The other day, Michael (8) came in singing a little ditty to the tune of We Are Family:

We are family,
[Looking directly at me, smiling] Even though you're fatter than me,
We are family...

After his last comment, I really think I need to start working out in earnest again.

Overheard from the back of the van the other day:

Michael (8): "I'm not even going to argue with you."

Andrew (11): "Why?"

Michael (8): "Because you're wrong."

I wonder if I can use that line at work...

As we get ready to move, Michelle returned the violin that Michael (8) had rented to start learning how to play this year. While the idea of a Chinese kid playing violin isn't unusual (it's even a bit cliche really), he's the one who suggested it. This was a bit odd since he doesn't really know anyone who plays violin nor do Michelle or I play, but of course, we were supportive.

As it turns out, he wanted to learn to play violin so he could learn to play The Devil Went Down to Georgia. I'm not sure if he was siding with the Devil or Johnny, but there you go. He was a little unhappy when his instructor opted not to start him directly on that song, and he really started to get a little impatient after a few weeks of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I'm sure we can find an instructor in China to pick up his violin lessons, although good rockin' fiddle players might be a bit harder to find.

In any case, somehow, I won't be surprised if a fiddle made of gold shows up in his room someday...

I think Michael (8) is trying to tell me something.

Michael: "Dad, you're strong like a bull..."
Me: [smiling]
Michael: "And heavy like a cow." [smiling]
Me: [not smiling]

Time to redouble my workouts...

Michael (8) lost another tooth last week and was excited about the loot he was expecting to receive from the Tooth Fairy. When I went to tuck him in, I noticed he had tied blankets around the ladder to his bunk bed. He explained that these were traps to see if the Tooth Fairy is real. He figured that the Tooth Fairy could fly and wouldn't be stopped by the blankets, but if it was me, I couldn't get up there to swap the tooth for money. I scoffed and removed the blankets.

Later in the evening, when I went to, um, check on him, I saw he had put rows of books on the floor to trip any faux-Tooth Fairies. Sneaky devil. Good thing the Tooth Fairy is tricky too. I think the Tooth Fairy may need night-vision goggles and powder to detect IR beams next time; it's getting dangerous for the TF these days.

The boys and I went to the South 47 Farm in Woodinville last night to go through their corn maze. Every year, the South 47 makes some cool five acre, mile-long corn maze; this year it was in the shape of a tractor.

On Fridays and Saturdays, they open the maze up at night so you can go through with a flashlight -- way more fun! The boys and I have done this on and off for the past few years. When you're in the maze, there are clues to help you find your way out; if you answer these farming related questions properly (e.g. "what % of land is spent raising feed and bedding for horses in a horse-powered farm?" or "which is faster, a bee or a chicken?") you'll be directed the right way. To make finding the dead ends more fun, they have eight stations hidden in the maze; if you find all eight and punch the card they give you, you can get a small gift at the end. The maze is open until October 31.

This year, some of the corn was blown down by the big windstorm we had a few weeks ago, but it's still very fun. I highly recommend it. If you go during the day, stop by the Root Connection (for great veggies) and Minea Farm (for the best cider in the world), both just north of the South 47.

South 47 Farm
15410 NE 124th St. (corner of NE 124th St. & the Woodinville-Redmond Rd.), Redmond, WA
425-869-9777

Dear readers, I wanted to let everyone know I've accepted a new position as the Group Program Manager for Live Search in Beijing, China.

There are a lot of reasons for this change. Since we were first married, Michelle and I have wanted to live overseas. We both enjoy the broader perspective that working and traveling internationally brings and wanted to really experience that more fully. (Frankly, I think all Americans could benefit from a more worldly view.) I've also been eager to explore my heritage and speak/read Chinese more fluently, as I resolved in my new year's post. I'm also excited to have Andrew (11) and Michael (8) learn more about the world, their heritage, and another language well. I think it will be extra valuable for all of us to have more insight and skills with respect to China for the future.

Professionally, I think Search is a fascinating and important product to unlock the Internet. As good as Live and even Google are today, it's still too hard for most users to get what they're looking for in many cases. It's a critical business for Microsoft to get right; we're obviously way behind here.

I also think that Microsoft needs to master distributed development; there are simply not enough smart engineers who want to live near Redmond to do all of the cool things we want to do. I also think we'd benefit from more local development and more geographic diversity. In particular, I think Microsoft needs to really do a good job in China as that country now has the highest number of internet users and is set to surpass the US in PC users next year.

The combination of our desire, the kids' age, and the great opportunity with Search lead us to consider the move seriously. After our Japan trip this summer, we tacked on a few days to visit China to see houses and schools. I had been to Beijing many times before but had never seen how expats live; Michelle and the boys had never been to Beijing at all. What we saw was acceptable, so we decided to proceed. (In case you're wondering, I couldn't really talk about this stuff earlier and didn't have enough touristy photos of China since we were house hunting, so I didn't post about what we did in China.)

All that said, it's difficult to leave IE. I love the product and the team. I'm incredibly proud of how far we've come since restarting the team five years ago -- from a security nightmare to XPSP2 to IE7 and now the great reviews of IE8 beta 2. The team is more capable and more fun than ever. I definitely feel I'm leaving on a high note and am confident the team will do great things without me.

So, I'll be transitioning to the Live Search team in a few weeks. Then, once our paperwork and visas clear, we'll move to Beijing -- probably around November. This is a three year assignment -- longer if we like it and shorter if we don't, but we do plan to move back. We'll be keeping our house since Michelle and the boys will likely spend summers here, and I'll be back frequently. The kids aren't crazy about the idea yet (what kid wants to move?) but I'm sure they'll have a great time.

I'll blog more about what we're learning about China and how things proceed as we go along. It should be an exciting new experience!

Last week, I took Michael (7) to get a haircut.

Michael: "I want it short on top and long in the back."

Me: "You want a mullet?!"

Michael [enthusiastically]: "Yes!"

Me: "No (f*ing) way" (parenthetical comment not spoken, but clearly indicated by my attitude.)

Michael: "Why not?"

Me: "You'll understand at your wedding when I'm showing photos of you when you were young."

Really, he'll thank me later.

We bid Jonathan, Tetsuo, and Toshiko farewell and headed back to Tokyo today on the Shinkansen. We were met on the platform at Tokyo Station by a bellman from the Four Seasons Tokyo, who took our bags and lead us on the short walk to the hotel. After a quick check-in and some lunch, I took to the boys to the Pokemon Center a few train stops away while the ladies partook in more retail therapy in Ginza.

The Pokemon Center is heaven for Poke-geeks like Andrew (10) and Michael (7). There was a big store full of everything Pokemon related you could imagine, from cards to video games to candy to nori (dried seaweed sheets cut into Pokemon shapes to put on your rice -- Michael bought some of this) to toys to clothes. They had someone teaching kids how to play the Pokemon trading card game, Pokemon videos playing on the overhead TVs, and rows of Pokemon capsule vending machines enticing the kids (the boys got Pokemon Pez dispensers out of one of the machines.

After they sated their shopping, we went next door to another room where you could play Pokemon Battrio, a video game the kids started playing at the Pokemon Center in Odaiba. You could also play Pokemon Battle Revolution, a Wii game where you use your Nintendo DS' to control your Pokemon; this is cool since your opponent can't see what moves you selected because the UI is on your DS screen.

 

They also offered a special birthday surprise if you had a Nintendo DS, a Japanese version of Pokemon Diamond or Pearl, and proof it was within a day of your birthday. The boys had their DS', their English copies of Diamond and Pearl, and proof it was within a month of their birthday, but that wasn't good enough. Oh well.

Some sick person planned this section of the Pokemon Center; the sun blazed into the room where the kids were playing Battrio, turning it into a solar cooker. In the focal point of the cooker, they had a cold drink machine selling Pokemon branded soda. Naturally, I bought one to keep me and the kids from catching fire.

Michael (7) to Andrew (10): "We're not friends. We're brothers."

Very insightful.