Virginity Lost....

I (for better or worse) am very protective of my charges, whether that be Calvin or in this story – my friend Patty. I have been trying really hard to shield her from the frustration and total insanity of our current employer. However, yesterday, we were blindsided by our COO and I could protect her no longer.

We scheduled a meeting with Mark for 10am to discuss our questions/concerns and when the hell were we going to be getting our laptops (Patty has been without a computer for over 3 weeks and we were going to hold him to his promise even if he was drunk at our company happy hour on Friday night). In a nutshell, pretty benign stuff. Instead, he invited us into a meeting with two ladies that ended up being from the HQ hospital in Singapore here to audit the OB/GYN program. I only found out that these two women were coming just this past Saturday but despite my asking when they were showing up, no one could give me their itinerary. So we found out the hard way. So after brief introductions, Mark said he had a meeting and took off (Thank you fill in the blank). We were left there trying hard to answer their questions about the business model of Parkway and OUR OB/GYN program, what were our roles, limitations and job descriptions.

In the end we concluded they were basically just pawned off on us to take care of the lunch, then a tour of our clinic as well as meeting the staff and pulling charts and statistics for the last 6 months. Thankfully after lunch I was off on a home visit while Patty babysat and created a spur of the moment itinerary for them to follow. They barely had hotel reservations, but no one had coordinated meals for them, much less transportation. These were really nice ladies that we should have impressed a lot more than we did.

Patty called me last night at 7:30pm – just arriving home from work and gave me an ear full. She said that at the end of the day she was trying to arrange transportation for them and all Mark’s administrative assistant could tell Patty was to check with “Tracy” on their itinerary for the rest of the week. Patty and I had a good laugh about that one.

I am sorry she lost her virginity today; however, her training is now complete firmly with 2 feet stuck in cement. At least I know she really understand why some days I can’t even get into a patient room and now there are two of us that can’t. I really pity Mark today because I warned him I am the tamer of the two crazy L&D ladies he hired.

Today, since our lovely female warriors from Singapore were so impressed with us, they are taking US out to lunch today. I don’t know, what do you think about this:

Patty Windisch, President – Tracy Claxton, CEO

Calvin...Revisted

Every now and then I get a call from Calvin’s mom saying how great a tutor I was and always checked that I was still enjoying my job and was there anything she could do to get me to come back?? (If she only knew!) I had held off the invitations for another visit and the calls were less frequent and I thought I well those were good memories and maybe I'll run into Calvin in 20 years! Then, a few weeks ago Calvin’s mom called and when I answered it was Calvin! He said he missed me and could I please come over. Man, Calvin’s mom knew the right trick - Catholic guild kicked in! So since I was home alone this weekend while Will is in the US for his sister’s wedding – CONGRATULATIONS KATY AND CLOVER – I went for a visit to see Calvin today.

As soon as I walked in he popped out from behind the bookcase and he gave me a big hug. Then both his parents came out and gave me hugs as well. Then I said well, go get some books and we’ll read them. So he brings back a few and I jokingly ask which one are you going to read to me. He gets out one that we read about “being fair" and MY student READ this book to me all by himself. I guess he hadn’t even done that for his parents yet. I actually had a tear in my eye it was that amazing. We all clapped when he was finished and then I read him a few more stories, gave him a big hug and left. I promised I would return if he would read me another story – I’m shooting for Green Eggs and Ham next time!

Typhoon Wipha

Yeah well, so I was busy yesterday at work not only with patients, but also trying to finalize our lease on our hopefully new apartment (still not holding my breath). Needless to say, I didn't realize there was a typhoon with 126 mph winds coming directly for Shanghai until around lunchtime yesterday. No one seemed to be too concerned except to say bring your plants in and if you are on a low floor, don't plug in anything into the floor. Since we are on the lucky 13th floor, didn't think we had to worry. People even looked at me funny when I asked if we needed to board up our windows are anything. So Patty and I went about our business and helped with two deliveries yesterday late afternoon.

The traffic last night was worse than the actual storm (which I slept through) - so it is now Wednesday morning and the storm passed just south of us. It is a little overcast, but traffic is moving. So goes another day in China...

4 more years! No, just 3…

September has always been good for Will – he was born in September (in the year of the Pig!), he started working for Dell in September and hey, he got married in September to ME. This September was #7 for Will at Dell, Inc. and this past year has been one focused on his job and the possibility of moving into a management position while diving knee (neck?) deep into the Asian culture. Despite a lot of hard work (well at least in my opinion), the management job was just not meant to be. We thought instead it was a sign that maybe a lateral transfer to Singapore was on the horizon. This way we could enjoy another year or two abroad but with a country that boasts pristine air quality and a low crime rate (hey would you commit a crime if you were going to by caned for chewing gum in public? I think not).

However, that serendipity thingy came through again when my friend Patty’s husband came forward out of the blue with another opportunity – to help grow their marketing presence in Asia. I’m probably messing that up because I really have no idea what his job title is – but Will is REALLY excited about it, so I’m of course REALLY excited for him. Okay, so what I’m most excited about is that we are getting a few more of those nice “expat” perks such as a real housing allowance and international health insurance (I no longer have to worry about going to the Shanghai Chinese Medicine University Attached Dragon China hospital to seek care). They also threw in two plane tickets home once a year. I think that was some meaty bait, because then they threw in the spoiler - they want him to be in Shanghai for - sssccrreeeccch - 3 MORE YEARS. OH-YO (that is the Chinese Homer Simpson saying DOH!)

So despite the big lump in my throat that I will not be returning to my US home for a little longer than I anticipated, we decided to forge ahead and create a new home here in China and settle in for the long haul. There is less than a year until the Beijing Olympics and 2 ½ years until the World Expo in Shanghai and continued promises from the Chinese Safety Officer that “our toys will be safe for Christmas.” There’s just that little hold up over differences in how much lead the US vs China considers “safe” to use in paint. It will be amazing to look back on China in 4 years.

So before Will starts his new gig on October 15th, we will move in to a new apartment at the end of the month and whisk away for a much-needed vacation for 2 in Bangkok! I promise, I’ll be digging out my camera again sooooonnnnnn!

That’s Amarone!

Well, Anniversary #2 went off a little more romantically than Anniversary #1 (see last year’s blog). Will returned from his trip to Singapore on Sunday evening and then we relaxed on Sunday night and he took me out to our favorite restaurant - Sashas - for dinner! He even called the owner to ask if he could please please bring our expensive bottle of red wine (“THE AMARONE”) in for dinner. This is the bottle of wine we bought last year at the infamous wine tasting event where we met Tippy Tipsy. At least we gave ourselves a good toast that we feel with utmost confidence that we can still fit into our wedding day duds.

Taking a 180 degree turn with new developments on the work front. After all our hard work to try to break new ground and forge a new relationship with Dr X, we receive a company wide email announcing that he is retiring his OB practice and will be moving to another clinic (still within our organization) and focus on his gynecology practice. Sigh…. I don’t know how I really feel about this. The ups and downs and curve balls of working in a foreign country – I’m just glad I have Will and my friend Patty as witnesses that my stories are in fact true!