A Tale of Three Cities

I just returned from a fantastic 10 days in the US.  I'm wide awake at 4am, so I figured I might as well make use of the time before my husband wakes to write about it.  :)  Meanwhile, the pumpkin muffins are in the oven baking... this girl does not mess around!  ;)

First stop was Boston, well, actually, Canton, Massachusetts.  This is where the Reebok HQ is, and, as I support this brand (and adidas, and Taylormade), we do a trip once a year to give an update on our key objectives & sourcing strategy, and to hear about what is going on with the brand in terms of new design concepts & key priorities.  The awesome part about all of this is it's only about a 13 hour drive away from my parents house, which is a pretty quick trip, when you compare it with the ~20 hours of travel time and 12 hour time change it is to get to see each other otherwise.  It's all about perspective, my friends.  :)  My parents, sister, and her husband, Matt, all drove out starting on Thursday.  They ended up hitting some of the lovely Boston area traffic, which extended their driving time to an even 15 hours, but they finally arrived on Friday night.  It was so great to see everyone!!

My mom is from the East Coast, and her sisters are spread out between Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.  We all got together on Saturday at my Aunt Carol's house, which was a real treat.  The older I get, the less and less I get to see my extended family, especially since we are all in such different locations, so it was so nice to get to catch up with everyone.  Oh, and on the way there, we stopped at DSW... as I have mentioned, it is nearly impossible to find shoes my size in Hong Kong (I am a US 10.5... or 11, depending on the day).  When I walked into DSW, I had an almost religious experience... I actually almost fell to my knees.  haha - okay, maybe not, but I have to say, for a shoe-shopping deprived girl, this felt almost like heaven.  While I wanted to buy the whole store, I was on a mission to find some boots for the winter, and was able to find two pairs that I liked out of the hundreds that they offered.

On Sunday, we spent the day exploring Boston.  We didn't have much time, since I had to fly to Portland that night, but we did walk around my favorite part of the city, Beacon Hill.  I just love all the brick buildings and cobblestone streets.  It was a gorgeous fall day, and the colors were just breathtaking.   It was so nice to just have some "normal" time with my family.  They took me to the airport, and I have to say, that was one of the hardest goodbyes I've had in a long time.  :(

Lovely Acorn Street in Beacon Hill

Em & Matt in Boston Common

We had lunch at the Cheers Bar... but I was disappointed that they didn't know my name...

Gorgeous Fall Colors

The State Building... this city is gorgeous.  Ask me if I want to move here...  :)

But... on the other side of that flight was a town that will always have a special place in my heart, Portland, Oregon.  The North American HQ for adidas happens to be there, so I get to go back for work once a year.  One of my dearest friends, Michelle, was there to pick me up, despite the craziness that her life currently is (check out her blog in my links... they just purchased the cutest house, which just happens to need a lot of love right now...).  It was SO good to see this familiar face.  Monday night, I got to see the faces of my "sole sisters", the girls who I have been running with for nearly 10 years now.  These were my first friends in Portland, and the kind of friends that, despite only seeing each other a few times a year, can pick up as if it was only yesterday.  We had an amazingly delicious dinner at The Farm, and equally wonderful conversation getting caught up. 

Suzie, me, Rebecca, Michelle, & Cristina at the Farm - what a lovely evening!  :)

I also had the chance to meet up with our dear friend Sareana for a drink while I was in Portland... she is the wife of Brian's best man, and we miss those two and their two little boys like crazy.

One other treat was getting to run with Michelle in the morning.  I miss running with my friends so much!!  The funny thing is, Michelle still works for Nike, and I work for adidas, but somehow, our outfits are nearly the same even though they are two different brands!  :)

Sadly, my time in Portland was extremely short, and I had to fly back to Hong Kong on Wednesday morning.  Next year, I think I might try to stay a few extra days, because there were just way too many people that I wanted to see that there were just not enough hours to do so...

On the other side though, was my wonderful husband, who I missed so much!!  We didn't waste any time getting back into Hong Kong life, and celebrated with my colleagues at the German Oktoberfest on Friday night.  I would highly recommend getting wasted as a good cure for jet lag.  I slept like a baby, all the way until noon on Saturday.  Too bad that didn't seem to spill over into my Saturday night sleep schedule... oh well.  We had a fantastic time, and shut down the place.  Can't say I was thinking this was such a good idea when I woke up, but, hey, Oktoberfest is but once a year.

Otto is my key contact at one of our main factories.  He came to Hong Kong just for the Oktoberfest.  Super fun guy!

Me with my colleagues, Cherry & Kai

One of my best friends in Hong Kong, Kristina.  My boss is peaking through my fingers!  And, yes, he is dancing on the table!  Look out!

So happy to be together again!!

Anyways, it is good to be back, it was good to be there... my heart is split up all over the world, but it is so nice to have such wonderful people to see in every place that I go.  Big hug to my friends and family, no matter where you are!!  :)