Paul Marshall’s Web Site

Way back in September 2007, when I signed up for this extended stay in Macau, I was originally due to return to the UK at the end of March (on the 28th to be precise). However due to my little jolly to the US in January, I was asked to stay for an extra 2 weeks, which meant I would have been back in the UK on April 11th.

However for the last several weeks, the company has discussing various projects I’m going to be working on (all of which I need to back in Europe for!). One of these projects is for a very large contract, and it requires some development work being done on site. Initially it was thought that maybe I could go to Austria, then that idea was scrapped, and it was decided I would have to go to South Africa. However this has now changed again, and they’re now seeing if they can get me into Austria.

At the moment all I know is that I’m probably going to be leaving a week earlier than planned, so I’ll be leaving Macau on Fri 4th or Sat 5th April, so I can get this dev work completed. However which country I’m going to be in doing this work, is anyones guess!

It has to be said…. I work for a great company! Last night just after 11pm, I received a phone call from my boss, who was hard at work at the London Gaming Show (honest!). He told me that one of my US colleagues was resigning, and that I had to get the 1st flight I possibly could to Carlsbad (its in California), so that I can learn everything he knows before he’s leaves. Normally I would have no objections to this sort of thing (anything to get me out of the office), but I had to point out to him, that on the 5th Feb I was due to fly back to Manchester from Macau for my skiing holiday, and that this little trip would cause massive complications for me.

So after a quick discussion with the powers that be, it was decided that I would fly from Macau to Carlsbad, spend the time before my holiday, learning the stuff I needed to know, and then the company would fly me back to Manchester, where I would then be able to go on my holiday. Obviously after my holiday, I then get to fly back to Macau, on my pre-arranged flight to finish off my final few weeks in Macau.

So basically over the next 26 days, I will do a complere circuit of the world….what fun!

Christmas is now well and truly over, and after almost 3 weeks back in the UK, I’ve returned back to Macau. The weather here has been appalling, last week the temperature here dropped below 10 degrees! Fortunately that lasted only a couple of days, and we’re now back closer to 20.

I’ve now reached and gone past the half way mark for my stay in Macau, so its just 3 more months to go! Fortunately the next 3 months should be easier than the previous 3, as I have a nice little break in the middle where I get to go skiing in Austria….which I’m really looking forward to, assuming I don’t break anything!

I’m now into my 3rd week working in Macau. I’ve taken various photos over the last 2 weeks, and have finally managed to find a USB card reader to transfer all my files from my camera memory card to my pc, after I rather stupidly left my card reader at home, back in the UK!

There are photos of my hotel rooms in Macau, my new flat, a little walk I took this last weekend…. oh yeah, and my egg cup!

Well its finally happening, I’m learning where all the important things in Macau are. I’ve been shown the butty shop & supermarket which are near the office (but hidden away in not obvious locations!). I’ve also found out that there is a supermarket beneath the apartment complex that I’m likely to end up in, when I get moved out of the hotel.

Well the worst thing that could possibly have happened to me, has finally happened… I’ve relocated to Macau. It has been 2 months now, since Martin first asked if I was prepared to move, and to be honest for most of that time, I never thought it would actually happen. But here I am, working on my first day in the Macau office. Fortunately its only a 6 month relocation, so it should go fairly switfly. Although I think I might have to setup a countdown clock on this site, couting down the days, hours & minutes until I’m back home in civilisation, for Christmas!

As for the journey, well it only took 25 hours, and I managed to get a few hours sleep on the plane. Although it has to be said, I am kind of getting used to business class, as all my personal flights at xmas, for the skiing trip in February, and back in March to see Gang Show will come as a nasty shock, when I have to fly economy again!

My boss has just informed me that the powers that be at work have approved the renumeration package that I was demanding for an extended stay in Macau. Basically I will be spending 6 months in Macau starting from early October.

Oh joy, I can hardly wait!

I’m in Macau again! It doesn’t seem like 5 minutes since I was last here, but actually its been nearly 9 months! To be honest this trip hasn’t been quite as bad as the others (although its not over yet, so that may change!)…. but there are still much nicer places to go! The main thing to remember if you ever come out this way, is to make sure you don’t come at this time of year. August in Macau is just not pleasant, whereas by Novemeber it is much more tolerable and pleasant!

Wow! This was my 6th long haul flight ever, with all my previous flying being done in economy class, and I just have to say that this is the way to fly! I actually had proper knives and forks for the meal, I can fit in the seat properly, plenty of elbow room, loads of leg space, excellent food, excellent service, and you get to jump all the queues… it’s just ace! This is definitely the way to travel, and this flight (from Manchester to Vancouver) only cost £2300 compared to the £900 the economy flight cost! Worth every penny if you ask me!

I’m going to Canada! As with all my recent trips, I’ve received loads of notice, in this case 4 whole days (whereas last time I received less than 1 day!). So its off to Kamloops, via Amsterdam and Vancouver for me! The best bit about this trip, is that due to a new company policy any flight over 8 hours allows you to fly business class! Personally I can’t see this policy remaining in place for very long, so I’m going to take advantage of it whilst I have a chance!