Showing Thanks as the IT Guy

I have been visiting my family up in Rhode Island this whole week and I have been showing my appreciate and gratitude by answering all their IT related questions. You may be say, John helping your grandma setup her email is not that bad. Yes, true, if that were the only challenge. My mom and Charlie have between them, two desktops, one laptop, one blackberry and eight (yes eight) email accounts between the two of them. Getting them all to sync on each computer was the first challenge. Other tasks have included setting up IM accounts, Skype, DVD players, etc. Happy to do it but exhausting. Now to all those things I was supposed to get done: thesis, learn chinese, catchup on Scrubs and the Office.

Also have been helping out a lot with their new business venture, Nankeen. As many of you know my folks have been importing several items from China that they have designed to eventually sell on the Internet. Nankeen, formally Tiverton Trading Company, is now undergoing version 2.0 of the company with a new marketing guy, wed designer, and business model. We are working on marketing strategies, design, and back office software integration. It is really interesting witnessing a startup venture and I am very glad to be involved. There is so much to do and then there is the huge variable of China with limited laws and regulations. Luckily we have a contact out there who has been helping us. I believe we are looking to launch the new site and product line in mid-January so stay tuned. I hope to get out to China at some point and help them, maybe after I graduate next summer.

Hope you all are enjoying your break as well, not looking forward to Monday back at the grind...