Sheboygan Symphony - Russian Fireworks

I am playing with the Sheboygan Symphony next Saturday. If you're in the Sheboygan area, I want to encourage you to come check it out.

Russian Fireworks!

10/11/2008 7:30 PM

We are delighted to have world-renowned pianist Jon Kimura Parker join the SSO for our opening concert of our 90th season as we feature three Russian masterworks that show off the orchestra and soloist at their colorful and virtuosic best.

Works:
Capriccio Espagnole Rimsky-Korsakov
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Rachmaninoff
Symphony No. 2 Borodin

Guest Artist:
Jon Kimura Parker, piano

Sponsors:
Johnson Bank and Windway Capital Corp.

"Parker's rendition of the Rachmaninoff was the finest I've heard in some time...the whole house leapt to its feet at the end of Parker's performance."

- The Arizona Daily Star

RSLP Properties are Incompetent - part 2

Ah, these guys never fail to surprise me. In case you missed the first post I did about them, you can catch up here.

That story didn't have a happy ending. After 15+ hours of working on the computer, router, and talking to various techs, sitting on hold, and trying to get hold of my landlord, RSLP Properties, I was able to restore the internet. Since this company is based out of Milwaukee, which is about 45-60 minutes away from Sheboygan, they asked me to fix the problem, because they didn't want to have to drive all the way to Sheboygan just to hire a tech to fix it. So I did it for them - and they were fully aware I was doing it, because they gave me all of the account information to have it fixed (account number, account address, etc.) After I got it working, I submitted a bill with my rent and deducted what any other tech would have charged to fix the problems that they had. Long story short - RSLP Properties, aka Elijah Mohammed Rashaed, wasn't too happy and threatened to have us evicted. This all happened about a week or two before I went to China, and I didn't want Allison to have to deal with the crap, so I paid them, but I am pursuing my legal options.

So, about a week later, we get home, and there's a note on the door of the apartment building from the water company. Apparently, Elijah and RSLP Properties have neglected to pay the water bill for the past 6 months, and the water company was threatening to turn off service. On top of that, internet service was turned off because they too have never been paid by the landlord. Ridiculous! Fortunately, the loser paid the water before it was turned off. But he never paid the internet bill, so now we are without internet until we move.

If that all wasn't hard to believe, this next part is even better. It's starting to get cold here in Wisconsin. Cold enough that we need heat turned on in the evening. The old building that we are in has radiator heat, again, provided by the landlord. As of earlier this week, he had yet to turn on the hot water for the radiators. I called RSLP Properties to talk to Elijah, and he wasn't home. But his "brother", whom sounded exactly like Elijah, took the message. Another day, another night goes by, and we still don't have heat. Researching the Wisconsin Tenant's rights, I found out that Elijah and RSLP Properties had a legal obligation to provide a healthy, safe, and livable environment. Having my apartment drop into the 40's at night is not what I'd consider livable. After notifying them of their legal responsibility, they finally turned on the heat.

Overall, this guy, this company, either has no idea what they are doing, or they just don't care. Fortunately for us, we're moving out in 2 weeks, so we won't have to deal with them anymore. But if you're reading this, and you have any inclination to rent an apartment at 704 Broughton Dr. in Sheboygan, Wisconsin (also known as Shorecrest Apartments), please think twice. Especially if it is owned and/or operated by RSLP Properties or an Elijah Mohammed Rashaed (or Rashead - I can't remember how it is spelled). Renter beware!

Alright, that is the end of my public service announcement. Hopefully I have no more to say about these guys, but you never know - there is still 2 weeks to go, and they still hold my security deposit.

Joe in China - Update 5: HOME

Ah, I am home. Actually, I have been home for 6 days now. But since RSLP Properties continue to be the worst landlord/company I have ever dealt with, I had to wait until I got to the library to actually have internet access to update the blog (more on that later).

So my last 3 days in China/Hong Kong was pretty busy, but very enjoyable. Thursday night we took a flight to Shenzhen. All day Friday we visited a supplier, and Friday night, Erich and I ventured on our own to Hong Kong. It was quite an experience for this small town boy. We had to catch a train which took us from China to the mainland side of Hong Kong. The one thing that did surprise me was that although Hong Kong is officially part of China now, it is still treated as a separate entity. Thus, we had to go through all of the traditional customs/immigration routine before we could enter Hong Kong. Once we got to the mainland side of Hong Kong, we had to navigate through the metro to get to Hong Kong island. Once on the island, we jumped into a taxi and got to the Holiday Inn shortly after midnight.

Saturday, Erich and I met up with a designer that used to work in Kohler, WI but moved to Hong Kong 3 months ago. He took us around town, and we got to see a lot of the area. I took a bunch of pictures, and 99% of them are unedited and on Flickr. I will replace those with the properly cropped and adjusted pictures once I get internet access at home, which may not be for another 2 weeks.

Instead of ranting about the inept landlord here, I think I will create a dedicated post, so that anybody googling these idiots may find the post. :)

Anyways, I'm now home. China was an awesome experience, and I will likely be going back sometime in the next 6 months. The hardest part was being away for 2 weeks, and I think next time, Allison might accompany me for a little vacation time. There's a lot more to blog about besides China, but that will wrap up my China updates for now. Thanks for reading!

Joe in China - Update 4: Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (and Buses too!)

travel map
Originally uploaded by drummerjoe

Thursday AM here. I'm going on day 9 and getting ready to check out of my hotel in Shanghai. My crazy week of travel started 2 days ago. We took about 7 hours worth of taxi's and buses north to a "very small city" of Tiazhou. Small city my ass! There are 1.6 million people in Tiazhou. I guess my colleagues meant small in compared to Shanghai, which is a ridiculous 18 million. Anyways, during the trip, I left my blackberry and finance book (I was doing hw) on one bus as we made a hasty transfer to another bus. I thought they were long gone. Foretuneately, Stephen was able to make some magic happen, went back to the bus station and recovered both items. Whew! We stayed in a beautiful hotel for $50 USD. The next day we visited a supplier, and then took the long ride south back to Shanghai.

Tonight, we are taking a flight from Shanghai to Shenzen. Tomorrow we'll take a 2 hour car ride from Shenzhen to visit another supplier. Tomorrow night we'll get on a train to take us to Hong Kong. We'll be in Hong Kong Friday night and Saturday night before catching a flight Sunday to head back to the US.

It's going to be a busy 3 days here, but I'm looking forward to being a tourist in Hong Kong on Saturday. Apparently, it was more cost effective to stay in Hong Kong through Saturday and then fly out on Sunday. So I'll get a free day in Hong Kong. Should be fun.

I'm not sure if we'll have internet access the next 3 nights. If so, I'll try to get more pictures uploaded to flickr. If not, I'll see you back in the central time zone!

Joe in China - Update 3: Acrobats!

Picture 180
Originally uploaded by drummerjoe

It's a lazy Sunday morning over here today. The humidity is insane, so after a long day of being tourists yesterday, we taking it easy today.

Yesterday, we took a taxi to People's Square on Nanjing Road. We walked around the square, taking a look at quite a few of the art exhibits that were outside the art museum. Afterwards, we visited Kohler's Design Center. It just opened up this year, and it was beautiful. Not nearly as many products on display as the Design Center in Kohler, but the building itself was gorgeous. Next, Stephen Lu (colleague here in China) drove us to a restaraunt for some dim sum. I forget the name of the restaraunt in Chinese, but it translated to something like 'Rice Heaven'. So far, it was my favorite meal. From breaded/fried fruits that I never even heard of before, to shrimp dumplings, and even chicken feet! I have to say I tried the chicken feet, and I wasn't a fan. They were way to hard to eat with chopsticks!

After lunch, we took the subway and visited the underground "ripoff" markets. I was expecting something like a flea market, but I was wrong. It was set up just like a mall in the US, but it was in the subway. The "fun" part was that everyone is expected to barter. So I did a bit, got a deal on 2 items, notsomuch on a third, but oh well. After shopping, we jumped into a taxi and took a short break back at the hotel.

That night, I wanted to be a little adventurous and find something fun to do besides go to some restaraunt/bar. With the help of google (and no help to the hotel staff), we found Shanghai Acrobatic show that happens every night. We jumped back into a taxi, back to the subway, and then walked a bit and got to the theater. We were able to get 5th row seats for $30 USD. Before the show, we got some quick sandwhiches and smoothies at a local restaraunt. The acrobatic performance was great. It was like a lower budget Cirque de Soliel. The music wasn't live, but the performers themselves were excellent.

I'm not sure what we'll be up to tonight - but it likely will just be me and Pete. Stephanie heads home this afternoon, and Erich arrives from California this evening. Next week gets quite hectic for me as I start to travel to various suppliers. I'll blog about that tomorrow. For now, I'm going to try and finish my homework for the week so I don't have to worry about anymore until I'm back in Wisconsin.

Later!