Hong Kong!

I'm in Hong Kong! Save the significant layover from India to Korea in November, this is my first visit to this amazingly history-rich city!

First impressions?
- It's far less "British" than I imagined. I have to admit, I have no idea where that idea came from.
- Man, there are a lot of apartment buildings!
- The island style of roads -- and construction thereon -- reminds me a lot of my visit to St.Maarten in 2004.
- Lots of slope and water management on the hills.
- I was expecting more shiny & new, forgetting that this is a history-rich city (see note above).
- The high was 73F at best today. I was sweating like a stuck pig on a hot Mississippi afternoon... yes, while the sun was down and the entire city was clouded over.
- This place is UNBELIEVABLE! The architecture is awesome (save the apts)!

I walked the heart of Hong Kong all afternoon and got to take sights and sounds, including a look at Victoria Harbour from The Peak. Unfortunately, it wasn't a clear day here, but it may be the best, so I took advantage. I studied the map and found my way at the base of the Peak Tram in no time at all. Turns out, hundreds of other folks had the same idea. Nothing like a tourist trap... and I'll happily go along!

I stayed atop the 370m peak for quite a while, just taking in the view. I watched fog roll in, cruise ships -- miniaturized below -- stroll in & out, and breaths taken at everyone's first glimpse of the world below. This place really is a sea of skyscrapers right up to the mountains. Wholly impressive!

More trapsing around the city and a wonderful Thai dinner later and I'm back at the hotel preparing to have a full day at my disposal tomorrow. Adventures to come for sure... I've got a doozie of a day planned!

Protest by Day; Peace by Night

I come to my last day in Seoul. It was a day of dichotomy.

I arrived @ work this morning to a building surrounded by an outer layer of peaceful (but LOUD!) protest and an inner layer of guardsmen & security for the building owners' Shareholder Meeting. Every single person had to show some form of ID as all doors but one were blocked off. But... um... they let me just walk right on in! Come on! Don't I look scary? Just a little bit suspicious? I suppose they assumed (correctly) that I wouldn't have been able to understand their request for identification, but would have been secretly pleased to have whipped out my badge nonetheless.

Inside the building, we endured 4+ hours of "concerns" broadcast to shareholders and heard as if the conversation was a cube away. POSCO should have built themselves a building with better windows! If I were a shareholder, you can bet that's what I'd bring up next year! Double-pane windows! Hello! For every 15-minute rant, the entire crowd would then sing along to a national anthem of some sort and dance & cheer. Seriously, if I hadn't heard the angry shouting, I would have sworn it was some sort of celebration, like the Fourth of July or Liberation Day Parade. And of course, I had to stick my camera out the window to capture the scene!

Tonight, my evening has been filled with down time in the hotel as I glow at the Huskies big Pac-10 win, prepare to leave in the morning for Hong Kong, and try to beat this nasty-whatever-it-is that's trying to take hold. I've enjoyed watching the 14-lane interesection below resolve itself for the past couple of hours (it hasn't). And for some strange reason, it feels like Christmas. Pretty lights. I'm content.

Farewell, Seoul.

Priceless?

International adventures in Japan, Korea & Hong Kong: Priceless.
Representing Microsoft in Asia: Priceless.
Dinner: 8,000 Won (~$5.28).

Kalbi, anyone? Shaboo Shaboo?

Amazingly, I've already been on this trip for a week. I'm now on my third night in Seoul and have finally been able to opt for a night in. I can't wait for room service, a hot bath (yes, I'm a blog update away from my favorite tub in the whole world), a movie, and an early night.

We arrived in Seoul on Sunday afternoon after Stephen's International Travel Rookie Mistake No.1: no cash in Japan. Boastfully using his PASSMO card in the cab -- and unknowingly draining the balance -- left him without the 400 Yen to get into the subway to get to the airport. Being a seasoned traveler with the SuperPower of Resourcefulness, however, I rescued the day with an ingenious solution, though not after watching Stephen race around Shinagawa Station looking for a ticket vendor who accepted VISA/MAST/AMEX (nope!) or an ATM that accepted International cards (sorry, French!). And if me giving him a hard time later is your next question, then you are following the exact train of thought you should be! WOO HOO!

The adventure didn't stop there, however, as we were joined here in Korea by colleagues from Hong Kong and enjoyed awesome Korean BBQ at Samwon Garden that boasts of its kalbi and its famous guests, including the likes of Hines Ward & Paris Hilton (if I had only known, I would have gone oh so much sooner!). Arthur, Stephen, Doug and I closed SG down that night -- not a lot of late Sunday evening diners. *sorry Samwon*. As advertised, the ribs were incredible; we had to order two more servings.

Last night, the DRIVE Korea team treated us to Shaboo Shaboo. Honestly, Avid Reader, I'm unsure if that was the name of the restaurant or the type of cooking we enjoyed. Short story, we were each given a personal vat of seasoned boiling soup in which to boil dinner... from various types of greens to mushrooms to noodles to beef. Delicious and efficient, we ended the evening fat and happy. Though that could just have been me as the American in the party, to be fair. (And leveraging my SuperPower of Resourcefulness, check out this site; from the photos, it looks to be the name of the restaurant, though I can't read a single thing! But enjoy all the same!)

I think it'll be a low-key rest-of-week here in Seoul, then off to Hong Kong on Friday. I'm excited about what's to come!

Disney Sea!

It was just a typical Saturday in Asia... except that I spent it at Tokyo's DISNEY SEA!!!

Indeed, Avid Reader, I woke up this morning, caught the 7:30 hotel shuttle to Shinagawa Station to catch a train to Tokyo Station to catch a train to Maihama Station to catch the Disney Resort Line train to Disney Sea! The second of two parks in Tokyo, I wasn't able to go the last time I was here, though had a ticket to use... and did I ever!

I arrived shortly after the park opened, had an incredible day altogether -- made even more perfect by the ability to share the adventure with friends/Disney friends from afar (via the magic of text messaging and international cell phones) -- and am now so many more memories richer because of it. As with any Disney adventure, I start with the question, "Where do I begin?!", so am just going to...

- I nearly didn't get in! The ticket I bought in May 2008, though with an expiry in May 2009, set off a number of alarms when I tried to get in this morning. A trek back to the ticket line to exchange the old ticket (along wtih 200 JPY) and I was good to go!
- First Ride: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Brilliant. (Do I admit that I QuIM'd throughout the entire ride? Check out a newly uploaded videhere to see what I saw!)
- Indiana Jones promised a 110 minute wait. Liars! It took 120 exactly. And OH SO worth it!
- FastPass'ed Journey to the Center of the Earth. The best ride in the park, bar none. OK, unless you consider the following a ride...
- Seeing Ariel again."You're far from home", I started. She was all coy... 'You are too! Where are you from?" "Seattle," I said. "And you?" "Under the Sea." I know she wanted to reach out an hug me.
- Her Dad's Kingdom was pretty darn awesome. I would have given a fin to have been able to ride the jellyfish.
- I think I may have witnessed the most amazing Disney spectacle of all in The Legend of Mythica. Kite-flying Ski-doos, decorated barges that would have put any Rose Parade float to shame, amazing costumes galore, and Disney staples... what more could a Disney fan ask for?!

I have to admit that I petered out before evening fireworks. I'll chalk it up to a requirement for another visit. In the meantime, however, what an awesome day. Capped with an amazing Chinese food dinner here in the hotel with Entertaining Aussie Stephen Dolan. And now, Avid Reader, off to Korea tomorrow for a week of meetings in Seoul!

Tokyo and your Disney Sea, I love you!

Encore!

And so the week has ended. My quick two days in the Japan office have come to a close. It's time for a quick weekend adventure, then off to Korea on Sunday. Save a productive (but still oh so behind in email!) day in the office, I introduced Stephen Dolan to Hayashi, the charcoal-baked restaurant I enjoyed my last time in Japan. Mr. & Mrs. Hayashi enjoyed seeing my blog entry from October!

Better put, Mrs. Hayashi giggled, then quickly shuffled away in her kimono.

DRIVEpm, tempura, and other Japanese staples

I spent the day in meetings today in Tokyo and am now near passing out in my hotel room I'm so tired (major lack of sleep and significant jet lag this go. Boo!). To get to my current state, however, I must tell of today's highlighted events and adventures...

Microsoft Advertising Japan hosted their bi-annual Partner Conference today whereby they introduced agencies here in Tokyo to new products and services, and an awards ceremony for the top agencies supporting the Microsoft business. The launch of DRIVEpm in Japan was a major focus of the 2-hour presentation as well as a key take-away for agencies to be able to pitch targeting capabilities to their client rosters. What was yet again SO cool was seeing DRIVE Performance Media and its business model being presented in front of 200+ Japanese businessmen & women... and while a given... in Japanese! That which I got to be a part of more than five years ago now is global. Out little start-up that could. And did. It was VERY powerful and I'm reminded of the blood, sweat and tears -- but none of the pain -- spilled, dripped and shed in the process.

And tonight, several of us enjoyed dinner at a delicious tempura restarant in the heart of Akasaka. As always, I'm enjoying banter with an Entertaining Australian (Stephen Dolan, NE corner above) and simply being here in Japan. This really is an incredible place altogether. I'm glad to be back!

p.s. oh, and you should have seen the Partner Conference welcome for agencies... upon arrival, each guest was greeted by an army of Microsoft Sales professionals. We're talking 30 men & women bowing in unison to each entering guest. Awesome!

Crouch, Idaho

Greetings from Tokyo! I write not to talk about my Asian adventures to date (arrived tonight, enjoyed dinner with senior leaders from Greater Asia region, but specifically an Aussie from Sydney and a Brit from Hong Kong), but to recap you on the past week in my crazy travels! This time, Avid Reader, the recap comes to you via Crouch, Idaho!

I enjoyed a couple of days off and visited my parents and extended family in Boise before heading to my parents' beautiful cabin in Idaho's Garden Valley. The Weavers also made their way to Crouch and we enjoyed three peaceful (and Captain & barnyard-filled) nights in the middle of nowhere.

Oh, but that's what I thought. Turns out, the middle of nowhere also includes the Longhorn restaurant and the Dirty Shame Saloon! Both of which we enjoyed, along with walks through the "neighborhood" as well as tons of time with Tucker, who may be the best dog in the whole world.

Lots of comptetive cards, movies, and a whole lot of nothing later, and I'm now sitting in my hotel room in Tokyo getting ready for 10 days of in-market adventures. It's the first time I've been back since before Thanksgiving... and I've actually missed this place!

K1 Speedway!

My new GM hosted our first Team Offsite today whereby we spent most of the morning mapping through our new organization, spelling out accountabilities, and preparing to tackle the rest of the fiscal year. After lunch, however, we were able to do what every team needs: Morale Event!

We hit K1 Speedway in Redmond and tried to outgun one another. I wasn't as successful as I would have liked; let's just say I needed to have changed my strategy to optimize for control vs. fast hairpin turns. It was a kick in the pants altogether, however, and it was just what a forming group needed: something to talk about.

And my team will be talking about it for a long time as my direct teammates all appeared on the winner's podium (Jen, Grand Champion; our Boss Brian, 2nd Overall; and Saskia, 2nd in the Consolation Bracket)!

Re-Org.

As the world well knows, Avid Reader, Microsoft laid off ~1,400 employees within the past two weeks, with 3,600 more pink slips to come. I won't say my future is secure (whose is, really?), but I can say that I was re-org'd TWICE in the past two weeks. Good times!

Short story: the breadth and depth of what I do are both significantly increasing. If you consider my DRIVE launches as fulfilling two components within the many of Microsoft's online advertising business, my responsibilities expanded to four areas of the business this week (Network Reserved, Auctions, Search, Content Ads). And if you consider that I was working in Japan and Korea (and some India) before, my countries of responsibility also expanded to all of Greater Asia Pacific (Australia, Japan, Korea, India, China, Russia, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, & Hong Kong).

Oh, and I'm likely the Microsoft Media Network Product Manager for France, too. Can you say, "Todd Moore Takes Paree?"! WOO HOO!

Two Years

Today is the two-year anniversary of my return to Seattle after living in New York City. While I captured the year in my blog, I didn't need it to remind me of how incredible my time there was.

My UES apartment and its photo wall. My daily commute to the subway past ROMA Pizza. Brunches at New Amity with adventures in Central Park or The Met after. Writing contests at Ship of Fools. NYC Take-out containers. Visits from friends. The Brooklyn Brewery and MyMoon. Ari Gold.

Bottomline, I've been a lucky man relative to where I've had a chance to visit and to live. Who would've thunk it?