On Request for Photos
In response to my dear Singaporean daughter, I'm putting up 2 pictures I took at our Italian dinner, with Yoko and Sandy :)
(Pic 1: Sandy, MC 00-01, AIESEC in Taiwan)
(Pic 2: Yoko, MC 00-01, AIESEC in Japan)
It's NYC - the hub of the world!
Having stayed in New York City (NYC) for 4 months now, I cannot imagine I have been playing the role as a host for quite some friends so far. A lot of time, I even have to act as a tour guide, it is really kind of funny. I had done some tourist kind of things, such as sightseeing, visiting museums, broadway show, Times Square, picture-taking, etc...but until recently, I found that I indeed need to do even more local visits and get to know more about NYC! But acting as a host certainly helps me understand the Big Apple more:) Moreover, I like meeting friends a lot, too!
Recently, I have friends visiting the world's capital (that's how HSBC names NYC). Mike from the UK, Cindy from Boston/Beijing, Peter from Baltimore/Qingdao, Sandy from Tucson/Taiwan, Yoko from Tokyo, Pearl from Seattle in a row; and expected some more...I guess this is just exactly the season we feel like traveling huh?! Luckily, NYC also gets warmer and nicer in terms of the weather. Now, after staying in the City for this memorial weekend, it has to be my turn to go somewhere...
European Champions League Final 2005
What a match - though I am not sad, but a bit disappointed. After it is the team I support, Milan AC won lost; and who leaded 3-0 in the first half but conceded 3 goals in 6 minues in the second half. If you know soccer, you know this is abnormal...I was almost celebrating...but I do have to admit Liverpool demonstrated the combat spirit of the English soccer and their own. Still I will salute to them - being crowned for the 5th time for the best club in Europe!
Now the soccer season comes to an end...like every year at this time, I feel a bit lost; but hope is always there. It's time to look into the new season and the transfer market again; and most of all, praying for a successful season for Manchest United and Milan AC!!!
Final Episode to the Star Wars Saga...
Yesterday, I went to the movie theatre to see the final Episode of Star Wars, my most favourite movies. To me, it is a feeling of completeness but also a little sadness since it is the end...
I think I still like the Episode IV, V and VI the best. But this Episode III is quite good, at least to me it exceeds the expectation and also is better than Episode I and II. One thing that I feel good is it fulfill the needs to know more about the past of Darth Vader, the man behind the black mask and how the stories in Episode IV, V and VI happened; but one thing I feel not so good was the pace for the movie - there were more actions but in the later hour, I feel like the film is rushing for everything since it has so many things to explain.
Now, my plan is to review all 6 Episode in the new order, from I to VI, instead of my old order IV-VI then I-III...
May the Force be with everybody!
Broadway Shows
Being in NYC for almost 4 months now, the most impressive culture to me is not surprisingly the Broadway Shows - the great musicals, the wonderful artists, fantastic stories and stage settings, fabulous theatres and the full crowds every night!
I had seen a few so far, but I do like The Producers and The Phantom of the Opera a lot. At first, I tried to compare and wanted to know which one is better - in the sense that I like it the best. I guess I failed somehow. They are just different - a comedy musical vs a classic one, the style of the musics, etc...Though I will admit that I feel more connected to The Producers because of its humourous scenes and characters, The Phantom is also very stunning!
So I think my "conclusion" is I will keep on enjoying going to the shows :)
Reference: http://www.broadway.com/
MD Associates' First Road Trip
Today, the 5 Management Development Associates, including myself had our first roadtrip to Connecticut - visiting our operation there. On my trips to Boston, I passed through Connecticut for a few times but I had never really visited the State. So, CT added onto my list of states visited in USA now - being the 6th.
It was a ncie place, open, fresh air and neat houses!!! On our car trip, we had great fun, too. The guys were crazy about the music on radio and we were having a party on the rented Ford car. Besides, this was our first trip spending together (as more will be expected in the coming months), I enjoyed the accompany very much :) Now, I am getting more excited about my driving life in USA - I did not drive today but 2 of my male colleagues did. Eventually, I will be doing that also in Florida in about 3 months of time...
New York Yankees!!!
Seat #2, Row 319G, Main Box Sec 29, Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York CityIt marks my first professional sports experience in New York City and United States. NY Yankees was playing at Yankee Stadium versus the visitor Seattle Mariners. Though I know only very little about Baseball, I had Fran accompanied and explained the game to me throughout the game, plus the atmosphere created by the home crowd was excellent!!! The Yankees won 7-4 in the end and we were lucky that the game only goes for about 3 hours. The game started at 7:05pm and ended at 10pm) *Note: A professional baseball game in USA does NOT have an official game time, as Soccer or Basketball games do, so it can go for overnight...
The game itself was great, but I also had some other interesting observations:
1) Foreign players in teams
- There are some Japanese, Latino players, and even a Taiwanese player in the game. I learnt that there are actually quite some Japanese players in the leagues. Of course they are good but they also brought USA the tourists and incomes from merchandises, etc...
2) Nation Building in the games
- As one will expect, National Anthem will be played in the beginning of the game; but there are also quite an amount of Americanism observed in the game, including the song "God Bless America" which is a song showing supports and salute to the servicemen in the US Armies, Navy, Marines, etc...lastly, there are also National flags of course.
3) Selling activities in the Stadium
As security reason and others, audiences are not allowed to bring in bags. Thus, food and beverages selling became a key part in the game - pretzels, hotdogs, peanuts, Coke and Bud Light are over...and there are so MANY sellers!!! I thought they are kind of aggressive, too.
Afterall, I did enjoy my first baseball match and I am glad that I got the free ticket treated by Fran. Thank you :)
Harvard China Review Conference 2005 - Copious Consumption
The 8th Harvard China Review Conference was held in Harvard Law School on last Saturday, April 30. I joined the conference for 4 of its panel discussions, namely:
1) Urban Development in ChinaSome development plans and issues/problems were illustrated and discussed, with the participation from US Deprtment of Urban Development and Housing, Chinese officials and also developers. Most interesting topic was how does the Chinese government or the industry solve the problem of incompleted apartment in cities ("
lan wei lou" in Chinese). The government is actually allowing the industry or the stronger developers to buy the incompleted ones and let them finished. Some other parts in China, such as Hai Nan Province, the Central government is subsidising, too. Some other solutions includeasking investment banks to buy the incompleted buildings.
2) Supply & Demand in China (Advertising & Marketing)Some interesting commericials in China, as more and more companies are learning about the concept of branding and marketing. One of which was Guang Ming's Rose Yogurt from the Shanghai market. Instead of adopting a common approach, the company launched a series of campaigns building up the brand equity with the the leverage point - Rose Yogurt brings romance to young women. Another great findings for me was there is actually about 40% of buying happened online in China! And it's not just Chinese living in the major cities but also the 2nd tier cities and others, primarily buying Books and Computer items which are not available in the local markets. Digital TV is also booming...industry figures show there are 100,000 subscribers currently and estimated to be 100 millions by 2008! The industry is now learning how to "Test, Measure and Learn" from the marketplace and the consumers.
3) Beijing Olympics 2008With the US$24.1 billion annual ad expenses, China is catching up and the growth rate is expected to be at 30% annually. It seems too early to estimate the total amount of advertising dollars going to be spent for Beijing 2008 but one fact can be used as a parameter - all the outdoor ad spaces surrounding the Olympics Park in Beijing are sold now! Besides, the revenue from broadcasting right is expected to be US$1 billion!! But there exist also challenges ahead - Ambush Marketing (brands engaging in promotion & ads without paying sponsorship fees) and the issues surrounding Intellectual Property right - how exactly the government is going to implement measures to crack down the counterfeits and infringement.
4) Finance in China (Captial markets)Given the loan rate is rapidly increasing in China (15-20%), challenges basically lie in the Banking System - such as how the BIG 4, namely China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank, Industrial & Commericial Bank and Bank of China, are going to be privatized and listed (after their IPOs); the cooperations between foreign invested banks and Chinese banks, the development of securitization, etc...One success model suggested by NASDAQ involves: Principles + Market Structure + Executive System...the effectiveness of implementing these elements seems to be critical to success.
