Orientation-Oriented Day In The Orient

What's the good of setting 6 alarms for yourself if you wake up naturally 20 minutes prior to them?

I woke up at 6:40 and started preparing for work. Shower/shave, nice clothes, etc. Boring stuff.

8:30 I left for a cab. Stopped downstairs first for breakfast - eggs and toast and poor excuses for sausage and bacon - with David, Tom, Kat, and went to find a cab for real. But there never is a cab when you want it in this city. I had to search for it and sprint when I saw one finally.

The traffic in the morning was terrible. Reason number #2 I need a bike (reason #1 is the heat - walking is not an option). I arrived a tad late for work.

And a few comments about work...

Arrived and went down to floor LL where the odd numbered elevators are (odd, I thought). To the 19th floor of Yintai Office Tower and walked out to a large Paul Hastings sign. Unlike two years ago, when my work in Shanghai was, well, bull, this seems like I'll have plenty of work and things to do, since the only thing worse than having too much to do is to have absolutely NOTHING to do at work.

I walked in and met the Receptionist, Shirley Pei. She showed me to my desk, on the opposite end of the building (PH has the whole floor), where a name tag had already been printed and mounted at the entrance to my cubicle.

I was given a few packets on the company and told to be at a meeting at 10:30. I met my cubicle-mate, Evonne, a third year undergraduate in a Beijing prelaw school.

At 10:30 we had an hour and a half of sensitivity training...

At noon a tour, followed by form filling, contract signing, etc. Today was a very orientation-oriented day here in the Orient.

At 1 I attended a lunch for a Paul Hastings Partner from the States coming through for vacation. I met all the senior people in the office and got some good food to boot.

Sat down after the meeting with Britt and Sam, two interns who are finishing their work here soon, Sam on Wednesday and Britt on the 15th.

We had a meeting at 3 with IT where we were set up for phone and computer privileges, and given key card access to the office.

Emma Yu, one of my bosses, gave me a Paul Hastings briefcase as a present for starting, which was nice, and I'll probably be using it for work, since I have no substitute.

I spoke with Mingwei, my friend from Wash U, who is working down the street a little ways, and we set up a time to meet after work so I can get the rest of my work clothes I had shipped to his house.

Met with Ian, my mentor while I'm in the office. He's from New York. We chatted about the various things I might be doing while I'm here.

Left about 15 minutes early to meet Mingwei to catch the 6pm bus. We met in the lobby of my building, and crossed under the road to get a bus to his house.

The ride took about an hour out to the fifth ring road. Arrived at 7 to a beautiful complex of houses out in the outskirts of Beijing. Mingwei's house is beautiful, with rich wooden floors and a tasteful interior, to say the least. Mingwei gave me a quick tour and then his driver came by to bring us to a restaurant nearby.

It was Taiwanese food, and it was delicious. Mingwei treated, which was very kind and will be repaid by summer's end, I'm sure.

Back at Mingwei's house, I picked up the package I had shipped to his house with all my work clothes. We called a cab and I went home.

Got back to the hostel, brought the box upstairs and unpacked.

Went back downstairs and saw Cole, whom I met last night. He was with several new people. I met Bob and Monty, Americans, Ebba (I think that's how it's spelled?), a Swede, and Stephanie, a German. We sat on the couches for a while, played some foosball, drank some 3.5元 beer ($0.50) we got across the street from the hostel, and discussed in depth our involvements in the kidney black market.

Bed at 2.