Jake's Shanghai

Bacon and potato burger at McDonald’s, Shanghai on...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:51:48 +0800

Bacon and potato burger at McDonald’s, Shanghai on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Every month McDonald’s launches a new sandwich in China. Every month I try the new sandwich. I love China.

Japanese Steel on Flickr.Via Flickr: While in Japan, Corrie...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:16:52 +0800

Japanese Steel on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
While in Japan, Corrie bought me a beautiful knife for my birthday. This a ryoba-usuba-santokugata (or santoko) made by Aritsugu in Kyoto. It is my first carbon steel blade, so I am excited to try it out…

Krabi, Thailand After spending the last few weeks in wet, cold...

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:45:00 +0800

Longtail Boat in front of Amari Vogue

Hot food!!!

Longtail boat

Sunset at Amari Vogue

Krabi, Thailand

After spending the last few weeks in wet, cold Shanghai we hopped a plane down to the beaches of Thailand.

Once again, lots more pics on Flickr…

收工饭 at 敦煌小亭 The recruitment team went out for our 收工饭 (last...

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:58:08 +0800

羊杂锅仔 (lamb’s bowels)

凤爪虾 (shrimp and chicken’s feet)

土豆牛肉锅 (beef with potato and wide noodle)

收工饭 at 敦煌小亭

The recruitment team went out for our 收工饭 (last meal) before everyone leaves for the Chinese New Year. This is a selection of the 15 plates we ordered…

top: 羊杂锅仔 (lamb’s bowels)
left: 凤爪虾 (shrimp and chicken’s feet)
right: 土豆牛肉锅 (beef with potato and wide noodle)

The chicken feet were good, and I snacked on some of the lamb’s bowels; the intestines had a bit of a funky smell, the tripe was similar to others I have had, and I didn’t venture into the lungs section of the party platter because I wasn’t feeling particularly adventurous today. All of the food was from the western part of China, including some amazing lamb that I did not get a picture of.

Watching the NFL playoffs in the early AM… bars are...

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 10:04:56 +0800

Watching the NFL playoffs in the early AM… bars are packed!

We have stuff! on Flickr.Via Flickr: Our sea shipment arrived...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:24:49 +0800

We have stuff! on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Our sea shipment arrived yesterday. Very excited to have all of our things in Shanghai.

L’Oréal China 2012 Annual Dinner All over the world,...

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:59:00 +0800

Recruitment Team

L’Oréal China 2012 Annual Dinner

All over the world, L’Oréal has annual meetings at the end of the year to celebrate the wins of the past 12 months as well as to excite everyone for the coming 12 months. I have attended past annual meetings in NYC with L’Oreal USA and last week I attended my first annual meeting in Shanghai. It was quite the show!

The evening started with a Dragon Dance and an exhibition of martial arts, followed by speeches from our Chairman and and our CEO. There were awards for long service and then the real fun began; with each of divisions putting on a performance that they had been practicing for the last few weeks. Some were quite elaborate with costumes and dancing while others were more traditional with talented team members playing instruments.

Overall it was a really great way for us to usher in The Year of the Dragon!

You can see more pics on my Flickr page

Christmas in Beijing Corrie and I took our first trip outside of...

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0800

Christmas in Beijing

Corrie and I took our first trip outside of Shanghai and celebrated Christmas in Beijing. It was a very quick visit, but in under 60 hours we were able to tour the Forbidden City, walk on the Great Wall, and eat our Christmas goose (i.e. Peking Duck). The weather was quite cold, but we braved it and managed to stay warm by eating some of the spiciest food I have ever had. The trick is to get progressively spicier until your mouth is so numb that you start to lose your mind a bit and you can’t taste anything anymore. That’s how you know its good.

This was our first Christmas that was not spent with our families, but through the magic of FaceTime on our iPads we have been able to stay connected. I was “passed around” and got to chat with all of my cousins and aunts and uncles on Christmas Eve and we opened presents with Corrie’s family on Christmas morning. It was almost as if we never left!

As always, lots more pics on FLICKR.

2011 Top 100 HR Awards I attended the 51job’s annual Best HRM...

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0800

2011 Top 100 HR Awards

I attended the 51job’s annual Best HRM Companies Award ceremony on December 9th. 51job is one of the biggest job boards in China (similar to Monster or Careerbuilder in the US) and every year they honor the top 100 HR management programs. This year, L’Oreal China won an award for “Most Popular Employer on Campus.” We have an amazing Campus recruitment team and I was really excited to accept the award on their behalf.

To read more about the awards visit 51job (in Chinese)

Happy Thanksgiving?

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 08:24:00 +0800

First downside to working in Shanghai? The fourth Thursday in November is completely insignificant....

Jean-Georges Vongerichten Cooking Demo & Lunch on Flickr. It...

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 10:51:00 +0800

Jean-Georges Vongerichten Cooking Demo & Lunch on Flickr.

It was a rare chance that we had the opportunity to see a world-class chef preparing our lunch in front of us. JGV spends a lot of time in Shanghai, but on this occasion he was in town to promote his new book. There are a few more pics of the demo on the Flickr page but we completely forgot to photograph the meal.

Fazangjiang Temple on Flickr. We stumbled upon a temple that was...

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 14:36:00 +0800

Fazangjiang Temple on Flickr.

We stumbled upon a temple that was completely devoid of tourists. A very calm spot in the midst of a bustling city. This statue was part of a stairway inside the temple.

Jinan Lu, Shanghai on Flickr. After the noodle lunch we wandered...

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:40:00 +0800

Jinan Lu, Shanghai on Flickr.

After the noodle lunch we wandered around for a bit. It has been amazing how quickly Shanghai has started to feel like home. It is very similar to NYC as far as energy and accessibility.

Wei Xiang Zhai on Flickr. On Sunday morning, Corrie and I tried...

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 11:34:00 +0800

Wei Xiang Zhai on Flickr.

On Sunday morning, Corrie and I tried 麻酱面, which are seasame noodles, from an amazing shop near Xintiandi. If you are in the neighborhood, I highly recommend it. In hindsight we should have also ordered some of their beef soup to go along with it. Maybe next time.

Goodbye Brooklyn, Hello Shanghai!

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0800

In the past seven days I watched my sister get married in Chicago, attended three “going away”...

Last Dinner in Brooklyn - Blue Ribbon on Flickr. Check out...

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 06:20:00 +0800

Last Dinner in Brooklyn - Blue Ribbon on Flickr.

Check out Corrie’s tumblr - www.thecorriestory.com - which gets updated way more than this!

Chinese Pull Tab Beer! on Flickr. For some reason I was always...

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:01:00 +0800

Chinese Pull Tab Beer! on Flickr.

For some reason I was always sad that I had missed the care-free days of pull tab beers in the States. Luckily they have them in China. This came out of a vending machine at PuDong airport. Nice.

Lunch spread in Shanghai on Flickr.

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0800

Lunch spread in Shanghai on Flickr.

One-way ticket to Shanghai

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0800

A few weeks ago my boss asked me a very interesting question: “Are you truly open to moving...