HeyChristine.com

One of the things that has always troubled me about "living abroad" is the fact that my friends and family back home don't really know what I'm doing "out here". I try to tell them, and they often ask, but there is only so much that can be said via phone calls, emails, and sporadic visits back to the States.

ORIENTED kicks ass! I moved to Taipei because I wanted to see what else was out there and to experience all that I can before settling down. I hardly intended to distance myself from those I care for most, but my plans to stay here for one or two years have turned into six years and counting, and the separation between us has taken its toll. Having this personal website changes everything. I'm just surprised I hadn't thought of it before.

It is not unusual to hear those back home say, "When are you going to move back and get a REAL job?", or, "What are you running away from?", when in actuality, a great number of international professionals, myself included, are doing things in their respective capacities out here in Greater China that most people will never experience in a lifetime. Through this website, I hope to bring their efforts to light.

Further, with this website, I am giving my children, and their children, a gift from me. A story of who I really am and how I came to be. My grandmother, who is 79 at the time of this writing, has lead a life that runs parallel to many a story in The Joy Luck Club. Yet though I try to visit her as often as I can, there is a big part of her past that I will never know. I would like for my "story" to be more permanent.

My Fundraising and Recruitment
Arm for ORIENTED.COM

In trying to raise funds for ORIENTED, I spent a good four months meeting with dozens and dozens of people, hoping to appeal to potential investors and future staff. What I have discovered however, is that such a process is a pain in the *bleep* and one incredible waste of my precious time. Should I arrange meetings in Silicon Valley and fly out from Taipei half a dozen times to meet with people I do not know? I HARDLY think so, and this is the reason why.

Even if they are friends (or relatives) of my friends, which many of them are, they really have no idea who I am. They do not really know what it is I can do much less trust me enough to invest in my idea, and I cannot blame them. No personal recommendation or business plan or Power Point presentation or passionate speech I could ever make is going to make them take action, much less help them to trust me, which is what it comes down to at the end of the day.

So I had to roll up my sleeves and get creative. How in the WORLD do I tell the most number of people, within my own social and professional circuit - competent, aggressive, Asia-oriented, international professionals who get it, the very people I want to join me as investors or employees - who I am and what I am doing, in the most efficient and least costly way? How can I effectively raise awareness of ORIENTED.COM? Well... you're lookin' at it babe. And this is FAR more fun!

My Writing Platform

I never thought I'd say this, but I've finally come to terms with the fact that I like to write. In school, I absolutely hated writing. I especially hated creative writing, because I never had anything "creative" to say. I always thought that people who wrote for a living were strange birds, sitting in front of their keyboards all day long, thinking, then writing, thinking, then writing. HOW BORING. Even if you write a masterpiece, people may only read it once and after that, who cares?

But as I start to build this website, I realize now why people do it. They write not necessarily for other people but rather, for themselves. It's a platform of creativity, of self-reflection, and of organized thoughts. The clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the friends we make, and even the careers we choose are reflections of who we are. Some people express themselves through writing, and I'm becoming one of them.

Various people in the past have encouraged me to take my writing seriously including my Uncle Bob, and in the back of my mind I always thought about publishing some books, MUCH later on in my career. But I never gave it much thought until now.

I don't have any professional training, and what would I write about? To be a professional writer, I'd have to start from scratch. I'd have to take a low-paying editing position, freelance for newspapers, maybe get a job as a journalist, and work my butt off for years in HOPES of building a name for myself. Or maybe, I can start my own website. At the very least, I can use it to practice my writing skills, and who knows what doors may open for me as a "writer". It's worth a shot.

My ORIENTED Journal

It always humors me when people ask WHY Gus and I work so hard on the original .ORG site, since that, in and of itself, is not a for-profit endeavor. You're looking at one of the reasons. Had I never got involved with ORIENTED, I probably wouldn't have known how to create this website. You wouldn't be here reading what I've written, and I wouldn't have known just how much I enjoy writing. These are just minor points compared to all the things we've gained, both personally and professionally, from our efforts.

In creating .ORG, I have had and am still having fun. Tons of it, due in no small part to Gus. He brings a dimension of optimism, enthusiasm, and humor into our work that makes me want to check the site just to see what else is up. I am lucky to have him as my site partner, and I want to use this personal website to capture all the fun that we have and all the things we learn, regardless of what may come.

PLUS. How awesome is it that I will have tracked its life cycle from the beginning to the end, whatever that may be? Maybe I'll even be able to write a book about it later on, entitled either "The Rise and Rise of ORIENTED", or "The Rise and Fall of ORIENTED". Am I not profound?

My MBA Degree... and My Resume

Without a doubt, building this website, coming up with content, and trying to market it to the world, has given me the ultimate learning experience. How do I design the site such that it appeals to the most number of people? How do I organize the pages so that it is easy to navigate? How do I best crop pictures depending on the setting, and what can I possibly do to make the site sticky? Taking it two steps further, is there some way that I can generate revenue?

Also, for once in my life, I want to put my Marketing degree into practice. I've got plenty of things I want to promote. ORIENTED, my IPO domain names, and me, with all that I have to show. Some may think that I'm being awfully vain, but I really don't think that I'm self-centered so much as that I believe in the POWER OF MARKETING. As they say, you can have the best product in the whole wide world, but no will ever know - much less buy into it - unless you put it in front of them, show them why they need it, and give them a name they will not forget.

Eventually I will be moving back to the States which is where I call my "home". I can either leave Taipei with a one-page resume, or I can leave with THIS. All that I have done and can do is reflected on this website. Gee... which should I choose?

My Mark in History

Taipei, December 2000 Someone once said that our purpose in life is to leave it with a positive and permanent contribution that lasts beyond us. Aside from staying connected with loved ones around the world, I am acutely aware of the role that my website plays in that regard. Granted, five years from now new communication platforms may come about that will render the Internet obsolete. But until then, I'm going to make the most of what I have before me.

Does this website inspire you at all? Does it make you think? Does it make you laugh at least once, or affect you in any way? I certainly hope that it does, and I'd like to think that I can influence even more people through it, even after I am gone.

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