Going to the next level with help from Harry

At home on a Saturday night. I am recovering from a very intensive week with Harry Starren in Shanghai. It was great to have him over for the second time. The week was totally packed with meetings and Harry also facilitated 4 discussions in Shanghai. It were very inspiring days. Next to all those meetings we worked on the strategy for our China project. We are heading to the next (and more profitable) level. Harry will return to Shanghai in the middle of November (already in 3 weeks) to open our “Dutch China Entrepreneurship”-program here officially. So I expect the coming three weeks to be overloaded with work. I need to give all the follow up on the meetings of this trip (make the reports), prepare the trip for November, prepare the material for the Entrepreneurship program and the proposals for the deals we need to close with Harry’s next visit. It will be a real challenge to realize this all for me, but I will do all I can to make it happen. During Harry’s stay the Shanghai International Creative Industry Week was in Shanghai. So there were many Dutch creative professionals in town. The activities of Dutch Creative companies are growing very fast here. It is great to see that Shanghai is more and more a place where Dutch professional meet each other and are active. We were a parnter in the Education-day of the official program of the SICIW, but I also organized some other un-official events concerning Creativity.

The week before Harry arrived a Dutch Guitar player (Joep) stayed over at my place. He visited Shanghai to go Music Expo that week. I would have loved to join him a day. But the whole week I was at home with a fever (38,5 degrees). All the time in bed (mostly with the laptop, to finish the last things for Harry’s trip). I was happy to have some company at home, because to be sick and be home alone is not great. The day Harry arrived I declared myself (almost) better (I had no choice I guess). After the Music Expo there was the JZ festival in Pudong. I played there Sunday afternoon at 13h. We were not great, but it was the first time in this formation - next time we will be better.

When Angie was still here (she left to Beijing on the 10th of October) we managed to find a new house. I will move in the first week of December to a nice new place with a small garden! I looking forward to move to there and experience Shanghai from a different perspective. However, the new house is very close to my current place (10 minutes walking) and still close to the JZ School and even closer to Xindanwei (where I have my office). So won't be very different. My working permit is also fixed. So most practical issues are solved and this gives me the opportunity to focus on the Baak (the pressure is on and the time limited). After Harry's second trip I will go to Beijing for a week to see Angie. We call everyday and I miss her a lot, all I can do is count the days.

Our October Holiday

All is well and totally back into the Chinese lifestyle. Right now I am in the middle of the “October-holiday” in China. For me this holiday will be a kind of a 'long weekend' (Thu-Mon), since I plan to back to work tomorrow. However, the great thing is that Angie is back in Shanghai and I must say it is great to be back together. We enjoy our time by relaxing at home, making some walks, going to the zoo, eat with friend, etc. Until she arrived I was 24/7 focussing on Harry’s trip. I must say the basic outline is finished and I think I've created a fine program for him in which we can bring De Baak China to a higher level. I'm happy to have started the LinkedIn-group (Baak China Business Community), which I see as a start of a more content driven blog, which I still need to start (it's on the wish list).

Next to work and enjoying my time with Angie we are looking for possible new apartments, because the landlord is seriously thinking about selling this house. He wants to get a prince of EUR 3.000,- per square meter, which is a small fortune for most Chinese and probably a bit too much for this “Second hand” house. But as you can see – the house prices her in China are catching up with Europe. So it’s a little unclear if I will stay here or not. However I am not worried, because the general house hunting time in China is about 1-2 weeks (for a renting house at least) – this is still something incomparable to the Amsterdam standards I am used to. More difficult and important is my work permit, for which I went to the last formal procedure last Monday. If everything is accepted, I can pick up my passport (with Resident permit) on the 12th of October, and won’t have too worry about it anymore to coming year. This will save a great deal of time and stress (so very great!).

Last Wednesday of course was China’s 60th Birthday. I spend it by watching the parade together with Angie. I think I was a special moment for her, for me it was a nice ‘show’ at the time, but since I watch The Last Emperor yesterday I made me think more about it. It was a great movie to begin with (I saw it x years ago, but had forgotten everything). Next to the ‘sad’ story of this last emperor Pu Xi the movie offered a great deal of impressions on the 'chaos' China had to go through in the first half of the 20th century before finally finding a form of stability with the foundation of the People Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. Seeing this movie made me feel more special to be part of the 60th Birthday of this milestone in the long history of China.