Danielle's Visit

Danielle stayed after Toy Fair for a few days to see more of Hong Kong

We visited Stanley Market Friday in the rain. Luckily it is mostly covered so didn't dampen our shopping spirits.

Saturday we ventured to Big Buddha. The weather was not good. It was cloudy and windy so made for an adventure on the cable cars on the way up.

We started with smiles in the cable car until the wind made it swing around. Then it wasn't so fun.

And then we disappeared into the clouds.

 Dark and cloudy...

I caught one great picture when the clouds parted for just a few seconds it was a bright blue sky.

 
 The monastery at the Big Buddha.

   

 Hello Kitty displays were everywhere

Transformer bus!

Cow!

There are 12 warrior statues... this one is my favorite. His weapon is a conch shell..... what kind of weapon is that? Are you going to hypnotize me with the sound of the ocean?

On the way back the cable car stopped twice. We still don't know why...

Saturday night we did a participation dinner with people from Hasbro HK office.

The most cooking I've done in HK! Look at the focus on sauteeing mushrooms!

Sunday I got up at 4:30 AM to go to a bar to watch the patriots game which started at 5:30 AM here.

 
Sunday we went to brunch at Hutong with friends. There are two shows and this one was the noodle maker.

The other show is the mask changing dancer.

 And of course the highlight of brunch!

A helicopter came to land at a nearby hotel. We tried to see who it was but couldn't.

Monday we went to the Peak since the clouds had cleared a bit.

 I then convinced Danielle to go on a short walk with me to find the Victoria Peak Garden... guess what... the walk wasn't so short. Poor Danielle... she's a good sport for putting up with me saying "it's just around the next corner" about 10 times...

There were a number of couples in the park taking their wedding photos.

Lunch at the Peak Lookout!

Great visit with Danielle to show her HK.

Event Week - January

The second week of January is always very busy here. It is HK Toy Fair so many US visitors come for a visit. 

Tuesday we did a small service award ceremony. I received a 10 year service award.

Left side reads "Hasbro", middle says "10 year service" and right side is my Chinese name "Bo Mei Si". Yay!

Monday was Inventor Expo and cocktail party in the evening. Tuesday we had Partner Cocktail party after work. Wednesday was Partner Summit where all our manufacturing vendors come for an all day meeting. 

I had to present a few times this week. 

Here is me presenting at Partner Summit. No worries, all items on screen launched in 2015. Nothing sensitive there. 

Wednesday night was the Women in Toys Night at the races. It was a great networking event. I have joined the founding committee of the Hong Kong chapter. Here is the founding committee (very professional, we know)!

I haven't been to the horse races in over 15 years. So I decided to place a bet. A guy at the event had bet on the the first 4 races and said he lost on each one. He helped remind me how to review the book and place a bet. He looked at the standings of the horse and the jockey and the odds.

What did I do? I reviewed the names of the horses. That's all I need. The favorite horse in the race was "Mr Right" which I thought would be a good horse to bid on cause we all want Mr Right to win. But because he was the favorite the odds weren't particularly good.

So I picked "Back to Black". I like black and I like Amy Winehouse. So I put HKD 50 for Back to Black to win in Race 5. The race started with many other horses in the lead and others were cheering. The guy who had helped me said "Oh my God, you won't believe who is taking the lead". If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that Back to Black came from the back and won the race! Woohoo. I turned my HKD 50 into HKD 480! I took my winnings and stopped...

Here is view from our private box. 

Thursday night was the HFE Annual Dinner held in Shenzhen. It was a party of over 600 people. It is held a a hotel in the ballroom. This year was different because the corporate senior management were all in attendance. And they danced and danced... those pictures and videos are under lock and key for later use as necessary!

 

 
The theme was cosplay so many people wore costumes. If we didn't have costumes, there were a ton of props there for us to use.

This is the Preschool Category Team.

These are the 11 Category Leads at HFE. "V" for victory.

Iron Man with a tall Pepper Potts.

So fun to have US visitors here as well.

 Vanessa, my coach from management training who is from Australia.

Lovely anegls: Anita and Panny!

These were the contestants for  best costume!

 

Minnie Mouse in a sari.

Michael is the only one who makes me feel short here.

My mentee, Kyle and me.

Costing team! Isaac, Jacky and Dora.

Amit giving his opening speech. He is forced to stick to his script because it is translated on the screens around the room.

Okay, I will put on one wig...

Sea full of people!

And don't forget that we dance! Yokai Dance!

What a fun and crazy evening. So great to be a part of such a wonderful celebration for all the hard work these teams do every day.

Back in HK

I came back to HK on Dec 30. 

I love some of the Christmas decorations that were still  up especially the knit handle rails and the flying trapeze Santas!

Lunar New Years Eve was spent with good friends, Andy, Donna and Natascha. We dined in Sheung Wan at Shelter Lounge and then visited a whiskey bar. I must admit that we got so caught up in dinner that we missed the fireworks at midnight. But Clare shared her picture with me so you can all see.

Cheers to the New Year!

Natascha and I hiked Black's Link and although there were not any unique pictures along the trail I have to share this one. We found an old WW2 bunker and one of the small doors was open. It was too dark inside to see. So Natascha just put her phone in and took a picture. Here is what she captured. At first it looks like a cane is just magically standing up... until you realize that it's an umbrella!

This past weekend I hiked up to the Peak (up the steep side) and then hiked Stage 1 of the Hong Kong trail which is through Pok Fu Lam Country Park. I am going to work at completing all the stages. I had wanted to do both Stage 1 and Stage 2 but I somehow missed the start of Stage 2 (don't ask) and so couldn't do that. I will try again and pay more attention next time.

A pretty R8 we saw the other day on the street. Niiiiiice ride!!!

December in US

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!


I was fortunate enough to spend 3 weeks in US. I worked the first week so was able to see people at work and connect with my team there. I then took 2 weeks time off to be with family and friends. It was a very busy 3 weeks with many parties, events and dinners and I am so grateful to all those who hosted me.


First, when I got to my parents house, my brother had saved me some leaves (since I missed the New England autumn). Here is my excitement.

It was unseasonably warm for December which allowed us to go out for walks around the neighborhood. Christmas Eve the temperature was close to 70 degree F. 

On this day the sky was just amazing.

For work, we all take a day off for a Global Day of Joy where we volunteer in the community for the day. Here is my group working at a Foster Forward event.

We spent Christmas Eve at Kris' house where we did what we do best: eat.

Emery had a new friend in Justin even though she kept calling him Bud. 

The whole crew! Grandma even came to visit with us. <3

 Christmas Day was spent and Mom and Dad's before visiting Grandma again.

Don't mess with Mom and her new woodworking tools!

I requested an apple pie for Chrsitmas since I missed it at Thanksgiving (and the pie I had in HK wasn't good). Mom is so good to me! Warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream. So goooood!

Full moon on Christmas Night.

I was horrible and didn't take pictures of the dinner and parties with friends. #FAIL