A Girl Nerd's Diary http://elsachang.com Xoogler, ex-Yahoo, supporter of women entrepreneurship, and an evolved netizen who is trying to build something awesome in the mobile internet space. posterous.com Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:40:00 -0700 Women in Startup Chile, or women startups in Chile http://elsachang.com/women-in-startup-chile-or-women-startup-in-ge http://elsachang.com/women-in-startup-chile-or-women-startup-in-ge

We (Startup Chile women) have recently been interviewed by The Next Web Latin America. When the article came out - http://tnw.to/1DhmO, we got a bit of a hype, especially in our group. I was thinking, it's not unusual that people talk about how few women participate in startups, and even fewer as a solo, woman founder in startups. It all sounds so glorious and I love every single bit of it so far, but there are certain things you have to at least be prepared both physically and mentally before making this major decision of your life. Especially for women, relationships take up a big part of our emotional life. And you might not even have time for that anymore.

This is my first real technology startup. I have done independent consulting and run large and small tech events as the chief planner in the past while working at big corporations. This time is a bit different. Beside putting in a lot of hours and sweat trying to make this happen, I also encounter significant amount of difficulties with starting a business in this foreign land - language barrier, differences in work mentality, lack of professionalism etc. I can't deny that I am more or less a little bit burned out. I came all the way from my beloved San Francisco and left a great life to come to Chile for a small seedfund to start the business. Similar to my peers in the program, we are plugging in for our babies days and nights and feeling beat most of time. 

Although I still encourage women to get out of their comfort zone, take the plunge, and make the most out of themselves, I will now say it with some fine prints - make sure you can handle the stress and uncertainties in life. It could mean sacrifices that you wouldn't even imagine.

We are not weaker, but we are emotionally and physically more vulnerable then men so we need to take better care of ourselves before taking on these tremendous responsibilties from our startup.

First of all - Try to find a partner. Find someone who can compliment you. If you are an introvert, find an extrovert. If you get goosebumps seeing codes, find a technical cofounder. And it's good to have someone discipline and challenge you. We all think our ideas and approaches are excellent and perfect, right?:) I know it's easier said than done. Hence I am still the solo founder. 

Second - Do NOT compromise your health. With the startup budget, I thought I couldn't afford the gyms here. Believe it or not, gyms in Chile are outrageously expensive and shitty. But, I would have paid the top dollars had I known how difficult it is to find a place to work out in Santiago - the summer heat is unbearable and the city is too polluted to run outside. Now I have gained 10 lbs since I got here.

Third - Make sure you get out of the house/office at least once a day, especially when you feel overwhelmed and a tendency to procrastinate because you just have too much to do and don't even know where to start sometimes. Women are generally more social then men. We need social activities to maintain our mental health.

Fourth - Eat well. You are what you eat, and don't skim on food. It's unfortunate that Chilean food is very boring and lack of variety. And most of the food here is very processed and high in sugar and carb. Don't fall for it because it's convenient. Again, be conscious of what you eat. 

Fifth - Spend your free time wisely. Alcohol is dirt cheap in South America, but it does not compensate the time you waste on hungover. You don't have to go to every single freaking event in the circle. Most of them are drinking parties anyway. And it's not safe for women to go around town alone in Santiago late at night.

Would I still do it if I could choose it all over again? Absolutely! I think getting paid to build your company is worth more than doing MBAs where you learn from real life problems (aka failing) in business much faster and get much more satisfaction. 

Every challenge represents an opportunity. 

Most importantly, I learned to appreciate what I have in the US. One good example: to deposit a cheque in Chile, most of the time you need to go the bank and wait in a long line to get it done vs. in the US, you just need to launch your bank's smartphone app to take a picture of the cheque, and it will automatically be deposited.

There are relatively a lot more women entrepreneurs in the US so we have more social support in the ecosystem. Chile is a very conservative country and being housewives and care takers are a means to an end for most Chilean women. I am definitely not pleased whenever a local asked bluntly why am I still not married.

We Americans are very spoiled. ;)

Be patient, be strong.

 

 

Real_cowgirls22_5x30-520x245

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:47:00 -0800 Startup Chile Experience Part I -ADHD http://elsachang.com/startup-chile-experience-part-i-adhd http://elsachang.com/startup-chile-experience-part-i-adhd

Startupchile-azulp

Being part of Startup Chile took my ADHD to a whole new level.:)

This is my third week here. I am enjoying the Startup Chile program and Santiago a LOT! While working on my startup project, I am also involved with many entrepreneurship activities. As some of you might have already known, beside working on my business idea, I am planning the first, large scale startup conference in South America which could take place as soon as June next year. 

My calendar is always full. I am very glad to be here, right now, when Chile is growing rapidly and will soon be a fully developed country in the foreseeable future. Many of us Startup Chile participants have this common goal of helping Chile to max out its potential - by instilling entrepreneurial spirit to Chilean one event at a time. We want to witness it and be part this social change. 

I am impressed by the fact that many of us SUPers have very interesting background that can contribute a great deal to the community. Chile is a culturally homogenous society, but Startup Chile is not. I love the multi-cultural aspect of the program because I believe diversity brings invaluable thought leadership and innovative approaches to any society. And we are a passionate and motivated group of crowd that is trying to make things happen.

Life in Chile is not always easy, especially with the language barrier, but Startup Chile now pays for our Spanish lessons so I have no excuse to not learn it. Supermarket products are quite processed and prices of imports are outrageously high. I don't always find the variety and quality of produce like those in California. Well, at the very least, avocados here are super good and it's hard to find a Chilean dish without it.

Juggling between my core project, the conference planning, my graduate program, and many other activities in Chile take my attention deficit disorder to a new level. But, I enjoy every single bit of it.:) 

 

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:13:00 -0800 Chile Adventure Round Two http://elsachang.com/chile-adventure-round-two http://elsachang.com/chile-adventure-round-two

Flag-of-chile
Life has been insanely full and busy since I came back to Chile for almost two weeks now. Yes, this is my second time to Chile in a year. For those of you who are not aware that I was gone pretty much almost first half of the year - I was gone wandering around the world since I left Yahoo in March.

A quick recap of where I have been - 

I finally, finally went to Israel. A place that I dreamed to go ever since I heard about it. For details of my trip to Israel, here is the post about it. All I can say is that it was a life changing journey for me.

I wanted to move back to the east coast - New York to be exact. But after living there for a few weeks I realized NYC is probably not the best place to continue my much loved tech career. However, it's still not out of the question, because I love my friends there and of course, the city.

From May to July, I came to Chile the first time. I volunteered in a village four hours south of Santiago. I haven't told people much about it except close friends, but right there, being far away from everything else and isolated, I think I finally had come to terms with a lot of personal issues that were bothering me for a long time. Epiphany? Not quite. Peace of mind? Definitely.

So why am I here in again? Because I won a startup grant from the Chilean government! Startup Chile gave this 40k, no equity grant for entrepreneur to start their business in Chile; in exchange, we have to stay in Chile for 6 months. For most people in the industry, 40k is a small change. It would not be hard for me to get that amount to seed my startup idea in the Silicon Valley, but I chose to come back to Santiago because I wanted to have another opportunity to live in a foreign country. I like Chile, and I have no problem (well, beside the language barrier) living there for another six months. And I hoped that I could be more focused in Chile because I just had too many activities and fun stuff at home that I got distracted super easily. However, at this point, I feel like my calendar in Santiago is even fuller than the one at home. :/

Santiago is not a cheap place to live. It feels like Portugal - a modern country but is still not fully developed. It is not as pricey as San Francisco but the cost of living here is definitely higher than most other South American countries. This time I am staying in a bohemian district where I can walk to a lot of restaurants, shops, galleries, and I can even hear street opera from my apartment. This is exactly what I wanted! And thank god the government pays for our rent and all other basic expenses. I was tired of my American life of 18 years and I needed a change. My place is Emeryville is very hip and trendy, but I still couldn't get away with the suburb feel. San Francisco is always going to be home, but now I just want to go somewhere else for a bit.

I am revived. It feels great to leave the corporate world and take the plunge. There will be a lot of challenges ahead, and I probably will fail many times before I succeed (or not). To me, life is all about experience. I figured this is probably my last chance to do something crazy like this before I settle again. I look forward to the challenges and learn about running a tech business from scratch.

Last but not least, I do very much miss my friends and family in California.

 

 

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:01:00 -0800 Guest Post: Some Things You Should Know About China | ZeroHedge http://elsachang.com/guest-post-some-things-you-should-know-about http://elsachang.com/guest-post-some-things-you-should-know-about

Submitted by Charles Hugh Smith from Of Two Minds

Some Things You Should Know About China

If all you know about China comes from PBoC and Central Government reports and analysts' financial statements, then you know very little about China or how it actually works.

I know it's tough to think about anything but the fast-melting ice cream cone that is Europe, but there are some things you should know about China. All the reassurances you've been reading about China's "soft landing" and its "they know what they're doing" central government are probably false. Here's why: very little in China is as it seems on the surface, or as it's presented to the Big Noses (Westerners). There are three reasons for this.

Before I explain, let me stipulate that I am not passing judgment on what's "good" or "bad" about China, or any other nation. Each country functions in its own peculiar way, and there are always productive and counterproductive elements to each nation's way of doing things. But it is important not to gloss over reality and accept illusion as truth.

1. Old cultures are far more opaque than young cultures. All sorts of traditions and foibles get embedded into the culture as time progresses, and these features manifest themselves in the economy, finance and the machinery of governance.

What this means is that it takes a lot of time to truly understand the inner workings of old cultures and their economies. Sure, you can get a report from the central bank, or buy a villa there, and make some superficial acquaintances. All these things will foster your hubris that you "really know" how the country works.

You don't, and you won't, until you've married into a family there, lived there for years, if not decades, and actually done business there, on the ground, with your own capital and contacts. If all you know about China comes from PBoC and Central Government reports and analysts' financial statements, then you know very little about China or how it actually works.

Quite frankly, you'd be better off going to the zoo with the proverbial dartboard and having the chimpanzees toss some darts at it; those prognostications will be equally valid, and you'll be outside in the fresh air (unless you're actually in China) instead of some glitzy dining room gorging yourself on yet another wasteful banquet.

The same is true of Italy, France, Greece, and many other old countries. The attitudes, governance and actual mechanics of the economy are not transparent in any of these old cultures. Take the television tax in France. If you don't know about it, and how it's evaded and grudgingly paid, then what do you know about how things actually work in France?

I once received an email from British reader who was outraged by my comments on black-market labor in France. He had a house in Brittany, and he knew the people, and there was no black market labor there. It took me a while to stop laughing, for this is the typical "visitor who thinks he's a real resident" syndrome which you find everywhere.

We all want to be insiders, of course, and we all want to be accepted by the locals. And so we construct a thin veneer of working knowledge and delude ourselves that we've "gone native" by defending our adopted land vigorously, lauding its ancient culture, and so on.

The new arrival falls in love, and their romance lasts from a few months to a few years. Eventually the way things actually work becomes evident, and start grinding away at the love affair. After a long time, the outsider-resident become cynical, or even bitter; what a bloody unholy mess this place is, beneath the phony surface sold to tourists. The 20-year resident listens with a wry smile to the newcomer gush over the ancient ways and glorious food, etc., but keeps his mouth shut. Why spoil romance? Reality will do so soon enough.

This is how you can live in, say, Japan, for twenty years, and be accepted--as a gaijin. Until you die or leave. In other words, you will never be accepted in the way you might hope. You will be accepted as part of the landscape, but you will never become Japanese. Being accepted is the sort of thing we expect as Americans, because America is a young country and being here and liking American sports, or reviling certain teams even if you are disinterested in the sport, is enough: hey, you're an American now.

Which brings us to point 2:

2. Immigrant nations require a certain level of functional transparency; if they lack this requisite level of transparency in how things actually work, then they quickly become two-tier societies and economies filled with the resentment of second-class citizens.

This is why old cultures have so much trouble with immigration, and why America is one of the more transparent places to live and work in the world. In the dynamic parts of the American landscape and economy, say Silicon Valley and similar hotbeds, then we've got places to go, things to do, people to see and wealth to create, and we don't have time or interest in explaining arcane cultural rules to a huge spectrum of people with a non-native grasp of English. So we keep things fairly transparent. Having a lot of tangled cultural anacronysms that have to be hidden lest "people get the wrong idea" (i.e. discover the truth) just gums things up and wastes time and money.

So we don't have much of that. Nobody cares where you're from, or what caste you are, or anything like that. As long as you do your work without being a real pain in the rear-end, are pleasant to your neighbors and workmates, keep your pitbull chained, etc., then you are good to go. Many if not most of the people you interact with also know English as a second language, and since that's burden enough for all of us, we dispense with all the insider stuff. America is on most levels a WYSIWYG culture: what you see is what you get.

Places like China and Japan are on the opposite end of the spectrum: they are not immigrant cultures. Very few nations have a culture that is adapted not to tradition and an opaque mindset but to getting on with immigrants from everywhere. This is one reason people want to come to America; they lose their baggage here and can be themselves, because nobody cares, we're busy with other things, and it doesn't take 15 years to figure out how things actually work here. If it did, the whole thing would grind to a halt and that would be really annoying.

In other words: I've got another meeting, so let's cut to the chase and get this done, OK? Talk to legal, talk to accounting, get it signed and do what you agreed to do. If you can't or don't, you're out and we're not interested in complicated nuances and back-door sub rosa stuff. Those are time-sinks and we're in a hurry here.

3. China, and other Asian cultures, are built around "face". This requires a public facade, to maintain face and cloak the private, back-door reality. In general, Asian people do not like criticizing their country, as this is experienced as a loss of face.

I cover this in my longish essay from 2005, China: An Interim Report: Its Economy, Ecology and Future.

Here's how "face" works. If you marry a "local" in China, Japan, Thailand, etc., then they will eventually, obliquely and with reluctance, tell you some of the unsavory details of how life actually works. Maybe. If they do, they will not like it if you repeat these "we lose face" realities to other Big Noses. You will have to do so in private, in a hushed voice.

As a result, there are always two doors in Asia: the front door, carefully arranged to present a face-enhancing image to the outside world, and the back door, where everything important actually takes place.

A typical front door in China is the banquet with the glad-handing mayor. The back door is for his mistress, the cash "commissions" from various deals and the cover-up of the face-damaging deaths in the local factory. Bad business, that; we lost face. Go take care of it with cash, threats, promises or whatever is required to bury it and restore face.

This is how you get top-ranked American officials who travel the world constantly, flitting from meeting to meeting, "getting down to business in heart-to-heart talks" (cynical guffaw), staying a night or two in a fancy resort or hotel, and then being whisked away to another country. (That's the burden of Empire; you have to fly a lot. On the plus side, you soon accumulate a list of amusing cocktail-party stories of quaint locals, strange foods and night-time visits to embassies in quasi-dangerous places.) If you live in D.C., you know lots of people like this. If you can brag about your multiple visits to Afghanistan, you might even be one.

But this sort of tourist-slash-water-carrier-for-the-Empire doesn't really know anything about the countries he or she lands in for "power lunches." They don't know the lingo, the geography, the history, the culture or what passes through the back door.

This is also how we get superficial opinions passed off as analysis. There is an amazing amount of claptrap written about China in the Western media, seemingly most of it by people who have never been there or visitors who have no contacts others than PR flacks, denizens of Shanghai bars or official handlers.

Take, for example, the constantly repeated idea that "China can easily keep its workforce busy on big infrastructure projects." That is repeated as if it was an undeniable truth.

Have any of the people repeating this as fact ever actually watched a building project under construction in China? Things are pretty efficient there, despite all those photos you've seen of thousands of peasants planting trees in the desert, etc. The number of people required to toss up a highrise is remarkably small. Given the workforce of hundreds of millions, even a thousand-kilometer rail line doesn't take that many workers.

Then there's the reality that all the low-hanging fruit of useful infrastructure has already been built. Now it's the really marginal stuff, classic malinvestment.

Then there's the reality that nothing gets maintained in China. A lot of new stuff gets built but nothing that's already built gets maintained. So all sorts of things start falling apart and stop working. The basic idea is that when it starts looking bad then we'll tear it down and build something new. That is a mindset built on limitless resources and money, neither of which is actually limitless.

The other opinion presented as fact is that China is transitioning from a "capital investment" economy to a consumer economy. The fact is that only 35% of the official economy is consumer-driven. But the other fact is that everybody who can afford anything in China already has it.

When I was there in 2000, there was already a glut of TVs. Our friend's amah already owns a car, and she isn't paid much even by Chinese standards. It sits in a garage, rarely taken out, because she doesn't really need a car; it's simply a status symbol. Everyone with enough money to do so has already bought a car.

As for real estate: Our friends' friends already owned three rental flats each five years ago. No-nothing Westerners mindlessly talk about the 700 million peasants who need housing, but this just reveals their bottomless ignorance. Chinese families were offered their own flats for a dirt-cheap price decades ago by the central government. Most families have owned their own flat (not the land, that's 100% government-owned) for years before the bubble.

The 700 million low-wage people in China might like a $200,000 flat, but they can't afford one. They're living on $13 a month in rural villages, or making a few hundred dollars a month in a factory or other low-wage position. Claiming that there is an endless demand for costly housing in China is like saying the demand for more McMansions is endless in the U.S. because 20 million poor people south of the border want a luxury home.

The reality is that everyone who could afford a flat in China already owns one, or two or three. Those who don't own one cannot buy one, not this year or next year or in ten years. Their income is 1/40th the cost of the flat, and the price of the flat dropping in half doesn't meaningfully change the equation.

Chinese consumers with money have already bought everything they could possibly want, and purchased Coach bags for their boss's wife (you can forget the promotion if you don't pony up a legitimate Coach bag for the Missus, or perhaps Number One mistress; be sure to include the receipt and official Coach bag to show it's legit).

Those without this kind of income have seen their purchasing power decimated by high inflation in essentials like food. To save face, the government issues statistics that "prove" inflation is dropping. This is as reliable as the bogus unemployment number in the U.S., you know, the one that keeps dropping because the government stops counting millions of people in the workforce, not because the number of people with real jobs is rising.

The only sources who actually know what's going on in China are in local government. Another fantasy Westerners lap up is that the central government actually knows what's going on, and even more laughable, knows how to "fix" everything. If you don't even know what's happening, how can you fix the problem?

Westerners also don't understand "corruption." They think in terms of bribes that could be suppressed by some new rules. That is beyond laughable, for corruption isn't bribes, it's the warp and woof of how things work in China. They don't understand that pirated goods are crushed by bulldozers for a show of face; nothing changes behind the facade presented for show.

There is a lot of anger and resentment in China, especially among young people. This will not go away because some new railway is built, or a new mall opens.

Occasionally a glimpse of the back door makes it into the mainstream media. Here are some recent examples worth reading:

Swimming Naked in China With the Chinese government tightening credit, the massive leakage from the formal banking sector into the ‘shadow system’ ultimately risks sinking the country’s financial system.

Why We Should All Be Very Skeptical on China

And most importantly: Top of Chinese wealthy's wish list? To leave China

"Among the 20,000 Chinese with at least 100 million yuan ($15 million) in individual investment assets, 27 percent have already emigrated and 47 percent are considering it, according to a report by China Merchants Bank and U.S. consultants Bain & Co. published in April."

The Western resident of Beijing (married to a Chinese woman, with two children) who posted this on his blog added, "Everyone with money has a escape plan."

Here's a simple question for China bulls and all those writing about how infrastructure projects, an omniscient central government and rampant consumerism are going to keep China's growth engine humming for years to come: if the future's so bright, then why does everyone with money have a bug-out plan, two passports and a house in Vancouver, New York or Los Angeles?

If you can't answer that, then you need better sources.

4.48276

Your rating: None Average: 4.5 (29 votes)
via zerohedge.com

Stumbled upon this article. I think it's quite true for the most part.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Sat, 30 Jul 2011 11:43:00 -0700 ‪Robyn - I Wish ( A Cappella )‬‏ - YouTube http://elsachang.com/robyn-i-wish-a-cappella-youtube http://elsachang.com/robyn-i-wish-a-cappella-youtube
via youtube.com

Digging thru some of Robyn's old albums and found this. Been listening to it for like 60 times (based on the counts on iTune) over the past few weeks. What a great song it is and her voice, and I only knew her from her other types of music in the past.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Tue, 07 Jun 2011 16:36:00 -0700 Poem http://elsachang.com/poem http://elsachang.com/poem

This is probably the sweetest thing I have received in a long time -

===========================

Si pudiese ser una parte de ti

elegiria ser tus lagrimas

Porque tus lagrimas

son concebidas en tu corazon

nacen en tus ojos

viven en tus mejillas

y se mueren

en tus labios

============================

English translation:

If I could be a part of you

choose to be your tears

Because your tears

are conceived in your heart

born in your eyes

live on your cheeks

and die

on your lips

 

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Sat, 14 May 2011 15:53:00 -0700 Verizon iPhone4 Vs. AT&T iPhones review http://elsachang.com/verizon-iphone4-vs-att-iphone4-review http://elsachang.com/verizon-iphone4-vs-att-iphone4-review

Ok. After a long delay I finally got a chance to write a review about my two-month new Verizon iPhone4. 

I am 90% satisfied with the product, and that's mostly due to Verizon's service.

This is my third iPhone, and the first two were 3G and 3GS with AT&T. AT&T turned a talker like me to an sms person. There was almost no reception in the area I live (and a lot of places in San Francisco metro areas), and I mostly had to use my Google Voice over the internet to make calls for a year and a half. 

Three months ago I had to make an emergency call and my internet was down. I got cut off once every 5 mins when I was trying to get help with the situation. After that I was like, screw you AT&T. Even my contract with them isn't up yet, I decided to suspend my plan ($10/month for 6 months maximum) and signed up with Verizon.

So far, I haven't had a single drop call since (not even when I was in Israel) the switch unless I talk to an AT&T iPhone user. Data is consistent, but somehow in New York (where I am currently at), it's a bit finicky. For a data pig like me it's a downside but it isn't unbearable.

The only other concern I have is that I travel internationally quite a bit. And Verizon doesn't cover a lot of international locations. For example, my phone worked in France but not the UK; it worked in Israel but not in Chile (where I am going next). I usually would like to leave my US phone on just in case if there's something urgent that people at home need to reach me and that's the only number they know. But these days, I only give out my Google Voice number, so as long as I am online I can access to texts and VM anytime.

So, if you are an iPhone fanboy/girl who just can't live without one, switch to Verizon as soon as your contract is up with ATT or just suspend it if it's not too far away till the end.

 

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:11:00 -0700 My grandparents http://elsachang.com/my-grandparents http://elsachang.com/my-grandparents
Media_httpa1sphotosak_cxehu
via facebook.com

Cousin found a set of old photos of our family and posted them on Facebook.

I am super happy to see them again because I thought they were long lost. I didn't really spend a lot of time with my grandparents in the past because they lived in Jakarta while I was growing up in Hong Kong. But I miss them.

This is a photo of my grandparents celebrating their 50th anniversary.
Being with the same person for this long is a big accomplishment, esp in today's standards. Our divorce rate in America is over 50%. I know and we all have heard a lot about how social changes over the years affect our attitude towards commitment. People these days jump into a relationship easily and also give up their relationship easily too.

My grandparents had nine children, 5 boys and 4 girls. Grandma was the queen of the family. Grandpa worked hard enough so that grandma never had to work a single day in her life. She was very spoiled according to my aunties. If grandpa was the head of the family, grandma was the neck. From the pictures, which I didn't know in the past, I can tell they loved each other a lot.

I used to think grandma was a very difficult woman and didn't want to get close to her, but now I think she was really lucky and I envy her...

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Wed, 20 Apr 2011 01:42:00 -0700 Israel and me http://elsachang.com/israel-and-me http://elsachang.com/israel-and-me

Israeli-heart-flag

A lot of you might have already gotten sick of me talking about how awesome Israel is since I came back. Yes, let me say it one more time - Israel is fantastic. Most importantly, I want to emphasize on how this trip has changed me.

I finally left my corporate job. I had a choice in between going to South America or the Middle East, I chose the latter because it is the part of the world that the media talks so negatively about which I don't believe and wanted to validate.

This post is not about how magnificent Petra and Jerusalem are, they are undoubtedly amazing, but this is more about my experience there and the spiritual journey I experienced (sorta).

If you have to ask what I like about Israel the most, it's definitely the people there. I am a world traveler, and I had never felt so welcome in a foreign place after visiting 15+ countries over the past 10 years. Wherever I went, I met incredible individuals who helped me when I was lost, when I didn't have enough shekels to pay for my meal, or when I was alone and just needed someone to talk to. Surely people are curious about me and why am I in Israel. I guess it's uncommon for an Asian girl who speaks American to travel solo in Israel. People usually have some kinda ties (either you are Jewish American/European, have families there, or for business) with the country to go there.

For the most part, Israelis are well educated and know what's going on in the world. I had many intelligent conversations with strangers along the way. I could almost carry a conversation with anyone there about culture, politics, and religions, and this is something Americans are really lack of. To me, Israel has just the right amount of America, the right amount of Europe, and the right amount of the Middle East. And that's what makes Israel so special.

I met three women in West Bank while I was visiting the Palestinian area. They came to me and told me I am beautiful. I believe what they really meant was that they envied the fact that I do not have to wrap around my body from head to toe and have the freedom to dress as I please. In the eyes of some of the Palestinians, I was naked because I worn a simple t-shirt that didn't cover my neck and arms. I appreciate that they tried to make a big effort to come talk to me (their English is limited) and get to know me.

I met a woman and her three beautiful children and husband on a train. The conversation with her totally changed my views on family and children. I was determined to not have any one of them, but she made me change my mind.

In the ghetto hotel I stayed at in Jerusalem near the Arab quarter, the hymn from the Dome of the Rock every morning woke me up with delight. When I was walking around the Old City, I sat down at one of the churches Jesus went through before his crucifixion and meditated, and I felt a strange sensation that was completely new to me. From age 3 thru 17, I was raised Christian but agnostic for the most part. Since the trip, I have been revisiting the matter of religion for further explanation on this particular experience I had.

Eilat was a very nice surprise, details on exactly what happened there aren't necessary, but they were definitely memorable.

I mended the relationship with an ex while I was there (he is Israeli and spends a lot of time at home these days). By relationship I mean friendship. I am grateful that he was there to guide me through things, to introduce me to his friends, family and colleagues, and as an emergency contact.

And to many many others I met in these places, I wholeheartedly appreciate your warmth and generosity to me during my trip. You have changed my many views in life. In addition, I ran into (virtually) my classmate Abby from Northwestern years ago and we met up in Tel Aviv to hang out. Abby perfected the ending of my trip.

Since I came back, I have decided that there are a few routines/habits in my life that I need to change, for the better, I hope -

- I don't need to be online all the time. I really enjoyed the untethered period there. Some might have noticed I am not even on instant messengers that often these days. I really really want to spend more time with the people I care about, in person.

- I realized I don't always need to be the center of attention. I have been a social chair since I was 7. I don't need 9 million men's attention but one, although I am not quite sure who that person is, at least not yet.

- Party less, most of tech parties in the valley are quite vain anyway.

- Take my personal relationship seriously, which means no more casual dating and wasting time on people who aren't worth my time.

- Pick up another hobby that doesn't require me to sit in front of the computer. 

The trip put me into a zone I had never experienced before, and I miss it badly since. So, I wanted to document it before I forget like I did for many of my past trips.

Just in case you haven't seen the photos I took, here you go - https://picasaweb.google.com/elsachang

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:26:41 -0700 Goodbye Upcoming http://elsachang.com/goodbye-upcoming http://elsachang.com/goodbye-upcoming

Robot_cry

Being broke is hard, but losing my passion is even harder. I left Yahoo two weeks ago.
 
I would never have joined Yahoo in a million years if it wasn't for Upcoming. And very few people know that I had worked for Google before (2004-2006); everyone thought I was crazy that I would join Yahoo as a Xoogler (ex-googler). I was not crazy, there was not social media stuff within Google beside Orkut in 2006, and you all know how well Orkut does. Upcoming was acquired by Yahoo in 2005, and it used to be THE event site for tech geeks and indie rock fans. When the recruiter contacted me about this position, I was very excited and hoping that since this is an acquisition, it's probably being run independently like Flickr. And the best part was, it didn’t look like Yahoo at all.
 
I had a great team when I first started. I got my first taste of working knowledge in social media beside forums and discussion boards. Events became my life, my career, and my passion. Since then I hosted many internal and external Yahoo events and tech conferences (not my core role but I picked that up on the side), I turned into a professional boothbabe :).

But slowly, my team was trimmed down from 12 people to 3 over the course of a year. The only property that was able to fend off the invasion from the mothership is Flickr because they are not that deeply integrated with Yahoo like Upcoming is, which was a smart move. It's funny how everyone says "Oh event is so important, but let's have the engineers at Upcoming to work on some other stuff."

How many times have my peers hacked out some great ideas and didn't get executed because of stupid internal bureaucracy? And then a few months later those ideas got cranked out by other startups?! How do you keep your spirit up when it happens over and over again?

While I love my team and peers and bosses who were great to me, many of the people there are lacked of vision and simply talkers.

The company is now run by many enterprise and non-web, non-Internet people, let alone any Web2.0 expert is in charge. I remember once one of my seniors told me she talked to a VP about Upcoming and Foursquare, the VP said "I don't get it, if I want to go out I'll just call my friends, why do I need to go online and look for stuff to do?", "And what is Foursquare again?" At that moment I decided it really is time to go. I am not saying everyone should be a LBS fanatic and narcissistic and broadcast every single fucking thing they do, but as a VP (non-finance or HR function) of an Internet company should at least know what these services are and their meanings.

Is TechCrunch being totally fair to Yahoo? Absolutely not. Yahoo is still a billion company with millions profit. How many of the startups TechCrunch covers are even making money? Yahoo might not be innovating as much as we would like it to, but a few of its properties are still number one in their categories, such as Y! Finance, Sports, and News. And not to mention Yahoo! Japan is still the #1 site there, as well as Yahoo! Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan. I still want Yahoo to exist in the space and provide values to users.

I just don't want to work on listing services like Yahoo always does. Community and UGC are so important that Yahoo doesn't really seem to get even though Answers was once very successful property. Further, Yahoo bought a series of Web2.0 products and just neglected them. I love events, and that was the sole purpose of me joining Yahoo. I still have a lot passion with events, but I had been checked out for a long time ever since I was assigned to do something else. I spent a lot of time doing work and learning stuff outside of Yahoo over the past 1.5 years. I learned how to build mobile applications, I helped running other people's conferences, I ran a fundraiser for a micro-finance organization I support, and I have been taking a class on GIS. My passion and energy need an outlet.

It was a no-win battle with Yahoo. It is not worth the fight for me anymore. The moment I gave my notice, I stopped drinking...

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Thu, 20 Jan 2011 00:09:00 -0800 Breakup 911 http://elsachang.com/break-up-911 http://elsachang.com/break-up-911

Spam2
Many of my girlfriends are having relationship issues lately. As always, I am there to console and I spent quite some time doing that lately.

Here are the scenarios -

Girlfriend #1 - Broke up with a guy she was seeing for months and she knew that it wasn't working out because she wasn't into him. He sensed that and called it off. She is sad. 

My response: You knew it, it's not going anywhere but you are shocked because of the sudden detachment. It is more of a pride thing because you weren't the first to break it off. Over time you will realize it's a right thing to do. He probably had grown on you and was in love you. You love him but you are not in love with him. You will not be happy in the long run. 

Girlfriend #2 - Obsessed with a guy but he told you that you guys are not a good fit with some ridiculous reasons such as - "oh, you are older than me", and "we are so different" (ie. I am Jewish and you are not; I am Buddhist and you are Catholic etc.). Geez, do we still live in the 19th century? I have met that guy and yes, he is charming, but you are gorgeous, smart, and seasoned. Why would you want to compromise to a shit head like that? He only calls/texts you when he needs help from you. Don't you get it?!

My response: You have so much to offer, why would you settle for less?! Men abuse women (both physically and mentally) only when we allow them to.

Girlfriend #3 - They had some great time together but the quarrels overtime worn the relationship down. It took her a long time to heal, and recently she ran into him on the street with a women they both know. She was shocked and that somewhat brought her back to square one on the healing process. This is a new friend of mine and I feel really connected to her so I feel sad about it too. :(

My response: It is obviously not meant to be and he is lack of the maturity (based on her description about him) you want in a guy.

Never go out of your way to please a man unless he has already done so to you. We know how to love, but we need to learn to do that only for the right person. It has to be a two-way street.

Girlfriend #4 - Her guy broke off the engagement. It is normal to feel devastated. I have no doubt that he still loves her deeply, but it is obvious that he is not ready for such a big commitment. They are both in their mid-twenties. I don't know, I just don't think anyone should get married by 30. I told her don't sell herself short and quickly jump into a relationship again. Life is good being young and single, enjoy it while you still can.

Do not linger. The whole "let's just be friends thing" never works until you are completely detached. Read "The Science of Romance: Why We Love".

When I break up with someone, I stop all contacts with the person for at least 3 months. This has nothing to do with anger (unless he did something very disrespectful that you wouldn't normally do to even just a friend, and that I have zero tolerance), it's just that by constantly connecting with the person (thru IMs, Facebook, Twitter, or any social networks you two are connected to each other) won't give you any chance to really step back and think through things and heal. I am friends with almost all my exes now after having the "space" I (or both of us) wanted after the breakup.

Move on QUICKLY. Sulking and mourning at home won't help if you knew deep down inside that it's not going to work, and I truly believe that you have given your best in the relationship. So stop keep asking yourself - would things have been different had I done/not done that. I admit that I am impatient on relationships that don't show prospects. I always give people the benefit of the doubt, and 6-8 weeks are usually good enough time to see if it's worth awhile. For those of you who know me well, when things don't work out, I move on FAST. I know it's easier said than done. I didn't turn out to be like this realistic without some significant amount of "training". And I am definitely still not "heartache-proof".

Lastly, please read "10 stupid things women do to mess up their lives". Not a fan of Dr. Laura but those are the ideas that I tend to agree with.

Talk therapy helps, so don't stop calling me when you need to, girlfriends. And you were there for me when I needed.

 

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Fri, 24 Dec 2010 00:35:00 -0800 Suburbia and I don't get along (not anymore) http://elsachang.com/suburbia-and-i-dont-get-along-not-anymore http://elsachang.com/suburbia-and-i-dont-get-along-not-anymore

22_suburbia1

I went to a house party tonight in San Jose. This is my first time to a suburban house party in years (except the ones hosted by my family) with a room full of married couples and their children. I totally don't fit in. 

Not trying to be snotty about it but ever since I moved north and close to San Francisco last year my life style has completely changed, in a good way. I used to enjoy the suburbia, especially when I was in a relationship (maybe not, in retrospect). Growing up in a tiny city with 7 million people (Hong Kong is not even a quarter the size of New York), the first thing I was thrilled about is the space and privacy I had when I first came to North America. After 16 years living in the burb I made a bold decision to move to Emeryville (where everyone in the south bay thinks it's Oakland and it stinks) . 

Emeryville is not the most glitzy place in the area and it's steps away from the ghetto part of Oakland. I had never lived in an area where most people think is unsafe. But after living here for a bit over a year, I am totally in love with it. Yes, it is not "in" San Francisco but it's close enough - 12 mins drive and 17 mins BART to the financial district. I could have afforded a place in the city but I would not be able to maintain my lifestyle (traveling and eating out all the time).  For me, it's definitely a reasonable compromise. A friend recently told me I should live in San Francisco because the East Bay doesn't fit my style, which I disagreed. Yes, some parts of my hoods are not fancy, but they definitely have characters and a different vibe that I appreciate. Every place I visit and live changes me. And I think this was definitely a change that I was unknowingly longing for.

This is the part of the Bay Area I never knew that was so different. It was the contentment with the tranquil environment I was in and just didn't know better. I used to love driving, but now, I take public transport whenever possible even our public transportation system here is not the most efficient one. Everyone drives just doesn't work. It's not good for the environment; it makes traffic worse, and gas is expensive. Aside: I always meet interesting people on trains, either when I am at home or in foreign countries.

I love big cities. I love cities that are metropolitan yet parts of it are old and run down. It feels unreal that everything looks so perfectly clean and structured. Have I told you I freaking hate Las Vegas and the Marina district in SF? Pretentiousness drives me nuts. 

My life is sorta going in reverse from the norm in recent years. People live in cities when they are young; they date a lot when they are in their twenties. Many who are in the tech industry usually start their career as software engineers and move on to be product managers or do product marketing then business development; they commit and settle (get married or have a serious relationship) with their partner in their late 20s or early 30s, and move to homes away from the city. I am going the complete opposite way as I age. I started my internet career doing advertising and product marketing; did product management and sales, and now I am starting to code again. I sold my house in San Jose and bought an apartment, ended a long term relationship in my late 20s, and haven't had a serious relationship for 3 years...

Regardless, I fucking love my life now. Why does everyone have to go down the same path as everyone else does anyway?!

 

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Sat, 25 Sep 2010 22:52:00 -0700 The conference magic http://elsachang.com/the-conference-magic http://elsachang.com/the-conference-magic

Another successful BizTechDay conference Edith organized this year.  This is BTD's first year in New York, and I helped out so that I could have a perfect excuse to come to New York again.

As always, I take away more than just the content of the conference itself (whether as an attendee or organizer). Although there was no crazy parties like SXSW's this time, I once again met many new friends and hung out with them till late.  

The sad part for me about conferences is that the interesting people I meet there are usually not local, hence very hard to stay in touch with.  Friends like to joke about me discriminating local suitors and that I somehow often find love interest at conferences.  But then, I have met no one nearby whom I can really develop a serious relationship with.

Late summer in New York is beautiful and the vibrant vibe of this city never changes.  I am seriously considering to live a bi-coastal life.  I don't necessarily want a nomadic lifestyle again, but I have lived in San Francisco long enough that I feel like it's time for a change.  I belong to big cities... They give me abundant energy and variety of things that I love in life.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Sat, 04 Sep 2010 02:54:00 -0700 Extrovert vs. Introvert on Happiness http://elsachang.com/extrovert-vs-introvert-on-happiness http://elsachang.com/extrovert-vs-introvert-on-happiness

Over the past few weeks, my conversations with different groups of friends somehow always involved the Myers Briggs test.  I didn't think this test is always a true indicator of one's personality even though I majored in Psychology. 

Because of these conversations, I have been reading more about personalities and relationships (hadn't done that since graduated from school).  Friend Jade introduced me to a book called "The Witch of Portobello".  I found an idea from the book that's quite interesting and got me thinking about the subject further.  It says "...extroverts are unhappier than introverts and have to compensate for this by constantly proving to themselves how happy and contented and at ease with life they are."

In the web2.0 world, it's so easy to channel these "happy and contented" messages across.  It also reminds me of an article written about a Facebook friend of mine - So open it hurts.

In addition, I also read an article about types of women that men avoid.  One of them is "The Party Girl" type of women - "It's hard to have a healthy relationship with a person who is masking major problems underneath his or her party hat.  Plus, we all know that people who can't amuse themselves without mind-altering substances just aren't any fun when the party is over."

Sounds familiar...

What do you think?

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:53:00 -0700 A letter to my 20-year-old self http://elsachang.com/a-letter-to-my-20-year-old-self http://elsachang.com/a-letter-to-my-20-year-old-self

On my way home one evening, I was listening to NPR about a college student who started a project called "What would you say to your 20-year-old self?" - she asked mature women (in their 30s and 40s) to write a letter to their 20-year-old selves.

I just had a birthday two weeks ago, and it's time for a self-reflection again.  I am inspired by this project and decided to write a letter to my 20-year-old self too.  And I hope this is therapeutic.

Dear Elsa at 20,

Please always follow your heart.  I understand growing up in Asia you inherited the "group think" mentality.  You do whatever others think is the right thing to do.  You are bored out of your mind when studying accounting and management theories that don't make sense at that time, but you still majored in business because all your girlfriends are preparing for the CPA.

Please don't take shortcuts.  I know you are so broke in college because your parents don't pay a penny for your education, but you could have gotten into a better university.  You chose the not-so-good one in Toronto because it's closer to the city so you can bartend to support yourself and it offers a shorter program. You will end up not enjoying school at all.  You will take a year off from work, cash out all your stocks from Google, and went to a very good school to study psychology.  However, that year will be time very well spent.

Living in Montreal for two years shapes who you are; the food, the fashion, and the beautiful French culture and language make you a person with good taste.  Learn some French even though you are still struggling with English.  You will enjoy conversations with the Parisian more when you go to in France a few years later.

Going through quarter-life crisis was daunting, but it teaches you how to make rational decisions in the future without hesitating and ruminating stuff for too long.  Take risks with the right reason and deal with the consequences later.  Money and security are less important than valuable experience at this age.  You will regret not moving to New York City or London when you have the chance, but it's never too late, that thought comes back when you are in your 30s.  You waited 10 years to move closer to San Francisco, but you will be glad to get out of the suburbia trap. 

You will meet a wealthy guy who buys a BMW M3 and Mercedes CLK and let you drive them as if they are yours and pampers you with all kinds of luxuries in life.  But, he is a bad news.

You will end up marry someone you love but not totally in love with.  You are too young to get married.  You will have too much temptations and won't know how to be a good wife in your mid-twenties.  Thank god you are still good friends with your ex.

You are spending way too much time being someone's girlfriend till 31.

Don't be with someone who is emotionally unavailable, and no matter how hard you try to be the best girlfriend possible for him, he is still hung up with his exes.  He is just not that into you and definitely not worth your tears.

Choose your friends wisely.  You will finally learn to be around with people who are responsible, smart, kind, and can be good influences for you. 

You need to take care of your health and the genetic issues although they are invisible and not contagious.  They paralyze you for many years. You could have been happy much earlier had those issues being taken care of sooner.  Stop being overly conscious about your body, you are only 91 lbs from starving yourself before graduation.  

I am very proud of you because you are adventurous and a world traveler. You always meet local people and be friends with them even though you don't speak their language.  Thank you for being open-minded and choosing America to be your permanent home.  You love and enjoy the cultural diversity and the beautiful nature in California, and you will date men and meet friends from all over the world.

I am glad you are very financially responsible.  Growing up having parents who are completely clueless with money taught you that.  You will be glad being debt free and able to pay off half of your apartment by 35.  It's good that you are never into designer purses and stop obsessing about fancy sport cars at some point.

Hey, you haven't found your greatest love yet, but don't lose hope.  He will come. :)

This year, every single one of your exes sent you warm birthday wishes by phone, emails, or Facebook message of some sorts.  I guess you are not that bad of a partner after all.

Love,

Elsa in her 30s

"It was almost like a closure — 'I know you made mistakes, I know your 20s were hard, but things are good now and I'm going to let these things go,' " - Cassie Boorn


 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:10:00 -0700 And you wonder why you can't break the glass ceiling?! http://elsachang.com/and-you-wonder-why-you-cant-break-the-glass-c http://elsachang.com/and-you-wonder-why-you-cant-break-the-glass-c

Just got back to my desk totally pissed off from the Geek Girl Dinner event that we (Yahoo!) sponsored it.  Why?  Okay, this is a "women in tech" event, and we had one of our VP of engineering to talk geek on stage.  People (who claimed themselves to be geek women) totally were just chit chatting at the back and made the whole place super loud that I could barely hear the speaker.  Come on women, and you wonder why you can't break into the glass ceiling and be a leader of tech company or any corporation?!  Because you don't even understand the basic social etiquette - be respectful and shut your fucking mouth when others are talking.  I understand some of you were here for free food and drinks and not really that interested in tech, but please, show some professionalism and be considerate.  I almost walked up to the stage to tell everyone to shut up.

I am super... mad.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:21:00 -0700 Bible Study http://elsachang.com/bible-study http://elsachang.com/bible-study
Another thing I am grateful of Jonathan's visit is that he brought me back to regular bible study.  I was raised christian but not a devout one.  I have never denied the existence of god, and I can't remember how many times god has answered by prayers and worked things out for me for the best, even though I might not have seen it that way at first.  From age 3 thru 17, I memorized numerous bible verses but understood none.  This morning I read 1 Corinthians 13 - The way of love and felt strongly about it so I wanted to share -

3:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, [1] but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; [2] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

 

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:56:00 -0700 Check out my Wokai team and see where your donations went http://elsachang.com/check-out-my-wokai-team-and-see-where-your-do http://elsachang.com/check-out-my-wokai-team-and-see-where-your-do

Last weekend, I had my first party for charity event at my apartment.  For those of you who came and donated, I have sent your donations to people who are in a more difficult situation and older than others. And of course, in the future, more contribution directly to the team is always welcome!

Once you join, you will see the progress these women entrepreneurs make overtime.

http://wokai.org/TeamProfile.action?teamId=26


For those of you who didn't make it, feel free to check out the site and see what Wokai does and make a contribution if you are willing and able to.


Thanks again for your generosity.  I want to especially thank my friend/real estate agent Thomas Westfall for sponsoring alcohol and other ingredients for the mojitos; and my dear friend Cathy Yang for making such a lovely donation box.  See photo attached :).

 
 
Wokai_cathy

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:26:00 -0700 From Corporate Design to Startup Design - A Love Story http://elsachang.com/from-corporate-design-to-startup-design-a-lov http://elsachang.com/from-corporate-design-to-startup-design-a-lov
via slideshare.net

Created by friend Amir Khella.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:29:00 -0700 Odie got cancer http://elsachang.com/odie-got-cancer http://elsachang.com/odie-got-cancer

I have not been able to stop crying since this morning when my ex (Odie's dad) told me our little dog got Mast cell tumor.  He had hidden the news from me because I am currently on vacation in New York so that I wouldn't get too upset the past few days.  I am trying to cancel all my activities tonight and see if I could catch an earlier flight home (I am supposed to leave tomorrow early in the morning).

This cancer could be fatal if Odie doesn't get operated on Wednesday.  It is not a rare disease but the location of the cancer cells are situated right above his left retina, which means one of his eyes might have to be taken out.

Odie has always been a healthy dog.  As optimistic as I always am, I am very traumatized this time.  It is not even about the sad feeling I might have from potentially losing him, it's about me not wanting my baby to suffer.

Thanks to those who have called to make sure I am ok today, I'll keep you all posted if there is any progress.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/923731/Photo_on_2010-12-05_at_00.34.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTqsYayq8Vz Elsa Chang Elsa Elsa Chang