GEEDING!!!!!!

Geeding...guess where I went this weekend!!!!!




Shopping...it's only a store.

You Fill in The Movie Quote...

So the last couple of days have been full of excitement. The last member of our team arrived, we received our schedules at staff development day, saw the school year calendar with all the days off, and I was almost killed by a wire hanger.

So...they have the Uber-apartments here in Hong Kong. I live around one. When I say around one...I mean...it surrounds me. I counted 4 apartments per wing, per floor. I also counted four wings, and I think I counted 40 stories. So you do the math...or at least double check me because I suck at it and hate it. I came up with 640 dwellings within each building. Now, here comes the crazy "around" me part. Take 640 and multiply that by at least 10 buildings...and you get 6,400 families made up of usually 3-5 people, and that is a truckload of folks living in the space of 1 square city block.


Quick Mike, what is 7 times 6? (family of my father only on that one please)

Now...you may ask yourselves..."Where would all those folks do their laundry?" And,I would say that you have posed a valid and creative initial question at a seminal point our dialogue...way to go, you.

Well...I would retort with an answer such as this..."In their own apartments." Ok, you would say...and you would now assume that they also would dry their laundry in their apartments. And, I would chuckle...maybe even guffaw, toss my head back and look at you and think..."Ahhhh, you are so silly my naive friend...So silly. But, I love you dearly, so I will continue enlightening you with my vast caverns of knowledge."

THEY DRY THEIR LAUNDRY OUT THE FRIGGIN WINDOWS!!! 40 STORIES IN THE STINKIN SKY OUT THEIR WINDOWS! 40 STORIES IN THE STINKIN SKY, YOU BETTER NOT DROP ANYTHING, OUT THE FRIGGIN WINDOWS!

And, then...I would simply say...look at the two images and guess how I was almost killed by a wire hanger.

Insert movie quote here, "__ _____ ____ _______!"

Do you know it? If you think you do, then comment and I will give the person who answers it first a real neat prize.
























He lifts his Coke into the air, and with a serious but jovial tilt, he toasts..."Heads up!"

AN ASIDE...

So...I have known this little lady for 8 weeks now. It has been a real incredbile experience, and the fact that she would get involved with a dude who would be leaving for 10 months speaks of her character and the amazing woman that she is.

I am humbled by her support and friendship, encouraged by her affection toward me, and moved by her character.

SHE...truly is an amazing woman.

THIS IS WHY I HAVE A JOB...

So...we have a long way to go...

God Bless The institution of Breakfast...

I am sitting at the table in the sitting room area...(funny, that I would be sitting in a sitting area) and having breakfast before heading out to church. I am slicing a banana from the Philippines, eating Nestle Fitness and Fruit...a cereal from Thailand, and Soy Milk from Vita Soy...not a Country but a company here in Hong Kong.

I would like to submit that this might be the most international breakfast I have ever eaten in my life...WAIT...hold on, where is my apple juice from?...HAHAHA, ISRAEL!!!!!

Can life get any better than right this very moment?



Of Course.



But, this is a pretty cool moment. BREAKFAST ON my friends,...breakfast on!


IHOP can't touch this International Breakfast

My new digs...

Sorry the lighting was bad but hey, it is a digital camera.




PEACE

A handshake from Jesus

The other morning I woke up, my first morning in Hong Kong, after a great night's sleep. Jet Lag,...I think I kicked your @$$.

I rose up out of bed with the adventuresome spirit of a little guy we call Columbus. But, since I wasn't on a boat in the middle of 'the world is flatsville' I headed down to the shopping mall nearby to buy a towel for my shower. I discovered that this was all I was lacking in IKEA-ville. There will be no bucket showering here!

The night before, I was shown a restaurant that is good for breakfast. I head in to this joint and the breakfast menu looks great. I tell the lady behind the register, "ham, egg, and cheese sandwich and tea please..."

She looks at me like a deer in the headlights, or should I be more culturally sensitive and say like a dragon in the moonlight…either way, she was not receiving the communicator signals I was sending her way…no, not one bit.

::: This is where I realize how alone I am, no knowledge of language, no one to translate for me, no attempt at deciphering the Latin roots of the words to try and understand the symbols on the wall before me :::

Then,...she speaks up. This angel of a woman behind me, orders for me, double checks that I want tea, and then gently says with a smile, "For here or to go?" Her simple act this morning was like a handshake from Jesus and hearing him say..."Michael, I am here...remember, I will be leading you and sticking with you, comforting and protecting you. Welcome to this next adventure, this next part of your life. We are pleased, and this is right."

Dang. And I all I was looking for was a sandwich and a towel.

All of the seats in the restaurant were taken...and with the pride still tender, I was not going to be taking any drastic attempts at communication while still in this restaurant. Finally, I see a table that was freshly de-occupied in the private smoking room. I breathe deep, swallow my pride...and head on in. I am the only one not smoking with my breakfast. I sat in silence, staring at the men in there and the world around me. I just soaked it all in, and it soaked in me. STOP...shower time! Oh oh oh oh...oh oh, oh oh!

"Hammer, don't hurt em."

I left the smoking breakfast and headed into the grocery store. I picked up a few things now that I knew what to expect at the quarters and thoroughly enjoyed my shopping experience. A bottle of Snapple Lemon flavored Iced Tea, Apple juice, Soy milk (or juice for you Mom and Dad), and a few air fresheners. Seems the living quarters come with a smell that is remnant of your buddies worst farts. Luckily, this is confined to the kitchen only. YES mother, I checked it for gas leaks.

Now the area smells like an Ocean breeze with a hint of Juniper Berries and Cloud Mist. Yeah, so when you buy three air fresheners and put them in a space the size of a small apartment...it is, "a veritable buffet of protection"...for your nose that is.

So, off from there and back in for the shower. Great experience, resulting in one clean me. I totally figured out how to use the water heater that is mounted in the shower without scolding myself. I head downstairs to meet up with someone who is supposed to help me run my errands today. He makes a phone call and we head back up to the quarters. He brings an ethernet cord, and hooks up my internet. He says see you down stairs at 12.30 for lunch...um, okay.

I jump online and get my email and get a chance to send one out telling the loved ones I made it ok. Turns out I have some more time and Cheryl is on AIM. Man it was good to talk to her today. She is super sick and I wish I could be there to help her, but her Dad drove in and is keeping an eye on her. She has a laundry list of illnesses!

Dad emails me back, and it was real good to hear from them too. I will try and figure out the calling for free online and video chat tomorrow. There are a few kinks right now, but I am sure it is only a settings change.

Lunch time is here and off we go. Dim Sum at a local restaurant with the local admin support staff of the school. It was a blast. I ate chicken feet again, and this time it was awesome. That was the adventurous part of the meal! Still too much work for the little meat that it provides.

I set out on my own and walked around a bit after lunch and found my way around this part of town. I was looking for a power adapter and was guided to a store by one of the main staff here at the school. I picked one up and off to the quarters I went.

I was so anxious to get my iPod alarm clock up and running after getting it replaced with a new one before I left. I asked the man if this is what I need to run a plug from the States and he said yes. So, I plug it in and, viola! It works and the lights light up and I start setting the clock, then….POP! Then, SMOKE…lots and lots of smoke! And now, I have a room filled with smoke, and no power outlets because the breaker flipped...and I may not have a clock.

So…lesson learned. The man at the little hardware store combined with the man I asked did not have all of the information necessary to make a good suggestion. I should have carried the plug in with me.

It took a day to find someone to turn my power back on and get my computer up and running in my room instead of the kitchen. And, no network ports in the kitchen as you can imagine!

So I am behind on this ol’ bloggy blog blog. Forgive me. I will try and get caught up this weekend.

The deliverance of mold...

So...the adventure has begun! MOLD IS COMING, THE MOLD IS COMING!!!...to a Hong Kong near you! At 6.05 this morning Mom, Dad, and I pulled out of the driveway in Heath and made our way to see Cheryl at the hospital before heading to the airport. One more goodbye hug, some prayer time, and a maybe a little kissy-face...maybe. She's sick...real sick. Puking and hacking kind of sick. So, I’ll let you decide whether or not we did.

I arrived at DFW airport with enough time to check my luggage and look up and see Scott and Stephanie Crissey there to say goodbye with my parents. There were hugs, there were tears,...there was security check-in.

Then...there was a flight to Los Angeles. A delayed flight to Los Angeles. I arrived in Los Angeles with the intentions and taste buds that only an In-N-Out double meat and cheese burger could assuage. However, the time was short as the lines at the airport were long. COMMENT: LAX sucks. This is the only airport that I know of that makes you leave the terminal gates then recheck in to an International terminal. I hate the walk, and the people are rude...Welcome to America visitors!

I headed to the Cathay Pacific check in gate...HOLY LINE! But, since I had already received my boarding pass, I was ushered to the front of the line and was able to secure a bulkhead - window seat. YAY FOR ME! YAY FOR COMFORT! YAY FOR 14 hours!

I decided to celebrate... Instead of In-N-Out, I had sushi at the food court and pretended that I was enjoying it with my sushi buddy, my sister Jo Anna. But, the man sitting next to me didn't find the stories of our childhood half as amusing as she does. Awkward. He called security on me when I tried to hug him. Not really.



So because of the fore-mentioned sucking of LAX, I went through security again and headed to my gate. Gate 117. I look and...no plane. I look around...no planes anywhere near to these gates. I see nothing but busses. Evidently, my fellow passengers and I will be shuttled to our plane by bus. This will definitely be a first for moldy!

I get to the plane and it is the Asia World City 747-400…sweet looking paint job. I am extra excited because this is the model plane that I am buying for my nephew. So I jump on this bird, and take my seat.



THEN…the worst thing that can happen to someone who is “chillin’ out maxin’ and relaxin’ shootin’ some b’ball outside of…” the bulkhead. The LARGE guy shows up. And…sits right in the middle of me and the guy in the aisle. You know, the LARGE guy who flows over into your seat. I am no small dude and neither was the guy on the end of the row…so you do the math…yeah, we are talking about the plane tipping a little to the right! But…due to some unfortunate seats for the rest of his family, they were all relocated and he was replaced by a sweet little lady from South Africa.

Anywho…we are currently 5137 miles from Hong Kong, and cruising at 567 miles per hour at 32,000 feet. So far, so good on the flight. I am a little sick and already hit up the snack area looking for some noodles, but couldn’t find any. I could use some soup though!

A little nap (4 hours) and I am up again. I found the cup o’ noodles and also some little friends called Tim Tam’s. These little suckers are a-mazing! I was introduced to these Australian beauties by Kate and Clayton. Ahhhh good times with those crazies! Along with the Tim Tam’s, I found some of the world’s best butter cookies by a company called Arnott. Seriously…my life is richer because of these cookies. “If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.”

Thank you Ferris.

So where was I…ah yes. Another nap somewhere over the Pacific. Evidently the noodles did me in and off I went. Normally I would be able to tell you where I was at this point…but I never planned on napping so I didn’t take notice.

I woke up to the stewardess with the dinner cart clicking the wheels unlocked as she began to roll my dinner away. I was like, BABY GET THAT DANG CART BACK HERE AND GIVE ME SOME DINNER!!!! Of course my mother raised a gentleman, so I actually didn’t say that so much. You know,…it dawns on my right now that some of my most memorable dinners have been served in silver, wheeled carts…Cathay is no Lawry’s but hey…the idea is the same, right?

We begin dinner and it rocked. Braised beef, green beans, roasted mashed potatoes. Cheesecake with a mango puree. Puree goodness if you ask me. Good tea, good coffee, good meal, good night! Back to sleepytime I went. Next thing I know we are 20 minutes from landing into Hong Kong

::: yes…there was a window of time that was not written about…I watched a movie…no details of interest to report :::

We landed quite softly and taxied into our gate. Another look at the beast that brought us here and off to get my luggage I strolled. An hour later, after immigration and picking up my slightly damaged luggage (lost an over-the-door hook on the suit carrier Dad) I was greeted by a sign that had my last name in bold and my first and middle names smaller and not bold. I felt pretty big time, gotta be honest, I mean…”I don’t know if you this but, I’m kind of a big deal.”

Thank you Ron Burgundy.

I was shuttled to my new digs, but before my arrival, a trip to the local store for a few things. I had no idea what the room or what the amenities would look like, so I took no chances and grabbed the basics.



I grabbed my snacks, and moved in. My current temporary living quarters are quite sweet. I will try and post a movie of them.

Fully furnished apartment, dorm style, it looks like IKEA vomited in here…and they did! There are actually IKEA stickers on the bottom of everything!!!! LAUGHTER OUT LOUD GOIN’ ON UP IN HERRA!!!

Thank you URSHER. (shout out to my pancake ladies).

So yeah all in all a great trip over. I have no idea what happened to the 22nd of August…I never lived it. I went from the 21st to the 23rd. Friggin flux-capacitors and 1.21 jiggawatts.

Thank you Doc. Brown.


Oh, and …

Thank you Mom and Dad.

Thank you Cheryl.

Thank you Scott and Stephanie.

Thank you LARGE GUY.

Thank you Tim Tams.

Thank you Cathay.

It is 12.30am and I am off to sleepytime.

THANK YOU for reading.

PACKING UP!!

I just returned from a two week cross country trip and am packing up for the trip. I will post details soon!

STANFORD bound...

What up all, I am in California at Stanford University for training and team building for the school that I will be working for next year. I found out that I will be working with the equivalent of 5th graders.

August 21st is approaching and I am really excited about the next year in Hong Kong. My house mates are awesome, and I am the only dude...so I am sure I will have a good case of "big brother syndrome".

Hope all is well in your time zone!

mold...not in asia yet