Day 16 - Among Friends

The calvary came today. I am finally among friends. People who know me and to whom I can speak onpenly. It was a good day. For those who do not know these guys, from left to right, they are Troy Stuart and Butch Klem from one of our U.S. suppliers, Eric Marler from our Oak Laminate plant, and My good friend Dave Schmidt, also from HON. Those with a keen eye will also notice that I have a Mountain Dew in my hand. That was a gift from Mr. Marler (Dew was unavailable once I stepped on my international flight).

We had a nice meal together at the hotel tonight and then we went out and group-purchased about 20 Rolexes (don't worry Pam, I only traded in the broken ones). This is the third time we have purchased from this particular individual, so the negotiations are fairly short. In all, we have probably purchased 40-50 Rolexes from this guy, at 100 RMB ($12.50) each. Dave makes the whole process very fun and entertaining.

I should also mention, Dave was nice enough to bring a care package from Pam and the kids. Unfortunately, since Dave was about to collapse from jet-lag, I will get it from him in the morning. I am excited to see what they sent.