Yesterday I received my first real promotion since joining Dow Chemical in Corporate R&D in 1999. There were several mini-promotions in the first few years on the "development curve", but those are automatic as long as you're still breathing and still with the company. This was the first real promotion. It was a pleasant surprise though not completely unanticipated (since it was about time considering how long I've been with the company). The relatively flat organizational structure means that realistically I can only expect at most one more promotion during my career (since I'm not a high-flyer, rapidly climbing the corporate ladder...to mix metaphors). And maybe not even that. Obviously, promotions are not what I'll be working for/towards.

Last Saturday we celebrated a belated Chinese new year with folks from church. A Chinese couple from our church arranged for the preparation of a ton of Chinese food, made a presentation about Chinese new year traditions, and arranged for a beginner Chinese orchestra to perform. It was a lot of fun. Here are a few pics:

While running on the treadmill this afternoon, I finished watching Three Seasons (1999,PG-13) (ScreenIt! Review). From the Wikipedia entry:

Three Seasons is an American Vietnamese language movie filmed in Vietnam about the past, present, and future of Ho Chi Minh City in the early days of New Vietnam. It is a poetic film that tries to paint a picture of the urban culture undergoing westernization. The movie takes place in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon. As the characters try to come to terms with the invasion of capitalism, neon signs, grand 5-star hotels, and Coca-Cola signs, their paths begin to merge.

It has a plodding pace, but I don't mind. I give it 4 out of 5.