Brainy boy Chris C. Mathews is in puppy love and clicks his way all over the internet.

07:30 I wake up to kisses from Nico, my lovely Yorkshire terrier. Roll over to my MacBook Pro to check for anything that needs an immediate reply. Breakfast is douhua (tofu soup) and youtiao (fried dough) from my local street vendor. This is one of the reasons I love China.

09:30 As a lean tech startup making internet and web products, Yunio Ltd. is run out of my humble apartment. Rick, my partner, requires coffee to function, so I make sure there’s a fresh pot. Senior Developer Fisher usually comes in first, but Livia, our product manager, brings Krispy Kremes. This is the wonderful team I’m honored to be working with. We’re out to revolutionize the way people share large computer files.

10:00 I am our HR department, so I check to see if any new CVs came in. We’re in need of a developer for Erlang, a programming language. I aspire to create a workplace where people love what they do and the people they do it with, so I look for personality as well as talent in candidates.

11:00 I chat with my mom and dad in California on Skype, trying to catch them before it gets too late. They are buying back the house my dad grew up in. My dad is getting old; this is probably the last house he’s going to live in. I feel bad about not calling home more; I don’t want to have any regrets about not spending enough time with them.

11:30 I’m drawing user interface concepts and complaining about not having an iPad. Rick takes this opportunity to draw me a “manual iPad” … Thanks, Rick.

13:30 We order from Element Fresh and I get my usual Cobb salad, though I really wish they’d bring the pesto salad back. I’m out on the terrace enjoying the breeze as I do my daily read of various websites, many of which require me to turn on Freedur, my VPN. I read up on tech startups, developments in the world of entrepreneurs, policy changes in China and personal development wisdom. I tend to do this while tackling at least three other things; sometimes I wonder if multi-tasking might just be an excuse for ADD.

14:25 Take a short break to geek out and read some manga. My favorite is One Piece by Eiichiro Oda. The story takes place in a world of pirates and is filled with amazing wisdom about life, camaraderie and loyalty.

15:00 Meet the team to sync up. We want the most user-friendly design, reducing the learning curve as much as possible. In tech products today, competition is much more about user-experience than product features.

16:30 Out of cigs. Rick and I hit up the local low-key hole-in-the-wall for some Davidoff and Caster. Cheap cigarettes, another reason why I love China.

19:00 My roommate, best friend and comrade-in-crime, Joey, comes home. We have a beer and watch as Nico and Chopper (Joey’s schnauzer) chase each other around. We tried this game ourselves once. Turns out it’s not that fun for humans. Joey and I are always shooting the sh*t, talking about customer service in China, the difference between ambition and greed, business ideas, hot chicks, the meaning of life–just about everything that matters.

20:00 We have dinner at our favorite local Japanese hot pot joint Shabu Shabu. We love the owners here–two sisters from Anhui trying to make it in a big city. This is one of the few places in Shanghai where I’ve found authentic Japanese konbu (seaweed) hotpot, plus the beef is high quality and the service is great.

21:30 We head to the Cotton Club to see our friend Ginger perform. I met her when I first came to Shanghai five years ago and still can’t believe how such a big voice can come out of her five-foot frame. On a more low-key night I’d sip Carlsberg, but tonight I go through everything from whiskey and coke to tequila shots.

00:15 Joey’s got the couch, and I’m at the dining table, both of us on our laptops with the dogs running around. I send my daily report to the team: bullet points of what we accomplished today, next steps for tomorrow and a general status on milestones. I love what I do.

01:00 Nico has been fed; she’s way too picky about food, which is my fault. I collapse onto my bed and watch an episode of “The Daily Show” or “Law & Order”. Nico is asleep next to me and I wonder if she understands how much I love her. My eyes close and I am grateful for everything around me.

One part fried dough chomper, two parts budding entrepreneur, Chris is a sensitive soul who loves the world wide web, Asian cuisine and male bonding. Think your dog can run with his? Tell Chris what you think of his day.