There's Mold in Asia!!!

::: IN CASE YOU HAVN'T NOTICED :::

2007-07-05T00:30:00.001+08:00

I am no longer in Asia. I am in Dallas preparing for my upcoming wedding!

::: THAT'LL SUM IT UP :::

2007-03-16T10:02:00.000+08:00

"Politically the U.S. is unpopular abroad. But we see an almost unlimited opportunity for growth for our products. We recently shipped marshmallows, popcorn, and pretzels to new clients in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. American culture, at least as it's manifested in food, is pretty bulletproof."

I read that today in an online CNNMoney article. It reminded me of a conversation I had with a guy named J Wat. Justin Watkins if you will. He and I met last year on a trip through Hong Kong and I called him up when I moved here in August. We would get together and hang out a few times before he left and mainly we would eat at some place western. Tony Roma's, California Pizza Kitchen, etc. Once, we went to see a movie...The Departed. But before we entered the theater, we noticed we had some time...and I had not had dinner.

So we decided to hit up that favorite fast food of Asia...even knocking out McDonalds, the ever popular K.F.C. We mused at how the world hates our role in the global economy and of course politically, but they all want our food and vacation spots!

Please see below for an excellent commentary and other musings by Mike Myer's as he plays a scottish father in "So I Married An Axe Murderer."

::: A NEW TITLE ? :::

2007-03-06T10:58:00.000+08:00

I was reading a New York Times article and came across a quote that just may become my next subtitle...

"-belief in hope beyond reason."

I do not do well everyday as a follower of Christ, but He impacts me daily. I attempt at most times to effort my life toward this following...and at times, I roll over like Bear used to do and just want my tummy rubbed by the easy offers of this world. And at other times I throw stones as those who fail around me.

This whole thing is a mess.

But...it's a beautiful mess.

Where I may stub my toes in the world, my God is there to take my mind off of it and remind myself that...I am not an idiot.

I just am.

I just am being changed.

I just am becoming.

I just am experiencing new things.

I just am living in an abundant life.

I just am experiencing God at work all around me.

I just am another one, who is a part of the myriad of those who long for what Jesus spoke of and modeled...heaven on earth. Oh that majestic man who loved the ones who are hard to love and spoke sharply at the religious.

If only I could love the way he loves me. Without condition, without effort, without quitting.

After all, it makes no sense.

::: SNEAKY :::

2007-02-17T02:20:00.000+08:00

Unbeknownst to Mom and Dad, I snuck home for a two week vacation!

It is Chinese New Year in Asia and I figured...I could spend the same amount of money that it would take to come home traveling around Asia and seeing some amazing things...and hating that Cheryl wasn't here to experience it with me thus rendering it not as fun to share stories about.

SO...I decided to spend the vacation time with her and Mom and Dad. My sister even decided she would join us! She arrives in about an hour for a nice weekend visit.

So...the updates will begin again in about a week!

Much love

::: QUIET ON THE ASIAN FRONT :::

2007-02-08T14:47:00.000+08:00

I have been pretty quiet this past week...and even a little before.

Sorry.

I have been contemplative as to what the future in Hong Kong looks like after the school violated our contract. Would I overlook it this one time? Would I get on the next plane home? Would I wait and find a job in Dallas? Would I wait and find a job here until July and find the one I am looking for? Decisions, decisions.

After a week and a half of trying to decide, I made my decision...

There will still be moldinasia...for at least awhile longer. But, the search is on...

Normal posting should resume shortly. After all, Chinese New Year is coming up! That should be really interesting! Two weeks off and a bunch of people with fireworks!

By the way, it will be the year of the pig...there are huge pigs everywhere in this city. I mean everywhere! HUGE ones. Nothing like 15 feet tall pigs looking you down the snout! But they all have these slits in the top of them for...that's right...money. Really HUGE PIGGY BANKS!

::: A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE :::

2007-02-01T11:39:00.000+08:00

Well tonight I realized I wiped out all of the pictures that I had stored in my iPhoto files.

ALL OF THEM.

LOTS OF THEM.

I got over it rather quickly because up until I left for Hong Kong, I never carried a camera. So all of the photos were actually from other people...which means I am likely to be able to get them again.

However, I lost every picture I have taken since arriving here. Then it dawns on me that I have some good ones on the blog here. I took a read all the way back to day one and enjoyed the journey and pictures. I hope you have too.

That gave me the idea to take some of the pictures that I took on my phone and post them as a little visual journey since arriving here as well. So...here goes...

::: THIS HUMBLES ME AND WATERS ME DOWN...EVERY SINGLE TIME I HEAR IT :::

2007-01-31T23:21:00.000+08:00

I came across a service called 'truthcasting' and signed up to watch my church from Hong Kong.

This link is what they sent me when I was having trouble accessing their MAC OSX player. They are fixing it. Yay.

Click on Irving Bible Church, then on Sunday Sermons, then choose When Being Right Is Wrong. This might be the best message I have ever heard...stress the 'I' part there folks. I still haven't recovered from it. It has shaped me.

Check out truthcasting when you get a chance...basically it is a collection of church video podcasts but not on iTunes.

It would be better if they just loaded it up to iTunes as a video podcast though. Then you could take it with you if you wanted.

::: DANGIT :::

2007-01-24T18:38:00.000+08:00

Bring on the asses.

Let me tell you, this is the second time I have been overseas during an election season and the liars, I mean candidates, are already making asses of themselves internationally. And that is in no way a shot at the Democrats or their choice of a mascot. The United States of America is an equal-opportunity ass-making-of-yourself nation, as we have seen over the last few years, and I love it.

But, could you just duke it out sometimes and save us the lies and terrible news reporting? I mean seriously...I need a nap already.

You think it's bad being there for it? You should see it from afar! Where else do we give people a bunch of money to go out there and have a lie-off, pay for them to make fools of themselves in a playground he-said, she-said, and then give them control over the most powerful economy and military in the world?

Only in America. Land of the Free

to make an ass out of yourself, and subsequently our nation.

::: IT'S COLD :::

2007-01-24T18:29:00.000+08:00

It was as warm as 69 today.

But inside, it feels like about 50. IT'S COLD ALL THE TIME. It is always warmer outside than in our office, and in our home. For some reason, the windows are always open in our office too. MAKES NO LOGICAL SENSE TO ME!

Nose = cold
Toes = cold
Hands= cold

I am = outta here for the day!

PEACE...

::: SCOTTIE CRISSEY, YOU ARE TODAY'S BEST PHOTOGRAPHER :::

2007-01-24T18:15:00.000+08:00

That would be Cheryl and I walking away from the DFW International Arrivals Terminal after my arrival. And...hand in hand...all is right in the world!

* The award of "Today's Best Photographer" expires at midnight due to the overwhelming number of great photographer's in the world. Gotta share. All entries are chosen by secret ballot, and are audited by the accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand. No animals were harmed in the taking nor, the editing of this photograph.

::: SOMETHING I SAW TODAY :::

2007-01-24T18:10:00.000+08:00

No comment. All I am saying is that I saw this today. That's all. Nothing else.

pretty sure I know a few people that should get on that bus! CRAP! I DID IT. I DID'NT MEAN TO. UGH! I TRIED SO HARD!

::: FROM THE TOP ROPES IN HK :::

2007-01-24T15:33:00.000+08:00

An entry showing what happens when a foreigner does not blend well with the non-formal, and at times illogical ways of foot-trafficking in Hong Kong. And I don't mean the buying and selling of feet.

Please read, have a good laugh at the cartoons, not at Mr. Leung's demise.

If you are going to drive on the left...wouldn't it make sense just to walk on the left as well?

Logic would say so. But again, logic hasn't quite made it over the Pacific just quite yet.

::: A PSEUDO-ENTRY :::

2007-01-23T11:11:00.000+08:00

For some reason, these three dorks came to Hong Kong to see if my story was good enough to tell anyone. Here are a few pictures from one of their blogs that they took while visiting!

*** These three dorks are really cool guys!

::: FOR ALL THE GIRLS I LOVE :::

2007-01-19T09:42:00.000+08:00

Well, part of living overseas is that you put your family and loved ones in the trust of God because there isn't anything you can do from 10,000 miles away. That thought hit me one night while in bed living in Brasil. And, it led to me trusting God in a whole new way...pretty much changed my life.

So, to all the girls I love who are afraid of your cell phone starting a fire at a gas station, or think that leaving the engine on while pumping gas will blow you up...I submit the following video for your watching.

NOTICE:

:: If you clicked the video link, I did not name the video. That would be get me into trouble with my sister, my girlfriend and depending on the month, my mother.

:: The fire didn't start until AFTER the pumping began, thus giving time for just enough fumes to build up near the handle.

:: The girl was wearing a sweater...likely had cloth seats in the Jeep. Recipe for static electricity to build up with each move she makes.

:: Notice she never touched the door or any other metal surface after she got back out of the Jeep to stop the pumping. Rendering her 'charged' when she went near the pump handle, and thus the fumes.

:: If she did you would have seen her jump just like you do when you touch a door handle when getting out in the first place getting that nice little jolt that usually happens most when you wear a sweater in colder weather.

:: No jump means that she is fully charged. Fully Charged + Fumes= Messy pants.

:: Never take the handle out while it is on fire. True, it seems to work in this instance. Hit the emergency shut off button on the pump (front or side) at the sign of flames...then run.

:: Change shorts.

And now, barring any negligence on the part of the girls I love...I should be able to sleep at night not wondering if I will be attending the crispy funeral of one of them and feeling tremendously guilty for not sharing this public service announcement. It's good to be Italian.

::: THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS :::

2007-01-18T15:10:00.000+08:00

Hong Kong is very cool.

And...three of the five of my favorite things that...if someday...I was forced to own would put a huge smile on my face, are here in Hong Kong also.

So, here are..."a few of my favorite things"...as inspired by one bad looking mini I saw on the way to school today.

AS if we needed another song lyric,

" If I were a rich man...

And...as if that wasn't enough...here is what I learned today...call it a blending of three of my interests...Italians, Airplanes, and Vespas.

::: NOTHING TO REPORT, EXCEPT BREAD POISONING :::

2007-01-17T14:50:00.000+08:00

Well, it's been almost a week and a half since returning back from the Christmas holiday.

I was walking from the minibus to the MTR station on my way to work and as I thought about how long it had been since my last real posting, I thought, nothing seems too out of the ordinary here anymore. Nothing to report really. I get up in the morning and I go through my routine. I see the same people, do the same things and expect the same things...

Then, I read the paper.

This article was in the South China Morning Post a few days ago. I read it while eating a Krispy Kreme and enjoying a cup of coffee as a mini-treat for not running Cheryl off these past 6 months. Yay for me.

150 years ago in Hong Kong, the colonial British were just really setting into Hong Kong and were on the verge of losing her to the enemy who was encroaching on all sides. During this time the people of Hong Kong ate very little bread and the need for a bakery was purely for the Colonials. Well, if you do not like Colonials, that would be a great way to get rid of them. And thus, someone tried. The largest and most famous bakery provided just about all of the breads to the Westerners and was owned by a locally-famous, um, local.

Poison was added to the dough and the bread was baked as normal. Unsuspecting Colonials went about their days picking up their breads and taking them home for dining throughout the day. But, the taste was not as invisible as the smell was and as soon as many took it into their mouths, they spit it out, thus rendering the poisons not fatal. Many did fall ill though and even the Governor's wife fell ill. Justice was pursued and arrests were made. Trials were had and the baker was called before the bench. In the end the poisoning was the end of this man's career in Hong Kong, and there was not enough evidence that he had knowledge of such a scheme. Turns out that two of his employees skipped town right after their shifts. But, even still the baker was run out of town. He did manage to rebuild his reputation outside of Hong Kong and regain his businesses albeit not in his hometown.

The Governor's wife never did fully recover and would be dead within and year and a half.

This place is fascinating to me!

::: UM, DOES IT REALLY SAY THIS :::

2007-01-16T13:53:00.000+08:00

Ok. This has nothing to do with Asia either, but as a Christ follower, headlines dealing with the Church catch my eye. This one catches my flak as well. Are you kidding me?

Does it really say this?

From the New York Times:

A Church’s Challenge: Holding On to Its Young

I believe that has been the major problem of a certain type of church for the last 100 years or so!

I digress.

::: STILL STANDING :::

2007-01-16T13:47:00.000+08:00

Well, I am still here. My apologies to the faithful who have asked where I have been. Between the sleeping, and the visa issues, I am wiped out! But the good news is the energy is coming back and we should have a real deal post tomorrow! Thanks for sticking in there with me!

By the way, I will update some Christmas stories on another blog being that it has nothing to do with Asia. Much love.

The Mold.

::: BACK IN THE SADDLE :::

2007-01-08T12:12:00.000+08:00

So...at 2am, I rolled into my house. After one destroyed piece of luggage made it and one other is still in Seoul, Korea...I was finally home for some rest. An extra hour and a half chasing visa issues and luggage reports put me in pretty late.

I left Dallas at 1pm Saturday and arrived into Hong Kong at 8.45am the next day Dallas time. It was a beating. Dallas to Seoul was a long 14hr45 minute flight...so long that my butt actually fell asleep at least a half-a-dozen times. Imagine me standing at the back of a plane full of Koreans hitting myself on the cheeks to wake them back up. Nothing like getting stared at while you slap your own butt awake.

I laid down at 2.45am and woke up at 5.45am exactly...45 minutes earlier than I had planned. But, so far at 12.36pm our time, I am still trucking along with good energy...but not creative.

So, I bid you a farewell for a few hours. Perhaps tomorrow a video posting with my new video camera.

::: GOOD TO BE HOME :::

2006-12-29T08:16:00.000+08:00

Well, as if I wasn't excited to be home enough, there was a large earthquake in Taiwan this week and it severed the underwater cables that carry the internet to Hong Kong.

Glad I missed the rollin' n' tumblin.

Connected. It's a good thing.

::: DA PLANE DA PLANE :::

2006-12-21T10:32:00.000+08:00

This will be my shuttle home for the second leg, Seoul to Dallas.

HL7531, a Boeing 777

::: I'VE GOT SEOUL :::

2006-12-21T09:37:00.000+08:00

Sorry...that was pretty lame.

Well, we arrived at 4.55am local time and I headed for whatever was open. They have a Transfer Lounge for those making...well, transfers. They rent out rooms for 6 hours at a time, and I have 7...I could see this working.

But all the cheap rooms were sold out so I sold out. Headed to the gate. Slept for three hours on the seats here until the Filipino Rudeness Tour Group showed up. Having loud music in your car is one thing...thumping down the road as you drive, trying to make a statement (which usually is HEY EVERYONE I AM AN ASS!). But, in an airport terminal playing the dang MP3's at high volume on speakerphone while 10 people around you are sleeping at 5am is just wrong. And, you deserve to be shot.

Ok. Maybe a little extreme,...but,only just a little. Back me up here Chad.

After my rude awakening, I went to the restaurant that Clayton, Frankenfield, Sean Kerr, Leah, Scott and I ate at on my first trip to Korea. I had an American Breakfast with some poor excuse for bacon, two fried eggs (no choice to how they were cooked...almost well done, my least favorite) and a cup of coffee. But, there were three other things on my plate that weren't so "American" that I would pair them with the title "American Breakfast." Kimchee, which I love...pickled cabbage with hot pepper paste, a root of some kind-probably a palate cleanser, and...New England Clam Chowder.

Weird. Not right or wrong but, just different.

Never in my life would I imagine myself enjoying a meal pairing coffee and clam chowder.

I digress.

::: ABOUT BOARDING TIME :::

2006-12-20T23:59:00.000+08:00

This airport rocks...free wi-fi.

I just got off the phone with Cheryl, and Dad, and Jo Anna. I am sitting at the gate and this is the very beast about to bring me to Seoul for a super early in the morning arrival.

Mayhaps they'll have free wi-fi too...and I can update again.

Cheers!

::: MOLD HAS LEFT THE...UM...WAIT...ASIA :::

2006-12-20T18:29:00.000+08:00

The 24 hour trip home begins at almost 1am my time, and concludes 10am Dallas time.

Here goes the longest December 21st I've ever had!

Hong Kong to Seoul, Seoul to Dallas. If you want to track the flight, click on the leg you want to see, after 12.40pm EST

::: THE ARRIVALS TERMINAL :::

2006-12-19T08:29:00.000+08:00

I can be pretty emotional sometimes.

Earlier this year, I was kicked in the face by how many weddings I was honored to be a part of. There were plenty of others who deserved the humbling honor of standing with these men as they made their vows. Supporting these men, as they take on the most privileged and sobering reality of leading and nurturing a family as a husband. And, being up there, I was also making a commitment to their wives. I was stating with my participation that I would ask these men the tough questions about their husbandry for the rest of my life and theirs, to make sure these guys are doing their jobs.

The weddings were all in a span of a few weeks, and they all were just as I was trying to figure things out for this little adventure I am on right now. Sorry to say I didn't give them the 'once in a lifetime' attention that they deserved...I was a little preoccupied and selfish. Sorry to those guys if I came across distracted.

BUT...the reasons I am telling you this is not that I suck...we know I do! But, I am getting to the point. Being the Best Man signs you up to pick these newlyweds up from the airport after the honeymoon too! I had this opportunity twice.

While sitting and waiting at the International Arrivals terminal at DFW, I noticed something. I was getting emotional. I was choking up at the people meeting people. Homecomings, reunions, first time to see baby, funerals, vacations...all in one place.

Maybe that's why I like aviation so much. The romance of it. I think of my grandfather who was stationed in England during WWII. I think of him coming home...and basically moving into my Great Grandmother's house, taking over my grandmother's room and basically kicking her out of her own room! (his house was only 15 minutes away). But, I think he did it because he loved my grandmother. Maybe in a way that we as onlookers may never comprehend. His way.

I think of a time when people actually dressed up to fly. When flying was an adventure, something unfamiliar. Something...that was...well...exciting!

Tomorrow I leave to come home for the holidays. For the first time, there is someone other than my family who longs to see me. For the first time I am anxious to see those International Arrival doors open and I have no idea how I will react. But, I like to think this holiday movie says all of the above and then some...

::: IT'S TIME :::

2006-12-18T16:06:00.000+08:00

Tonight I will go home and do my last load of laundry before heading home. Tomorrow after school, I will pack, grab my things and have them ready by the door for Wednesday morning.

Christmas parties at school, trip to the bank, and I am on my way.

Been waiting to post this...

::: BRRR :::

2006-12-16T21:10:00.000+08:00

It's cold. And it's wet.

And I live and work in a solid concrete building. It's only 63 outside...might be 58 inside. There are so few cold days here that none of the homes have heating. At best you get an electric heater on wheels.

Oh...and all my cold weather clothes are...in Dallas.

Four more days and I'll be heading home to be with them.

(editor's note): in response to Jo Anna's posted comment...here are my guesses:

1. those crazy good saltine cracker candy deals
2. hummus

::: WASN'T ME :::

2006-12-15T12:16:00.000+08:00

I had nothing to do with this!

-Moldy

::: HMMMM :::

2006-12-14T12:05:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I had a great day.

I left school and decided to take out my frustrations by walking through the wet market. A wet market is where they have meat, veggies, live chickens, live fish...stuff like that...oh and tons of people trying to get the best price and the best quality usually in high volume yelling.

Imagine the floor of the stock exchange, add in the 80's craze of mothers buying Cabbage Patch Kids, and throw them both into a kind of a farmers market but with live stuff too. And...anything you want is butchered (prepared) to order and usually every estate (bunch of buildings built by one developer) has one.

So there is this one stall that has chickens that I walk by a lot. I always take a peek every time I go there. I have been really wanting to see what I assume happens to those chickens.

I have never seen the actual process of chicken harvesting. Between seeing all those overstuffed Pilgrim's Pride Chicken trucks heading down the Interstate in Texas, and only ever seeing chicken come in plastic wrapped Styrofoam trays...I was very curious.

My mother told me once of her mother...or maybe grandmother, cutting the head off of the chickens and throwing them out the back door to, well, run around like a chicken with it's head cut off, until they were expired. Then, a little de-feathering and cooking up some tasty vittles.

This seems to gross us out these days. This is how it is done around the world and yet we are so squeemish about it.

I finally got my chance! And it was interesting. If you want to know how it happens, just email me, I will be glad to share.

From there I headed out to get some sushi...thought of my sister a lot! Had a great meal. By the time the day was over I saw little octopus...octopi if you will, a chicken get whacked, fish gutted, pig faces and other parts.

It was neat.

::: THAT BASTARD! :::

2006-12-11T12:54:00.001+08:00

::: I AM GETTING EXCITED :::

2006-12-11T12:42:00.000+08:00

Tis the best time o the year!

And this made me laugh even more...

"Tis the season to be Merry." "Mary? That's my name!" "No..."

::: MOLD IS LEAVING ASIA :::

2006-12-10T15:09:00.000+08:00

In...

days.

::: A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR?? :::

2006-12-07T08:54:00.000+08:00

All these years I thought she was just trying to promote ease of life...turns out she has been trying to kill you with Diabetes.

::: OH, HONG KONG...YOU MINX :::

2006-12-04T09:04:00.000+08:00

This city…

this city…unfurls. I guess it’s like a flower. But it’s not…you don’t have to catch it at the right time…you know…during the right elements to see it’s real beauty. It just is.

At each turn rests what seems to be like a picture…ripped out of some magazine by a reader who decides someday…someday, he will see that in person. It’s Asia…It’s the Orient…it’s the Far East. It’s Hong Kong.

It’s my home right now. And though it lacks the people I love, it is home to me. Routines are developed. Daily rituals take place, and I wave at the same neighbors each morning. I smile at the Patriarch of the family (there are 10 children and grandchildren with him) and we smile nervously at the bus stop hoping the other doesn’t start talking because we don’t understand each other. But we smile. And…we laugh at each other…together. These are people I call my friends. These are the little things that make my day feel grounded.

Almost 15 years ago I had a similar entry that I wrote to my grandmother in a letter. Another different far country…but, still yet the same description. If I remember it right, it said something like this, “Grandma, it’s like a picture out of TIME magazine here. Just so vivid…and surreal.”

While I was remembering this, it dawned on me that as one of the students was saying my name from down the hallway at school, that it is very likely that the only time my family’s name has ever been used in this part of the world...has been with the arrival of these two feet.

Dad did some business in Japan…so I can’t take that away from him…he gets Japan. Probably the only time the words, “Biggey Al” were ever said over there. So, while he and I walked the same halls of the same airport ten years apart, I’ll take China, South Korea, and Hong Kong…and if all goes well, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and maybe The Philippines. At least I am not competitive. (and I’m about to get to a Lawry’s he hadn’t gotten to yet….YES!)

But the idea of the feet are something I cannot get past. There is a passage of Scripture that says, “How beautiful are the feet that bring good news.” Well, the downside of that is that they also bring Mad Cow disease and others, so…wash your shoes people! But the idea that when I land in Dallas on the 21st, the dirt on the edges will be from Hong Kong. Half-way around the world from you, dear reader.

Where was I…ahh yes, the beauty that is my current home. I decided to walk to the grocery store today and these are the things that inspired me as I walked. Mountains, Valleys, Trees, Sailboats, it was a long walk. But, I also saw tons of butterflies and one lizard. By the way…they look too much like snakes…they should all die…just for that reason.

What just happened?

::: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM :::

2006-11-29T14:26:00.000+08:00

Today is Mom's Birthday and she hates when we spend money on her. So it kind of makes it tough when getting her things. But this year she wants to be pampered! I had video footage and was ready to get more of the kids singing to Mom like we did for Dad's birthday, but with MAC getting a check up, that's now not happening.

So, from Asia, Mom...here's your birthday gift:

You will be spending the afternoon being pampered at a certain spa, recieving the full treatment of relaxation and massage. You will be receiving lunch while out about the town and even a final home cooked meal by your two favorite men...and a certain special lady to one of them.

Until I get to be a part of that in three weeks though,

Mom, you are amazing. You are patient, loving and committed to your family. You light up when we walk in the room. You consistently love on us and want the best for us and you feed us so well! You inspire creativity and frugality (although we seldom are as good as you...hee hee) and, you taught us. I remember daily something that you gave to me as a child in the form of knowledge or experience. And, much like I said to Dad on his birthday, it would take my entire life to even attempt at showing you how much I appreciate all you have done for me and Jo Anna and the two other parts of our family...the fuzzballs. You have nurtered us well and we honor you today.

NOW ACCEPT MY GIFT WITHOUT ANY COMPLAING AND BE THE DAMN PRINCESS!

::: A CONFESSION :::

2006-11-28T13:06:00.000+08:00

My friends.

I cannot believe I am writing this in the public forum. But, as I have been so honest with you before, I will take myself to a new level of honesty with you.

I have done something terrible today and must get it off my chest and face the consequences, no matter how terrible they are. Today will forever live in my memory as a terrible day. My memories will recall this day with a cringe and a shudder.

It all begins when...

I...I...lost my...um...MAC.

He went into cardiac arrest, (shut down) and refused to come out of it (reboot). We thought we had him back, but then he showed signs of being in a coma for awhile (safety mode to prevent any damage). He is stable and we have received the Doctor's (technician) gaurantee that he will fully recover (warrantee). The only hiccup we face is bringing him back may take awhile (jackass left his restore cd in the states). We will know more tonight (after I take it in for service).

Following this random, and not oft MAC related hiccup, I find myself instead of stopping all blogging matters in light of the emergency, I have been forced to neglect my friend and move on...to...a...Windows based...PC! AAAAGGGGHHHH! You use a PC...you love a MAC.

The Insanity. Susan Powter where are you!

But, my MAC has served me faithfully and I will never abandon him. He is my consistent friend. While others stand by steaming over the fact that their PC has crashed yet again, and recount tearfully how many hours were wasted because of a blue-screen of death, and how many minutes go by while it tries to catch up, and how many right clicks it takes to restore and reset all of their connections...me and my MAC just cruised on by while their hours and minutes and clicks fell by the wayside into complete wasteland.Seems like all of that work we were able to do caused him a needed vacation.

I havn't shut down my MAC in months. I pack him up, take him everywhere. I watch him, listen to him, talk at him, and even spend hours doing nothing but hanging with him. Seems he was tired.

Seems that if only I had my cd, he would would already be back in business and moving down the road to progress. If only. I say rest on friend. We shall see if we can get you something tonight. Until then, you have been my workhorse. Even if you are down until I get back to the states, we will still have been more productive and joyful than all the hours combined waiting for the PC world to catch up.

This post was written on a...PC...and I am COMPLETELY ASHAMED.

Bring on the consequences. And can you send me my cd please.

*sniffle...tear*

MORAL OF THE STORY...take your software CDs with you when you travel, especially overseas.

::: SOMEONE PINCH ME :::

2006-11-26T18:16:00.000+08:00

Is it really true?

My Christmas list has just been amended.

::: MOVIN' ON UP :::

2006-11-25T15:12:00.000+08:00

That's right, I'm movin' on up in the world today...at least it would seem to them.

Today is moving day, (we only found out Thursday night) and as I write I am sitting with my things all packed up behind me. Who knows if the internet connection is has been installed, who knows what we will find. Seems like things are a little out of control and confusing for the Admin here right now. My soon to be roommates are pretty frustrated. There are a lot of unanswered questions as to what is actually ready out at the new place, but hey, whatever. All I know is that my morning commute is changing from 3 minutes to 39. And, now I have bus fare and MTR fare if I go that route. If I go taxi...who knows. Ought to be a fun week of new mistakes!

Ahh the learning curve!

::: THIS MADE ME HAPPY :::

2006-11-23T08:49:00.000+08:00

Today is Thanksgiving back in the States. Sad day here in Hong Kong.

I miss Turkey, the smell, the anticipation. In the morning we inject that timely bird. Mid day we deep fry that sucker. Shortly after. We pounce.

No turkey. No traveling to see family. No deep fried Cajun Turkeys anywhere that I have found. But, I will honor you oh Holiday of Thanks, with a ceremonious nap after school today!

Without Thanksgiving in the way, the merchants here in Hong Kong get a full two months of shopping before the Big Rest after Christmas. You know the one between Christmas and New Years! Then those sales kick in. The decorations have been up for weeks now and the tree is already lit in Central. "She's a bute Clark."

Well, in my efforts to keep up I began listening to the holiday tunes I have and came across this online today...it makes me happy.

But, perhaps this year I will celebrate with Peking Duck instead of Turkey. Equally delicious, worse for you, but oh so dang good! Happy Turkey day my friends!

By the way, Melinda Dillon's laugh during this clip is second only to this one:

::: WHAT DO YOU SEE :::

2006-11-22T12:59:00.000+08:00

Some days I wander the streets and pathways of the Choi Ming and Kin Ming Estates where I live, and I see these faces that I wonder about.

I see families. I see Buddhist monks, I see students, and I see Muslims in their evening clothes. I think to myself, are those their pajamas?...their house clothes?...their worship clothes? Then I realize I am an ass!

(click photo to enlarge)

I notice that the place I currently live is probably the working class area. Across the street the more polished people, and across the tunnel even more shiny people. Believe me it is not that I think the working class dull, they actually seem to have more fun...at least more of an actual living, breathing life.

I know no Muslims. Chances are you do not either. I don't mean that you never say hello to any or that you don't work or go to school with any,...I mean, "KNOW." Have dinner with them at their home, share a ride with them, attend their birthday or other kind of parties. And, I am willing to guess you have no idea how this feels.

HANG WITH ME HERE

I have to be honest...I am ashamed of myself at this point. I knew the minute that this article posted why they were arrested. Incidentally it had 200 comments to the others very few at the site I read about it at. Check it out here: 6 MEN ARRESTED AT MSP

I am mostly ashamed that in America, the home of the free, we are so shackled into our self-patriotic ideas that we have no idea what other "religions" do. When you hear AMERICAN do you think of white, middle class, born here, two jobs, two cars, a few kids, and a nice home?...I did. Again, ashamed.

I mean soapbox for a second here...We say that people who are Christians are 'Religious.' People that are Jewish are called "Jewish" and if we are angry at them Muslims are called "Terrorists" but most of the time, "Muslims." Every-day speak.

If the definition of "Religion" and people who follow that 'religion' are 'religious', then all of them are the same. All follow a "system of belief", a system of living,so to speak. All practice rituals of the so-called system, therefore all are 'religious.' Please be careful how you use this term. It can be insulting to be called religious. Truth is friend, that if you do any one thing every day...like brush your teeth every morning...that you are by definition "Religious."

But, we have this idea in our heads that all are something. All can be classified. Around our house we joked as I entered College that we were looking for a scholarship called "The Half-Italian, Lived in Brasil for a year, Brown haired guy who used to live in New Jersey but now lives in Texas Scholarship." You have to be something to be anything it seems.

I am offended by those like me. I am offended by those who make jokes about these people who have come to our country and legally have joined our communities. I have joined in the stereotyping too. And I hate that. And, I will again I am sure...mostly out of routine and the stupid feeling of always needing to make someone laugh.

STILL WITH ME?...IT CONNECTS, I SWEAR

Immigration is something that in Texas is something that is talked about a lot. We have a lot of Mexicans. They do not want to be called Spanish Speaking, Hispanic, or anything other than Mexicans. Well the table has turned and I am the immigrant. I would love to someday have a Permanent Resident's card for some other country. Not saying it will happen but the idea is quite intriguing to me. To live somewhere long enough to be called a Permanent Resident. To be welcomed and a card carrying person of Hong Kong. I like the sound of that.

But, the way the two things connect is that I am the one who sees potential for myself and dreams of life with my family here. Beginning new traditions and celebrating the old ones. I am the one who is drawn here by what it has to offer me. I am the one who desires to be here. I am the one who thinks every now and then, what is the fastest way this can happen?

Again, it is very much just a thought. And perhaps its thought for a thoughts sake...to get me to think. But I empathize more now with those from other countries and backgrounds in the U.S. Wouldn't it be amazing if we cared so much about our country and it's people that we took it as our patriotic duty to welcome our neighbors by learning about them and their "religious" activities. A man can dream right?

BUT...WHAT ABOUT...

My Northeastern friends may say yeah, but their people flew planes into my buildings and my friends died.

Noted.

Recently Pope Benedict, who has a reputation of conservative and deep theological thought, wrote in his book SALT OF THE EARTH the following...

"...we must recognize that Islam is not a uniform thing No one can speak for [it] as a whole. There is a noble Islam, embodied, for example, by the King of Morocco, and there is also the extremist terrorist Islam, for which, again, one must not identify with Islam as a whole, which would do it an injustice."

Interesting.

Being on the other side of the world, in a city that receives flights direct from the middle east frequently throughout the day, allows me to be challenged to not be the theological know-it-all who thinks he knows everything cause he has a Degree or Masters of Divinity, or Ph.D. The guy who says, "Yay for me, I went to Seminary," or "I know Greek and Hebrew." You know, that guy who so pompously is so convinced that he has looked at the issue from every angle. To think in my short amount of years I have most of this figured out. (My blood pressure is going up as I type this).

AND THEN THERE'S THIS

I really appreciate what my Pastor has said in a talk he shared with us:

"I've gotta tell y'all, When I entered the ministry 28 years ago, I was a lot smarter than I am now. Man I knew so much more. For certain, than I know now. And I've been a youth pastor, I'd been to four years of seminary, I'd written Exegetical papers, I read boucous of books and I had opinions about everything. I knew stuff. Knew for certain stuff. I thought I knew what caused homosexuality and how it could be cured, and I would have told you how. I thought I understood God's whole mind and heart about marriage and divorce and remarriage. And I had papers written where I could show you what was right. I thought I knew all about how women were supposed to function in the church and their role in ministry and what they could and couldn't do. I had opinions on how to change our culture, what the church should look like, how people should worship, what people should believe about how to dress in church...I used to wear three piece suits back in those days! What movies we ought to see, what TV shows we ought to watch, what political stripe we ought to wear. I had opinions about earrings and tattoos and I could prove to you from Scripture. And I knew exactly what was going to happen at the end of time...because?...I made a chart! Still have it! You want to know?...I knew. I gotta tell you 28 years of ministry kind of mitigates, a lot of certainty about a lot of things. And I have discovered on this journey of faith, that while certainty about some things that may be more superficial fades, certainty about what is fundamental grows. And I stand before you today as one who is a lot more humble. I am much more willing to say, "I don't think I know." But at the same time I stand before you as one who is more convinced than ever that...God is alive...Jesus is His Son...the Scriptures are true...and the key to life is following Him. There's a lot of things that I am not so sure about anymore. Not because I don't believe I can have a Biblical conviction about it. It's just that I've been humbled by recognizing that the Scripture is complex, and it has nuance, and it has different approaches and angles. And I must be ever about the journey of going deeper into the Word and being led by the Spirit to truly understand it. To have convictions about what is true, but to be willing to say when I am not exactly sure or certain, "I don't think I know!"

Now, that man...He is a shepherding Pastor. Interestingly enough...he is the pastor to the President of Dallas Seminary. Many of our elders and lay leaders are DTS profs. Many of our members are Seminary students.

I really hope they were listening that day.

::: SO HERE'S WHAT I DID THIS WEEKEND :::

2006-11-20T23:14:00.000+08:00

I had another visitor this weekend...click here

::: IT'S GOOD TO BE THE FOREIGNER! :::

2006-11-17T00:08:00.000+08:00

This weekend's guests were not as culinary adventurous as I thought they would be. Marc did well, and tried real hard, but they really weren't here for a visit, they were here with a job to do and in a short time.

One of our meals that stands out was a breakfast where Pick and I were the only ones to head out that morning. Pick is a super cool guy and an excellent cameraman. We went to a local place here in the area I live in and received extra special treatment. At first I thought that at one look at our sizes the cashiers thought, "Wow, these guys are going to eat a lot and we are going to make lots of money!"

But, as is normal here, I was humbled by their extension of hospitality. This restaurant is a place where you order and pay at the front, then get in line by the kitchen to pick up your tray that coordinates with the number on your receipt. It's quick. It's cheap. It's good.

Instead of getting in line and waiting for our trays, then carrying our hot food to find a table in an often crowded dining room, we were seated by the cashier and told to wait. She personally went and waited in the queue, fetched our trays, and then brought them to us. Dynamic service and it felt very good to be the foreigner!

::: THE VALUE OF CASH :::

2006-11-15T17:56:00.000+08:00

Johnny Cash has a new album. Here is one of the most intriguing pieces of art I have ever seen.

I was moved...In Asia. (*wink)

::: YOU PICK THE TITLE :::

2006-11-14T10:26:00.000+08:00

My thoughts so far:

"HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM"

"I WANT TO THANK MY PARENTS FOR THE DRUM SET THEY GAVE ME AS A KID, WITHOUT THEM I WOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO WIN THIS MTV AWARD"

"JO ANNA!!!! GET HIM OFF THOSE DRUMS"

"KEVIN...GET OFF THOSE DRUMS"

::: THERE'S HAPPY MOLD IN ASIA :::

2006-11-12T02:11:00.001+08:00

Some friends from home came to Hong Kong tonight. They are filming video for a conference called FUSION. You should check out the website www.fusionconferences.com and their parent site, rightnow.org.

I have been able to be a part of both of the groups projects and can easily say that without a doubt, some of the finest people around.

Today they played messenger. They brought a care package from Cheryl. It sure was amazing to see her handwriting again. I realized that no matter how much we talk or see someone's face, there is nothing like their handwriting. Letters mean so much. Someone sat down and puts effort into it in a way that an email can't show. Video on the internet can't communicate like a written letter either. It's much more special.

Included with this letter was the modern version of a mix-tape...and seriously...what can say it better than tunes? She is amazingly thoughtful.

It doesn't stop there.

There were my favorite Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies, and homemade cookie bars. But there was also something else. Cadbury chocolate dipped sticks. I think I mentioned once that I liked those.

She amazes me. Her thoughtfulness and depth of caring humbles me...and it makes me smile!

And, no matter how many times and ways I try to explain to you in blog posts, I will never be able to describe how amazing this girl is. So, sorry if these are redundant. But, if you have ever felt like this, I hope it reminds you of how special your lady or man is to you.

So go tell them. Just try, and when you can't find the words...just tell them that.

Cheryl, I cannot find the words.

::: DIRT IN THE WRINKLES and THE ESCALATOR THAT IS A BRIDGE :::

2006-11-10T22:07:00.000+08:00

EDITORS NOTE: since it has been a week since the last post, I combined two of them for your reading leisure. END OF EDITORS NOTE.

Signed,

The Editor

::

The thing about seasons is that they help you determine.

You determine your outerwear...and, in some parts of the world, your underwear by the seasons. You can determine the difference in the season by just looking at your electric bill, your check book, your laundry pile.

My laundry pile is showing a change of season. But, I am talking about a different kind of laundry here. I am talking about the laundry that needs airing out...the dirt in the wrinkle of the laundry of our everyday. Our lives. My life. For me, as a follower of Christ, it is things impure, things that are not what God has offered us. Things that I have taken grasp of by myself...while thinking they are the best for me. No, I am not going to be making any major public confessions, other than this...I am an f-ed up individual...and I am okay with it. That is what grace will do for you. Give you the strength to admit it and yet still find peace about it. In this season, the message of Jesus is quite clear yet again...by giving it up, you gain it all. And, I feel like I have.

This morning I was walking to campus after stopping off for milk-tea and there is a two tier escalator I take to get there. By the way, escalators are everywhere here. In fact the longest in the world is here...it’s in a part of town called the Mid-levels. I digress.

The seminal thought this morning however is how it amazes me that as a foreigner, I “get” escalator etiquette far quicker than locals and young people...at least it seems. The escalator playing the subject of my morning light-bulb moment handles all the traffic between the huge apartment complexes and the MTR station near where I currently live. All sidewalks converge here for those who live on the upper level of the Estate trying to go lower, and the many students who’s schools are in the upper. At 8.05-8.15 the escalator is quite busy. Peak time if you will.

Hong Kong is packed. More than NYC. In fact, I laugh at NYC sidewalks now. “UNLIMITED COSMIC POWERS...little bitty living space.” (Aladdin, for those who can’t remember). Imagine the arrivals hall of Grand Central Station in between the Subway Station at 5.30pm absolutely everywhere you go. The worst part of it is the total chaos that it can be. People walk on both sides of the walkways in both directions. It is like your own personal game of Frogger. And no one knows how to be courteous..at least when walking. People cut in line if there is enough space to jam a foot between them an another person.

Get the point?

So I am on this two tier escalator packed full of folks, holding a cup of steaming milk-tea. We are heading up to the second tier and then it begins...the shift.

We go from traveling at a nice speed, you know, normal escalator pace...and as we get to the top, the back up begins. I see the crowd as I crest the top of the escalator hill..what ever that thing is called...we’ll go with dismount. I am trying to figure out what the hold up is. It is nothing. It is people. Everyone crams two side by side when they get onto the escalator but, fail to have the insight to remember that when we get to the dismount at mid level of the two tiers, we are dumped onto an area about 5 feet deep to catch the ride to the second level...and we keep on coming, and so do the people behind us.

Before getting on the first level, I was cut off by a teenage girl that I wanted to slap for being so pushy and rude and selfish. Bad words were said in my mind. I cooled off on the ride up...only to get to the cram fest at the middle platform. Steaming hot milk-tea still in tact. It was like an assembly line of idiots all backing up and Lucy and Ethel were running out of room for all of us ‘candy.’

We are all crammed together tighter than Ross Geller in leather pants.

I walked away from the experience frustrated. Then, another teenager decided that she and her friends were going to yell at each other...while laughing...in that high-pitch puberty tone that would irritate Mother Theresa...with food in her mouth...for like two minutes. Blood pressure rising...culture stress kicking in.

Culture Stress is one step away from culture shock...the other way. It is after culture shock, but before integration. It can get the best of me sometimes and I just want to yell, “Hey idiots...get a clue. This is supposed to be one of the busiest places in the world...whatever happened to that? Walk faster...on the left, like you drive!”

They just do things differently here. And, I am the one who needs to be patient and see it all as part of this adventure. I am actually getting pretty used to it and have adopted some of the local ways. God help me when I get back to Dallas!

But the point is that I am the one swimming upstream. I am the one who is different. I am the one in rebellion to the ways of Hong Kong. And the worst part is that these are the some of the most caring and sensitive people I have ever met.

Humbled yet again.

::: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKEY!!! :::

2006-11-05T13:57:00.000+08:00

November 5th, three years ago was one of the most bittersweet days of my life.

The silver lining...this little guy. I remember seeing that little dude sitting in that little clear plastic baby...um...thing...I don't even know what to call it. But it is that Tupperware looking thing they put babies in the nursery at the hospital.

My family and Kevin's mom had gotten to the hospital in the late afternoon awaiting news of any kind. We let someone know we were there to see my sister, assuming she was still in a room waiting for something to go down...literally. HAHAHAHA sorry about that one. Anywho the bonehead nurse knew she was in the process of getting out this large watermelon of a person and asked if she wanted to see us. Of course the answer was No. Kind of a dumb question.

Well, we heard nothing and I of course cannot stand still and wait for anything, so I paced. I found a window to some room not associated with patient rooms. The blinds were closed. I found a way to peek in anyway. There is a little slit where the strings run through on the blinds...I just peeked through there. Hey, I just really wanted to see in the window!

Then, I saw a baby placed into one of the bins. Couldn't tell at first what it was. But then I peeked to the nametag. I saw a blurry name that had the blurred shape of a capital 'P' and then a tall letter of some kind right where a 't' would be in Pintar, my brother-in-laws family name. Same amount of characters. I peeked closer and sure enough, it said 'Pintar'. BAM! We had BABY!

Then, I find out his name is Michael. Yikes. Too much of a good thing.

He is three today. THREE! Yikes. He will be spoiled more than normal by all the people that love him for no other reason than he exists, but will be celebrated for who he is and is becoming, making us love him more and more each day. Especially his little personality, the way he can look like an angel at one glance and a devil at another...after all his name is Michael. We are famous for being little devils!

Happy Birthday Dude!

Love, Unckle Michael from around tha wirld

::: update to previous post :::

2006-11-03T12:14:00.000+08:00

I no longer have to wonder what Jeff is up to.

We have reconnected over the last few days and it really is a freaking cool thing. I searched for him on the internet and could not find a thing. I did find a lot of stuff on his older brother and found out he has become quite the producer.

I began my search like anyone does...I Googled him. I found out nothing doing a search with all kinds of search criteria. Nothing.

Finally, I just searched pictures. BAM!, there he and his wife were. So now I know he is married. I click on the picture and it gives the email of the lady who married them and her website. I email her telling her I am looking to get in contact with him and she CC"s the email to Jeff's wife. And, you can guess how it went from there.

Been a really cool part of this week!

::: MISCHIEF NIGHT & CHUNG YEUNG :::

2006-10-30T14:48:00.000+08:00

Growing up there was this thing called Mischief Night on the eve of halloween. Punk kids went out and did things. Wrapped some houses in tp, shaving creamed a few cars, chalked the streets. Nothing too serious, at least for my friends and neighborhood hoodlums.

One year my parents were out of town, and we had recently made a visit to The Price Club...before Sam's or Costco were big. Grandma was staying with us and it was everything I could do to lie to her and get out that night. It was a rough stay that year from Grandma. I was a punk to her. But I grabbed the tp and headed out with Jeff Ciardi...wish I knew what he was doing these days...anyway, we headed down to the Quick Check along the way throwing one roll of tp. Yeah, one roll. Cause you know, we knew that no one would notice it missing. If I remember Jeff was a little more excited about doing some damage than I was but still...we were not punks and didn't have it in us.

Wusses.

Anyway, today is a national holiday. I am off of school today and spending time catching up and trying to get a little ahead too. Turns out that we have 17 Public holidays a year. I like Hong Kong...a lot.

The name of today's festival is the Chung Yeung Festival, and it is slightly in line with the other end of October festivals centered around dead people. If you click the highlighted link above, then it will take you to to an excellent blog entry here in HK about the festival, and there will be another linked word in Orange. Click that for an explanation of the festival...or 'Holiday' for those stuck in Western thinking.

Happy Chung Yeung!

::: FOLLOW UP TO THE LAST ENTRY :::

2006-10-30T14:44:00.001+08:00

So...you've seen the new place. You have a place to stay. Just flight costs...and incidentals.

It begs the question...

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???

WHEN ELSE ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE A PLACE TO STAY AND A TOUR GUIDE TO SEE HONG KONG AND CHINA!!!

The first guest arrives on the 11th! Bring it on Marc!

::: ME & JACKIE, DOWN BY THE SCHOOLYARD :::

2006-10-29T00:43:00.000+08:00

Turns out the Hong Kong Smile Ambassador is going to be my neighbor.

Jackie Chan is rumored ( I was told by my principal that he was ) to live near by my new place. The new digs will be in a place called Clear Water Bay, a very beautiful place in Hong Kong. There is a movie studio nearby and supposedly quite a few movie stars live nearby...of course HongKong movie stars...that I will never...ever...ever ever ever recognize.

Earlier this week, the other teachers that will live there and I all went to visit the house to see its progress. They are remodeling a three story home with 7 rooms and one heck of a view from the roof, which counts as a great party deck...and laundry facility!

The location is beautiful, and perhaps the best part and something I am very excited about...very near to an exclusive Country Club, of which I was told I should get to play due to my principals connections.

Here are a few shots of this amazing place... The beach is just below our house...hee hee hee. Suffering over here, really, I am.

First, a panoramic view from the roof...hey, i did the best i could. (this was before I knew there was a panoramic setting on the camera...shut up)

This is the outside of our house, and the bottom room on the left is mine. No balcony or view for me, cause I am the only dude, and must play door man. Booooo! All I know is I plan on being on the rooftop a lot.

This is the view from the rooftop looking down toward the beach. To be specific, Clear Water Bay Beach 2. Beach 1 is right below us.

Here is a peek from CWB 2 looking up toward the house

Here is another view from the beach towards the house. That's our hood up in the lush trees!

This is a closer image I took from the road that leads to the beachfront. Ours is directly behind the white house. The buildings share a wall.

This is a shot from the beach looking out over the bay and onto the golf course. It jetts out into the ocean and has palm trees lining the fairway.

Ahhhh...that water feels REAL dang good. It was 89 today and the water was beautiful!

If you want to see these locations on Google Earth, just leave a comment or email me and I will send them to you!

::: A Change Is Gonna Come ::::

2006-10-23T15:52:00.000+08:00

So maybe this isn't so Asian...but I am here...and she is there.

This little girl that I met a few weeks before leaving has 'gotten under my skin' as Ol' Blue Eyes sang.

She sneaks into my day in random ways, like a sneak attack from the tickle monster when you are a little kid. Out of nowhere...and you are glad they are there making you laugh and smile.

Tonight I was eating at Ruby Tuesday's...back in the States I would have avoided this restaurant after a few mediocre visits in Jackson, Tennessee. But, in Hong Kong...if you want a decent burger, you would go here. And I did...want a good burger...and get it at Ruby Tuesdays. I have a 50% off card that makes it not so so crazy expensive, roughly $10. Yeah, I said not so crazy expensive...I never said cheap.

I stroll up to the bar like Norm Petersen...you know, like I belong there...and everyone should know my name. They don't by the way. I am just another foreigner looking for a western meal.

I order the Colossal burger...it's huge. Two half pounders. One...stacked on top of the other! Ahhh, but my mother taught me well...take the other one home and stretch that meal! And, I did. But that is not the point.

I am about to bite into this monster, and all of a sudden I hear a song overhead that is quite familiar. Rascal Flatts. One of Cheryl's favorite bands. I can't help the smile that starts off in the corner of my mouth and moves across with the power of a tidal wave.

Now, I, however hate this song. It's was overplayed. It's a bit cheesy. It's endearing...but I guess I just got tired of hearing it played on every station on the radio. It was one of THOSE songs. It crossed-over into every genre, thus every station. One of the reasons I switched to satellite radio.

Bless The Broken Road. That's the song. That's the song that I hate and uncontrollably change on the radio EVERY time it comes on. It's instinct. It just happens.

But today...things changed.

And then I think to myself...ooohhhhhh...so, this is what it's like!

YEAH...I LIKE THAT

2006-10-21T23:45:00.000+08:00

So I am tooling around on the web checking out various sites that I regularly visit and I follow a link to a UK site. Some kind of online newspaper or something. There is a cool picture of a guy who turned his house into the scene of a plane crash. Imagine LOST a-la suburban front yard.

To see the photo bigger, there is in parentheses the following words...(click to embiggen).

Embiggen.

I like that term.

I think I will use it in a sentence...after all, I AM and English teacher.

"My vocabulary is beginning to embiggen due to living in Hong Kong where there is quite a British influence."

*the typos were for irony

I HATE MORNINGS

2006-10-19T12:28:00.000+08:00

I hate mornings.

I don't do them well.

Somehow all the junk that gets in your eyes at night doesn't all wind up as crusty stuff that lives in the corners. That stuff is at least fun to hear hit the porcelain sink in the morning. I like listening to see how loud of a ding it makes when it hits...I usually judge how good of a nights sleep I had on that noise.

But the other stuff...the stuff that isn't dry yet. That goop...PISSES ME OFF!
It gets in the way! It simply blocks the sight of one eye as it pleases. It has a mind of its own, which is why I am taking this so personally. And you can't get rid of it without looking like you have pink-eye from all the rubbing. One minute you are fine, then next blurrsville. I can rub and rub and think I got the goop, but I never do. It shows up somewhere else...aided and abbeded by my eyelids.

Another reason I hate the mornings is that I never seem to get enough sleep. We have a meeting every morning that is conducted in Cantonese and lasts about 20 minutes. I hate waking up before 7am. I hate getting up and having to iron on some days because my clothes that are air drying are'nt quite dry enough. Not getting up any earlier leaves me having to rush. I hate rushing. I have left the iron on on a number of occasions. I hate leaving the iron on.

I haven't had a good morning since I got here.

Save the one where I checked myself into the Holiday Inn Golden Mile. Not your average Holiday Inn my friends. I checked myself in for the pillows...all six of them. The King size bed...the one I am on is from IKEA and has a headboard and footboard...and I guess in IKEAville people are just not as tall. The television...NFL scores just aren't the same on the internet...nor is Squawk Box. And of course, simply to spoil myself a little bit. I had space. I had real estate in the King Size bed. I had curtains over the shades that kept out the light that sometimes sneaks in through the blinds. I had space. I had great sleep, and...

I had coffee.

Ooohhhhhh that sweet nectar of the earth! It had been almost a year exactly since my last consistent routine with coffee. I have had the occasional cup of coffee, but nothing like the pot of coffee I would have once an hour like I used to. I had switched to tea last summer, after all,...THEY say that Green Tea has more caffeine than a regular cup of black coffee and Jasmine Tea settles your stomach and gets you ready for the day.

You know, I would love to learn about the different teas while I am over here and am working on getting a visit to a tea farm set up...I may even see if I can do some of the picking.

But, there is something about that aroma of coffee. And, I really don't know that the word 'aroma' can really be used in any other setting. Fresh French bread has a smell that is unlike any other, but it to me is a smell. I never say aroma about french bread. Nor do I say it about fresh baked cookies. The only time I use aroma is for the smell of roasting coffee. And, the best part of the deal is that you know exactly the scent I am talking of when I use the word aroma. It's that kick in the head you get when it wafts into your nose. That sudden, punchy smell...and it reminds me of so many things.

I get my share of the blessed aroma...there are Starbuck's aplenty. But, just none in my area. There really isn't any coffee chain or providers...in fact, not even at the 7-11. So my dear friends...bad mornings can get better...usually with a good cup of that filtered dirt.

But, for now, the next paycheck has a coffee makers name all over it...he thinks to himself as he rubs more goop out of his eyes while typing this during the morning meeting.

::: A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS :::

My "other" favorite trinitarian topic for discussion

Oh God...I can see the light!

AIN'T SHE FINE!!!

2006-10-17T23:57:00.000+08:00

This is how me and the lady keep up the heat! Man. I just think she looks so hott here! That's me in the bottom left hand corner and her office in her background. Each night we have a standing video call at 10 at night my time and 9am her time. This is us talking through some Christmas plans...as the song goes...

"I'll Be Home For Christmas!"

IT'S A BAD DAY WHEN...

2006-10-13T10:22:00.000+08:00

It's been 8 weeks tonight since i left out of DFW for Hong Kong. The adventure still unfolds and everyday I am thankful for this.

It has also been 8 weeks since my last haircut. So, I am doing a little research on what I would like to do. I mean, No one from home is going to see me for at least another 2 months, and that leaves plenty of time for hair to grow back.

I think to myself...Self...may be time for a new haircut. Let's see what celebrities I look like and check out their bazillion dollar haircuts and see what we have.

If only I could turn back time...

(not sure why the whole thing won't fit...that's Robert Downey Jr. on the right)

So, let's see. Who the crap is Matt Stone and Frederik Ljungberg? Wait is that Matt Stone from South Park fame? Well...then, we have the upstanding citizen sex addicts...and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Who incidently awoken my knowledge of what the word SHART means and shares an uncanny resemblance to my very own Basketball skills.

Did you know Cheryl was a State Champion Basketball Player? Yeah...she has no idea bouts deez skillz!

Finely tuned in Piscataway, New Jersey in one of three hoops venues...the chain-link hoop up at Tara Park, The Fultz's driveway, or at Kevin DeGrazio's...also the place where I got the infamous Sugarbear...affectionately known as Bear.

Game On!

::: Golden Week, Part Nine...Let's Just Close This Thing Up

2006-10-12T02:00:00.000+08:00

So...where was I?

Oh yeah. On a bed, really just a piece of plywood covered in a sheet or two. A stained pillow of some sort, and splatter stains on the wall that indicate...well, that something went wrong for someone.

From my pillow I can see a few things that render the mind to think...UNSANITARY. Not too bad though, reminded me of the hospital in Brasil I visited. Yes, I would go back and yes, I would let a loved one be treated there.

Well, I am on my back and the little nurse comes in to introduce me to my new best friends. But, just before bringing them in I get a little shot in the feaster!

That's right Nurse...like two fine Christmas Hams crammed into some Khaki shorts!!! I am a cheeky fellow!

Then...the two best friends roll in. The nurse hooks me up with the very first IV drip I have ever had in my life. Actually, this is the first visit to the hospital that didn't begin and end in the Emergency Room and something on my face or head getting sewn up.

Drip and Drip Controller. These guys were going to get me back up and running...you know, the good kind of running. I am hooked up for the first time ever in my life to an IV drip...in China. I have lived some life folks...I have lived some life!

While I am getting the fluids and basically on my way to recovery, the other Doctor that was checking me in stopped by to say hello...This is the same one that took the other patient while I was being assesed. While I was slightly frustrated with him for the aforementioned curb-tossing he gave me, this was a really nice gesture and I was humbled...and even a little more comforted. Unfortunately for John and Jenn...who are pretty well versed in Chinese, this guy wanted to do nothing but talk about them and ask all kinds of questions...at 1am...in a foriegn language. Try that in English any day and see if you don't want to choke someone about 10 minutes into it.

The doctor clears up immediately our first question as to whether or not I am supposed to be drinking the super-salty mix they gave me. Drink it up he says. I guess we are getting hydrated from the mouth and the veins! About a liter into the water, I can tell things are working again because man do I need to go #1. Bladder is on 'F' and ready to make some room. Mind you all I can do in my head is think of the infamous, "went in for #1 and out came #2" whoopsie. And with the luck I was having with that whole issue...I'll add a leg crossing to the colon clenching and at this point, I totally must have looked uncomfortable!

While Dr. McChats-a-lot was keeping John and Jenn at a high blood pressure, I closed my eyes and just hung out there thinking. I mean could Christ have ever been more evident? China. Medically trained friends. Friends with the Chief of Staff. Harvard. English. No waiting in line. Extra visits by Doctors. Clarification of Harvard boy's prescriptions. I was at peace. I thanked the Trinity...you know...gotta keep it real...and I opened my eyes and the Doc was asking about one other prescription that he saw was missing. Luckily it was all squared away and it was for something I like to call Liquid Colon Concrete. 1 Dose of that stuff and it would be days before that seal was cleared!

It was now easily almost 2am and I was feeling superb. They asked if I wanted the last bag of fluids and I passed, the two I had were definitely enough. We thanked everyone and shook hands, I walked away smiling at the whole ordeal and laughed to myself.

Only one last thing we needed. To hail a cab, and it not take 45 minutes like coming home from the Psycho Communist Massage Lady. We should just send her in under-cover into North Korea, that whole thing will work itself right out! Well, we walk out of the building to head to look for a cab and there was one parked, almost like it was waiting for us.

Yes, friends. It's true yet again. The Bible tells us that God goes before us. He sure did. He protected me. He served me through different people. He blessed me. He gave me an adventure...and from your emails....He has given you laughter at my expense.

Anything for you...and...anything for Him.

::: Golden Week, Part Oito (8) LOST IN TRANSLATION

2006-10-12T00:55:00.000+08:00

Gotta love cell phones with Camera's. Thanks to Motorola and Nokia, we have documented the adventure for your viewing pleasure.

"Emergency Reception"

We arrive at the hospital to find the Emergency Room entrance blocked off for construction. Perfect. A small concern in light of the explosive diarrhea I feel coming on again. And we have to go for a little walk to get to where we are heading. Its not the diarrhea that is the problem. But, most public places in China only have what we would call 'squatty potties.' Basically it's a porcelain hole in the floor where you...well squat. Not even hover. Knees bent, pants around your ankles and give it heck. Well...if I had aiming control it would not be a problem. Basically I do what any good Westerner would do...I clench...and clench hard. I am motivated by the thought that I would have to burn the clothes I came in with and the room would need hosing down afterward if I allowed the clenching to cease. Not on my watch.

"Emergency Observation Ward"

Down this hallway is where...well...you get observed. But Instead I decide to have a moment of reality and survey the situation.

Then...I make a decision...I have video capabilities on my camera! Time for a Last Will and Testament! I begin rolling the beautiful bean footage footage!

I am waiting and just sitting. It's only a few minutes and there are tons of people here. It looks like a frustrating wait to see a doctor. AHHH...but not if you know the Chief of Staff!!! We are ushered into a seperate area for a consult. The Doc checks me out. He takes us into another room and gets started right away. He asks me some questions and basically we determine that it has to be Food Poisoning. The term used is Acute Gastroenteritis. And then the confusion begins.

First of all. Out comes the Thermometer. All I can do is look for the mercury tip on that thing. If it's long...that is a good sign, oral thermometer. If it is short...um...not getting my temperature taken that way...especially if they knew the kind of night I had before. It's long. Phew. I open my mouth to take the thermometer and the Doc is like "WHOA! No, no ,no." Crap...I think to myself...it is a rectal thermometer!!!! Gheez this keeps getting more and more awkward.

Then relief comes when he says, "In China we take the temperature in the armpit." Ahhh...much better. But, I'm like...you sure you wanna do that there big guy? I mean these guys are special...Hyper-Hydrosis my friend...HYPER!

I usually peg low on the 'ol body temp. I had a 100.3 temp. High for 'ol Mold.

Then the wierdest thing happens. The other Doctor in the room that is talking to mine and taking notes all of a sudden takes another patient. I was like...look lady...get the crap out of my way. I am being treated here! I wanted to stand up and just yell...I mean let her have it. Ohhhh it pissed me off. But hey...TIC...This is China, they just do things differently.

After the consult the scripts are written and my bill comes to a total of $170. You must pay before you get to the next step. John goes and pays the $170 cause he is such an awesome man...and that it only adds up to about $17 bucks! It was expensive because they prescribed imported medicines. So, you know...first class for mold. The doc gets the scripts and says, "Follow me."

We head off into the hallways of the hospital and out the door to another building. He finds me a bed instead of a chair and I get a place to lay down. Incredibly kind of him.

Looks like I am not the only wiped out one. Jenn grabs a little rest too.

::: Golden Week, Part Seven...unlucky friggin part 7

2006-10-11T23:42:00.000+08:00

I get up from the couch to have one more go at it. I figure...it’s time, and I am sure it is ready to rumble.

The Ring? The Porcelain God. The Contenders? My Stomach and My Mouth. Ding...friggin ding you sorry $%*@#$%!

The bell tolls...nothing. Nothing at all.

And then...

I begin to shiver. Not shiver...shake...I mean like I am doing the truffle shuffle...Goonies fans, Hello?...you out there? I see that hand...yeah, there you are! Where was I? Oh, yeah.

My chin is shaking violently...I cannot even talk normally...my knees are shaking, everything is shaking...I have zero control over myself...I am getting a little freaked out. My tongue feels like it is swelling and my throat is closing up. I do the only thing I know to do...run a hot bath...and look at John. I tell him what I am going to do hoping that he gets freaked out by the sight that I am...I mean I look like I have Parkinson's (not kidding) and I am now a little scared that I am heading for convulsions or siezureville. Or...even worse...the Chinese version of 911...119. Who said they were original? By now, I have lost all color and can see the veins in my hands like I was Mr. Slim Goodbody. All I can think in my head is...warm up the Ambulance! Call Dr. McPukey...cause here I come...better yet...I think to myself...

"HERE I COME JESUS...I AM COMING HOME!!! THIS IS IT...WHERE'S THE LIGHT? WHERE'S THE PART WHERE I CLAIM JESUS AS MY SAVIOR? WHERE'S THAT GATE? IS THERE REALLY A GATE?"

Then I hear John. He says hold off on the bath and gets Jennifer. She's a sight for sore eyes. He and I looked like a bunch of people who just got asked a question they had no idea how to answer...but tried anyway. I think they are called Democrats. Sorry Keith. Just kidding. Had to.

She says no on the bath and says get into bed. She and John put about 6 blankets on me and then add a hot water bottle. John heads for more Gatorade at the shop below the apartment and by now my back is killing me. I can't lay down on my back. I have to switch to my side. Too much pain. I have never felt like this...nor have I ever felt so helpless. John gets back with the Gatorade and I take a swig. I look over and while shivering I try to get intelligible words out and say, "I am almost about ready to go to a hospital Jenn."

She replies with a comforting thought. "Oh no, were not going there buddy...not unless you are dying. You don't want that experience."

Helpless feeling gets increasingly present.

John adds a bucket to the bed I am in...just in case. I smirk. I think to myself. Awww...they are worried. C'mon...I'm good in that arena. My tongue feels huge, and my throat dry. I feel a little nauseous but no where near the firehose puker that I was.

Then...I burp.

Oh crap. Yeah...I can make it to the bathroom...no prob- uh oh. Hand over mouth. Burp again. Uh-oh...this ones not stopping...nope not just a burp. Oh, hello puke all over the wall...and the door...and the floor. Who knew puke could get through a hand that fast and spray that far? That's lovely. Oh...we're not done. Welp...yup...here comes some more. The target is now is sight. I see the sink..oh great...remember the sink. BAM! I hit it. I get in position...perfect form again. I am getting good at this!

I look up. No blood vessels burst. Tears in my eyes. Most of the stomach stew is in the sink. Then I hear it. I hear the words...and I hear them in slow motion. It's Jenn's voice. I hear her say to John..."Call Kirk...have him bring their car. It's time to go to the hospital."

Oh great. Didn't she say we weren't going there unless...um...I...uh...um...was...um...dying? Great. I am dying. I am dying. Dying in China. Dying. Great. Well maybe they'll just wheel me down on a gurney to that incinerator. Cool. WAIT!

I feel better. Really I do. Then, my ride arrives...

::: Golden Week, Part Luk (6) ... pronounced "look"...only don't fully say the 'k'

2006-10-10T12:59:00.000+08:00

About 1.30am or 2am, I feel something in my stomach trying to get out. I get up out of bed and head to the restroom and just feel sick and thirsty. I use the restroom and grab some water out of the cooler. Uncomfortable and not fun, but nothing too exciting...at least for another 30 minutes.

I woke up again...and now I am pissed! I hate waking up in the middle of the night. It is like someone is stealing from me. I get pissed. Then I feel my stomach. Eyes bug wide open. There is a monster growling in my stomach...and he's even more pissed than I am. He wins. Off I run.

This may um...get...um...graphic at times. Parental Guidance suggested.

Let's just say that I run to the restroom and park myself where you are supposed to park, and as Larry the Cable Guy says...I could have pooped through a keyhole it was going so straight and fast! Then...the other end kicked in. I am projectile out of both ends and making ungodly noises in the bathroom next to 8 ten-year olds trying to have a slumber party. I mean the noises were sickening and the odors worse. I was grossing myself out and having just a terrible terrible experience. All the muscles in my body were now involved and I must have looked like a bear choking on a hairball. It was terrible. That Dumb and Dumber clip had nothing on this.

My episode ends and all I can say is..."What the hell was that?" Many of you don't know that if I am not in the right stance to vomit, then I blow all of the blood vessels in my face and eyes and then I look like an absolute monster. Luckily I had good form for the hurling. This was a relief. I give myself a 10. Yay for me.

That feeling of relief would last all of about 5 seconds.

I look up, wipe my eyes clean of the tears that accompany convulsive muscular tremors beginning at your toenails and ending at your scalp, and I look into the sink, the lucky receptor of the contents of my stomach as well as all corners in my body...pretty sure my pinky tow turned inward so much stuff came out of me. The water that I turned on to "thin out" the...um...leftovers...yeah,not going down the drain. GREAT!

So...let's recap. Explosive diarrhea, projectile vomiting, 8 ten-year olds, next room, friends house, China, middle of the night, thirsty still, and sink clogged. Awesome. Oh...and I use up all the toilet paper on the roll at this point.

A few words are going through my head at this point. You can imagine what they were.

I clean up. I regroup...I stand up firm...even confident...I look at that sink...I look at my arm...I think to myself...my girlfriend is a nurse and she has told grosser stories...I CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN DO THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISS! I ram my hand in to the puke stew and unclog that drain myself!!! I am a MAN, I can FIX things. AAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!

Well......no luck. I try again and I get some draining going, I work that hand around and sure enough get the drain open and down it all goes. The odor remains...the stink stew is gone. I feel significant about myself...and sick at the thought of what I just did...but oddly enough, prepared for fatherhood and diaper changes.

I clean off the arm...now considered a weapon of mass destruction, and disinfect it. I return to the bathroom every 45 minutes or so for mostly turbo-explosive diarrhea all throughout the night. I get madder and madder and madder. I start shivering uncontrollably at about 4.30am and run a bath. The hot water runs long enough to cover most of me before it turns cold. Still thirsty.

No place to go get Gatorade at this point. I am in someone else's home and all are asleep. I am not waking anyone up unless they hear me and come running to see death happening before their eyes. I mean, c'mon, this could be embarrasing if anyone finds out!

6.45 am rolls around and I am dying...no seriously. I feel terrible. Every bit of water I put in comes right out. So thirsty. I see John is up and I ask him if he feels ok. He and I ate everything the same all day except for at dinner. I have narrowed down the culprit I think. Sorry sucker feels just fine, looks fine, and has energy. I almost hate him a little. A little.

I finally get to sleep about 7am and wake up around 11. One more episode and off I go to bed again till 2pm. I get up, think about lunch...at this point I am starving and thirsty. John goes and gets Gatorade for me, and they just serve me left and right making sure that I am doing ok. We watch the Formula One race from Shanghai and then take naps until dinner.

Jenn is a nurse and I trust her judgment here, she and I both think that all seems ok and we are back on the right track!

And then...

::: Golden Week, Part Quarta (5)

2006-10-07T22:04:00.000+08:00

Then...it happens. I paid $12 for a 2-hour massage. It was incredible. That little 90-pound chinese massage lady bent me in ways that no human should bend and basically folded me into a pretzel about 12 times...all at the same time. Ever folded a table cloth...yeah...a little like that. Once...just once...it really was uncomfortable.

They give you these little paper shorts and shirt to wear if you want. Well, I put the shorts on and they had little sewn in underwear in them, I was like...this is unnecessary. I am not going swimming in paper shorts. Then she folded me into a pretzel and I totally ripped them right in that spot where as a man you hate to rip any kind of covering. Luckily I kept my manties on! That could have been embarrassing! What...you don't call them manties?

I feel a little sick at the end of this little assault and am excited we are taking a cab home. I mean, the little communist must have moved my stomach all around my internals. My stomach saw more of my internal cavity on this trip then ever before!

It takes us 45 minutes to find a cab in this city...it was unbelievable!!! It has never been like this. Every cab was full. I was dying. I wanted to lie down on the street and sleep. It was after midnight and I was super-relaxed...all except a little nausea from little Ms. Ali's boxing my body back there.

We finally get a cab thanks to that sickly loud whistle my Dad taught me as a kid...Dad and David Fultz. He helped me put what Dad told me into action. Not sure if he knows that. Hmm...seems like he did the same with learning to swim. Thanks man! Anyway...I caught the empty cabbie going the other direction and whistled him around to our side of the intersection. A great way to end the night!

Or...begin the morning...

::: Golden Week, Part IV (4)

2006-10-05T22:37:00.000+08:00

John is up early and I am sleeping in. I hear a knock on the door of the room I am staying in and he summons' me to the breakfast buffet at the Holiday Inn. This is the hotel that I usually stay at where the western breakfast buffet is killer. I am even considering getting a room for one night of my visit just to feel like old times...and another excuse to get the buffet again.

I pound down all of my favorites and this time around I am not as shell shocked to the few Asian items on the other side of the buffet...they seem normal to me. That is one point I realize that this is normal, that this is home to me. I have those every now and then. We visit with the hotel management that he has introduced me to over the years, a few American's who are there on business, and enjoy that great coffee that the hotel has perfected.

Shortly after, we head home on foot. We are walking around and I am just being updated about all the latest development projects. The most shocking was seeing that from the hotel all the way back to the oldest Christian church in China had been leveled. Completely leveled. All the shops, homes...everything. I had bought things in these stores, been to small groups in these homes, and basically just looked at them from the rooms high above in the hotel and wondered about the life among the people there. All of it is gone...just so we can add another shopping mall I am sure.

We walk and walk, and I am soaking it all in again, it feels so great to be back in this city. We pass the incinerator where they cremate bodies, and while we are passing, a fresh one rolls up. Luckily, it was in a van. Sometimes, they just come up from the hospital still on the gurney. We lingered there a minute, hoping to see such a sight. Nothing happened. We walked.

We stopped for a frozen lemonade there by the University Campus...XIA DA (sha da). LUIS TOVAR I AM THINKING ABOUT YOU RIGHT NOW. Anyway, Tovar took Xia Da to a new level. So, yeah we walked, talked, got a cab. Headed home. After a bit we went and looked at another hotel to see if it would be too nice for groups to stay in, and it was. Too nice, same price. Can't be too high on the hog on those kind of trips.

From there we looked at the newly installed boardwalk all along the beach-front. The great thing about the Chinese is that once their minds are made up, they do it. No red tape. Just do it. Bulldoze. Tear down. Build a boardwalk. But, the downfall of this bias for action is that it gets done. Without planning. Just done. They built the boardwalk on the beach during the daylight hours during low tide...well guess what happens during high tide?...that's right...boardwalk disappears! T.I.C! (this is China...they just do things differently).

So from there we grab a mango smoothie and head home, make popcorn for the 8 ten-year olds that are at the 4fish home and are going to spend the night with their daughter. From there we head to get pizzas at an Italian restaurant favored by the local internationals for their dinner. After we deliver the pizzas we head back to this restaurant and I have one of the best meals I have ever had. Chicken leg stuffed with sausage. It was incredible! I mean the flavors melted together so well. The chicken was actually stuffed with more of a salami than sausage. So as it cooked, the juices and everything married so well together. Amazing.

We head home and check on the rest of the family and the 10 year olds.

::: Golden Week, Part San (3)

2006-10-05T12:41:00.000+08:00

Dinner began pretty um...quietly...that would change.

While we are at dinner at the aforementioned "rooftop" the place was swarming with college students who were drinking lots of beer and basically getting wasted. As time went on, it got louder and louder outside on that quiet little retreat we like to call the best meal in town for $2.

It seemed that just after we finished eating Gua Bao Ro (the best sweet and sour pork you could ever find in the entire planet) and Gambien Sujido (yeah, no idea how that one is spelled...5 Spice Green Beans) they all got up to do the pee pee dance right behind us by the bathroom door. It took until then for them to realize that there were three whiteys among them dining. One of them a redhead....and the weirder part was two of them spoke Chinese!

That is when the beer goes down and everyone is suddenly an ambassador for Xiamen and for China. We are then surrounded by super nice drunk Chinese college students who pour us a few shots of Coca-Cola. Albeit in their previously beer-laden glasses while they try and communicate in drunken Chinglish. It really was quite a gesture.

The students then went to playing a game they play during this holiday week that isn't played anywhere else called BoBing. A little obnoxious game that sounds like bells going off all around town.

It is a dice game thrown in a ceramic bowl and they all chip in to purchase prizes for the players to win. They have small prizes and large prizes. Tissues may be one small gift, and a rice steamer a large gift. As we were leaving, one of the students reached over and gave me one of his prizes, a cup of fruit custard. Sounds cheesy, but it was really humbling looking back on it. He just gave me, a complete stranger, a gift. Something he could have really enjoyed. And you wonder why I love this place so much?

Again, that thought hits me about the whole dinner experience...You just don't see that everyday!

J, J, and I head back to their place and the redhead and I head out to our favorite coffee-shop over looking Gu Lang Yu Island, which at this time of night is all lit up and beautiful! A couple of coffees, some Haagen Dazs, and a good deep convo and its night night sleepytime.

Little did I know the night would be whispering through the cool air a warning message for me,..."silly boys – rest well...you are going to need it!"

::: Golden Weekend, Part Deux...(2) :::

2006-10-05T00:57:00.000+08:00

I just boarded my plane in probably the fastest time I have ever boarded a plane.

Not to mention that I am flying on the newest airliner I have ever flown on...it even has that new car smell! Other than buying out Wal-Mart of those little Ozium scented aerosols...how they got that car smell into an airplane I have no idea! ;0) (of course I know how...they just parked a bunch of new cars in it at the factory...duh!)

It’s an Airbus A330 and seriously...it has to be week’s old if that old. The Rolls-Royce Engines are massive and put out an amazing amount of thrust as we took off into the Hong Kong Sky headed northeast along the evening lit coast of China. I feel like I am in a finely appointed Ferrari. Or... imagine that I’m in a Ferrari...basically because I have never been in a Ferrari so I would have no idea.

Anywho, even the bathrooms are nice...I even lingered in there for awhile if you know what I mean...hahaha...lingered. Ok, just kidding...saw the opportunity for a fart joke and took it. (Slapping my wrist now and telling myself to grow up...My reaction?...I am stomping my feet in protest. If only I had those light up shoes, it would be a freaking strobe party up in this hizzy).

Where was I...oh yeah. So this jet is sweet. Made me think about those entertainers that we pay crazy amounts of money to, being able to lease one of these bad boys all comforted with swanky leather and...well, strobe lights. There they are again. Strobe lights.

OK...I just re-read this post and I sound like those two friends of mine back at the pub took over for a few minutes. They didn’t...no coup here in my part of Asia. I guess I am just really excited.

The flight lasts about 55 minutes and after all of the flights I have taken on this airline, probably 10 by now, the food on this one is definitely the least favorable. Fish-Burger. No thanks.

Passing on the fish-burger I wait for the greatness that is ‘the rooftop’! This has to be the best hole in the wall I have ever eaten at! I was told that we would head there immediately after my arrival.

I land, and make my way toward Immigration. It is then when I am walking there alone, without 25 college students or even a handful of them...that this is weird. I wound up at the same Immigration post as when the college students all landed there with me. I looked up and I swear I saw J. Sand getting stamped in, T Dizzle, Jess, Mya, McElligot, Anna and Shelby...the whole crew was there in my mind. I realized how much I miss all of those students, and more importantly their friendships.

I walk through customs with no problems or hassles. My passport pages are now completely filled with China visas and I’ll have to get more pages sown in this next week at the consulate. I head through the gate and there is that red-headed rascal looking all skinny and smiling, ready to pick me up. John is one of those guys that shouldn’t be one of your most trusted buds, but is. He is 20 years older than me...on paper. This guy would wear anyone out energy wise and just happens to be one of the coolest people I have ever met. Talk about young at heart...the man defines it.

We get a cab and head to meet up with his family. The man driving the cab was a guy with a regular car trying to pick up a few dollars...normally they look like the one in the picture. His was just painted silver with no light on top. We negotiate down from 60RMB to 50RMB and get on our way. Our cabbie is a shifty little man. I mean that literally...he kept shifting in his seat and rocking. He is making up some time and getting us there in fine speed...then.

Then he pulls over, throws up the emergency brake, says something in Chinese and jumps out on a three lane road. I am thinking...he is going to take my luggage hostage from the trunk and demand more money. Then it hits me...this isn’t America...this is China...he probably needs to...yep, there he goes...he just needs to tinkle. The dude pulls over and heads into the woods to take a leak. How great is that?

While Captain Leaks-a-lot is relieving himself I am relishing in the hilarity that it is. Little did I know how much better it would get. A few minutes down the road we wind up in a traffic jam. For those of you who have been to China...you know traffic jams don’t last long because of the creative driving they employ. This one had to last a good minute. Turns out we were trapped behind slow moving Dirt Movers that were working on a construction project. Sir Leaks-a-lot yells out the window at the drivers and basically road rages on them as we inch by. Finally free of the jam, he bears right and pulls over. I am sitting here going...what...is he going to fight the guy? No, he grabs his bottle and tries to go in to get hot water for tea. John flips out, threatens to get out and get another cab, and I am just thinking to myself...This doesn’t happen everyday!

We get back to the house with no problems and head out for dinner!

::: Golden Weekend, Part 1 :::

2006-10-04T23:54:00.000+08:00

I am in one of, if not the one, place in the world I absolutely love to be. I am sitting at a pub table over looking the South China Sea from inside a pub at the Hong Kong Airport. In my immediate eyesight are Air China, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Dragon Air, Eva Airlines, South African Airways, and China Eastern...and that is just one terminal.

One of the reasons I love this place is the intersection of the world that it is. Almost 2 years ago my buddies, Crissey and Goza, were traveling back to the states with me through HKG. We had some time before our flight and a Burger sounded real good. We found this pub and sat down to eat. While we were there killing time we met three other dudes, one from Scotland living in Dubai, another from the Gold Coast in Australia, and another from London. They asked if we wanted to play pool and we joined...and listening to them trash each others shots and acts like boys was awesome. Here we are six dudes from all over the world meeting in a random place and extending each other the grace of a pool game. It makes me smile to see people from all over the world intersecting and having fun. Anyway, just a little background.

Back to now.

My two friends Guinness and Jameson are here with me and we are celebrating. Not sure what we are celebrating...but the mood is all smiles! (there is a cigar shop right below me with Cubans...shhhh...don’t tell my mother). If I had a postcard I would write, “Hi Mom! Love you! And, I would sign it...’Torch.’”

I talked with Cheryl the whole way to the airport on my mobile. I love technology and cheap rates...and the fact that my girlfriend works nights in the states! She and I talk for about a penny a minute thanks to knowing the right people. I went from my bank at the furthest end of the MTR line to the polar opposite end all for about $10 and an hour out of my day. The transit system here is unbelievably easy...even though sometimes I make it harder than it needs to be. It is so very clean and efficient. You have got to come see this place. It is NOTHING like you think it is.

::: A.D.D. MOMENT ::: (STARS by Switchfoot is on the speakers above me, and an Air India flight just landed on the runway closest to the water...and Football games are on every TV...real football that is, I believe you/we call it soccer.)

My flight boards in 15 minutes and I hate to leave my seat. It is the first stillness I have had in quite some time. I am heading out to see some friends in mainland China for a long holiday weekend. It is National week here, also called Golden Week...the anniversary of the Communist Party taking over after the cultural revolution and the establishment of The People’s Republic of China...not the Republic of China...that would be Taiwan. Which yes...is still considered China...as is Hong Kong. But leaving out of Hong Kong to China is an “International” flight. This One Country Two Systems thing is pretty freaking confusing if you ask me! So...a three day weekend holiday for those in Hong Kong, but a week long holiday in China. Yeah...that seems fair!

I guess Chairman Mao was feeling, as the Brit Colonials would say, a little ‘cheeky’ when he started all this...give me a week off, and my patriotism goes through the roof too! Now in China the deal is that if you are to take off for a five day work week for the holiday...the Saturday and Sunday before and after are considered work days. So...add ‘em up and you get 4...4 days xtra work to have a five day work week off. Hmmmm...something smells fishy here. That’s pretty much just one day off.

(Announcer voice says...”And the folks in Hong Kong get the award for saving the redundancy and cutting straight to the one day off.”)

.........where's mold........................?

2006-10-04T01:52:00.000+08:00

I have had the most exciting weekend anyone could ever have in three days. I am writing about it as we speak...um...as we read. Pictures, shall be included...and yes, it shall be riveting. I will be posting in installments...let's call them 'refills'. Because, they should take you the amount of time to read as takes to drink a refilled cup of coffee. Maybe. If we drink the same size gulps. Then perhaps not.

Mold...please check back...I am not dead yet.

I AM IN LOVE WITH STEVE JOBS ::: OK, NOT REALLY, JUST iTunes

2006-09-25T00:08:00.000+08:00

I do not have a T.V. here. This is not a problem.

I am addicted to Grey's Anatomy. But without a T.V. how can I get my hit of addiction?

iTunes.

I can purchase the episodes for $1.99 and watch them as often as I want. The only problem is I have to wait until the next day...so, no spoilers please. And believe me...it gets pretty quiet living by myself until the house is ready for our team to move in. Right now, the ladies are in the other quarters and I am by myself. Gets pretty quiet around here. Thankfully, iTunes gave free copies of a few shows and I have been playing those while doing housekeeping things around here.

The laundry tends to pile up fast. Imagine doing your laundry in the equivalent of a 5 gallon bucket. That is about the size of the drum on the washing machine. Hey...at least I don't have to use a washboard...although it might be fun to do a little Country Bears hoedown impression. I'm just sayin...it might be cool!

Speaking of addiction...here is a dude huffing paint on the MTR on my way home from hanging out in Central.

In case you are not familiar with huffing paint...ask someone...i am not going to explain it so some young webby kid can find directions on my blog. No sir, you are going to have to go else where for that mister. This is a family blog pal...sort of.

Well, it's been a few days...and I have stewed without even knowing it

2006-09-24T02:36:00.000+08:00

Well, It's been a few days...and I gotta tell ya...I've missed you!

I have had a slow down in updating the 'ol bloggy blog blog. I am adjusting. My school schedule has gotten pretty busy now that I am grading worksheets and the like. I am actually handing out marks and the like.

It is crazy. I look out into the eyes of these kids and I see a few me's...is that right?...can you say me's? It's my blog...so I say I can.

I see these kids who are diagnosed with some sort of pshycho-babble disorder and usually drugged with a chemical to 'slow' them down enough to help them concentrate. I was fortunate enough to fight enough to keep my parentals from taking me to the doc for such a thing. I know that they tried and looked for everything possible to help me in school and spared no expense along the way. They truly offered every option to me. The solution to these tears and frustrations that they had for me...interest.

I needed something more...I needed more than rote material that I was just supposed to memorize. More than just some "things I learned in the past, so you should too" and much more than what some jack-ass at the school board decided I needed to learn so use this text book kind of thing.

I needed a school like I teach at. I needed a Principal that thought like Mr. Yau. Teachers who were hired because they were creative. Teachers who could not just teach, but reach. I needed attentive and creative people who made me laugh and got me excited about what I was learning. People who are adult enough to admit that school just isn't about grades. It is about choices and consequences, and life. People who taught us what we needed to learn based on our development. People who wrote their own curriculum.

I know a few guys that I went to school with that were freaking geniuses. But, their grades have done nothing for them in choosing. They are absolutely smart...but they have no sense. They had the grades that I should have cared about but didn't. They have degrees that most of us dream about having as little kids...and the paychecks to match. But, they are so wrecked...and they are so small in life. Sad.

Academics are nice. They hang on our walls. They make us look like the perception someone else already has. They categorize us.

I was categorized.

"They" were wrong.

Each time I apply for something, I come upon a challenge and usually a second look becuase of my academics. Then I get selected....9 times out of 10.

Then....

Then I get pulled aside at some point, and someone in the panel, or who was a part of the decision making process says..."You know, we almost didn't select you...We sure are glad we did! We would have passed up something great and made a terrible mistake. Thank you for being a part of our _______."

I am not writing this because I need to feel good about myself. I am not writing this because I need a lot of comments saying that, "I am smart enough, I am good-looking enough, and...Doggonit, people like me!," (give it up for stuart smiley...for those who don't know who that is...you must be a part of the google generation...look it up).

I am writing this because categories suck.

They may pseudo-help in knowing where and what someone should get as far as attention goes...but why is this always first to spending time with them? Why is it never the option to spend time with the student? To know them. To give that little one a friggin coke and share a snack with them and say...hey man, tell me about what you absolutely love to do? What do you just get so excited about you want to scream?...(this kids reaction is what I am talking about!)

I have a student who when I give him enough thought at the end of the day, I am forced to deal with a lump in my throat. Mainly because I would rather discipline him in some way rather than reach him. I crave conformity on his part to that of the other kids. But he is different. He needs more. He needs more than just someone to listen to. He needs more than just someone to give him worksheets. He needs more than chemicals and detentions. He needs someone to engage him.

How do you balance him knowing what is and out of bounds, and engaging him? This is a challenge my friends. I would love to effect this young man in a profound way. That he might be my Opus...(Mr. Holland).

But...I was reminded today in a rather interesting way. You know when someone shares something with you that puts your back on the floor? I had received a message of someone who I am so challenged by, of the effect that I have had on his life. This message literally felt like a kick in the stomach with tears to follow...in a good way.

I really do feel that God ( The Father....the other One of the trinity including Jesus, and the Holy Spirit one for the sake of clarity ) gives us gifts...or to put it another way, graces us. He sends these little messages in the clouds, flowers, a quiet star lite night, a smile, a laugh, a cry...a message, straight from Him. He sends these messages to say many things. In despair when we think we hear Him not...He sends a peace. In celebration, He speaks in a proud way...I guess I can give you my examples, but maybe you have your own.

Lately, He speaks to me in favor. For some reason, I am being accepted here quicker than others. I have been evaluated and approved of highly, I have been asked to participate in projects and responsibilities, school parents have commented, students have commented, and peers and leadership have commented. All too flattering and somewhat embarassing.

And then...the college students have commented. Students whose lives I was fortunate enough to be in. Students who challenge me. Students who I absolutely would do anything and did do everything for. Some students who seemed disinterested at what I offered, now offer me encouragement and words that are far too humbling for someone like me.

Interest. It is something that has many definitions.

something you take in someone/something

a return on investment

for me...it is a word that describes my curiosty to why I am being shown favor. To why all of this encouragement is coming my way now, seemingly all at the same time.

It is 4:17am...and I am wiped. Spent. Stick a fork in me...I am...overwhelmed. And tired. So, know spell-checker tonight...

M

I live in Hong Kong...I...LIVE...in Hong Kong!!!

2006-09-20T12:14:00.000+08:00

It dawned on me today as I read my newspaper...

I actually LIVE in Hong Kong.

I drag my sorry, redeemed being out of bed confident that today I will honor God in a significant way but, knowing i most likely will do more harm than good. A good yawn, and a stretch...usually with arms punching through the air, followed up by a pround pat on my belly...I put one leg in front of the other and go brush my teeth. On a good day, I won't stub my toes on anything.

As I walk around, I look more like a person who has been worked over by 'da guys' working for the Sandman...left humanly unrecognizable with a lot of crap in my eyes.

I look out through the windows and I see the landscapes of Tsueng Kwan O*, the district of Hong Kong I live in. I smell the smells of early morning Hong Kong...absent is the smell of roasted arabica, bacon, eggs, and that smell that only pancakes can produce. QUESTION: Why is that smell so hard to describe?

But, these smells are just as pleasant and intriguing to my nose, so much that it can awaken the slumber-ridden man behind the beast inside me.

I pass little exuberent chinese kids with messy locks bouncing around as they run to line up before school, backpacks swaying side to side and those annoying** little red lights flashing on their shoes with each stride they take. I think to myself...'adopting a Chinese kid WILL be happening one someday.' I smile as I walk by...I may have even daydreamed about what that family photo might look like. Little Sai Lo*** sitting in my father's lap smiling with a big smile surrounded by the rest of our family!

As I arrive into my office at the other campus,**** I pick up my subscription to the South China Morning Post, open it up and begin catching up with the rest of Hong Kong. I turned the page, and saw this:

Yeah, it is a little blurry but it was taken on my cell phone. The weather. That's all it is, a stupid weather report. They happen every day for cities around the world.

But.

But, this one was for Hong Kong...and it mattered to me. It determined, like all weather reports, what I will wear. What I will put into my messenger bag. What shoes I will wear. And all in all my outlook on the day from 7am forward.

This was personal. It didn't matter to you, or to my parents, my sister, or even Cheryl. It mattered to me. It might even determine whether or not I go hiking up the mountian next to where I live after school for a nice panoramic view of the place.

It matters because I live here. I dwell here. I wake up here, I go to bed here. Not vacation, not a trip, not a tour. I LIVE here.

And...I love it. One month. Nine to go. Care to visit?...What's wrong McFly...Chicken?

*pronounced CHUNG ( like Connie) KWAN (like Michelle) OH (as in __ sh@*! )

**the only thing annoying about them is that I can't have them...that wouldn't be mature. I say, why start now?

*** That is a Chinese word for little girl or little boy...kind of like 'tike.' But being that I never use the word I thought Sai Lo would about cover it.

**** I live above the school at the Primary Campus and teach at the Secondary Campus a half-mile away

::: an aside :::

2006-09-16T10:07:00.000+08:00

I am writing a lot more these days.

Perhaps it is because of your encouragement. Or the fact that I have more time...it seems. Or the fact that I am back in my 'room' again.

So, in order to keep this blog about what it is said to be about...i am posting again to my old blog. If you care to see it, click here.

Today is the first post in quite a while, and the post below today's was written before I left. The post before that...almost a year ago. So...keep that in mind while reading.

On MALDANIS.BLOGPSOT.COM, I write more about what I am thinking about things in general, through the lens which with I look through.

In the words of dirrrty Christina..."Come on over..."

Earthquake Update....

2006-09-16T09:43:00.000+08:00

Here is some excellent reporting from my favorite expatriate here in HKG...

He gives all the answers you all have asked via email and phone calls about the earthquake.

the...um...'soulbrain'...has atrophied

2006-09-15T15:40:00.000+08:00

In my dash out of Dallas I have realized the my soulbrain has been neglected.

What the (insert your choice word here______)* is a soulbrain? don't know but i think i just made it up...(mental note, September 15th: I did something significant by adding a word to the world's vocabulary)

Well, I haven't been in "conversation" about things of heaven, hell, and various stops in between. Of course not all of life falls into these categories...stay with me here.

But, if you think about what you think is below (our minds revert to the idea that hell is below because our cartoons tell us so at age nipple), or above (again, age nipple allows us to build a belief that it is in the sky)...then in between those places is all of life, IE: earth and everything taking place on it.

I read one of the college students' blog today. He has always been a thinker and is super creative. Reading some of his posts were so thought provoking. I believe I have been in 'move and adjust' mode I have shelved the soulbrain.

Reading challenges me. Conversing about what I have been reading in these deep thought provoking books makes me feel alive.

If my God is who I say he is, then there is a lifetime of discovering Him that would take millenia...and even then would I only scratch the surface of his finger-nail, albeit that would be pretty fulfilling...not all fulfilling. I mean think of it this way: ever have something that taste so good your body had to actually pull you away from that taste to vomit to make room for more? Hm. Not sure if that analogy works...but it does.

Taste and see. Look it up. I dare you.

You want an image to describe what I am really getting at?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

This is the ship of pearl, which, poets feign,
Sail the unshadowed main,--
The venturous bark that flings
On the sweet summer wind its purpled wings
In gulfs enchanted, where the Siren sings,
And coral reefs lie bare,
Where the cold sea-maids rise to sun their streaming hair.

Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl;
Wrecked is the ship of pearl!
And every chambered cell,
Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell,
As the frail tenant shaped his growing shell,
Before thee lies revealed,--
Its irised ceiling rent, its sunless crypt unsealed!

Year after year beheld the silent toil
That spread his lustrous coil;
Still, as the spiral grew,
He left the past year's dwelling for the new,
Stole with soft step its shining archway through,
Built up its idle door,
Stretched in his last-found home, and knew the old no more.

Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee,
Child of the wandering sea,
Cast from her lap, forlorn!
From thy dead lips a clearer note is born
Than ever Triton blew from wreathed horn;
While on mine ear it rings,
Through the deep caves of thought I hear a voice that sings:--

Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea!

By Oliver Wendall Holmes (1809-94). (...stolen from blupete.com)

Life is full of these little rooms that we 'live' in for a time. We transcend the walls throughout our lives...moving in and out of life stages of growth and change...some people call these chapters in their book of life...puke!

Instead why don't we just think of these challenges as God taking us through our life?...a life that if we let him lead us by grasping at His strong hand, will author a story unlike any you could ever dream of? Why are we so bent on wandering away from our Father to build a story of our own...I guess the bottom line is that we really,...when it comes down to it,... think that God is an absolute Ass and has no idea what the hell He is doing. Or do you really think, and do I really think it is all just happenstance...you, know, "Life Sucks Then You Die So I Better Make Something Of It?"

I am in a new room. You may say my new room is in Hong Kong across the world from where you are likely sitting...hopefully you are sipping a good cup of coffee. But I am choosing to say that there are a lot of ways I am in a new room, not just where I am...but,...where I AM.

So, I say these words to you o' dear reader of my fodder...Jesus Christ is not who you think he is.

HE is so much much than you know Him to be. I dare you...to taste. Perhaps you should, as the Nautilus does, build a new room at His design ...a new dining room perhaps?

sho nuff, the rumbles were real!

2006-09-15T02:36:00.000+08:00

and you thought i was just making up stories for the fun of it...

mold has officially been in an earthquake...click here

earthquake?

2006-09-14T19:55:00.000+08:00

I believe I was just in an earthquake.

Obviously I am okay...nothing seems odd or out of place. No one is actually even looking around. All I know is that I was sitting here on the 7th floor minding my own business and then rumbles in the floor...in waves.

Weird.

Chicken Soup for the Soul

2006-09-11T22:35:00.001+08:00

I hate those books.

I love chicken soup.

I love my grandmother's chicken soup.

Especially when I am sick.

Today is such a day.

I know. I know the begging question in your mind right now...what do you do in a foriegn city when you get sick? You ask the healthiest person you know where they go to the doctor and roll the dice. Remember, this whole thing is an adventure, and at worst will provide MOLDINASIA blog-fodder if it is a disaster. That is, unless it is the Avian Flu...in that case you bend over and kiss it* goodbye.

So, what is it like going to see a Chinese Dr. for a visit? Well, you have two choices:

DOOR # 1) Medicine Man...ok, not really. They actually hand out degrees for Chinese Medicine and it is highly respected among the world community. In fact, the Pharms are getting nervous because with the rise in organics, more Americans are moving to this type of health care.

DOOR # 2) Normal Medicine Man we call Doc and pay a rediculous amount of money to because of the addiction to immediate relief we in America are so addicted to. Oh, silly America...let's just slow down and stop eating all the crap we shove in our faces and see what happens... ( says the man who on the BMI index chart at the Docs office read that I should weigh 165 lbs...Hmmm...how do I say this gently...Um, well, let's try this...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Have you seen my chest size? Big boy, not fat boy, but BIG boy. I am listed as stage II obesity. Stage II...not Stage I, not In-Danger of becoming, but a secondary stage. This is like the terrorist threat level rating...ambiguous at best. Granted I could drop 20 lbs but that would still only put me at 200lbs. )

I chose #2. Not that I am not wanting to go to #1...I am , almost did today. But I needed something in my system to bring relief, and to ease my way into this thing of organics and elk poop as a remedy. Oh, and Ox testicles, and I saw some other dried things that are pretty nasty. But hey, if God gave it to us and it works...and it is not a friggin cancer ridden chemical...I say bring it. Unfortunately you have to get all of this dried "stuff" after you get assessed by the Chinese Medicine Doc, then take it home, reconstitute it and boil it for some reeeediculous amount of time to bring out all of the essentials in the tea/broth liquidy thing. So, i needed quicker relief and went with traditional medicine.

My Dr.'s visit cost me $150HKD, that is roughly 20 bucks and included 2 days worth of prescriptions. Not too bad at all. Of course the Doc spoke English and he spent 20 minutes welcoming me to Hong Kong and telling me what opportunities I have here...of course while he is talking...my eyes teared, my nose ran, and my throat went from sounding like my voice, to Bea Arthur's voice, to Barry White's...RIP my souljah!

Better news is that this doctors visit landed me with a day off tomorrow and I get full reimbursement for it.

So, who knows...I may post more tomorrow than normal. I have a few things on my chest...other than phlegmatic residues.

* That would be your @ $ $. And, last night I cooked a chicken breast that was buy one get one free. Great deal! Then I saw the fact that it was from China...he shudders...Most of the poultry, including eggs (yes I know they classify as poultry but who thinks like that) is imported from the U.S.

Two more for Okie...and one of them is for my favorite Penn State fan!

2006-09-10T06:57:00.000+08:00

This was an all-nighter night. I napped too long today and have been up all night. It sucks, I am already fighting a cold and now I am going to be off schedule and my body worn down. So, to make me feel better and like I am not wasting time, I am posting. By the way, Notre Dame is crushing Penn State.

This is a photo from my goomba's visit last year in April but my other buddy, Mr. Crissey as many of you know him, emailed it today. Thanks Scotto! (if you clicked the link...go with definiton 2&3)

And this one...this one is me in action. Three days into school and I am already being observed. I was given the thumbs up, so I guess that means I am going to make it!

That's a lot of candles Dad...

2006-09-08T15:28:00.000+08:00

My Daddy...

2006-09-07T23:08:00.000+08:00

My Dad's birthday is Friday and for me that is now, for you...tomorrow. Not only is it his birthday, but, it is his 60th birthday!

I cannot believe my father is 60. If you are reading this, then you likely know him. And if you know him, then you likely love him, cause everyone does. He is an amazing man, and an ever present support, simply waiting in the background if you need him. His voice can sooth in a time of stress, and it can make a 30 year old son and a 33 year old daughter still see him as our daddy in a matter of a word uttered...or breathed loudly. (He breathes real loud) And, if you have ever called our house, then you know he can mumble too!

(AS A MATTER OF FACT YOU SHOULD CALL HIM AND WISH HIM A HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! HOW GREAT WOULD IT BE FOR HIM TO GET FLOODED WITH CALLS FROM PEOPLE HE MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW!!!!...email me for their phone number)

He can scare the crap out of just about anyone. And a little secret is how much of a teddy bear Dad really is (sorry to let the secret out there Big Fella). But he is always someone you want to spend more time with and listen to tell stories or random crap he knows.

He is smart...real dang smart...so smart it kind of pisses you off. Everyone seems to have been consulting my Dad for something ever since I can recall. Car trouble, construction, resume building, lawn care, landscaping, computers, lifting (not so much anymore), you name it...he seems to know something about it. Kind of pisses you off even more doesn't it?

...He is an amazing man, and an ever present support, simply waiting in the background if you need him...

Well, Dad...you are my hero...and I love you more than I have ever told you or could ever tell you. Happy Birthday and bring on the 80's! I AM SO VERY PROUD OF YOU POPS!!!

a few words from a friend...

ON TURNING 70 "You still chase women, but only downhill".

ON TURNING 80 "That's the time of your life when even your birthday suit
needs pressing."

ON TURNING 90 "You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than
the cake."

ON TURNING 100 " I don't feel old. In fact I don't feel anything until
noon. Then it's time for my nap."

ON GIVING UP HIS EARLY CAREER, BOXING "I ruined my hands in the ring ...
the referee kept stepping on them."

ON SAILORS "They spend the first six days of each week sowing their wild
oats, then they go to church on Sunday and pray for crop failure."

ON NEVER WINNING AN OSCAR "Welcome to the Academy Awards or, as it's
called at my home, 'Passover'."

ON GOLF "Golf is my profession. Show business is just to pay the green
fees."

ON PRESIDENTS " I have performed for 12 presidents and entertained only
six."

ON WHY HE CHOSE SHOWBIZ FOR HIS CAREER " When I was born, the doctor said
to my mother, 'Congratulations.You have an
eight-pound ham'."

ON RECEIVING THE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL "I feel very humble, but I think
I have the strength of character to fight it."

ON HIS FAMILY'S EARLY POVERTY "Four of us slept in the one bed. When it
got cold, mother threw on another brother."

ON HIS SIX BROTHERS "That's how I learned to dance. Waiting for the
bathroom."

ON HIS EARLY FAILURES " I would not have had anything to eat if it wasn't
for the stuff the audience threw at me."

ON GOING TO HEAVEN "I've done benefits for ALL religions. I'd hate to
blow the hereafter on a technicality.

Choose the alternative option...

2006-09-05T13:12:00.000+08:00

Over the past few days I have had countless conversations...well, more like "help me with this PC!...it is doing something weird and not working". They could be described as urgent S.O.S's. At least 10 of them or so. All of them were about how to do technical things.

For example, LOGOS gives each teacher a PC laptop in order to help support their creativity in teaching. Again, nicely done LOGOS. But, between changing all the settings in the Display menu after getting into Control Panel, and then knowing what to adjust the output in order to get the right sized image onto the projector, SmartBoard, or Digital Overhead...all you have to do on the MAC is plug it in and go.

So............I have been fairly silent for awhile...

WELL NO LONGER!!!!!!

Click here and read what computer recommendations are being made for this year's Freshmen

Click here for 12 really good reasons and JUST DO IT ALREADY PC PEOPLE!!!!

And click here to make the move...c'mon you know it is the right thing to do!

DISCLAIMER : THIS ENTRY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT MY GIRLFRIENDS COMPUTER IS LESS THAN 3 WEEKS OLD AND ALREADY NEEDS TO GO BACK FOR SERVICE...I would never manipulate her like that.

got google earth?

2006-09-04T16:24:00.000+08:00

So, the blog is still not making you feel like you are a part of this excursion? Download Google Earth, a satellite image of the entire earth that you can zoom in and out of.

I can email you some pin points of local landmarks so you can check out the neighborhood and have a point of reference to some sense of these sordid entries.

According to J.Fischer, it also may make you feel like a voyuer too...OK, so there is the down-side.

Addicted to Google, I am.

These are for OKIE...

2006-09-03T18:29:00.000+08:00

I was thrown a going away party two nights before I left, and it was something else. I was blown away by the gifts and the amount of creativity that went into some of the roasting that went down.

Probably the most creative was Okie's impersonation of me. He strolled up to the front of the room with sweaty armpits galore and had me rolling from the minute I noticed. He left a comment yesterday demanding two pictures a day on this blog.

Well, space may be limited, but here you go my friend...

This is a picture of some of my kids...we ran into them while out for lunch today.

This is a picture of a teacher from Zhuhai, a nearby mainland city, who teaches at a sister school. He is in town for the weekend and staying in the same quarters. He and I ventured out for dinner after the first day of school Friday.

BY THE WAY, CLICK ON ANY OF THE PICTURES TO SEE THEM BIGGER

Did I mention it was the 1st day of school...

2006-09-01T22:20:00.000+08:00

As a kid, Mom would always buy me new school shoes, or some new outfits...sometimes both. Even into college she would offer to buy me new schoolie shoesies (Make fun and I will send someone to break your face...I am Italian...and it CAN happen).

Well, no new shoes for me this year...I don't need them. And, to be honest the thought of raising my kids with that expectation, it kind of made me ill...the idea of kids didn't make me ill...but them having that superficial expectation sure did. I am sure I will find every little reason to buy my kids something, a small personal battle.

But, I have a new office...( find the mac...and you will have found my desk )

A new school...( this is the great hall, full of kids )

And...a lot of Chinese kids around me...

They are amazing! I really do like this school and the students here at LOGOS seem to be something else. I have already picked out the two guys who are the campus thugs...at least in their own minds. How thuggy can you really be when you are from a super rich part of Hong Kong and you were dropped off in a Mercedes? Ahhh...memories of Malibu's Most Wanted. I lasered in on these two and they are my guys...my project if you will. I saw them and felt like these two dudes may be the reason I am here this year. But, being that they are in another grade than I will be teaching, we will see. I will definitely see them on campus often.

So...you've got nothing else to pray about? Then pray about why I am here...and for God to show me clearly those I should invest in, be surprised by, and feel burdened for.

Oh, and did you see the picture below of my hot girlfriend? Not only is she hot...but she is a super amazing woman. Just checking to see if you saw her. That's all. Nothing else.

Nice Once LOGOS...nice one.

2006-09-01T15:33:00.000+08:00

A few days ago the other teachers were telling us how they do lunch here at the school. Basically it goes like this, "You have an hour...use it how you like."

Some colleagues do bring their lunches, and there are eateries nearby here so you can actually get food to go for pretty cheap prices. For example, today I had Beef Stroganoff (that really turned out to be curry beef over rice with potatoes...so not really Stroganoff at all) for the grand total of $3.25...not too shabby! A little walk...lunch, and a walk back to campus...all in all a stress reliever if you ask me.

Then I remembered that the teachers can request a meal lunchbox at the school for $15HKD (that's Hong Kong Dollars, and the ratio is $1 = 7.8HKD)...a grand total of 2 bucks! That is when I realized something...there is no cafeteria.

Where are these boxed lunches coming from?

I kept walking back from lunch, turned the corner and there they stood. About 25 women with about 50 coolers. I knew lunches must be in there. Then...the giveaway...Yellow shirts with the LSG SkyChefs logo on them.

As soon as I saw the logo, the brilliance of the plan hit me. I was actually pretty blown away by the sense of it all.

Follow me here for a minute. Think about the space a cafeteria takes up. And, it may be used at the most 2 hours a day in a busy school. What does it do the rest of the time? Nothing. Empty space. Sucks up AC use. Maybe if you get lucky you rent the space out for special venues.

Now think about all the mixers, ovens, spoons, spatulas, microwaves, trays, cooking sheets, cutting boards, sinks...and other fixtures and appliances needed to complete a functioning kitchen. Add that cost up and you are swimming in partially used assets that are depreciating. Not to mention staffing.

Well, now consider that cafeteria space being freed up for classroom use. Which if the school is decent should be at a premium. If it is a private school especially, think of the revenue you just added by being able to handle a good number more students or being able to lower the teacher:student ratio. You now have added an incentive for prospective parents yielding more face time per student from the teacher.

Now, how do you still feed the students on campus? How do you give them a hot, balanced, nutritious, chef prepared and planned meal at a minimum cost but still made with premium ingredients?

Volume. You simply tap into a resource that is already producing at a large rate and minimum cost. You tap into the local airport catering services! You bring in selections of airplane food made for Lufthansa flight. I looked...these lunches are awesome looking. Complete meals, and good ones at that.

Kids?...fed. Building capital?...student driven. Unusable space?...minimal. Decision?...a creative, economical solution and a good one.

Nicely done Sirs. Nicely done.

GEEDING!!!!!!

2006-08-31T21:40:00.000+08:00

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

Shopping...it's only a store.

You Fill in The Movie Quote...

2006-08-31T21:33:00.000+08:00

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...

2006-08-28T11:49:00.000+08:00

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...

2006-08-27T23:18:00.000+08:00

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

God Bless The institution of Breakfast...

2006-08-27T07:54:00.000+08:00

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...

2006-08-24T08:31:00.000+08:00

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

PEACE

A handshake from Jesus

2006-08-23T19:40:00.000+08:00

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...

2006-08-23T19:25:00.000+08:00

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!!

2006-08-16T02:47:00.000+08:00

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

STANFORD bound...

2006-08-06T14:10:00.000+08:00

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

So...right now it would be better to say there WILL be mold in Asia

2006-06-26T11:12:00.000+08:00

I am opening this blog up as a daily accounting of my arrival in Asia for the next year. So, hopefully as of July 20th there should be something to report once I hit the ground there!