Mid-year Review

Before you know it, it's already July, and half of the year 2008 has gone. Or should I say, good-bye, 1004? :-) It's time to review the few goals that I set for this year if you recall a blog entry from six months ago. (Gosh, I was serious, wasn't I?)

Olympics: I already shared with you that I missed the Olympic torch when it went through my city. Up to this point, I haven't heard anything or from anyone about my volunteer application. May I safely say that I won't get it? Now the question is, will I want to have anything to do with the Olympics - say, going to Beijing to watch a few competitions? Honestly I don't feel passionate about it. As much as I used to enjoy watching it on TV or reading Olympic stories in the books, I don't feel like to be just a spectator this time around.

Traveling: I indeed have lived up my own expectation, traveling extensively the first half of the year, including a home visit to the U.S. (during which I had a few trips within the U.S. to Chicago, Salt Lake City, and L.A.). But I hit a major stumbling block when I returned to Shenzhen: I planned a trip to Dalian a month earlier but I had to skip it due to work pressure!! That was a first time for me. But looking back, I made the right move because we did need some extra effort to turn things around at work. I have two more trips coming up very soon, including one to the NW. I feel good about them because work pressure is not as acute now.

Province: Well, due to the skipped trip to Dalian, I failed to add to the list of provinces that I've travelled to in China. (Dalian is a beautiful city in Liaoning province, which I have not been to.) I look forward to making it up. Dalian is on my list of destinations for the second half of the year.

Movie: The new Three Kingdoms movie is going to be released very, very soon! (In less than two weeks, in fact.) I cannot wait. So much anticipation. The best part of it? There will be two parts of the movie. The first part in July, and the second part in December. This is the Asian edition of the movie. The non-Asian edition that will be released next year will have just one part. I am glad to be in Asia, being able to see the "extended" version.

Balance: I hate to say that I have failed in this area - balancing work and life - but indeed I haven't succeeded. There are plenty signs of improvement, however, and the best part is that I am bringing a positive impact to the project team that I am managing in this area. We are a bunch of engineers, okay? We are a bunch of hard-working engineers. It is probably refreshing for some of them to hear and see a manager who advocates that sufficient rest is key to the success of work. If only I could do what I preach!

I look forward to a better 1004 coming up. :-)