19/07/2010 German Quality in Chinese Mass Production

Volkswagen (VW) is a big german automobile company. They have a factory in North China, where they produce high quality engines for several VW cars, as well as for Audi A6.
I was lucky to get a chance to visit the factory and see a production and a assembling line. This was very interesting and opened me my eyes again for a moment. Not only, because the official language at VW is german, and everything is written in Chinese and German. Very unsual but very confortable for me. It was also interesting to see how the production processes are going. Not on the paper or in Theory. In real, in the factory. My dear brother is working in Germany in such a line. I am very thankful, that I could get a small insight in his working day. They have 3 or 4 shift schedules, with no downtimes. I guess working in one of this lines, with high time and quality pressure is really hard. Besides that, I also think, that doing the same task for 8 hours a day, with only 30 minuts lunch break is really not a funny job. My poor brother. What is he doing every day for day, risking his health by this hard, for the bit money he earns. He does night and weekend shifts, he never complains, and is always in a good mood and friendly. No comparison to the comfortable office job, in which the most people are always unsatisfied and requesting more money.
After seeing that, I highly respect these people, who are doing this mental and physical difficult work in a constantly good quality. Their effort results in my customer satisfaction.
And I remember a quote from a friend of my brother. This friend, lets call him Tim. After he heard that I am a project manager for process improvements, he said: "You are one of those stupid engineers, who are coming, and always disturbing? They have no idea of our work. Theyare looking and disturbing our process, measuring everything with the stopwatch and than changing everything, that it does not work anymore and we are sweating and than fired!"
Well, a bit harsh, but this was what he said and what Tim felt. After this visit, I recognized: Sitting at the desk, designing a process, cutting some costs and increase the efficience, by turning the process time down - this is easy. And normaly this person is not that one, who has to work later with the process. And normaly, he is also not the one, who is cost cutted. This journey really teached me my lesson.
(We) I should remember that in future and value and appreciate the work of those workers more.

17/07/2010 - Boom Boom Pow!

Did I told you already? I have everyday fireworks. Everyday. For sure every evening, sometimes also in the morning or in the afternoon. When it started the first time, I thought there were bombs and I was afraid and scared. I really thought, there might be some attacs, some jets coming from - i do not know, Japan? Korea? Russia? all that near and well weaped. I was really afraid and did not know what to do. under the table? Out of the house? With the elevator? By stairs... hmm I am living in the 13th floor....Panik.
But now, I am used to it. It is fantastic. View over the yellow sea and twinkeling fireworks in the black sky. And all cobined with the lights of the housings and the themeparks around. Amazing. And often. Very often. As mentioned, everyday and sometimes also several times a day. Why? I do not know. So far, I could not find out. Who pays for? Also no idea. But as long as they are not at 8:00 in the morning, I enjoy them. (8:00 in the morning, I really want to sleep, which is not possible at all with those "bombs" )

05/07/2010 The Great Wall

Sunshine. Blue Sky. And The Wall. Anything to add?

04/07/2010 Climbing the mountains

In Beijing, there are amazing many people. And all with umbrellas, to protect their selves of the sun. It was really hot. This in addition with the 15 million air-conditions and 10 million cars, it really heathen the city up. So, I was really happy to escape on the second day, to the Chinese mountains.
1h with the subway and than 2h with the bus and you reach a beautiful hiking area. To cross the bridge and enter the park, you have to buy a ticket.
But this seems to be not enough for the Chinese business people, so they blocked the bridge with a motor scooter and demand additional money to let the people cross. Here I learned that there is a free hotline number, where people can report these illegal activities. And here, I also learned that these numbers do not help you much, because they need a lot of background information before they act. But, we were lucky and a police car came and made the way free for us.

So we started our hiking journey with sunshine and new Korean friends, which we met in the bus.

Those Koreans, there were really fun. Always chatting, always making pictures and the best: in the middle of the mountains, they took their cookers out and start cooking noodles. :-)

We enjoyed every second, even, the mountain was high, and sometimes, the bamboo stairs seems to be endless. But we also get great benefits. I have never seen such beautiful butterflies. And some of them just came and sit down on our shoes.

Back down, we have had some food and refreshed ourselves in the nearby river.

Than we start waiting for the bus… 1h…2h.. than a bus arrived. It was sooo full, the people were pressed inside and the bus driver was not opening the door, because they would have fallen out. Here, I have only a picture from the second, not that filled bus… but for Germans, still too full. So, some when, I stopped a small van and he drove us for some money back to the city.

I was really tired, and the next day, I have to get up early, but I was also hungry, so I went to a street “full of clubs and bars”. The near street turned out to be half hour walking distance, and the “clubs and bars” where some souvenir shops and tourist cafes. Well, Chinese people, are not really so in outgoing. But the street was fun and I spent longer than planned by watching all the things and enjoying the colder temperatures. A great day!

03/07/2010 Going to Beijing

Taking the night train is absolutly comfortable. I left Dalian at 22:00 and arrived at 8:30 in Beijing. All together for 256 RMB, approx. 30 USD.
I have had a hard sleeper, which was not really hard. It was six beds together, always 3 over each others. I booked my tickert 10 days in advance (the earlies possibility) and even than, there were only the uppest beds available. I guess there are some agencies, reserving the lower beds (which means to be more luxurious) for them. But, it does not matter, when I sleep, I sleep. The only thing was, that the beds are very small and I could not lay my purse next to me. So i tried different positions, which were more or less comfortable for me and save for my belonings.
Finaly, It was not bad and I arrived relaxed and fresh in Beijing. The hostel people (from Sunrise hostel) sent someone for my pick up from the train station. This was great, otherwise, I would never ever have found the place. I am kind on dumb with Chinese names, as soon something start with X or Guo, I blank out...
After I stored my things (i travelled with a bag from a famous baju brand... you can say, a shopping back from a liquid company) I changed my clothes and went to the forbitten city.
I stand for a long time in the line and inside, the city was crowed by chinese people and their fancy umbrellas. They are using them to protect themselves from the sun. Ok, but they are using them and stepping in all my pictures, so I have tons of snaps from old houses with a hello kitty umbrella in front of it. somewhen, it was too much for me, and to be honest, after the 20th chinee house, the others look all the same. So, I tried to go back to the hostel, but I was completly lost in that forbitten city. All houses looks more or less the same, a lot of small streets and ways, I guess I crossed them all. I passed houses and halls with names like: the upper harmony, the agricultural hall, e.g. never heard of this before. Than, I reached a garden, which was really impressing. I decided to stay there for a while, have a cold coke anc than go on with the search for the exit. After 3 hours I found it and went back the 300 meters to my hostel.
In the afternoon, I met my friend Martin from Tchechien. We know each others from Samara in Russia, and last week, he gave me a call that he will come to Beijing! Great! We went together to the temple of heaven, shot funny pictures and spent the whole afternoon in the part, walking arouond and chatting. Live is so nice!

25/06/2010 Life quality

Whit my pot, my life qiality increased by 200%. Today, I found out, that I have a beautiful garden, through which I can reach all the strategic points in my life: My friends, the beach, some bars and clubs, Restaurant, the shopping mal and the meeting place. Wow. An other live changing improvement. Great.

21/06/2010 The good things of dead friends

Sarcastic the heading, isn't it? But, go on reading, maybe you will understand it after a while.

As I posted some days ago, my best friend died. So, I was very busy the last days. First with crying, drinking and partying. Who thinks, it is not adequate to go out to the clubs and have fun, while your better half gets eaten by the worms, to them I can just say: Exactly this is the reason for going out! Hanging around at home makes you only depressive, which I already was. But when I go out, I have to behave myself and stop crying. I have an excuse to drink, and I drank a lot.
Second, I was very busy by informing all of our and his friends about his dead. Of course, this is not a topic for a mass email. And of course, everyone want to know some details. So many people are so sad due to this new. And so many people wanted to talk with me. To give me their condolences, to pray with me, to support me, or to get more information. Well, all this was challanging. Very often, when I thought, I am over that crying phase, I received a letter, a picture or a call, and I start to cry again.
Now, I am thankfull for all the wounderful moments he gave me... but still, crying sometimes.
I mean, I know, he is dead, but my heard do not feel it. I am bad in holding contacts. I could say, I am too busy or lazy to write emails, but to be honest, most time, there is nothting new to tell. So my friends are not informed, I do not call, and than, when I need them, I am afraid to call and ask them for a favour, after having not called for such a long time.
The other thing is: I am an expert in avoiding negative topics. In my world, serious negative topics do not exist. So, this is also why I knew my friend was sick (he told me he is serious sick). But why I do not know anything in detail. I did not asked. I changed the topic, telling about health and so. The same now, by chatting with my other friend. We 3 stuck the most time together. And she is the same. Not calling and avoiding topics we do not like to hear.
Due to his dead, she called me. And guess what.. we did not spoke about the fakt, he is dead. We spoke about the nice moments we have had together. And about the organizational things. And about everything else - But his dead.
We were always very close, even if we did not communicate for some month. We were always thinking of each others, and we felt it. We felt each others. And so it is now. My heard did not realize, that my darling died. I feel him still here. I think of him before I sleep, or on some moments in the day. As usual. No difference. I believe, he is dead, but no. No, not for real.
What is strange, is, after I heard from his dead, I remeber other moments than before.
So, the positiv thing is, I have had a reason to contact my friends. And this reason was this time not, because I wanted something from them. Ok, of course the most of them were shocked and sad, but we spoke and we got back in contact, and for 80% I felt, the relationship is the same strong as before. Thank you darling for that! Everyday, I love you more... since almost 10 years. And your death did not stoped it. TC.