A Thanks and Goodbye to Clay

@Calkins, you forgot the part about almost being assassainated by a Ninja... Canadian and all that.  Still, at least she escaped Shanghai before Godzilla tore the place up.

BMC, I was also kidding...I was playing off of your "waitress" comment. 

I know my humor is pretty bad, but I hope my post wasn't that difficult to get.  BTW, those "rumors" are all cpod lessons...hopefully at least some of the veterans here (who know the archive well) got the joke.  Again, I know my humor is bad.

Or we could just let them have their privacy...

Just kidding on the waitress thing but she has given up on her blog which kinda trailed off with her being down and out in NY.  Hope she is doing fine.

Now that over a year has passed, can we speculate as to what really happened. Amber's reaction to Clay's departure was so nonchalant - 'me, so sad!' as though her true feelings were quite the opposite.

Did someone overstep the mark? Did Clay have to fall on his sword or was he cornered and the only option was to leave.Their undoubted sexual tension was palpable in their on air banter but did this turn sour and serious?

We need Chinesepod Uncut - behind the scenes and a VH1 type 'where are they now' expose. Enquiring minds need to know...

Waitress???  That's absolutely absurd. 

Last I heard, she was terrorized at the airport, saw a ghost outside, was abducted by aliens, then turned into a zombie!  This was all after she had an argument over garbage.

Oh wait, sorry, I promised not to start anymore rumors ;-)

Waitress in New York?  Boy are you out of date!

Clay is dust, wow that's news to me. Has he followed Amber to waitress in New York?  What a difference a year makes...

Clay reminds me a lot of Tori Belucci from MythBusters.. when I see him, I always think of Clay.. will always have a special place in my heart for Clay.

who?

OK, I was away this summer when Clay left.  And when I asked for an update on what happened while I was gone, no one told me this sad news.  Come-on Poddies, this was huge!  So I started to review the old Qing Wens and noticed no Clay.  So I used this new "search" mechanism on the community page and finally found my answer. 

Sorry I didn't get to say it before, but Clay, you will be missed.  I was so lucky to get the opportunity to meet you when I was in Shanghai.  Thanks for the flash cards, they have special meaning now.  It was a pleasure "knowing" you.  We do think of you as an important part of the family.  I still miss Colleen and Aric and now you.  But you are part of Chinesepod history.  You added to the humor and relaxed atmosphere of learning that made us look forward to Qing Wen.  Good luck with all your future endeavors.  Don't forget to visit us on C-pod.  We'll be here waiting for you!

Hey Yall.  Thank you plenty for all the kind words.  Im still around here in Shangers.  I was tempted to join Aric in the jungles of Cambodia, but I dont think Papa Roup would have been a big fan of supporting my backpacking habits (how DOES Aric do it?).  And them $8 pints at the Big Bamboo have kept me from saving up any money.

Sorry for those who have sent me personal messages, Ive recieved them, but havent got aroud to reply.  I will though!

Hi!  You guys can send Clay a message through his cpod profile!

weak...

Stackattack,

Yeah, pretty darn depressing.  Clay was almost like part of the family, and Movie Madness was one of my favorite segments.

I wonder where he's moved on to?

我很不高兴 Clay 此致了，我很好奇 Clay 的信工作是什么样子的？

Isn't it nice to have everything posted twice?

Will Clay team up with Aric?? ;-)

John,

Thanks for telling me. I didn't know that. I was sort of confused about how the whole thing would work. Now I know ;)

Jordan

At least I went to school...

Isn't it time for mommy to pack your lunch for school, little man?

What makes you think he was fired? And if he was, why is that any of your business? You never cease to disgust me, turkeysub.

Why was Clay fired?

Jordan,

We'd like to do a Cantonese show, but we won't be giving Cantonese equal treatment. This means it will be a weekly show, not daily, and will not use up as many resources as the Mandarin lessons we do.

I am a little skeptical of the Canton-easy idea, honestly. If CP can make it work, I would be impressed, not to say that Chinese-Pod ever lets me down (which they don't). If they want to introduce Cantonese, I think they are going to have to split ChinesePod into two separate podcasts: MandarinPod and CantonesePod. Not quite as catchy as ChinesePod (maybe that's just because I am used to hearing it), but really, they are both 'Chinese.' Everything on ChinesePod would be the same; just under the name MandarinPod. CantonesePod would probably need a whole new staff of instructors (I am not sure if anybody on ChinesePod speaks Cantonese?). Anywho, those are just my thoughts. Any agreements? Disagreements? Please private message me and tell me what you think.

Jordan

tanglang,

It's too bad Clay won't be doing the Cantonese show, but we are looking for someone else who can do it.

I just hope someone will replace Clay in taking the CANTONeasy-project anounced by him in "News & Features". I'm really burning for it ever since I heard this announment. Wouldn't that be a show that two chinese could do together? Comparing mandarin to cantonese, wouldn't that be easy for them?

I have no idea the reason for the technical hitch at the beginning of my post.

Thank you Clay for your great contribution to QW and ChinesePod. There was a great chemistry between Amber, Connie and yourself. Amid all the banter and humour you could sum up the point of the lesson so clearly. I was looking for the Cantonese lesson when I came back. Now I understand the reason I couldn't find it.

Wishing you every happiness and success in the future.

Yes, Clay will definitely be missed.  Good luck to him in his endeavors.

What a shame. Take care, Clay. Hope whatever you decide/have decided to do next takes you far ;) Thanks for the learning as well as the laughs. It's so sad to see you go. You will be greatly missed on Qing Wen.

Jordan

P.S.,

henning, wow! Your whole Clay/Amber marriage comment was sort of... personal, don't you think? Kind of hit me off guard.

Good Luck Clay! I hope  you suceed in whatever future endevours you set out for!

Bye Clay! You'll be missed!

Clay - traded to the Yankees for a .300 hitter and 3 prospects.  You were very good at this, thanks!!!

Gone for 10 days and everything goes crazy!

All the best for you, Clay! This is too bad. There is definately no replacement-Clay for QW.

[I have to confess, I was secretly hoping for a QW on the 把-construction where Amber anounces: "I 把 Clay marry me 了"]

Clay was 6 feet of positivism and a big heart. All the very best in everything you do!

Sorry to hear Clay is leaving, he will definately be missed!

Just saw this post... (Should have been made a sticky for at least a week)

Good luck Clay in whatever you do. I'm sure your coffee slurping will make you fit right in anywhere you go, but you will always miss Amber and Connie ;) (And Chinesepod too ofcourse!)

Bazza, I dont find the turnover unusual, it was only the circumstances surrounding this one surprising change that were under discussion. It also happened against a backdrop of other current issues. I think enough has been said here so Im not going to continue to stir up dust. Lets move on. CPOD is still the best tool out there and I think because of that I would like to see it improve rather than decline.

take care

RJ

john says
2 days ago

hape and rjberki,

Seems to be quite a lot of fluctuation of employees at ChinesePod. A good or a bad sign?

A lot? I think we're just a normal company, continuing to grow from tiny startup into something bigger.

Where I work, people come and go on almost a weekly basis and few people last longer 3 months.

OMG...Clay, good luck w/ your future ventures. You gave me a lot of laughs and gave me a lot of help w/ my Chinese. Just remember to stop by whenever you have the chance, and if you won't, THE CHINESEPOD PODDIES WILL HUNT YOU AND TRACK YOU DOWN.:P

Hehe...just kidding.:P 加油！！！

RJ,

Agree with all of your points.

Yeah the turnover of core team members does seem to be extremely high. Likely due to the transitory nature of foreigners living in China. If I was in China, I know I'd be pretty restless if not married w/ family.

You forgot CONNIE!!!!!!!!!!! Connie is a LEGEND!!!!! :)

Clay was great. And BTW, I don't get the sense that turnover at ChinesePod is especially high at all, considering it's staffed by lots of foreigners, is just a couple of years out of infancy, and is a bit of a techie company. To keep the core on-air talent of Ken-Jenny-John-Amber (sorry if I'm excluding anyone) intact for 2 years now is pretty special. In fact, reading about some of the horror stories in the press about visa renewal problems for even long-time expats, I've been worried that that might someday impact ChinesePod.

I'm late again as usual.  Sad to see you go Clay.  You brought an everyday guy feel to ChinesePod.  You also made people feel heard.  My best wishes go to you in whatever you do.

Too bad, hope we see you checking in every once in a while on Dear Amber.

Wow, what sad news! But good luck to you Clay, and thanks for all the good laughs!

Wow, I didn't even realise this message until now, very sudden. I think some of you guys should chill out a bit about ChinesePod disrespecting its customers though. Anyway, good work Clay, wish you well.

auntie68,

I hear you. We'll definitely work harder at advance notice.

rjberki,

Thank you, I see your point.

Giving a little advance notice would have gone a long way towards assuring your loyal customers that Praxis is indeed in control of all the bewildering new changes happening with so little warning or reason, with the V3 - V4 change.

Not bothering to give even simple reassurances of this kind under such circumstances isn't how serious companies show respect to their customers. It's actually worse to act as if your customers won't have a clue, and won't object, than to be square with them that the company is growing and doing so painfully, even if it's only temporary. If you take it on the chin, your Asian clients may actually rally behind you. Nobody likes to taken for a fool, whether they live in Asia or not.

John, of course the details are personal and I wouldnt expect you to share that, I was refering to a little advanced notice of departure. Letting us know in advance would have shown respect. Optics are important in business and the way it was handled gives the impression that he either quit suddenly or you fired him. Im not saying this is what happened, I am saying you are inviting this speculation by the way it was handled. You are also shouting that the users dont need to know. they are not important. No respect. This was my point. You may very well have your reasons for doing what you did and you have the right to run your business the way you see fit, so lets move on. I truly hope everything is well.

rjberki,

No one is going to reveal all the details of Clay's decision to leave here, because it's a personal matter. I can assure you, however, that it is wholly unrelated to a lack of respect for users. We do respect our users.

Good luck Clay.  

Some of the changes we can see coming. I'd expect the many interns to leave at some point. Considering the temporary nature of many expats, a higher turnover than many places is probably to be expected.

We certainly saw some departures coming, but this one really came as a surprise.  Especially after the very recent announcement that Clay would be one of the hosts of Cantoneasy.  No idea what will happen with this project.

Maybe just growing pains.

John,

I hope youre right. Its just the suddeness of this departure and the "after the fact" notification of his deaparture that seems odd. Dave also. Maybe its a conscious decision on your part not to say anything until after someone is gone, to avoid all the chatter and pleas to stay that would result, but had Clay announced in a Qing Wen for example that he was moving on to other opportunities, it would have seemed more normal. He just did his first ele lesson hinting that he was continuing to grow and expand his role there and then bang, oh btw, he's gone. This coupled with all the other growing pains that have drawn complaints lately makes one wonder. If Clay gave a notice, and I have to think he did, not sharing that with the users is just another sign of the lack of respect you have for us.  I do hope its a happy camp there because that will lead to a better product. If not, that explains a lot.

Oh, Clay, I am late.

Clay,谢谢你对cpod的贡献，你的幽默风趣，让我觉得每次听“请问”都非常的愉快和开心。喜欢你逗connie玩，喜欢你和Amber抬杠，喜欢你的声音。虽然有种种的不舍，但是我虔诚的祝愿你离开cpod团队后，一切顺利，加油clay，我们会想你的！

甜芳cassie!^_^

Thanks Yall. 

Its time for me to start a new adventure.  I may have physically left, but everyone at ChinesePod is still my family, and they along with all of you made my time there unforgettable.

Im sure ill pop in from time to time on the message boards, and I wont rule out an appearance with a Dear Amber or a QingWen either.

Cheers!

Every time I go away somthing happens at Chinese pod! Good luck Clay in your next venture.

No!!!!!!!!!!!! Clay, we´ll miss you!!! 

Good luck Clay.

There goes a good man.

hape and rjberki,

Seems to be quite a lot of fluctuation of employees at ChinesePod. A good or a bad sign?

A lot? I think we're just a normal company, continuing to grow from tiny startup into something bigger.

Oh no!!  QW will never be the same again.  We'll miss you, Clay.  Best wishes for the future.  Hopefully you'll be a guest on Dear Amber every now and then so we can keep tabs on you...oops, I mean so we can hear from you every now and then ;^)

Hrrrm.. I hope it wasn't something I said.. hehe!

Hey Clay, bro, buddy, pal.. Don't forget us when you are a world famous production director for the next big thing you are doing! :) I'm not going to get all mushi like Amber but I am definitely going to miss you.

May be you can start up a Chinese Comedy radio show or something? :) And don't forget...sugar in coffee is a good thing.. it means you can drink it stronger and better than anyone else!! :)

Clay--I'll miss you too. I'm a fan of the way you and Amber worked off each other and the way you led into topics on QW as if they were natural extensions of your curiosity. And your Chinese ain't bad either.

Will we ever see/hear you again? Where are you going? And on what continent?

Good luck, success, and happiness!

good luck Clay, I hope your in a better place now...oops your not dead...ahmm... how ever I wish you all the best on your way where ever it may lead you to!

Clay, we miss you so!

Poor Amber, what will QW be without Clay's humour!?!

I'll miss hearing him on Qing Wen, but poor Amber!

Gah!  What a bummer.  Who will provide the much needed Texan insight into the English language now?  Clay, I will miss you.  Good luck wherever you are going.

Clay thanks for your humour and best wishes for the future. You will be greatly missed!

Amber, who will you poke fun at now? ;-)

How could there possibly be a better place to work than ChinesePod?

Good luck Clay.

Good luck, Clay! We'll miss you!

不好!! :(

That's a bummer! Clay was great to listen to and very entertaining.

Great job on all the QW's. I'm sure you'll be the first thing that comes to mind for everyone who sits in a coffee shop and hears someone sipping a coffee

All the best mate

Please say it ain't true!

I have really liked Clay's humor and character in the Qing Wen Series. I don't think Qing Wen will be as much fun to listen to as it was with Clay. Can we have at least one more Qing Wen with Clay?

I wish Clay the best of luck in his future endeavors and hopefully, we will hear form him again.

aww man.. clay was just awesome in the Aussie Rules!

Qing Wen will never be the same... :(

GOOD LUCK CLAY!!!

Ouch, bummer way for me to start the day.  Sad to see you go Clay.  Can't say I'll miss the slurp, but everything else you brought to CPod will definitely be missed.

My guess is that Clay and Amber were secretly married and now it's all come out.  Clay was the one that had to leave, since Amber has seniority (and of course wears the pants in the relationship).

What will QW be without the banter?  Best of luck with everything Clay!

nooooooooooooooooooooo, not the coffee slurping pal from qing wen, noooooooooooooo!!!

Oh, man! I was really beginning to like Clay's voice and his style. Clay, I hope we'll still see you on the community message boards. Good luck in your new ventures.

Aussie Rules is now a collector's item.:-)  I think Hape asks the right question however.

Oh, Clay! You will be missed by me, certainly. Thank you for handling my grumpy posts with so much grace... I can't imagine a QW without you. Whatever better place you are headed too, I wish you all the best!

Clay,miss you!

Good luck!

Good Luck Clay

囧 ... The Aussie Rules lesson will be the only lesson with Clay (apart QW).

So sudden? Well good luck to you Clay whatever you plan to do. That's what you get for threatening Ken's spot. :-) (thats a joke) (I hope). You did a good job.

-RJ

Me so sad!  :(

You rock Clay! We'll miss you!

ChinesePod has grown (and I presume still is growing) changes are to be expected.

It's a testament to the community that ChinesePod has created that these changes are felt so widely.

Seems to be quite a lot of fluctuation of employees at ChinesePod. A good or a bad sign?

What surprising news!  Very sad to see Clay go.  He brought humour and intelligence, contributing to the fun and effective learning experience.

When I came to Chinesepod, John, Jenny, Connie, Ken were all away (on purpose!?).  I met Clay who had just started

Good luck.