A week of firsts!

So this past week I conducted my first interview to hire an employee in Hong Kong office.

I traveled to Shenzhen, China to meet the members of my team that work there. I also took them to lunch! Or they took me to Chinese lunch and I paid. 

Here is the outside of the Hasbro Shenzhen office. No pictures allowed inside. 

And here is display outside the office of the PreSchool products! 

I crossed the China border for the first time using my Hong Kong ID and finger print. So easy!! 

I am starting to learn my first Cantonese words. Of course, I need to make sure I trust the people teaching me!

We also had celebratory pig at the welcome lunch for Irene and me. First time having this dish and it was delicious! 

And I used a front load washing machine for the first time. It's the little things that sometimes trip me up. 

Home Shopping Weekend

So this weekend I needed to shop for my new apartment. In the US, I would go to Target and be all set. But without a Target here, what is a girl to do. She is going to go to many many different stores. So there is no one-stop shopping here in Hong Kong. Each store and area is usually based on types of products.

Lisa laughed at my when I said I was going to do price comparisons for stores. She said I would get over that quick and just buy what I want when it was convenient (and close by). After 2 days, I'm starting to see her point.

So I went to many, many different stores this weekend. Saturday I went to at least 10 stores looking for home goods products. I don't think I bought anything. Just walked around gathering info on inventory and prices.

Sunday, I needed to put a plan in action to buy stuff. So I made the trip to Ikea on Sunday (about 10 minute subway ride away). First you must know that going to Causeway Bay area on a Sunday is ill-advised due to the crowds and when there is a road race there, it is even more discouraged. But I was already there, with my empty suitcase in tow. Oh yes, remember that whatever I buy I have to hand carry out of the store... so just like a mainlander I brought my suitcase.

I had my priority list for Ikea ready... plates, bowls, and silverware were at the top. Wine glasses and bedding were secondary. Remember, I buy must fit in the suitcase so don't overbuy...

So I did fairly well buy plates, no bowls-fail!, silverware, and wine glasses(!). I also got kitchen towels. With the convenient packing station at the end, I wrapped everything in paper and placed in my suitcase and prayed it would all make it. I ventured back into the crowds and found the taxi stand. One taxi ride to my new apartment and everything made it safely home.

By then I was on a mission to buy more. I had found towels I wanted Saturday at the department store (Wing On). So I took my empty suitcase down the many stairs and went back there and purchased my towels. Putting them into the now empty suitcase to wheel back to my temp apartment. See how this suitcase is handy (except on all the stairs...).

I still can't decide on bedding... so I left that for another day.

I got it!! The apartment is mine!

So the great news is that the apartment I wanted is mine! I got the keys last night. YAY!

For those that know HK, it's on Caine Road close to the top of the escalators in SoHo/Mid-levels area. It's a busy street with frequent bus service so I can take the escalators or a minibus to the MTR station for work. 

Name of building is Honor Villa

So this 2-bedroom beauty is mine! Yes, people, I said 2-bedroom so there is room for guests (or a guest cause it's a twin bed).

Large fridge, 2 burner cooktop, microwave, washer/dryer combo and plenty of storage.

It's an open floor plan. I got my red kitchen and those chandeliers! No formal dining table but there are barstools in the kitchen for eating at the counter and in view of the tv! There are 3 window seats too b

Spare bedroom with twin bed, desk and built in wardrobe.

Master bedroom with queen bed and built in wardrobe.

Hard to take bathroom pictures cause's it's on small side but it's efficient and has a large shower with rain showerhead.



And best of all, I got a harbor view! It's a small view only from one room but it's there!

And for the parental units peace of mind, there is a secure door with keypad entrance and 24 hour security on staff. No gym in the building so next step will be to find that!

I will spend the weekend shopping for things to be able to actually live here! I love shopping! 

Good Things Happening This Week

Things are really happening this week.

Bank:

I have a bank account with money in it. Now they didn't issue an ATM card so getting money out is still a challenge but one step at a time!

Hong Kong ID:

I got my Hong Kong ID today which means that I am an official resident. Card will help me in setting up utilities, getting a gym membership, and especially getting into Hong Kong when I travel. All I need is my card and a finger print and I'm in. Here it is!

PLUS! At work I finally got my own bathroom key. I am large and in charge now!!!

Tomorrow will be even bigger news... stayed tuned!
 

Sunday Brunch - Hutong

We went to Hutong for Sunday brunch today. Group included Daniela and Annette and their mums, Sarah and Mark. Great food and drink and also performances each hour. Food was dim sum buffet and one main dish per person (pork belly and duck were delicious). And free flowing champagne was cherry on top!

Unfortunately it was quite a hazy day so the view wasn't as great at it usually is atop One Peking. Will just have to go back!

Tea performance, noodle making and dancing. All very cool to watch. Will definitely be back.

 

 Here is video of dancing. Make sure you notice how his mask changes!

 

Dragon's Back Hike

Saturday we went on a hike on HK island. Trail is called Dragon's Back. We took subway to Shau Kei Wan and then took a bus to Shek O. Group included Lisa, Jared, Tamara and Geoff. 

We hiked for about 2 hours and ended at Big Wave Bay where we ate and had some beers. 5 of us eating and drinking cost only HKD 330 (US $43). After we ate we walked to the beach. 

Ended up being a great workout!!!

My Team (Preschool Category)!

So my job here is leaeding product development for our Preschool category which includes functions including Engineering, Design, QA, PM, costing, planning and packaging. Here is picture of entire Preschool team from this year's Annual Dinner.

This week I took my team leads to lunch and we captured the event. They love taking pictures here which will be good for my blog!

HFE Annual Dinner (2015)

Every year HFE team has an Annual Dinner to celebrate the previous year. I was lucky enought to be here for the event.

The event is held in China and all HK and China employees are invited. We took an hour bus ride over the border and went to the Hilton Shenzhen. There were over 500 people in attendance. It is a wonderful event and great for all employees to get together and celebrate the year. It is confusing at first because the program is run in 2-3 languages at some times (English, Cantonese, and Mandarin). The theme was back to school so many people dressed in school uniforms.

The menu for the evening. Traditional Chinese meal.

I was very lucky that my team members from Shenzhen office attended so I could meet them. I will be taking a trip to visit them at their office soon. Each team takes a team picture at the event so this is my new Preschool cross-functional team. I am front and my boss, Winston, is to the right of me. What a wonderful team!

 

 

This is me and a teammate, James, who I have worked with on Nerf before and I am thrilled for him to be a part of my team!

I got to see many colleagues that I used to work with on Nerf and other businesses. Here is Raymond on the left and Kevin on the right.
 

There was a band at the event and many people danced. Both the China and HK teams did performances and there were some great singers!! Here is Casey singing! For those who know him, Wiebe Tinge sang an amazing rendition of "New York, New York" as well!

 

The head of the HFE office, Amit, gives a speech celebrating the successes of 2014 and it is translated into Chinese on the screen 

 

And here is our senior management team toasting to a wonderful New Year!In attendance was Duncan, Chapman, Leif, Billy, Wiebe, Don Schmitt, Don Marini and many more.

What a great night! Can't wait for next year!

Work - The First Week

So I am surviving my first week of work in Hong Kong. It has been an extremely busy week with work events each night and HK Toy Fair going on. Good news is there were a lot of visitors from the US. 

I live on Hong Kong Island and my temporary apartment is 30 minutes from the office. About 15 minutes of walking and 15 minutes on subway (2 trains).  The cool part is my commute is 95% underground due to all the underground tunnels which makes it easier than crossing streets on ground level.

The HFE (Hasbro Far East) office is located on Kowloon side of Hong Kong in Harbour City mall in one of the towers. Here is view when I exit subway station. 

I have to not get distracted by all the stores and shopping and make sure I go to work. 

Our office is currently under renovation which means our space is a little hectic. I currently sit in a conference room with 9 other people (my boss included). The other people are some of the other category leads. They all speak Cantonese so I don't understand most of what is said. I am hoping that after a few weeks I may learn Cantonese by osmosis. Here is our conference room.

In a few weeks my floor will be renovated and then me and my team wil all sit together. I am lookking forward to that. 

Speaking of my team. I have a team of about 30 people. Engineers, designers, project management, quality, planning, costing, and packaging as well as global sourcing. I took my team leads to lunch Wednesday (teams here love lunch just as much as those in RI). Here we are at lunch!! I took them for Italian! Ha!

So as I mentioned this week was busy. Monday night we had an Inventor Expo and Tuesday was Vendor Summit. I met so many new people but I am doing well remembering all the names and faces. Wednesday I took a friend/colleague from US to Temple Street Market and dinner on Knutsford Terrace. Here is a picture from our walk down Nathan Road.

Thursday, tonight, is the Hong Kong/China Annual Dinner. So I am actually writing to you from the bus ride. Will definitely post pictures of the event tonight.

That's all for now. Will write again soon!