Poorly Made in China by Paul Midler

It took me quite some time to finish reading "Poorly Made in China" written by Paul Midler.  Not that it requires certain level of technical knowledge to allow full comprehension, quite the opposite, it was an easy read.  I just did not have the luxury to read the book on my preferred time since I did not own a hard copy and had to read from my sister's kindle.  Lucky though that my sister has been preoccupied with more important things that I was able to finish the book during the holidays.

The book offers answers to the long-standing question that has kept many wondering: "How come almost all products are being manufactured in China?"  We already knew of the cheap outsourcing cost, but the book goes further by illustrating how China is able to afford manufacturing at such low prices.  One instance cited is the practice of operating at zero profit.  Selling at low prices is one of the strategies used by Chinese manufacturers in attracting customers.  They may not gain in monetary value now, but they do benefit in other areas: the reputation of having to act as supplier for large, international corporations, having the access to unique product samples (provided by the customers) that may be offered to other customers, etc.  They give up profit that can be earned now in exchange for more profit in the future.  In addition to this, Chinese manufacturers make it appear easy for importers to start a supplier-customer relationship with them.  All it requires is the provision of samples.  China possesses superb mimicry skill that enables it to reproduce provided samples at incredible level of accuracy and speed.

It does not take long for importers to realize that everything is not as easy as what the manufacturers make it appear.  The book points out two major issues that the importers have to deal with: quality issues and disregard for the existing partnership.  The manufacturers often make important decisions that result in huge losses to the importers on its own, without discussing or even informing its partners.  This is very different from what I learned in school on the importance of good customer relationship, yet, it works very well for the manufacturers, because the importers have no other choice but to stick with the partnership.

While I was about to feel despair for the situation where the importers are in, the author was in time to spark a light of hope when he told an anecdote on how one importer was able to temporarily reverse the situation.  Even though this is a unique case, it still shows that the situation may be corrected in some ways.  

Paul Midler did a great job as a narrator.  He was able to clearly convey his point in a very interesting manner.  I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to have a peek into China's manufacturing industry.    

Reflection
Honestly, it was hard for me to believe some of the author's accounts.  I am a Chinese-Filipino.  My ancestors came from Mainland China, yet, I was never taught to act in the same way as how the Chinese manufacturers acted in the book.  In fact, we value honesty very much.  I can still remember the story of the 2 siopao owners told in Chinese class when I was still in elementary.  One insists to use the best part of the pork for his siopao, while the other one uses the not so good part.  At first, the second owner benefited from his strategy.  His customers soon found out about this.  As he lost his customers, the second owner was forced to shut down, while the first owner continued to prosper.  Maybe, history really plays an important role in shaping our values.  That even though we came from the same lineage, with different pasts and experiences, we turn out to share completely different cultures.

             

换乐无穷

我最近在看一部喜剧，片名叫换乐无穷。故事讲述女主角，范淑香，如何用“神奇网站”一一解决眼前的困境而引发的一连串爆笑事故。所谓“神奇网站”可让人换取任何东西。

淑香希望老公升职，弟弟考进名校，朋友与其老公度过美好的结婚一周年，等等等。

“神奇网站”真的让她如愿以偿，不料的是

老公弟弟不习惯，不喜欢新的工作学习环境，朋友与其老公的夫妻关系并无改善，等等等。

很多事情要顺其自然，不可强求。达不到所谓的理想标准不代表你能力不足或不够努力，可能只是不适合你，做了也不会快乐。人与人之间的关系也并不会因为暂时的和解，一时的甜蜜而解决主要问题的所在。

就算“神奇网站”这次替你解决了难题，那下一次呢？下下一次呢？往日的无数下一次呢？

问题是人生的必经之路，让我们从中成长。解决方法需要过程，不能急于一时。每个人都需要时间去体验，去累积经验，渐渐地认识自己到底适合过什么样的人生。感情需要时间去培养，去了解对方，才能断定两人是否适合在一起。

God's Creation

Having grown up in a Christian family, one can just imagine the number of times I have heard the creation story.  In fact, I have heard and read about it so many times that I do not feel the need to revisit it anymore until yesterday.  I started helping out in Tim and Tab, one of the programs of our church's children ministry which aims to share God's word to nonchristian children, last year.  Every Saturday, a Bible story would be told, and for Tim and Tab's first formal session this school year, the story chosen was the creation story.  While the storyteller was enumerating everything that God created, she was also showing corresponding pictures in a powerpoint presentation at the same time.  Suddenly, I realized that because only one word is used to represent the whole of God's creation (animal for all animal types, water for all water forms, etc.), I had already forgotten the diversity that these words stand for (animal for tiger, lion, zebra, elephant, etc.; water for sea, lake, river, waterfall, etc.).  God has indeed created a beautiful place for us!

If you are having the same feeling, try reading the story again, but this time enter the words in Google Images.           

牵牛的夏天

牵牛的夏天 是根据电影 我的野蛮女友 改编的。我觉得改编得相当不错。虽然引用了不同的故事背景，却保留了原来男女主角的角色，还适当地融合了电影里经典的剧情：

地铁的相遇

男主角顺了女主角的意思与她交换鞋子改穿高跟鞋

女主角在地铁站/飞机场着急寻找男主角

最后的相逢


绝对会让你回味无穷。

Why I Love Watching The Vampire Diaries

I share the study table at home with my sister. The same as any other day, she was watching an episode of a series in her laptop. I caught a glimpse of one scene, I saw Nina Dobrev, and I asked my sister to play the series from the first episode. This was how I started watching The Vampire Diaries.

I was after the romance that would develop between Elena and Stefan, but the show gave far more than what I expected. Every time I think that the story has already come to a dead end, it proves me wrong by unfolding things that open new possibilities. It never stops giving me surprises.

It does not dwell on obvious questions like "Should Elena choose to become a vampire?," or "Who should Elena choose between Stefan and Damon?" These questions certainly need to be answered, but the story does not revolve around them; rather, the answers to these are molded by the sequence of events.

The series keeps me thinking. In the story, one can only kill a vampire by staking him (using a wooden stake) through his heart. In other words, a vampire lives long, if not forever. The very nature of vampires, that of feeding on blood, puts humans at risk. Moreover, vampires possess powers that can control humans to act against their own will. The existence of vampires does not only go against the natural, but is also a threat to the human race. Given these, killing the Originals would be ideal as this would bring an end to the whole vampire race. However, having known Stefan and friends, we have already grown fond of them. We want them to live, because we know that they have not lost their humanity. Now we ask: Is it right to allow vampires to live, to put humans' lives at risk, for the sake of the few? I find the question interesting as we are often faced with similar questions in life, questions that have no right or wrong answers.

Moreover, the characters are well-developed. Take Rebecca as an example. Rebecca is certainly not a likable character, but we cannot bring ourselves to fully hate her. Ironically, we begin to sympathize with her for having a brother who chooses to live with his fellow hybrids than his own family, for having a mother who wanted nothing but to kill her and her siblings, for the betrayals she experienced after choosing to trust.

How about you, what do you like about The Vampire Diaries?

Three Gorges, China Trip

I started out the trip to Three Gorges to witness the beautiful scenery I am looking at now - mountains after mountains along the long stretch of Yangtze River, each having its own unique form, some depicting images of animals (elephant, snake), others of holy beings (buddha, goddess).

But what attracted me most is the history of the place. Inundation, caused by the river, had long been a major threat to the locals. In response to this, the government started the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in 1994. Together with the benefits brought by the project, including flood prevention, electricity generation, rise in tourism, come other undesirable outcomes. The river's water level rose so high that many villages located along the river bank were buried underwater - forever. The locals were forced to move out from their simple lifestyle, and all will never be the same again.

History is what distinguishes one place from another. I believe that it is the story of Yangtze River that would remain in me every time I think of Three Gorges.

Shibaozhai Pagoda (Upper left) is an old multi-storey wooden architectural structure built without the use of nails. Mountains of the shapes of scissors (Upper center), elephant (Lower left), buddha (Lower center), snake (Lower right) can be found while passing through the area.

Hanging coffins placed on cliffs were found in the Three Gorges region. Many speculations were made as to why the coffins were put as such. Some believe that the high levels represent the people's respect to their ancestors, while others say that this kind of burial ceremony protects their ancestors' body from animal attacks. It is still unknown today as to how such heavy coffins were placed atop.

On the Three Gorges Dam. I find the 5-stages ship lock very interesting. It raises or lowers the ship when travelling upstream from Yichang to Chongqing or downstream from Chongqing to Yichang. The ship enters the first stage, and when the gate behind it closes, the water level rises/lowers. Once the water level is the same as that of the next stage, then the gate in front of it opens for the ship to proceed to the next stage. The gate closes again, and the same process is repeated four times. The whole process may sound simple, but it takes approximately 5 hours to complete the whole process.