[Cover picture, I’m taking a page out of a friend’s book, and taking a glass of wine whilst I’m cooking dinner now. Thanks Airy]
So this last week or so has been pretty stressful to be honest, we’ve had a situation at work whereby we have to go with what the client wants to a certain degree, but also we have to make sure we can do the things we’re promising. And… there’s a certain amount of my job where I’m reliant on the Chinese side for, especially for the Chinese operations side.
So there’s many things where the client in Europe asks me if something is possible, and I just have to say, ‘I’ll get back to you on that, because I need to check with the Chinese operations team’
Now….if the Chinese operations team never get back to me, because.. they are busy with other things, even if I constantly remind them that a particular project is important, then when the European client wants to go ahead with whatever has been suggested…and the Chinese operation team has apparently absent-mindedly given the go ahead… of course there are going to be problems. And as I’m ‘the bridge in between’ I end up being blamed.
I ended up getting told shit like “this is the first I’ve heard of it”, “but we never agreed to that”, “I don’t think that’s possible”
All things that the operations manager and I have got on record from many back and forth emails as things that I’ve already told them, they’ve already agreed to, and that on more than one occasion they have told me that something IS possible.
I am the contact point between our major client here in Europe and the Chinese team, so I generally explain the projects and make sure things are handed to the right people… project manager kind of work I guess… but then I also copy the Operations Manager into every email, just in case there’s something she needs to do her side and it’s always good for proof.
So… luckily she had all the emails as well and we were able to prove that Yes they should have had the info, and now we have to appease the European clients with some nicely worded and consoling emails which now explains the real situation and really informs them of what can happen.
I’m not joking on this, it took 4 of us, at least 7 hours to write 4 emails.
And these are not dumb people, these are top managers that I respect and know well from when I was in the Beijing office, like the China operations manager & the Chief Technical Officer, it’s just that when there is SO much work to do, priorities have to be made, and I guess some things they never get back to.
This kind of thing drove me crazy, because…well, I will write a comparison between Chinese emails and Western emails soon.. but basically from my point of view, the smartest option is to give the client the actual answers to the situation. But the Chinese view point is to always hold something back, and write 2 or 3 lines, because otherwise the person receiving it will get confused or something. But 2 or 3 lines, that are a little vague around the edges especially when the situation demands a proper explanation… well in the end, I pretty much just gave up and went…ahh fuck it, let’s do it you way and see what happens.
Don’t forget the Netherlands and Beijing has a 6 hour time difference (7 hours now) because of daylight savings, so this kind of thing is pretty difficult to organise.
Enough about work…
I spent this week listening to ‘Corpies’ a Super Powereds spin-off. Read the review here (opens in a new tab).
So that kept me sane.
I shared my magic truffles article with a friend of mine from Beijing, a really cool Canadian guy called Gordon that has had experience travelling all over the world and has done some pretty amazing things.
Anyway, he told me that y recount reminded him of Florida daze situation he had when he would harvest mushies every morning at sunrise. Brewed them sloooooowly, for which the concoction was extremely potent indeed.
‘I recall hearing colours for the first time. Every blade of grass was a different instrument in the concert of life.’
Hahah pretty intense experience.
And hearing colours for the 1st time, and the ‘concert of life’ I think Gordon would do well writing poetry.
I saw a picture recently that might remind some people of past times. (attached)
I’m off to Bordeaux this Friday to visit a good friend of mine, Pierre. So I’m really looking forward to that. Will be taking Friday off, and then coming back Sunday. There didn’t seem to be any flights that were reasonable enough that left Friday evening and came back Monday morning, so I wouldn’t have to miss work.
But luckily my manger is nice and he let me have Friday off. …..I am my own manager. But what is strange is I still had to sign a ‘leave form’. Weird.
Still haven’t got my fucking motorbike yet. and found out I need to do my proper Dutch driving license from scratch… because I can’t transfer my Chinese or Australian driver’s license for some reason.
It feels like I’m going around the world collecting driver’s licenses.
One of my housemates has her US driving license and her Malaysian driver’s license but she still has to do her license from scratch again, which is clearly bullshit.
So at least I can study with her.
But yep, I will have to do the motorbike license too.
I intended to just do a Nick Sword, and just go for my automatic license, and then drive a manual car if necessary, or.. just be as legal as possible.
Of course in the Netherlands they kind of enforce laws, but then again they do too in Australia, the main thing is just not giving them a reason to stop you.
I never got a speeding fine in Australia, or in China, and that’s not because I didn’t speed…its just that I never got caught, or I knew the likely areas for speed cameras and so of course no fines. 172 on a Chinese expressway once… that was fun. No one cares.
I got sent an email today which has an acronym which I have no idea what it means. And it didn’t even from an American colleague, (for which they love to speak in acronyms and just assume that everyone knows, but sometimes people just state an acronym without ever once explaining what it means, and the context doesn’t explain enough… and without knowing what the hell the acronym means… I can’t really reply to the email.
So, the choices end up being, if I can word a reply email in a way that doesn’t give away that I have no idea what it means, or that I can trick the other person into telling me…
hahahh this sounds dodgy as hell.
In the end, the word was ‘libat’ and in context ‘libat requirements’ Turns out after staring at it for a while, the dude meant lithium ion batteries. Wow.
Or…yep, sometimes I receive emails that I’ve been in copy to as 1 particular problems arises over and over. And so I think its time to escalate the problem and for myself to get involved in actually resolving the issue.
There’s only so many times you can see a problem come up again and again, without it being solved by the regular channels that you have to step in and find an ‘irregular channel’ to make sure it gets fixed.
I’m still trying to write, but it’s happening less and less because I realise there’s just so much information that I want to get down and kind of realising that I can’t do all of it.
bugger. Each time I finish an article, it’s like a weight off my mind. An experience shared, an experience recorded… its soothing in a way.
Oh yeah, and will have another go, possibly next week at trying to make another moto-vlog video.
Galen and I had plans to make a joint video actually, for comparing ‘preparing for winter’ in the Netherlands & in China. .. but I still haven’t got my bike yet, so that hasn’t happened.
Last Saturday I spent some time just walking around Leiden, getting my bearings, visited the ‘Altered State’ shop again, but anyway… ending up taking quite a few pictures of cool cars and what not.
Enjoy.
Recent Comments