#295 Morning Drive

Greetings again Cazzato blog fans. Sorry for the long absence. I got an email today from my old friend Cathy V which prompted me back to the computer for a fresh blog entry. It seems that a couple of months have slipped by since my last contribution and there are some new developments on which I can provide some update. With a three day weekend here in China, I have no excuse not to write today.

First, a couple photos that I took on the way to work last week. The Chinese are the original frugal recycling society. It is quite common to see these blue trucks traveling with huge (barely secured) loads of flattened cardboard boxes. Thursday morning one of the intersections on Xin Dai Da Dao was backed up with traffic with the cause being a a cardboard hauler. Either too much speed on the left turn or too little lashing on the truck load left a large pile of cardboard in the middle of the intersection. I asked my driver to stop the van so I could get a good iPhone photo.

The next morning commute photo is a shot of one of the many decorative spots popping up to promote the 2010 Shanghai World Exposition which opened yesterday in Shanghai.

In other news, Caterpillar recently asked us to extend our assignment in China. The original three year plan has us scheduled to return to the U.S. this summer, but now we will stay at least until year-end 2010. There is some new project work related to motor grader cost reduction that needs some expat leadership from me. We had already told my boss that we were equally happy at this stage to stay longer in China, so we have agreed and look forward to an extended China adventure.