy. She is an amazing little girl.
I can't believe it is April!!!
I have trying to be better at journaling, but it is not my strength, so we are trying to blog, now it has been a month since I last recored anything. We has a very packed and busy month of March. I had my 31st birthday and it was great, all I wanted was a day off, and I got it. Matt was able to stay home most of day and take care of the kiddos, I went out to lunch with friends, and enjoyed a Latin potluck at Thunderbird. I alway enjoy going to events at Thunderbird and getting to know so many wonderful families from all over the world.
Matt and I also had the wonderful opportunity to got to the Mesa, AZ Temple on the Saturday before my birthday. One of our friends was going through for the first time, Juilo. He is an amazing person, I have learned so much from. His love for Christ and desire to follow him, his example of a father, and love for the gospel. We felt so blessed to share in this special day with him. The spirit and love of Christ I feel when I attend the House of Lord is so peaceful. It is so nice to put aside worldly things and focus on the eternal perspective for a couple of hours. I feel the love of my Father In Heaven and Jesus Christ, I feel closer to my son Asa. I love the opportunities to attend the temple.
On March 14th, Matt entered Tour de Cure bike race. It was fun to see him be so excited and be able to raise money to donate to the Diabetic Association. The kids had fun seeing Daddy on a bike, and were his own fan club.
The next part of March flew very fast. We had a small stay in hospital because of Maia, she has some respiratory distress. Basically, she has asthma and a simple virus attacked her lungs and required her to be on oxygen for 5 days. She was such a trooper, she was so cute letting all the hospital workers do whatever they needed too. The RN's would come in and she'd lift up her leg for her BP, hold her arm out for her IV meds, and lift up her shirt to they could listen to her lungs. The Resp. Therapists would just hand her the treatments and she'd hold the mask to her mouth. In the mean time, I was not sleeping, hence hospital life and sleeping in a twin be with a 21 month old. Poor Tristyn being scared for her sister in the hospital, hoping she will come home. Tristyn remembers Asa in the hospital and knows he didn't come home, so for her hospitals can be a bit overwhelming at times. Isaac missed his Mommy and twin sister, as for Matt. He handled it well, but missed to much school and was feeling a bit burdened with missing school projects, classes, exams, meetings, and job interviews. The hospital stay turned into 5 days rather than 1-2, so for Matt missing so much school at the end left us in need of help. So, his mother came to our rescue. She came down to help us our for about a week. It was so nice because when we came home, then Tristyn got the flu and was throwing up all night, the next day we found out Maia now had an ear infection, and Isaac had a fever and was now coughing and was lethargic. Then the next day he was throwing up and Tristyn was now better, but Maia was still not eating and Isaac was eating very little. I was concerned about Maia from her 10% weight loss and Isaac being lethargic, then he turned very cranky. So there was someone just attending to children every second. I know kids get sick, but a Dad at school all hours of the day and pregnant mother not sleeping for over 5 days and now more can be a bit much. Again, my mother in law truely saved us, it was a huge blessing. On with our sick kiddos, then we found out Isaac had an ear infection. By the end of the second week the kids starting eating again and were happy, now we were happier.
Even though we were in hospital and then had a week of infections, coughs, sleepless nights, throwing up, lots and lots of wash, we had family to help, we came home from the hospital all together, and we have each other. Then it was time to say bye to Nanna!! Thanks Nanna for saving the day we truely love and appreciate you. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful family and friends. I forgot to mention the help our friends from our ward and Thunderbird gave, dinners brought in, blessings being administers, car rides, babysitters, and visiters in the hospital. We truely felt loved and cared for.
That about wrapped up the rest of March!!! Except for a fun filled evening for a girls night out with friends from Thunderbird and a fun day at a spring training baseball game, I will post pictures later.
Matt and I also had the wonderful opportunity to got to the Mesa, AZ Temple on the Saturday before my birthday. One of our friends was going through for the first time, Juilo. He is an amazing person, I have learned so much from. His love for Christ and desire to follow him, his example of a father, and love for the gospel. We felt so blessed to share in this special day with him. The spirit and love of Christ I feel when I attend the House of Lord is so peaceful. It is so nice to put aside worldly things and focus on the eternal perspective for a couple of hours. I feel the love of my Father In Heaven and Jesus Christ, I feel closer to my son Asa. I love the opportunities to attend the temple.
On March 14th, Matt entered Tour de Cure bike race. It was fun to see him be so excited and be able to raise money to donate to the Diabetic Association. The kids had fun seeing Daddy on a bike, and were his own fan club.
The next part of March flew very fast. We had a small stay in hospital because of Maia, she has some respiratory distress. Basically, she has asthma and a simple virus attacked her lungs and required her to be on oxygen for 5 days. She was such a trooper, she was so cute letting all the hospital workers do whatever they needed too. The RN's would come in and she'd lift up her leg for her BP, hold her arm out for her IV meds, and lift up her shirt to they could listen to her lungs. The Resp. Therapists would just hand her the treatments and she'd hold the mask to her mouth. In the mean time, I was not sleeping, hence hospital life and sleeping in a twin be with a 21 month old. Poor Tristyn being scared for her sister in the hospital, hoping she will come home. Tristyn remembers Asa in the hospital and knows he didn't come home, so for her hospitals can be a bit overwhelming at times. Isaac missed his Mommy and twin sister, as for Matt. He handled it well, but missed to much school and was feeling a bit burdened with missing school projects, classes, exams, meetings, and job interviews. The hospital stay turned into 5 days rather than 1-2, so for Matt missing so much school at the end left us in need of help. So, his mother came to our rescue. She came down to help us our for about a week. It was so nice because when we came home, then Tristyn got the flu and was throwing up all night, the next day we found out Maia now had an ear infection, and Isaac had a fever and was now coughing and was lethargic. Then the next day he was throwing up and Tristyn was now better, but Maia was still not eating and Isaac was eating very little. I was concerned about Maia from her 10% weight loss and Isaac being lethargic, then he turned very cranky. So there was someone just attending to children every second. I know kids get sick, but a Dad at school all hours of the day and pregnant mother not sleeping for over 5 days and now more can be a bit much. Again, my mother in law truely saved us, it was a huge blessing. On with our sick kiddos, then we found out Isaac had an ear infection. By the end of the second week the kids starting eating again and were happy, now we were happier.
Even though we were in hospital and then had a week of infections, coughs, sleepless nights, throwing up, lots and lots of wash, we had family to help, we came home from the hospital all together, and we have each other. Then it was time to say bye to Nanna!! Thanks Nanna for saving the day we truely love and appreciate you. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful family and friends. I forgot to mention the help our friends from our ward and Thunderbird gave, dinners brought in, blessings being administers, car rides, babysitters, and visiters in the hospital. We truely felt loved and cared for.
That about wrapped up the rest of March!!! Except for a fun filled evening for a girls night out with friends from Thunderbird and a fun day at a spring training baseball game, I will post pictures later.
Monday, March 23, 2009
My Trip to China
My trip to China was amazing and reinforced my desire to move my family there. With the difficult global economy its not the right environment or time to head over there now, but it is still definitely in the Keller's plans.
I kept a journal of thoughts, feelings and experiences and have posted them here for everyone to enjoy. I cannot promise that it will all make sense but ...
"Day 1 – Beijing – January 12, 2009
Flying into Beijing, China was anti-climatic. But 30 hours of traveling from Salt Lake City, Utah will do that to any adventurous spirit. Fortunately, curiosity propelled me to shed the fatigue shortly after arriving at the JW Marriott hotel and venture out to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. I found both sites incredibly interesting and awash in history. Books I had read about the Ming and Qing Dynasty rule from the hallowed halls of the City were top of mind as I wandered through the Meridian Gate and into the Outer and Inner Courts. Mysticism titillated my senses as I peered into the Three Halls of Harmony and at the throne in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Crossing the street from the City put me on ground where modern-day revolutions were celebrated and squashed. I was impressed by the size and surroundings of Tiananmen, but was saddened by the horrible atrocities that occurred in this square during the Cultural Revolution and 89’ Massacre of college students. Interestingly, my feeling of conflict in The Square set precedence for the duration of my trip. Like the feelings of Tiananmen, my experience in China was to be wrought with conflict regarding my desire to pursue a life and career in China. And the feelings started on the first day of lectures when numerous speakers painted drastically different pictures of the present and future of China economics and politics. Interestingly, the messages that percolated to the surface of my understanding were spoken most eloquently by Frank Neville: 1) don’t be intimidated by the mysticism and history of China, 2) don’t check your common sense at the door when thinking about and interacting with China, and 3) don’t be culturally naïve about China but don’t also stress out about mastering China. These three points described succinctly the words of encouragement I needed to hear in contemplating the emotional conflict I feel about the China. It was an interesting first day.
Day 2 – Beijing – January 13, 2009
After a tremendously engaging first day there is nothing quite like beginning day two with a disappointing site visit to an uninspiring fruit juice bottler. Huiyuan Juice Group cordially hosted us for a site visit of it’s bottling plant in an area one hour outside of Beijing. The hosts introduced to Huiyuan via a five-minute video and 30 minute tour of the company’s trophy collection. The only interesting aspect of the business was to learn that the founder, Mr. Zhu Xin Li, created the largest privately held juice bottler in China by leveraging his guanxi in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Such relationships allowed unfettered growth, which eventually led to the 2008 offer from the Coca-Cola Company to purchase Huiyuan. This has led to an interesting CCP debate as the iconic American company attempts to takeover a Chinese symbol of excellence. Despite the economics of the situation, the takeover of Chinese national symbols was established well before the Huiyuan / Coca-Cola deal. In 1979, the CCP’s leading member, Deng Xiaoping, persuaded Chinese citizens everywhere to pursue the glories of wealth. This generated significant advancements in economics and stimulated what is today a thriving tourism market. The Great Wall of China is an amazing tourist destination and one that is awesome to behold. The sure magnitude and gravity of its design and creation is spectacular. My father use to always tell me while I was growing up, “Son, when someone tells you it can’t be done, prove them wrong.” I think the Chinese took such a saying literally as the location of the Great Wall traverses over 4,000 miles of some of the roughest terrain the country has to offer. And that is what impressed me most about the Wall. However, despite its magnificence the Wall is not immune to modern-day attractions and the luge ride down from the Wall was a spectacle to behold as Thundebird MBAs barreled down the course at break neck speeds without any thought to life or limb. The luge and Wall represented another conflict for me. A beautiful and historic landmark in companionship with a cheap thrill to line the coffers of the government. The night ended with an extraneous meal at a Communist Theater Dinner. I describe it as extraneous because nothing could have been more foreign than that experience. The setting, the propaganda, the language, the food, and the reactions of my fellow Weiguarens were simply out of our comfort zones but definitely an experience to be had.
Day 3 – Beijing – January 14, 2009
Day three was another packed day as we prepared to say goodbye to Beijing and make our way to Shanghai. The speakers did their part in explaining the current political and sustainable environment of China. Mr. Mark Duval was particularly impressive as he discussed the various levels of touch-points Motorola has adopted in developing relations with the Chinese government and party. I especially found the following quote captivating from his lecture, “You cannot criticize China from the outside looking in. You have to be in the country and create change from within.” I bring this point out in particular because of the tone I’ve noticed with the Thunderbird group. To me, it seems, there are a number of self-appointed “China experts” amongst us that appear to have figured out China. This is perplexing to me as the more I listen to the messages being shared the more dumbfounded I feel toward the complexities of such a great nation. And the saying, “I may be dumb but I’m not stupid” comes to mind as I listen to the pontificating of our group’s critics. I hope the sentiment changes as we move along our Winterim. Our afternoon concluded with a site visit of computer manufacturer Lenovo. This Chinese darling is an interesting organization. Built from the ground up and recently acquiring global prominence with its purchase of IMB’s laptop business unit a few years ago, Lenovo faces the same transformational hurdles as most Chinese companies. That is to say that it is a company with tremendous operational prowess that will only get them so far in an economy attempting to eat up the value chain. Lenovo, admittedly, has a brand issue. Very few peopleheard of Lenovo before it purchased IMB’s laptop business unit. Vis-à-vis the purchase, Lenovo know faces a strategic dilemma of how to build and manage a global brand. I venture to say the success or failure of this one initiative alone will make or break the rising star of this Chinese company. After our visit, we all packed up and headed for Beijing International Airport to catch flights to the sprawling metropolis of Shanghai.
Day 4 – Shanghai – January 15, 2009
I love Shanghai. Imagine New York City with a multiplier of 10 and you might begin to understand the magnitude of the city. It’s amazing, spectacular, and filled with development. Unfortunately, my desires to explore are on hold until the weekend as today was a lecture day. Despite my cabin-fever mentality, today’s speakers were awesome. It all began with Kent Kendl’s stand up comedic rendition of demonstrating how a person can perform in front of a crowd, spew random nothingness about a topic the crowd is relatively naïve about, and in a normal setting, make a lot of money at. If you guessed Kent’s profession was a comedian or consultant you would be right with both assumptions. Despite such classics as “bull cookies” and “super-wealthy, yellow teenagers” Kent actually relayed a decent message as he challenged us to use the following simple principles in working in China: 1) think strategy before structure, 2) pursue top and bottom line business decisions, and 3) work hard to get deep market insight. Another speaker that strongly impressed me was Dr. Janamitra Devan’s explanation of the Chinese urbanization movement. I was fascinated by his modeling of expected growth concentrations in China. The sheer movement of migrant workers out of the farmlands and into the cities breeds need for massive metropolitan planning for the Chinese government and party. Such planning is unprecedented on the face of the earth. However, the icing on the cake for me was Joab Meyer’s story of graduating from Thunderbird, selling everything, and moving to China with his family. Without even knowing Joab, I immediately felt a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for such a bold move. I felt inspired and motivated to follow in his footsteps and land myself in China until I find a job. The siren call of this great land is tangibly tugging at my heartstrings and my urge to live among the Chinese is becoming more entrenched. Listening to these speakers and hearing their stories of struggle and victory persuades me to at least tempt fate this once. To look into the jaws of this powerful nation and place my head squarely in its mouth in defiance or confidence or stupidity, to see if I can withstand and earn the respect of the people. This place captivates me.
Day 5 – Shanghai – January 16, 2009
Today’s site visits were okay. The GM plant was not overly stimulating as I’ve been to several assembly lines. The Intel visit was a bit disappointing as I was hoping to see more than the reception desk and the inside of a conference room. However, despite the day’s disappointments the alumni dinner and social was entertaining. As the Beijing alumni were almost non-existent, the Shanghai alumni made a better showing. During the course of the evening I met some very interesting Thunderbird’s but really felt more closely bonded to the current students. The revelation I had was that as large and diverse as our alumni network is, the meat of the network is the relationships I’m building today. It’s these folks that I’m going to interact with and rely on in the future. The folks that I graduate with our the individuals I will call when deals need to be made or where groups need to be connected. It was great mixing with the various Thunderbird’s and ties that bind do exist but not nearly to the degree that exist amongst this rag-tag group of people I’ve been experiencing China with over the last five days.
Day 6 and 7 – Shanghai – January 17 and 18, 2009
I will not write much about the days off I had; however, I will mention that the two things that impressed me the most were the wonderful personalities of the Chinese people that came out during my bartering spree through downtown Shanghai and the collective spirituality I felt at the Sunday morning church service I went to with friends. Both experiences left deep impressions of reality where stereotypes had once existed. Off to Hong Kong.
Day 8 – Hong Kong – January 19, 2009
If you could smash the atmosphere of Seattle together with the overwhelming feeling of being in downtown Manhattan you would have Hong Kong. A city situated in the amphitheater of the China South Sea and in the heart of the financial arena of Asian economics, Hong Kong is a definite checkmark of spectacular things I’ve seen in my life. The awesomeness of this beautiful metropolis was validated by the day’s speakers. The theme focused specifically on the importance of Hong Kong’s role in the global expansion of Asia both past and future. However, the speakers were not reluctant to discuss the many difficulties the city faces, and especially, brought to light the difficult in determining the reliability of China’s economic forecasts. Some of the speaker’s did their best to convince us that the economy of the region was not as rosy as the Chinese government wants the world to believe and feels the economic slowdown will impact Hong Kong. However, one particular criticism of the world financial markets was specifically made by the Chief Investment Strategist from Goldman Sachs Asia who said, “The financial market needs commercial banks to stop acting like investment brokerages and China needs to stop incenting the Chinese savings rate.” I thought these points were especially interesting as both observations suggest methods of injecting markets with more liquidity via equity investments and consumer spending. However, another speaker mentioned that such drastic steps are not in China’s nature. The speaker iterated that, “a Chinese policy misstep could be catastrophic for the region and the world.” And Allen Vander … from Edelman consultancy projected that the region would experience a surge in NGO influence, a growing transient labor pool and a stronger emergence of the Chinese consumer. All of these points are fascinating interconnected and could produce interesting results. Only time will tell.
Day 9 – Hong Kong – January 20, 2009
Today we had an interesting visit with a Thunderbird entrepreneur named Nelson Choi. He literally cloned TiVo for the Hong Kong market and gave it the name Magic TV. Nelson’s motto for running a company was that, “you do not need to be an expert just courageous enough to believe in your idea.” And he showed it by taking a $100K venture to $50 MM in five years. Impressively, Nelson was very humble with his accomplishments and genuine in his enthusiasm for the Hong Kong market. Our second visit was in Shenzhen, China at Huawei Technologies. Huawei manufactures telecommunications equipment like switches, routers, servers, etc. and is another darling of the Chinese economy. It’s competitive advantage is its relentless focus on its customers; which sounds crystal clear and captivating when spoken, but when asked to relate how that translated into a business success, the speaker quietly found it difficult to produce an example. Once again a conflict of what China represent to what it really is. A vision of harmony masked by disharmony. This place is a paradox. But I still love it.
Day 10 – Hong Kong – January 21, 2009
My last day on the Winterim. I started this adventure wrestling with the problem of being conflicted and how that mirrored the conflict within China. Today’s lecture from Ambassador Lavin, followed by an outstanding dinner and reception with arguably the best represented alumni group I’ve run into since joining Thunderbird, to a perplexingly long ferry ride in Hong Kong Harbor, has brought me to the conclusion that China is a dynamic consternation. It’s so beautiful, mystifying, and enchanting on the outside. And so complex, conflicted and stupefying on the inside. But despite the contradiction I’m enthralled by its very nature and inspired by Frank Neville’s opening lecture. That is, despite China, with all of its prominence and intrigue, one cannot be 1) intimidated, 2) illogical or 3) culturally naïve when thinking about doing business or pursuing a life this great nation. It is only through feeling the stones as one crosses the river that one can find ultimate success and happiness here. I hope one day I can reflect back on this Winterim as another catalyst in my life long journey to experience China professionally and personally."
I kept a journal of thoughts, feelings and experiences and have posted them here for everyone to enjoy. I cannot promise that it will all make sense but ...
"Day 1 – Beijing – January 12, 2009
Flying into Beijing, China was anti-climatic. But 30 hours of traveling from Salt Lake City, Utah will do that to any adventurous spirit. Fortunately, curiosity propelled me to shed the fatigue shortly after arriving at the JW Marriott hotel and venture out to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. I found both sites incredibly interesting and awash in history. Books I had read about the Ming and Qing Dynasty rule from the hallowed halls of the City were top of mind as I wandered through the Meridian Gate and into the Outer and Inner Courts. Mysticism titillated my senses as I peered into the Three Halls of Harmony and at the throne in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Crossing the street from the City put me on ground where modern-day revolutions were celebrated and squashed. I was impressed by the size and surroundings of Tiananmen, but was saddened by the horrible atrocities that occurred in this square during the Cultural Revolution and 89’ Massacre of college students. Interestingly, my feeling of conflict in The Square set precedence for the duration of my trip. Like the feelings of Tiananmen, my experience in China was to be wrought with conflict regarding my desire to pursue a life and career in China. And the feelings started on the first day of lectures when numerous speakers painted drastically different pictures of the present and future of China economics and politics. Interestingly, the messages that percolated to the surface of my understanding were spoken most eloquently by Frank Neville: 1) don’t be intimidated by the mysticism and history of China, 2) don’t check your common sense at the door when thinking about and interacting with China, and 3) don’t be culturally naïve about China but don’t also stress out about mastering China. These three points described succinctly the words of encouragement I needed to hear in contemplating the emotional conflict I feel about the China. It was an interesting first day.
Day 2 – Beijing – January 13, 2009
After a tremendously engaging first day there is nothing quite like beginning day two with a disappointing site visit to an uninspiring fruit juice bottler. Huiyuan Juice Group cordially hosted us for a site visit of it’s bottling plant in an area one hour outside of Beijing. The hosts introduced to Huiyuan via a five-minute video and 30 minute tour of the company’s trophy collection. The only interesting aspect of the business was to learn that the founder, Mr. Zhu Xin Li, created the largest privately held juice bottler in China by leveraging his guanxi in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Such relationships allowed unfettered growth, which eventually led to the 2008 offer from the Coca-Cola Company to purchase Huiyuan. This has led to an interesting CCP debate as the iconic American company attempts to takeover a Chinese symbol of excellence. Despite the economics of the situation, the takeover of Chinese national symbols was established well before the Huiyuan / Coca-Cola deal. In 1979, the CCP’s leading member, Deng Xiaoping, persuaded Chinese citizens everywhere to pursue the glories of wealth. This generated significant advancements in economics and stimulated what is today a thriving tourism market. The Great Wall of China is an amazing tourist destination and one that is awesome to behold. The sure magnitude and gravity of its design and creation is spectacular. My father use to always tell me while I was growing up, “Son, when someone tells you it can’t be done, prove them wrong.” I think the Chinese took such a saying literally as the location of the Great Wall traverses over 4,000 miles of some of the roughest terrain the country has to offer. And that is what impressed me most about the Wall. However, despite its magnificence the Wall is not immune to modern-day attractions and the luge ride down from the Wall was a spectacle to behold as Thundebird MBAs barreled down the course at break neck speeds without any thought to life or limb. The luge and Wall represented another conflict for me. A beautiful and historic landmark in companionship with a cheap thrill to line the coffers of the government. The night ended with an extraneous meal at a Communist Theater Dinner. I describe it as extraneous because nothing could have been more foreign than that experience. The setting, the propaganda, the language, the food, and the reactions of my fellow Weiguarens were simply out of our comfort zones but definitely an experience to be had.
Day 3 – Beijing – January 14, 2009
Day three was another packed day as we prepared to say goodbye to Beijing and make our way to Shanghai. The speakers did their part in explaining the current political and sustainable environment of China. Mr. Mark Duval was particularly impressive as he discussed the various levels of touch-points Motorola has adopted in developing relations with the Chinese government and party. I especially found the following quote captivating from his lecture, “You cannot criticize China from the outside looking in. You have to be in the country and create change from within.” I bring this point out in particular because of the tone I’ve noticed with the Thunderbird group. To me, it seems, there are a number of self-appointed “China experts” amongst us that appear to have figured out China. This is perplexing to me as the more I listen to the messages being shared the more dumbfounded I feel toward the complexities of such a great nation. And the saying, “I may be dumb but I’m not stupid” comes to mind as I listen to the pontificating of our group’s critics. I hope the sentiment changes as we move along our Winterim. Our afternoon concluded with a site visit of computer manufacturer Lenovo. This Chinese darling is an interesting organization. Built from the ground up and recently acquiring global prominence with its purchase of IMB’s laptop business unit a few years ago, Lenovo faces the same transformational hurdles as most Chinese companies. That is to say that it is a company with tremendous operational prowess that will only get them so far in an economy attempting to eat up the value chain. Lenovo, admittedly, has a brand issue. Very few peopleheard of Lenovo before it purchased IMB’s laptop business unit. Vis-à-vis the purchase, Lenovo know faces a strategic dilemma of how to build and manage a global brand. I venture to say the success or failure of this one initiative alone will make or break the rising star of this Chinese company. After our visit, we all packed up and headed for Beijing International Airport to catch flights to the sprawling metropolis of Shanghai.
Day 4 – Shanghai – January 15, 2009
I love Shanghai. Imagine New York City with a multiplier of 10 and you might begin to understand the magnitude of the city. It’s amazing, spectacular, and filled with development. Unfortunately, my desires to explore are on hold until the weekend as today was a lecture day. Despite my cabin-fever mentality, today’s speakers were awesome. It all began with Kent Kendl’s stand up comedic rendition of demonstrating how a person can perform in front of a crowd, spew random nothingness about a topic the crowd is relatively naïve about, and in a normal setting, make a lot of money at. If you guessed Kent’s profession was a comedian or consultant you would be right with both assumptions. Despite such classics as “bull cookies” and “super-wealthy, yellow teenagers” Kent actually relayed a decent message as he challenged us to use the following simple principles in working in China: 1) think strategy before structure, 2) pursue top and bottom line business decisions, and 3) work hard to get deep market insight. Another speaker that strongly impressed me was Dr. Janamitra Devan’s explanation of the Chinese urbanization movement. I was fascinated by his modeling of expected growth concentrations in China. The sheer movement of migrant workers out of the farmlands and into the cities breeds need for massive metropolitan planning for the Chinese government and party. Such planning is unprecedented on the face of the earth. However, the icing on the cake for me was Joab Meyer’s story of graduating from Thunderbird, selling everything, and moving to China with his family. Without even knowing Joab, I immediately felt a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for such a bold move. I felt inspired and motivated to follow in his footsteps and land myself in China until I find a job. The siren call of this great land is tangibly tugging at my heartstrings and my urge to live among the Chinese is becoming more entrenched. Listening to these speakers and hearing their stories of struggle and victory persuades me to at least tempt fate this once. To look into the jaws of this powerful nation and place my head squarely in its mouth in defiance or confidence or stupidity, to see if I can withstand and earn the respect of the people. This place captivates me.
Day 5 – Shanghai – January 16, 2009
Today’s site visits were okay. The GM plant was not overly stimulating as I’ve been to several assembly lines. The Intel visit was a bit disappointing as I was hoping to see more than the reception desk and the inside of a conference room. However, despite the day’s disappointments the alumni dinner and social was entertaining. As the Beijing alumni were almost non-existent, the Shanghai alumni made a better showing. During the course of the evening I met some very interesting Thunderbird’s but really felt more closely bonded to the current students. The revelation I had was that as large and diverse as our alumni network is, the meat of the network is the relationships I’m building today. It’s these folks that I’m going to interact with and rely on in the future. The folks that I graduate with our the individuals I will call when deals need to be made or where groups need to be connected. It was great mixing with the various Thunderbird’s and ties that bind do exist but not nearly to the degree that exist amongst this rag-tag group of people I’ve been experiencing China with over the last five days.
Day 6 and 7 – Shanghai – January 17 and 18, 2009
I will not write much about the days off I had; however, I will mention that the two things that impressed me the most were the wonderful personalities of the Chinese people that came out during my bartering spree through downtown Shanghai and the collective spirituality I felt at the Sunday morning church service I went to with friends. Both experiences left deep impressions of reality where stereotypes had once existed. Off to Hong Kong.
Day 8 – Hong Kong – January 19, 2009
If you could smash the atmosphere of Seattle together with the overwhelming feeling of being in downtown Manhattan you would have Hong Kong. A city situated in the amphitheater of the China South Sea and in the heart of the financial arena of Asian economics, Hong Kong is a definite checkmark of spectacular things I’ve seen in my life. The awesomeness of this beautiful metropolis was validated by the day’s speakers. The theme focused specifically on the importance of Hong Kong’s role in the global expansion of Asia both past and future. However, the speakers were not reluctant to discuss the many difficulties the city faces, and especially, brought to light the difficult in determining the reliability of China’s economic forecasts. Some of the speaker’s did their best to convince us that the economy of the region was not as rosy as the Chinese government wants the world to believe and feels the economic slowdown will impact Hong Kong. However, one particular criticism of the world financial markets was specifically made by the Chief Investment Strategist from Goldman Sachs Asia who said, “The financial market needs commercial banks to stop acting like investment brokerages and China needs to stop incenting the Chinese savings rate.” I thought these points were especially interesting as both observations suggest methods of injecting markets with more liquidity via equity investments and consumer spending. However, another speaker mentioned that such drastic steps are not in China’s nature. The speaker iterated that, “a Chinese policy misstep could be catastrophic for the region and the world.” And Allen Vander … from Edelman consultancy projected that the region would experience a surge in NGO influence, a growing transient labor pool and a stronger emergence of the Chinese consumer. All of these points are fascinating interconnected and could produce interesting results. Only time will tell.
Day 9 – Hong Kong – January 20, 2009
Today we had an interesting visit with a Thunderbird entrepreneur named Nelson Choi. He literally cloned TiVo for the Hong Kong market and gave it the name Magic TV. Nelson’s motto for running a company was that, “you do not need to be an expert just courageous enough to believe in your idea.” And he showed it by taking a $100K venture to $50 MM in five years. Impressively, Nelson was very humble with his accomplishments and genuine in his enthusiasm for the Hong Kong market. Our second visit was in Shenzhen, China at Huawei Technologies. Huawei manufactures telecommunications equipment like switches, routers, servers, etc. and is another darling of the Chinese economy. It’s competitive advantage is its relentless focus on its customers; which sounds crystal clear and captivating when spoken, but when asked to relate how that translated into a business success, the speaker quietly found it difficult to produce an example. Once again a conflict of what China represent to what it really is. A vision of harmony masked by disharmony. This place is a paradox. But I still love it.
Day 10 – Hong Kong – January 21, 2009
My last day on the Winterim. I started this adventure wrestling with the problem of being conflicted and how that mirrored the conflict within China. Today’s lecture from Ambassador Lavin, followed by an outstanding dinner and reception with arguably the best represented alumni group I’ve run into since joining Thunderbird, to a perplexingly long ferry ride in Hong Kong Harbor, has brought me to the conclusion that China is a dynamic consternation. It’s so beautiful, mystifying, and enchanting on the outside. And so complex, conflicted and stupefying on the inside. But despite the contradiction I’m enthralled by its very nature and inspired by Frank Neville’s opening lecture. That is, despite China, with all of its prominence and intrigue, one cannot be 1) intimidated, 2) illogical or 3) culturally naïve when thinking about doing business or pursuing a life this great nation. It is only through feeling the stones as one crosses the river that one can find ultimate success and happiness here. I hope one day I can reflect back on this Winterim as another catalyst in my life long journey to experience China professionally and personally."
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Appreciating the Wonderful Moments!!
About a week ago is when I last posted anything and it seems like there is so much to write about, now that I am trying to journal events, stories, and moments in my life. I know many people keep a journal, this is not something I do well at. Therefore, I am trying to journal things special, difficult, emotional, and fun in my family's life. Some experiences may be personal, some may not be, but this blog is a way I can remember and let my family and friends know and remember important dates in our lives. Even though we just started, I really appreciate my sister-in-law, Rachel's comments, her comments keep my trying to keep this thing going.
The "Wonderful Moments" I have been thinking about are the little things that happen on a daily basis in my life, that sometimes I overlook or get to busy to enjoy. I have been thinking about Elder Ballard's General Conference talk in April, 2008 on mothers. He talked about many aspects in a mothers life, but specifically I have been thinking about how he discussed the small moments and to enjoy them while they are here, they will be here and gone so quickly.
The small moments I have enjoyed this past week is going for a walk with my children, and watching Angel Bug ride her bike with a huge smile on her face. Even though she appeared a little tired, she just smiled the entire time, which ended up being about an hour. Her smile showed she loved being outside, just happy to be with her brother, sister, and mother. Angel Bug is such a happy child and brings so much joy to our family, she keeps life active, fun, and full of energy. She is an amazing little girl and is happy most of the time.
More small moments that I enjoyed this week, are watching all three kids play, splash, blow bubbles, and laugh in the bath. We decided to blow bubbles the other night while the kids were taking a bath and one would have thought this was the most exciting thing that has has ever happened in Isaac's life. He was laughing so hard that he was making the rest of us laugh.
Last night, just watching all three kids climb on Daddy was fun for me, (not only did I get a little break), but I enjoyed the time the kids get with Dad. One was on his arm, one on is leg, and one trying to climb on his head. I remember wrestling with my dad when I little and loving every minute. It is apparent to me that my children love wrestling and spending time with their Daddy.
I hope that I can remember to sit back and enjoy those small moments with my family. I started thinking about how fast time has flown since Angel Bug was born, and I do need to remember to take time each day with each child. I know I feel that I received that special attention from my mother and I hope and pray my children will feel the same way I did and do. I know that I was loved and that my mother wanted to be with me. She is a great example and always willing to give ideas of what I can do to help teach and enjoy special moments with my children.
The "Wonderful Moments" I have been thinking about are the little things that happen on a daily basis in my life, that sometimes I overlook or get to busy to enjoy. I have been thinking about Elder Ballard's General Conference talk in April, 2008 on mothers. He talked about many aspects in a mothers life, but specifically I have been thinking about how he discussed the small moments and to enjoy them while they are here, they will be here and gone so quickly.
The small moments I have enjoyed this past week is going for a walk with my children, and watching Angel Bug ride her bike with a huge smile on her face. Even though she appeared a little tired, she just smiled the entire time, which ended up being about an hour. Her smile showed she loved being outside, just happy to be with her brother, sister, and mother. Angel Bug is such a happy child and brings so much joy to our family, she keeps life active, fun, and full of energy. She is an amazing little girl and is happy most of the time.
More small moments that I enjoyed this week, are watching all three kids play, splash, blow bubbles, and laugh in the bath. We decided to blow bubbles the other night while the kids were taking a bath and one would have thought this was the most exciting thing that has has ever happened in Isaac's life. He was laughing so hard that he was making the rest of us laugh.
Last night, just watching all three kids climb on Daddy was fun for me, (not only did I get a little break), but I enjoyed the time the kids get with Dad. One was on his arm, one on is leg, and one trying to climb on his head. I remember wrestling with my dad when I little and loving every minute. It is apparent to me that my children love wrestling and spending time with their Daddy.
I hope that I can remember to sit back and enjoy those small moments with my family. I started thinking about how fast time has flown since Angel Bug was born, and I do need to remember to take time each day with each child. I know I feel that I received that special attention from my mother and I hope and pray my children will feel the same way I did and do. I know that I was loved and that my mother wanted to be with me. She is a great example and always willing to give ideas of what I can do to help teach and enjoy special moments with my children.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Where does time go?
It is amazing how time just flies right by. When Matt decided to update our family blog (3 weeks ago), I was determined to keep it going, at least once a week. It has been more than 1 week and a lot has happened.
A CHILD'S FAITH
So Tristyn had been sick a few weeks ago and we stayed home from church since she had a high fever. We decided to watch a church movie, and her favorite church movie is, The Testaments, and there is a part that Jesus heals a sick person. She asked me, "do you think he will heal me?" I said, "yes, if you have faith he will, he will." That night she said her prayers and said, "Heavenly Father, please have Jesus heal me and take my fever away." The next morning she came running in my room and asked, "do I still have a fever?" I checked and said, "NO." Then Tristyn said, with a big smile on her face, "Jesus healed me, yeah!"
It is amazing to me how much faith children have and how much we can truely learn from them.
A CHILD'S FAITH
So Tristyn had been sick a few weeks ago and we stayed home from church since she had a high fever. We decided to watch a church movie, and her favorite church movie is, The Testaments, and there is a part that Jesus heals a sick person. She asked me, "do you think he will heal me?" I said, "yes, if you have faith he will, he will." That night she said her prayers and said, "Heavenly Father, please have Jesus heal me and take my fever away." The next morning she came running in my room and asked, "do I still have a fever?" I checked and said, "NO." Then Tristyn said, with a big smile on her face, "Jesus healed me, yeah!"
It is amazing to me how much faith children have and how much we can truely learn from them.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Tristyn Rocking Out
Ashley and I captured this video of Tristyn rocking out in our kitchen one night. We didn't prompt or cajole her with money ... she just naturally started kicking it. Afterward, we watched the video and, after laughing hysterically, fast-forwarded to her teenage years and started getting nervous. Oh well, kids keep us young.
Week of January 25th, 2009
Back in Glendale. After a whirlwind adventure to Seattle, Ogden and abroad, we have finally returned home and it feels nice. The fall trimester ended December 10th at Thunderbird and we decided to take advantage of the situation by shipping off to visit family. Our first stop was in Seattle to visit my parents. The snow was incredible and we found ourselves cozying up inside my parent's home for two weeks. As the snow melted, we ventured out to see a number of friends we had not seen since our move to Glendale. It was awesome visiting with our family and friends. After the new year holiday we packed up and flew south to Ogden where we shacked up with Ashley's parents for the duration of the month. After a few days in Ogden, I took off for a school trip to China (posting later with the details) while Ashley and the children stayed at her parent's (posting later with more details). In the end, we really had good visits although 11 days apart was enough. Now, we're home and cracking into our last semester at Thunderbird. Until next week.
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