I am a walking freak of nature

Or at least, that's what everyone here must think. But more on that later. I actually ventured out for some sightseeing today. Someone asked for a picture of the China Hotel, so here it is.
Right across from my hotel is a large park, Yue Xiu Park. Seeing as it's so close, I decided that it would be a good day to sightsee. The park has a large statue of five rams, which are the mythical beginings of Guangzhou. Finding said statue, however, is an exercise left up to the reader. It took me nearly two hours of tromping thru this rather large park, with lots of hills, to find it.
It was okay. It's a statue of goats. What more can you ask for? Also in Yue Xiu Park is a memorial to Dr Sun Yat Sen. This takes the form of a tower which you can climb. It's on top of a hill, so it has a good view of Guangzhou.
The most intersting part of the day was just watching everyone. China is on national holiday this week, so the park was pretty busy. Seeing entire families running around and playing was a lot of fun. It was intersting to see a bunch of people playing a game similar to hacky sack, but the kicker thing has feathers. Old and young alike would play this.

The other fascinating thing was obviously me. I had small children staring at me, mouths agape. They would then run up to me and just look up. Nearly everyone in the park did a double take when I would walk by. I'm not sure if it was my height, whiteness, or both that did it. I didn't see any other caucasians in the park. Everyone was very friendly, however. It was fun interacting with the children, most of whom could say "Hi! How are you!" or something to that effect. I was probably the highlight of their day.

Chinglish, the beginning

Surprisingly, there's not a whole lot of Chinglish here so far. Usually the English on signs is pretty good (if sparse), and nothing yet has been side aching funny. This was the first piece I thought was humourous. I don't know why, but "don't clamour" and "don't lies" was funny to me. Obviously as I get more into the culture, I'll probably find funnier sayings.

There are things here that someone older than me would probably find familiar.
What's that? A normal can of 7up? Well, look closely. The top is a pop off! When was the last time you saw one of those? 1985? One of the benefits of my job, is we see facilities like this. So my coworkers say that bottling and canning companies here just buy used machines from the US and Europe, where they can't sell cans like this. The other flashback was a recently purchased airplane ticket. The secretary at work asked if I'd be in my room at 5pm. Why? To receive the paper ticket. A what? I've never seen a paper ticket! No e-tickets here. I don't think you can even get a paper ticket in the states anymore. And it even has carbon paper in it!

Who wants a Rolex?

So tonight I had a good immersion into Chinese (or at least Guangzhou) culture. I enjoyed my second authentic Cantonese meal. You should all know that Guangzhou is known within China as having the most eclectic tastes. They will literally eat anything. Their food is also quite spicy. So tonight we went to a Hot Pot restaraunt. Think of fondue, but instead of a dip, boiling hot water is in the middle of the table. We had two locals with us, so one of them (Oscar) ordered the food. I had eaten with Oscar for lunch on Friday, and he was impressed with my appetite for spicy food. Here though, things were a little different. Oscar ordered the food without telling us exactly what he got. The food was actually very good. You place the food into the boiling water for 3-5 minutes, then pull it out and eat it. Except Oscar gave us a complete intro into local food. We ate every part of a lamb from the neck down.

• lamb meat? check.
• lamb kidney? check.
• lamb stomach? check.
• lamb testicles? check.
• lamb penis? check.

The worst part was easily the stomach/intestines. They looked disgusting and were very rubbery. Along with the lamb was vegetables and beef as well. If that's the worst I eat, this won't be too bad.

After the dinner we went to Beijing Road (Beijing Liu) where there is a huge open market. This is the place to buy knock-offs. I got a Rolex for 120RMB. Which is about $15. So who wants one? Send me an email with a picture, and I'll do my best. Also, there's Loius Vitton, Patek Phileppe, Tag Heuer, and almost anything you could think of. Guangzhou isn't known for touristy things, but is well known for shopping.
Tomorrow I hope to get back to the market for a bit, and maybe check out one of the tourist type things to do. Sorry I didn't have any pictures tonight, but I forgot my camera in the room. Tuesday night I'm going to Kuala Lumpur for the day, and Wednesday night thru Saturday I'll be in Bangkok.

I'm somewhere. But where?

Well, I'm here. Or there. Or however you want to describe it. And I'm completely overwhelmed. It wasn't just the flight. Or the taxi ride to the hotel. Or the room itself. I just don't know, it's EVERYTHING.

The flight. It's long. Damn long. How long? Well, just as you're thinking it can't last much longer, you find out it's still 5 hours to Tokyo, and at least 5 hours past that to Guangzhou. Let's do the math. I left my house at 12:30 pm on Tuesday. I've been in the hotel for about 30 minutes. It's 12:30 am Thursday now. Which is actually 11:30 am on Wednesday in Minnesota. So my actual door to door travel time was 23 hours! Add in 13 time zones, and it's like 36 hours! Flying Business class is the only way to go, at least on the 747-400. The seats lie nearly flat (176 degrees, says NWA). They fed me until I didn't want to eat, and the food was actually decent.

Security checks in Tokyo suck, however. They tore apart everything, and I had to turn every piece of electronic gismo on. That's two computers, a cell phone, Yahtzee game, digital camera, and even the calculator I had. They were very curtious (or courteous.) about it, though.

Guangzhou instantly reminded me of Florida. But without as much air conditioning and LOTS more neon. The airport was very clean. Driving, even at the hour I arrived, seemed like a nightmare. No one stays in the lane. Lots of flashing brights and honking. The hotel is okay, but I'm in an older room tonight, so we'll see what happens in the future.

Well, no going back now. Not until June, at least.

Free drinks! (and other goodies)

Free drinks! And free internet! Ah, the benefits of the NWA World Club. Less than two hours to go before the scheduled departure. Still not sure if I'm cut out to do this. I nearly vomited last night, just from the anxiety. Obviously I had a hard time sleeping, as I will for the next 18 hours!

Taking some time from the obvious, I happened to notice my company's stock price this morning. ROK, if you're interested. It was over $79 this morning, although it's back down to $76 at this time. Still, when I started working for Rockwell in 2000, the price was much closer to $16. If only I had invested that $5k I didn't have at the time!

Where to now?

The excitement never ends. Even before I leave for China, I'm planning ways to get out of China. The first news was for a trip to Singapore, but that has already been expanded upon. Now it sounds like, in one week, they want me to visit India, Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan. Somehow I just don't think that will work. Maybe two days in India, and some time in Singapore is more likely. The best part is, I'm not really planning any of it. I'm going to get to China, and there will be tickets for me to wherever I need to be. I've already requested some "down days" so I can do some sightseeing.

Going Away (Almost)

Last night was the going away party. A good time was had all around. We started with a get together at Psycho Suzy's, some of the group moved to Tony Jaro's, and everyone met up again at Gastof's. It turned into an impromptu "meeting of the parents" as well, as Kelsey's and my parents go to meet each other. Psycho Suzy's was packed, and we were forced to sit out on the patio. We thought we were lucky to find a large table, but as it turns out, we ended up under the only non-working heat lamp. So we froze our butts off.

Of course, no trip to Gasthof's is complete without a boot. Or two. Or three. A couple of rounds of the Boot Game went a long way. The strategy is pretty intense near the end. At the end of the first boot, with Miss Cox following me, I made the decision to take just a sip, thinking she couldn't finish the boot. Erin had Anton following her, and she played the same card I did. Unfortunately for her, Anton was quite the trooper, and put down the boot. In the end, it was a great send off, and I'd like to thank everyone for making it out!

No escaping it now

There it is. My Chinese visa. I guess this means I'm legal to enter the country. Actually, it says I can enter the country as often as I want, for a whole year! And with the receiving of the visa, came the purchasing of the ticket. So it's confirmed. I'm to leave Tuesday, April 25th, at 3:05 pm. One stop in Tokyo, and I'll be in Guangzhou. It's still not totally real. I haven't started packing (yes, foolish). I haven't studied a lick of the language (again, not smart). And I'm not sure what I'll do when I get there. But it's all about the experience. I'm going to get completely lost over there, and that's the point. Weird food? Check. Unintelligeble language? Check. A lot of fun? I sure hope so!

Stay (Wasting Time)

Need to kill some time? Check these out!

The Bullet Bill Game
If Microsoft marketed the iPod
South Park's take on the First Amendment
Drug companies invent diseases? No way.
Maybe Liono and Cheetara work there
Where should you live? (thanks to Steve)

A countdown/selloff begins?

Okay, so it's about 10-11 days until I leave for China. I FINALLY got the invitation letter, although I think it's for a short term visa, just to get into the country. As preparations continue, I've begun selling things. First was the spare computer. So for everyone that was using the FTP site, sorry, it's dead. The second thing I put up was the car. Yes, the Lexus is on the block. I already had one person come look at it, and another one today or tomorrow. It's not that I need to sell the car, but why should I keep it and make payments on it when I can't drive it.

Update: The car is gone! Now I don't have to worry about that. Now to the second computer.

What has the world come to?

I can't explain it. Okay, maybe I can. I've lusted after one for quite some time now. You see, we were old friends. Back in the day, it was there for me. To help with homework, or just to get away to Oregon or somewhere else in the world. But then I was waylaid. For the next 15 years, I joined the other crowd. And I felt like part of a group. But it was always in the back of my head. And lo, last week I found a reason to return.

I bought a Macintosh.

Now I know what some of you (like Jake) are saying. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT!?" Well, I don't really have an answer, but here are some excuses:

1. With the impending Move To China (TM), I am reluctant to use my work laptop for personal use. Something about they scan the hard drive and email and stuff. The Mac will fill in nicely here and still let me use Windows when I need to.
2. OS X. I've wanted to try it. It looks damn cool. It's slick. Maybe it's all fluff, but I don't think so. Yes, for a while it will be hard to do things. Where is that Windows key, anyways? But I think once I get the system down, it will be fine.
3. To be different. For 15 years it was Windows 3.0, 3.1, 95, 98, ME (oops), 2000, and then XP. I just want to use something that not everyone else does too. If you don't like it, too bad.

Hoodlums

My uncle Bob stopped by last night to go to dinner and discuss Guangzhou. He had spent some time there a couple of years ago, and had some interesting stories to tell. We ate at Chiapas, a little Mexican restaurant on Central and Lowry, which I really like. Unfortunately, they don't have cerveza, and the sangria is sin alcohol. But the meal was delicious none-the-less.

As we get back to my house, around 8:15, I notice there are two police cars in my driveway. Uncle Bob drives a large van, and it seems two neighborhood hoodlums tried to break in, smashing two windows and making off with approximately $4. Fortunately my neighbor drove into his driveway, saw the kids, and called the cops. I guess these punks get caught pretty often. As for the damage to the van:

It was a mess to clean up, but in the end it's just two windows. We've got the contact info for the family, although I hear the parents are great roll models for the kids... We'll see how it turns out.

China

About three weeks to go. I originally agreed to fly out around April 24th or 25th. I don't have a visa yet. Nor luggage, or even a flight. No one ever said I was good at planning things.
I'd by lying if I said I wasn't excited. But that excitement is tempered by a very large dose of fear. I've never been one to take chances, or unneccesary risks, and going to China, while good for my career, is probably a bigger step for me as a person. I'm leaving my comfort zone, something I typically dread to do. And it's become such a warm and, well, comfortable, comfort zone lately. It really seems like the timing of this is off, but I've been encouraged to go by everyone I know, so that makes me feel much better about it.

And in the end, 10 months is not really that long of a time span. I'm sure that it will go by much faster than I expect.

Meet the Dingo!

Kelsey got a dog a week and half ago. Come back from Florida, and it's "Say hello to my little friend." It's an Australian Cattle Dog, and despite the fact that I think it hates me, it's very sweet and nice. It's a good size, just 35 lbs, and is alternately named Blue, Blueberry Muffin, or The Dingo. Only one problem: she got a defective piece. The dog is deaf.
This has a number of benefits. She (the Dingo) doesn't hear other dogs. If she can't see them, they don't bother her. This a relief, because when she does see another dog, she goes apeshit. I've never heard a dog bark so loud. Another benefit is that if she's sleeping, it's pretty solid. The downside is that it's hard to get her attention. Stomping on the floor hasn't worked. So it's usually throw a soft toy her way.

Anyways, I was afraid I wouldn't like the dog, but I really do, and that's a huge relief. She's cute and cuddly, and all that good stuff. I suppose I need to get used to it, as it's my replacement for the next 10 months!