May 13th

It’s Tuesday, officially day two... You pronounce Tuesday in Chinese - xīng qī èr.

I had pizza for dinner last night. A colleague helped me order it, and it ended up being from Papa John’s – garlic sauce and all. I also managed to walk over to 7-11 for some drinks, snacks and tissues. No jasmine scented ones were available like from Wal-Mart last time, but I got six packs of tissues for thirty cents. I also picked up Chinese noodles, which I will have for later in the week if I am not up for dinner exploring. I also put together a complete weekend shopping list – I am headed to Carrefour – to include: a new camera, laundry detergent, food products and other miscellaneous items. The store is within walking distance, and I look forward to making the trip. I am also contemplating going to the Beijing Zoo on Sunday. A Philadelphia colleague (hi, KC) asked me to get my picture taken with the pandas!

I started reading my first book in China last night. It's called The Last Lecture. Many of you have probably heard about the author, Randy Pausch. He was on The Oprah Winfrey Show several months ago. Randy has terminal pancreatic cancer and his book is a series of short life lessons he wants to pass along to his three children. Since this is the type of cancer my mom passed away from, I have enjoyed reading Randy's thoughts on coping with his diagnosis. Two colleagues gave me the book as a going away present (thanks Mark and Pat) – and next I am on to a book called The First 90 Days (thanks Cheryl), which I am hoping will give me some good tips as I assimilate myself to the Olympics Project. I also hope to start listening to my Rossetta Stone Mandarin Level 1 course as I work to finish the two books.

I left for work after doing some last minute things in order to get settled in at the apartment. My only packing comment today is that I did not bring enough things to remind me of home. I concentrated primarily on clothes and toiletries, and now my room is a little bare. The apartment has a living room, dining area, kitchen, two bedrooms and two full bathrooms. I have no complaints about the Somerset apartment it is very, very nice.

I had an uneventful cab ride to the office today. The apartment is a little further away from work than my hotel was last time, but other than that, there was little difference. However, the landscape is much more colorful than when I was in Beijing before – there are lots of flowers and greenery is over the place. The Chinese roses, in particular, are in the middle of all highways, and they are stunning. Many of them are multi-colored in varied shades of yellow, orange and red.

Lunch today was Malaysian Curry Chicken with rice. It was very good, and a colleague had to treat me since I do not have the appropriate meal card yet, which can be pre-loaded for the dining halls and mini supermarket here in the building. I got a few Olympics HR projects to work on this morning – so things are moving right along. I also got my cube assignment – a great one, given the proximity right next to a window. My boss and I also took a field trip today. We went to the International Broadcasting Center, which is the only venue open right now to serve varied media personnel.

It’s Wednesday morning as I post this entry in China – stay tuned for the events of today.