China Moments

Shanghai, 2003-2006: In early 2003, I quit an IT job to follow my dreams of living abroad. Fortune smiled on me, and I landed my first job in the videogame industry at Ubisoft’s Shanghai studio. China Moments, my first blog, documented my first expatriation experience and my obsession with the craft of videogames.

  • Couchsurfing

    The idea is simple yet brilliant: a website where adventurous travelers can search for couches on wh...

  • Formaldehyde Beer, Anyone?

    Helene and I just quit drinking Chinese beer. A recent study shows that 95% of beers brewed in China...

  • The Last Stretch

    We’ve been in single digits for a little while, on the E3 team. The countdown officially ends ...

  • Hello from Hong Kong!

    I’m writing this entry from Hong Kong, where I’m spending the week. I will return to Sha...

  • Canadian Whispers

    Like I said in my previous post, Helene is currently doing her best to enjoy the island of Samui in ...

Minimal Techno… In Shanghai?!

Shanghai just got a hell of a lot cooler… And I’m not even talking about the weather! If you ask me what I miss the most about Montreal (besides family, friends and Faust), I invariably think back on the vibrant ...

Read More »

Videogame Piracy in China

As you most certainly know, China is a haven for piracy. Whether it’s an XBOX game or a movie DVD, everybody buys it pirated. To say it’s tolerated is an understatement: it’s a way of life. One console that had ...

Read More »

King Kong and the Movie Industry

Saturday night, Helene, a few of my colleagues and myself went to see Peter Jackson’s King Kong at the ever-pleasant and weirdly-named Paradise Warner Cinema City. As I described it in a July 2005 post, this theater boasts “VIP tickets” ...

Read More »

I Probably Ate Cat

I tell ya, it seems like every month brings its new food-related scare to Shanghai. It seems like nothing can escape a foreboding warning or two that makes you rethink ever eating that kind of food again. First, there was ...

Read More »

The Perils of Tourism

Here’s my favorite quote from my trip to Vietnam… Helene and I were having a beer with a Canadian, Alan, and his guide, An, while in a guesthouse in Ben Tre. Alan is touring Vietnam for one month on the ...

Read More »