How are you? I do hope that you are well and have had an easy and relaxed weekend.

Usually, the Chinese New Year season (Spring Festival) is for 15 days. In cities, we have a national holiday for 5 or 7 days. In the countryside, people spend their holiday from 1 to 15 of the Chinese traditional calendar. It will be finished until the Festival of Lanterns has past. After a 7 day's holiday, we started to work on Wednesday, Feb 13, 2008.

According to the customs in South China, the general manager gave everyone a red paper bag with some money as the opening gift. The single girls/boys in the company went to wish the elders or their managers a happy new year. As a return, we gave them red bags, too. A funny thing is that after giving more than 30 ones, I found that I just knew 2 of the young people.

In the 3 business days this week, I have done many things. To attend daily manager meetings, to deal with the newspapers, they were thicker than 30 centimeters, because of my traveling; to write investigation report about my business trip in Shanghai and to do my industry researching Saturday morning.

Thursday afternoon, the biggest shareholder of the company heard our yearly work report. In 2007, our revenue was risen 36% than last year and the after-tax profit was risen 330%.

In stead of retiring ahead, I am continuing to work for the company. Except the company has given my work a good evaluation via some way, I enjoy my work more and more. I have completed the changing from a manager who worked on one point /part to be the one who is working and adjusting more points/parts real time. To find problems, research and resolve them, then to upgrade the solutions on a theory level, then to direct the coming practice. The creation, innovation and challenge are just something I enjoy. They are making me delight and feel my own value to work for the company and the society.

So, I will work harder on improving myself in the 4 fields of art of management, language, painting and music in the coming 5 years.

In the management field, I would like to continue my research on the corporation core competition power, corporation web site’s business model and something else the company asks me to do...

How about you? Do you have any plan to improve yourself in the coming 5 years?
I am just a learner on that art of painting, music, calligraphy, languages and to work on the web site in my free time. I would really like to do a little bit things with what I have learned to make this little web site to be An Electronic Bridge Of Culture Exchange, Friendship and Language Learning. To help the others while to improve myself.

I appreciate your understanding, directions and supports. I do hope to get your friendly help...

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please write to shirley@ebridge.cn or shirleyz004@yahoo.com. You are welcomed to publish your opinions in the forum.

Shirley Yiping Zhang
Sun, Feb 17 2008